1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R restored, by Toyota

By: Alex Affat, Unique Cars magazine, Video by: Toyota

Date: 11.06.2020

Toyota completes year and a half restoration of rival supercar

Earlier this week, we came across an online video of a 1989 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R being lovingly restored by a team of manufacturer's employees in Japan.

Except, the manufacturer in question, wasn’t Nissan – it was their traditional rival, Toyota.

But why?

Well, it’s actually not a completely unusual thing for this team of Toyota employees to have their hands fettling on cars from outside the marque.

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They’re based in Toyota’s ‘History Garage’, a classic and vintage automotive museum operating out of Toyota’s massive MegaWeb complex in Tokyo – a borderline theme park and automotive museum complex.

Toyota’s History Garage doesn’t just bear their own historical models, but cars of all makes and origin – from German microcars like the BMW Isetta, to DeLoreans and older American classics like the C2 Corvette and even a big Cadillac Eldorado.

They aren’t static displays either – all cars at the History Garage are driveable and are regularly taken out on demonstration runs or even public ride-alongs.

The lower-level of the museum houses the Restore Pit, where maintenance and restorations take place. Many of the technicians are typically older gentleman who have gained many years experience within Toyota’s manufacturing roles.

It’s by no means a flash workshop that you might expect of one of the world’s largest manufacturers, but instead a more grassroots workshop space with a number of projects on the go.

In the video, you’ll see the technicians using jack stands and a simple engine crane to remove the GT-R’s drivetrain.

It’s an easy-going, almost heartwarming watch – so put your feet up and tune in.

And the next time you find yourself in Tokyo, drop in to Toyota MegaWeb in Tokyo’s Odaiba precinct.

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