The R32 Nissan GTR is getting old. Many are in dire need of a proper restoration. For those in the US, there is a specialty shop in Connecticut creating pristine examples of restored skylines.
The owner is Tommyfyeah, a YouTuber that’s gathered a reputation for tastefully done builds in the JDM space. You might remember him from the time he spent $36,450 on a Miata. So much so that viewers started hitting him up to restore their cars.
Fast forward a few years and now he’s running a full-scale GTR restoration shop out of a 14,000 sq ft. shop. At any point, you can see 20+ skylines floating around Tommy’s shop.
The Shops Expertise
It’s no secret, the GTR and RB26 engine is pretty finicky. There are tons of known failure points. But also some niche failure points the average enthusiast would know nothing about.
Tommy has built a couple of GTR’s himself and built countless customer cars. With all that trial and error he has learned the ins and outs of Nissan’s iconic RB26.
His philosophy is to create what OEM+ builds. That means refreshing the core reliable pieces of what the manufacturer created, then improving upon parts that will benefit from an upgrade for reliability or performance.
While Tommy has the vision, Josh has the mechanical expertise. You might recognize him from the JDM Legends TV show, but Josh Martin is the head mechanic at the GTR restoration shop.
You’ll see him in most of Tommy’s videos dropping bits of knowledge and sharing his expertise.
Tommy has said multiple times that these cars left the Nissan factory and survived over 25 years. After leaving his shop he believes these cars can easily go another 25 without major failures as long as the cars are maintained.
How Much Does it Cost for Tommyfyeah to Restore a GTR?
In the beginning, details were hard to come by about the services offered. However, when Tommy did his shop mates Chris Rudnik’s (AKA Ricer Miata) GTR restoration, he made a video on what those services would have cost, you can watch it below:
GTR builds at his shop start at $15,000.
Of course, that price changes as each skyline is in a different condition with different parts. Turbos, catch cans, intercooler piping, coilovers and things like that can easily put a build in the $20,000-$25,000 range.
Here is what you can expect on a Tommyfyeah GTR build:
- Removing the engine and all brackets. Powdercoating, painting, vapor blasting all engine bay brackets and pieces.
- The engine is degreased, cleaned up, then painted.
- Brand new wiring harness (upper and lower)
- The head is removed from the block, the metal head gasket is put on with ARP head studs. (Yes, the head gets decked by a separate machine shop. Tommy says this costs them $500 alone.)
- Powder-coated valve covers, intake manifold, etc.
- All necessary engine maintenance is done: timing belt, water pump, pulleys, tensioners, and all new hardware is installed (zinc-coated).
- Jet hot coated exhaust manifolds and heat shields for heat control and looks.
- Brand new N1 Oil pump with billet gears.
- HICAS is deleted and modifying the power steering pump to remove all the unnecessary lines.
- The entire AC system is refreshed. The lines, condensers, fan, etc. are all vapor blasted and cleaned to look brand new.
- Brand new radiator with the turbo feed system deleted (OEM one has multiple failure points).
- The master cylinder gets replaced. ABS is removed in 99.9% of cars they build. Tommy believes the lines are ugly and the system itself doesn’t work that great.
- The engine bay is stripped down and painted.
- The wiper motor is rebuilt and restored.
- Hood cowl and hood cowl seal are replaced.
Now, $15,000 might seem like a lot to spend on a 90’s Nissan. However, this list filled up fast making this article and I was impressed with the attention to detail these cars receive.
Plus, with many skyline examples fetching well over $50,000 it’s easy to see how this can be a good investment.
All I can say is, quality comes at a price. If you want a car done to Tommy’s level of detail it will not come cheap.
How Long Does it Take to Restore a GTR?
Tommy says that realistically a build like this will take two weeks. That is if all the parts are in stock and the painter is in the shop.
Watching basically any of his videos you can see the ridiculous amount of spare GTR parts around the shop. Valve covers, engine accessory brackets, sway bar brackets, the list goes on. So for the most part, he should have you covered.
Now, in 2022 it’s no secret there are countless supply chain issues across the world that are delaying deliveries. So you always need to factor in waiting for an essential part.
An impressive build was the recent 6-day build of Dustin Williams GTR. The car was unloaded, the engine pulled, parts painted and powder coated, the head was decked and head gasket replaced, lots of janky parts and work undone, I could go on but there is too much to list.
While this car did not come out 100% complete, it’s impressive what this car came in as and what it left as. After all, they only had 6 days and a full build would take 2 weeks. Tommy said had they had another day or two this GTR engine bay could have been near perfect.
You can watch the first video here and follow the series on his channel:
Tommy’s Personal Skyline Build
In 2019, Tommy got a 1993 R32 VSPEC imported from Japan after his original R32 was totaled. Since then, he has been stocking up on rare parts, especially from NISMO (old logo of course).
Tommy knows just about every configuration of GTR ever sold, aftermarket parts offered by the dealer, and of course all the NISMO goodies offered by Nissan.
So it’s safe to say this car will be loaded with rare parts you will struggle to see on any other GTR. A few pieces he has already shown are getting an N1 rear wiper delete and the interior cluster plastic surround that deletes the buttons for controlling that wiper and replaces them with blanks.
A detail very few people in the world would ever pick up on, but Tommy will go any length to make these builds perfect.
I won’t speak too much on the rarity of more parts and the exact details or act like I know more than I really do. But, I am excited to see this car come together.
Does Tommy Modify Cars Other than the Nissan Skyline?
At the moment their special is in the RB26 and Nissan Skylines, but Tommy has hinted and showed interest in restoring other models of car.
Recently, he did a giveaway that feature an EG Si Hatchback. This featured a 27,000 mile B16 from Matt Moreman’s EM1 Si Civic. As a shop, this was their first example of a Honda build done to OEM+ quality.
In a video, Tommy revealed that this was a sort of experiment taking on a Honda build. Meaning the shop has possible intentions of offering Honda builds to customers. Plus, in a recent video Tommy seems to have actually taken on a paid gig to swap in a K Series into an Integra Type R he sold.
Built Better than Nissan?
Look, it’s near impossible for a car to leave in a more perfect condition than off the factory floor.
But, what I would like to compare is Nissan’s heritage program to Tommy’s restorations.
They offer GTR restoration’s in addition to new OEM parts for these aging skylines. Of course, they mark up the prices about 3-4x what they were before from a regular Nissan dealer once they are marked as heritage, but they do exist.
In a video, Tommy picks apart some details the Nissan team missed that the restoration not 100%. With full access to Nissan’s heritage program and the connections to basically get any part ever made, there seems to just be a lack of execution.
In a side-by-side comparison of a Tommyfyeah build and Nissan’s recent example, I would be struggling to vote for anything except Tommy’s restoration.
If you have a Skyline and are a true enthusiast, I recommend getting in touch with Tommy asap.
