Baron's R34 GT-R build thread - car in Japan for 5 years -_-

[BaronOBeefdip]

A few more items have showed up recently, brand new kouki headlights. Trying to prepare before these get discontinued. Basically that's the name of the game for anyone outside Japan now:


I eluded to a Nismo plenum arriving on the last post. Well, here she is:






Next up is a Nismo oil cooler kit. Will probably be buying that next month. Half of the R35 brakes paid for, but I'll wait to post pics 'til I get the whole shebang.

'til later.

Edited May 9, 2021 by BaronOBeefdip

[Shoota_77]

Nice parts accumulation!  My favourite part of working on cars! I’m better at buying stuff for it than fitting it.....

[BaronOBeefdip]

 

Nice parts accumulation!  My favourite part of working on cars! I’m better at buying stuff for it than fitting it.....

Yes, it's fun to do for sure. I like the end result though....when all of it works together for a great-running, great-sounding, great-feeling drive. That said, this is the cleanest these parts will ever be  unless you're diligent in keeping things clean, which I am of course.

[BaronOBeefdip]

Well, been a while since I updated here. The R35 brakes were damaged in shipping and was a whole fiasco, and they are now being sent back to the seller. UPS denied our damage claim even though we paid for insurance. Basically told us to pound sand. Kind of a joke.

So now I'm going to be ordering an Endless brake set from Endless USA in a couple months. Yay.

In the meantime, enjoy some pics of the Nismo oil cooler kit that showed up yesterday:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'til later

Edited July 2, 2021 by BaronOBeefdip

[joshuaho96]

All of the ducting is really the important part in an oil cooler. Really sucks to hear about the issues with the brakes. I've been wondering what I should do for my brakes as well, not sure what to do there. I've stayed with stock until I can decide. I figure there will always be options in that regard.

[BaronOBeefdip]

On 7/2/2021 at 3:16 PM, joshuaho96 said:

All of the ducting is really the important part in an oil cooler. Really sucks to hear about the issues with the brakes. I've been wondering what I should do for my brakes as well, not sure what to do there. I've stayed with stock until I can decide. I figure there will always be options in that regard.

Oh for sure, a lot of people overlook that fact, unless it's mounted directly up front with the cooling stack. Yeah was pretty damn upset as these brakes were near perfect when they left the seller's hands. I would say it depends on what size wheels you wanna run, for brake options.

[BaronOBeefdip]

Well dang, it's been a while since I dropped in here; s'pose I should do a bit of updating and all that. I've dialed it back on the major purchases for the next several months so that I can save some coin for my next house, but have been still acquiring smaller items in the meantime since the last post. There are no updates on Japan opening up that I have heard of, but it seems people are still prepping for TAS 2022 being back and accepting spectators :shrug:

Here's a peek at my spreadsheet acquisitions since the last update:
13501-AA310     R34 RB26 Upper timing cover
13560-58S00      Lower timing cover
13287-AA301     R34 RB26 valley cover
NA                      Valve cover gasket set
96325-RNR40    Nismo carbon rearview mirror cover
26100-RNS51    Nismo smoked side indicators
see note             R35 door link and cover set
see note             gold GT-R emblems - F/R
KU000-WV215   Pitwork WV2 touch up paint
62896-AA400     silver GT-R grille emblem
see note             gold GT-R emblem set
99993-RN010     Nismo midlogo emblem - black backing
FU006-A19         Nissan instruction manual - R34 BNR34 2000/10-2001/6
see note              Deposit for CE28Ns
15255-RN014     NIB midlogo oil cap
74902-RNR45    Nismo midlogo floor mats
75880-AA410     Engine undertray

Nothing crazy.....buuuut I did put a deposit on a set of CE28Ns as you can see, bronze no less. I was able to find a vendor that had probably the last five sets of them in GT-R fitment coming directly from Rays, as they were discontinued back in 2018. Had to have them again just like on the STi. You can get the CE28SLs in bronze but those are painted, not anodized and the color is not the same as OG bronze. I am picky

The engine undertrays are now Heritage, so they doubled in price basically overnight for new. I am a bit insane....but I am NOT paying $1k+ for a square piece of plastic before shipping. I was able to find one on YAJ Auctions for over half that slightly used, but missing a couple brackets that I can probably just fab up and reattach.

The gold badges are super rare and were Nissan optional parts from the catalog back in the day and I was able to find a full set used but slightly scratched and a bit faded, dangit. Shouldn't bother me too much. Also found new front/rear, pictured below. The Nissan burger is the same gold finish, use your mindbrain since it's not pictured.


Nismo carbon mirror cover and smoked side markers(which are already on the car, but good to have in case they are faded/cracked):


Next year I plan to resume the big purchases once I am in a new spot, so look forward to that coming!

'til later.

Edited October 11, 2021 by BaronOBeefdip

[BaronOBeefdip]

Back to check in some more since it's been quite a long time. So, continuing from the last post, there's been some changes and new parts. No pics in this post unless people really wanna see pics.

First, those gold badges pictured above aren't genuine, but luckily shortly after getting those I found a full set of slightly used genuine ones that I will be putting on the car.

Second, I also mentioned that I put a deposit on CE28Ns in bronze, which showed up in Jan of this year. There was one slight problem however, and that was one of the wheels' color didn't match the other three, which was a kick in the nuts for sure. After much deliberation and back/forth with the vendor, I decided to send them back and wait for another set with no ETA. In the meantime, I was put in touch with a private seller from Utah who had a brand new set in box, in the same exact specs. Was close to making a deal, and the seller got cold feet. Fast forward to May, and the seller reaches back out asking if I was still interested, to which I replied, "hell yes I am". Deal done, now have a full matching set of bronze beauties. So happy to have that acquisition off my chest and squared away.

At the same time, I found a nice set of SSR Type C RS in 18x10.5 +15 on Yahoo Japan. Finding a good set in GT-R fitment is extremely difficult these days, so I had to pull the trigger. The shipping cost from Japan reaaaally sucked though. They actually showed up the same day as the CEs. They aren't in the original finish of bronze, silver, or gray but I they aren't bent/cracked which is the biggest plus. I will eventually get them refinished to one of the factory colors, though not sure which one because while I love bronze, I already have the CEs that color. I also have genuine new sets of stickers to go on.

One big(in price) purchase was I found a good condition S2 rear diffuser that a friend helped me buy off the auctions and now has waiting for me in his warehouse. So because of that, I sold my CW diffuser to a friend who had been expressing interest for his 34. And while I paid just a bit more out of pocket for the S2 part, the difference at the end of the day to me is worth it to have a genuine part. It needs a bit of a restore and refresh on the mounting hardware, but nothing on it is bent/broken/cracked and the price was the best for condition I've seen in a while considering what they're selling for now.

I was finally able to secure a Mine's cooling panel off the auctions as well. I had it touched up and prepped for signatures at a local specialist since it had some blemishes and wasn't perfect, and then brought it with me to R's Day out in California back at the end of April. Niikura-san and Nakayama-san were announced as special guests. I'm not really one for signatures on things, but this was a must. Having both of them sign it was an incredibly huge deal for me and I was honored for the experience to meet with and talk to them. I cannot wait to put this part on my car - for shows and events only - and as far as I've seen, mine - Mine's? haha - is the only cooling panel with signatures. I then got it clear coated by the same shop.👍

I also was able to acquire a Mine's trunk spoiler in plain carbon from Croooober; that part is now sitting in the trunk of the 34 at TopRank JP. So I think I'll go for the matching wing blade as well instead of the Nismo dry carbon like I had planned. Gotta have that matchy-matchy. After that, I think I'm done with the Mine's carbon unless I find more deals or must-haves.

Other than that, no major purchases for a while as I'm financially recovering, haha😅. I still have a ways to go despite my spreadsheet filling up, yeesh😬. I've gotten some other Nissan/Nismo/midlogo items and memorabilia off the auctions to hold me over. If you would like to see much of it that can't be shown in one post, head over to my IG and watch the livestreams I did of my stash.

'til later.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

He's alive!

(Finding you on IG now)

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

@BaronOBeefdip I no find.. ☹️

Tried Beer Baron, this current user too.. no cigar or sushi.

[BaronOBeefdip]

Lulz, you thought I was dead, sorry to disappoint 😆. My IG is in my sig - denver_r34🤙

Edited August 17, 2022 by BaronOBeefdip

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

I have location you.

Lol... Was on my phone at the time, and sigs don't load on mobile view 😎

[BaronOBeefdip]

I really need to stop waiting so long between posts 

I've been spending my time since last post acquiring what I can while I can(while being the operative word!), and while my budget allows, as I'm saving for my next trips to Japan for R's Meeting at the end of October, Nismo Festival in December, and also the costs for moving my car out of TopRank's warehouse to another location, but more on that later.

So like I said, just hunting for parts and budgeting for the big purchases(think carbon stuff) and browsing auctions on a daily basis. That's led me to get more rare stuff, cool memorabilia, and Nismo items between the big ticket stuff. Since I mentioned in my last post, here's a few pics showing the (cleaned) harnesses and the finished Mine's cooling panel, which is as far as I've seen, the only signed BNR34 panel out there, and the trunk spoiler:

I think I'm going to spray the trunk spoiler matte clear as I prefer that look over gloss. So I'll need to get the wing blade and MFD surround in matte to match this.

If you were keen to notice my wording from earlier I said "next trips to Japan". Well a few months ago, I went! For the first time! Wow! Some may think big deal; well it was for me since I've been wanting to go my whole life. Yes, I did see my car. Below is a pic I actually took myself, for realsies!

In one way it was nice to FINALLY see 'er face to face and all that. In another, well......I can't really speak publicly about all of that yet, but you also should've noticed I said that it's moving to another location. I've been pretty quiet on my car for good reasons, more on that when I can talk about it.

I've since bought a FOURTH set of wheels for the car. Why more wheels you ask? Well, because I'm a wheel whore They're SSR Type Fs in 18x11 +21. Couldn't let them sit there on the auctions after missing a mint set of GTF01s last year. I'll probably continue to look for rare sets/specs of other wheels as well. I also was able to snag a stock airbox and snorkel in mint shape, a Mine's titanium strut bar, and some other midlogo stuff, including TWO brand new sets of intake couplers. The Mine's stuff has some significance, which I will elaborate on at some point in the future. I have something special I'm working on...

'til later.

Edited June 3, 2023 by BaronOBeefdip

[joshuaho96]

2 hours ago, BaronOBeefdip said:

I really need to stop waiting so long between posts 

I've been spending my time since last post acquiring what I can while I can(while being the operative word!), and while my budget allows, as I'm saving for my next trips to Japan for R's Meeting at the end of October, Nismo Festival in December, and also the costs for moving my car out of TopRank's warehouse to another location, but more on that later.

So like I said, just hunting for parts and budgeting for the big purchases(think carbon stuff) and browsing auctions on a daily basis. That's led me to get more rare stuff, cool memorabilia, and Nismo items between the big ticket stuff. Since I mentioned in my last post, here's a few pics showing the (cleaned) harnesses and the finished Mine's cooling panel, which is as far as I've seen, the only signed BNR34 panel out there, and the trunk spoiler:

I think I'm going to spray the trunk spoiler matte clear as I prefer that look over gloss. So I'll need to get the wing blade and MFD surround in matte to match this.

If you were keen to notice my wording from earlier I said "next trips to Japan". Well a few months ago, I went! For the first time! Wow! Some may think big deal; well it was for me since I've been wanting to go my whole life. Yes, I did see my car. Below is a pic I actually took myself, for realsies!

In one way it was nice to FINALLY see 'er face to face and all that. In another, well......I can't really speak publicly about all of that yet, but you also should've noticed I said that it's moving to another location. I've been pretty quiet on my car for good reasons, more on that when I can talk about it.

I've since bought a FOURTH set of wheels for the car. Why more wheels you ask? Well, because I'm a wheel whore They're SSR Type Fs in 18x11 +21. Couldn't let them sit there on the auctions after missing a mint set of GTF01s last year. I'll probably continue to look for rare sets/specs of other wheels as well. I also was able to snag a stock airbox and snorkel in mint shape, a Mine's titanium strut bar, and some other midlogo stuff, including TWO brand new sets of intake couplers. The Mine's stuff has some significance, which I will elaborate on at some point in the future. I have something special I'm working on...

'til later.

A very familiar dirt floor. I am definitely curious about the story you're alluding to. I suspect many of the story beats will be familiar but the devil is always in the details.

[BaronOBeefdip]

Hi-hello-hi.
I updated the parts list on the other sites to more accurately reflect the current state of the car, what's waiting to go on, and what's planned to still get, but I can't do the same here because I'm using the free version. That is not an exhaustive list though; there's quite a bit more to come for sure. Stay tuned...

Speaking of the current state, the car has FINALLY been moved out of TopRank and now my friend has it in his close and careful possession. I cannot tell you how much of a relief it is to be done with TR and now my car has a much better outlook.

I will be going back to Japan for R's Meeting in October and will have the car shaken'd and ready to drive! Can't believe I'm saying that, but one of my major dreams will soon be a reality and I'm very much looking forward to that. It will be nice to be able to freshen up a few bits and get it ready for Fuji.

The parts quest resumes...

'til later.

[PranK]

On 01/08/2023 at 6:06 PM, BaronOBeefdip said:

but I can't do the same here because I'm using the free version.

Eh?

[BaronOBeefdip]

I can't edit posts because I'm not paying for a membership; someone pointed that out to me in an earlier post. I guess I should have said that instead of "free version" 😁

[Duncan]

Post editing is not available on SAU other than a short window after the initial post, because of issues we had with scammers in the past. 

If you need something edited please use the "report" button on the post and a volunteer moderator will sort it out

[BaronOBeefdip]

Yeah BK mentioned to me about paying for editing or something; I assumed that had to with membership level. Thanks for clearing that up. I noticed you have about 5 mins time from initial post to edit or whathaveyou; cheers. Thanks for the tip🤙

[soviet_merlin]

The supporter subscriptions give perpetual edit rights as well. I can edit any of my old posts. Which I presume is what BK had in mind.

See https://www.sau.com.au/forums/store/.

Plus it comes with the warm and fuzzy feeling of supporting something worthwhile