skylines... updated!

[rollaholic]

hey guys,

i know this is a nissan question, but i know alot of people here own and work on all kinds of cars so i thought i might get some good answers here

basically im looking at swapping my trueno for an R32 coupe, gtst converted manual. the car is incredibly tidy, i've always wanted an R32 coupe, it seems like the perfect opportunity. the gearbox is rooted but it comes with a replacement.

the guy told me the box came with the conversion package he bought from trademe, got ripped on a shitty box. the new one is from dodsons so should be fine.

what im looking for is peoples opinions on what the thing is worth, its done 160kms. he had it on TM for 7k i think, which seems a little pricey to me - but dont really know. also common problems to look for?

hes replaced two coilpacks and the passenger side air vent is intact, those are the only two i know of ><

share me your wisdom!

thanks

[MR2BOY23]

My brothers had his skyline for close to 4 years now and its super reliable. 7K Seems to be the normal sort of price for a gtst coupe, maybe not one thats been converted though?

[Dell'Orto]

Is it black? I would have thought $7k would be a bit steep, but I guess they're still quite popular. Pretty solid things really, the stock turbos are a let down, and obviously coilpacks give out, but otherwise they're pretty tough.
I always wanted a black R32 coupe, just quietly

[rollaholic]

its gunmetal grey, second fav color after black

oh that reminds me (not sure why) i remember hearing something about auto skylines getting slightly smaller turbos or something?

or have i got my urban legends mixed up?

[finx]

without incriminating myself (im toyota through and through), i have a small amount of knowledge with skylines and other nissans. thus is because just about every single one of my close friends bloody has one 1 and i always get roped into helping them out when things dont go right for them.

a gtst with fairly low km and manual goes for moon beans for what they are. 6-7k is probably about right for one with those kms.

common problems are

rust on sill in engine bay
rust around rear windscreen especially at the bottom
rust around the tail lights, if they have been removed and not put back in or re sealed properly.
also 99% of the things have had rear quarter damage at some stage in their life. i have only ever seen one to date that hasnt had bog or dents in the rear qauters. and i have seen many!
all interior air vents get sun and heat deprivation and dry out/ crack. these are also very expensive to replace. new ones are still available from nissan thou i believe.
all gtst's have factory lsd, most are rooted by 150,000km unless regular diff oil changes have been done.
front indicators are rubbish. if it has been removed at some point in its life then its almost definitely stuffed and wont sit properly. the mounts for them always break.
coilpacks sh*t them selves regularly. they get to hot sitting on top of the engine, and with the cover over them they just cook.
most dont idle evenly or at all. idle control valves are crap and are also electronically controlled. thses are complete ass to set up properly. there is a extremely overly complicated way to set it up and everyone has a different theory too. same goes for trying to set the engine ignition timing.
rear hicas (4wd steering) which the real gtst's all have often $&#$% out. the tie rods are common to get play, and the lines often leak. plus the power steering pumps crap out.
starter motors are also common to crap out, and sound stupid.
and they drink gas
bonnets can be opened by reaching under the bonnet and pulling the cable if the cover has been removed which most have been.
rocker covers leak something cronic and new seals are extremely expensive because all the retailers know this.
ceramic rear wheeld turbos which arnt the best, and seals crap out real quick

thats about all i can think of, some of it may seem exaggerated. i just dont like them in general so im biased.


good points:

plenty of power from stock, do good skids if thats what your into.
brakes are awesome (m spec versions are best).
fairly reliable if you get one that hasn't been raped. (this is not hard to tell but is hard to find).
plenty of off the shelf aftermarket parts
they do look cool to a point, only problem is every man and his dog has one with drift tec's

[rollaholic]

i must confess i didnt check it out properly, most of the time was spent with him looking at my car. do twin pot rears mean four pot fronts?

essentially im thinking if i make the trade i'll be able to drive it till i get bored of it, then sell it and still get the money i wanted for my trueno.

i've seen so many 80% ruined skylines i was actually quite blown away by how mint this one is. tendency to buy cars with heart / cock rather than head making itself known again!

im a spanner monkey by day so parts / work etc not too much of a major. i'll have to ask to see it again and have a look at those body areas you mentioned. whats with the quarter damage, overcooked sideways?

car seems to idle fine, and went reasonably well for a stocker. thanks for all the info!

[Dell'Orto]

. whats with the quarter damage, overcooked sideways?

Dont you know, every Skyline is automatically a sweet D1 car bei.
Oh yeah forgot about the rust thing, a mates old one went around front and rear windscreens, and bizarrely in the C pillar too.

[finx]

yea prity much all skylines have had some loony behind the wheel try drift it at some stage. that and people cant reverse them/they get crashed in car parks or at supermarkets etc etc i dont know. i have only ever seen one genuinely straight one without bog or dents.

also check that the bottom sills (under the doors), are straight. this will give you a good indication of if its been up a curb before, or many in some cases. i would also be checking chassis rails arnt dented in, and i have seen a few go rusty under the drivers and passengers foot wells on the chassis.
front window can be a problem too but primarily around the rear.

if its a good one and it stays that way you will defiantly get your money back on re sale, which shouldn't be all that hard with the whole drift craze in full blast.

im a spanner spinner too, hence why i always end up fixing them all!

[Bling]

that and people cant reverse them/they get crashed in car parks or at supermarkets etc etc i dont know.

Is this skyline related or just part of owning ANY car?


I say go for it

[finx]

you have basicly nailed it there, but for some reason almost all skylines seem to get dinged up in the rear qauters. weather they have been drifted or not.
they must have big magnets in the boot, or invisible targets only other drivers, poles and armco's can see

[RS13]

No, because out of all RB20DET powered cars (and I can attest to this, I've owned them all!), they spin the easiest!

I've owned several now, GTS and GTSt etc. Finx has pretty much got it bang on.. those are all the things that can go wrong, overall they're pretty tough cars to break!

$7k is pretty close to what its' worth, but for that money it better be mint. Also, conversion to manual, was a turbo flywheel/clutch used? Don't forget to check for manual spigot bearing and change the thrust bearing when you change the gearboxes over.

Check the gearbox crossmember too, the autos have a different mounting point on the chassis compared to a manual, hence require modification/adaptor plates which require certification, which then means that the car will be picked over for rust, repairs etc, which might end up costing $$ to fix, let alone the $350 for cert.

Enginewise.. they're solid units, but as was said, the turbos are crap! If the boost has been played with, mentally prepare yourself for a new turbo. Start the car from cold, let it idle for a minute, give it a small rev, check for oil smoke. The RBs normally blow a little black under load.

Other than that, don't worry too much about the LSD and HICAS and all that crapping out, aftermarket parts are everywhere and cheap, people crash these all the time!

[rollaholic]

so just to clarify rs13 you are saying that using a manual cross member doesnt help - the actual mounting points on the chassis are different? ie the auto cars dont have bolt holes for the manual member?

whats the size difference between turbo and non turbo flywheels? the owner seems pretty up front so i'll ask him about that. the car looks too original and straight to have been pranged, but will defintely be making a closer inspection.

i might make the swap dependent on the new box sorting out the problems the current one has!

[bbq1988]

No, because out of all RB20DET powered cars (and I can attest to this, I've owned them all!), they spin the easiest!

My brother just swaped his GT Starlet for a R32 GTS Coupe, this thing steps out all the time, easier then my mates 180sx turbo.

Coupes FTW! i want it

PS: RB30DET Conversion starting to accumulate at his work...

[1I1]

PS: RB30DET Conversion starting to accumulate at his work...

Top man!

[pjay]

Add another t and

[RS13]

so just to clarify rs13 you are saying that using a manual cross member doesnt help - the actual mounting points on the chassis are different? ie the auto cars dont have bolt holes for the manual member?

whats the size difference between turbo and non turbo flywheels? the owner seems pretty up front so i'll ask him about that. the car looks too original and straight to have been pranged, but will defintely be making a closer inspection.

i might make the swap dependent on the new box sorting out the problems the current one has!

Yeah, the auto crossmember mounting points are different. The crossmembers are the same though. This is the manual crossmember that came with the gearbox, you can see how far away the auto crossmember mounting points are.



Non turbo flywheel is 8.5" with 6 bolts holding the clutch cover on, turbo is 9.5" with 9 bolts. Yeah I'd do that aye, the RP71C gearboxes are getting long in the tooth now, 2nd or 3rd gear synchros are normally the first to go, changing them isn't too hard. And put the box in 3rd or 4th before taking the shifter out, they're easy to bump into a couple of gears if you drop/bump them, I've seen that done before!

[rollaholic]

thanks for the tips on box removal. that cross member looks like it just needs to be turned around! haha. he said its got an auto member thats been slotted, i presume the manual boxes are a bit longer or something?

he also asked a mechanic friend of his about the flywheel, who called nissan and was told turbo and non turbo are the same - RB25 powered cars got bigger flywheels but thats all. he did say the manual conversion came from an RB20DET powered cefiro. i guess i'll find out when the box comes out...

the new box is from a wrecker so if its a bit naff i guess it will be going back. still a pain to pull it out again though. he said the rear seal is leaking too, i wondered if the x-member might be a bit bodgy and the driveshaft is on a bit of an angle or something, but it seemed pretty vibration free to drive. will see how we go i guess.

[RS13]

RB20DET turbo 9.5" 9-bolt flywheel/clutch.



RB20E/DE 8.5" 6-bolt flywheel.



Auto and manual crossmembers side by side. If he slotted the auto one it'll need cert, as it won't pass a wof like that. The auto boxes are a few cm longer.



Yeah the crossmember looks that way! But na, it mounts higher on the other side, so it can't be turned around. The story about the flywheels being the same is rubbish!

[rollaholic]

interesting, the cross members look identical in that photo. so the only difference is the length of the gearbox? or is one of them wider than the other?

are DE boxes different to DET? any way to tell said differences visually? ie checking out the spare box he has.

i dont think i'll have any problems getting a WOF for it though

edit - the guy measured the old clutch plate that came with the conversion (he put a new one in it as you would) and said it was 9 inch dia. weird in between size?

[johndoe1025]

thats my freinds bfs skyline if im right, you wana swap the 86? ive been talkin to him bout buying it aswell! its ment to be super straight, aparently he doesnt thrash it either. its never been raped. thats what ive heard anyway