Stagea TLC

[AngryRB]

So was at the auctions and made maybe a bad decision,  picked up an impounded stagea that was/is in poor condition.

It had obviously done a big burn out as the back tires were shredded and sitting on the rims and the back doors and panels covered in black rubber.

When auction was on it was me and another guy and i held on , lets just say it was real cheap.

Tow truck came and getting it off the tray was a mission as its sitting on the rims on low tein coilovers. The exhaust got mangled up by the forklift at the auction as it was bent and squashed...

So once off the tow truck shes got a flat battery, new battery on and she cranks and fires first time, sounded strong and the gears go in tight.

So no thumps (its auto), so changed the shredded wheels and borrowed my r33s wheels and she drives.

Got exhaust redone with 3inch dump, 3 1/2ihnch cat and 3 1/2inch back to fujitsubo muffler with a restrictor, sounds great.

Shes got loud screeching noises when turning the steering wheel and timing belt noise.

So at this point the motor is full of oil leaks and dodgy missing bolts, stupid long intercooler piping, gay dash lights etc so needs alot of work.

So... i dived in and its RB3025 time lol..

 

 

 

Edited May 16, 2019 by AngryRB

[AngryRB]

So.. its not registered yet and i already bought an RB30 few months back so no reason not to treat this beast to more cubes.

Its current state was 

-stock RB25det, fmic, splitfires,stock turbo but it has aftermarket adjustable suspension arms and tein coilovers 

Goals are

- RB3025 with r33 head, stock mani, HKS GT-RS turbo, E85 with nistune, want low -mid range torque as its just for cruising/towing...

[AngryRB]

So recently i got to work, pulled motor which is a bitch as always lying on concrete floor and prop shaft bolt tight as hell.

Stripped manifolds off and have measured the RB30 pistons and ring end gap.  Pistons still mint, 1 1/2thou clearance, ring gap on comp ring is at 0.040 which is worn so new rings needed. Bore is still round and hone marks there, its got some scuff marks but not deep so will give a light hone and push on.  Will measure bearings soon.

Painted block silver so i can see any oil leaks in future.

Next week will order more parts and hopefully assemble the motor..☺

No excuse for not having an RB30 people, cubes for the win lol..???☺☺

Edited May 16, 2019 by AngryRB

[KiwiRS4T]

Presume it was RWD which makes it easier. This would be a good time to stick a manual box in it!?

Just need rings and bearings on the RB30 and its good for 400kw! You will need another ECU for the Nistune. I believe they can handle VCT now?

[AngryRB]

Yeah its got no front drive shafts but it has the front diff so was a 4wd at some point.  At this point is cheaper to leave RWD.

I kinda like an auto hey, i have the R33 thats manual making 350kw so for now 250kw thru the auto would be great just to be different and maybe later build the auto with a GT 30/35 and built box but thats distant future..

[PranK]

Yes! Awesome project! Can't wait for updates.

[AngryRB]

Slowly progressing, the bore isnt worn much so gave it a hone and because im cheap im putting the RB25 pistons and rings on the RB30 rods rather than buy new rings. I measured all the differences and theres not much compression wise, i think will be around 8.6 roughly.

Broke 2 cam bolts so had to extract them, got the crack in the turbine housing repaired too.

[AngryRB]

Coming together, have shimmed the pump 3mm and left RB30 restrictors in the block.  RB26 oem head gasket and RB25 oem head bolts.  Vct mod done and bung in old feed.

Handy having your old man thats a retired fitter and turner, i hate having to trust machine shops. I love the process of building these RB3025's, everything just works together so well.  After seeing how well my RB3025 in the r33 works id never be happy with a 25 again..

Should be easier from here..?

 

Edited June 23, 2019 by AngryRB

[AngryRB]

New rocker cover gaskets, cam seals, vct feed on, new exhaust mani studs

 

[KiwiRS4T]

Interesting to see how it goes. Hope you kept the RB30 pistons - you may want to put them back in.

[AngryRB]

1 hour ago, KiwiRS4T said:

Interesting to see how it goes. Hope you kept the RB30 pistons - you may want to put them back in.

Will be interesting to see what the comp test shows.. anything over 150 will be a win.

[AngryRB]

Progress being made, its fairly hard to turn motor, my arm says 150psi ish haha

[AngryRB]

She's a big unit, auto spigot bush was a prick to remove but on the home stretch.

[AngryRB]

Dam.. this thing was a bitch to get in the bay... took hours to get the angle right and i may need to slot the mounts as she looks to sit high..

im craving to hear an RB again.. 

[AngryRB]

Put the motor in and started her, theres a few noises that need investigating.

The power steering is one noise, the other im not sure but maybe somthing common to stageas, its like a plate rubbing or in the auto box.

The sound of it cranking is shit compared to my r33, maybe is the starter..

[AngryRB]

See in this video, its very noisy like loud screeching, this is without plugs in it.

But suprisingly compression is high.

197, 195, 200, 185, 205, 200

Its high than my 2530neo but that has poncams so drops it a little.

[AngryRB]

Found the source of the noise, was a warped flex plate rubbing on the sandwich plate.

Now she starts up and sound fairly decent, timing belt may need adjustment to stop the whirring noise.

Next will be some rego and a s2 cluster and see how it drives.

[AngryRB]

Finally drove the thing out of the shed and gave her a wash, im liking these 350z wheels, does the job.

 

[skylinecouple]

Definitely watching.

[AngryRB]

Drove her over the weekend and today to work, well theres alot of things to fix to make her sweet but oh well atleast it drives.

I've found that 4th will flare under load so the auto box is dying unfortunately.  But im gonna rock it til she dies and im looking into my options.

On the bright side i freaking love it, 1st and second haul ass in traffic, the stock turbo spools rediculously loud and is very entertaining, many laughs had for sure. 

The thing idles so innocently but sounds like a jet, pulls well upto 3.5k then shows over haha but still fun.