'89 Gtrs - Are There Any That Have Not Blown Up?

[Ronin 09]

Lately I have been reading MANY posts about how "my 50,000km genuine KM '89 GTR has blown turbos/gearbox/motor within 10 days or less of taking ownership".

Not having a go, but my questions are:

1. who hasn't had quite major issues with their '89GTR (and who has had issues - what have they been)?

2. were the cars in the condition as specified, or did they require significant work to bring them up to condition?

3. how many of you have 'overspent', finding out that the car requires in excess of $2,000 of additional work once landed?

4. do you believe the kays on your car?

Considering that the Japanese are (overall) a very tidy people, who look after their cars, I would expect that a well maintained '89GTR could easily have done in excess of 150,000kms (conservatively at 10,000 per year) yet still have a good interior.

Secondly, and someone from Japan might be able to confirm this, it is my understanding that the older the car gets, the more shaken you pay. It is my contention that generally an owner who can afford to keep an old car like an R32GTR will only then get rid of the car when it is costing money to maintain - ie is developing mechanical issues an alike.

I expect it is unscrupulous dealers who are tampering with odometers (be it here or prior to auction in Japan)

5. what proportion of auction '89GTRs really are trash, and is there such thing as a 'bargain' GTR?

Thats about it at the moment. Will add as I think of some more questions.

[lwells]

1. No truely major issues. I have a leaking exhaust manifold but that's a hassle more than anything.

2. Pretty much.

3. No, I tried to overbudget so its come out about right.

4. Call me pig headed, but I do believe the KMs (even though the log book never surfaced -- grrr). Everything about the car indicates its been regularly serviced at a Nissan dealership.

5. There are no bargin GT-Rs, just less expensive ones.

[IOWNU]

I've had 3 GTRs since the 15yo rule came into play for the 89 models.

q1: First one was immac. 80,000kms, engine purred, turbos were fine, gearbox etc. Perfect. Sold it, coz i got greedy.

Second one. Came with rattly bottom end. I only paid half the amount of the car and didn't pay the rest. Fixed it, sold it again, coz i got a decent offer. about 90,000kms

Third one, recently landed (1990 model, same thing). Came with blown turbos......installed n1 turbos, then the engine died before they were even full operative. On the plus side, im now getting a full engine rebuild, with n1 turbos should make some good power. 88,000kms

q2 2 of the 3 were NOT in the condition specified, i.e blown turbos, engine etc. Both needed work to get up to scratch.

q3: However, I have made financial deductions to compensate from the exporter, so have not gone over cost as such. Hence, financially im still on top.

q4 The first GTR, kms were def. genuine. Am spewin about selling it. The second seemed to be shady due to the rough interior. Third one, seems genuine, but who knows.

q5 Well, trash depends on the auction grade. I reckon most GTRs that were 3 or 3.5 auction grade ended up being the crap ones. Yeah I'm sure there is the odd bargain GTR out there, but finding it is another thing!

I suppose at the end of the day, GTR ownership is never going to be cheap and we as enthusiasts have to accept that. Sure, it hurts spending money on fixing a car, but boy do I have a grin from ear to ear when they are up and running. Not long now.....

Edited August 31, 2005 by IOWNU

[manage13]

I suppose at the end of the day, GTR ownership is never going to be cheap and we as enthusiasts have to accept that. Sure, it hurts spending money on fixing a car, but boy do I have a grin from ear to ear when they are up and running. Not long now.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

HAHAHA Well said!

Depends who you go through to get the car I suppose. I am happy with all the cars I have got so far.

[Gav]

In real monetary terms, the cost to repair GTRs has come down significantly. There are now more wrecked examples than ever before and there is a huge choice of aftermarket parts (including locally made options) available. The strengthening of the AUD against the YEN as well as the reduction in import duties has also helped a lot.

I still think that for the true enthusiast, an R32 GTR that has been budgeted for a rebuild and restoration is solid value.

[paulr33]

also those turbochargers have seen 16 years of exhaust heat, im not surprised they dont break when people crank it up to 1.1 bar on the rb26's for some extra boost. but not having owned a gtr i cant speak based on experience for peanuts, only what i've read

[Beer Baron]

all i will say is that an 89 GTR is only one year older than a 90 GTR which is only a couple years older than the newest 32 GTR you will ever find. As with any of them you need to find one that is decent. a shit car is just a shit car. it's not shit becuase it was built in 1989 or 1990, it may have been in peak condition until 2003 when some bloke bought it and thrashed the ring out of it every day for a year or two with no maintenance then sold it.

i think the main reason there seem to be a fair few dud 89/90 model GTRs is that there has been a large flood of them being imported, so proportionaly i reckon they fail at the same rate as the other year models. also a lot are being bought by people without much $$ so when the car gets here instead of checking it out properly and giving it the full treatment they just start driving, sure enough something goes wrong.

with my car i haven't had any problems engine wise. everything was as it should be. i did a little preventative maintenance when i got it just for piece of mind. and after 4 or 5 track days this year and a few runs at WSID and street driving it hasn't missed a beat. hasn't spent one day off the road yet and is currently making 250rwkw with still stock turbos, ic, injectors etc etc. i have nfi if the kms are genuine or not, don't really care as i judge a car on condition, not a number on the dash

[confuzion]

money pit

[nemz]

duno but my 89 model gtst is going strong, i beleive my 89000km's are genuwine as its in better condition then my previous 93 model and my 2 friends 92 model's but my body is a bit rough, few little dints and i snaped my front bar

[Blitz]

duno but my 89 model gtst is going strong, i beleive my 89000km's are genuwine as its in better condition then my previous 93 model and my 2 friends 92 model's but my body is a bit rough, few little dints and i snaped my front bar

Different kettle of fish.

As has been said, 89 GTR's are not by any means all trash. One of the problems is that a lot of people who couldnt previously afford a GTR have found this stupidly cheap 89 models which have suddenly fallen within reach and not considered the potential running issues of one of these "cheap" GTR's.

People seem to buy an 89/90 R32 GTR with the intention of modding it as soon as it arrives, when in reality, a few grand needs to be set aside for a very thorough major service of the car. This is absolutely crucial when you dont know the history of the car. All consumables like water pump, timing belt etc should be done, injectors need to be cleaned as they are a common cause of engines leaning out and cleaning them is inexpensive.

The bottom line is if you are prepared to spend some money up front on preventative maintenance, you should have a reliable and trouble free car.

[druzilla32]

ive imported 3.

1st one was just about perfect (should have kept it but i didnt like the gunmetal colour)

2nd one was in worse condition then i was told it would be (yes the engine "blew up")

3rd one (was ment to be delivered yesterday but expecting it today) looks as good as the 1st one but i will have to check it out properly before getting too excited

[predator]

gtr's should b made for floggin! thats what they're meant for aren't they?

[psybic]

I'd say most kms are not genuine. Unless you get logs and stuff.

Mine says 170,000kms. So that probably is, cause you would wind it back further than that. But its not much older looking, (infact the body is really straight) than others with "60,000" written on it.

My NA Supra had 90,000, but on the timing belt cover, said it had been replaced 18months ago at 102,000kms... hmmmmm.

My GTR.

Was as they said, drove really well. That doesn't mean one turbo wasn't screwed tho. Even 1 and a half turbos made it the fastest car I'd ever been in.

So yeah, new turbos + Had all the cooling lines flush = $2000.

Was too low before, hence damaged exhaust piping, replaced that $600.

New front bushes and stuff $600.

New windscreen that wasn't mention before, could have happened in transit I guess. $300.

Clutch, GearBox and engine haven't thrown any curly ones at me though. Thats on a 170,000kms engine... so I don't think they are too bad. Its not like this one was babied either, it has alot of suspension work, so it would have seen some driving I reckon.

[lwells]

gtr's should b made for floggin! thats what they're meant for aren't they?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When properly serviced, sure. But how many people service their car religiously, particularly as it gets older, worth less, and more expensive to keep?

[predator]

..its the older cars that need more religous servicing.

Guess it is expensive to take a GTR to a workshop every 2 months for servicing. Japs aren't that good at it either it seems - so that is probably where most of the damage is done.

[2510s]

Mine is a '90 model, i've had it on the road 2 months now, nearing 5000kms of driving. All I have done is a major service including all fluids and filters when I first got it, and replaced one C.V boot. I looked for a long time before purchase, checked out alot of cars, and all of them had accident repairs/rust/mechanical issues/wound back speedos etc. Mine is as clean and genuine as they come and I count myself very lucky being able to find it. Patience pays off big time. There are good 32 GTRs out there, you just have to know what you are looking for, and if you don't, take someone with you who does. And don't get all excited and buy the first one you see.

[IOWNU]

And don't get all excited and buy the first one you see.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LoL which is what a lot of people do when they sit in a GTR for the first time.

[steve_gts4]

i have had my 90 gtr on the road for about 3 months now.. only done about 2000km in it though.. it had some minor leaks in the power steering which didnt cost me too much to fix.. but no dramas otherwise.

[maximumrpm]

when i was looking to buy a 89 gtr i found that most have been in prangs and redone, and yes the kms were like you said all very low....and its a gtr, it would of been thrashed of its tits....its one of those posts that you wont get a really clear answer...anyone with a 89 gtr will say that the km are original and that they dont have any porblems

[druzilla32]

i think a good way to tell how many kms its done, or how much its been flogged is by looking at the plenum and cam gear cover.. if the paint is all flaking off then its probably had a hard life....