Buying An M35 Stagea - Tons Of Questions

[Daleo]

I then moved on to one of these;

Again, not my pic but the resemblance is freaky; fight down to the shite, leaky sunroof.

Mine was a 5 speed (dogleg box), Clarion quadrophonic stereo (Factory; yeahhhh!) and aircon. Resplendent in burgundy velour; the interior did attract teh ladeez. Crowning glory was a set of Bluebird TRX rims; pimpin!

Moved to one of these;

Mine was Gunmetal Grey with a built L20, 2.4 litre, with a Navara Crank, 48mm webers and a 6 point cage. Had a set of MA61 Supra rims; which really suited the look. Massive amount of suspension development; (Prior to Datsport gear being readily available) it was unbelievable to drive!

Sold it for a song; even though I didn't really need to. Still makes me sad.

This is the car I wished I'd never sold, and I suspect will spend a LOT of money buying/restoring/trying to get hold of later in life...

Edited April 17, 2012 by Daleo

[zei20l]

Nup, N15... http://www.ironchefi...d=461&Itemid=30

i stand corrected! didnt know there was an autech version of the 2 door

Different engine (SR20VE) and it's a 2-door!

the ad says SR20DE, AFAIK the SR20VE only came in primeras and bluebirds

[bigkevracer]

i stand corrected! didnt know there was an autech version of the 2 door

Yeah, looks like a good bit of gear! I didn't know until I saw it on there!

the ad says SR20DE, AFAIK the SR20VE only came in primeras and bluebirds

Iron Chef has three different ones on there. One is a SR20DE, but the really interesting one is the N1 with SR16VE. Neo VVT 1.6L 4 cylinder with 142kW? Yes please! http://www.ironchefimports.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=432&Itemid=30

[zei20l]

id be a little sus of it, SR16VEs had blue rocker covers and a sticker or something on it also to denote the NEO technology inside lol

[Mr 20Valve]

the ad says SR20DE, AFAIK the SR20VE only came in primeras and bluebirds

It was the SR16VE I was thinking of.

I'm just full of blisteringly incorrect information lately.

[jasevr4]

haha Dale I had a 1600 (510). L18 with dogleg box. Stacked that.

Had a 180b SSS too. From memory it was a L20b with an L18 head. One of the high compression heads.

Sometimes I really do miss the simplicity!

[Daleo]

haha Dale I had a 1600 (510). L18 with dogleg box. Stacked that.

Had a 180b SSS too. From memory it was a L20b with an L18 head. One of the high compression heads.

Sometimes I really do miss the simplicity!

Lol Jase, it's interesting how many people have had similar cars in earlier years; to arrive at a very similar point.

The thing that amazes me is how much they go for; even now! I honestly sold mine for peanuts, and regretted it ever since. It had some factory fitted rust; as they all do, but nowhere near the amount that some guys are cutting out to restore cars now.

[Commsman]

Lol Jase, it's interesting how many people have had similar cars in earlier years; to arrive at a very similar point.

The thing that amazes me is how much they go for; even now! I honestly sold mine for peanuts, and regretted it ever since. It had some factory fitted rust; as they all do, but nowhere near the amount that some guys are cutting out to restore cars now.

Dale, I see you once had a Triumph. My 2nd car was a Triumph 2500 (ugly as) that I transplanted a 4.4L alloy V8 out of a P76 (uggh, even uglier!). After sitting in my old mans' shed for more than a decade after I got married, I gave it to a guy who came over one day to help me dig 10 post holes for my deck.

[Daleo]

Dale, I see you once had a Triumph. My 2nd car was a Triumph 2500 (ugly as) that I transplanted a 4.4L alloy V8 out of a P76 (uggh, even uglier!). After sitting in my old mans' shed for more than a decade after I got married, I gave it to a guy who came over one day to help me dig 10 post holes for my deck.

Yeah, sure did; not a car for P platers, that's for sure! Learned a LOT with that car. Mainly never to buy an English car again though...

I sold mine to a dealer who blew up the gearbox when driving it out the back of the lot; the overdrive mechanism was a very fragile thing & I knew exactly what it was when the dealer wound it up & dumped the clutch.

You have NEVER seen anyone leave a used car yard quicker than I did that day...

The P76 transplant would've been a nice thing; I would've like to do an RB20DET into mine; but I snapped out of it & bought a proper car...

Edited April 18, 2012 by Daleo

[Commsman]

I had heard the electric overdrive in them was fragile, but mIne had the borg warner 4 speed from the P76 to start with, then a celica 5 speed until it lost a few all gears. Come to think of it the diffs were pretty fragile in those as well. I kept stripping teeth. I didn't know what a RB20DET engine was back then. It was old school all the way, think Holley carb etc. In fact in winter on a long highway drive, my carby would ice over & the throttle linkage would jam open. I had to switch off coming into towns or else I couldn't slow down. Rudimentary cruise control is what I had . I'm so glad our new ones work better than that, lol.

[rosella]

Yeah, sure did; not a car for P platers, that's for sure! Learned a LOT with that car. Mainly never to buy an English car again though...

Don't pick on all English cars Dale

I've owned 4 Ford Cortina MKIIs 69/70 models, '79 TE Cortina (Australian built version of the MKIV but with the 4.1L 6-cylinder motor) and a V6 Capri. The only problems were getting parts.

The MKIIs were great cars to work on with the Kent 1600 motor. Pulling out the engine and gearboxes were a breeze and picking them up by myself and putting on the work bench. With the help of my brother, who also owned one too, we re-built both motors and gearboxes. The final two MKIIs had a single Weber 45mm sidedraftt carby and Cosworth A6 grind camshaft (rev range 3600-7000rpm). The first two had the GT twin throat Weber downdraft and specially made rims from Hopwood Racing at Kingsgrove, NSW. They were 13x7 with reversed centres so the overall track was 6" wider than the normal 5" rims.

All the suspension rubbers were replaced with the nolathane rubbers specially made by a bloke in Dunheved as they were not available commercially.

The V6 Capri was a project car but after having it in the backyard for 8 years finally got a cheap respray done so I could get rid of it as I was travelling overseas. It had 13x7 Dragways, lowered Selby suspension and twin stainless exhaust and extractors. I sold it to a mate for $5500. I actually nearly spent $10K on it.

The TE had black Scheel bucket seats and a Supra 5 speed gearbox and the only problem with it was that being alloy, it overheated and it was difficult to get into reverse. Always had to put in first gear to stop the shafts spinning. Only got rid of it as I couldn't get insured for the full amount that I had spent on it. I had all the rust cut out and it cost as much as the then insured value. I still have the driver's seat but sold the passenger one last year.

Also owned a Holden Camira JE, the electronic injected version, Nissan Pulsar N14 SSS, Holden 1 tonner with 308 and 650 Holley, then a Nissan Skyline R33 GTS-T and finally a Magna TJ Series II Sports sedan before buying the Stagea.

I've got pictures of the Cortinas, Capri, Pulsar and Skyline but yet to scan them in.