Three Two Two Door

[Kisuu_Buta]

06TST build thread begins! I've owned my 32 now for a few years and decided it was time to document its next evolution...

It all started with mildly modified sub 100.000km car, I had never driven a skyline or turbo car before this and prob should have looked around but bought it anyway...

I started with a fairly basic car, it still had a double din with mini disc cd player! Anybody remember mini disc?

Unopened rb20

Basic boost T

hybrid fmic

3 inch mild steel and chrome cannon (angled to the side as was the fashion at the time)

Lowered springs on standard shocks (f*cking terrible)

18 inch Koya Inox > 16 giguiro design> polished R32 gtr wheels

Basic bodykit, gtr copy front bar, sideslirts and rear pods

I don't have many pics of it around this time (2010), the oirginal front bumper died when someone else hit a taxi in the rain... Due to my poor wages it looked pretty ugly!

Cleaned up the look of the engine bay somewhat

Got some polished 32 GTR wheels and rear camber arms fitted

Added a little HKS2530 turbo (strongly recommended this or the garrett equivalent for rb20 owners). And took it over to GT Auto garage and got new intercooler pipes done.

Tried my hand at Archerfield and sucked like most beginners..

The poor car stayed pretty basic for a while, I used it as a daily so I could never take it off the road for any major mods. But I slowly saved up and bought different bits and peices here and there.

I upgraded to some Tein superstreets and had a go at drifting on QR.

And that's about all for the first post, just a bit of history to begin with and I'll update and add in some more recent developments soon!

[Strick.]

Ah ha, now it makes sense you garage sale!!! haha. Great way to start the thread and looking forward to the read and story!

[Kisuu_Buta]

Part two of the build up of my 32 coupe!

I don't have a lot of pictures of its next transformation. I lost lots of pics when my computer hard drive died and I was too lazy to have anything backed up. But good news I'm now uploading via photobucket so the new pics will be bigger and better!!

I made a lot of changes over a 12-24 month period to the suspension and bodywork of the car. I fitted whiteline swaybars, offset steering rack spacers and together with some r33 gtr wheels, the car felt much stronger overall and it gave me alot of confidence when compared with the (lowered springs) early days...

I decided to fit some bigger/wider wheels. I looked around at the many different options and eventually chose some Rota P45R2 18x9.5 +12 front and 18x10 +12 rear. I had them powder coated purple to make them more individual. At the same time I bought some BC coilovers with base height adjustment and higher spring rate's.

To fit these new wheels I was going to need some guard work to be done, Gtst's really don’t have a lot of space with standard bodywork. I had wanted to change the front end to replicate the Gtr nose (I've always thought the Gtst front end was boring in comparison), I found the necessary parts; front guards, bonnet, grill and radiator support bracket etc

Before (with Tein superstreet);

And after (BC Coilovers)...

I was very happy with the way it looked and started to upgrade the suspension and cooling further as the drifting had started to really interest me. I'm pretty bad for modifying my car when mates tell me I should just bloody drive the thing...

Out came the A/C system and the Hicas aswell. I decided to do everything together whilst the front end was apart save changing things later!

For the power steering I reconditioned an 25 pwr steering pump (for a future 25 conversion), removed all of the old hicas lines, fitted a rear hicas canceller, a 25 harmonic balancer (to suit the 3 ply drive belt) and finally a pwr power steering cooler!

I also fitted a larger alloy radiator, rb26 water pump pulley and Trust/GReddy oil cooler/relocator and Setrab core.

More learning drifting and naturally leaving the track a lot....

Slowly getting better!

I'll leave these hardparking pics up, it was really nice to see some clean pics before I ruin it with drifting!

[colourclassic]

How do the BC's compare to the Tein's? Obviously a higher rate, but are they still decent for street?

The car looks amazing on those Rota's with the R front end.

[Kisuu_Buta]

How do the BC's compare to the Tein's? Obviously a higher rate, but are they still decent for street?

The car looks amazing on those Rota's with the R front end.

The BC's are definitely better suited to what I have intended for the car ie drifting/track work. The BC's are a budget option and gave me base height adjustment and higher spring rates.

Tein are a very good coilover, but their Superstreet's are quite soft and upgrading to better Tein's wasn't in my budget at the time.

[Kisuu_Buta]

Part three of the build thread 25 gearbox more suspension and the start of the rb25 conversion.

The poor old rb20 gearbox had definitely seen better days so when looking to do a 25 engine conversion I was lucky enough to also get all the extra parts required from a fellow SAU member to fit the 25 gearbox! Thanks Miso!!

Armed with a modified crossmember and tailshaft a new r33 clutch master, slave and braided clutch line. I sent the speedo drive over to Dodson's in NZ to modify for me. All of this worked with the trusty old 20 still going strong! This really shows the big difference between the two boxes (stole the pic from google)

I focused on the suspension and did a little more drifting. This allowed me to slowly rebuild the 25 and collect all the parts I needed for the new engine. I bought a gktech rear subframe reinforcement kit, solid cradle bushes and had the lower control arms boxed for strength. Overkill definitely but a solid platform to continue drifting/driving on. The rear cradle coming out and being welded before powder coating.

After powder coating, looking very flash

Refitting with the new arms and rear hicas lock kit. I also replaced the ball joints and all of the bushes including the knuckle with hardrace bushes.

The front end got the front subframe modified with the rack moved forward 20-25mm,

Modified steering knuckles, extended r33 lower control arms also with new hardrace bushes and new ball joints. Hardrace swaybar links and some UAS adjustable camber arms. The car was feeling really solid and was such a blast to drive.I also bought myself a new fixed back Bride seat.

Here is the new motor, it came with a Trust manifold, Turbosmart external wastegate, Dump pipe, 550cc injectors, Power FC, GReddy plenum, Garrett 35/82 with a 0.82 rear housing.

I decided that I would be rebuilding it for peace of mind. And so the tear down begins!

The next post will be for the build up of the new engine.

[Kisuu_Buta]

Part four the RB25 build and RB20 out!

After stripping down the new motor to a bare block, I decided that I would be forging the bottom end for strength. I decided do it once, do it properly... whilst trying to give myself a sensible budget. A good mate told me 'Whatever cost you have worked out, double it!' And he hasn't been wrong so far : (

I had a good look at the condition of the motor. The old bearing's were actually in really good health and if I was only doing a freshen up, it wouldn't have needed much more than new rings/ bearings a good hone and clean. But I wanted to be able to use the turbo to its potential, so built motor here I come!

The first thing that I bought was a 32GTR crank which had been balanced, linished and had a collar fitted to it, the new motor was now officially a 2.6lt RB25.

After doing some research I decided to buy the parts for the bottom end from the good old US of A, as the exchange rate was favourable and the cost undercut Aussie options by $200 to $300 even with postage. The danger in all of this was that customs would find and fine me for buying over the allowed $1000. It all worked out without any problems, I did feel some guilt for not buying in Aus. But I have bought a lot of parts since to make up for that! The new parts were CP 86.5mm pistons, Eagle H beam rods, ARP headstuds, Cometic 1.3mm Metal Headgasket, ACL race series main and big end bearings.

I also started to buy the other supporting parts for the build, new genuine VRS kit, N1 water and Oil pumps, A billet gear for the oil pump, Nismo thermostat, Gates timing belt kit with new tensioners, Nismo engine mounts, a Ross tuffbond harmonic balancer, extended and baffled sump.

The Block was sent to Chiton's Engineering here in Brisbane where it was; Acid bathed, Decked, Rebored to 86.5mm, plus some other details which I’m probably forgetting! The first thing I did was give the block a good clean with brake cleaner and paint it black using some VHT engine enamel.

The bottom end was put together I have to say a huge thank you to Daniel and Jason for their help with this! I wasn't really very confident with ring gaps and bearing clearances so having someone with more knowledge and experience really helped! All of the machining work was absolutely spot on. I recommend Chilton's Engineering very highly for anyone in Brisbane needing engine machining work done.

Finally the head was given a freshen up before being bolted onto the bottom end. It was stripped down hand ported, smoothing and enlarging the inlet ports and removing the factory exhaust port bumps/humps. It was was then sent away to be pressure tested, refaced, the oil galleries were cleaned, the valves relapped and finally new oem valve stem seals fitted. I decided to keep the factory hydraulic lifters in place as a solid lifter conversion wasn't in my budget.

I fitted my ARP head studs and Cometic metal headgasket, torqued the head down.

I had recently bought some HKS 256, 8.8mm inlet and 264deg, 9.0mm exhaust drop in cams as the final part of the bottom end.

And here is the finished bottom end with the GReddy inlet, 6boost and turbo fitted!

[Kisuu_Buta]

Forgot about the rb20 coming out pictures bugger! Decided to sell the motor with turbo/loom etc, old gearbox and tailshaft together to motivate me to get the new engine in, and give me some extra dollars to spend.

This is how the old motor looked before it came out. If I kept it I would have liked to make a shield for the pod. But that's something the new owner can worry about!

It was actually much easier than I thought to get the old motor out, fluids, wiring loom, intake, exhaust, radiator

The poor engine bay was pretty filthy, but nothing I couldn't attack with a gurney and elbow grease

After a good clean, its no respray but it definitely an improvement.

The next post should have some pics with the new motor in. Thanks for reading!

[MathewZ]

awesome build mate keep it up

[Kisuu_Buta]

awesome build mate keep it up

Cheers man, It's coming along nicely. I'm getting pretty pumped to drive the bloody thing, it feel like years when in reality its only been months...

[Kisuu_Buta]

Part five RB25 and new Clutch in, New fuel system, Oil and Water lines

After finishing the long motor I was pretty excited to get the new engine into the car.

I had the starter and alternator reconditioned. They weren't looking too bad but I'm trying to make sure everything has a higher standard for the new motor.

I have been really happy with my Jim Berry Full Monty, so I decided to upgrade to the Super Monty as I will be putting down a lot more power and torque with the new motor!! Jim put together a new clutch plate and swapped me over to a 4400lbs diaphragm. Absolute legend and I recommend Race Clutch to anyone in need of a good clutch setup!

After a bit of swearing and fretting it all fits nice and snug!

I can't even tell you how happy I was that it was finally fitted into the engine bay! F@#k YEAH!

The next step was to upgrade the fuel system and make up some new Oil and Water lines for the turbo. Somewhere in all of this I have changed my wheels. I'm now running SSR professor SP1 17x9.5 +12 all round.

The fuel system now consists of a Walboro in tank lift pump, a single Bosch 044, Surge tank, twin feed and single return dash 6 speedflow 200 series lines.

At the front of the car i'm using Id 725cc injectors and a turbosmart 1200 fuel pressure reg.

The new oil and water for the turbo are Speedflow 200 series and all have heat insulation to protect them. I think the power steering set-up and coolant hoses will need to be improved and or protected as they sits close to the new manifold/dump pipe and use rubber and silicone.

That's about all for the latest update. Can anyone help to recommend a new throttle cable?? I have been advised that s13/14/15 are longer than r32, can anyone confirm this?

[Strick.]

This is a great example of doing things right mate well done.

Are you putting on a front facing plenum? If you are S14 throttle cable is the go. Have just bought on from my car (same as yours R32 RB25 with front facing plenum). Only need to modify the cable bracket a bit to make it fit which im yet to do but wont be a hard job.

[timmy_89]

Awesome thread, can't wait to read more!

[White GTS-T]

This just keeps getting better with every update.

[Kisuu_Buta]

This is a great example of doing things right mate well done.

Are you putting on a front facing plenum? If you are S14 throttle cable is the go. Have just bought on from my car (same as yours R32 RB25 with front facing plenum). Only need to modify the cable bracket a bit to make it fit which im yet to do but wont be a hard job.

Thanks mate, yes I have a GReddy plenum for it. And thank you for the S14 throttle cable advice.

Awesome thread, can't wait to read more!

Thanks for the kind words, hoping to keep the updates flowing.

This just keeps getting better with every update.

Thanks man! It's been getting better as I have been modifying each area of the car. The idea was to make sure the rest of the car was capable of handling a power increase. The basically standard braking setup will get some changes soon also.

Bought myself some new parts for the build; Gktech fan and adapter, radiator cap, clutch fork pivot, new 02 sensor and some sweat bands for the reservoirs.

4 inch wide flange and 7 inch long filter to match the intake pipe, part number is RF1015 for anyone interested.

[Kisuu_Buta]

Part Six Fabrication, Heat coating and heat insulation mods

The car is having new intercooler and intake pipe work made and a new dump/wastegate by Nathan @Fabulous Fabrications. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fabulous-Fabrications/172142296162949

The compressor cover also got a 90deg elbow welded on to move the silicone further away from the radiant heat of the manifold.

During the fabrication of the dump pipe, it was found that the old wastegate (turbosmart Progate 48) was going to be too big to fit in the space available. It's very important to have the gate sitting as close as possible to the merge collector. This picture show the old wastegate position on the side of the collector. It is harder to control the gas from this position as you are basically 90 deg to the flow so you can use a couple of different options twin gates, a big 50/60mm gate or..

Run the wastegate from the exhaust housing, which will look like this! The wastegate pipe will run parallel to the dump pipe and join lower down.

To control the radiant heat coming from the manifold/exhaust housing/wastegate I decided to have them heat coated black (I'll also be wrapping the dump pipe).

I bought some heat reflective adhesive covering which I have applied to the strut tower. Later I'll add it to the cam cover under the wastegate and the bonnet above the exhaust housing. Wether this will actually do anything at all is hard to judge until its running, but still I'm learning and might change things if I find they're not effective!

The finished manifold!

Lastly this is the new gktech fan which I'll be running (fitted backwards derp!)

The cooling system will be a 40mm Alloy radiator, N1 water pump and rb26 water pump pulley (bigger than rb25), Nismo thermostat, black silicone radiator hoses and also underneath the inlet manifold the r33 heat exchanger has been removed in favour of an rb20 filter housing and rb25de hoses.

Pretty basic setup, but hopefully effective enough to deal with qld summer driving. The bonnet vent will also now actually vent hot air from behind the fan as before it was effectively blocked by the intercooler pipe. Next post will update the changes I'm making to the fuel system and oil cooler! Thanks again for reading!

[Kisuu_Buta]

I've had a bit of a minor set back, I bought a second Bosch 044. It turned out to be a f@#@King fake! I should have known it was too good to be true... I'm getting my money back from the gutless dog c*nt. He wont admit that he sells fakes! Arseholes like that shit me to tears. Anyway on to better news!

I bought some new oil for the gearbox (yes its cheaper to buy one large bottle, I already had 1 small leftover)l, dash 10 braided hose for the oil cooler and the fittings I need for the fuel system, more heat reflective covering for the tappet cover and the bonnet and a new coil pack harness.

This is the finished turbo back together, the front cover has had a 90 deg elbow added to move the silicone away from the manifold and it was also bead blasted for a uniform finish.

The manifold has been wrapped to futher control the radiant heat.

The front castor arm brackets have been boxed and joined, basically copying a Nismo power brace design. Please excuse the terrible glare in the second picture!

Tomorrow I will be fitting up some new tyres. I'm interested to see how the car behaves with these. I've heard good things about them!

It's all coming together now. I'm hoping to gets some good pics of the finished engine bay up for you in the next week or two. Thanks again for reading!

[Kisuu_Buta]

Here are some shots of the new dump pipe. Nathan@Fabulous Fabrications has been doing amazing work. I couldn't be happier with everything so far! This will end up being heat wrapped so its nice to see the craftsmanship before it's hidden!

A quick shot of the new tyres which I fitted this morning. Hoping these will be giving me lot's of Grip!

[White GTS-T]

Mmm, new wheels are baws. What side skirts are those?

[White GTS-T]

Also, dat wastegate merge.