Project Gr33Dd

[DaveO74]

Time for a long overdue update

Its taken me a long time to get things happening as work has been taking up most of my time so Ive only really been working on the car late at night if Im in town or on weekends.

While I have been waiting for all of the engine parts to turn up I thought I would start on the interior. In the first post I added some pics of my new Series 3 R33 GTR interior so I thought Ill get in it the car and then I wont have to worry about it later.

The first step was of course stripping everything out and adding the sound proofing materials, this was a much bigger job than I anticipated as there are a LOT of little nooks and crannys in a skyline where noise can come through into the cabin and I wanted to do it right.

Out came the stereo system as it was always whining and buzzing and I was over it, you can see from the pic below the wiring was just plain dodgy joining 12 guage wires into the factory speaker wiring and earthing to a bolt on the centre console……..made me laugh when I saw it.

Then it was time to rip up the carpet und add the foam sound deadening, I used the 5mm thick stuff under the floor carpet as the 10mm stuff was a bit too thick and nothing would have went back into place properly.

Then to the rear quarters and back seat area, the rear quarters were a pain in the....well......rear and are VERY sharp in spots. I managed to get a bunch of stitches in my middle finger for my trouble. Luckily the car is red so the blood stains wont show up as much…hehehehe We all know what stitches look like so I wont post a photo

Then came the front doors, these were very fiddley to get right. I decided to use the proper sound deadening as well as the foam here after talking with a couple of the guys in the car sound section. Dynamat IMO is way too expensive so I went with the 3mm thick DNA audio stuff and it has worked a treat. To stop it falling off over time a lined the whole door with bonding gel and then stuck it to that (Hope I never have to take it off!!!)

So once that was done I also added the 10mm thick foam as well, nothing will get through this door! Sounds like a BMW door now when you close it.

I had a few pieces of the DNA stuff left over so I added it the inside part of the rear quarters and two pieces under the back seat (the bit under your bum)

Then I did the rear parcel tray in the foam and the roof lining, the roof lining part surprised me on how easy it was and took me about half an hour all up. I didn’t manage to get any pics of the roof though I forgot and wasn’t going to take it off again.

Next was the blue dash LED’s These things look awesome when done and the photo does not do them justice. 666DAN is a legend and I recommend his kit to anyone who is thinking about it.

Now all the lights, clock, A/C etc etc are the some colour blue to match the Profec display and the Alpine headunit……….Yes I am that anal.

Once all that was done I rewired the sound system and deleted the factory wiring altogether, cut out some speaker mounts and put it all back together.

The new interior looks fantastic I reckon and the seats are sooooooo comfy compared to the GTST seats. The red stitching and little dots in the door cards compliment the outside colour really well and looks like it was made for my car.

And of course I needed the approval of Daddys little helper

She loves anything to do with cars (much to the wifes disgust) So I am hoping she may be the worlds first F1 driver

Its a shame you will never see everything underneath all the panels and carpet because it really is a lot of work to fill in all the holes and block out the sound, Im sure those of you that have done it know what I mean.

I took the car for a slow drive around the block today, more so just to run it cause it has not been started in months. There is definately an audible difference in cabin noise and the stereo sounds "deeper" if that makes sense so the work has paid off so far. Ran into a little problem though, becuase the car has been sitting around for so long i think the fuel has either gone stale or is contaminated in some way. After 5 mins of driving I developed a miss. Now this was really easy driving too did not even hit boost once just putted around for 5-10mins and then back home.

Looks like a tank drain and clean out is on the cards now as well

So there you have it, Stage 1 complete onto Stage 2

Next up is to redo the boot and to add the rest of the sound deadening foam in here, I am going to replace the carpet with 8mm MDF and marine carpet as the original stuff it worn and crappy so I will get that done this weekend and post more pics.

More to come guys so keep watching ok, sorry its taken so long to update the thread

The good bits on the engine are going on very soon after they get powder coated. Ill post up some pics of the parts over the next few days.

D

[BOZ22N]

Looks great.

[PM-R33]

Wow excellent work man!

[SLDN-31]

Looks real good mate! I also need to re-do all of my boot carpet as mine is all stuffed and the plastic backing is cracked!

[UNR33L]

looking good! you're right about the GTR seats being way better than the GTST ones I use to drive a GTS on my Ps the R seats keep you warm going to work

[DaveO74]

Thanks for the words of support guys, im not getting to spend as much time on it as I would like but it's slowly getting there.

I found a little bit of rust in the boot tonight which I'm not to happy about. It's in the common spot where the spare sits and is about the size of a 50 cent coin. I'll drop down to the local panel beaters next week and get it cut out.

No biggy just an annoying.

The engine parts are booked in with craved next week to get the coatings done so I'll be starting on the engine bay pretty soon.

[DaveO74]

Thought I'd add a couple of pics of some random parts while I have a spare 5 minutes

42mm Alloy Radiator, Big thanks to Duncan

HKS 2835 Pro S I took the rear housing off of it tonight and it and the dump is getting coated in black ceramicoat tomorrow by Craved

PSI Parts R33 GTST Carbon Fibre Air Guide

Ill ad some pics of the Plazmaman Plenum and all the pipe work when I get it back from Chris with the turbo parts, its getting coated in the same silver/chrome type colour as the standard plenum in my first post.

And some rust I found in the boot when I took out my spare, lucky I decided to sound proof the boot or I would never have found it. Im off to the local panel beaters tomorrow to get a qoute. I think its just a matter of cutting it out and welding in a plate, wish I knew how to weld

Just a little update, more to come shortly

[Pezhead]

Dave, the interior looks absolutely fantastic! Good job on the sound proofing too. Don't let the young bucks get to you, enjoy your car the way you want it.

It is a good thing you found that spot but trust me, take it to a pro. I can do a little welding but it is so easy for stuff to catch on fire when welding car panels. And, better to just have it done right so it doesn't come back. Be sure they coat top and bottom with etching primer and sealer.

Good luck with the build. I'll be watching this space.

[DaveO74]

Thanks Eric,

Got a quote yesterday from a reputable panel beater out here in the hills district, more than I would of liked but it's a bit worse than it looks. The rust is also into the rear panel a bit so not just a plate job.

Better to fix it properly now than pay for it later on. So it's booked in Monday week to get fixed. Wouldve liked it done sooner but I need to go away for work again so thems the brakes.

Im trying to make a deadline of the next wakie day for every thing to be finished bur I dunno wether I'll make it yet, you gonna make it Eric or have other........cough...........priorities gotten in the way?

[MBS206]

Dave, I'd avoid setting a dead line.

You'll only rush something and not be happy with it.

As to the rust, that reminds me I have some surface rust in that area I need to deal with in mine too.

[SABBAi]

Dave, it's looking great! Interior is spot on! That dump pipe is a nice peice of gear.

[DaveO74]

Get it fixed Matty, another six months and I would have been in big trouble apparently.

And yeah I know a deadline is bad, just wanna get back on a track!!!!!!

Yep Scotty it is a nice dump pipe, inside is a bit rough though so Craved is gonna clean it ip for me before he coats it as my die grinder is too big. That guy is a legend.

[ARTZ]

<<< goes to check for rust

while i am here i would just like to say screw you Dave and screw your sexy engine bay..I read this thread last week and felt inspired, so much so I starting pulling a few things apart for a freshen up, As it was a long weekend i pulled everything apart and proceeded to start sanding and cleaning parts..

i was at this point that i realized I really cbf with all this hard work , it is gunna cost more than a few tins of paint and at the very least i would need to install a greddy plenum (now purchased) for my bay to look even half as decent as yours..

So because of you I have no money , I cant drive my car for at least a couple more weeks (more likely months) and my wife is shitty at me for spending all my time and money on the car again. You basterd

[Craved]

would a replacement panel speed up the process dave? and get the cost down?

got the wreck here if it would help to have that boot area as a patch panel

[DaveO74]

I'll give him a buzz tonight Chris and I'll ask him and let you know. I'm back tomorrow so I hope he will let me drop it down. He reckons it should be an easy fix as such just not a easy as I thought cause of the spread if that makes sense.

Ive got to give you a call too about that heat dissipating stuff, Ive been thinking about things you could coat with it. Rotors and radiator are a given, oil cooler rad? Can we do the exhaust mani heatshield and the hks heat shield in it as well or will it not stay on?

Arthur, hahahahahaaaaaaa

Sorry mate I couldn't resist. I started mine off the same way with "just a tidy up". Forget the polishing though mate that's a mugs game, everything in my bay that is not red was done by Craved if you don't mind me suggesting just take of the cast marks and get him to powdercoat it. Looks awesome and is soooooo easy to keep clean.

Pm me if you want extra details and info on how to prep stuff for him of you like.

[Pezhead]

Hope to see ya at the texi but Gd2ila's sidelined until we get finances in order. Just as well I'll focus on helping out and filming.

Keep up the good work and glad you're fixing that rust spot. You'll be so glad in the long run even though is costing a bit of time and money now.

[Ten Four]

Awesome mate, especially love the doors and the BMW reference

[Tony de Wonderful]

Like this thread - good inspiration!

[MBS206]

Get it fixed Matty, another six months and I would have been in big trouble apparently.

And yeah I know a deadline is bad, just wanna get back on a track!!!!!!

Yep Scotty it is a nice dump pipe, inside is a bit rough though so Craved is gonna clean it ip for me before he coats it as my die grinder is too big. That guy is a legend.

Mine was only ever surface rust... And there's that much oil been soaked through the boot, I doubt it could rust any further...

Although after the huge downpours we copped earlier this week I did do a check on the car, and the boot had a "touch" of water in it... Cleaned all that out and the "rust" I mentioned is nothing, but will be buffed out when I clean the car up in the next few months.

[DaveO74]

Well its been a long time but Im glad to say I can post an update albeit a small one. Ive managed to be able to stay home for a few weeks so i've been getting into it as much as is possible with a young family and a small farm to look after.

I got the rust cut out of the boot and they did a very good job of it, even sprayed it red inside for me which is a bonus and added a new layer of the sound deadening tar on the underside of the boot.

The boss (Read:wife) had a list of things for me to do around the house over Easter but she gave my a couple of days off so I finished up the boot soundproofing and moved the amp to the area on top of the fuel cell access point, Im going to see if I can source GTR rear boot panel as they look better than the GTST ones and Ill retro fit it. Ill add some pics of the boot later as its nothing too special.

I got all of my parts back from Craved and the pics below do not show how good his work really is

Plazmaman Plenum, and Associated Pipework

Im trying to make up my mind on wether to run 3" piping on the entire cold side and drop a 3" - 2.5" reducer in somewhere (probably after the BOV pipe)and use 2.5" piping like before, Im a bit worried about losing throttle response and gaining lag

Any Opinions???????????

Black Ceramic Coated Dump Pipe and Rear Turbo Housing

Plazmaman P1 Plumb Back BOV

I was intending on keeping the standard BOV but it would have cost me more to get the flange welded onto the supplied pipe and they gave me an excellent deal so I took it.

New Carbon Fibre Bonnett

This is the picture from the Just Jap Website as I have not unwrapped it yet but you get the idea

Ive decided to get the Intake manifold runners powdercoated as well so it has come off and will be over with Chris very soon. The cam covers willhave to be repainted as I slipped with my spanner and put a nice big scratch along one so I'm going to have a chat with Chris and see if we can come up with something that will still look like a metalic/candy red and I may get him to coat them as well as its so much more hardy. (Are your ears burning Chris??????)

This is how the car stands at the moment, Front bar and intercooler has been removed and the engine bay is mostly stripped of any bolt-on parts so I can now clean it up, buy some new hoses and hopefully shorten and neaten up the mess of factory crap that hides under the mani.

Ive decided to also remove the alternator and power steering pump thingy and paint them up whilst I can access it easy enough and Ill install the Oil cooler and relocation kit now as well as its easy to get to things as it sits now.

I am after a stock Series 2 Front Bumper if anybody has one for sale as mine has been cut back too much and is too flimsy so let know if one comes up anywhere, and the old plenum, crossover pipe, dump pipe, highflow turbo and Apexi Super Suction intake kit will be sold on to its next owner. Im thinking of getting rid of my airbox as well and replacing it with a carbon one but I will see how fitment goes with the 2835 kit first

So not much of an update but things are starting to happen. I will update again shortly