Mike R acquired this gunmetal (KH2) 1991 Skyline GTR last August 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.

 

Z Car Garage is familiar with the Norcal Skylines group and fellow Skyline R32 owner Kurt W. referred Mike to us in addition to an endorsement from Top Rank:

“One of my main concerns in purchasing a 25+ year old vehicle that was never manufactured in the US, was support. Who can work on this thing to perform maintenance and upgrades? I spoke with Top rank about it quite a bit prior to purchase and they had recommended Z Car garage. The car was in great condition and mostly stock when I got it. With the goal of being an all around fast street car, I started acquiring parts and placed a call to ZCG to start the first round of upgrades.”

 

Chassis

We discussed installing a big-brake kit, suspension, Haltech and a few others issues we handled for Mike. Here is the Project Mu 4-wheel big-brake kit:

 

We also installed the Ohlins DFV coil-overs, shown below are the stock R32 calipers:

 

 

With a few modifications the Project Mu kit was installed:

 

Some close-ups of the Project Mu setup:

 

We adjusted his coil-over setup and set the ride height followed by corner-weighting the car according to his weight. Further suspension mods included Whiteline Sway bars, Cusco strut bracing and SPL titanium HICAS eliminator kit. All interior panels were trimmed for a clean finish with full alignment services.

Performance

Mike was also interested in replacing the factory ECU so we upgraded to a Haltech Elite 2000 with the R32-plugin adapter. The full installation also included a wideband controller and smoke-testing the car in preparation for dyno tuning:

 

Greddy FMIC:

 

The Haltech combined with Apexi intakes, Nismo downpipe, Tomei Titanium exhaust, Greddy FMIC and PRP R35 Coil kit, netted 340hp/284tq at the wheels with Rob’s tuning on 91 octane:

 

Enjoy the dyno video below:

 

 

Since his last visit, Mike has added R34 GT-R Seats, and a sweet set of Volk Racing TE37 SL custom gloss black wheels (18×10.5 +15), wrapped in Michelin PS4S tires measuring 265/35/18.

 

Mike also relocated the battery to the trunk to make space for a Leaskspec radiator overflow tank and Radium dual catch can setup:

 

In addition, a Haltech IC7 digital dash was added to monitor vital engine parameters. The IC7 dash ties into the CAN box of Elite system:

More Power

 

Mike has been happy with the upgrades we made but like many of us the desire for more power inevitably hits:

“The car has been running flawlessly and the goal with these mods is to support the addition of a single turbo kit that Zcar will be installing this August. The turbo kit consists of a Full Race Twin scroll T4 manifold that will be mated to an EFR 8474 turbocharger.  Twin Tial 44mm external wastegates will bleed off the excess exhaust gasses.”

 

“All of the work performed at Zcar had exceeded my expectations so far (and I’m very picky). Looking forward to the start the build and make some power of the next few months.”

We really enjoy taking care of many Norcal Skyline owners.  Welcome to ZCG family Mike and thanks for trusting us with your R32! Enjoy The Boost until you return!
More pictures in the gallery below:

 

Kurt W is a Nissan enthusiast having owned a 350z that we worked on back in 2008.  Last year he acquired this (KH2) R32 Skyline GT-R from our friend Sean Morris 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.

 

Kurt visited Z Car Garage for minor sorting and a series of upgrades we will document in a future blog post. Recently he came in for installation of 17″ VOLK TE37V wheels with Bridgestone RE-71R tires:

 

The wheels frame the Stoptech Big-Brake kit( 332mm front and 328mm rear) nicely. Love the dish on these!

 

Electric Avenue

 

Kurt also called us about lowering his Tesla Model 3 and for the first time an electric vehicle came to ZCG for modifications. A full KW coil-over suspension setup from MountainPass Performance was installed:

 

The Model 3 received a full alignment. Note the weight/distribution!

 

Kurt’s R32 will be back at the shop for some exciting power upgrades stay tuned for a full report!

 

 

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:

 

Pall enjoys driving his R32 and even made it to the Norcal Skyline Matsuri last month:

   

We really enjoy taking care of many Norcal Skyline owners.  Welcome to ZCG family Pall and thanks for trusting us with your R32!

 

This 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R has ~86k miles and holds full California-emissions compliance. In fact, it was actually the first car to do so under the 25-year rule through Sean Morris and his team over at Top Rank Importers.

  

With up to date maintenance, a clear title and current registration this R32 is ready to be enjoyed. Extensive photos and history can be found on our For Sale page HERE.

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!

 

So. Many. Skylines.

Matt’s TH1 R32!

  

Chad’s R33 and an R32 on Blitz 03 wheels:

 

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.

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