Neostead2000

Hi all, This will be my 1997 ECR33 GTST restoration journal, I will try to keep it updated with progress and pictures, however I tend to write a lot so please bare with me. The car is not in super bad shape as the previous owner had already fixed some major rust hiding in the sills and rocker panels, however it was not done fully nor properly, so I will be trying to fix everything that's left out to the best of my ability. My plan of action was to start from the boot area then onto the engine bay and finishing up with attaching the GTR overfenders I was given with the car, fitting GTR front fenders and finishing off with paint. I cannot weld and I do not have access to a professional paint booth so for welding I am using my friend's services, and for painting I am trying to get it done (properly) via spray cans. So far it turned out great however the outside of the car will of course be professionally painted once the car can move on its own wheels. From what I've been told, the car had a full body kit which was molded into the chassis with tons of filler. It was chameleon green/purple. So now I've got to dig through all the filler, paint and bad welding to fix it all up. So without much more writing, here's some shots of the car before I started working on it: This is how the trunk looked and I'm glad I chiseled all the old factory seam sealer and sound deadening as that's where most the rust was hiding! As you can see, all the rust I could get my hands on was mechanically removed, then with the help of Wurth Rust Converter, it was chemically converted to inert clean metal state, then fully primered with two good coats of Epoxy Primer (Novol's Spectral 395 line), followed by Mipa white polyurethane seam sealer in factory places as well as many areas where they do not seal from the factory (due to cost and time reasons). I took care not to block any drainages. After seam sealing, another coat of epoxy primer was applied, then sprayed with gloss white. At this point I was still unsure what tone of white to use, however most of this work will be hidden behind panels and will not be seen. The important thing is that it was done properly with good preparation and I firmly believe the rear portion of this car will not see any rust for the next decade. The previous owner had re-welded some weird arches which will not work with the GTR overfenders, so those were cut out, welds ground, rust cleaned and the arches were fully welded. They were also primered and seam sealed inside and out. The top of the boot lid area underwent the same treatment, as well as the rear end and bumper support. I must say I am very glad with how it all came out and the same work will be done to the engine bay in the upcoming weeks. However, I ended up spending too much money on spray can primer and paint, so this time I am thinking of getting a cheap paint gun from a friend and using my 24 liter compressor. I am not so worried about the finish of the job as much as getting adequate amounts of paint and undercoat on the chassis. I will also save a lot of money this way. That's it for now; when I have more I shall update this thread. I am open to criticism as well as helpful feedback and suggestions! Thanks for reading.

It's an original ECR33 GTST Series 2 however as I said, I DID want a 25 in it but got sent the wrong motor. There is no way this car is staying naturally aspirated so for sure I shall be turbocharging this 20. It has some interesting swirl-valves at the inlets right before the head openings which improves air-fuel mixing and provides a leaner AFR for economy and emissions. Then, under certain conditions such as sudden load increases or WOT, the valves fully open allowing all the air to pass freely through. I did a quick comparison on actual inlet diameters and the Neo is not far off the 25DETs, so I am not worried about airflow. In addition there is the low-RPM torque valve at the center of the intake which further helps low-down response. I have yet to confirm whether the conrods are as thick and sturdy as regular 20DET motors, as that will determine how much boost I will be throwing at it. That said, the wall thickness remains biggest as other 20 motors, at around 5-5.3mm on all sides (as per Motive's testing). The idea would be to try and use as many of the systems that Nissan implemented into this motor while making it livelier and actually fun to drive. In my parts of the world there simply isn't access to 25 motors and our Patrols come with diesel engines so no 30 swaps... I believe the RB20 Neo mostly came on 34s sold in Japan and ones imported in Russia, so those guys undoubtedly would have most experience with 'em.

Hey all, I'm Steve and I recently (finally) got my hands on my #3 dream car, which is an R33 GTST. It was a trade I could not sleep over so long story short, I bought an EK4 civic VTi and traded it for the Skyline. The twist is, the Skyline came with no engine nor transmission, and needing body work and rust work done. I wasn't sure which was the main most active Skyline related forum, so I decided to sign up here even though I'm quite a ways away from down undah. I have a long history with Mitsubishis (Galants, Legnums, Eclipses) and now it's time to add another piece of Japanese FeO2 into my collection. I have so far completely re-done the boot area, chiseling out all the old seam sealer and patching up rust, then painting and rust sealing. I will be making a new build thread for this vehicle to keep as a diary, however everything is being done as professionally as possible with the tools I have. I also paid for and had shipped to me an RB25DE Neo however the person sent me an RB20DE Neo from a 34. Maybe he also frequents these forums and I don't want to call names but I was REALLY upset and I was set back money wise by quite a lot. What's worse is I've been digging through the internet and there is VERY little info on these 20s; they have nothing in common with the 20DETs from 32s and not much has been done with them. I am still trying to decide whether to build the 20... I have no money to get a 25 even in N/A form right now. Also where I'm from there are no readily available parts for these motors/cars at all so difficulty right now is 12/10. Anyway, I will continue to work on the chassis and keep looking for info on the RB20DE Neo. It's in absolutely MINT condition so it would be a shame to let it sit and rot away. Thanks for reading if you made it this far and if you have any advice for newbies I would very much appreciate them!