New member - Hi from South Africa

Hello everyone, I'm a new member and have read some nice threads about things I'm interested in.

Anyway, I don't currently own a Supra and plan on importing a MK4 N/A from Japan in the not too distant future. My plan is to drive the car as NA and doing some mods to get the car's brakes, suspension, cooling and fuelling ready for a NA-T conversion. I was thinking that something like a Garret GTX3582R would give me just the right amount of power to keep me smiling. I would probably have to do something to the gearbox because I plan on getting about 600whp. Then hopefully with this setup I'd be able to drive it without that massive wing on the rear which to me looks a bit overboard, but if it's needed I would lear to live with it.

I currently have a MK1 VW Golf or 1995 Citi Golf which has a 1800 block that's now a 2100L with a Garret T3/T4 turbo and it puts out about 230whp and boosts just under 17psi, all this in a car that weighs in at under 1000Kg. It's loads of fun and I love surprising guys that think they have fast cars. If I want to go further with this Golf I'm going to have to do a gearbox swap and that would mean it would be able to do 250-280Km/h top speed and that is something I'm a bit scared of in a MK1 Golf. It just wasn't meant to go that fast in my mind.

That's me for now and I must say this is a very nice resource for anyone interested in Supra's.

I believe the sz-r na (I think) has the 6 speed getrag in it mate. So if you can get hold of one of those, will save you a lot of hassle with the gear box.

Welcome to the club

Welcome to the mad house ! Get some pictures of your car up fella.

Welcome to the mad house ! Get some pictures of your car up fella.

You mean my Citi Golf?

Here's the pics of my current ride, my Citi Golf

That's it for now, hope it helps.

Those golfs are so popular in SA

Where abouts are you? I used to live in Cape Town. Been in the UK for too long now.

Have you looked into importing a car into South Africa? I did when I was there and it was not easy! It was damn near impossible to import a 2nd hand car. The only way you could do it, was to declare it for motorsport use only (no chance of ever road registering it) or to have it registered north of the border (but this would require traveling out of the coutry 1 a year to road test it). The other thing was tax, I believe the taxes charged, were around 45% of the car value (including all costs, shipping, etc) - in an attempt to protect the fragile car manufacturing industry in SA. Admittedly, this was quite some time ago....

There were some other ways as well:

-foreign diplomate

-own the car for 2 years or more outside of SA (IE. Europe)

Hopefully its all changed, but I am doubting it... if it has I will be exporting some cars over, as prices here are MUCH cheaper than SA!

Here's the pics of my current ride, my Citi Golf

 

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That's it for now, hope it helps.

i dont like golf's much but this thing must go like stink . any vids mate ?

Those golfs are so popular in SA

 

Where abouts are you? I used to live in Cape Town. Been in the UK for too long now.

 

Have you looked into importing a car into South Africa? I did when I was there and it was not easy! It was damn near impossible to import a 2nd hand car. The only way you could do it, was to declare it for motorsport use only (no chance of ever road registering it) or to have it registered north of the border (but this would require traveling out of the coutry 1 a year to road test it). The other thing was tax, I believe the taxes charged, were around 45% of the car value (including all costs, shipping, etc) - in an attempt to protect the fragile car manufacturing industry in SA. Admittedly, this was quite some time ago....

 

There were some other ways as well:

-foreign diplomate

-own the car for 2 years or more outside of SA (IE. Europe)

 

Hopefully its all changed, but I am doubting it... if it has I will be exporting some cars over, as prices here are MUCH cheaper than SA!

Things have changed slightly, it's now possible with some effort to get one. They are still trying to protect the industry. These days you can import collector cars or whatever they call it, but it does take some effort. So I can import directly from Japan.

i dont like golf's much but this thing must go like stink . any vids mate ?

John yes it does go like stink, but with the current setup it sometimes losses traction in 4th gear on road that don't offer heaps of traction. It sometimes surprises even me . Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to take a proper video yet, but I'll make a plan then I'll post it here. Just don't expect anything close to a Supra, it is front wheel drive after all.

Hey hoe gaan dit.. Ek's van Johannesburg of meer van Centurion. Why don't you just get yourself a TT rather than upgrading an NA?

John yes it does go like stink, but with the current setup it sometimes losses traction in 4th gear on road that don't offer heaps of traction. It sometimes surprises even me . Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to take a proper video yet, but I'll make a plan then I'll post it here. Just don't expect anything close to a Supra, it is front wheel drive after all.

I would just make bloody sure that you can! Last thing you want is to buy it, have it arrive and then be told you cannot road register it. Collectors or classic cars was always allowed, but they were very limited. Did not classify a 22B, Nissan R34, etc as collectors. Other wise, good luck with it.

Hey hoe gaan dit.. Ek's van Johannesburg of meer van Centurion. Why don't you just get yourself a TT rather than upgrading an NA?

Goed en jy Chucky, ek is hier van die ooste kant van PTA.

The price one pays for a TT and then convert it to a single turbo just doesn't make sense to me. The difference in price could very easily pay for the turbo conversion and some other stuff whereas if I bought the TT I'd also have to do a single turbo conversion on top of the purchase price. I know there is other differences between the two like gearbox, brakes, wheels and suspension, but those are all things with the exception of the gearbox maybe that would have to be looked at either way when one is looking at power figures in the 600hp region.

This is just my opinion and possibly not right, but that's one of the reasons I'm here. To learn from people who's been there and done that.

BTW Chucky, did you import your own car, or did you buy one that was here already?

I would just make bloody sure that you can! Last thing you want is to buy it, have it arrive and then be told you cannot road register it. Collectors or classic cars was always allowed, but they were very limited. Did not classify a 22B, Nissan R34, etc as collectors. Other wise, good luck with it.

I did speak to the gov dept that deals with this and they told me that I have to get a proforma invoice with the cars details on and they would either give me an import permit or not. So I wouldn't pay for something I wouldn't be able to register for road use. There's a few guy I know of that's imported RX7's and Skylines and if those are fine I can't imagine a Supra not being right.

Hello Rudi..

I am a fellow South African, I hail from Durban..

Been in Japan for 2 years now, returning at the end of the year with my MKiV TT6....

As advised, I would make sure you have the process to import mapped out properly. I have heard a few people saying the Supra can be regarded as collectors item, but to my knowledge nobody has brought one into the country using that method..

Anyways, just make sure you have all your ducks in a row, and good luck!

Good to know there is potentially another Supra on its way to our shores...

Goed en jy Chucky, ek is hier van die ooste kant van PTA.

The price one pays for a TT and then convert it to a single turbo just doesn't make sense to me. The difference in price could very easily pay for the turbo conversion and some other stuff whereas if I bought the TT I'd also have to do a single turbo conversion on top of the purchase price. I know there is other differences between the two like gearbox, brakes, wheels and suspension, but those are all things with the exception of the gearbox maybe that would have to be looked at either way when one is looking at power figures in the 600hp region.

 

This is just my opinion and possibly not right, but that's one of the reasons I'm here. To learn from people who's been there and done that.

 

BTW Chucky, did you import your own car, or did you buy one that was here already?

I'm in London bud.. Bought her already as a single with all the mods I needed i.e. brakes, wheels and all.. Sold her about three weeks ago. What you need to consider is that you will have to upgrade ecu, brakes, injectors, fuel pump etc if you want to run big power.. All this mods will get expensive especially if you have to import to SA.. Will you do the work yourself or tunners?

I did speak to the gov dept that deals with this and they told me that I have to get a proforma invoice with the cars details on and they would either give me an import permit or not. So I wouldn't pay for something I wouldn't be able to register for road use. There's a few guy I know of that's imported RX7's and Skylines and if those are fine I can't imagine a Supra not being right.

I would phone that same department and ask the same question again Knowing SA government departments, that person you spoke to will not exist and will have never worked there... Sadly, have had to deal with a lot of SA gov departments and they are not usually very useful at all.

I hope you get it right! I think SA is the perfect country for a supra! Would have kept mine if I was moving back (to SA)...

Research your mods carefully, a few have made the mistake of going NA and then over to TT. Single turbo is cheap, its all the small parts that have to go with it that are expensive and add up. Not to mention how pricey they are in SA.... and we thought we got a raw deal here in the UK (compared to the US), HA look at SA prices!! Would be much cheaper to buy one with most of the parts already.

Have you been out in a 600bhp RWD car? Mine made 470-480 and it was a monster, very different to what I thought... I have also driven a couple of 600bhp supras and, well, if you are only used to driving a golf, I would seriously suggest you find something with similar power and what its like. I dont mean any offense by this, I dont know you, car history, driving experience etc. Its just that sometimes people get carried away while chasing numbers and before you realise you dont like the car any more.

Anyway, keep us updated on how you get one with it!

Or you could just buy mine - perfect and needs nothing

Save you a lot of hassle, as the hard work is done for you!

Welcome to the club!