A story about my Nissan Skyline TI R31 Series 3 Sedan.
I bought this car way back in 1994 for at that time an unbelievable price of $14,000 AUD from the cars original owner from new.
The car was custom ordered from Nissan Dandenong Victoria and shipped to Perth WA. The car is a Jan 1 1990 Nissan Skyline Series III TI Sedan in Nissan Classic White with factory black pin stripping. It also has factory Paint and Rust prooving and fitted with a factory Nissan Tow Bar. The interiour is Blue Crush Velour with dark blue deep pile carpet. The dash is black with all buttons being green backlite and the standard TI 6 gauge cluster. The windows are factory tinted "antisun" plus they were tinted by Magic Nissan in 1996 and both front doors were fitted with wind deflectors.The winscreen is custom Tinted as well. The factory Clarion AM/FM 4 speaker Tape deck was replaced with a Alpine CD player in 1996 as well.The factory speakers were upgraded to suit the new deck. The front speakers are hidden Alpine 6.5in and the back parcel shelf has Alpine 6x9's. The original electric antenna still works fine after all these years.
THE CARS STATE WHEN I BROUGHT IT.
When I bought the car it was in a shed because the owner had hit a car park gutter and holed the engine sump and therefore was not running. The owner had split up with his wife about 9 months before I brought the car. It also had a house brick sitting in the front windscreen.
The car was covered in a thick layer of dust but other wise ok. The original Nissan battery was dead flat and there was very little unleaded fuel in the tank. There were also two flat tyres on the left side of the car. A closer look at the tyres revealed a steak knife had been stabbed into the tyres causing them to be unusable. The car was totally undrivable nor could I start it.
I brought the car anyway. The body work was straight and the paint looked ok. Everything was there including the owners manual and service history. The original owner had kept up the new car servicing till the car was parked up in the shed.
What I found out about the car once home.
All the original paper work was In the glovebox along with the factory paperwork showing the new price of the of the car costing $39,990 with onroad costs. First licence was March 21 1990. I opened the trunk and found the factory tool kit, jack, jack handle, lug nut tool and factory steel wheel chocks two of them. The spare tyre was also brand new but on a steel 15x6in rim.
I had the car towed to my house where I had the windscreen replaced to stop any rain getting into the car. I then gave the car a much needed clean inside and out.
The work done to the car.
New tyres were fitted to the factory 15x6in Nissan Factory TI rims. The original tyres were GoodYear NCT 205/60 15's and thats what I put back on the rims. I also replaced the spare tyre with another factory TI rim and new tyre.
Next item was to replace the battery so the car could be powered up. I then turned the engine over by hand to make sure it was not seized. The next item on my list was to buy a new sump for the engine this was bought from Magic Nissan for $220.
I asked Nissan Service Department if the engine sump could be changed without removing the engine from the engine bay and I was told how to go about it. The car was jacked up and put on jack stands, the radiator was removed along with the engine mounts so the sump could be removed without any issues.
Once the sump was removed I found that the oil pickup pipe had a crack in it so that was also replaced with a new one. Then the new sump was installed back onto the engine. The engine was then lowered back on the engine mounts. Penrite HPR30 engine oil was then added along with new coolant once the radiator was reinstalled.
It was now time to cross my fingers and hope the RB30E engine was ok. I first cranked the engine over till it had oil pressure and all was great. I then drained the tank and filled it with some fresh BP98Ron fuel. I then primed the fuel system. It was time for its first start in two years. I turned the key and what do you know it started up straight away. The lifters were somewhat noisy but quieted down once normal engine temp was reached. The engine ran like it was new. I let it run for 30 minutes cheaking for any leaks but all was ok.
I had myself a beautiful Series III TI Skyline sedan. With only 32,220 km on the clock too.
The car was then licenced and I drove the car as a daily driver for 10 years cranking up 160,000km on it with most of these km's done in outback WA. Not once did the car ever let me down. I have had about 5 Series II Skylines over the years before I brought this one and all were great cars but the Series III was more powerful and more refined than the Series II Skyline that it replaced.
For the last 15 years the car has once again been housed in a garage to protect it from the weather. It has never been modified and is all original other than a set of headers fitted to the car in 1999 along with a full 2.5in system. Other than normal servicing and replacment of brakes and some much needed Koni Shockers the car remains as it was from new.
Last year I replaced the timing belt and tensioner and installed a new old stock water pump. When I had the radiator out I had found out that at the bottom of the radiator tubes had been damaged from the engine fan hitting them so a new old stock original radiator was fitted at that time. Last year also saw all the rubber bushing on the suspension replaced with Nolathane bushings and all work was done by WA Suspensions in Osbourne Park WA. I also had the B/W 78 Series 4 pinon factory 3.89 diff fully rebuilt by WA Diff Center. The factory electronic 4 speed gearbox was also fully rebuilt by CSA Automatic's. The engine itself has not been touched other than timing belt and water pump.
Febuary this year I did a compression test on the engine and found it in great condition with all but 1 cylinder (cylinder 3) showing 192psi with all the rest showing 195psi cold. The engine never uses oil or water and no oil leaks have ever been found.
This year I have replaced the tyres from the very old 1990's tyres to a new set of Kumo's 225/50 15's. The car sits very low now as one of the other mod's was to fit a set of "King Springs" 2inch lowering springs and now sits 3 inches lower than factory ride height that makes the car look far more agressive and with the Koni shocks and King Springs makes the whole car handle so much better. This coming winter will see the car remain in its storage place and the only work being done is to replace front and rear brake pads.
Plans for the car!
None at this time. The cars original paint is in great condition for a car of this age. There are small paint chips on the bonnet but are not worth fixing them.
I have owned the car for close to 26 years and have enjoyed the car since I brought it. The 1 of January 2020 will see the cars 30th birthday since it rolled out of Nissan Dandanong Plant in Victoria. The RB30E straight 6 is as strong as it was from new. I do own another spare engine and gearbox out of a 1989 Series III GX sedan that's in storage in my garden shed along with many other parts as well. I resently scored a NOS rear bumper that will be stored with all the other parts for the car. Parts for these old skylines are getting harder and harder to find.
The only thing's I am looking for are a full set of chrome door handles in very good condition as the drivers door handle is starting to show signs of bubbling.
