My R31 Grip Car Build

[Matty 31]

got a small idea of how my under bonnet setup will look (except the manifold will be high mount and with a forward facing plenum). mainly the rocker cover / cam cover look

[Matty 31]

been a bit slow off the mark, work keeps pulling extra bits and pieces on me so havent done much. k frame has been changed over, and the front coils are in. steering will get re-attached in a week or two (once back from whyalla), and a couple of new purchases will be made too. not going to look as extreme initially to the eye, but those with a keen eye will notice the good bits

[Freddie]

Looks good, can wait to see future progress. I love 31s and with the right owner and style in mind any 31 can be turned into a wicked car!!!

[ARM]

looking forward to the rest of the build, goodluck

[Matty 31]

a small question has come to mind. what would people recommend for cooling system. clutch fan is out of the question now as the motor will be sitting a bit too close, especially if i run a thicker rad, so im going with thermos

im lookin at alloy R33 radiators, just cant decide whether 42mm or 60mm is better / more effective?

and using thermos as a push through, what size is better? a pair of 12" or a single 15" fan

[andyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

interesting

[Boss-zilla]

I would run twins with a stagered start (ie:one comes on then the other). Also have you thought about putting in a r32/3/4 rear cradle?? Mate had a 31 with a 33 cradle in it for better set up in the rear end. So far its only tacked in so can not say how well it works yet.

Cheers

Ross

[Matty 31]

I would run twins with a stagered start (ie:one comes on then the other). Also have you thought about putting in a r32/3/4 rear cradle?? Mate had a 31 with a 33 cradle in it for better set up in the rear end. So far its only tacked in so can not say how well it works yet.

Cheers

Ross

i would, but its an aus-del, so its got a live axle. makes it a bit hard to put an irs cradle in. if it was a HR31 that would have been my first mod

[NZM.031]

hard... yes.

impossible... no.

worth it... probably, maybe, sorta, dont really know.

all i know is i hated the live axle in my r31.. i replaced every bush in the back end and it still just didnt feel tight.

[Matty 31]

hard... yes.

impossible... no.

worth it... probably, maybe, sorta, dont really know.

all i know is i hated the live axle in my r31.. i replaced every bush in the back end and it still just didnt feel tight.

i'll agree there, i ended up finding some bushes that tightened the rear, and they were the Super Pro bushes. Nolathanes were shit

Now just tryin to get hold of some slotted R33 GTSt rotors, dont want to pay DBA prices LOL

[dank]

a few pricey bits there

[Matty 31]

i received some goodies in the mail yesterday, some new hubs and a 42mm triple core radiator

car is now on a body trolley (pics when i grab my camera from the car) and the front and rear ends are out again.

diff goes off to be built in the first week of april, hubs should be changed over in the next week or so

[Boss-zilla]

The one I'm talking about is an aus delivered one, as said can be difficult to get it right but not impossible.

Cheers

[Matty 31]

photos of progress as promised. doesnt look like much but so much easier to work on now. tomorrow the rest of the pedal box, brake master, front brake lines, steering column and footwell sound deadening get removed

windows will also be coming out so we can start some rust repairs

[Matty 31]

dry ice time - sound deadener attacked and removed

next move is to remove the front windscreen and get it sandblasted to find the full extent of the rust repairs necessary

[thullen]

cool, you dont see that meny R31

[Matty 31]

another small update. Decs from Garage 7 in Mount Barker is starting production on my manifold in the next week or two. Steampipe high mount manifold goodness, something like this

[Nightcrawler]

It is going to be killer Matt. If you need any help feel free to ask.

[Matty 31]

thanks andrew, i'll be sure to ask for some help when assembly starts

good news, my diff is getting built this coming week. went in last week to order my axles, and it seems my order did make last months shipment.

so my standard borg warner 8.5" diff will be equipped with

Moser billet 31 spline axles (standard R31 length, carries same bearing carrier), 5x114.3 stud pattern

Moser full spool centre

retaining the 3.89 auto diff ratio

diff itself gets stripped down, put in the acid bath for a day, then sent off to another local bloke to be etch primed and painted up. comes back, new seals, axles, centre, studs and bearings in and a new dose of oil

[Matty 31]

this week has bought some good news and bad news, mostly good

cage quote done, getting a basic 6 point cage, plus some extra bar work (one important one for future plans is the sill bars), the parcel shelf pretty much chopped out and a new rear firewall panel. this work is all being done by Craig Helps at Helps Metalwork (http://www.helpsmetalwork.com)

before that can be done, its gotta be sandblasted (which is surprisingly cheap and only takes a couple of hours). that will be done the day before it goes in for the cage (so that Craig has a lot of nice surfaces to weld to)

currently making seat rails for my Sparcos, they'll be in before it gets caged too

picked up my Bosch 044 pump and cradle from Autosport, and with some discussion found out not only can he get all my brake and clutch lines i need made up to suit the pedal box (and from the solid lines to the calipers) they can all be ADR approved too.

Turbo wise...........the original plans for an external gated 3071R have been thrown about a bit

Peter had a talk to Garrett, and even though they've been done, they havent been done successfully. So they're steering away from them now.

Im now going towards:

3071R front housing

Nissan proprietary rear housing (roughly RB25DET size, but in a new casting rather than a used one remachined)

Internal gate blocked off

Having seen one of these new ones on display (was a 2871 front with the internal gate retained), theres a lot of meat around the rear housing for any machining that needs doing. its only going to cost an extra 100 bucks all up on what id originally been quoted for the "proper" 3071