Shoota_77

@georgev cheers for the kind words. It's become quite a lengthy read so you've done well! Diffs are back. Both are in great condition which is good news and bad news! I'm glad it's now eliminated as an issue but it means we've still got a problem! I'll re-assemble the front diff then get the car trailered back to the diff guy so he can set up the whole thing perfectly. He'd really rather me take the sump off and give that to him..... I'm not convinced I can be effed doing that! ? Will hopefully get back into it over the weekend.

My diff guy finally poked his head back out yesterday so I can go and pick up the diffs. I'm not actually sure if he has done anything with them, will hopefully find out today. Otherwise I've just been fluffing around to be honest. Just doing little bits and pieces but not much! I gave the wheel arch areas a clean up as they were very dirty as you'd expect. The paint is VERY thin under there so had to back off a bit once I started going through the paint.... Once the diff is re-assembled I can whack the new camber arms in and re-assemble it all. I really want to do a full resto job on it but I'll fight off the urges and do it down the track. I'll just clean up what i can and be done with it. I'm putting a new set of lower ball joints in while it's all apart as the boots are split on one and very perished on the other. Front diff housing is all cleaned out ready to re-install the diff when I get it back. I've machined a little bit off the inside of the diff housing to make getting the diff back in a little easier. They're a bastard of a thing to get in and out while in the car so anything to make it a bit easier is a bonus! Cleaned up all the bolts in the ultrasonic cleaner, it does an awesome job (see pics)! As a side job I built a very quick, slapper trolley to hold my sandblaster unit as doing it on the ground was not great for my knees and my back! I'm resto-ing the front grill mesh so stripped it apart and have started sandblasting the powdercoat off the mesh. It's bloody hard to get off. I tried paint stripper but it does nothing to powdercoat I now discover! More time in the sandblaster and they'll be all good. not sure if I'll just paint them or go powdercoat again. Even though I'd done it before I gave the headlights another hit on the buff to bring them back to sparkling. One day I might actually get to use them! Starting to contemplate getting the fibreglass kit out again to fix a few bits and pieces but I'd rather keep that till after it's back on the road. See photos of cracked boot spoiler brake light surround. Gunna be tricky to fix.... Hopefully getting the diffs back will get me motivated again!

@Strexx mate if you’ve got a bit of metal fab skill you’re laughing, you’ll do it easy! I shaped that repair section on a curb outside my garage using just a hammer and grinder ? so with a few basic tools and your skills you’ll get a great result. Get some good quality jack stands and get the car up as high off the ground (but be safe!) as you can to make drilling out the spot welds as easy as possible. Use a wire wheel in the grinder to expose the spot weld locations to start with. The replacement rails from Japan definitely sound like the go. Get into it and give it a go! Make sure you post up some results!

It's a dog of a job but definitely doable. I did it years ago on my Datto 1200 and while they're not as integral part of the chassis strength on the Datto as the Skyline, still definitely a job that someone with some decent metal working skills can have a crack at. I cut out the dented and rusted sections, shaped new steel and welded it in. If you were able to get hold of a really good shell you could drill out the spot welds and remove them from the shell. Weld them on to your car and you're good to go. A skilled metal worker could easily replicate the rails too. As was mentioned, no disrespect to anyone's car but you have to weigh up the cost versus reward. When there's heaps of donor GTS-T shells still around you're better off transferring the good stuff from yours onto a better shell and enjoy it for a few years longer. Or, spend the time making your baby like new again! A few photos of one section of my Datto chassis rail repair. I had waaaaaaay less welding skill back then than I do now so would be a lot easier to do now! (As an aside you can see where I've drilled out the spot welds to get it off the chassis)

I used Headspec in Clayton and found them really good to deal with. A few years ago now though.

Q Welcome Jasper! Post some photos of your beast. I love Holland by the way. My Grandparents are both Dutch so I guess I have a vested interest in the place! Hopefully you find everything you're looking for. Don't be afraid to ask if not.

Ok so my diff guy has gone missing... I'm trying to get my stuff back so I can start re-assembling things. I'm hoping he's just gone away for the Chrissy break (and have no issues with that being the case!) but I really wanted to get stuck into it while there are a few days off here and there over the Chrissy/New Years break even though I'm working through. My GKTech camber arms turned up yesterday so I can whack them in once the new upper control arm bushes arrive. While all the front suspension is apart to remove the front diff I'll give everything a really good clean up under the front wheel arches to get rid of some of the 24 years of built up crud! One day I'd love to do a full resto job on the car but I want to get it up and running and enjoy it for a while first. The body is in great condition, it's just the bolt ons (bumpers, side skirts, boot spoiler, etc) that are in need of some love. I've never played with bolt ons so should be fun..... oo > 00 I've spent a few hours modifying the front bumper to accomodate the 100mm intercooler. I've had to hack off a good inch here and there to get it all to fit. I found the front reo to be really out of whack too. The bumper has always been on crooked so I was determined to get it right. I elongated the holes on the mounts, bent the top bumper guide edge (the section that sits under the headlight to hold the front edge of the bumper) and also bent the whole reo bar across to the passenger side a bit. It all sits perfect now so well worth the few hours of stuffing around! It's probably never been right for its whole life! Plenty of other things I could be doing but due to the time of year it is and my cyclic motivation, not much is getting done! In the times I should be out in the 45 degree shed I've been watching all of this series which is well worth a watch if you haven't already. The kid is only 20 years old but this is already the second car he's done a full body resto on. He's done a brilliant job and is very honest with his mistakes. Well worth a watch if you're planning on getting stuck into your own car but just need a bit of assurance to have a crack! He mentions something that I've spoken of before that the hardest part of performing modifications is just starting. Once you start you've already conquered the first and hardest hurdle. Give it a look-

If that's the case with them being too restricted in the arse end then the 1.45 rear housing might prove to be essential to get the best out of them (if you're chasing top end). Mine is just standard ex housing and to be honest if the smaller arse means more response earlier on then I'll just leave it. For now... Would be super interesting to do an immediate dyno comparison on the same day with the two different housings just to see how much difference it makes across the whole curve. Can you do please ?!

Through a process of semi confident elimination, I've ripped out the front diff and sent it off to be looked at. There was a lot of metal in the bottom of the housing. To be honest I'm still not 100% confident that it is the cause but definitely issues so I'll sort that out first. The noise did go away as soon as I dropped the front shaft so looking likely it is the front diff or could be the transfer case as the noise goes away when there is no load. Hopefully get the diff back (also getting a non V-Spec rear diff I bought years ago serviced so I can piss off the viscous LSD at the same time. The front is already a 1.5 way LSD so should hook up nice with mechanical set-up front and rear!). I've bought a set of GK Tech adjustable front camber arms so will whack them in seeing I've got everything out to remove the front diff and axles. Bloody prick of a job to remove the diff while the engine is in the car I tell you.... Other than that still struggling with motivation but hopefully once I get some stuff back and new bits in the mail I'll get excited again!

Great to watch mate, well done! It’s coming along well.

As in below but black the bumpers-

I know the colour cops a bit of a workout but the Mazda Soul Red with gloss black bars and accents would be pretty cool!

Brilliant stuff, well done! Now start making them on the side and sell them!

God welded titanium is porn!! Looking good.

@R32 TT sounds like it's going to be a beast!!!! I think you're a bit conservative on your power number if you're talking E85? With a 3.2 I'd have thought it would push into the upper 500's kW mark. Look forward to seeing it come together!

I keep causing myself grief and putting it off. Mine won't hit the rollers till late Jan now.

Bloody capable motor with some tinkering. Lots of hate around for VW but they build a brilliant car. Was surgery for cosmetic enhancement?

Yeah thank god it's hidden behind the door trim. That could be worse though, you always know it's lurking in there! Ah well, all Skyline doors are the same so can easily be replaced if it rots Steve's brain too much!

Wow, someone needs to be shot for that!! As you say there are so many better ways than that to lighten a car!!! Crazy.

Cheers Peter, how is yours going? Are you getting it out much?

I see you've got a build page going now. I'll have a read when i get a sec. As long as it turns your head who cares what everyone else thinks! I just love looking at mine even though it's a bit of a bucket in terms of body kit quality. I just love the shape. I might have had a power nap in the drivers seat the other day too.... GT-R seats are good for a snooze!

Sounds like a beast!! I've got a soft spot for the Benz product having looked after them as a brand for about 5 years. The C205 C63 is still one of my favourite cars (apart from the GT but just not practical). We had one on loan from head office for a week. It had the optional carbon ceramic brakes on it too.. I took a mate out for a drive one night and he almost threw up when he got out from the rapid acceleration and deceleration from the ceramic brakes! Was a beast. Had the V12 Maybach up to some stupid speeds out in the quiet backroads too! That thing sat on the road incredibly well for the size of it. I had a couple of blokes kicked back in the reclining rear seats watching footy on the TV's at the time .

Yeah "life" certainly has a way of getting in the way of a good time! It really is hard to find the time to start with in our busy lives and then force yourself off your arse out to the shed to actually do something when you do get the time! The main time I can get out there is after the kids go to bed at around 8pm and I can then head out to the shed for a few hours. We do 5 X 9 hour days during the week and then another 5 hours on Saturday morning so it really is a battle for time. Good luck getting back into it, i look forward to seeing how it all comes together!

Ha ha, no shed skids @Dose Pipe Sutututu don't want to ruin my painted floors! Even once it's "finished" we both know it's NEVER finished. There is no such thing with a project car. There's always a new piece of tech or upgraded part to add. New gearbox, new clutch, drive by wire, fresh paint..... The list goes on. Apart from the fact I can't stand BMW's I do understand the attraction of jumping in a car that you know you'll hit the key and it will start! Plus the air con will work, the windows don't make wierd noises, there's no click from the dash, etc!

We're still having a (hopefully) brief trial separation. Collecting my thoughts before the next onslaught! To cap it all off its now not starting! It progressively got harder to start now nothing at all. Has fuel pressure and spark but the injector pulse when tested with a noid light seems very dim so might be an injector power supply issue. More head scratching and fault finding to come! ?