Hello all,
Another proud (KH2 Gunmetal) R32 owner here in Southern California! It has been a long road to be able to get this car. I have been into the Nissan scene for over 20 years and have owned many S13 and S14 240sx's (over ten I think) since 1997. I did my own SR20 swap back in 1998 on my first S13 and tracked most of the cars I owned. I also swapped an RB25DET into one of my S13's back in 2003 along with some R32 GT-R factory wheels and GT-R style grill with a Silva face in an attempt to make a mini-Skyline since I couldn't actually have a real one, haha. Of course, there's nothing like the real thing! When I first saw an R32 in Option car magazine back in 1995, I instantly fell in love. The cars built by HKS, Midori Service Center, Garage Saurus, Mine's, Esprit, etc. always stood out from the crowd. Then there are the Group A and N1 cars that I still get an automotive boner at every time I look at. I told myself that I will own one someday. Of course at that time, being 18 years old with no money, and the cars not being 25 years old yet and Motorex not in business at that point, it was only a pipe dream. Fast forward 22 years, and much like a kid that never forgot his first elementary school crush, I've finally made the move.
Being meticulous and slightly OCD, I wanted a car that was mostly stock (100% stock and unmolested if possible) and a grade 3.5 or above and for the right price, obviously very easy to find :headshake: I also wanted a '92 and up, as they had the series 2 RB26 with the improved oil pump drive collar and a couple other minor improvements here and there. I plan on doing the typical bolt-on mods that most people do, like suspension, HICAS elimination and stage 1 engine mods to make it more reliable and quicker. It won't be a daily driver, as I want to keep the car in good shape and do improvements here and there, so if it's on jack stands for a week or two in the garage, it's no big deal. I'm a big believer in keeping cars "period correct", so the '90s parts/theme will definitely be a priority. I'll take it out for cruises, canyon fun, and occasional track duty (and of course, Race Warz, :wink: ).
I have been actively looking for a car for about 4 months now. I talked to most of the major JDM importers throughout the states, and kept checking in regularly with incoming cars still on the ocean. The good cars usually would sell instantly, or sometimes even before they land in the states. This was a little frustrating, as typically the cars that are here still on the lot for sale are either high mileage, abused, highly modded, rusted out, too expensive, or all of the above. Luckily I am a rather patient person by nature (well, for the most part) and finally found a car that ticked all the boxes. I talked to the importer and we were able to secure a deal that we were both happy with. It is a 1992 model, 51k miles (82k km), and mostly stock. It has a full Nismo Weldina exhaust system (which comes with Nismo downpipes and twin sport cats) which is pretty rare, as it's not cheap (about $3800 new when it was available) and also 17x9 Tommy Kaira 2 piece wheels, which are also rather rare, and super '90s style, which I dig. It has a few minor issues here and there, like a scrape on the front bumper and the rear, ding in the trunk by the keyhole, the C-pillar trim is de-laminating on the driver side, and the stock steering wheel has seen better days. All-in-all, the car is very solid though, and doesn't have the typical "dash bubble" and the window trims/moldings are like brand new.
The next hurdle is the registration process. Being smog-Nazi California, I really wanted to get it legalized the right way with Cali plates. That's not gonna be cheap though ¯\_(***12484
_/¯