LiteraCola

We absolutely are affecting the prices over there. With our pesky 25 year rule, more and more JDM classics are starting to make their way over and all the old fanboys (like myself) are scooping them up quickly! I can only imagine what an R34 GTR will go for when they become legal. I've already done my part by overpaying for a used and abused 25 year old car! So you're welcome.

So I did a few small projects last night, mainly just exploration to find some weird rattles and clunks under the door cards. I've found a few issues with the door locks, right off the bat. First off, the auto-lock feature does not work, although i can hear the door locks attempting to actuate every 2-3 seconds as soon as the car starts. I removed the door card to try and chase down the issue to no avail. I've also found that the driver's door lock button will lock the passenger door, but not the driver door. However, the central locking still works as I can manually work the driver door lock and it works the passenger lock as well. I've read a few things about cutting the GRN wire at the central locking brain to disable the auto locks. Can anyone confirm this? Behind the glove box, I found a bundle of wire and some sort of remote phone charger that had been cut off at some point. The bundle of wire runs to the back of the stereo and has a pink wire running to the ECU? for GPS speed input. This will all be removed when I replace the stereo with something that speaks English. I also went digging inside the trunk to disable the power antenna. Who listens to the radio anyways? Also, does anyone know what this relay is for? It's mounted right next to the power antenna motor on the passenger side of the trunk.

Those prices are about the same here in the States! The dealer where I bought my R33 GTST had an R33 GTR that was sold in under 8 hours for well over 50k US. And to think, I was seriously considering buying a GTR haha.

It’s a Carrozzeria (Pioneer) double din with GPS and SD Card capability! Other than the CD player, it’s absolutely useless. And from what I gather, it’s impossible to change the language on these. This, combined with OG speakers, makes for quite the audio experience! I feel like I’m in high school again; lugging around my 20lb CD case wherever I go! I’m actually in the process of gathering up new speakers and head unit to get with the times!

Oh, I already am, dude. It's the people from my generation who know these cars. The kids nowadays have no clue, as with the older crowd. I at least tried to explain the car's significance to my 6 year old. She doesn't care about all that nonsense, but she does love the "whoosh noise" and the fact that there must be a small Japanese woman hiding inside my stereo who gives me random words of encouragement from time to time......

I’m just a coupe kind of a guy, I guess! And my daughter is old enough that she can climb her ass into the back seat. I’ll leave the sedan thing to my wife haha My plan is to build the Skyline (finances-willing), but not to the point where it becomes uncomfortable and annoying to drive. So many times I’ve made the mistake of modding cars until I can’t stand driving them. I’m getting too old to be uncomfortable in my own car. There’s just something about older cars that I’ve always loved. My wife has a 2018 Civic Sport. It’s a manual (requirement for our household), but it’s too easy to drive and completely silent on the road. I need road noise (within reason) and rattles and squeaks haha.

That's actually a good question haha. Basically, I've taken the Corvette about as far as I'd like to go with it (without another substantial investment). I have a daughter and the Corvette is very difficult to take places with the family, because of the lack of rear seats (obviously). I was looking into other American performance cars like the GTO (Monaro), G8 (Commodore), CTSV, Challenger, Charger, etc... They all have decent power and back seats. Problem is, everybody f**king has them. They're everywhere. To be completely honest, I'm not even really a big fan of American cars, besides the Corvette. On the other hand, I've always been in love with 90's Japanese cars, especially Honda's; my daily is a 98 EK Hatch (bone stock). I love the simplicity, and the feel of the car, so to speak. Unfortunately, Honda doesn't really have a performance car with back seats, besides the Type R. I test drove one at one point, super fun, but $40k, though? I looked into the USDM TT Supra, but have you seen the prices on these? That brought me into RHD territory, and nothing made more sense to me than the Skyline. I grew up playing Gran Turismo, watching the F&F movies (sue me), and wondering why the hell these cars were never sold here. Shit, until the day of my test drive, I had never even seen an R33 in real life. These are not cars you see on the street. I do rather enjoy seeing the looks of confusion on peoples' faces when they pull up next to me, trying to figure out what the hell kind of car that is, and why the idiot is sitting on the wrong side of the car. I wasn't prepared to spend $50k+ on a GTR, so I set my sights a little lower/realistically on the Type M. Less than half the price, but still a blast to drive. So here we are. I wouldn't exactly say that it's more satisfying to drive than the Corvette... I still prefer the feel of my face being pulled off when I launch it. I really enjoy the simplicity of it, the raw feeling of it. No driver aids, just me and the car. Sounds geeeey, but you get what I'm saying. It's different for you guys; you've been seeing these cars since Day 1, so it's no big deal. To us in the States, it's a unicorn.

It's an 02 Z06 with the original LS6, definitely not a swap. 43k miles. Stock bottom end, heads have been ported/polished, SS valves, Virginia Speed custom cam, LG Motorsports long tubes, Billy Boat Bullets exhaust with high flow cats, Vortech V1 supercharger running 8psi. Holley twin-pump return fuel system. It made 610whp/507wtq on 93 octane. Stock trans with a McLeod RST2 twin-disk, stock (whiny) 3.42 rear. Pfadt Johnny O'Connell shocks and swaybars, otherwise stock suspension lowered on aftermarket bolts. I don't race often, but my best 1/4 mile is 11.17 @ 131 mph.

That’ll be my next goal then; test the IACV apart, clean it and then reset the idle a bit higher. Thanks for the heads up.

It has the factory BOV, which is plumbed back into the intake.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen! For those who don't frequent the Newb section, my name is Jesse, I live in Virginia, and I just recently took a nose dive into Skyline ownership. I've always been in love with 90's JDM cars (I've owned strictly Honda's for a long time) and have always wanted a Skyline but never thought it would actually happen. Until a few years ago, I had no idea that these cars could be imported to the US under the 25 year rule. I was never really into the R32 and drooled over the R34 since my countless hours playing Gran Turismo back in the day. I've found that the R33 is basically the black sheep of the lineup, and that is what I love about it. So, once I figured out that the R33 was becoming legal, I decided to pursue a dream of mine. I searched for almost a year, up and down the East Coast, from Maine to Miami and couldn't quite find what I was looking for. I briefly considered handling the import work myself, but was quickly discouraged after hearing many horror stories about buying cars sight unseen. So my search continues. I found a dealer in Richmond called Japanese Classics and lurked around their inventory site for a month or so. One day, they posted a 95 GTS25T with 152K km and minimal mods. I immediately called to check the car out. No more than 30 seconds into the test drive, I decided that I had to have it. Keep in mind that I had never driven a RHD car in my life, so it was pretty weird. I'm ambidextrous, so it didn't take long at all to get comfortable. The car has/had a few small issues. Firstly, the OEM wheels are scarred up, the driver's door lock button locks the passenger door, but not the driver door. Also, while driving, every 3-4 seconds, the driver door lock actuates by itself, over and over, but doesn't actually lock the door. The HVAC clicks on startup, but it works fine; I hear this is very common. The passenger seat belt buckle was missing (and somehow passed VA Safety Inspection?). So, no different than any other old car I've ever owned. Again, I'm a 90's Honda guy, so I'm used to quirks. As far as mods, the car has an APEXi Dunk catback, decat pipe and pod filter. So, fast-forward a few days into ownership... I've been driving the car everywhere, ran through a tank of gas in 3 days. I quickly realized that I had a slight coolant leak. I used my test kit to pressurize the system and found the rad fill cap boss was leaking. I ended up purchasing a Mishimoto aluminum radiator and ISR upper and lower hoses. Before you guys trash my choice in radiators, I've already heard it and I've decided to just keep an eye on it in case something happens. As of this post, everything is fine. While the car was on the lift, I decided to change the engine, trans and diff oils. All looked good, just old (especially the diff). I did a good visual inspection and found no leaks and very minimal rust (one small spot where the front bumper meets the drivers fender), easily repairable. This car definitely gets a lot of attention in traffic. I get the typical, "Hey, you're on the wrong side!" or, "Where'd this thing come from? Germany?" and my favorite, "Is that a GTR? No? Why didn't you buy a GTR?" Actually the other night, putting back through my neighborhood, I hear a guy yell out, "HOLY SHIT A GTR! Please rev it!". A huge reason why I wanted this car was because I wanted something unique, something you don't see every day. I have since replaced all the exterior/interior lights with LED's; it took hours to cross reference all the bulb numbers since they're different in the US. The other night, I decided to replace the spark plugs and inspect the coil packs. I'm glad I checked, because 4 of the 6 plugs were just past finger-tight and had evidence of gas leaks. The plugs definitely looked original and were nasty. I replaced them with Denso Iridiums and all has been well since. Through my short time owning this car, I've found that the car has a weird idle issue. Normally, cold and hot, it idles fine...runs and drives fine also. When I'm in traffic, or moving around in the driveway, the throttle response gets sluggish and when the RPMs settle back to idle, they drop to almost 0 and the car has shut off on my three times now in traffic. I've SeaFoamed the hell out of the intake tract, changed the plugs and cleaned the Idle Air Control Valve (without disassembling it) and there's been no change. My plant is to actually disassemble and scrub the IACV and see what happens. I look forward to learning more about this car and getting to know you guys. Thanks for the opportunity. P.S. I can also confirm that my car did not come with the rare, optional light-up rear garnish. Dangit.

I'll do that. Thanks for the heads up! Luckily, the high temps have finally left (if only for a week or so). I don't daily this car; I've got a 98 EK Hatch for that). The Skyline just sits in the garage with the other toys haha. Speaking of toys...

Could you guys be more specific? What about them is garbage? I mean, it’s already in the car so I’m committed. I’ll keep an eye on it, like I normally do anyways. I’m used to driving older cars so I pay close attention to any weird noises, feelings, etc. I’ve also been in the car game long enough to know that no matter what you buy (car or parts), there’s always someone that says it’s garbage. If it fails I’ll fix it haha

That's crazy! I found a few online for between 7-800. I'm gonna see about getting mine working. I'd still like to retain the OEM look with the greenish blue light. I guess we'll see!

I'm learning something new about this car every day, I swear. I'm a mechanic by trade so I learn by tearing shit apart; I was never much on homework ?.

Well I'll be damned; I didn't know that was a thing. I'll have to dig a little deeper and see about getting mine to work.

Wait, that’s supposed to light up??? Mine does not. Yes, I’m well aware the wheels are trash. Im working on getting the Jap stereo out of there and then I’ll be getting the wheels and tires straight!

I don’t have too many photos as of right now... but here are a couple more... ”Hey buddy, you’re sittin on the wrong side!” ? First “mod” was replacing the leaky OEM radiator with a Mishimoto unit. I guess this car sat for months before being shipped here, and I’ve been driving it everywhere on 95+ degree days so it was bound to pop!

Thanks! It looks like it was painted maybe a few years ago, but has one little spot of rust where the front bumper meets the drivers fender, easily repairable. I do some car detailing as a side gig, so I’ve got plans to try out a paint correction and ceramic coating. ??

Good evening everybody! My name is Jesse and I’m the proud new owner of a 95 Skyline GTS25T! This is actually my first foray into RHD territory. I’ve always been a 90’s Honda guy at heart; I’ve owned many good (and bad) Civics and Preludes over the years. I’ve also got a C5Z06 Corvette with “a little” work done. I’ve always been in love with Skylines and jumped at the chance to own a piece of Japanese automotive history. I’ve had this Skyline for a few weeks now and so far, I love it. She only has an HKS intake and an APEXi catback, full exterior LED conversion, but otherwise stock. Right now I’m just working on the usual maintenance stuff and soon I hope to get started with a mild build. I look forward to learning more about this car and its limits! Thanks!