My Unicorn Adventures

[rim32]

just for fun, an engine bay shot

[rim32]

having a handbrake was nice. while waiting on more parts to finish off the center console, I managed to sell my bike... instantly regretted it haha. decision was made to really dig into the wagon...

the bike color is the same as the prelude... had half the paints left over from the respray and decided to use it on the bike. color code is 38R, graphite metallic. really love the color

Edited March 25, 2015 by rim32

[Turbosingh]

sometime after the wof, I ended up moving flats. Got our own place with a good size garage!

now with a new garage, it was a good time to work on the suspension. after gathering all the necessary bits and pieces, the work began

...and then photobucket shat itself. rest of pictures will come eventually

Wow how much did those lower ball joint cost you?

[rim32]

Wow how much did those lower ball joint cost you?

the lca s and the tie rod ends I found online for around 600

[rim32]

as you can see below, the hand operated park brake was a bit ill fitting so a new set up was in order...

some bits were ordered for the conversion

made some room to work with..

end result

[rim32]

at this point things got a bit more serious!

got a great deal on a gearbox from a guy that happend to be building a stagea as well. hope to see it on the road one day if I m ever back in town.

[KiwiRS4T]

Did you get a new part from Nissan? What was it worth? Did you get the front bit as well (for when you go manual!)?

[rim32]

started with the easy bits first... buying a master for the clutch

and began the process of installation

with the master cylinder in, it felt like a good start

then it was time to rip out everything automatic!

exhaust came off too

I decided to go ahead and do this conversion by myself, in my garage, with the basic tools I had. It went ok.

and here is the big ass auto out

and this is whats left

what you see lurking there in the background is my new daily seeing as how the wagon has no drivetrain.

[rim32]

Did you get a new part from Nissan? What was it worth? Did you get the front bit as well (for when you go manual!)?

are you referring to the centre console? that was bought used from an r34. the front bit I attempted to fabricate myself first, but then ended up buying one off ebay. ended up being much easier.

[KiwiRS4T]

are you referring to the centre console? that was bought used from an r34. the front bit I attempted to fabricate myself first, but then ended up buying one off ebay. ended up being much easier.

So that's the key! I tried an R33 one but it didn't fit.

[rim32]

So since I was on a roll with the whole pulling gearboxes thing, I went ahead and removed the civics gearbox as well. I bought it with just about zero clutch, which made for interesting driving... easy replacement though and a brand new clutch will see this little civic getting a lot of abuse.

the guy selling it kept trying to convince me it was thai silk, but everyone knew it was pink. didnt give a flying yak for a few hundred dollar daily.

great thing about this gearbox is how light it is. no hassles getting it on and off the car

civics are great for a cheap daily to bash on, and mine always meet their demise eventually. dont have any photos of the abuse this one got before I dropped it off at the wreckers, but I still got some pics of the civic I had at uni...

it did still go.

[Captain Wow]

So that's the key! I tried an R33 one but it didn't fit.

Just after I bought a standard auto console and fabricated up the shifter surround and hand break hole haha. Cheers for the knowledge Rim.

[Trex]

Last time I measured the 34 console the side wall was roughly 20mm taller and wouldn't match up. Could have easily cut it down to size though.

[rim32]

Last time I measured the 34 console the side wall was roughly 20mm taller and wouldn't match up. Could have easily cut it down to size though

with a bit of trimming, it fits real nice. the screw holes in the back line up with the auto bracket nicely.

[rim32]

now that the auto was out, it was time to get the manual in! couldnt wait

best way to move big transmissions - with a rug.

some of the oil lines that came out with the auto.

one of the more annoying parts of removing auto bits - the auto spigot bush.

was gonna use the popular grease technique, but that didnt work

ended up removing it with a drill and hammer.

getting the new manual bush in was a lot easier

got me a manual pedal. getting there

a few more goodies for the conversion...

[rim32]

installed the clutch pedal... a much better look

hole for the manual shifter

putting it all together

clutch completed with a new braided stainless steel line.

time for the fun part!

got to the point where it was almost in, the last centimeter took about 99% of the time trying to line it up perfect so it fit.

first signs of tranny from inside

almost there!

done!

manual gearbox is in! to be done still is connecting 4wd oil line, drain and change oil, connect clutch bits, connect electrical bits, few other bits and pieces.

electrical diagram found in another thread on here. Thanks!

luckily had a few plugs from another nissan engine that fit the ones coming from the gearbox perfectly so it was a clean set up.

so much manual!

chopped the front portion of center console. was gonna make a custom piece for the rest and join them up and maybe make a fibreglass piece...

[rim32]

so with the gearbox installed, it was just a few details that needed sorting out...

first on the list was the gear shifter bush. got an item from a guy that claimed it was a GTR piece...

didnt quite fit.

ended up buying this item as well as some others from Nissan. got the bush, also gut a new set of exhaust studs and a new shift boot.

looking good with new boot on

so for the center console, I went ahead and got a template made in AutoCAD, with a few iterations, it was looking like a good fit.

I wanted to use some plexyglass that I can heat up and mold. Made a mold of sorts based on the autocad cutout...

this is one of the many attempts to perfect the piece.

I played with that idea for a while longer but ended up abandoning the plan for an easier option. buying an item off ebay.

[rim32]

at this point the meat of the manual conversion was done, and it was a whole lot of fun to drive! The suspension felt good and solid and the gearbox ended up being in gud shape.

around this time was when my gf and I decided to go traveling. So we moved flats again to live with more people, start saving up money for our trip. The car still needed to be certed, and I wanted to give the engine a bit of attention, as it looked like it needed.

During the whole manual conversion, I noticed a few of the exhaust studs were missing... thus the purchase of a new set

so the hot side cleanup project began at the new place...

as you can see, cylinder one has nothing!

cylinder 1

2

3

4

5

6

cylinder 1 and 6 were not looking awesome.

[rim32]

tools for extracting snapped studs

dirty turbo out

gasket not in good shape

work began extracting the snapped studs, first a bit of cleanup...

pilot hole drilled. try to be as centered as possible so the larger drill bit doesnt damage threads

drill out large hole and use extractor and in my case vice grips to slowly get that sucker out of there.

example of large hole drilled in cylinder 2 stud

turbo cleaning

some replacement gaskets

with all snapped studs removed, everything cleaned up, it was time to put new studs in.

at this point I noticed just how filthy the cam covers were. decided might as well take em off and clean them up. ended up getting some new seals here.

a bit of wire brushing cleans them up nice

new vs. old

going back together

hot side rebuilt and looking a lot better. car felt a lot better driving too now that we were putting all the exhaust into the turbo instead of everywhere else!

as it sat for a bit. started taking pictures for the sale. sad times

[KiwiRS4T]

Sale? Your selling the car after all that work?