Kunal's 1997 R33 GT-R Vspec

[Kunzz]

I think it's about time I finally made a build thread!
First off, a big thanks to Pur Auto (Vlad, Slav, and Ted) for all their help since my vehicle arrived in April.

Well, I wanted an R33 GT-R for the last 4 years and after working my ASS off while researching nonstop, I was finally able to afford it in January of 2012. I didn't want a cheap craigslist special to build up or end up overpaying for something I dont know enough about, I needed something special. I decided to figure out everything there is to know about importing vehicles and get my GT-R right from the source...Japan! This was going to be my daily driver and the car I keep until I'm an old man so a fine example was key.

I went through tons of R33's trying to find the right one, losing bids, changing my mind, wondering if I was being way too specific. It turned out that sticking to the original plan and being extremely patient would soon pay off...the Series 3 R33 GTR's were becoming legal in the next month or two and I needed one because of all the amazing upgrades it had over the previous series like projectors, rear fog light, extra trunk bracing, and a bunch of other stuff. Vspec model was preferred but I was willing to settle for less.

Here are a few cars I was outbid on:



The car needed to either be
1) bone stock, low km, no accident history and overall fine example
2) heavily modded with no accident history and fairly low KM and LOW price.

Max bid price for me was about $17000 and it would have to be an absolutely perfect car to make me bid all of that.

Then this car came along....




It caught me eye, completely bone stock 1997 R33 GT-R Vspec aside from a rare Blitz cat-back exhaust, sitting at a low 75,400KM. Mind you, this wasn't THAT low considering I lost bids on GTR's with as low as 40,000KM.

Long story short, bid $16,500 blah blah blah and here she is in Ontario 50 days later:



About a month later after it's arrival, I'm finally insured (what a headache) and all my paperwork is in order for me to be on the road...The car is a blast! Everything on it is perfect; no surprises and no BS.
I even had the cars Shaken (車検?) history for it's life in Japan, turns out I'm the second owner of this gem.

Celebration was in order:


First mod because I always wanted it, Carbon fiber wing blade:


After a nice clean up,


Then my friends at Alpha Motorsports (http://alphamotorsports.ca/) asked if I wanted to join them at Import Fest this year.

I had some money stashed away in case of any big surprises when the car landed but because of it's great condition, I felt I was able to delay doing the timing belt, water pump, and other maintenance items. The 4x4 height was killing me and I thought this car just needed some aggressiveness. During the last 4 years, I already dreamed up what my R33 GTR should look like. I quickly went to work on sourcing coilovers, wheels, tires, intakes, exhaust, and some other items.

Scored a great deal on a Kakimoto cat-back Exhaust (3.5") to replace my Blitz exhaust which was a bit too loud for my stock GT-R.(For sale!)


Next up was my suspension...didn't want to cheap out here with a lower end model or buy something thats overkill with features I dont need and a hefty price tag.
Lucky enough, C-Unit aka Charles was getting rid of a set of R34 Tein MonoFlex coilovers at a good price after a bit of haggling (thanks a lot Charles!). After consulting my friends at Pur Auto, it looked like the R34 coilovers would fit just fine.


(oops too low)

Then it was finally time for some wheel and tire action!

The sizing and specs was puzzling me for a long time, I wanted it to look flush, be functional, not cause rubbing issues, and most of all, look BEEFY. I know there is always some modification needed to achieve the above and I did not mind doing that, sure my fenders needed to be rolled and a decent ride height had to be set. Fender liners later on needed some remolding and pushing around as well.

I ended up going with SSR Type F's in an aggressive 18x10.5 +15 wrapped in Hankook RS3's 285/35/18.

They fit well....


Something was missing on the back so I picked up a set of the Vspec spats that was supposed to come with it from factory....small window between me getting these and Import Fest so they never went on.

Vlad at Pur Auto happened to have a Top Secret replica diffuser sitting around for an R33 GTR at a great bargain. I pulled the trigger and pushed the rear spat idea to next year.


The car finally looked perfect, just the way I wanted it to be. The rear wing blade ended up getting some uv damage in its clear coat and had to be removed for repair, I'll fix it over the winter and get it back on for next year.

After a sweet detail at Alpha Autospa, it was ready for Import Fest 2012.





Then the next show came, ImportExpo 2012..





And finally, SkyCruise 2012...





Now her storage time is coming, and it's back to the drawing board for what I can do next year to improve.

SPECS:
Nissan Skyline BCNR33 GT-R V-spec
year: 1997
Condition: Grade 4
Mileage: 75.400km's with full history
Engine RB26DETT
Colour: KR4
Compression: 160 across the board

Wheels: SSR Type F 18x10.5 +15
Tires: Hankook RS3 285/35/18
Suspension: Tein MonoFlex
Apexi Dual Intakes
Kakimoto Mega Exhaust Cat-back (3.5")
Top Secret style Diffuser
Carbon Wing Blade


Next: Turbossssss


Thanks for reading!

[ColinR33]

Damn that's a nice looking car.

[cortexx]

nice example of a clean R33 - love the rim choice too .

[R33-East]

Wow seems like there is a new R33 GTR build thread everyday lol, I like it.

I have to say I like the slightly darker KR4 paint over my KLO.

[bobbo]

I'm one of the non lovers of the R33 but your car does look great. Keep up the good work!

[Fred-R]

I'm one of the non lovers of the R33 but your car does look great. Keep up the good work!

X2... Nice catch tho! very clean!

[scottygtr]

Your 33 looks great, wheels and tires really sets it off!

[my3awds]

Looks great in Silver. I'm hoping to get the same rear diffuser.

Question about your wheels. I recently picked up 10.5" +20 but would like to keep my stock vspec suspension. Do you rub at all on 285/35's? Did you have to run additional negative camber for clearance? My initial thought was to invest in some 275/35 R-comps but would love the thickness of the 285 if they dont rub on extreme lock-to-lock.

[Phastwon]

Good looking car. I checked it out at Importfest. I love the TS style diffusers.

[cooke24]

kr4 ftw, my car is the same colour.

I personally hate silver but because kr4 is darker and only seeen on 97 and above skylines a few infinity's its a rare colour and i like it.

[RABBIT]

^^^chubby chicks ftw

[Kunzz]

Thanks for the compliments guys

Looks great in Silver. I'm hoping to get the same rear diffuser.

Question about your wheels. I recently picked up 10.5" +20 but would like to keep my stock vspec suspension. Do you rub at all on 285/35's? Did you have to run additional negative camber for clearance? My initial thought was to invest in some 275/35 R-comps but would love the thickness of the 285 if they dont rub on extreme lock-to-lock.

I can't say for how they ride on stock suspension as it was all installed at the same time but I'll tell you that they most likely will rub in the front on full lock. It should be much easier to deal with and simply heating the fender liners and moving it out of the way should do the trick. A fender roll in the back is necessary but I don't know how close it would sit at that stock height.

[bellis_GTR]

So happy I got to see this car in the flesh. So mint. What you've done to is so far is very tasteful. I know whatever else you got planned is gonna be top notch. Lots of respect for bringing it in yourself!

[BUMHUMPER]

looks great!!!! cant wait to see this car next year and go for a cruse around!! keep up the great work

[burton160]

Loving the clean r33s... yours and cortexx's. Cant wait to get the wider fenders on my r32 and paint it!