Hey, I actually registered here just to respond. I sold my 300ZX to buy a trailer for my SpecMiata 3 years ago. I owned the car for 16 years and learned a few things about them.

First off, the Auto to manual swap is not too bad - I did that very thing on my car. Besides the trans, I seem to recall it needed a new driveshaft, but the diff was the same. If the car in question is a turbo, then make sure to get a turbo trans (it's the Borg Warner T-5, IIRC.)

If you go the turbo route, avoid the 1984 models. In either '85 or '86 Nissan added a water-cooled turbo bearing jacket which really, REALLY prolonged the life of the turbo. When I sold mine, it had 150K miles on the origional turbo. Didn't use a drop of oil.

As was mentioned before, it really is a heavy car, but very durable. A recall on the fuel injectors came out about 4 or 5 years ago. If you buy a 300, you might take it in to the dealer and see if the recall has been done. Many haven't, as cars these old don't always get back to the dealer. The recall gets you new injectors, fuel rail, and some other goodies at no cost to you.

Check for rust in the spare tire well. Oh, and avoid the digital dash like the plague. Replacemtns are hideously expensive. Cheaper to buy a parts car.

A Special Edition came out in 1998 - all were white turbo cars. They came with a little lower (higher numerical) gearing, about 5 more hp, better brakes. These may be a little above your price point, but not by much.

The 1986 models were a little unique in that they had the factory side skirts and fender flares. Some of the 1984 Anniversary Edition models had these as well, but the flares were just stuck on to the car instead of blended into the rest of the body.

Great cars. Rarely had any trouble. I wish I still had mine.

Roman