You may recall an article we shared a couple of years ago about NISMO’s Heritage parts programme. This programme started in 2017 with Nissan Motorsports International restarting manufacturing of Skyline GT-R R32 parts using modern techniques and then expanded to include R33 and R34 parts too. Now they’re taking it a step further: NISMO will fully strip down and rebuild and repaint your Nissan Skyline GT-R, down to the last bolt. This NISMO restoration is available for the R32, R33 and R34. They’ll even source a donor car for you if you don’t already have one.
The process is really remarkable, but before we talk about it, we should first note that NISMO did this once on an R32 as a demonstration and their reference cost was about 45 million Yen or about RM1.8 MILLION. It could cost a lot more than that if the donor car is in bad shape.
You might think that firing up a small production line like what Aston Martin does with their Continuation Car Programme. However, NISMO’s approach has several advantages. First of all, this seems to cost less than production of a new classic car. Aston Martin only made 19 DB4 Zagatos and each cost US$7.9 million before taxes. The DB5 Goldfinger Continuation model cost US$3.5 million – still a lot more than what it costs to restore a GT-R with NISMO.
Secondly, there’s arguably more authenticity to restoring an an actual classic Japanese sports car than making one brand new. NISMO’s process covers just about every single nut and bolt on the car to factory specifications
It’s also more in line with the Japanese philosophy of restoration and preservation rather than production. Most Japanese cities today are not being expanded with new buildings. Rather, older buildings are modernised and kept clean. The environmental impact is lower and the cultural significance of older buildings are honoured.
It’s worth noting that NISMO are producing new body panels and engine blocks using cutting edge technology for some of these restorations, so you’re really getting your money’s worth. The process will take between 6 months and a year and you get a 1 year/20,000km warranty along with a metal plate to certify it has been authentically restored by NISMO.
So, that in mind, let’s take a look at NISMO’s restoration process from the press release provided. Japanese Nostalgic Car goes into much more detail here.
PRESS RELEASE
Moving beyond the general idea and method of restoration of making the car look good visually, we will carry out restoration under the new concept of “restoring cars in a form that visualizes performance” in all areas. Our body restoration work, in particular, is on a level achievable only by Nismo based on the standard values. The performance of each part is also confirmed by quantifying everything in accordance with the inspection and measurement standards established by Nissan Motor. In addition, we also record and present the history of continuation, replacement (including part numbers), inspections, recoating, etc., of all of the parts that constitute one vehicle.
Body
Based on Nismo standards, which are based on Nissan Motor’s track record, we carry out repairs including “body-in-white torsional stiffness measurement” and “body dimension measurement” and confirm overall performance maintaining a good balance with corrected deterioration values. After deteriorated sealing is reapplied, we repaint the whole body in the color requested. (Optional: Electrodeposited coating, melting sheet replacement)
Engine
After the engine is fully disassembled for overhaul and balancing, benchtop performance measurements and lapping are performed to confirm that performance is at the new car level. (Optional: Upgrade to Nismo tuning specifications)
Drive system – operation check, inspection, disassembly and cleaning, overhaul, and replacement and painting of deteriorated parts
Braking system – (Optional: Additional replacement of parts in requested places)
Interior
Cleaning (Optional: Using the surface of NISSAN GT-R (R 35), totally coordinated replacement of interior. Painting repair of plastic parts)
Electrical system – Conduction and operation check, inspection, and replacement of deteriorated parts.
Completion Inspection
After performance measurement on a chassis dynamometer, we implement a final check of performance in test driving by a Nismo test driver or professional driver.
