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I've owned a few cars over my years of driving; a couple of 180's, a silvia (which ended out as a onevia), a cefiro and the sil80 that still sits at home. I've been on the lookout for my new ride for quite some time now (as a number of you would be aware)...

I was semi undecided on what i wanted to do, i had urges to build up the sil80 and bought quite a few upgrades for it however i didn't want to build another street car that couldn't be driven due to it's impracticality - which i knew would happen. I don't quite remember how, but as i was in the midst of indecision about turning away from 2 door coupes to something more family oriented (although no family yet or too soon i hope :/) and after looking at a number of different options from holden and ford (i know, i know) i found a few prime examples of stageas on japanese blogs and discovered i had a soft spot for cleanly modified wagons - how can anyone say no to a pimp 2.5L turbo wagon?!?

Anywho, this was probably 6 or more months ago and i've been looking for the right car ever since. There were a few nice examples that popped up on auctions in japan but nothing that really took my breath away and, generally speaking, the level of local modified stageas isn't too flash either (no offense guys :D). These were my thoughts, anyway, until i found Ian and Jodie's stag for sale on here and i HAD to have it. After talking to Ian for a couple of weeks (incredibly helpful and all round top bloke) the missus and i flew up to coolangatta on friday to check the car out, i couldn't fault it - it was immaculate, so i handed over the cheque and we began the drive back to adelaide. We arrived back home yesterday after a weekend of driving (~26 hours give or take) which i'd quite happily say is some of the best i have experienced yet :)

Enough dribble for now though, specs as it sits are as follows:

1998 s2 RS-V (factory rear wheel drive)

Switchable traction control

R33 GTR Brembo Brakes all 'round

R33 GTR Intercooler

CUSCO 1.5 or 2 way LSD (unsure what it is as i've not had a chance to look yet but it's tight :P)

Tein HR/HA Coilovers - dampener adj't/height adj't (car is pictured at max height adjustment)

18" Stich Dish Rims (will be for sale soon)

Genuine Garage Impul Front Recaros (full tiltable to suit 2 doors too!)

Genuine Dolphin Full Bodykit

Dolphin Bar Grille (Chrome)

Dolphin Roof Panels (to delete ugly black rails on stock Stageas)

Aftermarket tail light covers

Full Respray (GTR colour)

Nismo Exhaust

Strut Tower Brace

K&N panel filter

Mongoose alarm/immobiliser

High End Sony CD/MD Player and Speakers

Apexi Rev Speed Meter

HKS EVC4 Electronic Boost Controller

Blitz Turbo Timer

Apexi SAFC2

Before the SAFC2 was installed it was made 297HP on .09 bar which is ~220rwkw according to last owner (dyno sheet provided) however i'll get a tune eventually and see how i go :)

I've already purchased new wheels for her, work VS-KF in shaddow chrome finish 18x9.5+15 all 'round, just need to get some rubber put on and i'll fit them up, along with a Dolphin roof spoiler (rather large :D) to replace the current small one. I've purchased a rear strut brace and an exhaust too however i'll see how much the brace impacts my boot space and the exhaust will deff be different for a stag so undecided if i'll run that also.

My initial plans were to change the transmission to manual eventually however i'm rather surprised how much i like the auto in it - it certainly made the drive back easier and the tiptronic with steering wheel shift is good if you want a more controlled/spirited drive :)

Here's a few pics, i'll update with some current ones when i get around to washing the layer of bugs that she's covered in off :lol:

003.jpg

DSC02071.jpg

Enjoy, i know i will :D

welcom to the sa stag crew! haha what end of adelaide u live in? pretty keen to c this beast in flesh! pitty u didnt come out yesterday :)

nearish the kmart on anzacs as a rough locator. i would have loved to come out yesterday, however dependant on time we would have been somewhere between griffith and adelaide :D

cheers for the comments guys, by far the nicest car i have ever driven

We'll miss this machine... When Mike gets to take it thru the 'hills down there when nobody's around, and he finds close the limits of those brakes and coils, he's gonna shake all over....! But don't push it too far mate!

With same weight and not much less poke than the GTR33 I've driven, it's an exhilirating car, and a better handler all round. Those who think the rwd makes Stags unstable haven't driven a well sprung one like this car!

I'll stick to the 13.7 sec NA Honda for a while... but I'm sure to be back behind an RB one of these days! Country comfort calls! Should pick up our XT this week! Euro just not quite practical enough for the kids and the mutt!

  • 4 weeks later...

well a bit of a quick update, got my new wheels on now so old wheels are also for sale (make an offer!)

need to play with ride height (want to bring front down 10mm and raise rear maybe 15) and have a few more goodies on the way for it but this is as it sits now.. trying to keep it as jap styled as possible! :)

100_0588.jpg

Edited by M I K E

Awesome looking stagea... I remember seeing this one advertised on J-Spec. Only thing that put me off was the 2WD... but it sure had the mods.

edit: done any cruising? is the nismo exhaust 'droney' around 2,500 revs? I think it has a cannon at the back so I guess it is...

Edited by DaveB

2wd is part of the reason i got it :(

the exhaust isn't overly droney, it's actually pretty quiet ;) not that it matters though - new and somewhat 'left field' exhaust will be being made soonish... when i get the time!

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The signal does NOT go to the ECU first, the wiring goes to the cluster first then the ECU after (or so I'm told).  Problems/Roadblocks I first removed the part from the car on the underside of the transfer case (drain your transfer case fluid/ATF first, guess who found out that the hard way?), and noted the transfer case fluid was EXTREMELY black, most likely never changed on my car. When attempting to turn the gears it felt extremely gritty, as if shttps://imgur.com/6TQCG3xomething was binding the shaft from rotating properly. After having to reflow the solder on my AFM sensors based on another SAU guide here, I attempted to disassemble the silicone seal on the back of the sensor to see what happened inside the sensor; turns out, it basically disintegrated itself. Wonderful. Not only had the electrical components destroyed themselves, the magnetic portion on what I thought was on the shaft also chipped and was broken. Solution So solution: find a spare part right? Wrong. Nissan has long discontinued the proper sensor part number 32702-21U19, and it is no longer obtainable either through Nissan NSA or Nissan Japan. I was SOL without proper speed or mileage readings unless I figured out a way to replace this sensor. After tons of Googling and searching on SAU, I found that there IS however a sensor that looks almost exactly like the R33/260RS one: a sensor meant for the R33/R34 GTT and GTS-T with the 5 speed manual. The part number was 25010-21U00, and the body, plug, and shaft all looked exactly the same. The gear was different at the end, but knowing the sensor's gear is held on with a circlip, I figured I could just order the part and swap the gears. Cue me ordering a new part from JustJap down in Kirrawee, NSW, then waiting almost 3 weeks for shipping and customs clearing. The part finally arrives and what did I find? The freaking shaft lengths don't match. $&%* I discussed with Erik how to proceed, and figuring that I basically destroyed the sensor trying to get the shaft out of the damaged sensor from my car. we deemed it too dangerous to try and attempt to swap shafts to the correct length. I had to find a local CNC machinist to help me cut and notch down the shaft. After tons of frantic calling on a Friday afternoon, I managed to get hold of someone and he said he'd be able to do it over half a week. I sent him photos and had him take measurements to match not only the correct length and notch fitment, but also a groove to machine out to hold the retentive circlip. And the end result? *chef's kiss* Perfect. Since I didn't have pliers with me when I picked up the items, I tested the old gear and circlip on. Perfect fit. After that it was simply swapping out the plug bracket to the new sensor, mount it on the transfer case, refill with ATF/Nissan Matic Fluid D, then test out function. 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