R32 Gts4 - Restoration/rebuild

[Chris Rogers]

I figured since I have been working on all variants of these cars I may as well buy one.

A Qld club member had this one up for sale about jan feb this year. by the time I had found the advert it had sold to someone else in northern brisbane. conditions changed for the new owner and I got a phone call. went out had a look agreed to purchase it as was.

the car is a HNR32 - DEC 89 build wiht Grey interior and AH3 (red) paint and 5sp manual

paint is well beyond repair and most of the interior panels need repair or replacing.

the RB20DT engine is also dead. gearbox unsure of condition so it will also be pulled down and inspected with broken/worns items tossed for new ones.

apart from a bit of rust in spots the body is straight as can be with a pin dent here and there.

the goal is to restore it with a few minor changes.

engine at this point will be a RB25/30 with a PFC on it.

Front end - GTR. I am doing this simply because somewhere over the last 21 yrs someone cut the front mount hole out of the drivers front area. so I may as well use it.

brakes - R34 Brembo front and rear

Interior - stock GTS4 - the seats are in good nick and after being given a few 32 GTRs for a week at a time I'm not really a fan of the seats for daily use.

Wheels - 17" of some OEM variety. would like to do the stock 16"s but clearance on the brakes kills that idea.

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Things to replace/repair: (I'll provide part numbers as I do them.)

ALL rubbers

both door sills (inner/outer)

repair front frame rails - due to someone lifting the car wrong..

inner front plastic guards - both sides.

rear parcel tray (this will be rebuilt)

seat belts - all 4

ALL interior covered trim - inc side window trims

heater vents - dash.

radio panel

rear console

panel under steering wheel. - someone bolted a turbo timer to it and made a horrible mess..

shifter cover

rubber shift boot that isolates the body from the inside cabin

A/C controller - mine does not light up - works fine.

Carpet - if I can still buy it.

instrument cluster panel - GTR version with clock.

every missing screw inside.

plastic screws in the sill panels

Sill panels with skyline logo

Floor mats - OEM.

things to tidy up / paint/clean

entire car - factory color with new decals and emblems

engine bay - factory flat red

black stone coat underneath/inside rear wheels

engine in factory black colors

small parts.

every clamp on the car - new if I can still get them.

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thats the start of it. I'm bagging and tagging bits now so I know where it came from.

pics to follow.

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update 09/01/12 parts list added. more to follow.

door sills (inner/outer)

76450-01U00 - Sill inner - right $190

76451-01U00 - Sill Inner - Left $190

76412-04U36 - Sill outer RH $275.

76413-04U36 - Sill outer LH $275

- Inner Panels behind headlights

64130-05U35 Hoodledge Lower RT

64131-05U35 Hoodledge Lower LT

inner front plastic guards

- both sides.

63842-05U80 - guard protector - RT $160 (GTR) (Note GTST is narrow on the top of the wheel arch these are not.)

63843-05U80 - guard protector - LT $160 (GTR)

I am using a mix of GTST and GTR to make the lower brake ducts work correctly.

75890-05U20 -under tray $170 (this is a 4wd undertray. 2wd is DIFFERENT!)

62022-05U27 Front Bumper Cover (GTR) $578

78120-04U00 - Base Filler lid $40

78134-04U00 - corner rear fender RH $45

78112-04U30 - fender rear RH $850

79400-04U30 - Rear parcel shelf - main steel panel $450

73112-04U35 - Roof Panel - Sunroof version $758

91210-04U11 - Sun Roof Glass (S2 - S1 out of production) $1300.

62550-01U30 - GTS4/GTST- Bonnet catch support

62550-08U31 - GTR ( I am using this one due to the front swap.)

[DR 32R]

A very thorough plan and build, I will be following the "red twin" of my differents themed GTS4 build.

[SABBAi]

Good stuff Chris.

[Chris Rogers]

ok this is how I bought the car:

looks ok side on

I'm not much on the wheels. (they are 17" and for sale with almost new rubber attached) to me they do not suit the car.

for those expecting a quick build - not quite. whilst I may own a business that works on cars, the business does not own the car - I do.

as such I'm saving up for bigger items and once the funds are available - buying them.

now for the fun stuff !!

the 'burn' markon the bonnet is from a battery fire. I have a harness to rebuild once the engine comes out. the car still powers up and everything runs so from the outside it can't be that bad. I'm going to tap a few other nissan vehicles for parts.

A D22 Navara will donate a fused battery terminal. that way I can do away with the fusible links that have decayed over the past 21 yrs.

(toyota alaso use them for reference.)

the engine is a mess from the outside. the cooler piping I think is way too long and I'm not a fan of BOVs that vent externally. the ones on my subaru (two as its twin turbo.) are quite loud inside the car and do not scream look at me when I back off. the cooler and piping are up for grabs. I'm putting stock 32 GTR items back in that spot with the piping going left to right. the intake plenum I will try for a foward facing item.

as I said the body has a few spots in it that need attention. I spent the last few days after hours tearing the car down and accessing/locating most of them. the inside sills seem to be a common place for rust on this chassis. I have noticed it on several 32 GTRs where they have crushed the sills by raising the car incorrectly. if you have crushed sills lean the carpet back forward of the boot release and look. there is a fair chance that its rusted. Why? The seam on the bottom is crushed and allows water to pool. that is what happened to this car. its $1k in panels to fix it and I have already ordered them.

the sunroof shot is surface rust. talking to the panel beater he's going to cut that bit out (its a 6-8" section.) , remake it and brass it back into place. I was prepared to buy a roof panel but was told not to.

I'm doing the paint stripping myself back to bare metal (cost saving as I can do that part of things ) then covering it in etch primer once its stripped off. any outside or visible panel gets this treatment. I expect to get my share of chemical burns

the seats in general (cloth/fabric based stuff) are not that bad. the only way these will get done is if I cannot find the same (or close) material to fix the doors/rear panels.

this area is pretty much a write off. it seems most of these I have seen over the years have been cracked at the top or base. I have parts prices for this and the only thing I'm uncertain on is the color of the panels. that radio panel as you can tell is black. most of the GTR ones I have found are grey. I would like a new black one IF I/nissan can find it. the dash vents on first view appear ok - they are not. new ones of these are going in. the lower drivers panel (one under the wheel) is getting the flick for a new (or near new) one.

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more to come.

Edited October 10, 2010 by Chris Rogers

[Chris Rogers]

A very thorough plan and build, I will be following the "red twin" of my differents themed GTS4 build.

yep its going to take a while. mate of mine wants it done yesterday so he can go for a run in it (waves- you know who you are.)

put some shots of yours up.

[OKBANANA]

Awesome Chris, I've always wanted to see a build such as this to a tired R32 that requires some love. I look forward to your build progressing.

[Chris Rogers]

I'll start by doing the interior panels as they are cheapish:

ordered the two rear window panels today $160 ea.

next to order( and once I save money to pay for them) - the dash/centre console panels.

piccies (with Part numbers) once they land.

[Chris Rogers]

ok just ordered NEW inner GTR guardliners for it. these may need a trim once I get them here.

reason for buying them: oil coolers.

I'm going to mount one in either side out of view but in the airstream and that is the only way I can see to do it neatly.

$130 each and available ex MLB.

[DR 32R]

Your thread is already quite an eye opener from just showing what's available new. You're showing big signs of love and committment to your build.

[Chris Rogers]

yep fuuny thing is I expected a hard time buying things for this car. 99% of it is local and the 1% thats not is still in production ex japan. to me thats not too shabby for a 16-21 yr old car.

[Chris Rogers]

other thing. I tend not to half build cars. revhead (SAU username) knows that from my subaru wagon. that I built a few years back.

[Chris Rogers]

couple of stripped shots :

rust is actually worse with the car assembled. most of the underside is fairly clean

front on:

a few rusted and snapped 10mm bolts. at least I can get at them from the back. wiper assy needs doing as well once I cut 6 bolts loose.

rear shots. you cannot really see the 2" push where it has hit something. rest is fine.

I'm still pulling it down and hopefully in the next week or two I'll have it back to a shell so I can start prep work.

[Chris Rogers]

spent today pulling out the ABS unit, brake booster,radiator and associated harnesses.

also put EVERYTHING I need to buy for it on a BIG list and made a book for it with images. this will make it easier for me to cross things off as I buy them.

engine and box come out next weekend. then the fun begins - CLEANING!

[Skylinestyle101]

looking good chris.

[Chris Rogers]

daniel,

ta!

ok this is a set of PDFs I knocked up. these are for the door seals and the rear side panels. when looking for part numbers I found these were a bit hard to find so for everyone elses sake they are posted here.

R32_doorseals_image.pdf

R32_doorseals_parts_list.pdf

that covers the entire side. so door rubber trims,body rubber trims, new 'skyline' sill panels,clips (which always seem to be MISSING!) side window trim, lower side trim. these are done fro trim code G in my case. the rubber items ARE NOT cheap. the window trim is ($160 a side.)

I'll add a few more PDFs later. I have a book (as mentioned earlier) now with every trim part I need to replace on this car so my life will be a bit easier when it comes to buying things.

I did a parts blowup of a R32 GTR N1 (yes I have done one - I just didnt realise it!) front end and thats where I'm starting with my body parts.

next photos will be of new parts. (and a empty wallet. )

[XRATED]

Who are you using for your 'nissan' parts?

[Chris Rogers]

oversea for big bits - local for smaller ones - local is metro nissan in windsor O/S - company I do a LOT fo business with in Nagoya.

FAST - older version floating around on the net. as for the shop current FAST version - I know someone.

[Chris Rogers]

this keeps getting better

the car has a FULL set of tein coilovers under it!!

unsure of condition but they are definitely TEIN!

I am crawling around under it again removing things.

[DR 32R]

this keeps getting better

the car has a FULL set of tein coilovers under it!!

unsure of condition but they are definitely TEIN!

I am crawling around under it again removing things.

That's a nice surprise. Good to see how "stuck into" this project you are.

[Skylinestyle101]

i knew that car had a few choice bits on it