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Picked Up A Damaged R33 - What To Do From Here ?

BL4KEY

By BL4KEY,
in R Series (R30, R31, R32, R33, R34)

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BL4KEY Newbie

BL4KEY

Posted
Posted

Hi Guys,

Well im new to the R33 scene so id just like to say HEY!

Anyways more to the point, i've been looking out for a project car for the last 12 months to keep me busy and ended up buying a mates damaged R33 from his insurance company in the hope to repair it and get it back on the road. The plan is to completely strip the car down the shell, repair and rebuild as a dedicated track car however id like to be able to re-register the car so I dont have to tow the car to and from the track and do the occasional cruise.

The car is a pretty neat 93 R33 Series 1 RB25DET. My mate managed to lose it around a corner and swipe a light pole which did the damage to front right hand side of the car and drivers door.

My main concern is the sub frame / radiator support etc which has been destroyed in front of the right strut towers. To me everything looks ok from the strut towers back with the main concern being the sub frame and steering rack which has been bent. Im not sure the best way to go in repairing the car, my thoughts are finding a leftover from cut and weld in the sub frame from that then source new fenders, bonnet, kit etc or just to drop it off to a panel shop and have to pro's take car of it.

Like all of us I want to keep the costs down as much as possible initially and pretty hand with the tools / welder so i think i can do 90% of the work myself.

Just wondering what everyones thoughts are and how they'd tackle a job like this. Cheers!!!

Blakey

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R34GTFOUR Mentor

R34GTFOUR

Posted
Posted

radiator support isnt a major thing, you can buy that brand new from nissan and isnt all that hard to replace but obvoisly if you want to keep cost down you would just find a left over half cut and use that one.

The main concern is the chasis rail, if thats crushed or bent at any place along the car you need to spend alot of time getting that right otherwise your gonna have alot of dramas with wheel allignments. If you are going to do this yourself, its going to take a while but theres no reason why you cant do it.

Things like the k-frame and steering rack most of the time are left over from a half cut, so you should score that for pretty much nothing. Start by ripping the motor out and start accessing the damage from there.

Have fun :teehee:

darrinspencer Grand Master

darrinspencer

Posted
Posted

Some things need to be looked at before pulling it apart too much

With a front hit like that, the RH strut tower could be slightly pushed up or back and if the hit was more from the side the front end could be pushed sideways slightly

Best do some measurements, front to back, side to side and diagonally and vertically if possible

If you find it has moved, then you will need to put it on chassis aligning machine at any panel shop.

Once it is squared back up, then you can repair it.

Sometimes it is best to leave the motor in while re-aligning the front.

Best talk to a panel shop and go from there.

I am no panel beater, but have done similar and worst repairs about a dozen time before.

toffy Veteran

toffy

Posted
Posted

mate, to be honest if i were you id take it to a pro to have a look before you touch it , the rail doesnt look bent from the pics and you could make it alot worse by trying to repair it :P . looks like you will need a lca and tie rod/end btw :P

silversr33 Apprentice

silversr33

Posted
Posted
mate, to be honest if i were you id take it to a pro to have a look before you touch it , the rail doesnt look bent from the pics and you could make it alot worse by trying to repair it :( . looks like you will need a lca and tie rod/end btw :rofl:

Yeah agreed, and you also wanna know that the car is going to come good at the end before you start spending a lot of time and money on it.

Really gutsy if you start rebuilding that for track use straight up, in my opinion.

BL4KEY Newbie

BL4KEY

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Thanks for your input guys, the plan is to strip the car down as much as possible then send it to the pro's to repair the body / frame etc and i'll be tackling the rest of the build from there

Just wondering if anyone can reccomend any good smash repairers in Perth??

Cheers boyz!

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