MerlinTheHapyPig

mark, i'm in the same boat. Give dotars a call (the number is on your import approval paperwork) and make sure they have received it, ask them how long it should take. Tell your supplier in japan to find out when the next ship leaves that has space on it. There is a ship leaving early December, im trying to get my car booked on that, even though i don't have the approval yet.

it's upto extra 25mm width of wheel and up to 15mm overall diameter of wheel + tyre (so 18s are legal as long as the amount of actual tyre is reduced) i was wrong in my first post and someone corrected me.

fudge, i was hoping to get the car before january. don't like my chances now

has anyone had any problems booking cars on ships? Im hoping to get mine booked on a ship leaving early december, but i have a bad feeling they are full up

if u r gonna get one under the 15 year rule, do it now. This isn't exactly news, but DOTARS have told the major Australian agents (such as www.prestigemotorsport.com.au and www.j-spec.com.au) that there may be changes to the 15 year import rule come January. They have also been told not to buy-up on cars built in 1990. I just bought a November 1989 R32 GTS-t Type M 4 Door, the landed estimate is around $7,800 (it will actually be a bit less, because i bought it when the dollar was up against the yen) 2 door ones tend to be $1k or $2k higher, but it depends on the condition. If you're after an automatic, prices are much cheaper than the manuals. Check out the above two websites, as they have heaps of R32s in stock at the moment, and you're sure to find one that matches your tastes.

man, that guy is scary, most cops don't know crap about imports - eg difference between a Magna and a VR4 Galant. This guy knows bloody everything on imports, things that most cops won't know (like telling the difference between CA and SR S13's from the front grille), and stock power/weight specs. The reason why your friend didn't get done in a 5 litre vp is because it's an Aussie car, and this guy has a thing for p-platers driving imports (he's apparently actually admitted this, a couple of cops who have been asked about this guy know him because of his reputation)

Here's mine, Still in Japan though :-( not sure what the body-kit is, the supplier says it's a GTR style, but i have my doubts go the 4 door skylines!!

the contact details is on the last page of the import approval doc u fill out. They actually say on the answering machine thingo when you call that 'unnecessary enquirys may delay issuing your import approval' . Not sure what to take of that, what do they do when you call them? put your approval on the bottom of the pile???

separate question, im in Victoria. Can I get temporary registration and drive the car to the compliance workshop to get complied?? (15 year old import) Someone mentioned in a previous post "DONT DRIVE IT" but isn't the purpose of a temp reg to do the repairs / work you need to get done to get it rego'd? So wouldn't compliance mods qualify for that?

sent mine off today, yeah!!! Car is November 1989 build. I gave them a call because i had another question, and explained that i had it all filled out and was waiting till november 01 to send it through. She told me to send it today, because they are fairly far behind processing that my application won't get touched for at least a week. I asked if it's better to fax it or mail it. She said faxed ones are heaps better than express post. So, i hung up and walked to the fax machine.... bam. The cover sheet said something like "i know it's ment to be sent on 1st of november, but person xxx from your office said it was ok to send it today" I gave them a call back and managed to get the same person on the phone who remembered me. I said that i faxed it a while ago and could she please check to see if it had arrived ok. - puts me on hold and goes and check. "Yeah, it arrived fine, thanks for that, it should be 20 days from today, so around the 15th november. Here is a reference number if you need to query anything" Im going to give them another call in a week to make sure they haven't lost anything, then i'll give them another call closer to the date it should be arriving. I figure if i keep hounding them, it makes sure everything is ticking along and it doesn't get lost along the way... I'd suggest for anyone who is waiting for november to tick over to send it through now, and fax it (or you can call them and ask if it's ok). A followup call never goes astray either to make sure they've got it all.

my car used to have them (one of the airbags burst and it was cheaper to swap them out and put in conventional) they were pretty damn good, in a family car (1991 Mitsubishi Verada Xi) it was getting the soft comfortable ride, and it worked really well on corners - it reduced body roll on corners significantly but didn't really respond fast enough if you were really hammering it. I was very suprised when i first got the car at how well it handled, and how comforable it was for stock "family car" suspension. Handled heaps better than your stocko commodore or falcon - but front wheel drive attributed to that also. I really missed it when it got taken out, but for $3000, you can go for some really good fully adjustable coilovers - i know what i'd be choosing. But it really depends if you want to go for really good handling ability, comfort, or you're just going for something more unique...

im after a stock rb20det blow-off-valve & associated hoses etc.

I was quoted $5,500 to insure an R33 GTR fully comp... I'm 20 with no-accident/claim history i was actually suprised they were actually gonna let me insure it at all (it was justcars). Half the insurance companies i called were like "u gotta be joking mate"

some sites that i've found useful for those who are interested: www.somersoft.com.au awesome forum. www.apimagazine.com.au http://www.investclub.com.au/aspnet/index.aspx

point noted.. yeah i've read the vicroads link before, I must have been confused between the width of the wheel and the diameter. I was just using that as an example though. Be warned about printing out regulations etc, if the cop is just going to give you a slap on the wrist and is happy to overlook a few things, don't wave "the book" in his face coz he'll think you're a smartass and just try and find more stuff to defect you on

has anyone ever posted a tutorial on RB20DET removal? would be interested in how to do it, coz i'll be doing a swap some time in the near future. If you can be bothered take some pics while you do it.

v-spec r32 gtr's came with stock 17 inch rims which means 18inch are legal on gtr's. the largest wheels you could get on a gts-t were 16inch. there is some debate as to whether the fact that GTRs could get 17s also qualifies gts-t's however when most people go through compliance, most workshops tend to put the tyre/load ratings for the GTR (ie 225/50 R17) - or just ask them when you get compliance done. i was just using that as an example, rim sizes have been discussed before and i don't want to start another argument here!!

im gonna wait until my RB20DET blows itself up then look at doing a conversion, though a RB26DETT might be a little too good, especially since i'll probably be drifting it. i have no idea how the RB26 will go with an auto box. you might be better off with a RB25DET from an R33 skyline and putting a bigger turbo on it. Saves hassel coz u just have to find a R33 half cut with an auto transmission.

if you get done, make sure they write down exactly what the defect is for, not just "driving an unroadworthy vehicle". Most police don't know sh1t so if you get done for something you know is legal, make sure they write it down on the ticket, then go to your local police station and file a complaint. get them to look at the car and make a record of it. Eg. if you have 18inch rims on a skyline (which is legal) and they defect you for that reason. Make sure they write "rims too big (18 inch)" on the ticket rather than just "rims too big". It is hard to argue the case, the officer could say you had 19 inch rims and u must have changed them to 18 inch in the mean time. If you had the original defect notice/fine and then a police report less than an hour later, then you have a good foot to stand on.

http://www.justjap.com/welcome_page.htm RB25DET 5 Sp $5,000 RB25DET NEO 5 Sp $6,000 RB26DETT 5 Sp R32 $7,500 u will have to call to see if they have any in stock, all the prices are "From $..." so i think they're minimum prices What's the diff between rb25det and rb25det neo??

i'd imagine a workshop would charge outragious prices for an engine swap (regardless of whether it's an easy swap or not) and you'd probably want someone who has a bit of knowledge about skylines and has done the swap before. Best idea would be to ask around on the forum and see if someone whose done the swap before needs a bit of spare $$$ I think the suggestion has been made in a previous thread to do the fitting yourself but get an autoelectrician to wire up the loom, (which is apparently the hardest thing - that was suggested on a previous thread on the topic) Anyone done any RB26DETT conversions? Im thinking on waiting until my RB20DET blows up and then put an RB26DETT engine + RB25DET gearbox in it and go driftin :-D (mmm rear wheel RB26DETT)

Thanks for the advise, i'll definantly check them out. I'll be talking to my financial advisor about it later this month anyway. I work in construction management (which is a great industry to work in for that sort of thing) and have been bugging our development guru with non-stop questions about it! I worked on some of the docklands apartments actually, they aren't that great, the finish quality we were seeing was crap, and about the only attraction was water front view

hey, thanks for all the replys! it was just a thought. I have a new get rich quick scheme every week! Investement property is still the way to go I figure, Find a house $400k ish $40k deposit interest only loan So you pay 7% interest on $360k = $25,200/year = $484 / week At current market rates, i could probaly get $350 / week rent the remainder $134 / week comes out of my own pocket. This counts as loss so it is a tax deduction which is about $7000. Property value doubles every 7 years. So in 2011 the house is worth $800,000, i have a loan of $360,000.00, and my tenant is paying $700/week rent. Which is covering the interest on the loan and earning me $216 a week. I can either draw down on the loan to get some cash, or use the equity to buy more investment propertys. There is also risk here: Interest rate rises - if they go up from 7% to say 9% - that's an extra $140/week that i need to provide No Tenant - have to be able to afford periods with no tenant for a while Property Maintenence - have to factor in maintenence costs. You picked a crap area - need to do research to make sure property will appreaciate at higher than average But in the long term, property investment kicks ass. Anyway, that's was my thoughts on negative gearing. Im also thinking of doing a development, which is even more risky but the returns are plentiful. Ill let you know how i go! And another thing, cars are one of the worst investments, but in the sense that you buy one and sell it in a few years you'll most likely loose money on it. However if you can get a car easily that's hard to find, you can get away with a generous markup. Im not sure if it will work on a skyline, but just a thought. and comments like "thats the dumbest idea ever" don't really add much to the discussion, so shut the hell up :-)

hmm, im probably going to go with property, just thought i'd float the idea so who here has sold an R32 GTR (without too many major mods) recently and how much did u get for it?

get rich quick scheme #298 I have a decent amount of money invested, and I was thinking the other day of other ways to invest it. I was actually thinking of getting an investment property. Im currently importing a car through j-spec and I'm probably saving a good $3-4k on the overall purchase (which is probably costing me around $10k). Since the 15 year rule is about to change, the thought crossed my mind of importing 3 or 4 R32 GTR Skylines under the 15 year rule in the next month or two and getting the road registered and then flogging them off. The prices on sites like J-spec and Prestige work out on average around $20,000.00 landed for a GTR with a few mods, less than 100,000ks and in pretty good condition. Realistically they will probably cost more like $23,000 after compliance, modifications to get roadworthy, registration and general fix-up to get sold. If i find the car myself and don't use j-spec or prestige i can save $1k on their fee. There aren't many R32's for sale on sites like carsales.com.au and most of them have pretty high km's. What price could would I expect to be able to sell one at here, and how easy are GTR's to sell privatly? If the 15 year rule becomes a lot more restrictive, i might be in quite a good position if i sell them after january. Also, how many cars can i buy and sell before im classed as a dealer? What are the tax implications!? Interested on hearing people comments, -Cheers.