Getting A 32 Gtr

[stawka]

Hey guys. After selling my 32 GTST about a year ago, i'm thinking of getting a 32 GTR... in WHITE

While i have been looking at some for sale here, i'm seeing some people have rebuilt motors, bearings have gone and all sorts of stuff with the engine. Is it common to f**k up a motor in a GTR or what? I don't want to buy a car and have to spend rebuild motors for $13+ grand that some people are paying. I just want a GTR - exhaust, rims, cooler, filters... but nothing major except maybe a little boost.

Any suggestions on what to look for because i really don't want to spend money on it apart from those minor mods, especially on repairs as i'm not exactly making a lot of money these days...

[adam-__-]

They're old cars which have been thrashed so it's not surprising to see heaps of GTR's with engine rebuilds. If you're worried about purchasing a GTR and having to rebuild later on down the track (about 2 months later), buy one with an engine rebuild already done. The owners would've kept all the receipts so you can check what's been done to it etc.

Good luck with the purchase anyway mate. White is one of the sexiest colours for the 32 GTR. Get either white or silver in my opinion.

[stawka]

They're old cars which have been thrashed so it's not surprising to see heaps of GTR's with engine rebuilds. If you're worried about purchasing a GTR and having to rebuild later on down the track (about 2 months later), buy one with an engine rebuild already done. The owners would've kept all the receipts so you can check what's been done to it etc.

Good luck with the purchase anyway mate. White is one of the sexiest colours for the 32 GTR. Get either white or silver in my opinion.

Thanx man. The thing is, i was always under the impression that most GTR's were owned by enthusiasts, and not some 18 year old sick c**t that puts in a RWD/4WD switch and drives it around like a dickhead. Thats what i was hoping for at least. Do you think a rebuild comes every year or 2 or what? Just to give me a rough idea, anything helps thanks man!

[adam-__-]

You shouldn't have to rebuild your engine every two years if you take care of it (as far as I know).

There will always be a GTR owner who's 18 and drives around in it like a dickhead. You won't be able to avoid that. The only thing you can do I guess is check out the car thoroughly and decide whether or not the car is worth what the owner is asking.

[hazerb30]

Buy one already in the country as you get to inspect it. There are plenty around, be patient.

Engines are RB's and they can go for a long time if they are taken care of. I dont see why a gtr engine thats taken care of cant get 300'000 without a problem. I get the impression that servicing in japan is very expensive and most of them probably wouldnt get the care they deserved/oil changes and with freqeunt hard driving yes they do wear out. Most engine failures are due to insufficient oil getting around the engine on the track or the stock ceramic turbos being driven too hard and smashing apart taking the engine with it. I think this is way more common than just wearing out.

Do not buy one without a Compression and a leak down test on the engine as you might be buying a dud from the start. ESSENTIAL.

Aftermarket turbos are definently a good thing to look for. The stock ceramic turbos dont like to be overboosted and are wearing out by this time anyway. This could save you an engine

Look for one Without those mushroom style HKS foam filters. A filter that you can see light through isnt stopping dirt getting into your engine. A set of Apexi power intakes or even the stock air box are the best at filtering. So 15 years of inadequate filtering getting dirt into the engine isnt the best.

A lot of R32 gtr's have rust. You would be lucky to find one that didnt so do some searching on here to find out the common rust areas so you can inspect properly before buying.

Ignore the KM's on the car as its rarely true. If you get service history and the kms match up then great otherwise look for wear on the seats/steering wheel/handbrake to get an idea of how often/hard it was driven.

Things like powerFC/aftermarket turbos/upgraded fuel pump/splitfire coil packs/injectors/N1 oil and water pumps/timing belts are all mods that are worthy of paying a bit more for. Sure it means that the cars probably been driven a bit harder but these are all things that i believe should be done anways on a 15+ year old car as maintenance as the original parts are getting on.

Check CV boots for splits. common and CV's and the boots may need replacing.

dont bother upgrading the intercooler unless you want to get really serious with it. The stock one flows good.

Aftermarket oil pressure and boost guages will be needed. stock ones suck.

Check brake rotors for scoring. Brembo brakes came on the later 32 GTR's. Do a hard brake and make sure the ABS is working properly.

ITs gonna cost you buddy! Hope you are prepared to take on the responsibility of fixing things often or set aside enough money to buy the car and then the do ALL the maintenance it needs straight away if its not already done. So talking about spending 5k on top of the purchase price for replacing old parts then you will have a great reliable car. Thats what i would do if i went through this again..

saying all this. they are a fantastic wonderful piece of kit

Edited October 27, 2007 by hazerb30

[Yawn]

Not just 18 yo drivers can have a trash in a GTR. A lot of GTR's are brought to the track for some fun.

An 18 yr old car that was built to be trashed and has been trashed is likely to need an engine rebuild sooner or later. If you just plan on raising the boost a bit and keep things fairly standard, theres nothing stopping that stock engine from lasting you another few years as long as it was healthy to begin with and you service it regularly.

That said, if I was to buy a 32gtr again, I would look for one with a fresh rebuild by a reputable workshop, just to be safe.

[stawka]

Thats a lot of helpful info you guys just gave, thanks.

Well i'm only 23 myself, and i pretty much want one as stock as i can get one, but in good condition. I don't want to spend any money on it except for minor things. Just buy it, get rims, exhaust and services. I don't want an absolute machine, but you guys got me thinking twice about it now lol. Whats a rebuild worth anyways?

[hazerb30]

Hmm. 6 to 10 k depending on what you get done on the rebuild. You really want to avoid it so get the checks on the engine done or buy a rebuilt one (and still get the checks done!)

Thing is.. if you rebuild an engine you will want to use it. So that means ECU/injectors/fuel pump/coil packs/oil pump/water pump/turbos anyway. might as well do these things straight up and possibly save an engine failure in the first place.

if you take it out on the track, overfil the oil by a litre (i think it was a litre). Do a search in here about this.

[Yawn]

Yeah an average rebuild will be around 7-8k. That is with forged pistons and everything else cleaned/machined/balanced.

[stawka]

I don't mean to sound like one of those tightasses that does everything the cheapo way, but if i were to get a rebuild it would be as basic as you could get. No forgies and all that stuff. I'm an apprentice so that 8k rebuild would be my yearly salary :laughing-smiley-014:

Thats why i want to buy one that is clean and good (stock), and i don't want to spend money on it. I just want it stock and a good running motor and i will probably only be driving it on friday/saturday/sunday's!

Edited October 27, 2007 by stawka

[Yawn]

If you can do some of the work yourself like engine in/out and disassembling and reassembling the engine you will save yourself 2k+ off that price.

No forgies = save 1k

Id say the simplest most basic of rebuilds would cost around $3k which is mainly machining, seals, gaskets, etc. if you do all the work yourself.

With that said however, it is still money that could be spent elsewhere and which is why hazerb30 and myself are advising you to get a car with a rebuild already done or get a good condition healthy one and keep it stock, with regular servicing.

Both should last you years if you take proper care of it.

Edited October 27, 2007 by Yawn

[stawka]

Well my brother in law's brother is a mobile mechanic in Sydney (who is REALLY good with turbo's and performance cars - he has 2 Hiace Turbo vans, one is a 2.7litre BULLET). When i had my 32 GTST he used to come down here and do all my mechanical work. I f*kt my motor in it, and he sourced me a new one for 500 and fitted it himself, then he serviced it. Pretty much costed me $500 but i know with a GTR things would cost a lot more.

I'll be looking around for one thats been rebuilt not too long ago, but i cant spend more then 20 - and even thats pushing it because of my shit wages. If i find one for around 18 in good condition with a fairly new motor i'll be loving life. I guess i cant be picking and choosing too much because i'm on a tight budget, but hopefully one comes my way at the right time.

Edited October 27, 2007 by stawka

[Godzilla32]

I paid the extra for mine and imported an immaculate, 100% dead stock, one owner car with very low km's.

Thing is that didnt stop the front turbo coming to bits before i even registered it! Like they have said they are getting old now. However, the engine was still very strong with awesome compression. They are tougher than most people give them credit for. One blows cuz some guy threashed it with not enough oil or bad tune and then everyone thinks they are all about to go. Get a well maintained car and you will have little trouble. The problem is the less you pay the less you get. Good luck with it.

Deren

[SLIPPERY]

id say with your wages, the best thing to do is to wait.

Youll get depressed if youre spending every cent on the car, then youll have no life and no car to drive when it is broken. Wonder why you see so many shitters with popped motors up for sale all the time?

Ive just spent 2k on servicing and a tune just to keep the car running like new....i can afford to....can you?

Buy one when youre on some decent money, when you have some disposable income for the 'fun' things in life.

[Grunter]

Mate as everyone else said they can cost a LOT of money to fix even if you fix it

your self.I looked for months and must of looked at 40 plus cars and man it is hard

to find a good one I give up in the end and settled on a GTS.You have to remenber

most of the speedos have been wound back and there been thrashed I find this funny

as you see 2000 model cars with the same kms on them.They are good cars if they

are kept in near std spec or the hotted up ones must be put together with care,

there are a lot of shit mechanics out there .But at there age yes a lot of them

need rebuilds you have to remember that they are a high performance car.If

you cant afford the huge repair bills dont buy one.I think that a R33 GTR would

be a better option a little newer and dont cost much more.At the end of the day

you want to drive and enjoy the car not be fixing it or be waiting for your next

pay check so you can fix it.

[stawka]

Yeah after thinking about it over the last few days, i pretty much have no choice but to either save up and buy a great clean one thats been freshly rebuilt for about $30k, or just get an R34GTT. I think the easiest thing is to buy a clean R34 GTT and be happy with the looks/speed of that. Thanks again for your useful help guys - really needed it!

[GTR-32U]

I would be buying the one with the original engine as opposed to a rebuilt one.My reasons are as follows.Having had engines built in the past believe me very few engine reconditioners ever do a good job.they quote you parts but leave many standard things in there so it will die again in 12 months.Think of it this way...why would somebody pay top dollar for a GTR and then spend 6 grand or so for reco engine and only a few months later sell the car for peanuts....??? it would be a total loss...if they are so cash stricken now they should of sold the car with stuffed engine for cheap at least they wouldnt be that much outta pocket.I am in the slow process of learning to blueprint engines...lots of reading up to do...its really a very sensitive thing an engine wrong tolerances here and there and you got an engine with bad comp and drinks oil. Or reverse case scenario too tight and overheating,bad oil pressure. I would recommend one of those books from some of the auto stores.." guide to engine blueprinting " it really explains it all in details

[GTR-32U]

I will soon be buying an R32 GTR early next year.Having owned a GTS for a few years I can say this.If all you want is a fast skyline then go the tidy R34 every time.But if R32 is the only thing you will settle for ( like me ) then be prepared that every single component may eventually need to be replaced..maybe not straight away but theres no denying the age of the R32 any car will need to be rebuilt at this age...Doesnt matter whether its Porsche or Ferrari

[djr81]

The major problem with GT-R ownership is putting up with GTS-T owners telling you your motor is in imminent need of a rebuild.

Don't believe the hype.

Of the four (count 'em) R32 GT-R's I have owned not one of them needed rebuilding.

The best thing to do is as follows:

Be patient.

Make sure you have sufficient money to buy a nice example, I would suggest $25k is enough. I wouldn't ever recommend anyone borrow money to buy a car. Any car.

If you are buying it in Australia, check it over thoroughly. This includes things such as compression tests etc. A well looked after GT-R will look a million dollars. A manky one can be picked from a great distance.

If you are buying ex Japan get a trusted broker who understands you want a choice example & who wont fob you off with second rate stock on hand.

With regard to track use/abuse. Typically a track day will cause wear to the brakes & the tyres - neither of which you place much emphasis on when buying the car. Beyond that it gives the engine some work, but the time spent on the track during a typical day is fairly limited, so there isn't really much concern. I have found that most GT-R owners who can afford to run track days lavish care on their cars anyway. But most Gt-R owners rarely attend track days.

The thing to keep in mind is that in this day & age you can't thrash a car like a GT-R on the road - you quickly find yourself in a pile of trouble if you do.

Look for a fairly stock or a sensibly modified car. Most will have rims, exhaust, few will have an aftermarket I/C (you don't need one the GT-R OEM cooler is one of the best in the business) & possibly about half will have pod filters (Which you don't need)

With regard to other stuff people have mentioned:

Rust: Relatively uncommon. If it is rusting check for damage - this is most probably the indirect cause.

Gauges - the stock ones are fine but the oil pressure sender unit frequently fails. Not a gauge problem.

Kms - look at the car. Buy it on condition not on kms.

Brakes - Unless the rotors have been replaced most will be down on thickness. Be prepared to replace them. Brembos only came on V-Spec edition R32's, so forget about them.

Turbo's - stock units have problems when asked to regularly push out 1 bar or more. They are a reasonable unit, but not a high performance one. Have a think about what you want from you car. A good car will push out 300rwhp (or more) with stock turbos on 13lb boost. How much power do you want?

Remember that when released this car was over $100,000 in Australia, less in Japan. So someone with a large amount of momey bought it originally. If it has been well looked after it may well be the best car you will ever own. As I said I am onto my fourth.

[hazerb30]

I wouldnt say rust is uncommon, ive seen quite a few now. Check the sills especially as many look like they have been lifted with a forklift or a hoist badly. The sills get crushed and rust gets in.

Also for there is commonly rust around the front wheel arches where the crap from the tires hits the arch. Also check the rear guards by running your hand around it as its another common one.

The boost guage is in mmhg which is why i didnt like mine. The oil pressure guage is slow to respond and showed something different every day. Yeh probably a sender fault.