…when seeing this makes you happy;
The fender hides the truth.
Not quite as well off but not horrible
It’s a 36 year old Nissan. It could have been a LOT worse!
-Michael
Authors Cars
You know you’re into old cars…
August 19, 2009
There is no such thing as “too much AW11 content”
August 12, 2009
especially not around these parts. But feel free to skip this entry if you’re over flying wedges.
I tend not to talk a great deal about my MR2 because it’s my daily driver and people don’t usually give a tin shit about their dailys, myself included. I’ve had it for half a year so far – and folks still haven’t realized that I went and bought another AW11 because I haven’t really bothered to tell anyone about it.
Red Two standing by.
It’s the fourth AW11 I’ve owned and the first supercharged one… why the hell didn’t I get one sooner?
C110 Progress
July 30, 2009
Can you imagine?!
Heart Surgery
Forced heart surgery, the 5spd attached to the back of the L24 came out of my brother’s old 280ZX (S130) and the gearbox in his 240Z (s30) is giving him grief so I had to quickly remove the box from my car to aid his. So at the same time, I figured I’d pull the engine too. Had to come out at some stage anyway, might as well be now. If the weather keeps up I might well start stripping the interior and exterior panels off too now that it’s got a nice safe garage to sit in.
-Michael
Skyline Dreaming
July 28, 2009
I got a txt today from a friend to tell me that he’d procured for me a Prince Skyway Parts Manual. Stoked. This led onto thoughts about my poor Prince Skyline sitting in the shed being neglected…
Photoshop of the desired end result
One day…
C110 first, I’ve had it longer.
-Michael
Uber random garage find: ’81 DR30 Skyline RS sedan
July 26, 2009
…it’s almost like a barn find, but not quite.
The background: my friend’s father (who’s a bit of a tinkerer) recently did a bit of maintenance work on a vehicle for a lady he knew, and she happened to mention that it was probably time for her to retire said vehicle in order to get something slightly more modern. To cut a long story short, it turns out her car is a 1981 DR30 Skyline RS sedan with the FJ20E naturally aspirated engine – she’s the 2nd NZ owner and has owned it for a number of years blissfully unaware of any “significance” it may have had!
genuine DR30, it is!
The car: Judging from the manufacture date and build number it’s one of the very first RS models made, as they were released in October 1981. The car itself is a bit rough around the edges but I’m confident it will clean up well with some effort. The important thing is that it still drives well, and the FJ20E is still as smooth and perky as one might expect for a twin cam 4-valver (although it’s no match for the turbo version). To me, it was surreal seeing another genuine DR30 on the ground here in NZ, and cool yet strange to see one that’s been here living a very honest life for the last 20-odd years and hasn’t been destroyed yet.
Anyway, enjoy a selection of photos after the jump, and if anyone happens to be interested in purchasing this DR30, give us a yell and arrangements can be made on your behalf – I’m fairly sure its current owner would appreciate it going to a worthy home.
Alert readers will note the absence of the tell-tale 3 slat front grille in the following photos; the only plausible explanation is that sometime in the past it was stolen or broken and thus replaced with a regular HR30 honeycomb (because DR30 grilles aren’t exactly common here). It sure helps disguise the fact that this is the real deal from far away, as only the badging remains (and the paint scheme, if you know what to look for).
