Wheeler Dealers Does a Skyline.. . .

I have been a huge fan of this show. However this episode should have been titled "How to ruin a really cool car"

I guess part of me resents that you can get a decent Skyline for 5K in the UK and we can't. But everything they did, except for fixing the rust by the strut tower, is exactly what i would not have done.

I was practically yelling at the TV when he got the car and he did not want the rims that were on it. They would have been something that a drift car purchaser would have wanted and he paid more for a set of wheels that in my mind were a lesser quality. (for a drift car)

I was so flustered by the whole thing and then they put that hideous wing on it. Now I have seen similar wings on other cars and I actually like the look but that was just hideous compared to the OE rear wing. The one they got was just not right. Then they start punching holes in the trunk and the dam thing is flexing like . . . . Well. . . . . Unenforced sheet metal. That wing is going to dent the trunk lid. Oh ya and the intercooler "upgrade" You could at least have painted the piping so It did not stand out so much through the air duct vent. It was like looking at a cute girl with a booger hanging out of her nose.

Usually there builds are rather well thought out but I got the feeling that Ed was going through the motions on this one for the camera and his heart was really not in it. He was saying all the right things but he just seemed to not care and when ever possible took the Q&D way to finish what he was doing.

Sorry Wheeler Dealers but I think you screwed the pooch on this one.

I haven't seen this episode yet (just watched the Mustang one) but I've been known to yell at the TV when watching WD more than once as I noticed before that they don't always do what I'd consider a proper job - like changing only the front shocks on a car with blown shocks, but leaving the old, well used shocks in the back...

Since I did not see the ending is it bad that I hope they lost $$$$ on it.

who cares-just another quick flip used car in the UK. Sometimes I think the Brits have the right idea, fix whats broken and get back on the road. Thats why they dont end up in endlessly replacing, repainting and refinishing every damn thing on the car like we do over here. BTW, they made money.

nope.. they made money and had fun.. which was the whole point.

That Skyline was a GTS.. the Rear Wheel drive version, so it is not even a "good" version of the car.. just another Nissan

mad_machine wrote: nope.. they made money and had fun.. which was the whole point. That Skyline was a GTS.. the Rear Wheel drive version, so it is not even a "good" version of the car.. just another Nissan

Have you driven one? The GTS is actually faster than the GTR, no 4wd weight and more fun to drive fast.

Yeah I have driven both.

Lots of them imported downunder

This Is one thing that has always bugged me:

When a typical Murican car guy gets an import (specifically Japanese imports), they go full retard, forget all they know of cars in general and throw on a wing, body kit and some E36 M3ty wheels. It's like they have it in their minds that all import guys love that crap seen in F&F.

I'd rather have a Rwd over a 4wd too. Less to break., less weight, etc.

Not that I would turn my nose up at a gts, I want a ride on the 6k clutch drop rocketship once in my lifetime.

I am not saying the GTS is not good or even great.. but in most fan boi's eyes.. unless it is a GTR.. it is not worth it.

Personally, if I had to drive a skyline.. it would be the GTS. I do not care for all the electronics in the GTR that would make even my sister (who doesn't drive) look good behind the wheel

I think they usually do a pretty fair job, given their stated objective of "selling it on for a profit". The Capri got me a little, though. If the TCA bushings are that shot, so are the ball joints. Should have replaced the arms. They're not expensive, and getting those bushings in is an indescribable pain in the ass.

This build really got me. I thought the whole FF thing had pretty much gone away. At least up here in the NE you rarely see them any more.

WD has done some really great things. I really like the green Jag they did. The beetles and the 914 were also good shows. The TVR and the Morgan were very interesting builds / restorations. The 951 they turned in to a track toy was "ok".

I think the premise of the show has changed. At first they were saving and restoring cars and making money was 2nd to this. Lately the focus seems to be on making money and everything they do is driven by this.

It is however the closest thing we have to "GRM/CM" TV at the moment.

Where on the interwebs can i see episodes? I think I've exhausted youtube as far as full episodes are concerned.

In reply to fast_eddie_72:

I watched that one too... rattle can paint on one fender, eh? I guess it was a cheap car but they weren't that happy with the results, lost money, seemed silly. And you're right about the front control arm nonsense.

Sometimes they do things that don't make a lot of sense. Then again, they did an early C4 Corvette and I thought it was a pretty good episode; look for the obvious faults, get it good and presentable, get paid.

mad_machine wrote: I am not saying the GTS is not good or even great.. but in most fan boi's eyes.. unless it is a GTR.. it is not worth it. Personally, if I had to drive a skyline.. it would be the GTS. I do not care for all the electronics in the GTR that would make even my sister (who doesn't drive) look good behind the wheel

Have you had a chance to sample a GTR? Just saying...

I've owned an R32 GTS-T (the R32 GTS is the NA variant) and they're cool cars, but very different from a GTR. Based on that experience and having sampled a GTR of the same vintage, I'd go GTR if I were to own another one.

tim,

no.. here in the states we only get the new bloated GTR.. but I also admit I am something of a traditionalist and perhaps even partial to being a luddite. I like my cars (and boats) simple and pure.

Well, you could have had a chance to try one of the few legal ones, hence the question...

They're all pretty porky, at least back to the R32 (I haven't been in an earlier one) and they're all pretty high tech for the time they were built, so I wouldn't call a GTS or GTS-T "pure and simple". Compared to a GTR they are, compared to a 200SX none of them are.

dean1484 wrote: I thought the whole FF thing had pretty much gone away...

Unfortunately, no.

I haven't seen this particular episode, but am a fan of the show.

Their objective is a quick turnaround and to make a profit. So with that in mind, I think they tend to do things to cars that a purist or hard core car guy would do. They're trying to appeal to the largest market they can, so they have a better chance of selling. Hard to tell from a 2 minute clip at the end of the show, but some of the buyers I've seen seem to be people who like cars, but aren't "car guys".

I watch their show and always put the strange finish outs down to it being a British thang.

I know from some British car forums I'm on that they tend to think a little differently from what we do.

DrBoost wrote: Where on the interwebs can i see episodes? I think I've exhausted youtube as far as full episodes are concerned.

Search for Wheeler Dealers on streetfire.net. If you go by upload date they are roughly in order (newest to oldest).

I didn't watch the Skyline episode, but a lot of their other ones from this season were extremely good (WWII Jeep, Bugeye Sprite, Jag E-Type, and the Mustang fastback especially). I tend to skip the newer cars (like the CLK).

Why didn't Nissan sell that car in the US? Was there some issue that prevented it from meeting US crash and/or emission standards?

And for those who live/lived where the older Skylines were available, how were they marketed in relation to the contemporary Z car? Was the Skyline more expensive, less expensive, or what? Was the Z supposed to be a sports car and the Skyline was a GT?

I just don't get why Nissan had this car and sold it everywhere else in the world, but had no problem selling Z's (and 240SX's) in the US.

Cost and projected sales not high enough to bother with Federalization. Crash/emissions/etc never even attempted as far as i know.

The cost would have been SUBSTANTIALLY higher than the Z/SX cars.

Much why the ST205 Celica GT4 wasn't brought here. Cost would have been about equal to that of a MKiv TT Supra, if not HIGHER.

Do the R32 GTR's live up to the hype? Every once and a while I find one locally for a price that seems low given the car's reputation - you can often find them for 8k or so for what appears to be a solid driver.

They're not quite as good as people say they are stock, but once they've had a couple of sensible breathing mods they wake up.