Aussie Clones

[wyldephyre]

Sort of flowing on from "The Beast" thread..

 

How to the Australian clones of Japanese cars compare? eg. The Ford Laser/ Mazda 323.

 

Mechanically? Cosmetic things like panels and interior bits?

 

I'm just keeping an eye for prospective replacements for wagonodeath, and I was wondering if I should consider the local copies as well as the Japanses originals.

 

(mods feel free to move to off topic)

[muller]

its personal preference i reckon, personally i couldnt bring myself to drive the base model of something, ive always aimed for the top model of something i liked. weather its made here or there. usually there are better variations of cars cause they are better.

 

eg. the KE25 is a super sexy coupe and some people do them up to be a TE27, now to me its still a 25. if you want a 27 then get a 27 granted that they are very expensive and rare, as well as never actually being made in australia.

 

youll just have to figure out what you want and what you can afford and go from there, youll find that that alone will cut it down to size pretty quick unless your rich :wink:

Edited January 1, 2006 by muller

[mikeys toy[RL]]

it would probably cost me over $10,000usd to import a "real" avenger tiger

i'll just stay happy with the clone

[muller]

stupid expensive cars. vut i spose that if cars that were expensive suddenly became cheap and affordable them everyone would get one and they wouldnt be worth it. id rather pay the extra for a TE27 to know that not too many people in aus would have a genuin one. :wink:

 

 

"How to the Australian clones of Japanese cars compare? eg. The Ford Laser/ Mazda 323.

 

Mechanically? Cosmetic things like panels and interior bits?"

 

i think youll find that most of the mechanical stuff is mostl the same and there will just be little differences like lights and grills, and that will carry through into the interior.

 

what "Japanese cars" are you refering too by the way?

[wyldephyre]

what "Japanese cars" are you refering too by the way?

 

Initially, the 323 vs the Laser.

 

Towards the end of last year, a late model 323 was the top contender for my new car. (of course, i have no money anymore, since I bought the bike + gear, about $5k all up, and not to mention that all the cars in my budget have been sold anyway, but I digress).

 

Pulsars were also shortlisted, but they tended to come in around $11k. A bit out of my budget.

 

Not to mention various Corollas. Good value for money, naturally, but most of the reviews I've seen say that they were very basic cars, and I felt for the same money, a 323 was better value. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

 

Basically, I was (and will be again once I save more money) looking for a '90's model hatch or liftback, in the 5k-10k range. You could get a 323 with all the trimmings (aircon etc) that fit that criteria 4 months ago, for around 8 or 9k, but they're no more.

[Super Jamie]

it really depends what brand/model you're talking about. the aussie rb30 from the VL commodore is far inferior to the jap rb30 from the R31 skyline. however, i'm pretty certain 323s and lasers are simply cosmetically different cars. a grease monkey at a wreckers could probably confirm this. ask a few, they're not the brightest souls :wink:

 

you're looking for the same thing i was in a car, only you have the same to double the money to spend. cheapest choice is an AE92 corolla, reliable as f@$k and overrated examples are available for $5k to $6k, shitters for as low as $4k. next best would be a tie between 2 litre N14 pulsar and 1.8 EG6 civic. both very well handling unbreakable cars, and with powerful engines. both have a bit of a "boy racer" stigma. both available from $6k, but be prepared to spend $8k for good examples in best trim model, quite alot for an early 90s hatch. all of these cars sound absolutely shithouse with an exhaust on them, get one with a stock pipe

 

i considered 323s and lasers a bit too girly for my liking, so i never really looked into them. besides which, the best i could get for my budget was a KC-shape tx3, which is still an 80s car. the interiors are also a bit crappy if you ask me, they are spartan and remind me of driving my old econovan. the others all have a fairly good semblance of comfort, fairly buckety seats for the good trim models, shifter in a position that falls readily to hand, etc

[muller]

the aussie rb30 from the VL commodore is far inferior to the jap rb30 from the R31 skyline.

 

next best would be a tie between 2 litre N14 pulsar and 1.8 EG6 civic. both very well handling unbreakable cars, and with powerful engines. both have a bit of a "boy racer" stigma.

 

i considered 323s and lasers a bit too girly for my liking, so i never really looked into them. besides which, the best i could get for my budget was a KC-shape tx3, which is still an 80s car. the interiors are also a bit crappy if you ask me, they are spartan and remind me of driving my old econovan.

 

couple of things.

 

i thought that the aussie vl and the r31 both shared the nissan engine which were all from the one place?

 

i have a mate with an N14 pulsar, it has broken everything!!! mostly to do with his driving styl and 4puck button clutch. broken engine, gearbox, driveshaft severed, brakes, and the interior is falling apart all by itself. its sad to see really. i wouldnt considder them a reliable car goin on his example but thats of course its only one example.

 

TX-3's can look tuff as with some little things done to them, but its one of the VERY few 'chick's' cars that i would be happy with.

 

not attacking what you said but I'm just curious. especially about the RB30 skyline/commodore engine origins.

[Felix]

the nissan and gmh RB30's are the same. the differences is that the gmh airbox design is not as good, so they make less power.

 

also gmh stuffed up in their radiator design. something to do with the twin pass system in the rad core. there is a block off piece inside which can come loose, causing the water to bypass the radiator core and fry headgaskets.

[Felix]

pushrods...i think not. a bit of research would be in order methinks.

 

single overhead cam more like it. it is a purely nissan engine. holden just changed it a little to make it work reliably with a turbo.

 

the NA holden and nissan engines are the same. ACL have the same part numbers for pistons, rings, gaskets, etc. etc.

 

the turbo engines ran slightly decompressed pistons, ran chrome rings (NA moly), the blocks had oil drillings for the turbo feed. they ran the exact same bearings as the NA models. i think the turbo version may have an uprated oil pump. the gaskets are all identical between the NA and turbo versions except for the head gasket, the turbo obviously having an uprated version. not that different to the NA engine, just reliability mods really.

[Felix]

i seriously think that "pushrods" is a typo.

 

it should read "hydraulic lifter and rocker actuated Overhead Camshaft with two valves per cylinder". most single overhead cam engines run rockers.

 

do a search on google "rb30 nissan holden differences". :D

[muller]

so after all pro's and con's talk which would be a better engine? ie. reliable/good engine to build off