Jump to content
SAU Community

Options For An R32 Project

skylinesthelimit
 Share

Recommended Posts

skylinesthelimit Apprentice

skylinesthelimit

Posted
Posted

So I have a 1989 R32 GTS auto, and I picked it up fairly cheap, was going to work on it myself as my first project and then to be my first car, but recently after trying to fix a coolant leak, I somehow lost one of my welsh plugs at the back of the engine block, right up again the firewall... So now its basically stuffed and sitting in my garage... The body is is need of a full respray (sanded down to nothing and start from scratch) and the front and rear bumpers need replacing.. I don't know much about body work but I figured to get this done I would be looking at paying around $2000.. Then there's the engine side, I think I would end up paying around $1200 for the work and this includes the coolant leak from the heat hose that was already there and any other issues they may find... I'm not sure on those figure they are just a guess as this is my first car... Now I know a skyline for a first car is something frowned upon on these forums but I am no p-plater with 100 fake hours and a mullet. I grew up on acreage and have learnt to many drive different cars (bush bashing) and have been driving since the age of about 13.

So I just want to see what other people would think as I only have a few mates with opinions about what to do. I could fully remove the rb20 in there and drop a 25 in the only issue there is that I feel because its only an auto I wont enjoy it and then I still have to pay the 2000 to make her look good. Or I could get these issue fixed but that's alot of money to pay on a car that may not have much life left in her. I could sell the car as is for about 2500 I reckon and save up for something cleaner and that doesn't need work. Or buy another shell and go from there maybe take the rb20 out of the current one, sell the shell, fix the engine issue and then buy another shell with no exterior issues and drop the engine into that. This work would all have to be done professionally unless maybe I get a hand from some mates but even then its kind of a difficult job.

So what option would be the best, are my estimations on costs close or way off, or is there another option I could take that I have overlooked?

Thanks,

Mack

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/380714-options-for-an-r32-project/
Share on other sites
NISM脴 Community Regular

NISM脴

Posted
Posted (edited)

Your estimated costs... prepare to pay twice that if not more.

You cant just swap engines like you swap your undies, its illegal. If the engine didnt come in the car in the first place, it has to have an engineers cert to certify it meets emissions standards. The only 25 you can drop in is the non-VCT rb25de out of 32 gts25s which are harder to come across and ultimately a huge waste of time.

Coolant leak? Sounds like a broken radiator pipe, easy fix. Broken radiator? $300-$500+

If the car is already a colour and you respray it the same it can reduce the cost, but in your case its not. Front and rear bumpers , full sand down , and a DECENT full body respray = $3000+ atleast. Fair chance the things got rust in it too so theres more work to be done.

IMO, sell the car. You probs wont get 2500 for a rb20de auto skyline with coolant leaks, f**ked bumpers and shit paint tho, ide pay $1000 max.

Unless youre experienced, dont try and attempt any of what youve set out to do, its not worth it, will make you hate the car. Not trying to bring your hopes down or anything but things like paint jobs and such need to be done right or they look shit and last no time at all.

my 2c

Edited by NISM脴
skylinesthelimit Apprentice

skylinesthelimit

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Your estimated costs... prepare to pay twice that if not more.

You cant just swap engines like you swap your undies, its illegal. If the engine didnt come in the car in the first place, it has to have an engineers cert to certify it meets emissions standards. The only 25 you can drop in is the non-VCT rb25de out of 32 gts25s which are harder to come across and ultimately a huge waste of time.

Coolant leak? Sounds like a broken radiator pipe, easy fix. Broken radiator? $300-$500+

If the car is already a colour and you respray it the same it can reduce the cost, but in your case its not. Front and rear bumpers , full sand down , and a DECENT full body respray = $3000+ atleast. Fair chance the things got rust in it too so theres more work to be done.

IMO, sell the car. You probs wont get 2500 for a rb20de auto skyline with coolant leaks, f**ked bumpers and shit paint tho, ide pay $1000 max.

Unless youre experienced, dont try and attempt any of what youve set out to do, its not worth it, will make you hate the car. Not trying to bring your hopes down or anything but things like paint jobs and such need to be done right or they look shit and last no time at all.

my 2c

Thanks for that, after having abit more thought about it, it looks like I will have to sell it.

Any other opinions are welcome

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Butters
      SR20 to cefiro

      By Butters 路 Posted

      Given you already have the engine cross member to match and likely gearbox mount to. The SR20 has a head start on the RB in this case. They handle GREAT with an SR20, lots of fun.   One I did back in the day
    • bcozican
      R32 Gtst - Track Car

      By bcozican 路 Posted

      have no doubt and wanted too trust me and may regret later not necessarily worried about weight (would be 8 kg ish total) it was more the $$ to do it properly is about $6 - $7K in hardwear need long 310mm stroke jacks etc - plus install and call me whatever im not doing it myself even if wanted too cant weld etc  - thats $10K installed vs fraction of that cost while Ive spent some money on this POS I actually really dont like doing so unless its got a large chance to make me go faster 馃榿 hey in still carting this things around on a 15 yr old rusted open trailer so I can spend on racing not buy a new trailer to look better the manual jacks Ive had done are heavy and take space but are transportable and usable anywhere - taking or organizing even compressed air let alone nitrogen which is more whats needed coming from Perth to Winton or Sydney or the like honestly just adds to my brain headaches/ hurts of organisation also ha 15 mins job will get down to 2 - 5 min job vs 1 min job for airjacks - all tradeoffs I spose
    • soviet_merlin
      Shifting questions

      By soviet_merlin 路 Posted

      Purely out of curiosity, how do you know all this @dbm7? Do you work with automatic gearboxes professionally? This goes way way way beyond "I've had an automatic Skyline once and did some mucking around"
    • dbm7
      Shifting questions

      By dbm7 路 Posted

      I'll just reiterate that it's best to do all the wiring diagnostics, before even thinking about buying replacement solenoids ~ that is, be absolutely sure the solenoid is bad.....ie; bad connector(s), rodents chewed through a wire, etc etc. If you don't so this, you can fork out all the money for solenoids, only to find something else is wrong (this'll make you cry if you pull the valvebody only to find a broken wire is at fault... ...some more glue on the solenoid packs -- this is the RE5R01A shift solenoid assembly.... ...these are all shift solenoids ~ ostensibly they're the same as the shift solenoids from the 4-speed auto.... ...this is the RE4R01A solenoid set... ...with these, you have 3 shift solenoids attached to the plate, and the separate solenoid is the EPC solenoid (line pressure control) -- with both designs, the TC lockup clutch solenoid (also PWM so they could slide the clutch shut), is located on the lower valvebody half.... ...(story time)...back in the 90's, it was a common fault that the EPC solenoid (or TC-lock solenoid) would fail, but Nissan only sold them as part of the assembly (think ~$350 at the time) ~ thing was, Isuzu also used these boxes in light commercials, and you could buy the PWM solenoid as a separate part, so it was possible to buy/use that solenoid (around $65), and make it fit (remove the circlip, fit to old plate and deal with wiring)...making it a more cost effective repair. I've not seen the RE5R01A shift solenoid assembly, but with the 4-speed RE4R01A it was possible to hack/fit a single shift solenoid onto an other working set, using a donor solenoid from another set with failed EPC....(by rights the whole set should be replaced), but it ends up being a question of how much life is left in the box itself ; sometimes it's a viable repair to fix one solenoid, just to get another 100k of road miles out of it before it needs first overhaul...other times the box is that old/worn, you're as well doing first overhaul and replacing the solenoids and starting fresh... What Nissan did here with the 5-speed, was relocate the EPC solenoid to the lower valvebody (next to the TC lockup solenoid), and stuck the direct-drive clutch solenoid (for the extra gear) where the EPC solenoid used to be on the 4-speed....I can only imagine they did this for serviceability ; the PWM solenoids are most likely to fail, and it's a doddle to drop the pan and change these out (as opposed to dropping the valvebody itself to get at a top mounted EPC)... ...also keep in mind, that some BMW 3/5 series & Mazda (and maybe some Ford/Mazda rebadges, not sure), also used the RE5R01A box under a different name/part number...not saying parts availability is any better, but sometimes it helps to know this when it comes to NOS floating about in the EU.... HTH  
    • Duncan
      R32 Gtst - Track Car

      By Duncan 路 Posted

      FWIW, air jacks are actually pretty light and simple to add, they are just 4 hydraulic cylinders (often at the main cage A and C pillar points) and an externally accessible airline  - they make quick work a breeze
脳
脳
  • Create New...