Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hi guys (and girls)

My names Luke, Im 21 and I live in Cairns Queensland and Im looking at buying my first skyline.

Ive owned Honda's, an Alfa Romeo and currently have a XR8 ute, which is good at towing the boat, cruising and hooning (if your into burnt rubber smell, which isnt my thing) but it doesnt have the fun factor.

My father has a rather quick 300zx that ive spent many hours working on (and swearing at). Its a hoot to drive, hence im looking at turbo nissans. Ive always liked skylines and beleive they are easier to live with then 300's, GTO etc.

The skyline would be my second car/toy, hence Im on a budget. I want something that is capable of being a daily, weekend cruiser, and fun car. Big ask I know. Would prefere to buy something that is already quick...ish. But willing to work with a stock car if need be.

IMO I should be looking at 95 onwards R33 GTST's? Theres 3 or 4 in FNQ that have caught my interest. Im fussy with cars and bikes but can 'tidy up' most things.

What should I be paying for an average R33 with the basic bolt ons? Obviously every car has to be judged on its own merits, and there are alot of POS cars out there, but roughly what is a reasonable one worth?

More importantly is there anything in particluar with this model I should be checking?

Thanks and I look forward to being part of the community.

Luke

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/412253-hi-from-cairns/
Share on other sites

That's a pretty hard one to answer but there is a buyers guide on here that will give you a big advantage when shopping for one.... Your best bet may be to fly to Brizzy and drive one home as there isn't many up there (was talking to a guy recently from Cairns and he said the scene is still pretty quiet for imports)....

Do your research on what to look for and u should enjoy the purchase )

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/412253-hi-from-cairns/#findComment-6593577
Share on other sites

Thanks mate, appreciate it.

There is barely a car scene up here, let alone an import scene. There are a few of us around that enjoy cars but there is no events or anything. We have a social scene with the roadbikes though.

Ill go and find the buyers guide.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/412253-hi-from-cairns/#findComment-6593620
Share on other sites

They didn't do tuning or anything back then as I was the only mechanic lol so can't help u there mate!

A skyline is still just a car, hope the guide was helpful? Make sure they have a RWC etc

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/412253-hi-from-cairns/#findComment-6593653
Share on other sites

Was definetly helpful and yep wouldnt buy one without a RWC, although I have before.

Have a mechanic that is more than willing to put cars on a hoist for me so thats a big help.

Ive seen so many piles of junk 300zx's when we were looking for Dads 300 (3 year search), I guess im expecting the skylines to be similar. Will see how I go.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/412253-hi-from-cairns/#findComment-6593687
Share on other sites

Hey guy.

I skimmed your thread and noticed a distinct lack of pictures.

Please post some.

Thanks.

Of what the xr8.... Quad cam cast iron nastiness, alloy ftw bro ;)

I'm just messing I love my fords

Edited by Nikk_666
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/412253-hi-from-cairns/#findComment-6594043
Share on other sites

Haha 3 boats including the Ute :P was hoping the skylines would handle well? Looking at a series 2 gtst tomorrow. Owner says it has a t3 turbo, aren't they t3 standard? Wolf ecu etc tuned locally. But it doesn't spool up until 3500 to 4000rpm which is silly for a street car imo. Also doesn't idle/run properly with the AC on so no doubt needs another tune as that would annoy me. There's also a stocko one for the same money which may be a better buy. Will see

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/412253-hi-from-cairns/#findComment-6594886
Share on other sites

Sure he didnt say GT30? 3500-4000rpm sounds like a bigger turbo like mine and yes that sort of lag is normal! BUT post images, reciepts and any info like dyno graphs etc here so we can let you know...

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/412253-hi-from-cairns/#findComment-6594894
Share on other sites

Thanks mate, definitely said t3. Even says so in the gumtree aSF. The owner admitted he doesn't kno a whole lot about engines, he's only had the car 2 months. All work was done before he purchased it. At what revs should a t3 be starting to make boost? I'm expecting it to hit pretty hard when it does eventually go.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/412253-hi-from-cairns/#findComment-6595101
Share on other sites

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

    • Thanks for all the replies fellas. Gonna finish putting it back together and see how it handles the set up. If it starts pinging it’ll be parked.
    • Well, I can recommend the partial AV system translation CD I ordered from Car Audio Workshop in NZ. Whilst it didn't address the date issue, it has conveniently translated on-screen menu items into English, and now allows the GPS-received time to be offset in hours rather than minutes, so I can display Eastern Australian time accurately ( and bump it by another hour when daylight savings starts ).
    • Yuh, if it's 45°C outside, my car is driving in it.
    • I'd be curious to hear more. Otherwise, have you driven a modern x-trail? I wonder how it compares. Here in Australia they are/were popular for rentals and fleet vehicles. I have been in some and my impression was they are bad. But, this may have been very different in the 2000s at a good trim level. Twenty years is plenty of time to make the model worse. I do very much agree with the 2 silver cars in the garage approach. But, not driving because it's too hot would not leave a lot of time in the year for many Australians. I don't think you need to worry too much unless the car has actual issues with overheating. 
    • Back again. I returned to Japan in Jul/Aug to spend time with the car on my birthday and remind myself what all the sacrifice and compromise is for. It happened to line up with the monthly morning meet in Okutama, which I have been wanting to go to for a long time. It's a unique event at a unique spot with really rare, interesting, and quirky cars. It's where all the oldheads and OGs gather. The nighttime scene at DKF certainly has its place and should be experienced if you're into cars, but there's too much bad attention and negativity around it now. IMO the better time is Sunday morning at DKF or Okutama; it's more chill and relaxed. I'm glad I was finally able to go, but not sure it's worth the drive from all the way from Nagoya immediately the day before, unless I was already staying in Tokyo for the days right before the meet, because you have to wake up quite early to make it in time. Funnily enough though I didn't drive the car all that much this trip because it was just too damn hot. While there were zero issues and running temps were nominal and the A/C was strong, RBs already run crazy hot as it is. Sure, it took it all like a champ but something about driving these cars in the ridiculous heat/humidity bothers me and makes me feel like I'm asking too much of it. I'm just me being weird and treating the car like a living thing with feelings; I'm mechanically sympathetic to a fault. Instead I was mainly driving something else around - a KX4(silver) 2001 X-Trail GT, that I acquired in May. There's a few different flavors to choose from with Xs, but visually it's the Nissan version of the Honda CR-V. Mechanically it's a whole different story as this, being the top-trim GT, has an SR20VET mated to a four-speed auto and full-time AWD! It was a very affordable buy in exceptional condition inside and out, with very low mileage...only 48k kms. Most likely it was owned by an older person who kept it garaged and well-maintained, so I'm really happy with how it all worked out. It literally needs zero attention at the moment, albeit except for some minor visual touch-ups. I wanted something quirky, interesting, and practical and for sure it handily delivers on all three of those aspects. I was immediately able to utilize the cargo and passenger capacity to its full extent. It's a lot of fun to drive and is quite punchy through 1st and 2nd. It's very unassuming -in the twisty bits it's a lot more composed than one would think at a glance- and it'll be even better once I get better tires on it(yes, it's an SUV but still a little boat-y for my liking). So...now I have two golden-era Nissans in silver. One sports car and one that does everything else; the perfect two-car solution I think👍 The rest of the trip...I was able to turn my stressed brain off and enjoy it, although I didn't quite get to do as much as I thought. I did some interesting things, met some interesting people, and happened into some interesting situations however, that's all for another post though only if people really want to know. Project-wise, I went back to Mine's again to discuss more plans and am hoping to wrap that up real soon; keep watching this space if that interests you. Additionally, while working in the tormenting sweatbox that is the warehouse, I was able to organize most of the myriad of parts that my friend is storing for me along with the cars, and the 34 has a nice little spot carved out for it: And since it can get so stupid hot in there, that made it all the more easy -after I was standing there looking at the car and said 'f**k it'- to finally remove all the damn gauges that have mostly been an eyesore all this time. Huzzah. The heat basically makes the adhesive backing on the gauge mounts more pliable to work with, so it was far less stressful getting this done. I didn't fully clean it up or chase the wiring though; that will happen once I have the car in closer possession. Another major reason to remove all that stuff is to give people less reasons to get in my car and steal s**t while it's being exported/imported when/if the time comes, which leads us to my next point... ...and that is even though it's time in Japan is technically almost up since it's a November car and the X would be coming in March, I'm still not entirely sure where my life and career is headed; I don't really know what the future looks like and where I'm going to end up. I feel there's a great deal of uncertainty with me and as a result of that, it feels like I'm at a crossroads moreso now than any point in my life thus far and there are some choices I need to make. Yes, I've had some years to consider things and prepare myself, however too much has happened in that time to maintain confidence and everything feels so up in the air; tenuous one might say. Simply put, there's just too much nonsense going on right now from multiple vectors. Admittedly, I'm struggling to stay in the game and keep my eyes on the prize. So much so in fact, that very recently I came the closest I ever have before to calling it quits outright; selling everything and moving on and not looking back. The astute among you will pick up on key subtext within this paragraph. In the meantime I've still managed to slowly acquire some final bits for the car, but it feels nice knowing there's not much left to get and I'm almost across that finish line; I have almost everything I'll ever want for my interpretation and expression on what it is I think an R34 should be. 'til later.
×
×
  • Create New...