R33 Drift Project

[Majanal]

Thought I might document the progress of turning my R33 from a street car with a little bit of track heritage into a full blown Drift Pig. Just for your pleasure.

Stage 1. Safety

Due to a recent accident at Oran Park where I touch a wall, the decision had to be made to increase mine and my passengers safety.

So, it is out with the interior,

<pic to be inserted here>

and in with a 6 point roll cage that is CAMS and FIA approved. This is going to be supplied by Malvern Motorsports in Melbourne.

<more pics inserted here>

Also is going to be 2 6 point Sparco harnesses and 2 Sparco race seats. Supplied be Malvern Motorsports.

<again pics will go here>

And a full race suit and gloves shoes, again Sparco and supplied by Malvern Motorsports.

Stage 2 will be the repair of panel work, and also the respray, due early January 2006.

Stage 3 is the suspension work, also to be completed January 2006.

And stage 4, the Engine... All Completed and run in be Mid February 2006.

Stay Tuned.

Dan.

[Bunta]

sounds good cant wait to see how you go!

[funkymonkey]

my Stage 1 for the AE86 was to take the stock engine out and prep the engine bay for a CA18DET.

6 months on, and I'm still on Stage 1. Hope you have better luck/motivation than me

Oh and Dan, you look goofy in your mugshot on driftaustralia's website

[Majanal]

Yeah I know... definatly not the best mugshot!

[Majanal]

UPDATE:

Today the car went in for the panel work to start, as Malvern Motorsports are moving workshop earlier than they thought.

Managed to buy a RB30 yesterday also.

Think I might have tracked down a VG30 turbo... so it'll be off to GCG Turbochargers for the rebuild and homogolation with the stock turbo which should give me a max boost of 1.4bar and on from around 2,200rpm.

Discussions with various people that have done the build (Chris Easten) and also my mechanic (Waterhouse Auto Care in Penrith) and turbo people (Mostly GCG) we have come up with some fairly lofty but we think realistic power figures. We are aiming to make 700+nm torque and 250+rwkw, lets see how we go.

[Trust33]

Allways love a good build up.

I couldnt find you on the drft australia website.Mainly because i was looking for your car.

It will be good to see your finished car.Looking foward to it.

[Majanal]

Thanks Trust,

Have a look on the formula drift website as I did that championship this year.

UPDATE:

Been a busy week, chasing turbo's, stripping motor and having rear guard replaced... as soon as I get this bloody webspace issue sorted I'll post some pics... but time is a problem, given that work and a social life with my beautiful wife need to be included also...

But...

Engine is stripped down and is off being chemically treated, we (Jamie Waterhouse, (02) 4721 7227) are chasing down some pistons, and have come accross some new brand coming in that we are going to take a look at next week. will have to see, if not it is custom made items...

Am finalising a turbo next week hopefully and then it will be off to GCG for it's build.

Eddy from Penrith City Exhausts has redone my exhasust... year baby, turbo back system with NO mufflers or CAT!!!! SOUNDS UNREAL! SOOOOOO ROUGH and just plain MEAN!

Eddy also did my pannel work, which I haven't seen yet, but Jamie says is another one of his top jobs... so the push is on to finalise some sponsership for next year so we can get the livery of the car sorted for the respray...

Looks like another busy week coming up... and with Christmas just around the corner.

Take care all, will report back soon!

Dan.

[Majanal]

UPDATE 24/01/06:

Well now that Christmas and New Year are out of the way we can start working hard on the build again.

The Car has been in Melbourne since the 2nd of Jan for the Cage and I am flying down to collect it tomorrow.

Then it is back to Sydney and we start to strip it completly ready for the respray.

Stripping the Interior

Most of the parts are in for the motor and we will be hopefully dummy asembling the motor and checking for clearences next week or the week after.

Stripping the Motor

I have been researching suspension and even though there are cheaper options on the market I'm thinking Tein at this stage, although D2 are another option still.

Turbo has gone on hold for the moment as the VG30 fell through and we are thinking bigger power figures also. probably look down the line of a 3037 or 3040 depending on how the little old stock fella goes on run in and first hard tune.

While the car is being painted I'll be getting some custom suspension bits made, which I am happy to have extra's made and pass on to you lot also. I'm doing adjustable control arms front and rear, and having my castor arms redesigned to better suit drift. Pm me if your interested in getting some done.

We are about 2 weeks behind, which could be a bugger, but we are still aiming for Powercruise as a shake down event on the 3-5 of March.

Stay Sideways People,

Dan.

[Trust33]

How are the cable handbrakes for drifting with.

Did u have to replace the rear drum shoes.

[Majanal]

Am still using the rear drum shoes, and to be honest they are ok, you do have to be very rough and although I have not broken a cable yet, I feel that it is only a matter of time. (I have broken a handbrake lever though with being so rough.)

UPDATE 01-02-06:

Car is back in Sydney now. Have a few tidy up issues and am chasing different bits and peices.

Is starting to look a little bit scary to get everything done on time... hope to get everything done in time... gonna be a busy few weeks.

[someonestolecc]

More pics more pics!!

[Majanal]

Soon.

[Trust33]

picsorban!!Ahh can i hear the moderators!!

[madwog]

any more progress

good luck

[Majanal]

UPDATE 11-02-06:

Started stripping out the sticky bit of the interior... man is that Tar stuff S T I C K Y!

Took 2 hours just to do the back section with 2 of us... And all the decals are gone! except for the ones on the front bar and side skirt, as those bits are going to be replaced by the MFX Kit that is being supplied, hopefully that will be ready next week and the whole lot can be painted...

Engine is loooking the goods, we have decided to buy an second hand head, reco it, add cams and cam gears for a bit extra toque. This will mean that we also have a spare engine should the unthinkable happen in the heat of battle...

Have been discussing the bolt ons, and although the turbo is still undecided, we will be getting alot of things custom made or sourced by Eddy at Penrith City Exhausts (4721 3838).

Unfortunatly we got knocked back on tyres from TOYO, but we have been put on a "keep watch" list, so it isn't a total loss in this case, will just have to go and smash Vahoumous, Drift Cat and Dan next season

Suspension is in it's final stages at the moment and hopefully we can have that all done very shortly.

I managed to source a 2 way Nismo diff (thanks Abo Bob ), which will be traded on the one way... should make a nice difference!

Biggest problem at this stage is the rapidly decreasing budget... I might have to do some fast talking in the next few days...

Stay tuned, I'll be busy as over the next few weeks, but I'll try really hard to keep you up to date, and I'll get some pictures tomorrow and try to get them up before Wednesday.

Stay Sideways,

Dan.

[Trust33]

whats the weight of the car at present.

[Majanal]

not sure I it was 1430 on compliance... but no idea now, will get a final when all complete.

[Majanal]

UPDATE 23/02/06:

Well I'm still collecting bits for the engine, seems like I'll be taking a little longer to get it all together as I am having trouble organising some sponsorship to help cover entry costs. There is a possibility that the engine will not be complete and in for the first round on May 27-28 at Mallala in South Aus.

I was officially invited to put an application in to drive in Drift Australia this season, which is a really great pat on the back.

The 5 round series will be as below.

Round 1 - Mallala, SA - May 27-28

Round 2 - Qld raceway - June 24-25

Round 3 - Eastern Creek, NSW - July 29-30

Round 4 - Oran Park, NSW - September 2-3

Round 5 - Symmons Plains, Tas - September 23-24

Should be a great year, but if anyone knows of anyone wanting to get behind a drift car then pop some contact info in here and I'll get in touch and send them a proposal.

Till next time kids,

Dan.

PS. More photo's coming this arvo

[Majanal]

UPDATE 02/03/06:

Well it has been decided that after not being ready for Power Cruise starting today, that we would aim for next week to have the Car painted and hopefully the suspension in. Although we are still waiting for it to arrive.

The new engine wont go in for a while now, and as a result I have boxes of bits everywhere, between Waterhouse Auto Care and my garage I think we have 3/4 of a skyline lying around... most parts are stock, but if your after somthing, ask. We have decided to keep the current engine together rather than take the head off it and then have a bottom end sitting around doing nothing... we managed to buy a RB25det with injectors, manifolds etc that had a buggered block, but everything else is apparently in good order. That should just about see the engine ready to dummy assemble.

I have bought a turbo finally, a GT 25/35 450hp puppy that should still spool up nice and early and make the power we want without running out of puff.

I also will be picking up the plenum, 700cc injectors, fuel pump, fuel rail and reg hopefully today. better go make room for another box!!!

I have ordered 8 Work CR-KAI rims in white. 2 17x8 and 6 17x9... should arrive later this month.

My Body Kit is coming along pretty good apparently, the front bar is done, the rear bar should be finished this week, then we just have to wait for the skirts.

WOW... we might almost have some money in the bank at the end of it :0:0

Anyway, I have some pictures, but unfortunatly I am having trouble uploading them... so I'll attache a few here just for starters...

Stay Sideways,

Dan.

[Majanal]

Oh Yeah, I had a run down the 1/4 mile the other night (08-02-06), managed a 13.857 @ 102.60MPH (165.12 KMPH) with a 2.081 60'

Happy with that... next time with the new engine