The Nissabishi Conquest

[MrBishi]

What's the story to your rego rules in Aussie? To us simple rego kiwi folk it's very confusing.

For us simple Aussie folk it's also confusing.

Each state has seperate registration fees and number plates. If you live in one state for any period of time then you must change registration to that state. To do this all (?) states require a WOF-type inspection. Some states require annual WOFs. Some states only require WOFs when the car changes owners.

Modifications are another headache entirely. Most states have different engineering & certifying processes meaning that if a car changes inter-state ownership it often requires totally new engineering. They also have different rules meaning what is legal in one state is not in another.

[thrash]

the further south you go, the more frozen people's brains are.. the stricter the rules get.. and.. in a lot of cases, the sillier as well

[kiwi_EX]

Interesting.

Re modifications does this mean you can modify a car in one state and get if fully legal and then never be able to move to another state with it because it will never pass their modification rules?

Has their ever been any talk of coming up with a single registration or set of modification rules across all states? Imagine the money wasted by officials working on their own local rules and I can't imagine the money wasted by individuals trying to move vehicles between states.

[NachoMan]

Interesting.

Re modifications does this mean you can modify a car in one state and get if fully legal and then never be able to move to another state with it because it will never pass their modification rules?

Has their ever been any talk of coming up with a single registration or set of modification rules across all states? Imagine the money wasted by officials working on their own local rules and I can't imagine the money wasted by individuals trying to move vehicles between states.

A single set of rules would be far too easy!

This car was licenced in NSW previously, but I'm not sure how.
I was under the impression WA was easier to licence in than NSW.
I guess my theory is shot!

[redzone]

NSW roadworthy inspections are a joke, all the newly bought NSW cars i've seen are way below qld standards, their annual inspection system is a joke..

dotars website has details of the national code of practice (NCOP) that they're trying to bring in, WA is the state thats holding it up apparently..

[Sargeant_Khan]

Im sure we can all agree you can find someone to fix you up with a dodgeworthy wherever you go. Probably more common in NSW as they have to get one every year. It would be the same here if they were yearly I would guess.

[leoca]

NSW roadworthy inspections are a joke, all the newly bought NSW cars i've seen are way below qld standards, their annual inspection system is a joke..

dotars website has details of the national code of practice (NCOP) that they're trying to bring in, WA is the state thats holding it up apparently..

totally agree

[thrash]

from what i've read of the ncop rules, it seems worse than nsw and qld? or have i understood it wrong?

and yeah, nsw roadworthy inspections are abused to the max.. the people who know find a dodgy one, or at least one they trust, and people who don't know get ripped off because the mechanic will bill em 2 grand for shit they didn't need for the roadworthy.

while the police here run around hunting for modified cars, it's funny how a lot of the standard cars out there actually are not at all roadworthy due to simple lack of maintenance. A lot of the people I know wince at the thought of spending 200 bucks on regular servicing on their car which they bought with 20 grand they don't have. Keeping up with the Jones' has become too important, and this is destroying the world imo.

[NachoMan]

Well the beast is back from the auto-electrician.
Lot's of rewiring done, and a new alternator to go in soon.
Just got approval to take the car to an engineer's for seatbelt and brake inspection.
This should be interesting... :?

[jk]

I'm really keen to hear how you go with this process, Good Luck. :)

[enthuzed]

while the police here run around hunting for modified cars, it's funny how a lot of the standard cars out there actually are not at all roadworthy due to simple lack of maintenance. A lot of the people I know wince at the thought of spending 200 bucks on regular servicing on their car which they bought with 20 grand they don't have. Keeping up with the Jones' has become too important, and this is destroying the world imo.

Totally off the subject but whole-heartedly agreed!

Good luck with the Roadie NachoMan.

[NachoMan]

Good luck with the Roadie NachoMan.

Thanks man! :beer

Alternator was boiling the expensive Optima gel battery due to a missing voltage regulator!
It's a miracle the car ran for as long as it did, and didn't cause any other damage!

:?

[starion4me]

So an update.

Car went over the pits about a month back, and failed.
Reasons;

1. Too low
2. Park lights not working
3. Horn not working
4. OEM seats and seatbelts in car when car was previously licenced as a 2 seater
5. Non standard front brakes without permit
6. Oil leaks
7. They couldn't find the VIN placard.
8. Right rear braided brake line has had braiding completely worn off. Was wearing on right axle shaft!

So 1,2,3 & 8 are corrected.
VIN placard is in driver's doorjam, but as this was previously a left hand drive vehicle, they found it too hard to find.
Brakes and seatbelts are pending approval.
Oil leaks will be corrected as soon as I get the car back from the auto-electrician.
Needs a new gel battery, and a new alternator.
The previous alternator was wired up incorrectly, and boiled the battery!
The alternator also has a leaking diode, and the cost of repairing isn't worth it.

I'm really starting to regret buying this car. :(
It looked so good, and went so hard, and I got completely sucked in.
Too many things are requiring attention, and the costs are just building up.
I knew it wasn't going to be perfect, but I didn't expect it to be this much work, or to cost this much money.

Oh well, I shall soldier on.
On a positive note, I did manage to score an all black interior for it, so I can replace the bits that are burgundy/crappy black painted.

Jas - sorry to hear you are having such issues. Your list above might seem a lot but anyone that is mechanically minded would be able to resolve those issues easily and cheaply

1. Too low - Just adjust the height of the coilovers
2. Park lights not working - not sure whats going on here. I would pull the units out and using a volt meter test if its getting voltage but doesnt sound like a biggie
3. Horn not working - from memory i left the horns off when i fitted the air filter up the front. if they arent physically there let me know they must be in my garage somewhere. but easy fix as the 2 wires will just be hanging near the intercooler by the bumper support. $30 bucks for a new horn from Supercheap...
4. OEM seats and seatbelts in car when car was previously licenced as a 2 seater - yip you knew it was registered as a 2 seater and its in black and white on the engineers report.
5. Non standard front brakes without permit - yes you knew that to hence why i placed the original calipers in the car encase you had issues. When i went for pinks they didnt bat an eye lid and i didnt bring it to their attention.
6. Oil leaks - yes it did have a leak in the front timing cover which is worse than it looks if the oil is too thin. dont use the 10w40 as the book says as previously advised use 15w50 and ensure you do oil changes often. That was the only leak that was visible to me when i sold her to you. To me the leak was too little to warrant pulling the engine out as the sump has to come off or take the head off....
7. They couldn't find the VIN placard. idiots thats all i can say to that one but im very pleased you found it
8. Right rear braided brake line has had braiding completely worn off. Was wearing on right axle shaft! Thats interesting there is a bracket that secures the line to the strut. Is that bracket still intact - sounds like it might have broken off but easy fix by the sounds of things

Bar the oil leak these issues are really small even considering the alternator going....its a wear and tear item and isnt built to last forever. That one had been in the car for 7 years and came with the sr20 from the wrecker.

I enjoyed working on the car and it was my project and passion as a lot of you know for 7 years. But unfortunatley Jas the major difference between me and you is, i have the skill set to do everything myself and what i dont know im happy to learn.

I tried to give you as much documentation as i could but you werent buying a showroom car built from the factory.

Soldier on mate and try and learn as much as you can. Use mechanics, sparkies etc to diagnose any issues you dont understand i.e. get a quote from them then go away and learn how to fix it yourself

Otherwise keep doing what your doing

[StarionChef]

I really dont see what all the hoo har is about... you bought an very old, very nice EXTREMELY modififed car for a fraction of the replacment cost.
The car was build for the track, to be driven ocasionally on the street, anyone can see this.

This car was easilly one of the best starions world wide, Jason had the balls and the brains to p)ss off all the unreliable mitz parts with proven Nissan parts that he knew he could easily and in an affordable way, get decent power from without the feeling of "will this thing get me home or around the track?" constantly in the back of his head.

If more starions had nissan engines we'd, maybe see some on the roads rather than tossed in the too hard basket... no offence Hoonie ;)

To buy a car like this with the ideaof using it as a daily driver is something an inexperience young kid would do, or dream of as it looks like has happened here.

All I see here is a kids that's been dazzled by the lights and didn't use his brain and focus on the real issues the he was told about prior to purchase.

Should have bought a new car if you didn't want used car / modified car hassles.

[4gpwr]

Get you facts right before you bag the 4g63 , and compared to a sr20 , the 4g63 engine is the small block chev of the 4 cylinder world , the only disadvantge of the 4g63 DOHC is its a east west motor where the sr20 comes in rwd . No comparasion Starion chef ..