This is my first time posting something real on Reddit.

Anyone here restored an R32? I got mine started last year in December. This is my first time building a car from 0. I have had JDM cars since the age of 16 when I first got my Learners permit but I have never built a car to this caliber.

I have had this particular car since end 2019 just as covid hit. Sold my old stock r32 with a 25 in it and got this with also a 25 in it but with some mods and shit paint. Paint was not a problem since I am a painter by trade. However I ended up hurting my wrist at work and couldnt do anything with it so it sat in a storage unit.

A little over a year later, still not able to work, I had left my relationship and moved and tried to do something with the car with panel beater friends of mine and hoped to get it on the road however 6 months later moved back to my family to South Australia where it sat in the yard since in primer. I was finally able to get back to work at the end of 2021 and planned on painting the car however I had met my now husband and moved to Switzerland in May 2022. I went through a career change, opened a company with my husband and finally got on my feet enough to be able to build this car now even better than the original plan.

I really wanted to build this car with my own two hands but it is impossible to build a car sitting in Australia while I live in Switzerland. So I opted to hand it over to someone I trust to have it done.

December 2025 I was home so I towed it there myself and the build started. The car was stripped, put on a rotisserie, paint stripped (since primer is porus and its been sitting for years so I had to start over), rust repaired,chassis repaired and resealed underneath and then raptor coated black. The sil panels on both sides were caved in from some frootloop jacking it up from there so they were cut out and replaced. The body has gone back to bare metal and tried to use minimal filler/bog as possible. The roof unfortunately was caved in a bit from someone standing on it or something so that needed more work. I did not want to cut the roof off so I will have to live with some filler on there.

I didn't opt for paint inside the cabin. Theres no visible rust anywhere on the floor and I didnt want to go that far especially since I was only ever going to just sand it and paint it when I first bought it. I am conent with it.

Panels have been lined up, things have been pulled straight to make sure everything fits cotrectly. I have purchased new door hinges and strikers. I also try to pay attention to details and purchased new seals for the doors, new belt mouldings and will also get some new retainers since the old ones are cracked as usual.

I also have a genuine GTR bonnet/hood, front bar, front grille and rear wing aswell as an aftermarket N1 bootlip and N1 bonnet/hood lip. The sideskirts are fibreglass because I like the N1 style skirts but the genuine GTR ones dont fit GTST due to the the GTR quarter panel being wider/different shape however I got the glass skirts moulded/modified to fit better. I plan to purchase a Top Secret front lip and diffuser since the gtr lip was too far gone and I will also grab some carbon skirt extensions for the N1 skirts. For the rear, I opted for Mspec pods and Im still debating a rear diffuser to tie in the carbon bits. We'll see... I've tried to keep the fibreglass bits to a minimum.

Headlights are from a pov pack GTS with genuine nissan headlight tabs to suit the GTR Grille. Cheap way of having N1 headlights without having actual N1 lights. No idea how they will function but Im planning on yeeting halogens and running an LED kit. See how we go, thats too far away.

At this stage, the car is waiting for paint. I have in the meanwhile had some underbody bits and bobs painted such as fuel tank and straps, arms, subframes etc. Wanted some purple bits for a hint of girly touch but also because the theme if my engine bay will be black and adonized purple. In transit, there are new bushing, balljoints, full Hardrace adjustable arm kit and a new steering rack to be rebuilt since mine was bent. Hoping the 'new' one I bought isn't. Other than that a couple of new Nissan clips for the grille to mount to the headlights.

All in all I am happy with it so far. Im already too far down the rabbithole and I am trying to say no to some things because at the end of the day Im not trying to build a showcar, rather than something that will last me until the end of my days if I take care of it.

It is deffinetly challenging to build a car from the other side of the world but I am really happy with the person whos doing the body work. Communication and a lot of photos. I will be back in Australia at the end if the year to pick it up so I am very excited to see this car with actual paint on it for the first time in 7 years.

Some may wonder why I'm building this when I live elsewhere but If I'm being honest, I travel a lot for work and I have no idea where I will settle. I don't want to put my dreams on hold. I will build this car and ship it elsewhere if I don't return to Australia, however I know this car will never be registered on the road in Europe. Either way I will find a way to drive her whether that be on track or some sort of company trade plates etc. For now Im just excited to make my dream a reality and I will keep this car forever.

Excuse the lengthy post, posting it on facebook is useless and gets lost, at least here I can find my own journey and maybe someone else might value and appreciate on Reddit seeing someone do something to a GTST since a lot if people usually pump money into GTRs