Project 1990 R32 GTR, needs new life

[Jamesdeane]

Hey All, Im new to the forum and am in need of some guidance with my gtr.
I purchased the vehicle off of a friend for relatively cheap but with known issues.
currently compression is down across all cylinders, in particular cylinders 3 and 4. Also one of the exhaust valves on cylinder 3 is stuck open. I've managed to limp it down to Calgary to get work done at autodream. After getting the vehicle to Calgary the transmission no longer will go into reverse.

So I have a few options on the table. I haven't had any success in locating guts from an r33. I was able to find an r34 engine and tranny for sale in montreal cost for these is 6500though and after getting installed i'm suspecting cost will be pushed north of 10k. While having a 6 speed tranny would be awesome, the cost will be an issue. As the car needs a new windshield and tires as well. So I believe I am stuck with getting r32 internals which is fine as current goals for this car are not insane.

I plan to take this car on a road trip in June so I would like reliability to be at its best. The good about the car is that its got practically brand new turbo chargers on it (garrett 2860-5's). My budget for getting this thing running and on the road is 10k.

Any help would be appreciated.

Jaime

[evilgtr]

Avoid the r34 set up by the time it's done that shop and the bank will own you unless you do all the work your self. Find a stock rb26 motor and transmission from any importer - don't pay more then $3600. While the motor is out upgrade the essentials that are prone to failure :
-Oil pump and crank collar $500
-Timing belt service $300
-upgraded turbos if you chose (price depends on what you want)
That will give you a great base and save you a boat load of time and money if you don't do it and try to later on down the track if you have to pull the motor again.

Pull the motor you have now and sell it a complete package that needs a rebuild il bet you will get $1000 for it because you would get that if you parted it out

[cschepp]

It would be good to do the clutch well it's out as well. I am going to do mine and the turboes. I might do the timing belt as well.

[bobbo]

I find the golden rule to follow with these cars as they are old and complicated is... KEEP IT SIMPLE. Especially for reliability.
You can get R32 trans for under $500. Find yourself a low KM engine and swap out your old one. By far the cheapest and easiest way unless you're looking at a BIG power build.
Pay the money for a good clutch. Don't skimp on the details like electronics, gaskets and hoses.
The R32 RB26 is a fine engine and durable enough if you're not pounding the life out of it. The problem with the crank collar/oil pump is when hitting the rev limiter it beats the sintered gears in the oil pump to pieces.
I run mine on the track frequently and I've had no problems although an oil cooler is certainly not a bad idea.

Good luck!