Cmoney's R32 Gts-T

[cmoney]

Ok, I've been on here long enough & gotten into enough trouble in my R32 GTS-T over a number of years that I think it's time i did a thread on it.

I'm doing my best to go back over all the pics I've saved since December 2007 when I bought it.

It came into my ownership as a clean & tidy 1992 model, paint code AH3 (wine red). A lot of people don't like the colour, but it definitely grows on you over time. I've loved it since day 1.

Specs when I picked it up:

* RB20 DET (130,000kms on dash) - original dash & mileage as far as I could tell, overall interior & exterior condition seemed to match the odo reading, so I purchased it in preference to some other 50K & 60K cars which looked like rat sh*#.

* 5 speed manual

* 17" lenzo wheels

* Microtech LT8 ECU

* Turbosmart dual stage boost controller

* 3" exhaust

* slotted front rotors

* HKS turbo timer

* Blitz BOV (stupid loud)

* Blitz FMIC

* front strut brace

* clear side indicators (VT commodore items)

* "high speed" NISMO badge on the boot

It looked very clean & tidy, had plenty of power for an RB20 & was a nice daily driver. Although initially with the Microtech the fuel economy was sh*# & high boost had been set WAY too high for a stock turbo with no supporting mods.

Early changes & modifications consisted of:
* HICAS lock bar

* removed Microtech piggyback ECU (then discovered it had been masking a faulty AFM, so back to the shop to be fixed & checked over)

* reset boost to 11psi low & 13psi high

* Walbro 255lph fuel pump added when stock pump was tired

* the obligatory pod filter & turbosmart BOV (later got me defected lol)

* several different sets of wheels, 17" & 18" as I found different models I liked & could fit

Removing the piggyback ECU & getting things set properly dropped my weekly fuel bill from $120+ to less than $70 for the same trip, & gained roughly 20kw at the wheels in the process. I can't remember the power figures at the time, but mostly stock with slight boost increase, so not earth shattering figures but good economy & reliability for daily use.

Following this there was mainly wear & tear items which needed attention:

* AFM as mentioned above (a pink label RB25 unit was retrofitted by Unique Auto Sports in 7 hills)

* diff rebuilt after it got real clunky

* new sports clutch when the stock unit was rather worn

* misc coolant & power steering hoses due to age

* coil packs upgraded to splitfire units when the stockers began to give me issues

* fitted GTR front seats

I went through phases of fitting gauges everywhere I could find room, but ultimately the running gear remained the same.

Then 1 day the boys in blue caught up to me while out cruising on a Thursday night. They didn't like the big white wheels (among other things), & at the peak of the strike force taipan era in NSW, an undercover unit defected me. I saw him coming but couldn't even make it to a mates place nearby to escape....you live & learn. Got done for the following:

* camber wear on tyres

* BOV not fully plumbed back

* boost controller

* exhaust too loud

* 1 more thing I can't even remember

Cleaned everything up & got all that sorted & cleared within a week or 2. They didn't even worry about the catch can or anything.

Along with the defect was a summons for EPA testing, so the car went in to be tuned on E85 to clear emissions. As the fuel system was stock, the turbo was disconnected & an adjustable fuel pressure regulator fitted to allow it to (sort of) run long enough to clear the test. Defects were cleared so I called to make an appointment to get the car checked....

There was no record on the system, so after all that I'd wasted money preparing for nothing....not happy, but at least it was all sorted & roadworthy again. Back to the tuning shop to get converted back to 98 & have the hairdryer reconnected.

The next several years up until December 2013 saw many kms with minimal issue. 1 more (heavy duty) clutch has been installed anticipating an engine upgrade, but otherwise mostly cosmetic mods were added & that's about it:

* 17" R34 GTT wheels

* GTR bonnet & grille (grille yet to be painted because I've been lazy)

* R33 GTS-T front brake upgrade

* later reupgraded to R32 GTR front brakes with slotted rotors

* Adjustable coil overs fitted

* DVD player & 7" screen

* GTR dials & display adapted to original GTS-T dash

* A larger UAS alloy radiator was added somewhere during this time period also.

December 2013:

The car now shows roughly 220,000 kms still on the same odometer it had when I bought it. The stock RB20 has survived 90,000kms of my driving, plenty of daily use, long distance trips, a bit of spirited mountain driving, the R34 GTR 10th anniversary cruise to Mt Wilson with the SAU club, etc. Only minor issues throughout this entire time.

New years eve 2013 the car came off the road to receive a new motor & gearbox combo. (RB20 is still running, may have dropped compression a bit due to age but haven't checked. The stock turbo is still in place with minimal shaft play also).

The new combo consists of an RB26 (N1 turbos) from an R32, an RB25 gearbox from an R33, & a single piece driveshaft made up to suit the combo. Engine (& many other parts including coil overs) generously supplied by our very own SAU member & wrecker, FATZ.

The conversion commences:

After 6 months of weekend work, the swap out is more or less complete & the car is now running:

Then the day it roared to life for the very 1st time:

Funny enough no major issues. 1 shot shows where I missed an oil block off & dropped engine oil everywhere, otherwise it fired up nicely on stock ECU with the N1 turbos & RB25 gearbox & everything else in place.

Now I'm in the process of reassembling the front end, finishing off things like bleeding the clutch, changing the throttle cable, etc to get it mobile once more. The car still has rego, & once I've had it running for a while with some future upgrades added, it will be getting engineered to remain registered without defects.

Future upgrade plans are a Haltech ECU with flex tune, bigger injectors to suit & some semi slicks for the track.

There's probably several things I've forgotten about over the years, but I will add anything else I recall as they pop into my head.

The plan was always to have a quick street car that can cope with weekend track use, & even be a daily if I need it to on occasion. I prefer something a little underrated that doesn't look seriously quick like a GTR. That's why I've kept the stock GTS-T wing & front bar, but added the GTR bonnet for a slightly different look. It will be staying as a RWD also. Once the car is running, there is a set of 18" rims with wider rears to aim for more traction. The 17"s pictured will likely be getting semi slicks for track use, then I will alternate between the 2 sets as required.

Very soon I'll be able to see if I've achieved what I set out to do when I bought the car.

If anyone has any questions about the ins & outs of this conversion, definitely send them across & I'll answer as best as I can.

Cheers for reading.

[gtr0321994]

Nice read and nice build

Sent from my iPhone using SAU Community

[Strick.]

Very nice mate, your car has had a good development. Plus good to see another 32 GTS-T on here, theres a few nice ones getting built up

[cmoney]

cheers guys, there has been much research done before attempting this swap & it looks like it's paid off.

I was waiting for some nasty electrical gremlin or something, but even wiring in the resistor pack & changing ecu wasn't stupidly hard.

now once it's mobile I will compression test it & make sure all is well before going to get some base power figures before mods commence....

Edited July 31, 2014 by cmoney

[fatz]

nice

track day?

[cmoney]

will be at some point, bit more stuff to get checked & sorted 1st, but soon enough il be keeping your gtr honest

[cmoney]

ok bit more progress today, gearbox now has oil & the wheels turn lol.

i main issue ive discovered though, i have no boost....nothing what so ever.

so whilst fixing some stuff underneath, i removed the y-pipe & ran it for a minute. gave the motor a couple of revs & i can hear the turbos spinning & sounding relatively normal. but theres no boost at all on the gauge. when you rev it, the vacuum disappears & i get up to 0 psi, but it wont build any higher.

as the car is up in the air, i tried it in all gears with the wheels spinning to replicate driving on the road (with exhaust back together), still nothing. switched the boost controller vacuum hoses in case i got it backwards, still the same. engine starts, idles & revs without issue, hot or cold start no problem, just no boost at all. well engine sounds like it has a bit of a miss or just isnt running clean once you start to rev it, but im guessing thats because its waiting for some sort of boosted air.

anyone else had a similar issue?? im hoping ive just got some 1 way vacuum hoses around the wrong way or something stupid....

cheers

[iruvyouskyrine]

If the wheels are not on the ground then the car will not make boost. It needs load (the action of trying to move 1500kg of metal) to make boost. That's why it's hard to make full boost before redline in first and boost builds quickly in third/fourth.

Drop it off jacks and as soon as you drive it around, your boost will magically reappear!

[cmoney]

really that simple?? il give that a go once I finish everything else, just wanted to see if there's anything else I should check while it's still jacked up & accessible.

cheers

[iruvyouskyrine]

Yeah mate, I can understand being confused about it if you didn't know that little bit of info

When you have the car back on the ground and ebbing, stick it in neutral and rev it, will hardly build any boost same as on the jackstands.

[cmoney]

yeah I know about the safety in the factory ecu so it doesn't build boost in neutral, that's why I tried it in gear. I just didn't think being in the air or on the ground would make a difference if it was in gear

[cmoney]

ok got it back on the deck & driving under its own power.

my current throttle cable is way too loose for some reason, so i can only get maybe 30% use out of it. that said, i managed to spin it up on the grass & hit a MASSIVE 2psi lol. at least it is kind of boosting.

its running rough with a misfire, now i think i need to pull the intake manifold off & replace all the gaskets....fun fun fun.

at least the rb25 box conversion & speedo is all working.

Edited August 11, 2014 by cmoney

[XRATED]

just don't 'clean' the inside of the tb's or throttle plates!

put it back together with metal (hks, tomei, nitto) gaskets with a little holymar.

J.

[Calsonic14U]

Should be called Cmoneys Money pit hahaha. Good thread mate. Been waiting for you to finally finnish it since i finnished my 32 lol. Now reading this you make me want to rip the 20 out the race car and put a 26 in it I still shotgun second drive. and passenger on its first track day.

Need any help removing manifold let me know ill come say hi

[cmoney]

haha took you a while to read it too

lol I might have to take you up on that assistance soon....

[Calsonic14U]

No dramas. And if you could find me a free trailer and tow car for the next event so i could take my 32 out that would be great.

[cmoney]

I thought you had that covered?? I might have the aristo sorted for towing by then, but a trailer is still elusive....

[cmoney]

so instead of having my car ready & being able to enjoy it on the r32 GTR 25th anniversary cruise, instead it looks like i broke my rb26 just a few weeks after i got it running.

ah well, time for a decent build from scratch now....

specs, power output & hopefully quarter mile times will be posted in several months once it has been built, tuned & tested.

[fatz]

tell them the story old son

[Strick.]

sucks mate, what happened?