Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

How good a replica? I'd have paid more than 15k for a proper, coupe lookalike. The above one is a sedan. Would take many, many weeks of cutting and wealding by someone who had been doing such work for decades to turn it into a coupe (the thinner the metal, the more delicate the design, the harder it is to sculpt). Most Aussie 240Ks out there are late 70s, the Japense Skylines that look the best (opinion) are the early 70s ones. I have no experience in making a copy but apart from the number of doors, there looks like there'd be enough differences to make the cloning a big, big job (not like just bolting GTR bodywork to a GTT). There aren't bolt on kits for these things, all has to be custom made (preferably and out of metal for a proper result). If you wanted to make a GTR replica this is the wrong car to start it with. There's just no way of getting a good, desirable classic car cheaply except from the old widow down the road who's had it sitting in her garage under sheets for 20 years.

The hot rod was just an example. 1935-1940 rods are the cheapest Ford to build 'cause the 35-40 Ford is the cheapest thing to buy. Very hard to find a finished one with no real bodywork sculpting, a shit engine, a nice paint job etc. under $40k (an all there, rust free paddock car could be aquired for around 4k). Was just aiming at the point that if you did a lot of work on a car that someone will pay a lot for when it's finished, you'll have a lot more spending power to buy something you really want. As I said, the best of the best just don't come cheap.

As for my car, yes I drive a 'vette; quite heavily modified. New to the modern Japanese thing but I've liked the old stuff for a little while. I'm looking to get something Jap for daily transport (Corvette has a crash cage in front of the boot). I think I'll probably get an S15, I like light weight and rearwheel drive (like the Corvette). And you're right, I don't know all that much about them, that's why I'm here; to learn. What I do know though, is about restoring old cars (American and Japanese cars were both made out of metal or fibreglass at one point). And from experience, if you're going to restore something like that, it's gonna either take years or a lot of $$$. I'm suggesting that one should seek an old Fairlady Sports, 240Z or Japanese, 2dr Skyline to restore if you're going to commit to such a big job.

FIY there's an early Skyline (think a '74) hatch/coupe for sale in America, immaculately restored for US$45k. I'd say that price will be reflecting what the owner spent on restoring it.

I prefer the pre-1972 body shape. Anyone know of any in Australia? I'd be very interested if a driving one could be had for somewhere in the 0-30k region.

How good a replica? I'd have paid more than 15k for a proper, coupe lookalike. The above one is a sedan. Would take many, many weeks of cutting and wealding by someone who had been doing such work for decades to turn it into a coupe (the thinner the metal, the more delicate the design, the harder it is to sculpt). Most Aussie 240Ks out there are late 70s, the Japense Skylines that look the best (opinion) are the early 70s ones. I have no experience in making a copy but apart from the number of doors, there looks like there'd be enough differences to make the cloning a big, big job (not like just bolting GTR bodywork to a GTT). There aren't bolt on kits for these things, all has to be custom made (preferably and out of metal for a proper result). If you wanted to make a GTR replica this is the wrong car to start it with. There's just no way of getting a good, desirable classic car cheaply except from the old widow down the road who's had it sitting in her garage under sheets for 20 years.

The hot rod was just an example. 1935-1940 rods are the cheapest Ford to build 'cause the 35-40 Ford is the cheapest thing to buy. Very hard to find a finished one with no real bodywork sculpting, a shit engine, a nice paint job etc. under $40k (an all there, rust free paddock car could be aquired for around 4k). Was just aiming at the point that if you did a lot of work on a car that someone will pay a lot for when it's finished, you'll have a lot more spending power to buy something you really want. As I said, the best of the best just don't come cheap.

As for my car, yes I drive a 'vette; quite heavily modified. New to the modern Japanese thing but I've liked the old stuff for a little while. I'm looking to get something Jap for daily transport (Corvette has a crash cage in front of the boot). I think I'll probably get an S15, I like light weight and rearwheel drive (like the Corvette). And you're right, I don't know all that much about them, that's why I'm here; to learn. What I do know though, is about restoring old cars (American and Japanese cars were both made out of metal or fibreglass at one point). And from experience, if you're going to restore something like that, it's gonna either take years or a lot of $$$. I'm suggesting that one should seek an old Fairlady Sports, 240Z or Japanese, 2dr Skyline to restore if you're going to commit to such a big job.

FIY there's an early Skyline (think a '74) hatch/coupe for sale in America, immaculately restored for US$45k. I'd say that price will be reflecting what the owner spent on restoring it.

I prefer the pre-1972 body shape. Anyone know of any in Australia? I'd be very interested if a driving one could be had for somewhere in the 0-30k region.

JFYI, the GTR lookalike that went to Dubai was a coupe and a great looking car, except for the engine as it still had the L24 carby motor. The owner had spent quite a number of maticulous hours on his toy, but he was moving interstate and it had to go.

Have you ever stopped to consider that the guys looking for these 240K's, might want a sedan, or are prepared to take a sedan as coupes are so thin on the ground.

I found this on an Japanese auction the other night and have put a bid on it. Maybe it's more to your likeing.

As for no body kits available, that's a crock of shit, if you know where to look and have the money to get them, they are readily available.

D

post-2962-1253101062_thumb.jpg

^^ fark D if you get it then you'd officially be the envy of the forum lol.

SS,

I found this as well and it was a very hard decision which way I bent, as I really like this as well.

The C110 has only 95k on the dial & the C210/211 has 125k, but both are really nice.

Cheers, D

post-2962-1253141438_thumb.jpg

That C110 coupe is awsome. The way they maintain their cars in Japan I'd say the milage is probably not such a big deal but as you're not there to look at it, it's a good indication. I'd personally rather write a check for the white one but both look awsome. Should be a great investment too, best of luck with the auction.

I'm still looking for a good C10 coupe. Think I might go over and find one in person.

With a replica, I don't think an engine swap is so bad. Perhaps a turbo with a noisey BOV would spoil the effect. If I get a C10 I may think about pumping it up a little. (I won't be getting anything that's properly rare, I would never do anything unoriginal to a real GTR).

Just my final opinion on the subject of the thread. In my opinion, either buy one that's already restored or if you can't afford one, spend about a 1/4 the time you will restoring it at work and you'll have enough cash for one someone's already done. If you just want to restore it for something to do then that's a bit different. Just don't think it'll be an easy job. We all know someone who's got something in their garage they're 'restoring' and haven't touched for a couple of years...

'Scoop:' there's a 240k sedan sitting in a driveway in Were Street in Brighton, Melbourne. The body looks like it has some surface rust but it all looks more or less pretty straight. It's been sitting for all the time I've known about it and the grass is quite overgrown around it. Can't see the front but for a little crack and it looks like the front is still there and it's not riding high (so the engine is probably still there too). Still probably a big job to even get it driving but it looks a little better than the one above.

Dennis: how did you go with that auction?

Rolo: check out Japanese Nostalgic Car magazine, they a restoring what was supposed to be a mint C10 coupe shipped over from Japan.

I'm often surprised that the Japanese restore the parts of the car that you can see from the kerb, and leave the engine bay and interior looking like a dog's breakfast.

This is the car guys, but it's not legit, but a FAUX version and as Lachlan only got $14500.00 for his, I'm not interested in a similar deal for $40,000.00, landed & complied & rego etc.

url=http://page8.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/h134137044&thumb=http://f7.auctions.c.yimg.jp/img229.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/users/8/4/7/1/kk_r_freaks-thumb-125327062089181.jpg&title=L28%203L%2044

I'll wait my turn and get something genuine like I have already.

Cheers, D

i know that my car is a money pit. but i do it for the love of it.

simple.

ALL older cars are money pits. Ever seen the Tom Hanks movie, its about a house, but same can apply to cars. lol

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • I'm looking for some real world experiences/feed back from anyone who has personally ran a EFR7670 with a 1.05 exhaust housing or a .83 I'm leaning towards the .83 because its a street car used mostly for spirited driving in the canyons roads. I"m not looking for big numbers on paper. I want a responsive powerband that will be very linear to 8000 rpm. I dont mind if power remains somewhat flat but dont want power to drop off on top. The turbo I've purchased is a 1.05, although the mounting flange T3 vs T4 and internal vs external waste gates are different on both housings, I not concern about swapping parts or making fabrication mods to get what I want. Based on some of the research I've done with chat gpt, the 1.05 housing seems to be the way to go with slightly more lag and future proofing for more mods but recommends .83 for best response/street car setup. AI doesn't have the same emotions as real people driving a GTR so I think you guys will be able to give me better feed back 😀   
    • Surely somebody has one in VIC. Have you asked at any shops?  Is this the yearly inspection or did you get a canary?
    • This is where I share pain with you, @Duncan. The move to change so many cooling system pieces to plastic is a killer! Plastic end tanks and a few plastic hose flanges on my car's fail after so little time.  Curious about the need for a bigger rad, is that just for long sessions in the summer or because the car generally needs more cooling?
    • So, that is it! It is a pretty expensive process with the ATF costing 50-100 per 5 litres, and a mechanic will probably charge plenty because they don't want to do it. Still, considering how dirty my fluid was at 120,000klm I think it would be worth doing more like every 80,000 to keep the trans happy, they are very expensive to replace. The job is not that hard if you have the specialist tools so you can save a bit of money and do it yourself!
    • OK, onto filling. So I don't really have any pics, but will describe the process as best I can. The USDM workshop manual also covers it from TM-285 onwards. First, make sure the drain plug (17mm) is snug. Not too tight yet because it is coming off again. Note it does have a copper washer that you could replace or anneal (heat up with a blow torch) to seal nicely. Remove the fill plug, which has an inhex (I think it was 6mm but didn't check). Then, screw in the fill fitting, making sure it has a suitable o-ring (mine came without but I think it is meant to be supplied). It is important that you only screw it in hand tight. I didn't get a good pic of it, but the fill plug leads to a tube about 70mm long inside the transmission. This sets the factory level for fluid in the trans (above the join line for the pan!) and will take about 3l to fill. You then need to connect your fluid pump to the fitting via a hose, and pump in whatever amount of fluid you removed (maybe 3 litres, in my case 7 litres). If you put in more than 3l, it will spill out when you remove the fitting, so do quickly and with a drain pan underneath. Once you have pumped in the required amount of clean ATF, you start the engine and run it for 3 minutes to let the fluid circulate. Don't run it longer and if possible check the fluid temp is under 40oC (Ecutek shows Auto Trans Fluid temp now, or you could use an infrared temp gun on the bottom of the pan). The manual stresses the bit about fluid temperature because it expands when hot an might result in an underfil. So from here, the factory manual says to do the "spill and fill" again, and I did. That is, put an oil pan under the drain plug and undo it with a 17mm spanner, then watch your expensive fluid fall back out again, you should get about 3 litres.  Then, put the drain plug back in, pump 3 litres back in through the fill plug with the fitting and pump, disconnect the fill fitting and replace the fill plug, start the car and run for another 3 minutes (making sure the temp is still under 40oC). The manual then asks for a 3rd "spill and fill" just like above. I also did that and so had put 13l in by now.  This time they want you to keep the engine running and run the transmission through R and D (I hope the wheels are still off the ground!) for a while, and allow the trans temp to get to 40oC, then engine off. Finally, back under the car and undo the fill plug to let the overfill drain out; it will stop running when fluid is at the top of the levelling tube. According to the factory, that is job done! Post that, I reconnected the fill fitting and pumped in an extra 0.5l. AMS says 1.5l overfill is safe, but I started with less to see how it goes, I will add another 1.0 litres later if I'm still not happy with the hot shifts.
×
×
  • Create New...