My Nismo R32 Gt-r Restoration Project In The Us

[GSX-R35]

Hello everyone! This forum has been a big help in my short Skyline ownership so far but now that my little restoration project is well on its way I thought it was high time to post a build thread. So without further ado, I'm restoring a 1990 Skyline R32 GT-R Nismo, number 167 of the 560 made. I've been a long time Nissan and GT-R fan and also own a heavily-modded 2010 R35 GT-R so adding this car to my garage was an amazing bit of luck.

I stumbled on this car by chance earlier this year and found it at an importer in Southern California while just on a recon visit. They had sold several Nismos over time but this was the last one left. On inspection it wasn't a huge mystery why it had ended up the Rudolph to all the other reindeer – the paint was faded in spots, the interior had been mucked with, the engine had been modified, the front bumper was cracked from some questionable trimming around the intercooler opening, the clutch sounded like it had a worn throw-out bearing, and the car had obviously seen some track time.

On the plus side it was the original shade of Gun Metal Grey all Nismos came in, there were some nice mods like upgraded Brembo brakes, a mix of HKS, Tomei, and Cusco bits, she had almost zero rust and no evidence of accident damage, the exterior was unmolested except for some missing badges (i.e. full Nismo body kit still there and no ricer doodads stuck on), and she ran solidly. Oh, and they gave me a decent discount over the initial asking price – which turned out to be a great deal because afterwards Skyline R32 prices went crazy as demand in the US kept going up now that they're legal to import. Here are some pics from early on:

After getting it back to Arizona the process of polishing this tarnished gem began. A lot's happened so let me just spell out some highlights and if you want more detail you can check out my blog where I've been posting regular updates on progress.

• Went through hell with registration but after a lot of legwork finally ended up the first US owner of this rare Nissan
• Did a full set of preventive maintenance – some of it myself, critical jobs like the timing belt at my local Nissan dealer (I'm lucky to have a dealer who's service department is run by a friend and has a great head mechanic with a ton of experience. Most Nissan dealers here in the US want F-all to do with an old Skyline lol).
• Swapped in a new radiator and shrouds since the old radiator had been painted blue and the old rad shrouds had been hacked into and misaligned perhaps in a sake-fueled moment of clarity or madness, take your pick, by the previous owner
• Had the inertial damper replaced with an uprated ATI version because the 25-year old OEM one was cracking
• Sold the old Desmond Regamasters it came with and swapped in some classic 18-inch Volk TE37SLs and new Michelin PSS rubber
• Had the dealer diagnose and fix my aircon (mostly, still waiting for one replacement actuator)
• Had a friend remove the Do Luck chassis brace in the rear footwell area and the ghetto-looking welded bracing in the trunk (didn't care for the looks especially since this will be a street car for me. Given its rarity I'll keep taking my other cars to the track instead except for maybe once or twice just to see what it's like)
• Bought a metric crapton of OEM and aftermarket parts to replace missing or worn bits on the car, most of which is still cluttering up my den as other stuff gets sorted.
• Stripped out the whole interior with a friend's help leaving just the upper dash for now in preparation for...
• Taking the car to the paint shop for a full exterior respray (and touch-up of some interior areas), during which the old, hacked up front bumper will be replaced with a fresh OEM one.

As of right now the car is still at paint but I expect to get it back next week if all goes to plan. After that one of my friends who builds race cars and resto-mods should hopefully have a chance to whip out the old clutch and put in some new parts. And then the long process begins of putting in new carpet, replacing the interior trim, re-covering the dash, replacing the missing trunk trim, installing a new stereo, replacing worn trim panels, re-covering the seats, etc etc ad infinitum ad nauseum. Oh and did I mention I'm working on some stuff to tidy up the engine bay and refinish the brake calipers too lol?

In other words, it's still a long road ahead but every little thing I tick off my checklist is one more tiny bit of progress. In the meantime, I keep dreaming of that far-off day when I have a nice, tidy example of a historic and rare Nissan that I can take satisfaction in having brought back from years of neglect.

Here's how the car looked at when it went to paint:

If you'd like to read more details, see additional pics, and follow future developments, as I mentioned above I started a blog to document the process and share more info on Nissan's amazing GT-Rs and other roadcars. Here's a link to my main page and the one that follows is to the first post on the restoration.

http://23gt.blogspot.com/

http://23gt.blogspot.com/2015/05/progress-bar-r32-part-1-taking-stock.html

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank my friends Nick, Lisa, and Dan who without their help a lot of this progress so far wouldn't have been made and I'd probably be in the middle of a nervous breakdown now lol.

Thanks for reading!

[PranK]

If you'd like to read more details, see additional pics, and follow future developments, as I mentioned above I started a blog to document the process and share more info on Nissan's amazing GT-Rs and other roadcars. Here's a link to my main page and the one that follows is to the first post on the restoration.

Does that mean you wont be updating this thread?

[GSX-R35]

Does that mean you wont be updating this thread?

I was definitely planning to as long as there was interest lol.

[PranK]

I was definitely planning to as long as there was interest lol.

Oh fantastic! Theres definitely interest!

[Jordy32]

Looks like a great base to start with

+1 to interest on here, keep us in the loop!

[GSX-R35]

Oh fantastic! Theres definitely interest!

Looks like a great base to start with

+1 to interest on here, keep us in the loop!

I'll be sure to post some more once further developments happen then

The car should get back from paint this coming week - fingers crossed lol.

[GSX-R35]

Well, I was hoping to post my first update by showing pics of the newly repainted car but unfortunately I got my first bad news with this car today. I picked it up from paint the other day and it was running fine but then started running poorly, smoking from the exhaust, and eventually ground to a halt. I had it towed to my local Nissan dealer and they think it's going to need an engine rebuild

And I was so happy to see it all nice and freshly painted too! Ah well, 25-year old motors - what can you do? The final verdict is still up in the air as to the exact issue cause I asked a friend of mine with a race shop to take it over to his place and crack it open so we'll see. I hope it's something more minor but if worse comes to worst I guess the engine will have to be freshened up sooner than I planned.

I'll post pics when I get a chance. At least she looks purdy on the outside lol.

[GSX-R35]

I wish this could have been a joyous update with just photos of my freshly-painted Nismo but sadly it decided to throw a wrench in proceedings and die on me. After getting it back from paint it took this opportunity to start smoking and just park itself by the side of the road, silently laughing at me for thinking this was going to go smoothly.

Oh well, at least she didn't decide to barbecue herself with me inside so that's a win overall. And some great people showed up to help me get her off the road. Now I'm waiting for my friend to take it to his shop and give it thorough eval. What happens next is up in the air until then but I'm trying to stay positive and look at this as just a change in plans and an opportunity to fix something that I planned on doing later anyway. Below are some pics and if you'd like to see more photos or read more of the details of what happened, here's a link to my blog write-up where I posted a lot more than I could fit on here:

http://23gt.blogspot.com/2015/09/progress-bar-r32-part-5-ecstasy-and.html

I hope my next update will be a more positive one

EDIT: fixed photos that weren't displaying right

Edited September 20, 2015 by GSX-R35

[s2d4]

Welcome to GTR ownership, although you may have bought a lemon. Nismo or not, sounds great but how it was maintained/condition is everything.

It's exciting to build the engine nevertheless.

Edited September 21, 2015 by s2d4

[djr81]

They are the symptoms of an air leak in the induction system. So have a look between the turbo outlets and the inlet manifold on the engine for a loose/busted hose.

[s2d4]

They are the symptoms of an air leak in the induction system. So have a look between the turbo outlets and the inlet manifold on the engine for a loose/busted hose.

Might even be maf going bad?

Those hks mushrooms looking filters are hardly any good either.

[GSX-R35]

Welcome to GTR ownership, although you may have bought a lemon. Nismo or not, sounds great but how it was maintained/condition is everything.

It's exciting to build the engine nevertheless.

They are the symptoms of an air leak in the induction system. So have a look between the turbo outlets and the inlet manifold on the engine for a loose/busted hose.

Might even be maf going bad?

Those hks mushrooms looking filters are hardly any good either.

Thanks for the info. I'll pass it along to my friend and see what he finds. The car was running well for the 7 months or so I had it and on the initial test drive but as you mentioned I have no idea how this car was cared for since it came with no records at all. It looked like it's been used as a track car given some of the mods so I wouldn't be surprised if the engine's seen better days. Also not a fan of the HKS filters myself so I had already gotten an ARC airbox to replace them. I'll update this thread once my friend lets me know what he finds.

[GSX-R35]

Hello everybody. I know it's been a while since my last update where I metioned how my R32's motor decided it didn't want to be part of this world anymore. I've been holding off on posting until I could do a more detailed write-up.

Long story short, the #6 cylinder on my RB26 has lost compression and so an engine rebuild was on the table. I also considered buying a used but newer model RB to swap in instead. After weighing my choices though I decided on a third option. No, I didn't decide to cut my losses and drive my broken car off a cliff, instead my poor Nismo-addicted self decided to buy this – a Nismo RB26DETT Fine Spec Final Edition:

It's basically one of a limited run of 200 N1 motors precision built and balanced by Nismo's Omori Factory from new parts. Instead of trying to refresh an old motor, I'll be starting with a fresh longblock

Unfortunately it was pricey so I have to take some time to save up for the next step of getting the supporting parts for this little beauty but someday I'll get this car all buttoned up and have the biggest sh*t-eating grin on my face

I'd like to gratefully acknowledge Kris at GT-RR for the great deal on this rare motor. Thanks for helping this Nissan fan get a truly special piece of Nismo goodness.

As always, a longer, more detailed writeup is on my blog here:

http://23gt.blogspot.com/2015/10/progress-bar-r32-part-6-big-nismo-six.html

[WantGTR]

yummmm

[Anfanee]

a gtr motor went bang? nooo never!

Also that engine is beautiful.

[GTR-N1]

Great purchase there!

[GSX-R35]

yummmm

a gtr motor went bang? nooo never!

Also that engine is beautiful.

It's a delicious bit of kit alright. Now if I could just magically find the money to get the rest of the parts I need to do it justice

I was trying to baby my motor so that I could keep from having to do engine work until next year but I think it found out somehow this engine was available and decided it wanted it lol.

Great purchase there!

I'm glad you agree 'cause my wallet wasn't happy afterwards lol.

[okooko]

Money comes and goes, try getting that motor in a year or so...

Great base for whatever you have planned...although that has seemed to take a delay...hahah joys of gtrlife.

[GSX-R35]

Money comes and goes, try getting that motor in a year or so...

Great base for whatever you have planned...although that has seemed to take a delay...hahah joys of gtrlife.

Availability was my concern as well down the line especially with all the new R32 owners in the US. I'm sure I could have a motor that's just as good made from aftermarket parts but it wouldn't be as special as an honest-to-God Nismo motor

[k_d]

Nismo getrag conversion would go well while your at it

That is a fantastic looking motor, and a fitting home thats for sure!!!