R32 Gts4 - Restoration/rebuild

[Skylinestyle101]

The build is coming along well chris.

Looks good with the gtr guards on it. When you pulled the motor do you know what the cause of its failure was and i could never work out what killed it.

[Chris Rogers]

blown headgasket between 5&6 is what killed it. I now have a GTR bumper in my possession as well.

I can still smell stripper on my hands..

never mind the fact I had decent gloves on it still managed to seep through them.

I'll do a bit more tonight.

[Chris Rogers]

I got an email (with excel sheet attached) from my supplier in osaka today.

in short I sent a list of clips/clamps/pipes across to him about 3-4 weeks back.

of the 60 odd numbers I gave him 8 came back NLA (no longer available)

of these 90% are still available and ready to ship out. the rest are due mid JAN and from there I'll have pretty much all the clips that were used in the car originally

for those interested see thePDF files in the next post

[Chris Rogers]

R32-BATTERY-HLDR-CAR-PARTS-LST.pdf

R32-LINE-HLDR-BRAKE-ENGBAY-CAR.pdf

R32-BATTERY-HLDR-CAR.pdf

R32-LINE-HLDR-BRAKE-ENGBAY-CAR-PN-LIST.pdf

R32-LINE-HLDR-UDR-CAR.pdf

R32-LINE-HLDR-UDR-CAR-PN-LIST.pdf

R32-LINE-HLDR-UDR-CAR-REAR.pdf

R32-LINE-HLDR-UDR-CAR-REAR-PN-LIST.pdf

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thats pretty much all of them and I'll tell you that its a 4 figure sum for that list in clips/hoses alone.

[R32IST]

Great build thread Chris. Here's something you might consider when paint stripping.. When you brush on the paintstripper put on a really thick coat and get plastic and cover the area you brushed on and let it sit for a good 10-15 mins that'll help soften the paint and make easier to scrape off

[-Jimmy-]

Cool project.

As I was reading the thread I noticed you were doing the GT-R front end.

Looks good now it's done however couldn't help but notice that you haven't mentioned anything about widening the rear aswell?

I know it's a bit picky but I just think the car looks odd with the wide front and stock rear.

[Chris Rogers]

Great build thread Chris. Here's something you might consider when paint stripping.. When you brush on the paintstripper put on a really thick coat and get plastic and cover the area you brushed on and let it sit for a good 10-15 mins that'll help soften the paint and make easier to scrape off

yet to try that one. did try a heat gun (as you do with house paint) and tht raises it VERY quickly. only thing with a heat gun is temp. this stuff has a flashpoint and I really do not wish to find it.

[Chris Rogers]

Cool project.

As I was reading the thread I noticed you were doing the GT-R front end.

Looks good now it's done however couldn't help but notice that you haven't mentioned anything about widening the rear aswell?

I know it's a bit picky but I just think the car looks odd with the wide front and stock rear.

already thinking that myself. front on it looks ok rear on its a bit out of whack. I'm going to mention it to the body guy and see what he says. extreme worst case I'll do the bonnet,bumper, grill and lose the guards (I still have the originals.) - we'll see.

only reason I did it in the first place was to get the i'cooler in the right spot.

[Chris Rogers]

Roof area after 1 THICK pass of stripper. who ever painted this car (or repaired it for that matter)

didnt bother removing the clear coat from the first layer of paint. it was still there.

2nd pass with another THICK coat of stripper. thats 99% done. the drivers side still needs a 3rd hit of the stuff to remove the body filler and paint on that side.

one good thing about the second run was that it got down in the rear window channel and cleaned all the residual sealant/paint out.

lesson learned on a FRP wing. strip it with something else OTHER than a razor scraper. there are a couple of nicks in it now that I'll have to fill.

the stripper itself is fine on the material. it was my method that was flawed.

[OKBANANA]

Chris,

This project is inspiring and very motivating. I am following this with interest.

[Chris Rogers]

worst part about todays efforts were the rubber gloves. I went through 6 sets trying to get them on my hands..

[our12]

Hi Chris.

Following with interest. Just one thing about rubber gloves- use suede lined you wont want to take them off-just thinking about them kindles something in me.

[Chris Rogers]

thanks for the tip. concern is with the stuff I'm using. the 'rubber' gloves I'm using are not latex but vinyl filled. latex gloves this stuff LOVES to eat. only made the mistake once.

this is what I'm using to strip it.

http://www.customaut...s/Stripper.html

where do you buy these gloves you are talking about?

[Chris Rogers]

Suns out - pressure washer time. the pressure washer took most of the crap off. the rest was done by hand with a LOT of thinners and plenty of rags.

this is the left side before I started with thinners

front on. the paint was that worn in spots that the thinners raised it and took it away when I wiped it clean.

clean vs dirty. if it wasnt for all the paint coming off this would have been fine to leave alone. not the case so it all gets cleaned and a few more bits replaced. I am trying to work out a LEGAL way to replace the panel that has the chassis number stamped into it. there are 3 rust spots in there that concerne me long term. one of them is tucked under a brace on the drivers strut tower and that has eaten through the panel under the brace. I already have a new brace ($25.) so the panel *MAY* be next.

clean vs dirty #2.

[DR 32R]

Inspiring stuff. Love the attention to detail.

[Chris Rogers]

think its called 'insanity' actually. doesn't help that I have a quick way to look things up with prices and availablity either

I asked for the avaiablility of that cowl panel ( I know what its worth already.) a few minutes ago give it 30 -40 minutes to come back and that will probably go on the list as well PROVIDING I can find a way to legally stamp the jap frame number into it.

[mico]

quik quesstion, how did u get the windsheild wipers off ? the metal bar things that are concealed/behind the firewall have no nuts on the bottom and jus spin when u turn the top ones ? (the ones that are in groups of 3) and lookin good once again

[Chris Rogers]

to be honest they were rusted on. I ended up cutting them off with a small die grinder.. I took the same approach you did with them initially and thought that the locks had broken (the part where that M6 stud attaches to) and there must be a way to get at them with a socket. NUP! they were all spinning and it was at that point I said FK it and cut the nuts off in a triangle pattern.

the whole lot is sitting in a pile of things at the moment desiginated salvage/trash. seeing as you can buy the pieces individually I'll see what I can save of it. all the bushes on mine are pretty much gone.

[Chris Rogers]

Trivial thing as well. the bonnet catch support is DIFFERENT between my car and a GTR

62550-01U30 - GTS4

62550-08U31 - GTR

given that mine now has a GTR front on it that's one bit that wont work with the GTR bumper

I *think* that the length from catch to radiator support is shorter on the GTR one. that said I'm looking for a 2nd hand one.

its a trivial bit and one that I can strip and paint easily enough.

fellow in TMBA mentioned it when I was talking to him about something else. didnt give it a second thought till I started test fitting/hanging things...

[mico]

im not sellng that but im sure u will be able to track one down pretty easy. aslong as u have bar support it shud fit fine ? only the grill might be diff ? looks to be the same mount to me.