Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Ive been having a a fair look at turbo-ing my car recently and all the ways in which to do it. And then I thought along the lines of a new car and thought id get peoples opinions on whether its best to Start with a turbd skyline or get a rolling shell and build it up? Id eventually be looking to replace most stock parts with slightly better options because i'd like to be fast but not become a track demon or anything.

What are peoples thoughts on it? also would be good to get a perspective through cost and then if cost wasn't an issue?

Cheers!

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/381476-better-to-buy-or-build-up/
Share on other sites

Depending on what you buy......a good r33 GTR with say 350kw goes for $30-40K. If you did that yourself you could spend close to that on just the mods alone. The car will still set you back +$20-25K. And its relative, so any car will be similar give or take.

The only thing you miss out on is the learning experience and the 'built not bought' edict. But you'll have a lot of skun knuckles, late nights and downtime achieving it.

Well ideally im not looking for a GTR i just want something like a 97 or 98 R33. If i bought It I just want it to be turbo with reasonable k's but i figure build it is buy a beater and replace its engine etc

Ok, then expect to pay $15-$20K for a good one [you can get cheaper, but I did say a good one]. I have a '98 and I gave up keeping a running total at $20K. And I noted everything down, if it was for the 'line then I added it to the total.

Honestly there are absolute sub $20K 300rwkw bargains out there in the Gtst range, and in very good to pristine condition - but take your time and shop around, its a buyers market.

I suggest buying one with most things donethen adding your own touch I wish I did that now. I bought my 32 for 3 k and now spent 6 on it and I havent even touched suspension yet unless your like me and want to be able to say I built this car myself then spend the money on a mostly done one

Buying a modified car is the cost effective way to do it. You can save many thousands of dollars that way (save $10 to $15K or more).

The key is patience. Keep an eye on the forums - find a really good car with not too many miles on the new engine.

If you want ot personalise it or money is burning a hole in your pocket there is always more you can do!

Buy one already done, then spend a few k getting it up to your standard, that way it is the way you want it and it didn't cost a bucket. If you buy one and mod it yourself it is such a money pit.

The other option is to buy a defected car or a GTR with a blown motor and do the engine swap yourself, this way you save massively on the buy price however you have to be capable of doing the work yourself.

yeah one already done will have half the bits you will want already on it..

So even if you do have to rebuild it at least it had lots of good parts already..

I now have a pile of stock parts in he shed that are good for nothing and a 20+k bill, I have seen cars with as much or more power selling for half that..I would probably be lucky to sell it for 10k and even then it has to clear a RWC somehow somehwere

See the big problem can be getting them transferred into your name if the car has alot of modifications..But if you know the right people and have access to borrowed parts for a RWC you can get around this, meaning you could buy something even cheaper because the previous owner couldn't bother to clear a defect or RWC..

my mate got a pretty good deal

r33 s1

forged motor + hks 2530 (i think) and all the supporting fruit ~ 280-300 rwkw (i forget now)

+ suspension stuff sorted too

$7k

only downside is it had peeling clear coat

hunt around and make the decision on whats available to you, if there aren't any decent ones about then you might have to build your own

Look around, then decide....

The build that I wanted, I havnt really seen done.

so, I'm building my own.

I also didn't have the money to spend on a moded one when I first got my car 5 years ago.

Definitly would have saved money buying a car that was already done.

If you've got the money, I recommended buying as close as you can get to what you want.

If you're chasing something that's a bit left field, build it yourself.

Either way you decide, goodluck with the new car.

And post pics when you get it :)

yeah one already done will have half the bits you will want already on it..

So even if you do have to rebuild it at least it had lots of good parts already..

I now have a pile of stock parts in he shed that are good for nothing and a 20+k bill, I have seen cars with as much or more power selling for half that..I would probably be lucky to sell it for 10k and even then it has to clear a RWC somehow somehwere

See the big problem can be getting them transferred into your name if the car has alot of modifications..But if you know the right people and have access to borrowed parts for a RWC you can get around this, meaning you could buy something even cheaper because the previous owner couldn't bother to clear a defect or RWC..

^^This.

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


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • I mean, I can confirm the TPS is at 100%.... I can confirm when we installed the TB and setup the cable that the TB was indeed fully open at max pedal travel.. the same 'curve' (WRT MAP vs MAP) existed with the previous setup/TB/manifold as well... No, we did not do a run with no intake connected. I would love to go back in time to do such a run to rule out the intake. It would have also been good to do a run with the airbox lid off. There's a test there where increased IAT vs more available air could be a positive tradeoff. I remember taking the lid off my R34 Turbo setup back in the day and noticing a monster increase, even if IAT's did go up. Could be similar. Hard to test unless I find a very deserted road. 
    • That's actually encouraging to be honest. my motor was rebuild many years ago but it's probably done less than 30,000kms and fucc all limiter or drift, majority street / drag / roll racing. It'll be fine 馃挭馃徏 I don't even have lines or a can for the cam breathers installed yet, there is zero oil residue or splatter on or around them, it drives beautifully so it seems healthy. Just a ticky lifter, yet they're almost brand new oem genuine Nissan and haven't done many kms at all...
    • Have you confirmed the throttle body goes to WOT (and stays there) during the run?
    • I'm having a problem. I think it was mentioned above somewhere but can't see it.  I'm stuck in the cycle of, sand, filler, low spot again, put filler, sand, low spot again, now i put filler again and a thicker portion which seems to have helped but I got low spots in other areas. In the image. Circled in red thats where the original low spot was and the shape is the same as the red out line. I've more or less fixed that (still low spot up the top but now I have low spots where the green circled part is.  Is likely the issue that I didn't start with a course sand paper? I sanded the filler with 240 to reduce the risk of not going to far but maybe the issue is that I'm only taking off enough material to remove some of the filler but not the high spots. I now started sanding with 120 and I think I'm seeing a difference. I did fix one dent the other 2 are f**ked and seems like I made another low spot which is indicated by the furthest green circle on the left handside. Any thoughts and solutions?   Also second image. All of these rock chips, can they be filled in with primer or do i need to fill them all with filler/putty? So many rock chips on mine lol.
    • Well, I had an Edward Lee's special edition odo windback car/motor with a RB25DET S2 and I put down 372kW with a good amount of track abuse for 1.5 years before the ring lands decided it didn't want to stick around anymore 馃ゲ But probably didn't help I kept on smashing try limiter on the track and a few skid pans.
  • Create New...