Superbike81

Company e-mailed me back about returning them. I'm going to send all but one small gauge and the tach back. So the center gauge in the cluster will have the logo, and the center gauge in the triple center pod will have it as well, should flow pretty well without being overkill.

I had a company in the US called SpeedHut custom make me some gauges, they came out great, except for one thing. I requested that the custom GTR logo be put on the tach ONLY. This is a $25 option per gauge, and I have my invoice, I only paid once. So they made a mistake and put them on ALL of the gauges. The tach, speedo, and boost gauge are all 80mm gauges. The smaller gauges are 52mm. Should I send them back and get new ones the way I ordered? Or should I keep them? I'm on the fence, I like both ways, but some friends have told me it's "GTR overkill" and others have told me they really like it. Opinions? I added a poll just to see what the overall thoughts are. Thanks!

I paid $850 US shipped. However, I only paid for the GT-R logo on one gauge, as it's a $25 option (per gauge I think). So they made a mistake and accidentally did it on all the gauges, I'm trying to figure out if I want to keep it that way or not.

Got my set of gauges in today. Love them! Can't wait to get them installed with the new dash.

Interior should be partially complete in a few weeks. I've got the Evo IX Recaros installed now, SpeedHut gauges on the way, and a friend of mine is layering a couple sections of the dashboard in carbon fiber, outer edges of the dash as well as the center radio trim will be done in flock material. So the dash will be installed in a few weeks, but the door panels and center console will be custom made from fiberglass and carbon fiber, so those will take a bit of time to do. Between work and college, my time has been very limited lately. So things will be a bit slow going. Car is going into the body shop in February for a complete restore. I'm keeping the stock R32 front, East Bear rear bumper, and Bee*R side skirts.

Got a few new things on the way to me in the mail right now, should be here sometime next week.... Mitsubishi Evo IX MR Recaro leather/alcantara seats: SpeedHut custom gauges. 80mm GPS Speedo, Tachometer, and Boost Gauge. Along with 52mm Water Temp, Oil Pressure, and Fuel Level. The gauges should be here in ~2 weeks since they are custom made. Momo Evo steering wheel, will be installing custom buttons to operate the turn signals so I can eliminate the stalk. Also the shiny parts will be covered with 3M Di-Noc carbon vinyl to match the rest of the interior. Dash fitting is going well. Going to do some more custom stuff with it though. The outer edges, as well as the lower panels will be "flocked", the passenger airbag panel as well as the driver's side main panel will be covered in carbon fiber vinyl. So the dash will be a mix of a carbon vinyl and flock, should look very good as long as I execute it all correctly.

I completely understand, but under my normal driving conditions, which are an average of 50-60kph, with an occasional sprint up to 100kph, all on roads that are in pretty good condition, I don't think the safety issue of these wheels will be a factor. I live on a small island with lots of red lights and low speed limits everywhere. Something like Rota wheels, I can understand, because they are made to be lightweight as well. If they aren't forged, and are still lightweight, there is only really one way to make them light, and that's to use less metal. These wheels are still fairly heavy, feel very solid, and I don't think they will give me any problems. When I do go to the track, a beat up set of R33 or R34 GT-R wheels will be fitted with good tires. The dashboard, I'm working on as well, I'm going to be using a dampening spray on the underside to hopefully eliminate any vibrations or rattles. I'll be mounting it very securely, and adding foam material to further block rattles in areas that really need it. Also the dash will be covered in leather, so should make it less prone to rattles. They are custom done by me at home. The base is a kouki (late model R32) projector headlight, with the inner housing painted black and a aftermarket clear lens cover used. I used 55w 6000k HID's as well, and it lights up the road amazingly well, much better than my old headlight setup.

Latest pic, with my new 19's. I think they look amazing, perfect for a street car with some style. I understand not everyone will like it, but I love it. I just need bigger brakes, which I'll be going the route of V37/370Z sport Akebono brakes.

No progress pictures on the dash, just been doing some trimming here and there. I'm going to fit my satnav in the location of the stock stereo, not the bit above it with the opening door. I was going to modify my dashboard crossbar, but decided against it. Sourcing the rest of the parts for the dash now. Ordered my tires, nothing special, just cheap daily tires. My AD08's will go on a cheap set of track wheels.

I have a BNR32 that I am fitting a 350z dash into. I'm trying to get ahold of this piece: I just need the plastic dash cover piece that goes over the airbag. I don't care if the airbag has been deployed or not, it's fine, the dash is going to be recovered anyways. The problem is, we don't currently have any 350z's at junkyards in Okinawa, the part brand new from Nissan is $2000 US, because it comes with an airbag, and they won't sell it separate. Junkyards in mainland Japan won't ship me the part, because they say it's illegal for them to sell the part without a good airbag, which is crap. So, I'm expanding my search to Australia. Hoping that someone knows of a junkyard that has one and can go grab the part for me and ship it to me. I'll pay all costs of course. Even contact info to a wrecking yard that you know has a 350z would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time! Jason

So you know someone who is doing the Z33 dash? Do you have contact info for them? I would like to collaborate with them to make everything go a little smoother.

Oh and I'm also going to have to rewire the headlight switch as well. Maybe use a R33 steering wheel mounted style stalk or something.

Depending how far you want to go, it can be pretty easy, or it can be fairly in depth. I'm doing the full center console, navigation mounted in the hideaway area, and door panels, so mine take a bit of custom work. But if you just do the dash and center console, not really that tough, but still a little bit of custom work will be required.

As part of my project to bring my R32 into modern times, I took some measurements and found that the Z33 350z dashboard was a pretty close match to the R32 dimensions. So I went ahead and found a used dash frame for about $75 USD shipped. Not too bad, it's in good condition overall. Pulled my dash out today for the initial test fit. I was VERY pleasantly surprised, this is going to be easier than I was expecting. Check out the pictures, I am utterly amazed how well this fits the R32, like it was meant to be. This is what the entire dash looks like installed complete in a 350z: List of things to do I've found so far: 1) Modify main crossbar, because right now it's in the way of mounting the navigation unit I have. So it's going to need to be cut in the center, and then just have a strong enough steel plate welded in the back of it to maintain strength, but give me an extra 3 or 4". This isn't completely needed, but I want my navigation unit to be in the hideway section just below the center triple gauge section. If I installed it in the factory stereo spot, no need to do this. 2) Cut about 3/4-1" of depth out all around, and modify/fabricate some mounting brackets to get everything mounted solid. Other little minor trimming and filling here and there, nothing major though. 3) Cover the spot where the passenger airbag was with something. Thinking about mounting something in there, just not sure what yet. Maybe one of my audio components or something, I dunno. I might just cover it with fiberglass/plastic and leave it blank. 4) Have everything retrimmed in leather/alcantara/carbon fiber. 5) I can easily modify my stock door panels to work, but I will be doing 350z door panels, so that way everything flows together nicely. You can eliminate quite a bit of work if you are willing to slightly modify the shape of the upper stock door panel. But I'm going for a full interior upgrade, not just the dash. 6) Route new piping from the airbox so I can still get good A/C and heat and defrosting and everything, shouldn't be too difficult, might just have to get creative with it. 7) I want to use the 350z gauge cluster, so wiring it up should be interesting, we'll see how that goes. 8) Relocate e-brake handle to the other side. Easy, just have to make a new bracket, drill some holes, and move the g-sensor a little to the right. I'm sure there will be other little stuff I'll run into, but this is the major stuff. Now that I know it will fit well, I need to start shopping on Yahoo Auctions for the rest of the panels. They should be fairly cheap, another $100 US or so total. I know not a lot of people will want to do this modification, but I'm still going to write a detailed log of modifications made in order to do this. I think overall it's going to be pretty simple. Door panels may prove to be interesting, since a fair amount of reshaping will be needed. As well as modifying my current door handle setup to work with the Z door handle.

It's expensive stuff, the rear bumper is ¥71,400' available direct through East Bear, but I'm sure you've got someone in Australia who has a contact with them. http://www.east-bear.co.jp/shopdetail/006007000001/order/ for the bumper Side steps are actually an add-on piece to the OEM side steps, and run about ¥40,000 http://www.east-bear.co.jp/shopdetail/006008000001/order/

Where are you getting the alternator from and how much?

I would love to buy a R34, but I think you missed the part about I'm American, and when I return to the USA, I want a car I can bring with me. I wouldn't be able to bring back a R34 until 2024 due to the import regulations, my R32 I can bring back in January 2015. I think after doing some browsing around, I will start with just the 34 front, and then go from there. I may still want the 34 rear, or I may not. I am slightly concerned about structural rigidity, perhaps cutting the rear fenders and rear pan might compromise the chassis. Oh, and I won't be using any cheap body panels. Bee*R makes quality stuff, I'll be using the conversion fenders they make. East Bear has been known for high quality parts for a long time if I decide to go with their side steps and rear bumper. Also, remember, I do live in Japan, so I've got easy and quick access to all of the OEM parts for cheap. No corners will be cut, everything will be done right. I'll say it again, my paint might look good in that one picture I posted, but it's got ALOT of problems beneath the surface.

What does everyone think of this option? OEM BNR34 front, with R34 style rear bumper and side steps made by East Bear:

Real TE's will come eventually I got these wheels for $900, which is the same amount I paid for my Work XD9's and the same amount they will be sold for. So I'm simply trading my Work wheels for a wheel that will clear big brakes no problem, and look better at the same time. I'm still not 100% set on doing the rear, I won't be able to give up the car for long enough to get the rear done for another year and a half anyways. I may just do the OEM R34 front conversion using the Bee*R conversion fenders only, and then keep the R32 rear. But the rest of the stuff is going to happen.

Valid point. Because the real TE37's are 3 times the price of what I paid for these. I can use these for 2-3 years while I'm building the rest of the car up, and then later go for the real thing, and then sell these for just a few hundred less than what I paid for them.

Thanks, I will post pics of the interior progress. First thing is to get the dash fitted, and then door panels. I have a feeling even though the door panels are a small thing compared to the dash, it will be just as much work. Because I want to use the Z33 door handles and window switches and everything, so I'm going to have to have new rods fabricated for the door opening mechanism. Then also reshaping main door panel will be interesting too. Then it's all got to be covered with leather/alcantara. Will be a fairly long, in depth project, I'll do most of the fabrication for fitment, but I won't be doing the upholstery, I'm not good at the complex shapes.

Are you using a stock R34 GTR hood? Does it just bolt up like the original hood?

Yeah, I'm interested to see exactly how bad the rust is under the surface. The frame rails are pretty clean overall, however the area where some people jack the car up on are rusted completely. So that area will need to be rebuilt. I like the Work wheels just fine, and they will clear The R33/34 Brembos, however they will not clear the F40/50 Brembos. Also I fell in love with the 19" TE37's. For now I will run replicas, but Ill upgrade to real ones after the rest of the build is complete.

Like I said, it looks nice in the pics, but when you get close, this car has a lot of issues beneath the surface. Painted over rust, touched up areas, rust on the undercarriage, etc. Reason that I chose this car is because it was a good deal, and it's a runs very solid and reliable. Sure, I could get a slightly cheaper GT-R with more issues and more KM's on it, but who's to say it won't need a complete engine rebuild or any number of other issues (accidents, etc)? I bought the car mostly stock, it had the clutch and air filters, the rest I did. So the only reason this car is "nice" is because I've made it that way. Now I'm going from inspiration of others as well as my own ideas to turn it into my own unique creation. Yes, the rear fenders will be completely cut out, they are fairly rusted on the inner part anyways, so no big deal. I will be following MWR34's build plan, except I'll be using stock looking fenders, as well as not molding the side skirts. As long as the car is well built and the plan is executed well, in my eyes it will be the perfect sports car, much like I view the Porsche 911. Sure it won't be the fastest car on the street or the track, and it won't be the most luxurious or the absolute best looking, but it will have the perfect balance of old school driving feel, with modern looks, modern interior, enough luxury to keep most people happy (R35 seats, leather trimmed interior, high quality stereo, navigation, etc), enough HP to run a solid 12 second 1/4 mile, and handle pretty well too while still being comfortable to drive everyday. It will be my idea of the perfect car. Isn't that what this is all about? Building cars to be a reflection of ourselves? I'm not a professional racing driver, I don't need 700hp, I don't need it to handle like a go-kart, I just like a good balance of speed and comfort. I could go out and buy a Porsche 911 with the money I end spending on this car, but what's the fun in that? Then I've got a 911 like thousands of other people. Building my R32 the way I want it will make it a truly unique creation built to my standards.

I understand where you are coming from, but let me point out a few things. I got this car for very cheap anyways, around $5,000 US. A rolling shell could have been an option, sure, but being American military stationed in Japan, I've got some extra restrictions on me, I'm only allowed to own one vehicle per licensed driver at a time. Also no room for an extra car at my home. The car does look good in the photo, and it's not in terrible shape by any means, but it does have it's problems. Painted over rust in several areas around the rear window and rear side windows, rust spots in the trunk and inside the rear quarter panels (I think you guys call them "guards", not sure). Also some rusting areas under the carpet in the interior. The car was going to get completely torn down and restored anyways. The extra cost for fitting the R34 parts won't be much compared to the total cost of the restoration. I'll be buying most of the parts used, except for the rear fenders and the metal piece that the tail lights mount to. Once I saw mwr34's project, I pretty much fell in love with it, he did exactly what I wanted to do, build one of the best looking Skylines I've seen, while still conforming to his country's importation laws. The USA has even more strict import laws, 25 years instead of 15, and since I plan on going back for a couple years of school, it's going to make a difference. Now since I can't be out of a car for the many months it will take to complete everything, I have to wait until I'll be gone for a while, so my next deployment is when the car will go to the body shop, which won't be for at least another year. Since it's a year away at least, I may very well change my mind and just restore the exterior, leaving the original shape intact. But as of right now, I'm sticking to the plan. The interior modernization is already occuring, the dashboard from the Z33 is on the way to me now, should be here tonight and then measurements will be done and I'll start the preliminary fitting process. As far as making the R32 go faster, I will be making it faster, with a set of Nismo N1 turbos and some more boost. Now some may not define that as fast, it's plenty fast for me. Hell, it's fast enough for me right now as is, but with the added weight from stereo equipment, heavier seats, sound deadening, and other misc stuff, I'm going to need some extra power to equalize everything. There's a lot of GT-R's out there built for speed, but they aren't unique, 500hp, 700hp, 1000hp+, it's all been done time and time again. What I'm doing? A complete rebuild of the car to match my personality and bring it into modern times? That hasn't been done nearly as many times, if at all. Like I said, I do appreciate the suggestions, but I'm going through with this project. PS, it doesn't have Brembo brakes, not yet at least, I just painted the calipers red.