‘Buying it was a bit of a gamble’
1972 Nissan Skyline Jason Massie, Inverness
Your Skyline looks amazing
‘It’s a wild beast and it’s immaculate.
I’ve owned it for about two years after searching for about a year and a half over in Japan. We looked at a whole load of different models before we found this, then we went for it. It’s a rare car, only about 12 in the UK and none like this.’
So you didn’t go there?
‘No, A company in England called Torque GT imported it for me from Japan and the search was all coordinated from back here. It came up on the far north of the island and they said ‘It’s too far away and we can’t view it, so we don’t want you to buy it.’ I looked after other models but was so upset as this has an RB26 from 1986 GTR R32 under the bonnet. That absolute monster of an engine has been dropped in.’
Has it been done properly?
‘Yes. It’s got the R32 brakes as well so has the best of everything. Lot’s of other upgrades too. Buying it was a bit of a gamble.
As I said, I looked at a few different models but just kept coming back to this one and said I was willing to risk it. I had to wait three months for it and they said: ‘You’re lucky. It’s a good one’. The exhaust got ripped off and the doors were damaged on the boat, must have been a rough crossing, so I spent a bit of time getting it all redone.’
Does it live up to your expectations? ‘Oh yes, and some. It’s like a wee go kart, what a car. You can throw it about and it doesn’t feel heavy. The engine is a bog standard 2.6 litre lump but it has had a lot of work done one it, rolling roaded at 360bhp, original it would have been 260bhp, so a fair bit more than the original GTRS. The interior has R33 clocks and climate system, whoever did it must have spent a lot of time and money.’