So close

Just kidding. This thing is never going to drive.

Did a little work today on the R32 (did some work on the S13 too). I put the motor in the car so I can start placing everything and making my brackets etc. Figured out a nice spot for my intercooler thats way above the framerails so it will stay out of harms way when I plow through mounds of dirt at Balcony. No mid-mounting on this bad boy because of the way the headlights are set up.

Hideous engine.

Turbo to valve cover clearance. Eeek.

Yes I am clearly missing a fuel rail.

Tomorrow I will go back to bolt up the transmission and start mounting the intercooler into place.

Time Attack

I’ve decided that to spice things up a little bit on the Skyline, I’m going to build it with the mindset that I will eventually drive this car in Redline Time Attack, Top Drift, and XDC. I’ve always wanted to road race (probably even more than drifting) and figured, hell, a Skyline is a perfect car for road racing. Mind you it’s not a GT-R and it has 2 extra doors, it should still be fun! Here is a bit of inspirational pictures I’ve been looking at as far as buying a “road race” kit ie. GT-R bumper with front splitter and canards + air ducting, thinner sideskirts, rear diffuser, functional GT spoiler and lightweight Volk racing wheels (CE28, TE37, RE30).

I will have an update with pics hopefully this weekend.

Engine Bay Prep Part 3 – Seam Welding

Our fabricator at the shop, Matt, came by yesterday to stitch weld all of the seams in the engine bay to really strengthen the front end (not to mention make it look awesome). It came out quite nice, and if I’m not mistaken this is a service we’re going to start offering at the shop (engine removal, glue removal, stich welding, painting, engine installation).

Say hello, Matt.

Some detail.

And bam, that part is done.

Next step will be to get the engine in the car and start assembling everything together! How exciting! I just may be driving this summer!

Engine Bay Prep Part 2 – Seam Weld Preparation

Today before work I went to the shop and started removing all of the glue from the engine bay seams. This will allow me to have our fabricator, Matt, come in and stitch-weld all of the seams to reinforce the front end of the car. As soon as this is done I will have the motor in to start fabricating all of my brackets/piping and figuring out the wiring etc before I remove it all and paint the bay.

S14 Subframe in the R32

I went to the shop for an hour after work today and made a little bit of progress before I go MIA on some upcoming jobs starting this week.

I finally got the S14 subframe into the R32. Although the Skyline sedan and S13 share identical subframe mount points, the S14 subframe does not bolt right up with SPL offset bushings into the 4 door. I had to use both shims above the front bushings and hammer the frame rails to get the traction rod mount on the subframe to clear and sit flush on the mounts.

Hammered frame rail.

It also looks the Skyline rear lower control arms mounts are about 1/4″ smaller than the S14′s RLCA mounts. Looks like I’ll have to swap everything out in the rear including the spindle, wheel hubs (seized), and adjustable arms (current ones are Godspeed from the previous owner FAIL).

I also worked a little in the engine bay, pulling out the brake booster and throttle cable. The booster will need to be sanded down and re-painted black after 20+ years of leaking brake fluid and corrosion, and the RB20 throttle cable will be too short for this RB25 w/ Greddy intake as the throttle body will no longer be in its original position over the valve cover.

That’s my small update for today! Stay tuned for seam welding in the engine bay, followed by engine mock up, intercooler mounting and piping. Then comes engine bay paint! Yay!