It’s a dilemma any car person fortunate enough to buy a classic – either existing or future – will inevitably have to make: do you keep it how it is, or modify to your taste?
Over the weekend, Will Brown announced he’d purchased one of the 200 R31 Nissan Skyline Silhouette GTS2s, built in 1989 and only racking up just over 8000km from its single owner in the 36 years since it was purchased.
In the comments section of Brown’s videos, the overwhelming majority told him to keep it as is and not modify it at all, in order to preserve the purity of the rare Skyline.
On the other hand, a select few suggested maybe it should receive a manual transmission, or that its RB30 engine should get the turbocharger Nissan never fitted to it in the factory.
Ultimately the decision to modify the Nissan lies with Brown, but it reflects a wider conundrum being faced by the automotive community, especially in the wake of sky-high prices throughout the COVID pandemic.
While it was new vehicles which got all the attention for long wait times which inevitably turned to higher prices, classic cars experienced a major boom, thanks in part to more people having disposable income and time to work on them.
A common trend was that an original, ‘unmolested’ vehicle would typically sell for more than even a similar quality but tastefully modified example of the same car, with enthusiasts interested more in how they were new rather than what they could have been.
I myself bought a ZH Ford Fairlane 500 in late 2021, thinking its matching-numbers 351 Cleveland V8 and XC Falcon underpinnings would lead to it one day attracting high demand. This proved to be wrong when I sold it earlier this year for a loss, having spent a decent amount of money getting it running and roadworthy, only to chase endless problems.
Something I discovered early on in the piece was that potential buyers weren’t interested in what I thought a cool Fairlane should look like (such as on Hotwire wheels) – instead, they wanted something which either looked or was original.
This then came back to me when just a handful of days after selling the Fairlane, an EF Fairmont Ghia popped up on marketplace. Original condition, high kilometres but cosmetically and mechanically strong, I had to have a look.
To cut a long story short, I bought it, and at the time I thought I’d heed the seller’s advice: “No one wants to see these things slammed on cut springs and big wheels”. That was, until I discovered the shocks needed replacing, and a set of King super low springs came up at a very sharp price.
They’re yet to be fitted to the car, as with the new Monroe GT shocks, but I want the car to be mine, and be fitted with some of the best new parts available. No more “whatever’s cheapest” for this car.
After a brief trial with some aftermarket 17 inch wheels, I went back to the stock 15s, which are arguably better suited to the luxurious nature of the Fairmont Ghia.
The only modifications I’ve made so far are a new Apple CarPlay-compatible head unit, plus the Momo steering wheel from an EL Falcon GT, its wood grain matching that of the Ghia’s interior.
And now the question is: where do I stop?
Do I fit some extractors and a louder exhaust? Do I touch the 4.0-litre SOHC engine? How much would a Barra swap cost? Would it be sacrilege to convert it to a manual?
It’s a road I’ve been down before with Subaru Impreza WRXs and a Skoda Octavia RS in the past, fitting modifications which improve the car, but do nothing to improve its value or make it any more special.
The hundreds of S15 Nissan 200SXs sold in Australia were always going to become popular with the modification scene, but think about how much those which haven’t been messed with could now sell for.
The same could be said for the VFII Holden Commodore SS, as many owners of the last of the V8s seemingly parked up their future classics immediately, latterly flooding the market with low-kilometre examples which were never actually enjoyed as intended.
While I hope Brown doesn’t modify the survivor Skyline and keeps it pristine like its sadly departed owner attempted to do, I wouldn’t blame him if he gave it a tune-up here and a tickle there, both to show its potential and stand out from the 199 other examples out there.
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