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I meant to post this a while ago but I've been so busy with work lately I haven't really found the time until now. I've been considering getting a skyline for quite a while and I've been keeping my eyes open for something to come up for the last 6 months that fit what I was looking for and I finally did, a 1995 Midnight Purple R33 GTR and it was quite the adventure from the time I decided to buy it until it was home in my driveway!
The car was located in the Toronto area which is half way across the country from me, so I had a relative go look at it for me and I ended up buying it without even seeing it in person. I considered how I was going to get it back, ship it or drive it back, so I decided I would fly out and drive the car back because I hadn't driven through any of Ontario or Quebec or most of New Brunswick before and figured it would be nice to get to see some of the country that I hadn't seen before and I would be in control of what happened with the car and wouldn't have to worry about anyone damaging it during shipping So I booked a plane ticket and headed to Toronto.
I was itching to see the car the whole way from the airport, it felt like I would never get there lol, But I wasn't disappointed when I seen it for the first time, I was amazed at the condition of the car, it looked and felt like it was brand new, not 18 yrs old. When I got back home with it (most people around here don't even know what a skyline is) a lot of people thought I had a brand new car and when they asked me about it and I said it was a 95' they could hardly believe it. I have to admit it felt pretty intimidating the first time I sat aboard the car, at that point I've never owned anything with manual transmission or driven a right hand drive car and in a couple days I was going to drive halfway across the country! It wasn't hard to get used to at all, a few stalls trying to back it around in a tight space, that's what I found the hardest learning to work the clutch and gas gently when just crawling along, but other than that I pretty much just jumped in it and drove away without any trouble. Everyone asks me is it weird sitting on the right side of the car but It literally didn't feel weird after driving it for 10 minutes and also because It was my first car with manual transmission shifting with my left hand didn't even feel weird because it was all new to me.
So with all my permits / insurance etc. and everything I needed for the trip in order I left Toronto Monday morning of the may 24th long weekend and started heading east, I was in no hurry and didn't want to end up with any tickets so I just took my time an enjoyed the ride. Lots of cops everywhere through Ontario and even signs everywhere warning of police on patrol but that didn't seem to matter to a lot of the people on the road, it was funny to see people fly past me then get 10kms up the road and see them pulled over getting tickets, the worst I seen was getting passed by a tractor trailer and a 3 or 4 cars in a construction zone then just down over a blind hill about 1 km up the road there were 5 or 6 cops with radar set up and the works of them except me got pulled. The only time I got stopped by the cops was when I was driving around Newmarket where I was staying and he was just curious about the car and wanted to make sure I had temporary registration seeing I had no license plates.
When I got through Ontario and got closer to Montreal I was looking at the gps to make sure I knew which route I was going to take, I was intending to take the tunnel under the river and avoid going through Montreal but when I got there I looked at the gps and thought it was 2 exits ahead and didn't realize it was the one coming up until it was too late, I could have turned around and back tracked but the traffic wasn't that bad so I figured I'll keep going and get to see Montreal.
It wasn't bad going through there at all, I ended up going through the Ville Marie tunnel and ending up right next to the water front, I drove through there until I got sick of it then followed the gps back to the highway. I was already past the exit for the tunnel so I kept driving and stayed on the north side of the St.Lawerence river until I got to Quebec city and of course the exit I had to take for the bridge was closed for construction so that involved some detouring and back tracking to get on the other side of the highway and get the exit. Everyone talks about how crazy Montreal drivers are but I found they were pretty tame compared to drivers in Quebec City.
The whole trip took me 3 days, the 1st day I made it to Edmunston New Brunswick just across the border from Quebec, the next day I drove through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and made it to North Sydney with plenty of time to catch the ferry for a night crossing back to Newfoundland, then it was another 750 km when I got off the ferry and I was home.
I got lots of attention of the way some of it I though was pretty funny. Just outside of Quebec city a couple of guys in a car in the other lane stayed next to me for i'd say close to 5kms pointing in amazement and holding up traffic behind them. Pulled up into a Wendys parking lot in North Sidney and I see 3 employees hanging out through the drive through window staring at my car as I parked then when I went inside up to the counter to order they came out and asked me all kinds of questions about the car and seemed disappointed when I told them I wasn't from around there and I was bringing the car back to Newfoundland. The funniest one happened when I left there and was driving around to pass the time waiting for the ferry, I was pulled over in a parking lot making a phone call when 2 guys in a riced out civic toot the horn and give me the thumbs up as they drive by, they don't go far before they turn around and come back. They asked me all about the car and took some pictures of it. Then one guy says, " Man can you give it a couple revs for me I want to take a video?!!", so I gave it a few revs and he walked away happy as a pig in sh!t lol
Here are some pictures I took along the way, would have been nice to have a passenger so I could have gotten lots of pictures but I got a few of some interesting stuff when I felt it was safe to do so.
Saw this Lancaster bomber just outside Edmunston NB, and had to stop to get a picture
A bit dirty after almost 3 days of driving but still a nice background.
The car was located in the Toronto area which is half way across the country from me, so I had a relative go look at it for me and I ended up buying it without even seeing it in person. I considered how I was going to get it back, ship it or drive it back, so I decided I would fly out and drive the car back because I hadn't driven through any of Ontario or Quebec or most of New Brunswick before and figured it would be nice to get to see some of the country that I hadn't seen before and I would be in control of what happened with the car and wouldn't have to worry about anyone damaging it during shipping So I booked a plane ticket and headed to Toronto.
I was itching to see the car the whole way from the airport, it felt like I would never get there lol, But I wasn't disappointed when I seen it for the first time, I was amazed at the condition of the car, it looked and felt like it was brand new, not 18 yrs old. When I got back home with it (most people around here don't even know what a skyline is) a lot of people thought I had a brand new car and when they asked me about it and I said it was a 95' they could hardly believe it. I have to admit it felt pretty intimidating the first time I sat aboard the car, at that point I've never owned anything with manual transmission or driven a right hand drive car and in a couple days I was going to drive halfway across the country! It wasn't hard to get used to at all, a few stalls trying to back it around in a tight space, that's what I found the hardest learning to work the clutch and gas gently when just crawling along, but other than that I pretty much just jumped in it and drove away without any trouble. Everyone asks me is it weird sitting on the right side of the car but It literally didn't feel weird after driving it for 10 minutes and also because It was my first car with manual transmission shifting with my left hand didn't even feel weird because it was all new to me.
So with all my permits / insurance etc. and everything I needed for the trip in order I left Toronto Monday morning of the may 24th long weekend and started heading east, I was in no hurry and didn't want to end up with any tickets so I just took my time an enjoyed the ride. Lots of cops everywhere through Ontario and even signs everywhere warning of police on patrol but that didn't seem to matter to a lot of the people on the road, it was funny to see people fly past me then get 10kms up the road and see them pulled over getting tickets, the worst I seen was getting passed by a tractor trailer and a 3 or 4 cars in a construction zone then just down over a blind hill about 1 km up the road there were 5 or 6 cops with radar set up and the works of them except me got pulled. The only time I got stopped by the cops was when I was driving around Newmarket where I was staying and he was just curious about the car and wanted to make sure I had temporary registration seeing I had no license plates.
When I got through Ontario and got closer to Montreal I was looking at the gps to make sure I knew which route I was going to take, I was intending to take the tunnel under the river and avoid going through Montreal but when I got there I looked at the gps and thought it was 2 exits ahead and didn't realize it was the one coming up until it was too late, I could have turned around and back tracked but the traffic wasn't that bad so I figured I'll keep going and get to see Montreal.
It wasn't bad going through there at all, I ended up going through the Ville Marie tunnel and ending up right next to the water front, I drove through there until I got sick of it then followed the gps back to the highway. I was already past the exit for the tunnel so I kept driving and stayed on the north side of the St.Lawerence river until I got to Quebec city and of course the exit I had to take for the bridge was closed for construction so that involved some detouring and back tracking to get on the other side of the highway and get the exit. Everyone talks about how crazy Montreal drivers are but I found they were pretty tame compared to drivers in Quebec City.
The whole trip took me 3 days, the 1st day I made it to Edmunston New Brunswick just across the border from Quebec, the next day I drove through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and made it to North Sydney with plenty of time to catch the ferry for a night crossing back to Newfoundland, then it was another 750 km when I got off the ferry and I was home.
I got lots of attention of the way some of it I though was pretty funny. Just outside of Quebec city a couple of guys in a car in the other lane stayed next to me for i'd say close to 5kms pointing in amazement and holding up traffic behind them. Pulled up into a Wendys parking lot in North Sidney and I see 3 employees hanging out through the drive through window staring at my car as I parked then when I went inside up to the counter to order they came out and asked me all kinds of questions about the car and seemed disappointed when I told them I wasn't from around there and I was bringing the car back to Newfoundland. The funniest one happened when I left there and was driving around to pass the time waiting for the ferry, I was pulled over in a parking lot making a phone call when 2 guys in a riced out civic toot the horn and give me the thumbs up as they drive by, they don't go far before they turn around and come back. They asked me all about the car and took some pictures of it. Then one guy says, " Man can you give it a couple revs for me I want to take a video?!!", so I gave it a few revs and he walked away happy as a pig in sh!t lol
Here are some pictures I took along the way, would have been nice to have a passenger so I could have gotten lots of pictures but I got a few of some interesting stuff when I felt it was safe to do so.
Saw this Lancaster bomber just outside Edmunston NB, and had to stop to get a picture
A bit dirty after almost 3 days of driving but still a nice background.
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