Rips Built Rb26Dett Swapped Gts4 From The Land Down Under!

[Jazzadub]

Gidday again from New Zealand!

I thought I would start a build thread, since lets be honest, a gunmetal grey R32 sedan with an RB26DETT is pretty bad ass, and everybody will want to see some of that!

Lets start from the beginning shall we!

I was rolling around in a B18CR swap DC1 Integra.

That was a lot of fun, got me into a bit of trouble, and unfortunately one fateful night in July 2013 I managed to get sandwiched on the commute home

I started looking for another car on Trade Me (Ebay equivalent for NZ), and found a nice 1992 Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-4 sedan in gunmetal grey, with an RB26DETT swap. As soon as I saw it I wanted it!

Coincidentally It was actually owned by someone I knew, just 5 minutes drive away! Small world!

He originally had it for ~$20K+, but when I saw it, it was priced at $18K. Knowing what I know now, I shouldn't have paid that much, but at the time I just wanted it so badly I got a family loan and got it!

Notable mods:

· RB26DETT with GTR differentials front and rear

· Garrett GT2859R-9 turbos

· 740?cc injectors and Walboro 255lph intank pump

· Link G4 ECU

· Crank collar extension and N1 oil pump

· 18 psi on high boost was 330awkw

I drove it around for a couple of days and it was incredible! So much more power than I had ever experienced before, let alone driven! (330wkw vs 120wkw for an Integra?)

That said, I was taking it slow, and respecting the car, as the last thing I wanted was to get ticketed, or even worse crash it!

Unfortunately, little did I know that around the third or fourth time I had ever driven the car would be the last for a while!

The fateful night

It was about 7-8PM at night, and I was planning on going to the pub for a drink with a couple of mates.
I picked a few of them up and took a short detour to do a quick pull on the motorway.

I flicked the high boost switch, rolled slowly around the roundabout, and booted it once I was pointing straight.

Unfortunately when I changed from 2nd to 3rd I either missed the gate or lost traction and then hit the rev limiter (probably the former ).

Instantly the oil pressure gauge dropped to 0, and the idiot light lit up!

I noticed it pretty much immediately, pulled over straight away, turned off the car, and bypassed the turbo timer to kill it.

At the time, I had absolutely no idea what had happened, as my knowledge of Skylines and Nissans in generally was pretty limited!

I called up the seller and he came and towed me home.

I was understandably gutted, so I promptly went to the pub to drown my sorrows!

Research, lots of research

In the following days and weeks I did more research than I think I have ever done in my life!

I learnt a lot of things about the RB26DETT, and Skylines in general.

I came to the conclusion that I had destroyed the N1 oil pump gears, which in my mind is a weak piece of crap, even weaker than stock.

It may not have broken on everyone's cars, but there are a lot of failures for such a critical part, and in my mind it is a timebomb waiting to blow up!

I originally thought I would repair the car myself, perhaps hire some storage and do it there.

Eventually I came to my senses and decided to get it repaired by the best RB engine builder in the universe, RIPS.

I bought a Tomei Oil pump and saved up a down payment for RIPS.

On the road to rebuild

I contacted Rob and arranged to drop the car off to him on October 20-21 2013.

The car was in the back of a long garage and it was an absolute nightmare to get on to the trailer, because the garage is at an angle to the driveway! Eventually I managed to get in on, and drove the car up to Rotorua to meet Robbie Ward!

He had a mint R33 GTR in the garage that looked like it was nearly ready to start, and some kind of stripped out american car with a V8 block lying on the ground next to it.

I was in awe of how many parts he had lying around, and I knew I had bought my car to the right place!

Getting the car in the garage wasn't too bad, but lets just say Rob was less than impressed with my reversing skills when I went to leave

Rob had plans to go to America, so work wouldn't start for a while, but it was a huge relief that progress would soon be made!

The strip down

Rob and co got the motor out and started the strip down.

The N1 oil pump gear was definitely broken, but that was just the start of the problems

· Injector clips were missing

· Pitting in cylinder head

· Pitting in pistons

· Deep scores in most cylinders

· Bent valves

· Broken valve stem guides

· Crank pulley bolt loose (may have contributed to killing oil pump but I still don't trust the N1 oil pump)

· Woodruff key slots rounded off

Basically the shortblock was toast, the head needed a full overhaul, and the turbines might have been damaged by the broken valve stem guides.

Obviously all this other damage was not caused by the oil pump failing, and had been there for a while.

Being a private sale I didn't have a leg to stand on for any of this, but this was a second blow and I was very mad at the time!

You can see why it was worth nowhere near $18K. Maybe if the engine was in mint condition it might have been, but in this state no way!

Unfortunately I can't find any photos of the damage at the moment, but if I do I'll try and remember to post them up.

Picking up the pieces

So there was a lot of work to do to get this engine back in a state Rob and I would be happy with, and this was the tipping point that below the project out of scope! - That always happens right?

Anyway, I acquired a good condition second hand R33 shortblock for $1000 and Rob could bore out my block for another customer, so he took that for $500.

So in reality it wasn't really that much of a set back, and in fact it was probably a blessing in disguise, as now I had the opportunity from a ground up rebuild!

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so I'll let these speak for themselves!

The head was completely rebuilt with all new seals, good condition second hand valves, new valve guides (k-lined on the exhaust), and the pitting was welded up and cleaned up. The head was decked to ensure it's true.

The crank was checked and polished up, the standard R33 rods and pistons were balanced and installed with new piston rings, ACL bearings and ARP rod bolts. The main bolts were reused as is. The block was also decked.

I figured I'd gone this far, so why stop!

New Tomei adjustable cam gears, water pump and pulleys

New Tomei head gasket

RIPS enlarged capacity and baffled oil sump

That was all topped off with a Ross Metal Jacket Race damper, with underdriven P/S and no A/C, which I don't have a picture of.

The fuel system was also in need of a refresh, so I got Rob to put together something simple that would just do the job:

Surge tank

Not one, but two 700HP Bosch 044 fuel pumps

Standard fuel rail modified to be twin entry

Alcohol compatible return line

Ethanol sensor (this is why there are two 044s )

ID1000 injectors modified to fit in the standard fuel rail (10.5mm)

Ready to go back in

Just before the heart was ready to be reinserted, Rob fired through a few more pics

And the engine back in it's home:

I think this is a sweet looking picture. It shows the black power coated fuel rail and the cool blue injectors.

It also shows the FPR we decided to go with, a Turbosmart FPR1200

Needed to be huge to return the fuel from two 044s!

Rob also made up a nice catch tank for the setup.

I will need to paint that washer bottle some time when I get it back

He also had a crack at making a divided twin turbo pipe (his first time! )

And some nice AFM delete pipes, nom nom

It's nearly ready to be fired up, so I will hopefully be updating this thread soon!

There are also so many things I have planned to do in the future, so I will post that up shortly!

Thanks for stopping by

Contents

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Edited March 25, 2014 by Jazzadub

[Jazzadub]

Attaching some pics to fix the first post up!

[Jazzadub]

OK - first post should pretty much be all fixed up now!

Had a few dramas getting the thread approved but all sorted out by Duncan - cheers!

All comments greatly appreciated

[SiR_RB]

Excellent build up

Any reason why you chose to stick with the standard pistons?

[Jazzadub]

Good question!

It has crossed my mind a few times - why I have gone to all this trouble and kept the stock pistons!?

Basically Rob and Jason (tuner) have experience with standard bottom end RB26s and RB30s, and for this power level they don't think it is going to be an issue at all.

Jason told me he has tuned one which puts out 430wkw reliably for a 6 years, so I don't really have any concernts at my power level (330-380 on E85).

The rod bolts have been upgraded, and they are the weakest link.

I think the pistons would only become a weak point if there was a lot of detonation, and as the tune should be spot on, I don't think that will be an issue.

Also, I will try to use E85 as much as possible when at the track, so that should provide an additional safety margin when under full load!

I understand they will also tune the injector trim for the rear cylinders - but I will chase him up to confirm this.

I think 1%, 2%, 3% for 4, 5, 6 respectively is about right? Anyone know anything about that?

Thanks for the question!

Excellent build up
Any reason why you chose to stick with the standard pistons?

[Jazzadub]

It's breathing, sort of!

Just got an email from Infomotive.

Wiring has all been sorted, which is great - apparently it was pretty messy!

Car was started and oil pressure was good.

Unfortunately number 1 was not firing properly. Spark plug was changed but the issue was still there.

Leakdown test showed that inlet valves were not sealing

Valve clearance was fine and the bucket was turning fine so it looks like one or both intake valves in number 1 are not making contact correctly

So the head has to come off which is a bit of a bummer. I just hope that the head reconditioners can sort it out and pay for the extra labour this will cause

Anyway, apart from that setback it just needs laser cut plates for the gauges and battery, a tune, and it's all done!

Just got to keep positive!

[Mohsen]

f**k YES! Rise of the sedans!

[Jazzadub]

f**k YES! Rise of the sedans!

RB26 swap R32 Sedan > R32 GT-R > R32 Sedan > R32 Coupe > all other cars ever created

How do you think this will look, it is my new long term exterior plan.

Top pic is how I would like the rear fenders to look, but I would keep my GTR headlights and orange indicators and the open grill.

Second picture is the colour I would paint it.

Third is the wheel choice, in something like 18x9.5 ~ET15

Think that would look badass or what?

[Jazzadub]

Just put a down payment on this.

Should be nice finishing touch!

[turboedsloth]

Deeehhheeeecccceeennnttt. Love seeing another 4 door build.

[Mohsen]

the silver one, also has the fibreglass rear quarters and shit.
i have the same on mine but the glass turns to shit so up to you whether you want to risk it.. mines pretty average atm and only a few months old
heres a pic, fresh outa the oven
when it all looked immac

[Jazzadub]

the silver one, also has the fibreglass rear quarters and shit.

i have the same on mine but the glass turns to shit so up to you whether you want to risk it.. mines pretty average atm and only a few months old

heres a pic, fresh outa the oven

when it all looked immac

Yea you told me before! Hopefully I can find a panel beater that is capable of fabricating something up out of metal!

How bad does it turn to shit? Does it start cracking etc? Got a picture?

[turboedsloth]

if you're gona fab some up why not use GTR guards?

[Jazzadub]

if you're gona fab some up why not use GTR guards?

I suppose that's a good idea for a starting base.

Would just need to find an R32 GTR shell which might not be easy to come by!

[Mohsen]

im having metals ones made up soon.

passenger side rear quarter has a clean crack in the middle lol.
driver side rear door as well, youll get bubbles and cracks down the bodyline but thats expected.
just take your time with the metal, were tryin to use minimal filler this time, so alot of lead work.

[gtr jet]

I'm liking where this is heading.

[Jazzadub]

im having metals ones made up soon.

passenger side rear quarter has a clean crack in the middle lol.

driver side rear door as well, youll get bubbles and cracks down the bodyline but thats expected.

just take your time with the metal, were tryin to use minimal filler this time, so alot of lead work.

I will talk to a panel beater and see what he reckons. Hopefully he has some contacts and can find a GTR shell to steal the panels off?

I'm liking where this is heading.

Thanks mate, me too! I just wish the bloody intake valves worked first pop!

Gives me an excuse to get the valve covers painted candy red and get the last hard pipe installed.

Hopefully the fresh engine, divided turbo pipe and and adjustable cam gears will net some good gains over the already insane (for me) 330wkw it previously had!

And that's just on 98! I'll need to start saving for some new tyres with the 370wkw+ that E85 will bring

Edited March 28, 2014 by Jazzadub

[Jazzadub]

Bad luck in the intake tract

Heard back from Rob today -

The head came off, and it looks like there was foreign material stuck between an intake valve in #1 and the seat

Unfortunately that means it's unlikely to be the head reconditioners fault.

The intake valve guides were cracked before the head was repaired, so maybe a part of one of them, or something else was stuck in the intake tract.

It's a big bummer for all involved and nothing like this has happened at RIPS before, but that said the whole car has had a lot of problems, so I'm not too surprised that something else has happened!

Anyway, I'm trying to keep my spirits up, and hopefully it will be ready in the next couple of weeks! That's not the first time I've said that though!

Good things come to those who wait!

[gtr jet]

Good luck mate, looking forward to the results.

[Hanaldo]

the silver one, also has the fibreglass rear quarters and shit. i have the same on mine but the glass turns to shit so up to you whether you want to risk it..

All depends on the materials you use, if you use polyester or vinyl ester resin then they will shrink and cause problems. Epoxy resin with woven cloth, you won't have issues. Bog will give you problems as well, it all shrinks. Basically if you're using anything with styrene, expect problems. Better off making a filler using epoxy resin and some sort of additive: microballoons, calcium carbonate, chopped fibreglass or carbon fibre strands, etc.

OP, unlucky with the problems you've had. I know them feels all too well.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Hanaldo