Nissan Skyline R32 GTR V-Spec
Discussion
I am pretty excited to show this off, just had it a couple weeks now and will be trying to keep it as original as possible seeing their values are only going one way. Original cars are hard to find these days, this one being so original I had not ever seen one with the original air box still installed! The only mods on this car are the larger Stainless Exhaust, and despite it looking like it has a 5” tailpipe it isn’t as loud as it looks!
This example is in quite good condition, it has minimal seat and bolster wear, only a very small lifting of the passenger side dash covering and absolutely no holes drilled into the dashes for gauges etc. The most noticeable issue is the warping of the lip spoiler that sits just below main spoiler.
I said I wouldn’t mod it when trying to convince my GF that an R32 GTR is a sound investment and that I need one in my life, however that didn’t last long! The front lip needs painting white and I need to lower it a little bit, the stock ride height is typical of Japanese cars at the time, masses of wheel clearance just does not look right!
The most urgent issue to fix is getting rid of the viscous fan, this one is pretty stiff to turn and it sounds like it’s matched to the engine revs. I’ll be making my own electric fan kit to swap in place of the OEM fan and cowling.
Pics of the car as it stands atm:
This example is in quite good condition, it has minimal seat and bolster wear, only a very small lifting of the passenger side dash covering and absolutely no holes drilled into the dashes for gauges etc. The most noticeable issue is the warping of the lip spoiler that sits just below main spoiler.
I said I wouldn’t mod it when trying to convince my GF that an R32 GTR is a sound investment and that I need one in my life, however that didn’t last long! The front lip needs painting white and I need to lower it a little bit, the stock ride height is typical of Japanese cars at the time, masses of wheel clearance just does not look right!
The most urgent issue to fix is getting rid of the viscous fan, this one is pretty stiff to turn and it sounds like it’s matched to the engine revs. I’ll be making my own electric fan kit to swap in place of the OEM fan and cowling.
Pics of the car as it stands atm:
Edited by Mudgey on Sunday 22 April 12:54
Cheers for the replies!
Absolutely love this car and even though it's not the quickest, lightest or best handling car I've ever driven it does feels really special to drive, it really does give you that nostalgic feeling even just sitting in it!
The reactions are quite interesting when out and about, to the uninitiated it looks like an old 90's car and those people don't bat an eye lid, to those whom are driving something a little more interesting, ie Golf GTI's, BMW M cars etc certainly have a good head turn and glance as it goes by. My girlfriend is firmly in the former camp, it just does nothing for her at all, she much prefers the Diesel BMW, to her the skyline is just 'meh'... lol
With regards to the headlights, I don't actually have any preference to any of the variations that were put on these cars when new, i'll just leave them as is. The car will probably only cover 1,000 miles a year, it's only going to be used as a weekend toy and not for long distance travel so won't be used at night enough to warrant changing I expect.
Haha this isn't Gran Turismo, I think I'll go as far as adding an ECU, upgrading the coil packs to get rid of the exciter? module, exhaust downpipes and uprate the twin turbo's to something more durable. I would prefer reliability over chasing numbers and I think 370-400hp is a good compromise for this engine from what I've been reading online. Anyway, I've got to finish my Integra DC5 build before I start messing around with this car!
Absolutely love this car and even though it's not the quickest, lightest or best handling car I've ever driven it does feels really special to drive, it really does give you that nostalgic feeling even just sitting in it!
The reactions are quite interesting when out and about, to the uninitiated it looks like an old 90's car and those people don't bat an eye lid, to those whom are driving something a little more interesting, ie Golf GTI's, BMW M cars etc certainly have a good head turn and glance as it goes by. My girlfriend is firmly in the former camp, it just does nothing for her at all, she much prefers the Diesel BMW, to her the skyline is just 'meh'... lol
With regards to the headlights, I don't actually have any preference to any of the variations that were put on these cars when new, i'll just leave them as is. The car will probably only cover 1,000 miles a year, it's only going to be used as a weekend toy and not for long distance travel so won't be used at night enough to warrant changing I expect.
Haha this isn't Gran Turismo, I think I'll go as far as adding an ECU, upgrading the coil packs to get rid of the exciter? module, exhaust downpipes and uprate the twin turbo's to something more durable. I would prefer reliability over chasing numbers and I think 370-400hp is a good compromise for this engine from what I've been reading online. Anyway, I've got to finish my Integra DC5 build before I start messing around with this car!
Alias218 said:
I did have a little chuckle how in one breath 'I'm going to keep it standard to protect value', while in the next, 'I'll be painting the splitter, lowering it a tad, removing the viscous fan, swapping down pipes, upping power...'
haha, well I did use the word relatively, it gives me some wiggle room when defining original!The high performance electric fans you can buy these days are really good, almost all the fan kits I've seen for these cars use thin fans which is a no-no, if you are drawing through a rad, an intercooler and AC Rad then high flow all the way. For example SPAL offer a 15" fan that does 1950 cfm static. I would say one of these would be enough but could always add a secondary to come in at a higher temp if the first can't quite manage.
Shotgun Bri said:
Hi Mudgey,
Welcome to Skyline ownership and welcome to the V-Spec club.
Cheers, the car is pretty mint and is dry stored here at work for when it's not being used. Absolutely, anything that may be removed will be stored so it can go back to original if needed. The BBS alloys will be coming off and replaced at some point.Welcome to Skyline ownership and welcome to the V-Spec club.
Your car looks great in black, what have you done to it apart from it being lower than stock?
samoht said:
The R32 came out on 16" wheels, the Japanese touring car regs specified you had to use production wheel diameter and they had lots of issues with brake fade. Hence going up to 17" for the V-Spec you have, homologating the larger wheel for the track to allow larger brakes.
I'd suggest keeping hold of any standard parts you remove, to keep them with the car. A few reversible 'stage 1' mods sound very sensible :-)
Ah right, that would make sense, it does seem obvious looking back that the brakes are far too small for the weight of car. The OEM brakes on my Integra DC5 are bigger and the car weighs some 300kg less!I'd suggest keeping hold of any standard parts you remove, to keep them with the car. A few reversible 'stage 1' mods sound very sensible :-)
Absolutely, some preventative maintenance to upgrade known trouble items such as ceramic turbo's and coil packs, well whilst were at it a new ECU and some extra boost? it would be rude not too!
Edited by Mudgey on Friday 27th April 09:57
Butter Face said:
Lovely car. Looks fantastic.
Cheers dude!Edited by Mudgey on Friday 27th April 09:58
hah that's the problem, it needs a few subtle changes but nothing that can't be put back to standard easily enough, plus the parts will be available to the next owner if I ever sell it, which will hopefully be never!
The car is now booked in to have the coil overs, HICAS removal kit, laser alignment and corner weighting done end of May, looking forward to having some working dampers! haha.
The car is now booked in to have the coil overs, HICAS removal kit, laser alignment and corner weighting done end of May, looking forward to having some working dampers! haha.
I'm pretty gutted to say I've not really had a lot of time to work on either the DC5 or the GTR over the past couple months as much as I’d like, and so progress has been very slow, all I’ve been up to is working on a gauge holder for the GTR.
I am a big fan of trying to make modifications look OEM and like they would have come from the factory, this should look sleeker than the traditional holders that are simply holes in a flat panel with gauges pushed through. I am still working on the design but from the outside these will have the OEM look, flush fit and with a small chamfer much like the originals. They would look better if they didn't have the bright yellow AEM logo in the middle, but we can’t have everything!
So currently this is proving more challenging that I had originally hoped due to the way the original cluster bolts in, the block of gauges must go through the aperture at an angle, you then straighten it out and bolt it in from behind, then a fascia plate pushes over and snaps over the front. There is no way to make it one piece. The gauges must screw into the front panel and we need a way to mount this front panel to the back without any screws or bolts visible from the front, currently I am experimenting with alignment bosses and magnets to hold it in place.
The gauges are pretty much the exact same height as the opening above the heater panel, so the dimensions must be bang on as there is literally no clearance. This is one of those projects that is turning into a PITA but it should look good when done. The final finish will be billet aluminium, media blasted for a slightly textured finish and anodised black to blend in.
Rear V-Spec lip spoiler: The brackets mounting the lip spoiler to the bootlid has rusted and I am in need of another one, its always warped which is a common issue I have been told. Any ideas where I could locate an original?
I am a big fan of trying to make modifications look OEM and like they would have come from the factory, this should look sleeker than the traditional holders that are simply holes in a flat panel with gauges pushed through. I am still working on the design but from the outside these will have the OEM look, flush fit and with a small chamfer much like the originals. They would look better if they didn't have the bright yellow AEM logo in the middle, but we can’t have everything!
So currently this is proving more challenging that I had originally hoped due to the way the original cluster bolts in, the block of gauges must go through the aperture at an angle, you then straighten it out and bolt it in from behind, then a fascia plate pushes over and snaps over the front. There is no way to make it one piece. The gauges must screw into the front panel and we need a way to mount this front panel to the back without any screws or bolts visible from the front, currently I am experimenting with alignment bosses and magnets to hold it in place.
The gauges are pretty much the exact same height as the opening above the heater panel, so the dimensions must be bang on as there is literally no clearance. This is one of those projects that is turning into a PITA but it should look good when done. The final finish will be billet aluminium, media blasted for a slightly textured finish and anodised black to blend in.
Rear V-Spec lip spoiler: The brackets mounting the lip spoiler to the bootlid has rusted and I am in need of another one, its always warped which is a common issue I have been told. Any ideas where I could locate an original?
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