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Eight an a bit years ago I had to have chemo so to take my mind off that I decided to mod my 93 liner.

Bigger fuel pump injecters etc etc etc, kept me positive and I loved doing it,had a budget of ten grand spent that and some more.

She still works well 220 at the rears and I smile every day when I open the garage door. :-) :-)

in general, modifications make the car faster better and more importantly unique, a sense of identity of the owner, for the owner...

however, when u talk specifically abt the GTR, there are also the purists/collectors who want to preserve the true lineage and icon of the car (much like a thoroughbred horse).

I prefer to modify my car :)

  • Like 2

Depends on your goals...

a) you want to put your flavour on your car and improve / upgrade / modify to taste either to personally enjoy the ride or impress others.

or

b) you want to preserve / restore the factory spec and enjoy the car for what it is / was designed to be.

or

c) Shibby Roit mayte / drive that sucker into the ground / zero F#@cks given.

I like a combo of a) and b). ;)

in general, modifications make.. ..it more importantly unique, a sense of identity of the owner, for the owner...

I prefer to modify my car :)

Couldn't agree more.. you make the car your own and how you want it. For example with the charger im modifying it restricted to ANY factory option through the years of production. To make it unique in form (if that makes sense) I havent had the time or money to mod the stagea yet but it will eventually succumb to mods of personal interest.

Modify, but with "genuine" parts, such as Nismo, TRD, Mugen, Ralliart, Mazdaspeed or whatever. I think even with a collector's item a small number of factory-backed parts won't damage the value too much, it may even make it slightly more attractive.

If it was a high value collectable model/ limited production models I'd keep it stock. Ie, N1, Nismo versions, LM etc. Maybe just add some nismo value adders.

If it's a garden variety model, I'd feel free to go nuts if I wanted.

after going to a Classic Car show yesterday and seeing a winner talk briefly about his car that just won an all-out award, I've changed my mind somewhat to purists and restorations. His speech went along the lines of "its not my favourite car, but its been in my garage for 8 years and finally restored the other week. I just brought it out to get some air"

ie. has other cars in the garage and likes this one, but isnt too passionate about it.

f**k those people. Half of them spend $100k on a classic car resto and eventually sell it at auctions for (sometimes) profit. Genuine or restored/rebuilt parts are the craze and its a lot of money and time to hunt down things for a complete "package".

All these people then drag their cars down to the annual show and usually are lost in a sea of hundreds of other completed projects.

As oppose to real modified cars which are often made from used, hard to find, custom or recycled parts. The owner knows well that he/she will never see that money spent again but its what they want. Whether for power or comfort or uniqueness. I think the drift scene is an example of this: basically destroying cars, fixing things on the fly and tight budget but its all for fun.

Which car has more character: the showroom pony, the forgotten-now-restored showpiece or the modified car that pushes the limit of its design and production?

  • Like 1

I also think regardless of whether you modify or keep it stock it's meant to be used/enjoyed/driven.. not sit in a shed for its life and hauled around to shows on trailers.. whats the point? To say yours is better than theirs? Enjoy the car for what its worth

I also think regardless of whether you modify or keep it stock it's meant to be used/enjoyed/driven.. not sit in a shed for its life and hauled around to shows on trailers.. whats the point? To say yours is better than theirs? Enjoy the car for what its worth

That's my philosophy. I can't stand people that have such nice cars and just let them rot away.

I've got a mate that built a Torana about 3 or so years ago. It's lucky to have done 100km since then. It just sits in his shed...

Dont understand keeping it stock to be quite honest. We're talking about cars in the 15-25 year old range, and multiple areas of technology have seen improvements. We have access to better fuel, and better engine management technology, better suspension components, not to mention common flaws being identified in similar cars, engines and transmissions.

I rebuilt the suspension, slapped on a new turbo, shift kit and made some creature comfort mods to the interior. It has given the car a new lease on life and in that sense it has saved me money. No need to buy a new car now unless something major happens.

So you own a nismo 400r, you going to rip out the computer and put a microleb in it, and some BC coilovers?

Depends of what advantage there would be for doing that. I wouldn't have any desire to buy a car as a museum piece though, no matter how rare.

With cash to burn Id like to modernise a V12 Lamborghini grand tourer. For example, get rid of those carbs that like to shoot fuel onto the hot exhausts.

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