History
I wanted a sports coupe that I could use as a daily driver and do the occasional track day. The remit included that it needed to fit two teenage boys in the back and two cricket bags in the boot. I was drawn to the Japanese turbo coupes by a number of articles about their bang per buck, plus I had seen the early Silvias and Supras in the UK they had favourable reviews at the time. I also did not want a 4 door taxi with a V8 engine - no matter how good an engine.
After a few test drives of Soarers and Supras, I drove a Skyline, with my older son, then 14 years old, along to sit in the back. The Skyline ticked all the boxes and the R33 looked the part, too!
I bought it from Downunder Autos in Perth in 2003 and got an OK-ish deal, including the rims, a stainless steel cat-back exhaust system and an HKS blow-off valve (obligatory!). The salesman refused to provide the Japanese Auction Sheet, but convinced me he was pukka. I later discovered via a UK website that recorded mileage from the auction sheets that the speedo had been wound back by about 30,000 kms. Great! The Australian used car industry doing its best again.
I sold the car when waiting for my R34 GTR to arrive from Japan.
Modifications
I had an HKS intake pod fitted, with a cold air partition. I also fitted an air diversion panel and a cooling duct to improve overall cooling, plus an R34 GT-T intercooler, This was a great, simple upgrade for the R33 GTS-T, because it was in the same location but bigger. This gave a noticeable improvement in response. I did a few other cosmetic changes, but when I was planning major upgrades, I decided instead to go for the GTR.
