Shed Money Skyline Saved
Discussion
Visited a good friend of mine last week who's place is always full of weird and eclectic stuff. Noticed this Skyline Stagea sitting in the weeds looking very sorry for itself. It was his brothers dog car and general workhorse and he had bought a cheap Cayenne to replace it. He mentioned he just wanted rid and we had a haggle and settled on £1200 subject to it running and starting ok. I did a bit of research and took some advice from the ever helpful Scott at Abbey Motorsport and went back the next day with a jump pack. The MOT history showed no issues in the last 2 years with just one advise for 'a slightly frayed rear seat belt' , so I reckon he was a super strict tester! Only 1 UK owner since imported in 2009.
In true Japanese style it started first turn despite being sat untouched for 6 months. All the fluids were clean and topped up which backed up the story of it being serviced about 400 miles before it came off the road. Brakes freed off easily enough it ran and drove well. I was warned to check for rot underneath but its clean as a whistle with none at all.
It's the filthiest car inside and out I've ever had to clean! In the pics it had already had a quick wash before I got it home. Being MOT'd Monday and think it will fly through. Just spent several hours cleaning it but rain has stopped play. Has some rot on both front doors under the wing mirrors which I believe is par for the course, few marks and scuffs on the bumpers and general age related marks. Think a flat polish will get rid of most of them. Genuine BBS wheels are mildly corroded but not scuffed, going to put them in for a refurb. Will get some Jap style number plates too. Tyres are all good, everything works but air-con isn't cold so I'll get them to try and regas it when they do the MOT. Might use it for the winter for my daily or sell it on if the moneys right.
Has a Dayz body kit which looks good (relatively speaking :0)) and strut brace, not sure if mechanicals are modified at all. This model is mechanically similar to the R33 2.5 single turbo car. The 4 wheeldrive is permanent though, they are quoted as 230 bhp and it feels about that.
The pics don't convey how dirty it is at all!!
In true Japanese style it started first turn despite being sat untouched for 6 months. All the fluids were clean and topped up which backed up the story of it being serviced about 400 miles before it came off the road. Brakes freed off easily enough it ran and drove well. I was warned to check for rot underneath but its clean as a whistle with none at all.
It's the filthiest car inside and out I've ever had to clean! In the pics it had already had a quick wash before I got it home. Being MOT'd Monday and think it will fly through. Just spent several hours cleaning it but rain has stopped play. Has some rot on both front doors under the wing mirrors which I believe is par for the course, few marks and scuffs on the bumpers and general age related marks. Think a flat polish will get rid of most of them. Genuine BBS wheels are mildly corroded but not scuffed, going to put them in for a refurb. Will get some Jap style number plates too. Tyres are all good, everything works but air-con isn't cold so I'll get them to try and regas it when they do the MOT. Might use it for the winter for my daily or sell it on if the moneys right.
Has a Dayz body kit which looks good (relatively speaking :0)) and strut brace, not sure if mechanicals are modified at all. This model is mechanically similar to the R33 2.5 single turbo car. The 4 wheeldrive is permanent though, they are quoted as 230 bhp and it feels about that.
The pics don't convey how dirty it is at all!!
Looks good, lose the skyline badge though as model wise Stageas aren't officially related to or called a Skyline at all. Chassis wise theyre based on the C34 Laurel, sharing the same double wishbone front setup and RB25DET as the R33 skylines. Watch out for oil circulation issues, RB series engines (or any other 25yo turbo engine) are nowhere near as reliable as people make out and blown bottom ends / sticky lifters / cracked ringland issues are par of the course these days as they get older. Regular oil changes (5k or less) are a must, and its worth renewing the breather system to ensure that years of gunk aren't blocking them leading to excess crank pressure and oil starvation. Random misfires are also common as the coilpacks or coilpack amplifiers degrade; they're also very sensitive to poorly chosen spark plugs. MAFs and ICVs can also cause rough idling or boost cut issues. The fuel pump wiring is also often inadequate and starts to break down as they get older which can lead to lean running on boost which will eventually cause cracked ringlands or melted pistons. Lots of people opt for a hard-wired walbro 255 even on standard power cars but a new nissan pump and some renewed wiring also works fine.
If you go in with your eyes open and keep on top of any potential issues then you will have a great time with it, they're great cars! IMO they look great but I'm a sucker for 90s Japanese styling. Some nice plain 13x6.5 jap sized plates will finish it off nicely and there is a wealth of aftermarket stuff available for them if you wish to go down that route, many parts are shared with Laurels / Skylines / Silvias etc. Also £1200 is an absolute steal, RB25DETs alone go for that these days! Great find, nice to see one driven as is as opposed to ripped apart as a donor car for something else.
If you go in with your eyes open and keep on top of any potential issues then you will have a great time with it, they're great cars! IMO they look great but I'm a sucker for 90s Japanese styling. Some nice plain 13x6.5 jap sized plates will finish it off nicely and there is a wealth of aftermarket stuff available for them if you wish to go down that route, many parts are shared with Laurels / Skylines / Silvias etc. Also £1200 is an absolute steal, RB25DETs alone go for that these days! Great find, nice to see one driven as is as opposed to ripped apart as a donor car for something else.
Bobberoo99 said:
samj2014 said:
Am I the only one that thinks these look good? Awesome car, bargain for £1200. I'd want a shower after getting in that though!
Nope +1 i kinda like that in a weird way!!! 
I've seen a few Stageas in the UK and thought they could make fun sleepers. There is a chap on here who has a couple of Stagea track cars!!
Me an mate were looking at some last night as he fancies a big estate to tow his new trailer and I thought a Stegea turbo would be more entertaining than a BMW 330d.
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