spudgun

right, i'm saving my pennies, and will be in the market very soon for a second car that i can mod and have some general fun with.
more than happy with my 330ci, i dont want rid, but miss modding
so heres the thing...
i LOVE the way the pulsar looks , but have never driven one. silvia engineering ( nissan performance specialists) are just down the road from me, and ive heard they can be seriously modded.
princess has just bought an r33 gtr vspec, and it seems well screwed together, and quick.
on the other hand...
i have owned a my00 scooby before, loved our uk my95, and know where i stand with them...good points and bad.
at the moment i think "been there, done that" with our scoobys, and fancy summat else.
then the next i think that NOTHING sounds as good as a flat four with full decat exhaust
therefore, i need some useful advice really. i only want to spend 8k on a car. i want an older scooby (import or uk, big turbo version) or nice clean pulsar.
i dont want to spend big bucks on it, it'll be a fun car, and when u spend over 12k on a car it stops being fun IMHO.
i want something i can turn into a MONSTER. a long term FUN project as it were.
ive tried doing a search, but it wasnt having any of it, so i apologies if we're covering old ground, i just dont wanna waste 8k on the wrong motor.
being a subaru bbs, i expect bias towards the scooby ( i'm biased myself ), but has anyone here owned a pulsar before? what was YOUR experience of them, and just how quick can i make one of these things go?
the idea of a pocket rocket appeals
what do you reckon, guys and gals?

CraigH

I reckon if you buy a cleanish unmodded Pulsar for £5k and spend £2k modding it, it will give more smiles per miles than a cheap Scoob

Gary Foster

Reckon a good Pulsar will be hard to find though, I looked but couldn't find a single one that had not been 'rice boyed' and the prices at the time were actually higher than the equivalent Impreza.

Hence I ended up with the Scoob.

Thought about an older Lancer ? or I personally reckon, performance second hand bargain of the decade - the MR2 Turbo

Gary

Edit - just remembered, last time I was at Powerstation, we talked about GTI-R's and it was there opinion that GTI-R's were the most tunable of the 4wd Jap supercar bunch, they seemed to know what they were on about (Hope this isn't out of line mentioning this)

[This message has been edited by Gary Foster (edited 12 June 2001).]

spudgun

if i get a pulsar, it will be from a good source might be able to get one for 4.5k
it will be standard though, and will have 60k on the clock. however, i will put hardly any miles on it, it will be strictly low mileage use.
basically, i need a good building block. the rest will come with time.
it will be interesting to see just how quick a modded pulsar can be. anyone raced one?
does anyone else think they look cool? i even thought of despoilering one, and putting 1.3gl stickers on it
stealth bomber!!

ian/555

Spudgun I have always liked the Sunny/Pulsar myself and have often thought of the fun you could have by sticking a FMI on it and losing the bonnet Scoop and showing a few BMW drivers up!
Looking at the options you can go for the Scoob, but as you say, you have been there done that! But then again there is nothing else quite like the sound of a Scoob's flat four. I had a quick look on autotrader earlier on and found a base car to mod for just £4K!!! Uk turbo 49,000 miles FSH crash repaired, that explains the price but if you are going on track with it and going to mod it over a time period better to start with the cheapest option I would of thought. It would be nice and stealthy as it is a 5 door

spudgun

gary, i tried an mr2 turbo. never drove it, coz when i got in it the steering wheel rested on my knees. seats were lovely and comfortable, and i liked the cabin. but i couldnt find a steering wheel adjust, steering wheel needed to be higher to get comfortable.
besides, i like 4wd. also, hate to say it, but the mr2 looks a bit hairdresser car. no offence to anyone, but not my cup of tea in the end.
same goes for supra, 300zx etc. i dont want a car that 'looks' like a 'sports car', i only want a pulsar or scooby

jason b

GET THE PULSAR !
I HAD ONE AND SOLD IT TO MY MATE WHEN THE P1 ARRIVED, IT WAS ABOUT 285BHP(1.0 BAR BOOST FOR 40,000 MILES AND NO PROBLEMS) AND KEEPS UP WITH MY CAR NO PROBLEM.ANOTHER FRIEND ALSO HAS ONE OF SIMILAR BRAKE.
SEE IAN & JOHN @ HI-TEQ PERFOMANCE REALLY GOOD LADS THAT KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM.
WELL OVER 400BHP IS CAPABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
REGARDS
J

T-uk

had a bit of sport with one last year at my second track day at Knockhill.I was in a totally standard UK MY98 except 17" alloys and there was nothing between them,he would close on me on the straights, then I would pull a bit out through the bends.he passed me (due to slower car),I passed him (due to same car) about 4laps later,really nothing in it,except his car was not standard (280bhp+ I think).

David Brown (perth) is the best person to tell you,he has had both (currently modded MY99)and has done both Crail 1/4 mile dash and K/hill with them,may even be able to give you some times for Crail and an opinion.

john

Gary Foster

Hmm

Didn't notice that problem with the MR2 I must admit, I sort of fancied one as it was easy to 'get the back end out' (not on the test drive though officer ! ) And it was cheap.

Course, I'm not saying for a moment that it's better than a GTi-R / Scoob etc but I have tired rapidly of AWD and fancied something more, how do I say it, entertaining or challenging ? to drive.

Gary

spudgun

as i say gary, no offence was intended mate .
i actually enjoy driving my 330, which is rear wheel drive. its actually good fun.
perhaps what im trying to say is i want to create a monster. but something that doesnt attract TOO much attention if u see what i mean. cars that are 'ferrari shaped' always get attention. yeah, i know a big spoilered scoob does too, but i want 4wd. it feels great on wet roads. totally safe feeling and confidence inspiring.
i dont even know what a pulsar engine sounds like. was in an evo6 once, and all i could hear was wind noise
i need a sense of occasion, the adrenaline buzz. a few hundred horsepower under my right foot and an empty motorway

ptholt

I've been to a few jap performance meets withe plenty of pulsars in attendance.

They are very potent little cars, almost as quick as mine but not quite, then again they cost a third of the price.
from talking to the owners they are very tuneable, but do have a few weak points that need addressing (clutch in particular as i recall).
I would recommend you post the jap uk performance yahoo mailing list and ask a few pulsar owners and see what they have to say about tuning etc.


[This message has been edited by ptholt (edited 13 June 2001).]

teknopete

Pulsars r qwik (well Daves modded 1 was anyway). Used 2 put my scoob up against Daves Pulsar @ Crail on a regular basis and I can say his was the only one that kicked scooby butt on the 1/4 mile. I know he managed 2 blow it up a few times as well though, but from what i can remember Dave said they weren`t 2 expensive 2 have a rebuild done on Like John says though talk 2 Dave he`ll give u the gen.
BTW if u get the 260BHP MR2 turbo u may find it a bit 2 "enertaining" I did a couple of hours after I bought it then it was no more, I wrapped it round a crash barrier in the wet of course
Thats why I ended up with a scoob, tell u wot though nothing else would do now

Pete

DJFish

These might be of some use.

AJbaseBloke

With flak jacket at hand I have to say one other thing about the GTi-R - the body flex of the only one I have driven recently was pretty apparent with the squeking of many big mice joining the other tactile and aural entertainment (going slowly around the block of course ).

Admittedly the car had been driven "spiritedly" by its owner, so the wear and tear factor had to be taken into account, but haven't they all?

Natch, the same thing could be said of Scoobies - not many "one careful owner, never been at full boost or near the rev limiter" cars out there I would imagine

Mark A

iTrader: (1)

I looked long & hard for an MR2 Turbo before buying the scooby, needed 4 doors (so the wife said).

Worth a look. Choose later models with newer rear lights, these have limited slip diff as standard,larger wheels & make 250 bhp in standard form. Very easy to tune to 300 bhp, same engine as celica GT4.Have a look @

GP

saw the GTiR boys at Santa Pod recently and for the money, nothing could touch 'em - one was in the 11 secs - mind you it did look a bit hairy to control - sort of like an Exocet with a fin missing, if you're fond of missile analogies.

LitchfieldImports

I've had a few GTI-R's and the engines are amazing. Handling needs a bit of work as the understeer badly. You must replace the brakes as they are terrible.

My last one had a 315bhp (Powerstation)with 1.2 bar and no water injection (they are much better with it).

You can't buy more performance for the money.

Iain

ScoobyJawa

Had one in front of me down a dual carriageway, modded to 300bhp so he said and when the car in front of him pulled over, we both put our foot down, he was much quicker....mines a UK Turbo MY99.

Think I'll have to do something about that...

Markus

spudgun,
I get my car serviced at GDA sports car imports in crowborough, east sussex. GDA specialises in GTiR's, selling, servicing, tuning. Might be worth giving them a ring.

TonyC-Evo Lurker

I test drove a standard, good nick Pulsar, an older scoob and an earlier Evo.

Out of the 3 the Evo was the better all round bet and the car I bought.

Check out the prices of Lancer Evo 1 and 2, they'll fit in your price range. Only problem is there are far fewer people who can supply parts/tune up.
On the other hand they are brilliant balanced (more throttle adjustability then a scoob, less twitchy then the GTiR) and go like the clappers. Down side is that they sound like a giant hoover
Don Palmer and Rob Rackstraw (?)(Of Wetter the Better fame) found my old Evo a better drivers car to slide and have fun in than Robs mod'd Scoob STI. This was their opinion guys so lets not have a war - just passing on comments

TonyC

cryptwalk

My m8 got a pulsar the same time as i got my scooby
He asked me to take it for a new exhaust while he was away, so i obliged upon driving it i was horrifyed it was fast but nasty to drive i was scared to go round corners faster than 30, the nose rised like it was gonna take off and the brakes, what brakes!!!

At that time it was standard, now it's very nice and drives so much better since he uprated the brakes, suspension, wheels etc...
Now he has sorted the engine i can honestly say theres not a lot of speed differance between mine and his

Heres a pic now he's been educated and wants a sti5

Vinesh

If u want a GTI-R or Impreza as a personal import try this website:

spudgun

cryptwalk, your mates got a great looking car there!
why has the page gone so w..i...d...e??
its a pain having to scroll to read the sentences.
anyway, i aint so worried about tearing round tight corners on b roads, i want to go mega quick on straights, fast curves, motorways etc, standing starts at lights etc.
saw on the pulsar owners site that someone has done 0-60 in 3.9 secs, not bad for a sub 10k car!!
has anyone gone from a scoob to a pulsar, or is it usually the other way round?
just how reliable are pulsars? is the steering wheel/ seat height adjustable?
and are the headlights awful like a scoobys?
thanks for the input so far, i'm actually suprised by the positive comments on the pulsar, i thought people might rubbish it or think i was daft for considering one
cheers guys!

Dave Brown

Spudgun
Had great fun with my Pulsar, but it cost me.3 engine rebuilds in 9 months, plus other parts like brakes/suspension etc. that wore out at an alarming rate.
Nothing could beat it down the 1/4 mile @ Crail, best time was a 11.99 @ 119mph.If you are serious about buying & modding a gti-r, then first mods on the list should be an apexi fuel controller & uprated fuel pump/actuator.Before upping the boost or it will all end in tears & melted pistons :EEK:
I know Pulsars inside out, so if you want any advice, drop me a mail.
Heres my old one...wouldnt swap my Scooby for ten of them



Dave

spudgun

dave
when you floor a pulsar, do u get the 'kick in the back ', like you do in a scooby?
princess' skyline is more like a smooth continous surge. it feels slow, until you look at the speedo
dont like the sound of engine rebuilds though
mind you, theres people who've had probs with old wrx's, so i guess that if the mods are done right, then all should be well, or is it no matter who does it, they are troublesome??
it matters to me how scooby owners who've had a pulsar, rate these cars, coz i use our old my95 as the benchmark. i need to know how much modding will cost to get it into seriously fast league, reliability etc.
its ok if u only go for an hours drive once a week, but if it packs up half way through the journey, then its no good.

salsa-king

Spud
u getting one of these as WELL??? 330ci + Princess' Skyline!!!! if you hav any spare cash can you post ot my way so i can get mi Scoob serviced at dealer this month (and not having to wait till dosh allows next month, fingers crossed) lol
how are you anyway?


anyone else have insider knowledge to the six numbers coming up on saturday night, just to help me out a bit!! lol

Phil

spudgun

phil
the 330ci is the best car ive ever owned. i still havnt changed my mind on that. however, the my95 was sold by princess way before i thought she would. i was insured on the my95, so i got my 'fix' now and then
i dont like this r33 she's got, maybe it'll get better as time goes by.
what i miss is the buzz. i got my fingers burnt with the my00, so i dont want to spunk loadsa dough on an expensive car.hence my self imposed budget is 8k. the mods i may spend more on eventually
if it makes you feel any better, 2 years ago all i could afford was a 1.4 seat ibiza, and a secondhand one at that.
i'm self employed now, work 61/2 days a week, EVERY week,all year, no holidays ( god i need one!)
i have no kids, i dont drink, gamble, do drugs etc etc, flashy clothes, gadgets etc etc. ALL the spare money i have is spent on cars. its what i love. we all have vices, mines car buying, like chins
the 330ci is part financed, the r33 is owned by princess ( she earns more than me )
so am i REALLY spending a lotta dough?? the minute i have kids etc , the madness will stop, till then, **** it, i dont wanna be the richest guy in the graveyard, if ya see what i mean

cryptwalk

[QUOTE]Originally posted by spudgun:
[B]cryptwalk, your mates got a great looking car there!
why has the page gone so w..i...d...e??
its a pain having to scroll to read the sentences.

I don't know i'm a muppet

I'll get my coat

I know the steering colum is adjustable but the seat i dont know

cryptwalk

Woops put it in twice.



[This message has been edited by cryptwalk (edited 13 June 2001).]

cryptwalk

Here you go some better pic's these were taken last few weeks

img]http://secret.lab6.com/uploaded_files/992471458.art[/img]