Femtosecond posted:

I was under the impression that you can't move the seats in the Autozam. Maybe you can adjust them but only by removing the seat?

KakerMix posted:

KakerMix posted:

You can't, and I do expect to remove the seat and attach it again further back. The OG seat is long gone so who knows how this one is bolted in.

Snowy posted:

I thought it was Autogland!

Loanarn posted:

Slow boat from Japan? The GTR only took two weeks to ship for me.

P.S. I got the GTR and love it. Looks classic with the repaint and oem spoiler.

Electric Pigeon posted:

I missed this and it is beautiful and I love it. What does it drive like, anyway? I'm imagining a demonic Mustang GT/WRX combo.

Loanarn posted:

The car is mostly stock except for the fact that it doesn't have the boost restrictor

Loanarn posted:

TLDR: I loving LOVE MY SKYLINE. It had poo poo tires, it needs some tweaks but makes all the right noises, pulls hard and the steering feel and ride is super direct. I don't yet feel comfortable driving it above 8/10ths in anything but a straight line. I have never driven a WRX or Mustang. I daily a 350z and while this car statistically isn't that much better on paper and is much less comfortable and well appointed and modern its much more fun and a better drivers car. Also everyone flips the gently caress out if they know what it is.

Willing to read too much about a 26 year old Nissan:

The car is mostly stock except for the fact that it doesn't have the boost restrictor, aftermarket intake and exhaust and it has a thing that T's into the AWD system and lets you choose the ratio manually of how much torque is going to the front wheels instead of it being dynamic you can have it set to 60/40 etc.

The car came with 10 year old winter tires that half were mounted backwards and were too small for the wheel. I put on Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 Plus tires which are the same tire I run for the 350z I've had for nearly 10 years.

The car pulls harder and is more fun and dynamic than the 350z which is saying something considering its 11 years older and has a 0.9 liter smaller engine. Before I replaced the tires the car was very tail happy when trying to accelerate and turn at the same time. Its much better at turning and braking now.

I am going to have some work done on the car soon including a new oem lip and some interior stuff as well as disabling HICAS (4 Wheel Steering) since it seems to have a weird effect on steering for the more experienced driver. I am also going to have the manual adjustment for the Atessa-ETS system disabled to see how it handles when it can dynamically send torque to the front wheels when it detects it slipping instead of always being 60/40 or whatever you choose on the dial.

The car is amazingly fun to drive for many reasons. One it's super interesting to drive a RHD drive in a LHD country. It's just the right horse power to have a stupid amount of fun without being waaaay to dangerous like with the 600+HP cars. The car feels like you are one with the road as the steering is direct and you feel the whole road.

But the most fun thing about the car is that if you ever wanted to feel what its like to be the level of celebrity as the worlds #4 golfer you should drive a Skyline GTR for a while. Only those who care about cars will recognize what it is but every single time I have driven the car people have tried to stop to talk to me in the middle of driving or at the stop light or at the gas station or I get the honk, wave, thumbs up or nod or all of the above.

I got the plates for the car and was putting them on in the parking lot of my favorite local restaurant after getting some zip ties from them and even without driving it I had two people approach me about the car.

While a Ferrari or Lambo might get a lot of attention from non car people who know that its a status symbol and have inane questions this car is the same but only for 20-40 somethings that drive WRX/STI/BRZ/370z's etc. I have even gotten some suv/truck love from some older folks.

I have only had it for about a week or so and I don't daily drive it because its a famous car from 1992 with absolutely no security features and I work in downtown Portland where even broken down heaps get hosed with. I have monthly parking pass where if the back lots get full and you have to block someone in you have to give your keys to the valet and there is no loving way in hell I am giving the keys over to a RHD manual car to J random parking attendant.

If anyone wants to hang out and chat about import cars in Oregon near the Portland Metro Area let me know. We can meet up at some local car meet if there is a good one that isn't cars and coffee in Wilsonville because gently caress driving to Wilsonville in the morning on a Saturday.

Loanarn posted:

TLDR: I loving LOVE MY SKYLINE. It had poo poo tires, it needs some tweaks but makes all the right noises, pulls hard and the steering feel and ride is super direct. I don't yet feel comfortable driving it above 8/10ths in anything but a straight line. I have never driven a WRX or Mustang. I daily a 350z and while this car statistically isn't that much better on paper and is much less comfortable and well appointed and modern its much more fun and a better drivers car. Also everyone flips the gently caress out if they know what it is.

Willing to read too much about a 26 year old Nissan:

The car is mostly stock except for the fact that it doesn't have the boost restrictor, aftermarket intake and exhaust and it has a thing that T's into the AWD system and lets you choose the ratio manually of how much torque is going to the front wheels instead of it being dynamic you can have it set to 60/40 etc.

The car came with 10 year old winter tires that half were mounted backwards and were too small for the wheel. I put on Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 Plus tires which are the same tire I run for the 350z I've had for nearly 10 years.

The car pulls harder and is more fun and dynamic than the 350z which is saying something considering its 11 years older and has a 0.9 liter smaller engine. Before I replaced the tires the car was very tail happy when trying to accelerate and turn at the same time. Its much better at turning and braking now.

I am going to have some work done on the car soon including a new oem lip and some interior stuff as well as disabling HICAS (4 Wheel Steering) since it seems to have a weird effect on steering for the more experienced driver. I am also going to have the manual adjustment for the Atessa-ETS system disabled to see how it handles when it can dynamically send torque to the front wheels when it detects it slipping instead of always being 60/40 or whatever you choose on the dial.

The car is amazingly fun to drive for many reasons. One it's super interesting to drive a RHD drive in a LHD country. It's just the right horse power to have a stupid amount of fun without being waaaay to dangerous like with the 600+HP cars. The car feels like you are one with the road as the steering is direct and you feel the whole road.

But the most fun thing about the car is that if you ever wanted to feel what its like to be the level of celebrity as the worlds #4 golfer you should drive a Skyline GTR for a while. Only those who care about cars will recognize what it is but every single time I have driven the car people have tried to stop to talk to me in the middle of driving or at the stop light or at the gas station or I get the honk, wave, thumbs up or nod or all of the above.

I got the plates for the car and was putting them on in the parking lot of my favorite local restaurant after getting some zip ties from them and even without driving it I had two people approach me about the car.

While a Ferrari or Lambo might get a lot of attention from non car people who know that its a status symbol and have inane questions this car is the same but only for 20-40 somethings that drive WRX/STI/BRZ/370z's etc. I have even gotten some suv/truck love from some older folks.

I have only had it for about a week or so and I don't daily drive it because its a famous car from 1992 with absolutely no security features and I work in downtown Portland where even broken down heaps get hosed with. I have monthly parking pass where if the back lots get full and you have to block someone in you have to give your keys to the valet and there is no loving way in hell I am giving the keys over to a RHD manual car to J random parking attendant.

If anyone wants to hang out and chat about import cars in Oregon near the Portland Metro Area let me know. We can meet up at some local car meet if there is a good one that isn't cars and coffee in Wilsonville because gently caress driving to Wilsonville in the morning on a Saturday.

KakerMix posted:

Picked up this 92 Jimny. Excellent shape, unmodified with the exception of the rear bumper, working AC and power steering. 62000 miles.

Olympic Mathlete posted:

A friend has a 32 GTR and his still has that little yellow plastic thing in and it still pulls like a loving train. I imagine it's hilarious fun with full power on offer.

Lord of Garbagemen posted:

Ohhhhh you are the new gtr in PDX. Your car has come up on some of the local channels already. I am in Vancouver. I'll have the 300 back on the road this weekend and we are supposed to have good weather if you wanna cruise around. Also the NW Z car club, and Washington Z car club always do events (that don't feel like C and C dong length contests) and have been very cool to other classic Nissan cars.

KakerMix posted:

This sounds identical to what I experience every time I get a car in regards to tires and 'tweaks' needed. Was yours in need of a clean as well? And although I haven't driven anything nearly as high-profile-enthusiast as a GTR I know exactly what you mean when you talk about the Lambos and Ferraris but switch the target to non-car people. If you want attention drive something weird like a kei van. Everyone looks at a Lambo but everyone will talk to you about your kei van. We'll see what the crossover is with the AZ-1. Also no wonder you get your poo poo in like two weeks, you're at the first stops these giant ships make.


Picked up this 92 Jimny. Excellent shape, unmodified with the exception of the rear bumper, working AC and power steering. 62000 miles.

Loanarn posted:

The car makes me smile just thinking about it. The pull is too much fun and the sound the blow off valve makes is


I have mostly been tooling around in Beaverton, Hillsboro, Aloha and Scappoose so if you saw it in Portland proper it wasn't me. Sure lets do something on Saturday?


The car was imported by a guy in Vancouver who does it professionally called MSP Imports. He detailed the car on the inside and I knew the car needed a repaint so I opted to have his local hookup repaint the car so it was clean on the outside too. It has some awful and cheap looking tinting with tons of bubbles on the rear window and the blind spot windows which I hate but I don't have a good adhesive remover yet to remove.

The car is that it came with a cheap aftermarket stereo head unit straight out of 1992 and the speakers in the car are old, blow out and suck. I'm not even sure if the front door speakers work or not. It's one of those units that you press a button and the face plate lifts up and spits out the CD. It came with one free CD. It was labeled Ultra Blue in English at the top of the CD and had Japanese I can't read at the bottom. I don't own any CD's anymore nor do I have a blank CD to burn so for the first 3-4 days of driving the car I was stuck listening to this J-Pop CD's 13 tracks over and over as the radio bands are really small compared to the USA bands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjio2Yrim4w

I was pretty sure after listening to this album about a dozen times that the second track listed above was probably her big hit off the album considering how much of an ear worm it is after you listen to it a few times. I laughed hysterically when I realized that someone in Japan was driving around listening to this kind of music in a GTR. It was a purely Japanese touch that really entertained me until I couldn't stand it anymore. After that I met with a friend who still had some CD's from the 90's and got some listenable if dated music to listen to.

Needless to say I got a quote for a new sound system, security system, keyless entry etc and to do it the way I want is gonna be $4500. I get a $5k bonus in two and a half months that I hoped to spend on refurbing the wheels, fixing the interior, powder coating the valve covers and getting a sound system but my expectations on the price of a whole sound system installed were unrealistically low. It's gonna be a long 2.5 months until its installed but until then I have the best soundtrack on the road: The RB26DETT by Nissan.

Femtosecond posted:

Nice! While I was looking for the Delica I was also looking around for a good Jimny for myself for a few months, but nothing really that great popped up for me. I'm really interested to know how this car is because while Delicas are common here I don't think I've ever seen a Jimny on the street and I don't know nearly as much about them.

I'm still keeping an eye out for Jimnys. Given that Vancouver BC now has the most expensive gas on the continent at C$1.60L, it could be well worth ditching the YJ for a Jimny if only for fuel economy reasons.

Loanarn posted:

The car makes me smile just thinking about it. The pull is too much fun and the sound the blow off valve makes is


I have mostly been tooling around in Beaverton, Hillsboro, Aloha and Scappoose so if you saw it in Portland proper it wasn't me. Sure lets do something on Saturday?

Lord of Garbagemen posted:

You were on spotted NW, so I don't know where the pic was taken. Also i think you are 1 of 2 of that dark grey, the other one has a spoiler less trunk. Sending PM about a drive.

KakerMix posted:

Hell loving yeah I'm super stoked. Less so about the goofy racing seat (I like stuff like that OEM) and not at all looking forward to peeling away all that interior red wrap stuff, and the less noticeable carbon fiber. I do see though that it's been souped up a bit, it's wearing some upsized tires, after market intake, the Mazdaspeed muffler along with the hood. Hoping that they also went through the trouble of putting on the Mazdaspeed suspension for it too, but I guess we'll see when it gets here. It looks way better than I was expecting. That 'Autogiano' turns out to be some sort of Japanese parts tuning place for AZ-1s?

http://www.autogiano.com

KakerMix posted:

The AZ-1 and the Jimny I bought share engines. Huh.

the spyder posted:

Someone convince me to import a RHD FD...

the spyder posted:

You should visit my thread...

Loanarn posted:

TLDR: I loving LOVE MY SKYLINE. It had poo poo tires, it needs some tweaks but makes all the right noises, pulls hard and the steering feel and ride is super direct. I don't yet feel comfortable driving it above 8/10ths in anything but a straight line. I have never driven a WRX or Mustang. I daily a 350z and while this car statistically isn't that much better on paper and is much less comfortable and well appointed and modern its much more fun and a better drivers car. Also everyone flips the gently caress out if they know what it is.
...
It's just the right horse power to have a stupid amount of fun without being waaaay to dangerous like with the 600+HP cars. The car feels like you are one with the road as the steering is direct and you feel the whole road.

Loanarn posted:

I just did. Lots of drool from just reading the front page. Another AI Oregoon? Feel like riding with a 300ZX and an R32 tomorrow with one of your magic dorito powered vehicles? I've never seen a FD in person before.

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Anyone who was still driving a '92 Skyline in modern-day Japan probably thinks Utada Hikaru is still a nonstop chart-topping hitmaker.

Do you know what city it originally came from before going to auction?

cakesmith handyman posted:

Well that just sounds inconvenient, how long does it take to swap from one to the other?

Loanarn posted:

Talking you out:
FD's are great but why RHD? There are only a couple model years you can buy because of the 25 year rule so you will find most of the FD's can't be imported yet and the ones that can will command more. I enjoy driving my R32 GTR but if I had the option to get a LHD version I would have.

Talking you in:
It will probably be cheaper than a LHD USA example. If unless its a highly modded FD like below it will probably have few miles, be in better condition and be all around less thrashed and more well maintained than a USA example.



I think it has so many tacky looking race mods that it has come all the way back around from gaudy to so awful its amazing. It sold for $11,890 and has a buttload of mods that I can only suspect on what they are based on the English parts of the description in the auction sheet.



I think I need more Japanese sports cars. Wait I just convinced myself I want a RHD FD.....

Loanarn posted:

Yokohama. Whatever that means. What's the USA equivalent?

KakerMix posted:

They both have the Suzuki F6A mounted in them which is rad. I wonder how similar they are in each, they are at least mounted differently.


To add to this, these cars would be way better with the steering wheels on the left. That's a straight-up not-benefit under any category unless you are wanting one for postal work. It's just that the wheel being on the right side isn't a big deal.

Seat Safety Switch posted:

Hot, humid as gently caress.

KakerMix posted:

They both have the Suzuki F6A mounted in them which is rad. I wonder how similar they are in each, they are at least mounted differently.

Charles posted:

I thought all Japan is in the summer. Yikes.

Charles posted:

I thought all Japan is in the summer. Yikes.

Applebees Appetizer posted:

It's not that bad, but i live in Florida so YMMV.

Ethics_Gradient posted:

Not Japan, buuut:

I live in Australia, probably headed back to the US (Colorado) in a couple years to do a stint there for family reasons. I've been driving a beater 90's Starlet while my funds recover from self-funding grad school... original plan was to upgrade when it finally does blow up (I can get by without a car if needed), but I'm beginning to realise this stubborn little thing may keep running indefinitely, so I've been low key shopping lately.

I was kicking around the idea of buying something worth bringing back with me - it'd be fun to have a 'cool' car when I go back, plus I've got the unique opportunity to get to know it well before I go through the hassle of importing it. Practicality as a daily isn't as big a deal here as between public transport and bicycle/motorbike I have plenty of transport options, and my partner and I are seriously contemplating a 1-3 month trip around Australia before we go back. Odds are I would sell it in the US before returning to Australia a few years later. Certainly not expecting to turn a profit, but I'd like to recoup as much as I could.

I'd probably be looking for a 4WD, though that's not essential, mostly looking for something big-ish we could do an extended roadtrip out of. I do have a huge soft spot for Delicas (it'd be one of the older boxy ones), or maybe just something more 'normal' like a Hilux Surf. Have also considered a Landrover Defender as I've got a bit of a crush on them as well, and I've seen a few 25+ year ones around, though they are a bit more expensive and I'm guessing less reliable and harder to get parts for.

If you guys had any other suggestions I'd be open to them - not as into 'cars' per se, and would like something big enough to camp out of (and inside, if needed). We do have kei vans with bigger engines, but they're not terribly common and I think from a cost/utility perspective I'd probably give them a miss. If I was going to do just the big Australia trip and not bring it back to the US, I'd probably go with something like a HiAce and sell it when I leave. Something about a regular Hiace (not one of the fancy deluxe 4WD models) just feels weird about going through the bother of importing it.

I'm also not super wild about having something where the parts are made of unobtanium... I had sort of the opposite issue in Japan when my XLR250 Baja broke down - so many had been exported grey market to Southeast Asia that getting spares for the Baja specific parts was practically impossible (naturally, those were the ones that failed). It was frustrating, to say the least. Obviously, importing a weird vehicle into the US there's always going to be some fiddliness with getting parts, I'm just looking to stay more on the 'easy to moderate hassle' end of the spectrum, if that's even possible.

A few questions:

I haven't looked into how the Colorado DMV deals with overseas cars, but how much headache might I be looking at logistically getting this thing from a port (guessing LA) to CO?

How many Montero parts are interchangable with the Delica? Obviously not the bodywork, but have read conflicting things about how much of the running gear is compatible.

If I was looking to maximise resale value, are there any other makes/models to look at? I'm not fully certain what my max budget is like, maybe around US$5k right now, though I could certainly wait and save up a bit more.


Hokkaido's pretty nice in summer, a lot of motorcycle enthusiasts like to head up there then.


From FL originally so , although none of my schools had AC in the classroom and they wouldn't turn it on in the teacher's room until it got up to like 88F so it could still be pretty gross.

Ethics_Gradient posted:

Not Japan, buuut:

I live in Australia, probably headed back to the US (Colorado) in a couple years to do a stint there for family reasons. I've been driving a beater 90's Starlet while my funds recover from self-funding grad school... original plan was to upgrade when it finally does blow up (I can get by without a car if needed), but I'm beginning to realise this stubborn little thing may keep running indefinitely, so I've been low key shopping lately.

I was kicking around the idea of buying something worth bringing back with me - it'd be fun to have a 'cool' car when I go back, plus I've got the unique opportunity to get to know it well before I go through the hassle of importing it. Practicality as a daily isn't as big a deal here as between public transport and bicycle/motorbike I have plenty of transport options, and my partner and I are seriously contemplating a 1-3 month trip around Australia before we go back. Odds are I would sell it in the US before returning to Australia a few years later. Certainly not expecting to turn a profit, but I'd like to recoup as much as I could.

I'd probably be looking for a 4WD, though that's not essential, mostly looking for something big-ish we could do an extended roadtrip out of. I do have a huge soft spot for Delicas (it'd be one of the older boxy ones), or maybe just something more 'normal' like a Hilux Surf. Have also considered a Landrover Defender as I've got a bit of a crush on them as well, and I've seen a few 25+ year ones around, though they are a bit more expensive and I'm guessing less reliable and harder to get parts for.

If you guys had any other suggestions I'd be open to them - not as into 'cars' per se, and would like something big enough to camp out of (and inside, if needed). We do have kei vans with bigger engines, but they're not terribly common and I think from a cost/utility perspective I'd probably give them a miss. If I was going to do just the big Australia trip and not bring it back to the US, I'd probably go with something like a HiAce and sell it when I leave. Something about a regular Hiace (not one of the fancy deluxe 4WD models) just feels weird about going through the bother of importing it.

I'm also not super wild about having something where the parts are made of unobtanium... I had sort of the opposite issue in Japan when my XLR250 Baja broke down - so many had been exported grey market to Southeast Asia that getting spares for the Baja specific parts was practically impossible (naturally, those were the ones that failed). It was frustrating, to say the least. Obviously, importing a weird vehicle into the US there's always going to be some fiddliness with getting parts, I'm just looking to stay more on the 'easy to moderate hassle' end of the spectrum, if that's even possible.

A few questions:

I haven't looked into how the Colorado DMV deals with overseas cars, but how much headache might I be looking at logistically getting this thing from a port (guessing LA) to CO?

How many Montero parts are interchangable with the Delica? Obviously not the bodywork, but have read conflicting things about how much of the running gear is compatible.

If I was looking to maximise resale value, are there any other makes/models to look at? I'm not fully certain what my max budget is like, maybe around US$5k right now, though I could certainly wait and save up a bit more.


Hokkaido's pretty nice in summer, a lot of motorcycle enthusiasts like to head up there then.


From FL originally so , although none of my schools had AC in the classroom and they wouldn't turn it on in the teacher's room until it got up to like 88F so it could still be pretty gross.

Fievel Goes Bi posted:

Speaking of Capos mine should be shipping out in a couple days!