R33 GT-R Freshly bought - start building up

[Lowkey27]

Hello guys!

I'm a member here for maybe 8 months and originally i wanted to get a R33 Skyline GTST.

But since the prices for GTST and GTR keep going up i decided to get me a GTR.

So this tuesday i went to see one which was imported here but never was registered (was in the garage for some years)

I'd say the price was pretty fair but there are some things to do on the car.

It had some accident in Japan and the Hicas pump was damaged and the Hicas was replaced with a elemination kit. (Hicas error code shows up in the speedometer and also the airbag lamp is on)

first starting the car (i think) the crank pulley squeaked a bit. (which is gone now when starting the car)

so i finished looking at the underbody and then looked at the rest of the car.

On the passenger side A pillar there is some rust ( more in direction to the fender )

also a friend of mine realized on a picture that the front brake is not OEM. (It's like a smaller one 😐)

i looked on usual spots to check when buying a skyline i did some research back then when i wanted to get a skyline.

so i think the struts look pretty okay although i think it's just a matter of time when it starts rusting (or the rust comes up to the surface)

the rear arches are good. the sills in the front are pushed in.

the hood is carbon fibre but pretty F***** up and i want a stock one anyways ( unfortunately i couldn't find one yet over here 😥)

 

SOOOOOOO... when finished checking the car from the outside we started the test drive and i let the guy driving it first. we were driving it for like 8 KM and then he wanted to accelerate a bit more (over 4000 rpm) and the car started stuttering..

i was like WTF.... because the guy told me that the engine ran well when drove the car home after arriving at the harbor..

so the RPM would barely go over 5000. when accelerating from lower RPM u felt the car has the power... but passing that 4000rpm car starts stuttering and had no more power.

So we went back to the garage and checked for some pressure leakage from some hose. there was a hose cut off in the engine bay and the guy said it was already like this and said that the pre owner in japan must have just cut from removing the triple gauge single cluster which is above the radio. but it was provisionally fixed with a screw.

so we kept on checking and unplugged the coil amplifier and removed the coil cover.

And see there!! there was one clip of the coils destroyed so it was kind of loose in the coil... we couldn't fix it there tho..

the guy said its insane because when he brought the car home after departing in germany engine and power and all of that ran well as it should..

i talked to a friend and he meant it might be just a smaller problem and no big engine problem so i talked to the guy about the price and he went lower for 1 grand..

so i took the car went to the gas station before heading to my friends workshop. (Aral Ultimate 102 only 🙃)

 

after 1 hour of driving we finally made it to the workshop my friend and me and one mechanic started looking at the car and showing him the coil plug which was broken.

 

after taking some pictures and looking at the car i slowly realized i just got the car of my dreams... 💖

 

i will follow up with pictures and specs now

 

1995 Skyline R33 GT-R

55.860 KM (but owner said its not true it is 75.xxx)

estimated 350 hp (the guy told me) i dont even mind in the first place

Apexi intake

Apexi downpipe

RSR 4" concept Exhaust magic

Carbon fibre Hood

CSR Suspension (but i also got a OEM GTR Suspension)

(not OEM Brakes - smaller one for some reason idk i think he just swapped brakes since he has a Silvia s14a and i heard brakes fit plug and play so who knows... he meant pre owner did it)

no oem wheels ( i gotta get some )

Headlights need to be changed for right hand traffic

rear fog light needs to be installed.

 

unfortunately i haven't found any documents for the CSR Suspension, apexi downpipe and RSR exhaust so i think i will need new ones with documents to register the car here 😢

also i need the OEM front brakes (maybe i even get some big brake ones since i want some more power in future)

 

Following up with pictures

 

 

 

 

 

[Lowkey27]

Pictures of damage:

 

 

Rest of the pictures

 

 

(See the brakes ? i would never have recognized it - my friend told me its not OEM GTR)

 

 

 

 

 

Here are pictures of the Coils and the broken plug

 

 

 

 

 

 

my friend said this color would look dope on the sky (left one ) it was some mazda magmared paint but i dont like the red color on a skyline in general. what do you guys think?

i thought about trying to clay and polish the car first and see the results since i love detailing. the paint is rocked down so it might need to be painted new... my friend offered me stripping out the engine and painting the complete car.. i have some paint codes in mind such as Millenium Jade, Top Secret Gold, gunmetal grey, or even oem White but the color which i love the most is the LX0 MNP 3... I think it would look dope i love the color so much😋

 

AC Relocated to the armrest ❓

 

 

 

 

 

what is that clicking when put ignition on 2? might it be the AC? also the guy told me that when i turn the car off in gear without handbrake the turbotimes starts. but he doesn't know where it is.

i also figured out when i turn off ignition after having it on 2 while im in neutral the control lights stay on (even when i take out the key completely)

 

 

 

 

 

first starting up

 

didnt want to rev too high

 

 

Edited December 25, 2020 by Lowkey27

[Lowkey27]

After spending the whole noon of scrolling through posts i ordered new fluids for the car

 

Transmission: Redline 58404 Lightweight Shockproof Gear Oil-0,95L (Around 5L)

Power Steering, ATTESSA & 4WD Transfer: 1-Liter-Castrol-Transmax-Z (4 L)

Brake Fluid: Motul-RBF-600 (2L)

Diff Oil: REDLINE-Transmission oil-75W90-API-GL-5-hochwertiges-Differential-Öl-Redline-Gear-Oil

Engine Oil: Not yet ordered yet, have to ask the pre owner if he might know which oil was inside

I didn't know about the Diff oil since almost everybody in different posts said something different. i'lll give this a try

[BK]

Right, so you ended up getting a GTR that runs like shit. Awesome, look forward to your endeavours. Tips and questions:

Why do you appear not to have to have the original blue build plate on the firewall of your car ?

Do a compression test now to get an idea of how good or bad the engine is.

Don't get Redline shockproof anything to put in your diffs or gearbox. Especially gearbox -Redline is the number 1 culprit for masking synchro problems. Just put a normal gl-4 75w-85 oil in the transmission, takes almost 4 ltr.

Transfer takes almost 2 ltr and Castrol Transmax Z is good stuff.

The clicking is your A/C blend motor that is fcked - need a new one. 96+ onwards is dash out job.

Throw stupid yellow coilpacks in bin and get stock or Splitfire DIS-001 coilpacks

Replace stupid bonnet with factory one.

Slap people who refer to things as "dope"

Don't listen to anyone in the northern hemisphere about what is a good thing to do to an RB26 GTR. 😘

Once you have unfcked this car then you'll know what your working with to improve it.

Good luck mate...

 

[Lowkey27]

22 minutes ago, BK said:

Right, so you ended up getting a GTR that runs like shit. Awesome, look forward to your endeavours. Tips and questions:

Why do you appear not to have to have the original blue build plate on your car ?

Do a compression test now

Don't get redline anything for diffs or gearbox

The clicking is your A/C blend motor that is fcked - need a new one. 96+ onwards is dash out job.

Throw stupid yellow coilpacks in bin and get stock or Splitfire DIS-001 coilpacks

Replace stupid bonnet with factory one.

Slap people who refer to things as "dope"

Don't listen to anyone in the northern hemisphere about what is a good thing to do to an RB26 GTR. 😘

Once you have unfcked this car then it you'll know what your working with to improve it.

Good luck mate...

 

I'll do a compression test once im in the workhop again (which will be  next tuesday) and then i'll bring the car home.

 

would you put gl-4 75w-85 also into the front and rear diffs?

ill remove dash anyways because it gets covered with alcantara.

yeah ill stay with white so far the only color i would paint would be MNP3.. but first i'll detail the car myself and see how much you can get out of it.

mine is 1995 i will search for a blend motor.

ive bought some Splitfires (SF-DIS-001) yesterday.

yeah bonnet needs to replaced im not a fan of carbon fibre hoods at all and the body needs to have one color overall.... i haven't found a bonnet yet i might post something that i am searching for one maybe here i am lucky...

 

thank you

 

 

Edit: i got some NGK BCPR6ES sparkplugs as well

Edited December 26, 2020 by Lowkey27

[BK]

11 minutes ago, Lowkey27 said:

why not redline for diff / gearbox can you explain? what else would you recommend then?

Who told you Redline is good ? As I mentioned above Redline shockproof just masks problems. Put Castrol GL-4 Syntrans 75w-85 in your box. If you have any problems your gearbox needs attention.

Diffs - any 75w-140 LSD oil front and rear. My choice is Castrol Syntrax 80w-140 or Motul comp gear 75w-140.

 

[Lowkey27]

13 minutes ago, BK said:

Who told you Redline is good ? As above Redline shockproof just masks problems. Put Castrol GL-4 Syntrans 75w-85 in your box. If you have any problems your gearbox needs attention.

 

this forum told me actually 😂

ive been reading through this and several other skyline forums and ive heard people trying other transmission oil but it ended up getting worse so they sticked with the "smurf blood" again...

thanks for the advice

 

in this forum ive read following

 

"gearbox 4l, front diff 1l, rear diff 1.5l, xfer case 2l, attessa 0.5l, power steer 1l"

"Castrol Transmax Z is also good for Power Steering and ATTESSA actuator (in the boot)."

 

 

Edited December 26, 2020 by Lowkey27

[BK]

Whatever mate, your car, do what you want because the internet told you so and that it "magically fixes shifting problems"

Have a good look, people that actually know what their talking about would never recommend that poor excuse for an oil. I wouldn't even call it oil as it turns into more of a paste. 

Absolute shit.

Your fluid amounts are about correct though

 

[Lowkey27]

mate, did i somehow offend you ? i just told u what i've read on other posts - no need to act like this..

and i have no shifting problems i just replace all of the fluids in the car for service... 

 

unfortunaly i know noone who has a skyline and done this so i kinda have to stick to forums and experiences

 

thank you very much for the help. i'll try to cancel the order and stick with the other stuff mentioned

i also read that its very very thick oil

[WR33KD]

I think what BK is meaning that you don’t have to learn via failures as people before you have done and found the correct way to do it.

looks like someone robbed your brakes and put gts brakes on it. You have a huge job ahead of you but it will be fun and a huge learning experience have to source parts that are already hard to find.

I look forward to seeing your progress

[Lowkey27]

1 hour ago, WR33KD said:

I think what BK is meaning that you don’t have to learn via failures as people before you have done and found the correct way to do it.

looks like someone robbed your brakes and put gts brakes on it. You have a huge job ahead of you but it will be fun and a huge learning experience have to source parts that are already hard to find.

I look forward to seeing your progress

yeah maybe . most posts ive read were from the early two-thousands... thats a big gap so for sure theres better stuff to get which i didn't see.

yeah - can you tell its a gts brake ? if i find gtr brakes i'll get them if not i will go for some D2 big brake kit.

thank you yes i am looking forward to it first thing i wanna do is just maintain it so i have a solid base.

later then my plan is painting the car and forge the engine

[r32-25t]

Honestly I hope you’re in a very well paying job, because this car is going to require a hell of a lot of money to get it up to scratch 

[NZ-GTT]

There are plenty 33 gtr brake calipers on Yahoo auctions but man are they expensive now. I just did a quick search and here is the cheapest set. https://www.bidjdm.com/bidding/auction/view/id/f374775838 Buy the time they have been overhauled, powder coated with new rotors and pads they will most likely have surpassed the cost of something aftermarket and better. I also look forward to your progress.

[PranK]

Poor girl has some history.

Hopefully you paid the right money for it. It'll be a great project if you have the money to put into it.

Just make sure you really do you homework and read a lot of *recent* posts as a lot has changed since this forum started 20 years ago.

Good luck, I look forward to the updates.

Btw considering R33's were never sold in a RHD market what are you planning to do to the headlights?

[Lowkey27]

i got it for 16k (euro) i think thats pretty decent...

yeah.... i might get a big brake right away.. insane how the oem gtr brake is priced..

 

 

yeah i have to read newer posts actually...

 

about the headlights i have to convert them to RHD... they have xenon but i wont be allowed to keep it unfortunately (stupid german law) because theres missing "automatic headlight range control" and xenon wiper system to clean...

 

[PranK]

We have similar rules here in Aus with regards to headlights. 

What I'm wondering is how will you convert headlights to RHD? These cars never came in RHD so a quick swap is not an option.

[Ben C34]

15 minutes ago, PranK said:

We have similar rules here in Aus with regards to headlights. 

What I'm wondering is how will you convert headlights to RHD? These cars never came in RHD so a quick swap is not an option.

What are you on about with 33s never being sold in RHD market?

[Ben C34]

Car looks like it will be nice when done.

 

 

I have to admit it is a it funny initially you were asking if rb25s were reliable then you go and buy a gtr that's had a hard time. Take your time and learn before doing things, there's no rush

 

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

On 27/12/2020 at 6:43 AM, Lowkey27 said:

D2 big brake kit.

please don't lol

Get 350Z Brembos (just need to drill out the hub to 14mm to fit) OR get 370Z brakes using the Z1 Motorsport kit.

 

On 26/12/2020 at 12:36 AM, Lowkey27 said:

accelerate a bit more (over 4000 rpm) and the car started stuttering..

Funny coloured coilpacks would be the issue. Just straight up go get a PRP R35 coil pack conversion and delete the external ignitor

[joshuaho96]

11 hours ago, Lowkey27 said:

i got it for 16k (euro) i think thats pretty decent...

yeah.... i might get a big brake right away.. insane how the oem gtr brake is priced..

 

 

yeah i have to read newer posts actually...

 

about the headlights i have to convert them to RHD... they have xenon but i wont be allowed to keep it unfortunately (stupid german law) because theres missing "automatic headlight range control" and xenon wiper system to clean...

 

You have to convert to LHD, not RHD. The headlights are RHD/LHT from the factory. Here's a pdf guide for the conversion, pdf warning: https://wardiz.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/R33-Projector-Headlamps-Tutorial.pdf

For those that are not bound by issues like TUV compliance you can have the series 3 HIDs modified to produce an LHD beam pattern like this: