Nissan R32 GT-R

[cdrazic93]

I've been joking around with my friends for the past few years about getting one of these, but recently I've been getting alot more serious about it. I know the only way for it to work would be older than 25 years..and finding one will take some time (suggestions on where to look is always appriciated as well)

What I want to know is if anyone has had experience with the early R32 generations, and if theres any big sore thumb problems.

I would really not like to label this thought under "well that was a good idea while it lasted" catagory lol.

[hmong337]

I've been around a few r32 gtr's. From clean minty to beat to hell.

It's a 25 year old sports car. Expect shit to go wrong. Stay away from anything 89 to early 92. The early generation of rb26dett had the oil pump crank collar issue where only a tiny footprint of the crank was responsible for turning the oil pump. Late 92+ cars had this issue addressed with enlarging the area where the crankshaft makes contact with the oil pump to give more strength and less wear. That's the major issue with the r32 or rather earlier production cars.

Expect to pay a lot for one in excellent condition. I wouldn't look at anything lesser. Again, this is a 25 year old sports car you're talking about. Expect them all to have had a hard life unless you're looking at something grade 3-4 with low mileage.

They're pretty solid cars though. You might want to think about parts availability though. This reason alone is what keeps me away from these cars.

[hmong337]

...double post

[mav1178]

Entirely depends on how much you want to spend.

A friend of mine has an original MotoRex R32 GT-R, street legal and super clean with less than 4000 miles in the last 13 years of ownership.

I'm guessing he wants more than $40k for the car, since he turned down several offers around that price range.

There's nothing majorly wrong with the R32, you just have to be aware of the fact that it's a 25 year old car and live with that fact.

The engine and chassis are only as good as how you maintain it.

-alex

[Mr.Impreza]

I would only buy a super mint one, or if you have a lot of money on the side, you can buy a beater and restore everything on it.

Other than that, i wouldn't suggest it, unless you plan to drive a work in progress for the rest of your youth life cause i had many friends who bought expensive cars that had high km's and beaten up and to this day...the ones who still have them to this day are are still repairing them and fixing them constantly lol

[Trust86]

Why not a GTS-T?
Just bc AWD and the RB26?
Just curious
Like the others said, the main problem was the oil pump. The dash is notorious for bubbling up and cracking on passenger side, rust under the spare wheel in the trunk, and the Japanese like to powder coat the whole chassis underneath for 2 reasons. Either protect it from rust, or hide rust, or both so be careful. again being that old shit like that is expected. Mechanically is just oil pump if mint, next would be the transfer case being rebuilt.

[ScoobsMcGee]

While more of an expert in snark, here is a recent account of someone importing an R32:

http://jalopnik.com/i-imported-a-nis...les-1698000720

This is the company he used. They seem to be the go-to importers at the moment, and keep an inventory on-hand. If nothing else, this should give you an idea of prices you can expect to pay:

http://www.japaneseclassicsllc.com/inventory.html

I know this guy personally, and have for many years. He charges a flat-fee for import expense and you pay whatever the car goes for at auction. It is a bit risky since you can't investigate the car in-person, but you also know exactly what you're paying for. If nothing else, he is a great source of information:

http://streetlegaljdm.com/

Other points to consider:

• Many insurance companies won't insure the car, and especially not for whatever you're going to pay for it. Expect to have to go through a collector insurance company, which often comes with annual mile limitations and is generally more expensive.
• Don't expect a bank to finance you. At least for now, many banks have no way of properly assessing the value of these cars. Getting a loan can be difficult to impossible.
• If you buy from another importer, make sure the car is titled. The two importers I linked will take care of that for you. If it isn't done, the process can be very time consuming if you're not experienced in it, and cost quite a bit of money. (I can probably get the exact cost if you want, but don't buy an imported car without a title)

Edit: This is more for importing any car as opposed to just an R32, but hope it helps anyway...

[kch]

Originally Posted by ScoobsMcGee

http://www.japaneseclassicsllc.com/inventory.html

That place makes me sad that I don't have more money. They've got some awesome non-JDM stuff on there too. There was a Lancia Fulvia on there for a while that was totally sweet.

http://www.japaneseclassicsllc.com/l...via-green.html

[jawn]

There's little stuff to think about if you're importing and plan on driving the car a fair amount. Powertrain parts are relatively easy to get since every HELLAJDMYO importer probably has a line on RB26s, but stuff like windshields and interior parts can be hard/expensive to come by if you don't have a good importer local to you.

[ScoobsMcGee]

Originally Posted by kch

That place makes me sad that I don't have more money. They've got some awesome non-JDM stuff on there too. There was a Lancia Fulvia on there for a while that was totally sweet.

http://www.japaneseclassicsllc.com/l...via-green.html

but... but... Homy: http://www.japaneseclassicsllc.com/1...my-100615.html

More seriously, seeing as how that Lancia was sold without a description, my guess is that someone contacted them and said "You import a lot of stuff, I want this," and they found a way to make it work. That person happens to have good taste.

[cdrazic93]

Thanks guys. The R32 has been one of my dream cars for a while now. I was mostly curious about insurance too, so that'll factor in as well. Looks like I do have to file it under "well that was nice, back to reality". Ill save owning one of these until a few cars later.

[cdrazic93]

Originally Posted by Trust86

Why not a GTS-T?
Just bc AWD and the RB26?
Just curious

Its the car itself, the heritage and when I wad younger I came to a conclusion; become obsessed with attainable things. Not many people in their lifetime had the expendable income to buy the countach on their wall when they were 13. Later on in life, I most certainly will have the funds to finally own one of these.

[mav1178]

I know the main guy here personally.

http://www.importavehicle.com/

[hmong337]

I'll say this...

Getting the car is the easy part. It's everything else, incredibly difficult. From insurance to even a ball joint, unless you like waiting months on end and have incredibly deep pockets, forget it! You're almost better to buy two of them keeping one as a parts car.