The internet can be a dangerous thing at times. Classified listings and auction sites are full of automotive gems just waiting to catch the eye of someone stupid enough to think it’s a good idea to buy them.

Well, the other night we just so happened to fall under the spell of such a gem. On Dubai’s foremost classified site was a listing for a 1990 Nissan Skyline GTST for just 7000Dhs. A text message was despatched to the seller and a meeting in Dubai’s delightful Al Quoz industrial area to view the car was arranged.

There we found the dusty matt black R32 sitting in a truck service yard hidden beneath an old tarpaulin. A quick visual check of the bodywork, engine and cabin later showed that she was straight. We fired up the engine and all looked to be well – it started first time and no dubious smoke or noises made themselves known.

A quick meeting of minds back at the C&P ranch and the deed was done – we’d agreed to buy the R32 for the pricely sum of 6000Dhs.

So, what did we get for our hard-earned Dirhams? One of Japan’s finest two-litre turbocharged rear-wheel drive coupes. Well, maybe it had been fine at some point in its 21-year life. Ours had clocked an alleged 165,000kms under its wheels in that time.

Since arriving in the UAE a few years back the original white paintwork has been oversprayed in matt black and the entire interior – expect for the driver’s seat, steering wheel, instrument cluster and a beige floor mat – had been ditched in favour of saving weight. A rather rudimentary half-cage had been installed in the back and a 3-inch wide exhaust poked out of the rear bumper.

All in all, we hope you agree that we’ve got ourselves a rather fine machine. But what are our plans? Well, we know the car’s already run a 14sec quarter-mile at the recent GTZ UAE event at Yas Marina, but that’s not the route we’re thinking of taking. No, we’re hoping to turn this little beauty into a drift machine. However – this will be a drifter built to a serious budget.

Stick with us over the coming months as we share with you all the thrills and spills of building up this R32 Skyline. It’s gonna be a journey that’s for sure!