Pall K acquired this Pearl Red (AH3) R32 from our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go. We love the gorgeous paint color and Volk TE37SLs:
Pall brought the R32 to ZCG for a full inspection. We found one of the CV boots torn and he had some Nismo stainless lines for us to install.
We checked the timing, changed the engine oil, transmission fluid and installed the new brake lines front/rear:
Full alignment, and the Skyline will be coming back for a clutch service:
We had a great time at the 2019 Norcal Skyline Matsuri held on Saturday in San Francisco. Over 25 Nissan Skylines gathered for a fun drive through Lombard St., Japantown and capped it off with scenic Fort Baker. I am not a Skyline owner but I was lucky to attend this meet behind the wheel of Z Car Garage customer Alex McDowell’s 1992 R32 GT-R. If this Skyline looks (and sounds) familiar, it was the same car driven by Jason Cammisa in the this episode of Motor Trend’s “Ignition” TV series. Alex has continued to enjoy this Skyline at many track days.
On Saturday morning I joined our friend Glenn in his Nismo R32 GT-R to meet with the other Norcal Skylines near the first photo op: Lombard St.
GT-Rs after GT-Rs from R32 to R34 came pouring in to the crowded neighborhood. Amazingly, the SFPD was on site to help guide traffic so we could all drive down Lombard together.
The goal was to have all of the Skylines driving down the famous curvy street. For such a chaotic task it was accomplished so well. Thanks to drone photographer Eddie this epic moment was captured beautifully. Stay tuned for video and high-res pics!
From Lombard we met in Japantown for lunch. The underground parking garage turned into a Skyline car show:
I was happy to see and meet several R32 owners that have visited Z Car Garage!
We had plenty of time to admire each others cars and chat. After lunch we drove to our final photo spot, Fort Baker. It was a gorgeous day with the SF Skyline clearly visible and the Golden Gate making the perfect backdrop. Each car got it’s own photo professionally taken!
Congratulations to Todd Lappin and the organizers from Norcal Skylines on a successful Matsuri. Enjoy this video from the day and many more pictures in the gallery below.
Matt O is the lucky owner of this 1991 Skyline GTR finished in (TH1) Midnight Blue Pearl. When we first met he wanted to bring the car in to ZCG for a quick checkup. We looked over it, ran a compression check and also made a plan for his next visit.
Matt acquired this California-legal R32 from our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go.
In March of last year Matt came in for a Haltech Platinum Pro. We have installed many of these and it’s a great foundation for adding power to the R32.
We performed all the prep work and ran a the boost sensor to install the Haltech. Whenever we take on these cars we always run a smoke test to ensure there are no intake leaks present.
On the dyno, results for the baseline run (left) followed by Haltech on 91 octane. Despite having a healthy engine/turbos the power levels were fairly low on this car. The culprit: weak actuators not allowing the car to hold boost. Matt will visit us again for new turbos and acuators so it will get a big jump in power. We are big fans of Haltech and now he’s prepared with the right engine management system.
Next, we installed a few suspension upgrades supplied by Matt followed by a full alignment:
Cusco T/C rods, rack bushings and toe-link/rear control arm setup:
T/C rods
The R32 had a set of SSR SP1 wheels and Matt wanted to change the look with a fresh set of new wheels: 18″ Volk TE37 finished in bronze.
We mounted/balanced his RE071R tires and the Skyline looks sweet:
Photo: Telstarlogistics
Matt has been Enjoying The Ride in the R32. Here he is at Laguna Seca:
We even caught Matt out on a local drive! Here he is parked next to Naveed’s R32 (story coming soon):
Thanks for bringing your Skyline to us Matt. We look forward to more boost! Catch more of Matt’s Th1 R32 on his Instagram
Lou S is a long-time friend and customer of Z Car Garage. He is also an avid sports car fan with a interesting collection including a 3.2L FairladyZ, FD RX-7, Mazda RX-4, and Dodge Viper GTS. Adding to this stable is his 2nd RHD vehicle, a 1992 Nissan Skyline GT-R. For most fans of Japanese sports cars this “R32” supercar is highly regarded and quite popular. Not familiar with this model? Find out what makes it special over at JNC.
Lou acquired this Skyline from previous owner David C who had extensive suspension and engine work performed at ZCG. Lou wanted to make it his own so he visited us for some upgrades and tuning! Wheel aficionados will immediately notice the VOLK TE37SL wheels, sized 18×9.5 and finished in high-metal bronze. We think the TE’s are easily one of the best looking wheels for the R32, good taste Lou!
Perfectly framed by the TE’s spokes are Stoptech calipers/rotors at all four corners. The Ray’s valve stems color-matched to the “TE37SL” sticker is also a nice detail:
Adding to the list of choice parts is a full titanium exhaust system from Tomei. This includes downpipes, test pipe and the Expreme Ti muffler:
The quality and detail of this exhaust system is impressive, please click on the pics for larger views. We think it adds a little sportiness to the car’s rather understated (by today’s standards) aesthetic. It also sounds sublime.
The R32 was much louder than I anticipated. At idle it has a loveley burble and part throttle acceleration produces a semi-truck like turbo hiss…very audible from outside but never obnoxious. Under full throttle however, there is an absolute orchestra of sounds from the exhaust and turbo…it screams and reminds us how unmistakable the RB is!
With the new exhaust we re-tuned the Haltech to a healthy 412hp/311tq to the wheels:
I personally love this car. A few more pictures…
Lou is having a blast driving his R32 and recently attended Cars and Coffee at Canepa. We love how he chose to take Skyline/HWY 9 as opposed to the freeway. Enjoy the Ride Lou!
