My Restoration

[AzzurrA]

damn... its going to be such a shame the first time this thing is driven

I vote that when you've finished it, you wrap it up in cotton wool and put it in a shed somewhere for 50 years

[Godzilla32]

Haha yeah but that defeats the purpose of having a nice car. Im hoping to get a photo shoot done on it pretty soon after completion. After that i'll drive the car regularly but only on nice days and on good roads. No gravel roads for me!

Deren

[sigsputnik]

Wow, just wow mate! You could eat off that!

[Burgerman]

Before I forget one thing i did notice is there is a slight buckle in the front left of the front sub-frame. It looks like its due to a hit on the wheel sending the shock through the castor rod to the frame. I was going to fit adjustable castor rods anyway so will that solve the wheel allignment issue i would have otherwise? Just want to get peoples opinions and find out all possible options to remedy it.

Deren

Note: I already wiped over the tank with a protectant/shine but with all the work i think it needs another hit.

Yeah, I found out my GTR has a bent cross member and having adjustable castor rods solved the problem of the car constantly but ever so slightly pulling to the left. Might need another alignment though as it's now slightly pulling to the right. I'll be taking it back to my mechanic soon anyways.

Well done on your restoration! It's looking fan bloody tastic!

[Godzilla32]

Hmm well to the front i plan on fitting: adjustable castor rods, adjustable upper links, pillow ball strut tops, Apexi N1 dampers. I will be dismantling the front end as of monday. Once its completely stripped i'll inspect the subframe and make a descision. We have a wheel alligner at work so i can take my time getting everything perfect.

I'll post again once the front is stripped and i have some new photos

Deren

[Topaz]

Looking beautifully crafter so far....

Can we start playing "spot the dirt"?

[Godzilla32]

Haha theres still 'some' dirty bits that i missed but i plan to wipe them over 'one day'

[arep3]

the rebuild on my motor starts today! got gt-ss turbos, large oil pump, sump baffle, powerfc complete gasket kit etc. im kinda anxious to get my car back but i want the mechanic to take his time and get it right 1st go.

hows things cruising along with the front end? still working on it?

[Godzilla32]

Hey!

Sounds good to me, i want GT-SS turbos but they are another 1,500 dollars more so i'll have to see if i can make the extra stretch.

The front end has been removed, stripped, and im in the process of cleaning down the idividual parts and painting them. Going to most likely replace both the wheel bearings as they are looking ok but not great. I'll have to price the kits from nissan as its proving difficult to get a generic bearing kit from BSC. If i take them the bearing they may have more luck matching it. I had the actual subframe re-alligned, as i mentioned it had minor damage. So to make sure i had the best possible chance to achieve perfect allignment i had it straightened to original spec.

When i get the money and time to go pick it up i will get onto cleaning and painting it also.

[arep3]

sounds good. im picking up those parts of mine from nengun. the mechanic still doesnt believe the prices im paying. the turbos are only $2800! ill be getting the clutch flywheel and all of the grease sent up to jim berry as well. i somehow think they wont last long after the motor is rebuilt.

i cant remember where we get bearings down here but cos most of the machines at work are custom built, we can usually just specify the dimentions we need. if not then they have always been able to match them up after we have taken the worn sets in. the wheels bearings dont have id numbers hidden under any bearing grease do they?? they have proven to be the best way to get exactly what we need.

[Godzilla32]

The numbers are there but they had to match up a bearing. The cheapest i can get is $250 inc. for a pair - left and right. Crazy i know but thats trade price, normally over $300.

As for the clutch, i assure you if you specify to Jim what you'll be using the car for and how much power you'll have etc, he'll build you one to handle it.

[arep3]

The numbers are there but they had to match up a bearing. The cheapest i can get is $250 inc. for a pair - left and right. Crazy i know but thats trade price, normally over $300.

As for the clutch, i assure you if you specify to Jim what you'll be using the car for and how much power you'll have etc, he'll build you one to handle it.

the price for the bearings is what i woulda guessed. the hopper at work had the bearings done just after new years while the factory was still on holidays and they cost just over 1k for 2 sets of 2. big bastards though...

jim has a 4000ps full monty sitting there waiting for me. i just gotta get my clutch and flywheel up to him. cant wait to get my car goin and my license back...

[Godzilla32]

Sounds good. I've been a little lazy lately but im still slowly working through the front end. Getting everything painted up the way i want it. I've been hard pressed to get time to pick up the front subframe off Pearce & Taylor. Once i get that back and buy a few other things i can reassemble the front end. Then once the engine bay is fitted out with everything it used to have in it (lots of stuff!), i can save up and get my engine back!

Ron did you mean 4000lbs clamp load? 4000ps is alot of power...lol

I like your quote on Jim, haha

[arep3]

Sounds good. I've been a little lazy lately but im still slowly working through the front end. Getting everything painted up the way i want it. I've been hard pressed to get time to pick up the front subframe off Pearce & Taylor. Once i get that back and buy a few other things i can reassemble the front end. Then once the engine bay is fitted out with everything it used to have in it (lots of stuff!), i can save up and get my engine back!

Ron did you mean 4000lbs clamp load? 4000ps is alot of power...lol

I like your quote on Jim, haha

lol yea jims a funny guy. i mean 4000 pound clamp. parts are on the way way from japan. my mechanic is gonna get the rest thats needed. alls i need to do is get as much overtime as i can to pay for all of it...

[Godzilla32]

Hey everyone

Over the last few weeks i've slowly been inspecting/prepping/painting up every individual front end component. I've slowed down a little bit lately (been lazy since my holiday). However im getting close to having all the parts ready for re-assembly. I still need to pick up my sub-frame since it has been jigged. Picked up the correct front wheel bearings today yet to pay for them but they are about $250inc for the pair! The NSK part number is slightly different now than to when they were first installed at the factory so there was some confusion there.

Going to use the factory front upper links to begin with. Once i have it back to kerb weight i can set it up on the wheel alligner and see where its at. If its out i'll be also getting a pair of adjustable upper links. At this stage the front end suspension mods are as follows: Nolathane sway bar bushes, Pillow ball upper mounts on Apexi N1 dampers, Adjustable castor rods.

As for the engine bay its coming along nicely! I have fitted both clutch and brake master cylinders, along with their boosters. The wiper motor is fitted, the ABS module and all of the brake lines are fitted. I went to extra trouble with these adding a coat of clear over the top of the cast alloy finish i have been using on all the pipes etc already. There is so much packed into these GTR engine bays that you cant even see once everything is in place, even so they are all getting the same treatment.

Anyway i'll add a couple of photos to show what i've been upto. Unfortunately they aren't the best quality photos but you get the idea.

Ciao,

Deren

[Topaz]

$250 for a pair of front wheel bearings?! I paid $386 direct from Nissan . If you need rear ones I paid $580 for the pair of those

[Godzilla32]

Nissan quoted me $283.90inc for the front wheel bearings. Thats trade price though.

[Godzilla32]

Ok finally i have got the front subframe back from Pearce and Taylor. I know i took my time but it was difficult to say the least. They close at 4pm and are only open monday to friday. I work everyday til 5pm. Anyway, one thing i wasn't expecting was that they had already painted it. However it was quite glossy and not quite upto the par of the rest of the car. So me being me sanded back the gloss and am about to refinish it in the same epoxy based satin black i used on the rear cradle. It will match properly then. Everything else is pretty much ready to reassemble on the front end now, i was just waiting for the sub frame to come back. The steering rack cleaned up quite well, i plan to finish it like original with a black tube and refinish the cast alloy with the same 'cast alloy' silver paint i've used on every other bracket, pipe, and cast alloy surface. I also cleaned up and the power steering cooler and painted it and its fittings. I spent a few hours stripping down and cleaning/painting the sub-cooling fan too. I painted the mesh cover but the rest looked like new with a bit of elbow grease! Fitted a new piece of rubbery strip between the top of the A/C condensor and the radiator support panel like factory.

After i had picked up the front wheel bearings i fitted them to the painted up front hubs. They look great! I will add fotos either tomorrow or soon after. Now the only thing im missing from my front end is adjustable castor rods and aftermarket pillow ball strut tops to fit the Apexi N1 Shocks.

Im getting my focus back to the engine and driveline now too. I am saving to pick up the clutch from Jim Berry so i can take it to the engineer machining my engine and get him to balance it along with the crank, rods, pistons etc to zero grams. Once he has that ready for me and i can afford to pay him (lol) I will get it back and reassemble the bottom end and later fit the cylinder head.

Its a slow process but the rewards once complete will deffinetly make up for it. However i keep reminding myself i have owned this car for nearly 3 years and have completed a total of 7,000 kms!! Yes its surely spent most of its life in my hands off the road being tweaked and perfected to my liking.

Can't wait to use it!

Deren

Edited April 24, 2007 by Godzilla32

[Godzilla32]

Front end is now re-assembled back into the car. I'll run the spanners over all the nuts and bolts once more when i get the shocks and castor rods in. Once the car is back to kerb weight, and on her wheels i'll crack all the nuts/bolts once more to reset all the bushes making sure they arent twisted.

I freshened up the stock blow off valves and they have come up very nicely. No photo yet but soon to come as well as others.

I have prepped and painted what seems like a 100 of those trade mark nissans pipe clamps which are scattered all over the car in various places!

There hasn't been many parts at all that i havn't refinished before fitting back onto the car. Helps to keep a fresh consistant theme through the car.

Im not sure if i've already said it or not but i plan on replacing the rack mount bushes with the same nolathane bushes as the rest of the ones i've done.

Im hoping for a more responsive feel out of it. Like the rear i'll be replacing the sway bar link pin and d-bushes with nolathane parts.

Anyway i'll reply again soon,

Deren

[Mr GTR-32]

Front end is now re-assembled back into the car. I'll run the spanners over all the nuts and bolts once more when i get the shocks and castor rods in. Once the car is back to kerb weight, and on her wheels i'll crack all the nuts/bolts once more to reset all the bushes making sure they arent twisted.

I freshened up the stock blow off valves and they have come up very nicely. No photo yet but soon to come as well as others.

I have prepped and painted what seems like a 100 of those trade mark nissans pipe clamps which are scattered all over the car in various places!

There hasn't been many parts at all that i havn't refinished before fitting back onto the car. Helps to keep a fresh consistant theme through the car.

Im not sure if i've already said it or not but i plan on replacing the rack mount bushes with the same nolathane bushes as the rest of the ones i've done.

Im hoping for a more responsive feel out of it. Like the rear i'll be replacing the sway bar link pin and d-bushes with nolathane parts.

Anyway i'll reply again soon,

Deren

Hi Deren, i am new to this forum i also own a R32 Gtr mine is in top original condition inside & out with factory exhaust ,FMIC etc. I thought i had a immaculate R32, looking at your posts and Fark me!!! you have done an insane job on this cult classic as i call them.I am just starting the whole process of starting the performance mods, i have a rebuilt forged engine with twin garrett ball bearing turbos etc. Your Baby is truely second to none keep up the good work will be awaiting more info

Cheers Dave M