alright

basically whats happening is im getting a loan for approx $13,000 from dad (he's a finance broker), pretty much because he said to me i should get outta the house a bit more - and i said to him i'd get into a bit of motorsport in 2-3 years when all the mods to my car are complete. :D

so anyway im thinking about "Pulling a Booya" and going stupid with it - top of the line mods across the board.. except no turbo... cos thats just 2 expensive

except now im thinking it's probly a crap load easier just to buy a better car... easier yes... but better? hmmm... maybe better looking, but after the magna is fully modded how much better is it then?

The Magna is gettin the following bits n pieces:

Engine:
- Full rebuild and recon
- stroked to 2.9l
- twin webers
- cams, head work etc
(approx 140-150kw expected, atw)

Suspension:
- Adjustable Koni Shocks
- Strut Brace - Front
- Sway Bar - Rear

Brakes:
- (front) 297mm slotted, twin piston cal., ebc pads
- (rear) slotted (standard size), new pads

Exterior:
- 16" Speedy Longchamp alloys, 215ish rubber
- body kit (inc bonnet scoop), paint, paint patchups
- front grill mods, light tinting mods, new darker window tint

Interior:
- SUPERGLUE
- some (cheap) Racing Seats
- some hardcore style gear stick knob, pedals, tacho & shift light etc
- paint some misc bits silver



uhhh, so yeah that comes to around the 13-14 thousand dollar mark. But the thing is, if i were to just buy a sweet second hand performance car.. would it be better (better looking, handling, braking, more reliable, safer, more comfortable, and as a whole - more exciting)... than say an fto. if there were an FTO GPx, and a race-modified (and honestly the best looking 1st gen i've ever seen) magna sitting side-by-side, which one should i choose :confused:

i'd run a poll, but i favour well thought-otu conclusions :confused:

Oo a tuff decision. If you went with the 1st gen, you would have something unique, you would have something that had your blood, sweat and tears in it which would be more rewarding.

If you went for an off the shelf sports car it would have the potential to be "all that" but with $13k it would prolly have to stay pretty stock, which may or may not be faster than the magna. You will only make 20% back on the mods you do to the magna, while resale value would be better for a sports car.

There really is no right or wrong choice its just up to your personal preference.
If it was me I'd be inclinded to give up on the astron and start with a "decent" base. But thats totally a personal choice.

Also, if you where to go down the magna road. why have you chosen to not go turbo?

Oo and dont buy an FTO, its not a real sports car just a very weak impersinator!

i sure know what id do, id buy a suzuki gsx-r 600 and still have 3 grand left to spare.

but if i were u id ditch the magna, and probably mod a corolla or sprinter

Chuck in a 4g63t from a vr4, do the brakes and suspension, and u will have a really good performing car. U will still probably have change too

Also, if you where to go down the magna road. why have you chosen to not go turbo?

costs too much... :confused: cos i'd also have to convert it to EFI

i'd get an engine conversion but thats taking the easy way out aswell, and then the car isnt original anymore.... the whole point is to show everyone what a magna can do (with its original engine), so i might aswell just get a whole new car :confused:

i just checked prestigemotorsport.com... apparently i could import an r33 gts-t skyline for about 13-14g aswell.... but in the end (and with just about with every other car for around this price) its just a relatively stock, unexciting car. the gts-t's are good, my friend had one, but the magna would still be faster :)

its really where your heart lyes i suppose, and what keeps the grin on your face the longest heh

If I were you I would sell you car for I dunno $1500 or so and pick up a TE for $7,000. THat's $5,500 spent already but you car is now better looking and has a bigger V6 engine. I would then spend the 13 - 5.5 = $7500 doing up a TE. In other words I think you could probably get a faster and better car if you spend $7500 on a TE than $13,000 on a first gen. Alternatively in between would be getting a 3L V6 TR or TS for $3500 - $4000. I saw one for $3500 the other day actually. You could send $9,000 on that and would get more performance out of it and it would drive and look better probably. If I were you when modding a car and you don't want to go turbo etc and are using the same original engine, I would be looking for a model with a nice good engine. To me that would be a V6 so either TR, TS or TE. I wouldn't know a whole lot about it as I have never done it but I doubt you would be able to get HEAPS out of a 4 cylinder N/A 1.4 tonne FWD car. good luck with it if u decide to go with it. THat's just my opinion. Don't let it influence you to much. Also I know people will eventually do what they want to do, but I say if you can't afford to spend $13,000 on a depreciable asset don't get a loan to do it. You will probably regret and will be paying it off for some time. For a house yes, because it is an appreciable house and your payments can go directly to the house and you a tax shield as well not to mention the amount of money your house has gone up by will probably me more than your interest payments but cars are different. Just be careful before you start anything major and do your homework beforehand.

the newer magna option sounds very good, ive thought about it briefly before, but in teh end it also needs to be relatively agile.. and light weight, so it'll be good on the track

the 1st gens only weigh 1200 odd kgs :confused:

**** they are too. I thought they were more than 1200 at first. So yeah a 3rd gen is pretty much exactly 200kgs heavier than a 1st gen as I just checked the specs then. So maybe it wouldn't be too bad after all but I think you would have to spend more than $13,000 to get the full advantage of it sacrifising power to say a TE than for lits lighter weight. I think best probably power for money if you are kinda tight on money is a V6 TR and work with that. Either that or a TE. A TR will be 20kw less (140kw as compared to 120kw) than a TE but it will also be about 50kgs lighter. So money/power wise I would probably go a V6 TR/TS especially since everyone knows they are the older type of magna. 96 TE Magnas are the same shape as 2004 TL's so people sort of asssume them to be faster and what not, but building a TR/TS sleeper, people will know you worked hard on it etc and it will be probably more unique. Plus 2nd gen magnas look pretty damn nice for their year..

if i was gonna build a track car.... it would be purely for the track... it'd be a little hatch or something with a sweet rotary in it, some nice big brakes and suspension mods.

if ur gonna build a track car, i believe u should make it a track car. think of it this way... if u fck up on the track in ur road car... u got no way home and ur money is wasted. u fck up in ur track car... u winch it on to the trailer, take it home and start again.

Thats my opinion... hope it helps u with ur decision.

Tim

Hmmmm

i dont wanna be that competetive on the track.. if i did i'd probly buy a cheap sigma or a really small hatch like u said and do it up beyond recognition... but its gotta be a daily driver aswell to work n back.

thanks for all the feedback guys, im now thinkin hard about the TR/TS option..... i like the styling of these far and away over the 1st gens... im drooling over the thought of a black one right now. its a few grand sacrificed.. but it might be worth it more in the long run.

hey i just saw the thread. damn, wish i had $13,000 to do some mods to my car haha. but i think u are on the right track geting the V6 TR/TS. i wouldn't mind a black V6 TR manual :D

its already EFI and maybe u could turbo that? im sure u could with $8000 thats left over?

ohwell... ur choice. seems u are on the right track about buying a newer car is better for the long run.

hmmmm 13g would be nice! Sure u could get a silvia that is preety quick for that money, but potential to have one of fastest 1st Gens :D
Though there is the urge to do up the magna, its a hard choice, i'm trying to knock the idea of turbo out of my head in the long run so i have some money lol.
Either way your gonna have a nice car nehow! :P

yeah im leaning back towards the 1st gen now :D
yesterday i was seriously thinkin about a 2nd gen, but they're more of a cruiser than a racer.. and i'd need to spend 2 much on huge rims to make it look good. although if i take out the cost of fixing the paint/panels on the 1st gen it'd probly even up...

Yes go the first gen!!! :D (just my biased opinion)
although if I had a spare 13 thou i would probably go the V6 :)

arggh
i think theres leaking carbon monoxide inside the car, can barely notice anything.. except i feel tired.. and started coughing today, but i duno if its from the cold i had the other day


i like my horoscope for this week:

"It may be necessary to move on but as you make the transition from old to new, feelings of sadness or nostalgia may overwhelm you. As someone who dislikes change, you want things to stay the same." (leo)

i actually ordered a bodykit for it today, but its gonan take a week to order in, and if these fumes keep killing me (as much as i love the 1st gen) i migiht have to upgrade =\

where did you order a bodykit for a 1st gen for christs sake? Ive been looking and ringing around for one for aaages!!

TELL MEE!

mhuahhaha! never!!

nah, The Spoiler Shop in Perth :P http://www.spoilershop.com.au
when i asked em they checked their databse and said they couldnt find anything, but then i said i remember seeing it in one of their books before when i bought a spoiler from em... so they checked the book n ordered it in... $1100 :D