A Skyline GTST 4 Door That’sWorth Going Into D3BT For

Photos by: Ricky Rigutto | Words by: Ian Lee

Had the Skyline name not become so tightly attached to the more favoured coupe variations or had 4 door Skylines taken on a different model name, perhaps public opinion may have differed. The sad reality for Skyline sedans are that they are generally third choice cars that end up being beaters, drift pigs or used for interchangeable parts for people who own coupes – almost always in that order too.

A R33 4 Door That’s Worth Going Into D3BT For

Truth be told, like many others, Robert’s hunt for a turbo JDM sedan led him down the path of initially searching for a clean JZX. By chance, he stumbled on the 33 you see in front of you which had just been pretty much built from the ground up by the previous owner, Miguel. After an initial inspection, Robert knew he wanted it and the next week it was his and who can blame him for instantly wanting this car. Now, given the car’s only been in his possession for a short while, much of this article will be about the build process taken by the previous owner. That said, Robert has got his own plans lined up for the car which we’ll get to at the end of the article.

The car was bought in reasonable condition with bolt on’s but had a poorly applied paint job that featured some dust throughout the finish of the car. Knowing this was going to be a project car, Miguel (as an apprentice spray painter) looked past the flaws and took the car under his wing to start his second project car.

With the car coming with some pretty standard engine mods, the more than capable RB25 put out a respectable 240kw at the wheels. This included a high flow GCH turbo, Tomei drop in cams, Nistune ECU, Greddy front mount and 1000cc injectors. Westside Mechanics and JEM were both enlisted to tidy up some of the mechanical items and do a flex tune on the car which saw the power rise to a solid 300kw.

But for Miguel, the power of the car was only the secondary goal during the initial build especially knowing that the RB is more than capable of power. Instead, the primary focus was to leverage his work experience to really leave his own personal mark on the car and visually create what he felt was the ultimate streeter. Miguel sought to it that he got involved in repairing and preparing the whole car for a refresh on life.

Taking up 6-7 days a week doing 8 hour days, Miguel with some help from other tradesmen after hours, stripped every bolt, removed all the glue, fixed dents, resealed, blocked the car and massaged the guards to fit the Enkei RS05RR’s (18×9.5 +22 & 18×10.5 +15). Body wise, Miguel opted to keep the factory aero bodykit and supplemented it with an Impul boot spoiler and KMAK BL front style lip. The car was then resprayed in Midnight Purple which incidentally was also introduced for the first time on the R33 platform. Finishing the respray, the car was then flowcoated, cut and buffed before lastly getting The Detail Masters to apply a Feynlab ceramic coat to the whole car.

Another eye catching feature of the car is the fully custom designed and impeccably assembled interior. Danny from Concept Garage led the work which started with some initial designs centred around the limited edition Bride Vertex Zeta III’s. The final result is a full black Alcantara interior with yellow/gold stitching accents to match the Vertex fixed back bucket seats. This colour scheme can be seen throughout the entire car including the shift boot, handbrake leaver and old school Momo steering wheel. Bride logo fabric is thoughtfully stitched into the door panels, roof and rear seats to top off an extremely tidy interior with a subtle hint of yellow that definitely suits the deep purple finish of the exterior.

With little to change, Robert says that he plans to make some adjustments to the suspension work including new coilovers and bushings. Besides this, he’s more than happy to enjoy the car although an RB26 down the line would be the long term goal.

A Skyline GTST 4 Door That’s Worth Going Into D3BT For

Had the Skyline name not become so tightly attached to the more favoured coupe variations or had 4 door Skylines taken on a different model name, perhaps public opinion may have differed. The sad reality for Skyline sedans are that they are generally third choice cars that end up being beaters, drift pigs or used for interchangeable parts for people who own coupes – almost always in that order too.

Truth be told, like many others, Robert’s hunt for a turbo JDM sedan led him down the path of initially searching for a clean JZX. By chance, he stumbled on the 33 you see in front of you which had just been pretty much built from the ground up by the previous owner, Miguel. After an initial inspection, Robert knew he wanted it and the next week it was his and who can blame him for instantly wanting this car. Now, given the car’s only been in his possession for a short while, much of this article will be about the build process taken by the previous owner. That said, Robert has got his own plans lined up for the car which we’ll get to.

The car was bought in reasonable condition with bolt on’s but had a poorly applied paint job that featured some dust throughout the finish of the car. Knowing this was going to be a project car, Miguel (as an apprentice spray painter) looked past the flaws and took the car under his wing to start his second project car.

With the car coming with some pretty standard engine mods, the more than capable RB25 put out a respectable 240kw at the wheels. This included a high flow GCH turbo, Tomei drop in cams, Nistune ECU, Greddy front mount and 1000cc injectors. Westside Mechanics and JEM were both enlisted to tidy up some of the mechanical items and do a flex tune on the car which saw the power rise to a solid 300kw.

But for Miguel, the power of the car was only the secondary goal during the initial build especially knowing that the RB is more than capable of power. Instead, the primary focus was to leverage his work experience to really leave his own personal mark on the car and visually create what he felt was the ultimate streeter. Miguel sought to it that he got involved in repairing and preparing the whole car for a refresh on life.

Taking up 6-7 days a week doing 8 hour days, Miguel with some help from other tradesmen after hours, stripped every bolt, removed all the glue, fixed dents, resealed, blocked the car and massaged the guards to fit the Enkei RS05RR’s (18×9.5 +22 & 18×10.5 +15). Body wise, Miguel opted to keep the factory aero bodykit and supplemented it with an Impul boot spoiler and KMAK BL front style lip. The car was then resprayed in Midnight Purple which incidentally was also introduced for the first time on the R33 platform. Finishing the respray, the car was then flowcoated, cut and buffed before lastly getting The Detail Masters to apply a Feynlab ceramic coat to the whole car.

Another eye catching feature of the car is the fully custom designed and impeccably assembled interior. Danny from Concept Garage led the work which started with some initial designs centred around the limited edition Bride Vertex Zeta III’s. The final result is a full black Alcantara interior with yellow/gold stitching accents to match the Vertex fixed back bucket seats. This colour scheme can be seen throughout the entire car including the shift boot, handbrake leaver and old school Momo steering wheel. Bride logo fabric is thoughtfully stitched into the door panels, roof and rear seats to top off an extremely tidy interior with a subtle hint of yellow that definitely suits the deep purple finish of the exterior.

With little to change, Robert says that he plans to make some adjustments to the suspension including new coilovers and bushings. Besides this, he’s more than happy to enjoy the car although an RB26 down the line would be the long term goal.