Discussion
Hi all, I've started threads before about how I'm going to sell the Tiv and buy a Skyline, but now it's reached the point where I'm pretty much in a position to do so, just need to sell the Tiv for a ridiculously low price!
I'm just after a few buying tips really. Looking to get an R33GTR V-spec ideally one of the darker colours (black, midnight purple, dark blue), and one that has had a few bits added but nothing crazy. Not looking for a 500bhp monster as I'll be using as a daily drive, but something in the region of 350-400 would be good as I will be doing a few track days. It's my understanding though that you only have to breath on these cars to achieve those sort of figures! Not after any OTT bodykits either
Anyway, saw this one in the classifieds, looks ideal. What are people's thoughts on the price, setup etc?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1435893.htm
Cheers, Dan
I'm just after a few buying tips really. Looking to get an R33GTR V-spec ideally one of the darker colours (black, midnight purple, dark blue), and one that has had a few bits added but nothing crazy. Not looking for a 500bhp monster as I'll be using as a daily drive, but something in the region of 350-400 would be good as I will be doing a few track days. It's my understanding though that you only have to breath on these cars to achieve those sort of figures! Not after any OTT bodykits either
Anyway, saw this one in the classifieds, looks ideal. What are people's thoughts on the price, setup etc?
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1435893.htm
Cheers, Dan
Edited by _Dan_ on Saturday 23 January 13:05
Looking over the spec it has I would be suprised if it is not knocking on 350 bhp atm. Since it already has uprated internals it should be good for 500+ with the right bits bolted on and a remap.
A lot of the important bits have been done for running higher boost such as injectors and a metal head gasket as well.
Spec is nice but maybe a bit pricey compared to other R33 GTRs available but I suspect the extra money spent on buying it will be worth it since the standard RB26 engine does have a habit for spinning its shells which leads to a nice £2500ish bill for a rebuild.
A lot of the important bits have been done for running higher boost such as injectors and a metal head gasket as well.
Spec is nice but maybe a bit pricey compared to other R33 GTRs available but I suspect the extra money spent on buying it will be worth it since the standard RB26 engine does have a habit for spinning its shells which leads to a nice £2500ish bill for a rebuild.
Edited by Carfiend on Saturday 23 January 22:35
Well, spoke to the chap, it's still available, going to look at it next weekend. He reckons it's putting out 400-450 at the moment. He's been using it as an everyday car for the last couple of years. He also works for Nissan R&D so seems to know what he's talking about. Did a lot of the work on the motor himself apparently. Oil been changed every 3000 miles, all gaskets and seals replaced a year.
All sounds good, got that "potential new car" tingle of excitment!!
All sounds good, got that "potential new car" tingle of excitment!!
Edited by _Dan_ on Sunday 24th January 15:57
I had an r33gtr and it was a great car,That one your thinking of buying looks so nice,i see its up for sale on the gtr register,If you go and read the sellers past post's you can tell its been a very well looked after car,if i was you i would buy it as quick as you can or you may miss this one,it's a minter.
johnnywas said:
I had an r33gtr and it was a great car,That one your thinking of buying looks so nice,i see its up for sale on the gtr register,If you go and read the sellers past post's you can tell its been a very well looked after car,if i was you i would buy it as quick as you can or you may miss this one,it's a minter.
I've just spent the last hour reading the thread where he did an engine rebuild himself a couple of years back. He seems to be a proper enthusiast, which is exactly the sort of owner/car I have been on the lookout for over the last couple of months. A lot of people on the GTR register have commented on how it's the best example they have seen.With him keeping it maintained to that level of detail I can't see that there will be anything I'll be able to find wrong with it. I googled his name and he is in the trade, having worked for NME (Nissan Motorsport, before it was disbanded) and now makes aftermarket parts and does servicing from what I can gather. I'll probably be taking the car back to him for the service intervals!!
Anyhow, I've texted him saying that I'll almost 100% be buying it.
Edited by _Dan_ on Sunday 24th January 20:44
Gaz. said:
As I was reading that I thought you should ask him to maintain it for you 
That has more than crossed my mind! The main reason the guy is selling is because he's leaving his job at Nissan and going full time with his own car service/parts business (he makes a few custom parts for Skylines), so he'll be happy for the work, and no one knows the car better than him!I had an email from him a while ago with lots more history about the car. All good! Also, I've got first refusal on it!
For anyone interested, quiet an interesting thread from the owner on the engine rebuild he did on what will hopefully be my new car on Saturday.....
http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/87219-winter-project-un...
http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/87219-winter-project-un...
Godzilla said:
Wow, you got a bargain there.
What turbos are it running? Can't be the standard ceramics, they're no good past 400 or so.
Not sure really. I'll know more on Saturday when I actually see it. The chap said that he fitted N1 (??) turbos and they smoked a bit, so he put the originals back again. 400-450bhp was a guess on his part, he said he hasn't had it dyno'd since a remap. I'll post up more details on Saturday.What turbos are it running? Can't be the standard ceramics, they're no good past 400 or so.
I do know that the engine was sourced from an R34 that was track destined for an endurance car for NME. Seems to have balanced cranks, already ported in places, upgraded pistons, the owner has ported the rest. Had custom sump baffle fitted, extra custom oil drainage, and more. Engine should be good to 500bhp with different turbos, but to tell the truth, I'm not looking for huge power gains, I'm using this as an everyday driver and reliability is my main concern, with the added bonus of an extra 100bhp+ on top of standard! The chap spent the best part of 4 months quite meticulously replacing anything and everything (seals, gaskets, checking out the bottom end etc) in the name of reliability and usable power gains, which is exactly the car I've been searching for for months!!
Come on Saturday....hurry up!!
Edited by _Dan_ on Tuesday 26th January 21:41
Godzilla said:
Amazing, that is a one of a kind find!
I would put a pair of HKS GT2530s on, will support 550-600hp easily, very little lag as they are needle roller bearing and much tougher than the standard ceramics.
Would be a tragedy if that awesome engine was taken out by a grenading ceramic...
Is that a common problem on the R34 turbos then? I'm only guessing that the turbos are from an R34 and therefore ceramic ones, but I guess if the block is from a 34 then the rest may as well be right? In the pictures in the link of the rebuild above, he has the N1 turbos on the bench, but as I mention, these have been replaced with the standards again for reliability/driveable reasons I think.I would put a pair of HKS GT2530s on, will support 550-600hp easily, very little lag as they are needle roller bearing and much tougher than the standard ceramics.
Would be a tragedy if that awesome engine was taken out by a grenading ceramic...
Not that I'm planning on this in the near future, but how drivable is a GTR with 550-600hp? A friend of a friend that had a GTS-T with about 450ish which was apparently completely undrivable in the wet, but obvious a GTR won't have nearly so much of a problem as a RWD.
Ah, good point. Maybe the R34 has steel turbos, sorry I don't know as that was the only generation (of the modern GT-Rs) I skipped owning!
And seeing how much knowledge the owner has, they probably are steel as he wouldn't have risked running higher boost, bigger injectors etc on ceramics so that makes sense.
Anything up to 600hp on an RB26 is pretty driveable; Godzilla 1 was fantastically fast with the Mine's 600/620ps kit on it, but was rebuilt unreliably hence needing 3 rebuilds within a year.
Have to say how I love Godzilla 2 is now on 600hp with just a remap and an exhaust! Progress indeed.
But it costs a lot more than that R33.
Interesting fact, the UK R33s were £50k new back in 1997 and the UK R34s were £54k back in 1999! In that light the R35 is even more of a bargain than it seems...
And seeing how much knowledge the owner has, they probably are steel as he wouldn't have risked running higher boost, bigger injectors etc on ceramics so that makes sense.
Anything up to 600hp on an RB26 is pretty driveable; Godzilla 1 was fantastically fast with the Mine's 600/620ps kit on it, but was rebuilt unreliably hence needing 3 rebuilds within a year.
Have to say how I love Godzilla 2 is now on 600hp with just a remap and an exhaust! Progress indeed.
But it costs a lot more than that R33.
Interesting fact, the UK R33s were £50k new back in 1997 and the UK R34s were £54k back in 1999! In that light the R35 is even more of a bargain than it seems...
Gaz. said:
iirc N1 turbos have all steel internals, a search on the GTR OC could confirm this?
Dan could you resend that email for me please, I think the PH mail is playing up- thank you
The guy's website is up and running, sure he won't mind it being posted on here.....Dan could you resend that email for me please, I think the PH mail is playing up- thank you
The chap is called Ian Colligan
Website is www.elitetech.co.uk
I'll find out about the turbos and everything else on Saturday! My God this week is going slow!! TVR is as good as sold now though, so that's good!
Standard R32-R34 Turbos are ceramic, 32/33 have thrust bearings and R34s have Ball bearings.
1.0bar is the max recomended amount of boost pressure on these.
There's quite a few variants of "N1" turbo, all have steel internals, early ones have thrust bearings later ones have ball bearings. Safely you can probably about 1.4bar before there's a big problem.
here's a handy link with all the types of turbos
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tbroom/Turbos.htm
1.0bar is the max recomended amount of boost pressure on these.
There's quite a few variants of "N1" turbo, all have steel internals, early ones have thrust bearings later ones have ball bearings. Safely you can probably about 1.4bar before there's a big problem.
here's a handy link with all the types of turbos
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tbroom/Turbos.htm
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