Looking At Buying A Gtr With Low Compression On 3 Cylinders.

[N1GTR]

Post up a list of the parts used in those quotes

There's so much GTR experience on here, you'll get unbiased advice on whats needed and whats not for your intended use of the car

[NickR33]

LOL at BB

I kinda agree with Femno its not a bad decision buying a car in need of a rebuild but I would never buy a car sight unseen

Only real downside is not being able to drive the the car... driving it is where you ascertain the condition of the driveline (gearbox, clutch, diffs, transfer case etc)

Its a gamble but buying cars is always a gamble... x 10 if its a turbo import

Those quotes are pretty damn cheap, budget for twice that and you will be safe... also offer the guy 10K and see if he's interested... can't hurt;)

[Beer Baron]

why ask for advice then if you only want to listen to people who tell you it's a great idea? as someone with experience with lots of engine builds I can tell you $4.5K will get you bugger all when it comes to an engine that is stuffed and full of ceramic. especially since this engine has had turbine wheel through it most likely head is throw away, block too, new head and new block, new pistons and if you're smart new oil heat exchange and new intercooler, and then start on the rebuild, plus labour to remove and re-fit and the bill starts mounting up. but hey, if a workshop that is looking for business told you it's true then it must be. I can think of plenty of people who get 'quotes' from a workshop only to end up with a bill at double the original price. did either of those quotes include 2 new turbos? because you would have to be retarded to put some ceramic time bombs back on your brand new engine. so figure at least $2500 for some steel wheel garrets. that's half your rebuild budget gone just on the turbos. but what would I know.....

[outlaw32]

why ask for advice then if you only want to listen to people who tell you it's a great idea? as someone with experience with lots of engine builds I can tell you $4.5K will get you bugger all when it comes to an engine that is stuffed and full of ceramic. especially since this engine has had turbine wheel through it most likely head is throw away, block too, new head and new block, new pistons and if you're smart new oil heat exchange and new intercooler, and then start on the rebuild, plus labour to remove and re-fit and the bill starts mounting up. but hey, if a workshop that is looking for business told you it's true then it must be. I can think of plenty of people who get 'quotes' from a workshop only to end up with a bill at double the original price. did either of those quotes include 2 new turbos? because you would have to be retarded to put some ceramic time bombs back on your brand new engine. so figure at least $2500 for some steel wheel garrets. that's half your rebuild budget gone just on the turbos. but what would I know.....

this is the advice i was looking for at the start of possible issues i could come across i just didnt need the sarcasm

[Beer Baron]

look, if you had owned 5 GTRs and been through 3 different RB26 rebuilds and had built up relationships with various tuners and workshops and suppliers then it's probably a reasonable idea. but since you don't know a lot about GTRs, or engine builds or any of the specific problems they both have I would say you are leaving yourself open to a world of hurt. given how stupid cheap all model GTRs are right now there is just not a good reason to make your first GTR one that isn't working. enough of them go from great to broken as it is! at least start with one that works. if down the track you decide you want a project then by all means go for it. but I just think it's a bad place to be with your first GTR. there are so many nice, neat, running, cheap GTRs out there.

[PM-R33]

I agree with Beer Baron. Why go through all the headaches?

Unless you could build half the engine yourself and get parts cheap than go for it. If not, i wouldn't bother.

Edited June 10, 2009 by PM-R33

[R.3.2.G.T.R]

im looking at a rebuild shortly, been quoted around 8k from well known melb shop (cracked ringlands)

- forged pistons

- forged rods

- full bearing set

- crank collar

- crank oil gallery tapped and scew

- oil restrictor

- redesigned sump baffle

- metal head gasket

- N1 oil pump

- genuine water pump

- timing belt

- new gaskets and seals

- all machined and balanced

- head check - crack, pressure test and decked. (if valve guides or seals need replacing additional cost will be added)

- external oil return from head to sump

- run in and tuned

back on OT, if you can afford 10k for rebuild, buy the car and rebuild via good workshop, after that you will have peace of mind.. even with most gtr's floating around, buying one in good nick doesnt mean it wont fail down the line, unless u find an example with recent rebuild..

[some_cs_student]

Just wondering, with all these 6-8K rebuilds, is that engine removed + rebuild + engine back in?

Or is it 6K for the engine rebuilt + labor for installation / removal...

[SiR_RB]

how much power do you wanna make? maybe even a basic rebuild will suit ur needs.

ive seen an engine on here for sale, cant remember whos selling it, had perfect compression, (i think 170psi across each cylinder), only 44000kms for pretty cheap

youve got afew options, it all comes down to how u wanna go about it

goodluck

Edited June 10, 2009 by SiR_RB

[shanef]

If its got other good quality bolt on bits like ecu, exhaust, afm's, suspension etc then i say go for it.

But coming into the import scene fresh and having no relationships with workshops/suppliers (like BB said), be very careful and get everything in writing, there are ALOT of shonky people around that are more than willing to rape u stupid and think nothing of it.

[N1GTR]

Just wondering, with all these 6-8K rebuilds, is that engine removed + rebuild + engine back in?

Or is it 6K for the engine rebuilt + labor for installation / removal...

Thats one thing to be very careful of

[Brezza]

hey mate,

i would say dont buy it!

i'm going through my first rebuild and all i did was spun a bearing in a R32 GTR.

the price is up to 10k, should be getting it back next week.

its taken 10 weeks for the rebuild to be done, and the car was sitting in the garage for 3 weeks before the mechanic even saw the car.

the headache of not having a car for that long is terrible.

trust me, you're getting a LEMON!

if you cant afford a good condition GTR "DONT BUY ONE"

i have spent just about 20k on my R32 over the past 2 years, and i bought it for 18,500 and it was stock.

spent $3k on turbos, $1k exhaust, $2k clutch, $2k suspension

the bill just goes on

someones gonna have to put the TLC and the $$$ into the one you're looking at, the big question is:

'do you want that to be you?'

shop around a little more

just my two cents

BREZ

[femno]

Well if youre considering buying the car not-running, then im guessing the troubles of not having the car to get around in wouldnt apply to you.

This could be a good start to the world of GTR ownership...I did exactly what youre thinking of doing about 4 years ago, bought my car with engine in a million pieces, thought it would be cheap to fix it up myself and have a great car. At the end of it, 18k and a year later I had a built gtr with an immac paintjob and it drove perfectly, I was lucky though. And did all of the work myself apart from applying the paint and machining the engine, if i didnt do it myself it would have been a hell of alot more!

What everyone is trying to say is that rebuilds wont cost just 4.5-6k, theyre more along the lines of 10-15k+, and thats speaking from people who have actually done it, such as myself (second engine). Have you read the thread of the 25/30 build that went from 16k? to 22k?. lol. Same principle.

So dont get a fright when a 4.5k rebuild turns into a 10-15k rebuild like we all said.

As stated it depends what you intend to do with the car. What is your power goal??? Street?? Occasional track use?? Frequent track use??

If you want to run say 250-300kw then maybe just buy a running example...and mod that. Even if you bought this and threw a s/h motor in, its still gonna cost you a fair bit to change it over, with added headaches of possible dodgy second hand motors...it could get real ugly.

If you want say 350kw odd, a built engine is preferable, so buy this, rebuild it properly, and be done with it.

Since you know not-much about GTRs, buy the car, tow it straight to Racepace, have 10-15k ready in your pocket, talk to Ben, pick the car up in a few weeks and enjoy a non-problematic GTR (fingers crossed), with an engine you know wont break a week after you pick it up.

It all depends on how adventurous you are!!!

Just my recommendation.

[James_03]

full to the brim with ceramic goodness.

run*.

[Penfold]

Remember, without being able to test drive the car you don't know the condition of anything else - clutch, gearbox & little things like power windows, stereo. The guy selling it probably bought a "cheap" GTR and can't afford to rebuild the engine - hence the sale. It doesn't have a roadworthy, you can't drive it. What the guys are saying is it would need to be $10,000 cheaper than a similar car in decent condition to justify the risks/inconvenience involved.

[Angus Smart]

i'd be looking more close to 10k for a drive in drive out engine build using decent bits..

with possible new block/used decent condition one thrown in there..

you will be supprised how quick the bits for a gtr will add up.

i'd hate to think what i have spent so far on my build and i am a tight ass bargain shopper