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R31 Vh45/41

Mika
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Mika Collaborator

Mika

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Hi guys,

Have been toying witht he idea of building an R31 tow car for the odd Winton and Heathcote trip and have been looking for info on fitting a VH series motor into an R31. I know it has been done before, but info is very scarce.

Essentially, I'm after info on compatible subframes, gearboxes (would like to keep it auto) and I guess any pros and cons to do with the swap.

I'm not after anything more than having it as a daily driver that can tow.

Why R31? Because I want my tow car to look like a big version of the car it'll be towing!

Any help would be appreciated

Cheers

Mika

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Ghostrider Grand Master

Ghostrider

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As a tow vehicle, it doesn't rely so much on the power, as it does the RATED towing capacity of the vehicle.

I have an MX83 Cressida with an 1UZ V8, has bags of power and torque to do the job, but Toyota DO NOT under any circumstances recommend towing more than 1500kg and therefore the trailer and car total mass can't exceed this to be legal & the highest capacity tow bar is made by Hayman Reese and it has a 1500kg rating as the MAXIMUM towing rating for the car is 1500kg.

Check the ratings for the R31 before you enter into this conversion as you might just find it a waste of time for the purpose you plan it for.

Just as a reference, you have to be caught for it to be illegal, but if you are & your involved in a fatal accident, your going to GAOL, think about this when your planning this conversion. And another thing, and I don't know how they get around it, the max capacity motor that can be put into a vehicle is 3 times (3 X) the body weight and I would be surprised to find the R31 of any description would weigh 1500kg dry.

Cheers, D

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warps Mentor

warps

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Just as a reference, you have to be caught for it to be illegal, but if you are & your involved in a fatal accident, your going to GAOL

Not only that, but if you have ANY accident while towing the trailer, the indurance company wont pay as they can say that this contributed to - or caused - the accident.

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benny_blanco Proficient

benny_blanco

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I thought the R31 skyline would be fine for towing cars, my trusty old pintara wagon towed a few cars in its time my family and myself owned the car and that only had the shitty CA20 in it.

the money saved doing the conversion im sure you would rather be spending on your track car :D

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Ghostrider Grand Master

Ghostrider

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Hayman Reese make the biggest & best towbars and their top of the range receiver hitch for the R31 is rated at 1250kg with a tow ball weight of 120kg, so I'm afraid your out of luck. You can put an 12L Scania truck motor in your Skyline and you still wont be legal over 1250kg. That's car & trailer max load.

Cheers, D

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DR JOSH Community Regular

DR JOSH

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I thought the R31 skyline would be fine for towing cars, my trusty old pintara wagon towed a few cars in its time my family and myself owned the car and that only had the shitty CA20 in it.

the money saved doing the conversion im sure you would rather be spending on your track car :D

Just because it can do it doesn't mean it's either safe or legal. Take an R30/31 roughly 1200kg, a car trailer 500kg+ depending on how it's built, throw in all your tools and spares and what every necessary for a track day your looking at a fair amount of weight being pulled, supported and slowed down by your car. it's not something you want to be mucking around with, especially if you plan on doing interstate trips where you could be towing at 100-110kmh.

I do a lot of towing, my tow car is a turbo diesel nissan patrol with 3.5T towing capacity which it does tow rather nicely and loves it (my dads boat is 3.5T, maybe a smidge over with both petrol tanks full :) ) I wouldnt have it any other way. :)

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R30-RB30DET Apprentice

R30-RB30DET

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Allthough im speaking from NZ experience(a little more relaxed laws in that respect and more ruthless people like me) dont underestimate a R31 for its abilty though as my old HR30 L20E 5 speed used to tow a heavy trailer but well built 700-1000kg ish with a 1450kg stockcar on it on regular trips around the country as long as it was loaded properly, you didint drive like a mooron and were carefull with long down hills(lol at R30 std brakes) it was sweet as and R31s are a bit heavyer so I cant see why one wouldint be a good towcar(legalitys aside obviously)

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