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Hi all. I already posted some newbie-ish questions here and there but this will be my first "big" post. Last summer I went and fulfilled a kind of childhood wish, because I just thought I needed this experience in my life no matter what. The car I bought is a mildly modded 1995 BCNR33 Vspec. It was repainted to a metallic orange color all around and it had all windows reseated. Not so well done black respray in the trunk and a metallic black in the engine bay. From outside it looks very nice except for a minor paint error on the roof and the rear spats needing new adhesive tape. The inside is pretty clean and no broken plastics, missing or faded buttons. Even the adjustable mirrors and trunk antenna work like a charm. Despite a moderately long list of issues I don't (yet) regret buying this car. Most mechanical problems are just due to age, like worn rubbers here and there. The underside sadly has lots of corrosion, especially to the back. It looks like it either has been driven in the winter for a while or it lived near the saltwater in Japan, the rust is nothing terrible but it'll require to be looked after. Mostly panel gaps and all the mounted components underneath are a bit crusty, but I don't think anywhere has progressed so badly that there's going to be holes. Front right jacking rail is crushed and needs some care so it doesn't develop into a rust crater at some point. Worst part is definitely the strut towers. I thought they looked fine but after taking off the strut bar I noticed that it actually started bulging up on the passenger side. Probably would have passed on the car or negotiated down by some thousand Euros more if I had noticed this before buying, but here we are. Trunk area also has signs that there was a water leak to the interior once but nothing too crazy, I guess lots of Skylines had this at some point. As for the list of (known) issues, I'll try to make this compact. I hope the coloring is self explanatory. Mechanical: -Various busted or soon-to-be busted rubber bushings and ball joints. Will replace ball joints with OEM or better and bushings with polyurethane where possible. -Shaking steering wheel at above 80kph -downshift from 5th to 4th is a bit crunchy unless I rev-match, might just try to renew the shifter assembly, but it's not a priority issue -tailshaft centre bearing could use a replacement, is it worth going 1-piece tailshaft as it doesn't look too fresh all around? Chassis: -underbody corrosion on many spots and in hollow spaces, needs to be treated -corrosion on many bolts, hoses, lines, suspension components, subframes, will be treated when replacing of the bushings is needed as time goes on -strut tower top panels and some of the surrounding panels are rusty, so needs fixing. Will look into doing this with a buddy in the winter, otherwise bite the bullet and pay a professional -driver side door is misaligned to the body and needs to go a slight bit more inwards -both door windows are misaligned and have an airgap where the window meets the door at the B pillar -The Aerocatch latches for the bonnet have locks but no keys, need new keys. -driver side door window is kind of gritty and could use a polish -damaged jacking rails and front frame rails, from people lifting the car the wrong way, might have this fixed by a bodyshop Electrical: -Nismo tachometer is just bouncing and displaying nonsense, supposedly worked fine when the stock ECU was still in the car -An old Greddy boost controller sits on the dash which will be removed as it servers no purpose anymore. -a led segment rpm gauge is on the steering column, will probably also be (re-)moved once the Nismo tacho is working correctly -there was an attempt to make the sound system better by the previous owner but it was just inducing noise all the time, ripped out the amp and filters in the back, no music for now -trunk antenna goes up as long as the radio is on regardless of the mode, I want it to only rise if I choose Radio specifically or per switch -3rd brake light is a bit dimmer than the taillights but everything was converted to LEDs so mabye now it just seems dimmer? -reverse light flickers, have to test if that behavior changes when I fiddle with the gear stick. Hope I can get around changing the switch. -Left side taillight, blinker section has minor water intake and is humid after washing. Other side has a hole in it, probably for that exact reason. I'll probably reseal them entirely and plug the holes. Engine: -minor coolant drips on one or the other hose -rear turbo leaks oil onto the exhaust making the car essentially undriveable due to fire hazard -Oil filter relocation kit has an oil drip at the Dash lines, will probably make a new connection there and tighten real good and pray -throttle body assembly is slightly stuck for the first throttle pedal input after sitting for a while I'm always open to suggestions and advice from more experienced people, I'm sure half of this list is easily dealt with and just requires some time and effort to sort out properly. Once I have some proper pictures of the car I will post some in this thread, I just have to remember to take some more once I get the chance to. Will post updates when I have news on anything, I want to try to keep this thread as kind of a logbook as well. Ultimately my goal for this car is to just enjoy it. An engine rebuild is probably going to happen sometime as well, because it is old after all. It will never be fully new again, I am just not that rich. But I want it to look good, work well and not rot away while I drive it. I'm probably gonna spend a lot of money on this journey, hopefully not an unreasonable amount.

Hi guys, Been out of the scene for some time but i am finally in the market to purchase a gtr. I am currently looking at one that has surface rust all underneath, however, on the strut tops and in the boot-well are completely clean. As the car came out of factory with the cold weather package i am a little weary that there is rust places with limited access without removing panels or jamming a camera between panels etc. I am just wondering if anyone can recommend a panel shop that knows skylines quite well and can go over the car for me before purchasing around the Blacktown area. Also just wanted to see what everyone's thoughts are of the rust underneath and strut tops. It seems to me that the strut tops look all original but i am a little iffy as the sealant on the seams is quite thick in places compared to the gtst that i had a few years back.

So my engine blew up, so for the time being I got a rolling body ?. So while I have the chance I want to do some rust and interior repairs... Is it worth remvoving all the rust from the big bar that’s behind the dash and steering column and then re-spraying it with new silver zink spray or am I going into a rabbit hole which is going to be difficult to come out of? If it is worth it and I’m going to do it, does anyone have any advice for me? Cheers in advance

So on one of my many trips under the R33 I have found a fairly noticeable section of rust at the rear jack point on the passenger side. Its big enough to need, I would believe, for a section of metal to be cut out and a new one welded in. So Im assuming that any old smash repair shop could do this work, but on contacting one I find that this isn't the case and Id need to find someone who specialises in rust repair. So my questions are... Do you know of anywhere reliable on the east side of the city that can do this work? and Have you repaired similar? how much did it cost you? thanks

Can you use polish on small rust spots? I've got a very small rust spot on my car, no bigger than 1-2mm that just recently started to rust after i accidentally scratched it a few months ago., I saw a youtube video saying that you can just get polish to remove the rust by wiping down on it hard. I also had a friend tell me to wipe it hard with vinegar, but is that safe for the paint around the stratch? Also if i dont treat the rust, will it just continue rusting from underneath the paint from the areas surrounding the rust? Ive already bought touch up paint but im not sure the best way to remove the small rust spot without f**king the paint. thanks.

Battery acid / paint damage / Negative cable oxidised Obligitory I f***ed up and now i'm paying for it. A year back i went interstate for about 3.5 months and left my car in a mates back yard with a tarp over it. I'd left a lead acid battery connected thinking that i'd just jump start it when i got back. Came back and i had a big star shape of rust under the bonnet above the battery and further surface rust below the battery area. Wonderful. Fast forward a bit, change of address and saved some cash, and firstly, can't find a competent person that can actually tackle this engine bay damage properly, and neutralise whatever the hell it is on the paintwork. I am assuming it is battery acid/vapor damage but i have no idea what happened. I've paid a bloke 900$ in Dandenong (Vic) to crack at it and all his paint is just bubbling up and peeling off again. On their warranty card it says they don't cover rust and he doesn't want anything further to do with it particularly. I've put a brand new lead acid from repco in there and the thing worked for about two weeks and now it won't hold a charge at all. Alternator is giving me 14.4 when i jump it, fortunately i had the alternator reconditioned only 20,000 km's ago. I've noticed some oxidisation on that main negative lead thats soldered and screwed to the chassis but unsure if this can prevent a battery from charging. At the end of the day, i think i've got f**ked battery and it has been leaking down its back all over my engine bay again, no idea why, it's 5 weeks old. I plan to replace it with a dry battery if i can find one that fits. I'll note that on this R34 the battery compartment was really tight and i pulled out a white tray that used to be under the battery. Is it neccesary or no? I know for example my Falcon has its own plastic surround for cooling. This one On the R34 is just sitting on the chassis held with a clamp. Questions i suppose, recommend a type of dry battery thats correct for 34 Gtt? Can a bad negative connection prevent a battery from charging? Why do these lead acid batteries keep freaking bubbling over ( amplified sound system in car too much strain?) Know someone in vic that knows how to tackle rust/acid or an auto elec familiar with fault finding electrics in skylines. Thanks for your time. I'm aware i f***ed up. cheers