Steve85

R33 GTR LM Limited Hi all, So long time stalker and awkward question guy here. I have been chasing an R33 GTR LM Limited for a long time. I have seen all the LM Limiteds that have been for sale this year. In total, there were less than ten cars for sale here and in Japan. In the end, I have purchased an LM Limited from Perth from a nice guy called Gavin. He contacted me early in my search to offer his car to me. At the time, I was looking for a stock car that had a few modifications as possible. Gav's car did not fit that bill. It has been built from the ground up in all aspects (engine, suspension, brakes, etc). The months rolled on and I followed up every lead I could to try to find the car I wanted. I spent hours and hours trawling through the internet, facebook and of course SAU. All the while a little voice on my shoulder kept asking if maybe I should just buy that worked one that Gav offered. It was already here after all. Finally, I cracked, I gave up my search got back in contact with Gav to offer to buy his car. His response: "I'm going to hold onto it and not sell it." I was devastated and proceeded to offer the amount that I knew Gav wanted for it. He changed his mind after a couple of weeks and I sent a healthy deposit over to secure the car. The car had a few minor issues that needed to be worked out at Galvsport. While it was there I asked that the car be inspected with the intent of me purchasing it. The guys at Galvsport were fantastic and were very patient with my questions and commentary. In the end, I did buy the car and transfered the rest of the money to Gav. I know owned the car I wanted. If only it wasn't 3500km away. I had the car shipped over using CEVA on the premium race car transport. The car arrived in excellent condition and was exactly what I was hoping for. It was shipped from Galvsport directly to Racepace in Melbourne who have gotten the car into a roadworthy state (VicRoads are notoriously scrupulous on modified cars). I picked the car up with its roadworthy today and drove it away. I did stall it once trying to complete a u-turn and it has insanely hard suspension. I was advised that I should soften it up and having driven it for 30 minutes this is now a priority. Fortunately the car has adjustable damping which should result in a better ride. So whats the car like? It's fast, really fast. Like oh my god, what just happened, fast! It's also very loud. Not the exhaust, it is tolerable, but the noise from the suspension, fuel pumps and differentials is insane. Its got a radio so I might have to give that a go to remove the unwanted noise in the background. So all in all, it's a very different car than I was expecting, this thing feels and acts like a racecar. Certainly once the suspension is softened up, I think it will be more tolerable on the roads. So, pictures, I know most of you are only here for pictures:

Heres mine;

No. I tried, but Eric didnt want to sell me his. I ended up buying mine from Gavin in Perth. Incidentally they live in the same town.

I used tyretrader.com.au once. Good price, slow to ship. But as long as you dont need them urgently they're pretty good. About 60% retail on the Khumos I bought.

Hi Subi. Welcome to SAU. The search bar will become your new best friend here. Some really quick tips though; Don't rush to buy. Most GTRs are up long enough for you to get a second opinion and do as much research as you can. If a car seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of changed dash/odometers. It seems to be super common that some cars have changed odometers and some owners get a bit defensive when you ask why. Otherwise just read as much as you can and try to get a second opinion from someone who knows cars. Good luck!

Ive got a triple that just came off my car (33GTR). I can send you some pictures on the weekend if you're interested.

I used to have a Pulsar, it used to go through leads like crazy. After about the 4th set, i realised that i had left a heat shield off the exhaust and they were being cooked. Maybe you are suffering a similar fate?

Here in Melbourne the focus has been on three things for a number of years; dont speed, dont drink and dont be on your phone. Unfortunately this combination has led people to believe that they are fantastic drivers as long as they arent doing any of the above. What it has led to, is an entire state driving around with their attention anywhere but the road. You see it everywhere, cars judt wandering all over the road, no f**ks given about other road users and tailgating like they believe if they get close enough their car will pass right through yours. I'd love to see the stats on low speed, no injury crashes. I guarantee these will have increased disproportionally to number of drivers on the road.

Also for the cost of shipping a car over, i would widen your search out to other states. It's a little more hassle and you need to be more careful, but you might find what you want on the east coast. (Disclaimer; i just bought an R33 LM from Perth and shipped it to Melbourne).

Agree with the comments here, be skeptical of kms on dashes, if the car looks rougher than the kms suggest theres a good reason. And yep, Galvsport have a reasonable car for sale at the moment. It would be worth going by just to have a chat with them. They're good lads and will help you out if you need it.

Haha good answer. Welcome!

Hi Michael, welcome, im also fairly new here and am also in Melbourne. What car are you rolling around in while you're here?

Is that a 66 or a 67? I never can tell. Im not a massive muscle car guy.

Hi there, Is the gearshift boot and surround still available?

@MR Pat34, if I recall correctly the R34 is a smaller car than the R33? I might be off on that fact, but I'm sure there is someone here who can confirm or deny for me.

Have you considered that it could coincidentally be an alternator or battery that is no good? It's a big leap, but you should probably just check how many volts you have on the battery terminals before and during cranking.

@Kinkstaah, i can tell you, i'm 2m tall and I like to sit bolt upright in a car. I absolutely cannot stand to be leaning back VL style (or whatever we're calling it now). In most cars I find the seat goes back far enough, but I run out of head room. So maybe my torso is abnormally long? lol

I have one coming for xmas. It's this one: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/CoverALL-Car-Cover-Gold-Protection-Tyvek-Suits-Large-Extra-Large-Vehicles/366564?menuFrom=1021713 I'll let you know how it fits my R33... Hopefully that will at least give you some idea. I'll update this thread once I have it.

Well, hopefully the airbag has been removed... Otherwise that cabin will turn into a horrible shrapnel filled box for anyone in the car in the event of an accident. I shudder to think... As per my statement above, this type of backyard engineering seems to be pretty standard among the cars up for sale. When I look at a car and think i can do better (and i'm not exactly the most capable with a spanner), i know that the person who installed it didn't think about it enough and certainly doesn't do that type of work on a regular basis.

This is awesome!!! Such a cool car to build. Would love to see a full build thread.

Terrible... lol

@admS15, love those little things! Awesome cars. I can't imagine having a bad time in a car like that. It just looks like whenever you jump in it, the car would be happy to see you.

Haha! THIS. All the time! Sometimes after more than 30 minutes, my neck and back get kinda sore. That said, I bought a Ford Falcon (BA) and it doesn't have much headroom. Thanks a lot sunroof!

I love the little Fiat 500, but this... no. MX5 all the way for me! So you said you were quite tall (me too), where were your eyes? I find I tend to be looking at the top of the windscreen...

While i didn't contact this seller, i can tell that, not answering the phone, not sending documents, or pretending they do have documents until you show up seems par for the course when inspecting/buying a Skyline GTR. What was completely amazing was some people hated you if you called their phone, while others wouldn't respond to anything but texts. I just can't fathom these people. I had money ready to go as soon as I got documents and could have the car inspected. I even told them I would give them a healthy deposit the moment they could prove kms or could show import documents. Sadly it seems that a fair percentage of these cars are not what they are advertised. The two I saw were beaten to death, yet advertised as "good condition, suit collector, professionally built". No mention of the ruined panels or missing interiors, or the fact that they were clearly built in the driveway (just bolt ons, and not done very well). The classic effort was the changed dash and speedo. My god, the number of these was insane. One of the blokes kept going on about how I was a racist even though i have no idea what his background was. I only knew his name, nothing else, just because I asked for documents he blew up! I almost gave up at one point, but i persisted and found what I was after. Keep looking you'll find something!