R33 GTR ownership experiences

[blindswelledrat]

Do we have any/many of these on here?
Ive always loved them and they are so cheap nowadays as to render them ridiculous.

Are they an everyday reliable proposition or are they a labour of love and pots and pots of money?

[ROB_GTR]

i have one....

this is a good little thread to look at. page 2 i add my experience with 2 R33 GTR's

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[ROB_GTR]

ROB_GTR said:

i have one....

this is a good little thread to look at. page 2 i add my experience with 2 R33 GTR's

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

just to add though, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR so if your looking at a "cheap" one, its cheap for a reason

[_Dan_]

I bought a UK spec R33 GTR last Feb/March time following 7 years of TVR ownership.

I splashed out a little more (£11k) for one that (I thought) would be reliable and relatively trouble free. Saying that, It's not all been roses. Most of the problems in one way or another could've been avoidable if I'd known a little more about these cars prior to ownership. I had a leaky water pump which would've been cheap to fix but ended up overheating and cracking the head, silly mistake though, the previous owner said he topped up the water every month or so, but he only did a few thousand miles a year, I did 2k in my first week and got caught low on water in a motorway jam! Also, I've had to swap out the gearbox with another second hand one, although I did know about this before I bought it.

They're not the cheapest car to run I must say, regardless of what you buy it for, it's still a £50k car your running! I'm using mine as an everyday drive, as well as a couple of track days now and again. MPG is pretty crappy, you'll be lucky to see over 20mpg even with the tamest driving. Tyres are pricey, mine aren't standard size so maybe even more pricey, looking at £170 a corner for a decent set of 265/35R18s.

Saying all that though, I wouldn't swap it. They are immense fun cars which perform like no other I've ever been in, let along owned. I love the looks, and wanted one since my school days when the R32 came out. I think now I've gotten over a few teething troubles, I'm (touches wood franticly!) in for a good few thousand miles of trouble free big grin motoring.

I bought mine with relatively subtle engine mods, and it's around 400-450bhp. More would be nice, but what I've got is certainly enough for now.

Few pics in my profile and here if you're interested. I see you're in London. If you ever want to pop round and have a look/chat/go for a spin I'd be more than happy.

Cheers

[blindswelledrat]

Cheers all.
Dan, that is one of the nicest looking ones Ive seen. Looks special. I might well take you up on that kind offer.
MPG, I don't really care about. I do limited mileage hence things like that I don't mind.
What I do mind, however, is hassle. Things needing doing every 2 minutes.
What are the service intervals/costs on one running 450 or so?

[blindswelledrat]

ROB_GTR said:

ROB_GTR said:

i have one....

this is a good little thread to look at. page 2 i add my experience with 2 R33 GTR's

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

just to add though, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR so if your looking at a "cheap" one, its cheap for a reason

Just looking at that, the costs dont seem too bad.
Do you get a stream of other things needing doign on the whole beyond the services?

[_Dan_]

blindswelledrat said:

Cheers all.
Dan, that is one of the nicest looking ones Ive seen. Looks special. I might well take you up on that kind offer.
MPG, I don't really care about. I do limited mileage hence things like that I don't mind.
What I do mind, however, is hassle. Things needing doing every 2 minutes.
What are the service intervals/costs on one running 450 or so?

Thanks, it is a beaut! I'm in North London and more than welcome anytime. Not quite that immaculate at the moment due to a few stone chips on the bumper and a scrote doing a hit and run on the n/s wing. I'll have that sorted soon though, purely cosmetic. I try to get the oil changed every 3000 miles or so. I've had one major service since I bought it, done when I had the head repaired. I think I'll try and get a service done every 8k-10k or so and do the oil changes myself, they come in at around £400 I reckon provided nothing needs doing. Things like brakes pads and discs I do myself, hopefully will attempt more in the future! It's on 70k now, was on 62k when I bought it.

Bit of a generalisation, but I'd say most under £7.5k you need to be wary of.

Edited by _Dan_ on Friday 22 October 20:42

[Dr Meat]

Ive got a r34 gtr, which is pretty much the same car. These cars are amazing! The engines are one of the strongest around,you will only break one if it is pissed with about with by an idiot or neglected. They can suffer from overheating when driven hard,but if has an oil cooler and an uprated rad they barely get hot.
The only real problem with gtr's is you want to throw money out them,always knowing at can be more powerful and faster then it is now.
Have a look on the gtroc forum,you will find answers to all the questions you have.
As long as you dont mind going to a petrol station ever time you start it you could never regret owning one.DO IT!

[blindswelledrat]

Im already a member on the GTRoc from when I had my R35 but I find that with these kind of questions people on there are reluctant to admit the negatives of ownership. Look at it more through rose tinted spectacles so I dont think Id get a completely impartial view, if you see what i mean.
Anyway, asounds pretty promising. As mentioned, I dont care at all about petrol as i only do a few miles, and if it get s abit thirsty - never mind.