Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Hello all!

Fellow SA'er here!

I am planning on purchasing my first Skyline, an R33 (still unsure about a turbo or not). I am a few months away from getting my full licence and would like your honest opinions on costing and all that. I am aware of the "Cost per Annum" thread, but I was after more local information.

I currently drive a VY commodore as my daily. And believe me when I say I drive as sensible as can be. In saying that, as a daily driver would the Skyline chew through petrol like no tomorrow?

I am aware of insurance being more expensive due to my age, but that is an acceptable expense.

I am currently looking at purchasing a non-turbo (simply because I prefer the looks of the Skyline, and there is a 100% chance that I would not take it to a track day) so I am not too interested in speed and power. HOWEVER I would like to know if there is a MAJOR difference between the GTS and the GTST ( yes I know one has a turbo :) )

I would like to finish by apologising if all this information is located somewhere else (I honestly searched) and would like to thank any and all replies. I am certainly not falling blindly into this sale and welcome all input. THANKS!!

Defs go for a turbo mate, you really wont regret it! They're really good bang for buck atm as well, can find cleanish ones around quite cheap.

Don't expect much fuel economy even if you drive like an ol' lady, probably round 300kms per tank, give or take.

Turbo model has better components, i.e. stronger gearbox, better brakes, 5 stud etc. etc.

Defs go for a turbo mate, you really wont regret it! They're really good bang for buck atm as well, can find cleanish ones around quite cheap.

Don't expect much fuel economy even if you drive like an ol' lady, probably round 300kms per tank, give or take.

Turbo model has better components, i.e. stronger gearbox, better brakes, 5 stud etc. etc.

I get 300 in town

Nearly 600 on hiway if your not flogging it

Ac on takes a bit more

Only turbo issue is premuim fuel cost more !! And maintenance does too

Na you should get 400-600 a tank on 65 litres not flogging it and 5 spd

Insurance was 5 bucks more then commo vt r8

And country insurance half again from city with high agreed value but old fart no tix or accidents

Make sure that you have it checked by a mechanic... And by that I mean a mechanic that is familiar with turbo cars/imports not some backyard generalist.

It can cost a little bit $100 to $300 depending on how much and how thorough a check they do but in the long term it is worth every cent...

If you don't know one you will find some recommended mechanics mentioned in the forums.

When I bought mine I made it a condition of sale. If they refuse to let it be done ask yourself why :)

Its a good idea to get a compression and a leak down test, as a minimum before you purchase it.

I used this when i purchased mine and it has lots of good info of what to look for.

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/35129-im-buying-a-skyline-what-should-i-look-for/

Make sure that you have it checked by a mechanic... And by that I mean a mechanic that is familiar with turbo cars/imports not some backyard generalist.

It can cost a little bit $100 to $300 depending on how much and how thorough a check they do but in the long term it is worth every cent...

If you don't know one you will find some recommended mechanics mentioned in the forums.

When I bought mine I made it a condition of sale. If they refuse to let it be done ask yourself why :)

Already have a mechanic in mind, however ill try and find one like you recommended

Its a good idea to get a compression and a leak down test, as a minimum before you purchase it.

I used this when i purchased mine and it has lots of good info of what to look for.

http://www.skylinesa...uld-i-look-for/

And I already have this printed to take with me :)

http://www.skylinesa...uld-i-look-for/ is good but dont follow it word for word or your neva gona find a skyline lol dnt buy a 33 that has 70k on the clock thats just a lie there coming up 20 years old most older skyline have had a respray in there life iv even had my 34 sprayed cuz of paint fade just get a ascendant report if u can from motor reg and a compression test is smart make sure no $ is owing on the car

At the end of the day, old skylines are all, well, old and pretty crap, but excellent bang for buck if u go turbo, don't even think about a na, as it will be slower and older than your commy. Get all the usual checks done, but remember they are old cars and you will need change to fix things

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

    • Yea that’s why I said ima test them with multimeter and see the reads.
    • Only at idle. Isn’t a problem when rev it seems.
    • @Haggerty This seems silly to ask, but are you confident in your ability to tune the Haltech?  
    • Next on the to-do list was an oil and filter change. Nothing exciting to add here except the oil filter is in a really stupid place (facing the engine mount/subframe/steering rack). GReddy do a relocation kit which puts it towards the gearbox, I would have preferred towards the front but there's obviously a lot more stuff there. Something I'll have to look at for the next service perhaps. First time using Valvoline oil, although I can't see it being any different to most other brands Nice... The oil filter location... At least the subframe wont rust any time soon I picked up a genuine fuel filter, this is part of the fuel pump assembly inside the fuel tank. Access can be found underneath the rear seat, you'll see this triangular cover Remove the 3x plastic 10mm nuts and lift the cover up, pushing the rubber grommet through The yellow fuel line clips push out in opposite directions, remove these completely. The two moulded fuel lines can now pull upwards to disconnect, along with the wire electrical plug. There's 8x 8mm bolts that secure the black retaining ring. The fuel pump assembly is now ready to lift out. Be mindful of the fuel hose on the side, the hose clamp on mine was catching the hose preventing it from lifting up The fuel pump/filter has an upper and lower section held on by 4 pressure clips. These did take a little bit of force, it sounded like the plastic tabs were going to break but they didn't (don't worry!) The lower section helps mount the fuel pump, there's a circular rubber gasket/grommet/seal thing on the bottom where the sock is. Undo the hose clip on the short fuel hose on the side to disconnect it from the 3 way distribution pipe to be able to lift the upper half away. Don't forget to unplug the fuel pump too! There's a few rubber O rings that will need transferring to the new filter housing, I show these in the video at the bottom of this write up. Reassembly is the reverse Here's a photo of the new filter installed, you'll be able to see where the tabs are more clearing against the yellow OEM plastic Once the assembly is re-installed, I turned the engine over a few times to help build up fuel pressure. I did panic when the car stopped turning over but I could hear the fuel pump making a noise. It eventually started and has been fine since. Found my 'lucky' coin underneath the rear seat too The Youtube video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLJ65pmQt44&t=6s
    • It was picked up on the MOT/Inspection that the offside front wheel bearing had excessive play along with the ball joint. It made sense to do both sides so I sourced a pair of spare IS200 hubs to do the swap. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the strip down but here's a quick run down. On the back of the hub is a large circular dust cover, using a flat head screw driver and a mallet I prised it off. Underneath will reveal a 32mm hub nut (impact gun recommended). With the hub nut removed the ABS ring can be removed (I ended up using a magnetic pick up tool to help). Next up is to remove the stub axle, this was a little trickier due to limited tools. I tried a 3 leg puller but the gap between the hub and stub axle wasn't enough for the legs to get in and under. Next option was a lump hammer and someone pulling the stub axle at the same time. After a few heavy hits it released. The lower bearing race had seized itself onto the stub axle, which was fine because I was replacing them anyway. With the upper bearing race removed and the grease cleaned off they looked like this The left one looked pristine inside but gave us the most trouble. The right one had some surface rust but came apart in a single hit, figure that out?! I got a local garage to press the new wheel bearings in, reassemble was the opposite and didn't take long at all. Removing the hub itself was simple. Starting with removing the brake caliper, 2x 14mm bolts for the caliper slider and 2x 19mm? for the carrier > hub bolts. I used a cable tie to secure the caliper to the upper arm so it was out of the way, there's a 10mm bolt securing the ABS sensor on. With the brake disc removed from the hub next are the three castle nuts for the upper and lower ball joints and track rod end. Two of these had their own R clip and one split pin. A few hits with the hammer and they're released (I left the castle nuts on by a couple of turns), the track rod ends gave me the most grief and I may have nipped the boots (oops). Fitting is the reversal and is very quick and easy to do. The lower ball joints are held onto the hub by 2x 17mm bolts. The castle nut did increase in socket size to 22mm from memory (this may vary from supplier) The two front tyres weren't in great condition, so I had those replaced with some budget tyres for the time being. I'll be replacing the wheels and tyres in the future, this was to get me on the road without the worry of the police hassling me.
×
×
  • Create New...