Marlin

Thought I'd pipe up and say how stoked i/our team are with the Targa Tassy event and our result! We were running in Showroom class in a bog standard 2001 bug-eye Sti. We managed a Class win (9SRE), Category win (entire showroom, Porsche GT2 n all!), and 14th Outright. An awesome event! As you all prob know, a lifelong dream to compete! The car performed perfectly, just requiring a replacement front hub assembly end day 2. (Bearing) A very confident and commited drive by my driver Jason on day 3 was a highlight for me, even managing to beat Gentleman Jim on one stage! Not to mention 48klms of Mt Arrowsmith on day 5, with sleet, black ice, AND snow, all at up to 200klm/h! AWESOME !!!!!!!!!! The only downer we had was the transponders fitted to the cars wouldn't allow our car to start! AND a big thumbs up to all the volunteers at the event. I didn't speak with one who wasn't a total pleasure! Congratulations!

'04 runout model 4WD Magna. Call me old, but you can't beat that for value. And if you actually drive one you'd prob agree. They "drive" and feel japanese (read: good) and get up and boogie too. Economy is good, and 35K may get a VRX version?

I saw a 33 4 door a few years back that was imported by some panel beater/compliancer out Brisbane's Capalaba way. Can't say it did much for me, I loved the thought of it, but it just didn't look quite right. Maybe because the things roof was flat to the door sills, and the guy was repairing it to sell! Apparently it fell off the top of a car transporter in Japan! I often wonder where that ended up?

You actually need an International Rally to compete in Targa, at least in the Modern Competition I'm in anyway. Next Month is Targa Tassie!!! :aroused:

I have an International Rally License, does anyone else find these extraordinarily expensive to maintain?

It popped 'cause somone forgot to do up the harmonic balancer didn't they! This meant it lost belt drive for the dry sump pump and picked up on the bottom end. But your right.......... I'm glad I don't have to pull it out all the time. Theo's got wing nuts on it now!

Theo drove down from Brissy and now he's turnin around and goin home! Just spoke to him on the ph. Bit of a shame, he popped the engine on monday testing at Willowbank, went flat out for 2 days to fix it, got there to Sydney, and it rains! Woulda bin interesting, it made 770hp ATW. 2.6l, no gas.

The wharves have cameras now and dont tolerate that rubbish anymore. Apparently! I know of an instance a few years ago at Brisbane wharf. We went to pick up a car, and there was no steering wheel. We asked where it went, and no one could answer us and said it never did have one. When questioned on how they drove it off the ship, they clammed up real tight! We drove it home with vice grips turnin the steering shaft!

Yeah, thats the car, its pretty tidy, and Pearl white which is a bit hard to find in a Stag. Screamin for a set of feet though!

There's about 15 or so at Brisbane Street Machines yard. Last weeks trading post saw one of theirs for 18 grand. Cheap car! They've got a real late one too with the R34 NEO update and rear drive. I DO like that!

My two bobs worth? TJ2 Magna Sports wagon! Truly impressive for the value and ease of servicing. Nothin worse than havin the Missus screamin in your ear 'cause the bloody car's waitin for parts out of Japan! And I would have the auto "tipronic", quite good and suits the car better. A really sweet engine too cosidering what it's in. Believe it or not I actually had one until recently, and it was capable of rounding up and passing the following cars at Darlington Park raceway. Esprit Turbo, SV8 VY Dunnydoore, AU XR8 Ute, and a few other "sporties". A few 33's too! Was around 3 seconds slower than an STi Subaru MY02 on the full open circuit. Never had an issue in 80,000k's. Still hit the 215klm/h limiter with ease! And they fit 9" wide Skyline wheels! Fit a set of Bendix Ultimate pads all round and enjoy!

I can see it............ Nup.

Maybe a stonger set of billet drive shafts for the front will minimise the wind-up? If you have got huge power, your gonna need something in the diff aren't you! I've heard good things about the handling transformation on a circuit with these diffs. Are you a straights or a corners man?

G'day Keith, from my perspective, it's a by-product of the Cusco front diff centre and the cross ply tyre your using. Theo (a mate w-/ 9 sec GTR) experiences this now since installing a front 1 way locker. He installed this diff when the car started turning the front tyres alternately at high MPH under load. He says it was even worse when he tried a "traditional" drag tyre as well. A stickier tyre will increase the effect of axle wind up due to unequel length front drive shafts. It was enough to touch the wall in fact! (He normally runs off the shelf Federal street tyres). Apparently he now has to release the power and straighten it up during a run. Feel free to contact him, he'd be stoked to talk to you. [email protected] Great looking car mate. All the best with it!

I have a little first hand experience with what a carbon skinned fibreglass bonnet does in an impact. See, my mechanic decided to drive my car after a wheel alignment, even though he had strict instructions not to! Anyway, he didnt clip the bonnet down, and it flipped up and wrapped over the roof! Suprisingly little damage, but it "broke it's back" and splintered a little, so not worth repairing. Luckily for me, the shop's insurance paid for a fresh one to be moulded from the original, and it was REAL fully bagged carbon! I think it weighed about 5kg all up, and was so strong it didn't need clips. The difference between this and those s##t replica ones from Sydney? is massive! I've seen plenty of those just de-laminate! So, I don't actually think they're any more dangerous than a alloy/steel bonnet, but the mod plate guy I saw wouldn't "plate" the mod for me. Not that the car had a cat/filters/or much legal anyway!

Standard GTR gasket thickness is 1.2mm.

I know of a 33 GTS-t in Qld for sale already done with full house RB26/big Brembos/Apexi turbos/new internals/suspension/cage/GTR diff,axles/da da da. Set up for circuit mainly, but has run high tens at drags if thats your thing. Is street registered. I've driven this car, it is much fun! Maybe get that and fine tune it to your tastes? After building several cars, that's what I'd do next. Just me............

I went through it with my 32 GTR with firstly a carbon skinned replica, then a genuine full carbon bonnet, and neither was deemed legal. (As per a liscensed mod plater anyway). No insurance company I've dealt with wants to know about it. If any of them did cover it, I'd be very interested to see a claim process if a significant or fatal injury occured due to the bonnet. If you look at a standard bonnet near the hinges, there is a "hook and catch" to arrest the bonnet in a frontal impact. No doubt to try and stop the rear edge going through the windscreen and reaching the occupants.

I went like this; new'93 WRX sedan (10gearboxes, then sold the sh*tter) , new '98 WRX wagon (kept std, only broke 2 gearboxes and sold the sh*tter), then I woke up, built a 11sec flat 32 GTR that I always wanted, tuned 350 odd rwkw, stepped off the clutch and fried tyres in third, never broke a box, da da da.... Loved it, sold it, cryin!

That guy from the US was posting around for a while here recently tryin to suss info on how to make a 26 go. Looks like he gave up/ran out/whatever.

That's what I thought! We're comin down for Targa Tassie in the sh*tter in April and we're gonna have to ship it down too! Are you any closer to gettin another 32 for Targa?

All my pleasure my man, but I still miss her! Good to see you got it tuned. It was really screaming for a more aggressive tune after I built that new engine! Can you get any decent fuel down there yet? If not, what do you run it on? If you need a hand with a clutch, I can get you a good deal on a twin plate new, or if you wanna turn into a drag boy, and don't mind getting it rebuilt pretty often, I can getcha a clutch that's worth at least 3 tenths on the strip! BTW, how's your kidneys goin? Any better yet???

Fully sick maaaate! Gotta get me a GTR won day!

Sure will, if you put the GTR gaurds on it too!

McJeff I did this. Bought a clean (not F*cked) GTR, rented a shed, pulled it apart - everything, dipped shell, re built - everything, re- assembled to concoarse standard, modified many things along the way for performance/reliability etc... Total build time - 4 years. (using mainly weekends and nights) (I am an experienced marine engineer by trade so I knew what I was doing) build cost - $80G plus. Was it worth the exercise? - doubtful Would I do it again? - Absolutely! Did I lose money when I sold it recently - yes, obscene amounts. Overall, not a task I'd recommend for a 17 year old for a first project. Get a Datsun 1600 or something!