i say go for it gav, seems like the perfect time to buy one considering your circumstances. my house mate's a mechanic and has a nice fc, and ofcourse would really like to 'upgrade' to an fd. whenever i ask him about its realiability he says its the same as any other performance car and you just have to look after it with oil changes to protect the seals, but i've heard the 80,000-100,000km thing before. it however does go through more petrol than his old 70's v8 statesman!
i quickly consider an fd, but figured as i needed a semi daily, a silvia was a cheaper and less risky option. there was a bathurst r sitting an importers was checking out, and the guy was complaining that he'd pushed someone into the car opposite it, and they had rebounded off it and landed on the FD, putting a massive dent in it due to how thin all the panels are to reduce weight, where the car he was pushed into was fine! and he was saying that without their undercar bracing they twist like anything, and he'd imported an accident damaged car that one of his customers really wanted, and he said you could put your head inbetween the door and b pillar!
...where will the surf board go? gangsta roof racks?