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Hi all, I have so many questions but would like to try the short version first so as to not bore everyone. I'm hoping SAU will be a wealth of people that has been through this before and know how the system works. I'm in over my head and trying to get some facts straight before I commit to anything. I have ( had ) An R34, Turbo, manual, coupe, it was stolen and thrashed for a night and dumped the next morning, more or less straight. The insurance company ( not sure if i should name them ) have had the car at a questionable garage in Dandenong, Vic for 4! weeks. The insurance assessor contacted me today. Word for word: "Mate, we're not going to go down the road of repair, we're happy to give you the agreed value (17k) if you can get down tomorrow and clear out your personal belongings from the vehicle." Some people would not touch their car again if it was stolen and thrashed. I understand this. I've also been warned from two other people in the industry to ' don't let the insurance people have it' I haven't made up my mind and i welcome peoples opinions, but the meat of the matter is: *I am not convinced the mechanic yard ( 1 star review on google ) has been honest, and done due dilligence. They reported the car runs, but has a 'judder' that the believe may be gearbox. However.. this is only from running it up the 50 m driveway because the plates were nicked and they aren't able to drive it on the road.... Isn't this what those trader plates are for? *I'm not convinced the insurance and mechanic aren't taking advantage and stand to profit ? * If my agreed value was 17k, realistically what outcome other than giving up can i negotiate? Would they pay me out for example 12-14k to take it on my own? Keeping on with a 2001 model car might not make sense logically... but she's 8 years of work and love, and was in really good stock condition before this happened. I'm not sure that i won't hate myself later for 'giving up on her' 34 GTT coupes similar mileage to mine are currently going for 25-26 on carsales. Help, please

Yeah. May as well give a half hearted update. My efforts of 8 years was found dumped and banged up in Pakenham. People are telling me i should feel lucky they didn't torch it. They've done significant damage, and plenty of stuff is missing. Wheels, spoiler, bodykit. I also don't know how well the Engine, Gearbox and Handbrake can hold up to two days of absoute torture. They were seen pulling handbrakies at 60km/h . I'm insured with LSV - They're alright but I'm not sure this is going to go very well. They've easily done more potential damage than will be covered, but i Dont want to give up on her just yet. Its a stock, tough little motor, with reconditioned gearbox and upgraded clutch. Maybe they survived. Car will be assessed sometime this week and i'll know. It doesn't make the slightest bit of difference - but the police know who did it. I know the name of one of them, suprise, he has been in jail before and will most likely be going back. However there is no recourse to get any compensation back out of them. Just a slow painful process of trying to rebuild what we had. They didn't just take the car. They took every set of keys in the house. For other cars, safes, etc. Also took my passed grandfathers watch, mobile phones, cameras, mp3 players and a shit tonne of jewlery. None of that will be recovered. For a short period of time it feels like life is over. The lesson to pass on is have renters insurance, an alarm and cameras where you live ( hard if you're in a rental like me ) and hide your f**king keys. Do not count on neighbors. this took 45 minutes to accomplish watching the camera footage. no less than 15 people walked directly past the crooks in the act and didn't notice something was up. My own neighbors who know my face, didn't notice 2x strangers struggling with my car. She drove past them twice. Rely on yourself. Hide your keys. Get kill switches. Get an alarm. Understand that Melbourne is f**ked.

The car has been found dumped in Pakenham with significant damage and bits missing. We have about 25 minutes of very interesting footage. They stalled it.... Right infront of a Camera

Sorry mods, Please feel free to move if needed mods, this relates to Victoria Have to report my pride and joy stolen today, from Dingley Village, Victoria. Never thought it would happen to me. They broken into the house through a window, ransacked the place, got hold of every key we had, and i believe they towed it away as it had no battery in it. All in plain view of a main road, in broad daylight. between 9am and 2pm on 27/3/18 Doubt i'll ever see her again, but hey. Got to try. Images attached. UPDATE: according to some CCTV footage from down the road, the car was in fact driven away. They had time to install a battery and start it up. In plain view on a main road Jesus.

Update: may have been seen going nuts around the Pakenham area, Sandalwood drive at 8pm tonight

Sorry mods, Please feel free to move if needed mods, this relates to Victoria Have to report my pride and joy stolen today, from Dingley Village, Victoria. Never thought it would happen to me. They broken into the house through a window, ransacked the place, got hold of every key we had, and i believe they towed it away as it had no battery in it. All in plain view of a main road, in broad daylight. between 9am and 2pm on 27/3/18 Doubt i'll ever see her again, but hey. Got to try. Images attached. UPDATE: according to some CCTV footage from down the road, the car was in fact driven away. They had time to install a battery and start it up. In plain view on a main road Jesus.

Tell me more! I just googled it, looks like last one was in May, so there's one happening at the driveins at the same time this saturday, starts at 11am?

+1 to Kebabs, that would be pretty good. Let's see if a couple more people are interested. I met Charles a couple of years back with his yellow 34. Wonder if he's still around?

Bored. Since i've just missed the September meet, i figured i might shout out to the other Victorians out there that might want to hang out sometime in the next couple of weeks, mebbe in the SE suburbs? I need an excuse to actually drive the car.. maybe grab a bite and talk about all the supposed things we want to do to our cars but cant because we don't have any money. You know, the usual stuff

Thanks for the input. Im32fk - I don't know exactly what happened. Clearly the water in the batteries is nasty and if that drips down its caused the issues under, but i dont understand how its ended up on the bonnet above. The car was left under a tarp and it was very damp out, but the paintwork on this car has always been good. I don't think i'll ever know exactly what caused it. I do not believe simply sanding it down is enough, to answer your question. The spray painter resprayed my bonnet and sanded back and bogged it 3x before it finally settled. However I believe after sanding it back as suggested you massage some diluted Bi-Carb soda into the damage that might do the trick. Others might know better though. This is what i'll be trying to do. Tridentt - thanks for your ideas. It is just surface at this point, just in an awkward spot, particularly on that rail near the engine. God damnit. My Alternator is giving me a beautiful 14.3 volts, what i have found is that my spray painter has painted the rail and underneath the main negative leads clamp to the frame, so the clamp had a bad earth. I'm not experienced with DC systems but i believe squeezing 14.3 into the battery and having a bad return path probably f**ks them pretty quickly. I'll sand back underneath the main negative lead clamp and put in a new battery. Related - i'm having big troubles trying to source a replacement lead. Any ideas on where i can get one?

Battery acid / paint damage / Negative cable oxidised Obligitory I f***ed up and now i'm paying for it. A year back i went interstate for about 3.5 months and left my car in a mates back yard with a tarp over it. I'd left a lead acid battery connected thinking that i'd just jump start it when i got back. Came back and i had a big star shape of rust under the bonnet above the battery and further surface rust below the battery area. Wonderful. Fast forward a bit, change of address and saved some cash, and firstly, can't find a competent person that can actually tackle this engine bay damage properly, and neutralise whatever the hell it is on the paintwork. I am assuming it is battery acid/vapor damage but i have no idea what happened. I've paid a bloke 900$ in Dandenong (Vic) to crack at it and all his paint is just bubbling up and peeling off again. On their warranty card it says they don't cover rust and he doesn't want anything further to do with it particularly. I've put a brand new lead acid from repco in there and the thing worked for about two weeks and now it won't hold a charge at all. Alternator is giving me 14.4 when i jump it, fortunately i had the alternator reconditioned only 20,000 km's ago. I've noticed some oxidisation on that main negative lead thats soldered and screwed to the chassis but unsure if this can prevent a battery from charging. At the end of the day, i think i've got f**ked battery and it has been leaking down its back all over my engine bay again, no idea why, it's 5 weeks old. I plan to replace it with a dry battery if i can find one that fits. I'll note that on this R34 the battery compartment was really tight and i pulled out a white tray that used to be under the battery. Is it neccesary or no? I know for example my Falcon has its own plastic surround for cooling. This one On the R34 is just sitting on the chassis held with a clamp. Questions i suppose, recommend a type of dry battery thats correct for 34 Gtt? Can a bad negative connection prevent a battery from charging? Why do these lead acid batteries keep freaking bubbling over ( amplified sound system in car too much strain?) Know someone in vic that knows how to tackle rust/acid or an auto elec familiar with fault finding electrics in skylines. Thanks for your time. I'm aware i f***ed up. cheers

Can I jump in on this with a similar situation? My girl has about 200kw at the wheels and that's all she'll ever have as I'm really happy with it. My 30th is coming up and i'm hoping do do a couple of laps around a local circuit to celebrate. My stock rotors are F***ed and i figure if I'm going to replace them i should research as there's probably plenty better options than stock. I agree and understand that slotted rotors chew through the pads faster ( well thinking about the physics involved of course they would ) Can someone can recommend a Rotor/Pad combo that is an improvement over stock, won't fade after a few laps and is still good on the road? If they don't work well cold, they can cause an accident first thing in the morning on the street Are Drilled only rotors also a negative? I imagine they help discharge heat faster, which may be good hot on a track, but... but with less surface area for the pads to bite down on, wouldn't they give less absolute braking potential when on the road for the 'one shot' moment some F****wit on the road pulls out infront of you and makes you slam the brakes hard?

Fellas i've got a quote for 1800 bucks to do the full dual tip varex, this is the mild steel setup & includes the mandrel bends & install. Sounds like you guys are running Ethanol - I only plan to use 98 and i drive it a couple of times a month. Honestly though if it's going to rust out i'd consider stainless steel, depends whats causing the rust? I get what birds is saying though, my main point was not to be droney, and from this vid Sounds pretty good (55 s onwards) though its hard to tell when stationary.This setup seems to tick all the boxes, just seems to leave a ? on reliability. asides from rust, how reliable are the varex valves? * Scotty whats the difference between doing things your preferred method and sticking a Varex muffler on?

Hey all, i know this has been done to death, but if ya don't mind i'd like some ideas & dont mind shout outs to local workshops, I've just gone over to where ( i thought ) RE customs in Springvale was & found there's something called Punjab motors there now. ( not a word of a lie ) Anyone know where Ray went? I'd like to put an exhaust on an R34, the main point right now is I want to avoid the stereotypical droning and being extremely loud at Low RPM. This possibly means i may need to go for something that has a butterfly valve in there but I'm open to any options to just get the job done. So, can anyone from their experience recommend a workshop, or put me on the track to getting the job done? I had great support from you guys last year when i put some BC coilovers in, as of now it's still going well. Cheers! Alex

Thought it would be useful to follow up, most people leave once they're happy with the answers, but if anyone else ever looks, here's the verdict I ended up going with BC coilovers, and had them set for 6/4. On the GTT, they are of course forked at the back. We ended up going for legal minimum height for victoria for a bit of balance. I'm happy with the result as if it was any lower i'd have to get bigger wheels and roll the arches because it would look terrible. Also, vics has a lot of crap roads. Last thing I want is a pothole to take off the front bumper. The end result was spot on what everybody has been saying - I'd say I feel about a 25% improvement in handling. It's heavier, Sturdier, & more "confident" when cornering. Just point the wheel and it sticks. The limiting factor at this point is my back tyres, but thats the endless struggle anyway. 6/4 Seems to be pretty much perfect for balance. No - speedbumps are not fun, but theyre not horrible either. I wouldn't be going over them at more than 30 km/s or with anybody that has a spinal injury Aside from that, vast improvement, & quick & easy to get put in. 450 bucks & half a day at the shop. Thank you for all the input. Alex

All parts still avaliable for those interested.

Hey, Simply put I have some internals for an R34 coupe passenger door from a GTT model, as pictured. Basically have a window, electric motor, & assemblies for the inner door. Pickup from Oakleigh South, vic. Please let me know if interested, cheers, Alex

Ok, much appreciated man. shit shit shit, running out of time to get this sorted - Not sure what I'm going to do. I think they want two weeks even if i went with 6/4's because noone has em.

Hey all, I've been looking through here as my shocks are stuffed, Figured it's about time to put some coil overs in there anyway. Things i've learned from SAU: *Get BC's - don't cheap out * non track car like mine - 6/4 is the go. Called up justjap to order, and the bloke has strongly advised me to go with 8/6 as with 6/4 it will be "Flopping all over the place" He's also mentioned I need to confirm wether I have push rod or forks at the back - which is odd, i thought all R34s were the same. Anyway. Is 8/6 Civilised on the road?

Sure, thanks for your time guys; I'll just get the scanner sorted.

Just thought I'd put in a pic. Unfortunately I don't have the whole book, they tore off the front page. I can PM people with some of the more technical info, but don't want to put up anything publically that i shouldn't I've just noticed a number in the corner of the PIN card which is 'Dyn xxxxxx' which makes me think this thing is a dynatron....

I've ended up in a stupid situation Where I can't Identify what security system I have installed in my car. This is a problem because my Remote controls are starting to fail; all I really need to do is get hold of some replacements; but obviously need the info to start down that path. I did have it installed professionally a couple of years ago, but wasn't given full documentation on what was installed. I never thought about it but after getting under the dash and having a look; i'm slowly starting to think I was overcharged for a shit job. Obviously first thing to do is go back to where it was installed, and I did that. Basically the bloke doesn't wanna know. He's busy, there's no money in this for him; And he reckon's he didn't even do a job, that somebody else did. He did offer to install a completely new non Australian system for cheap instead, at which point I've kind of walked away without any intention of going back. I can Identify certain things. the remotes for example are TX-111's, and they do have a code on the back. the modules under dash are supposedly Alarm/Immobiliser/GPS combo to Aus standard. Unfortunately they don't seem to stamp model numbers on the devices (perhaps for obvious reasons.) Is there anyone that can start me down the path with this?

Came out of Clayton safeway to find ive been shown up by "MyoD" 34 gtr; shiny & Polished like some kind of crazy japaneese diamond.

Need to vent. Keep seeing the ad campaign everywhere "This is why you are photographed when you speed" And it's making me so f*****g angry. They're either just hypocritical beaurocrats or retarded do gooders. I'm not sure which. If the only reason we're fined is safety; Police would make their prescense known; Cameras would be painted Hi Vis; and wouldn't be hidden in every dastardly place they can think of. You would be fined on the spot; and not mailed a fine three weeks later as that doesn't deter anyone. The reason it gets to me so much is because I live here and the fairness of our state is slipping away. It seems to have happened in the last decade. The majority of people know some of these things it are not right; and yet; it won't be changed. What can you do except vent? And then you get the public transport types talking down to you?

I appreciate all the extra info and experiences. Birds has possibly hit the nail on the head; with the local gov't simply taking the money instead of the state. But here's another angle my lawyer (Scott from speed fine consults) suggested. The word 'precedent' came up as Mike stated. If this magistrate had dismissed the charge outright he would have set a precedent for anybody else here in Victoria. and word gets around about this kind of stuff; I believe we're pushing 300 views on this story alone. There is also the fact that i directly attacked the police's evidence and therefore their integrity. They're all mates in that court room and they're in there all the time with each other. I'm sure he didn't appreciate the whacks i was taking at "his" frizzy haired prosecution. And then; at the end of the day he didn't believe me. He said that the prosecutors evidence stands; that i had wasted his time and that i'd taken 2 coppers off the street. Just before me There had been about 3 other cases of young driver idiots were talking a load of garbage and they hadn't read the police report or made a defense. They hadn't cleaned up for court; they were irritating; piss poor; saying all the wrong things; then irrelevant things and they took ages. There was one bloke that wanted to be let off because a 60 sign noway near where he was caught had a bush in front of it. And he went to town on these people. He absolutely destroyed them. He Charged them court costs and gave them convictions for their permenant records. So I'm standing there being crucified; he's said i've wasted his time and he's about to destroy me too.... Except then he didn't. Why? No court costs; no conviction; the donation was less than the fine. Scott said; if he really truly thought I had wasted his time i would have copped all that.... but he didn't... This means that in some way the bloke actually DID believe me but has let me go in such a way that it doesn't 'set a precedent' "Going against the general grain of Victoria" is what he said. Nismoid - interesting you've been there too... so the great ocean road cops have a reputation do they? additionally with the speedo thing; they're meant to have a balinger module sat on top of the dash; these guys have just used the holden digital one in their cluster! Final thing: argh... they were both saying that there were no more than ten meters from the front bike to the last... there were four of us. How f**king suicidal would you have to be to be within two and a half meters of each other going (allegedly) 75!!!!????