Shoota's R33 GT-R RB30/26

[Shoota_77]

Braved the 40 degree heat today and had a crack at extending my lower timing belt cover to suit the taller RB30 block. 

Suffice to say I was starting from a questionable position...

Gave it a sandblast to tidy it up then fit the upper and lower covers to see what I was working with.

 

Made some crude measurements and cut up a piece of rusty sheet metal I've had laying around the shed for 10 years just waiting for a day like today!

In reality it was just a heap of trial and error with the getting the angles of the folds straight then just kept measuring,  bending and grinding until it looked pretty good. 

clamped it together with vise grips then tig welded it across the back. I ran out of TIG filler so just fusion welded it. It's ugly as aids but hidden so meh!

Had to do a little bit more tidying up to get the top cover to fit but overall, fairly straightforward. Before you mention it, yes I know you can buy one but they're made of stainless rather than mild steel like the rest of it and if I can make it myself for $0 then why not? 🤷‍♂️

Hopefully powdercoat it over the next few days and job done!

 

[Shoota_77]

Another hot day in the shed yesterday. Over 40 degrees in the shed so I reckon I've lost a few kgs in sweat the last few days.  Looking trim for Stereo... (the kids will get it....)

Rather than be productive on the car I decided to make my K-Frame/Engine stand mobile....

Added permanent legs and caster wheels that will make it a bit easier to move around once the engine is sitting on it. Once I'm ready to bolt up the tranny I'll make another little dolly to roll around under the transfer case and support the back. I'll make it out of a spare bottle jack that I've got so I can adjust the height. 

Anyway,  boring shit but at least I can say I didn't waste all of new years day...  I've started the year off well in terms of actually doing something in the shed so we'll take that as a positive! 

Whacked one of the new wheels on to check fitment and although hard to guage properly without a tyre I think it looks amazing!  Spacing relative to the guards looks perfect. 

[usmair]

they sit really well. i thought id need spacers

[Shoota_77]

On 2/1/22 at 4:20 PM, usmair said:

they sit really well. i thought id need spacers

Yeah definitely don’t need spacers, I’m slightly worried that they’re too far out as they are. Even though I dislike the stretched look I may have to run a slightly under square tyre to tuck in at the top. When I’m ready I might fit up one tyre to check to see how it goes for fitment. 

[Shoota_77]

Pretty lazy day today. 

Put the first coat of wrinkle finish paint on the newly extended lower timing belt cover. I'll put at least one more coat on before I fit it. I threw another coat over the top cover as well as it had a few chips from bouncing around the shed for the last 7 years...

Fit up a few bits and pieces (thermostat housing, A/C bracket, timing belt, etc) and then trial fit the intake just to see how it looks and work out what else I'll need to modify. A bit disappointingly the manifold flange is warped so I'll need to get it machined which is a pain.

I've re-purposed the exhaust side studs (which I replaced for titanium studs) on the intake side so they will be all studs instead of bolts.

A few little issues to work through but we're getting there slowly. 

Not sure if this gives an idea of the fitment and width of the rims but they look fat!

This photo reminds me how shit my rear bumper is....  That's a problem for another day...

[Looney_Head]

looking good, those wheels look hot.

 

one thing about the studs on the intake, i am not sure if R33's are like R32's but when i had studs on my intake (RB25 Greddy intake) i hit the clutch master when trying to take it off.

[Shoota_77]

On 10/01/2022 at 7:46 AM, Looney_Head said:

looking good, those wheels look hot.

 

one thing about the studs on the intake, i am not sure if R33's are like R32's but when i had studs on my intake (RB25 Greddy intake) i hit the clutch master when trying to take it off.

Cheers mate.  Slowly getting there.

Very good point regarding the studs.  I'd love to think once it's on it'll stay on but we all know that aint the truth! 

[Shoota_77]

Got my lower timing cover painted. I think I've lost the art of wrinkle coating but ah well, I like the textured finish it ended up as. The top coming cover is a bit shit but I'm not sure I have the patience to strip it down and redo it at the moment...

I'm going to add a timing pointer to the lower cover to make finding top dead centre easier and more accurate. 

[Looney_Head]

On 1/10/2022 at 10:48 AM, Shoota_77 said:

Cheers mate.  Slowly getting there.

Very good point regarding the studs.  I'd love to think once it's on it'll stay on but we all know that aint the truth! 

yeah i thought that too.... RB life i guess.

[Shoota_77]

Been slack lately. Have done a lot but achieved nothing if that makes sense?  I'm playing around with a few ideas which are time and brain cell destroying...

What I have done first-

Make an alloy pointer for pin point timing. Will most likely powdercoat it then put a white/silver tip.

Powdercoated a few more bits and pieces for installation. 

Temp fit the exhaust manifold and turbo so I can make the PRP turbo oil drain fit out of the car. Needed to order some new fittings for the block so waiting on those.

Had to get the intake plenum flange machined as it was warped from when it was welded up in production. 

Snapped the dipstick tube off in the block. Don't want to talk about it.... Sump off AGAIN and dipstick tube ordered.....

Started rewiring the engine from the engine end also AGAIN, allowing for some additional inputs plus that leads onto the next part I'm still pondering....

So I want to somewhat "wire tuck" the engine bay and there really isn't a nice place to put bulkhead fittings on the drivers side to stop any wires running across the back of the firewall. So......  What I'm thinking is having 2 bulkhead fittings remote mounted under the brake booster and pretty much out of sight that also enable easy removal of the engine (cause GT-R....).  I haven't entirely convinced myself it's the right option yet but strongly leaning that way.  Feel free to offer your thoughts or rain down the hate! 😅

Made a few templates and trial runs to get it to where I think it would work if I do it-

 

I've pretty much resigned to the fact that I'm painting the engine bay too.... 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

 

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

This car will never run with this motor, by 2026 you'll be fitting Tesla motors to it lol

[r32-25t]

On 21/1/2022 at 3:10 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

This car will never run with this motor, by 2026 you'll be fitting Tesla motors to it lol

I’m sure someone will make an adapter kit to fit the motor to the gtr gearbox 

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

On 21/01/2022 at 3:15 PM, r32-25t said:

I’m sure someone will make an adapter kit to fit the motor to the gtr gearbox 

PRP Tesla motor conversion with BILLET Samsonas adaptor plate. 6 Speed Tesla electric motor.

[Shoota_77]

On 21/01/2022 at 3:10 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

This car will never run with this motor, by 2026 you'll be fitting Tesla motors to it lol

Yeah it's a fu(king disaster this thing.  I'll probably bin it at some point and buy a Prius.  Should be able to get $175000 as a roller anyway...

I wouldn't fit a dirty stinkin Tesla to it BTW but I would put an Audi GT RS leccy donk in it!

 

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

American junk, probably riddle with defects and will catch on fire - then they will lawyer up and blame you.

[Shoota_77]

On 21/01/2022 at 4:01 PM, Dose Pipe Sutututu said:

American junk, probably riddle with defects and will catch on fire - then they will lawyer up and blame you.

Yeah being Merican it won't go around corners.

Self drive might improve my changes of driving it in a straight line though!

[Shoota_77]

Temporarily assembled most of the engine to help get my head around what is required for wiring in new stuff (DBW, EMAP sensor, etc).

Looks almost pretty!  Will be powdercoating the Taarks intercooler clamp black (was supplied purple with DBW setup...).  I've never played with one before, they're actually pretty cool how they work!  Puts a fair bit of strain on a not fully compressed o-ring but I guess they do what they promise!!??

 

[Looney_Head]

if nothing else it looks very cool out of the engine bay. i am sure you will take a few steps forward soon

[Shoota_77]

On 25/01/2022 at 8:11 AM, Looney_Head said:

if nothing else it looks very cool out of the engine bay. i am sure you will take a few steps forward soon

Thanks!

The only thing I'm not sold on is my overall colour palette of the parts.  I feel I may need to powdercoat my valve covers and top timing cover at some point as I've got too many different blacks and different finishes going on now.  The plenum is satin,  the balance tube and fuel rail are gloss and then the valve covers and top cover are all wrinkle finish.  I think I need to bring it back to just satin and gloss black as accents.

Other than than it's starting to come together!

[Shoota_77]

Been waiting on a few parts to arrive so been a bit slack.

Powdercoated a few bits to feel like I was doing something. Oil baffles cooked a bit of hidden oil out that was hidden when i cooked it so wrecked that a bit but meh. 

Sump baffles-

Front diff cover-

Catch can-

I started making my "arse jack" to be able to roll around under the transmission while it's sitting on the K Frame stand.   A complete waste of time, effort and money but at least I recognise that! 🤣

Did my first "heavy" TIG welding as my MIG is out of action. A couple shabby weld to start with until I got the higher amperage dialled in. Still not perfect but good practice on thicker steel. Still MUCH prefer MIG for that type of welding. Just need to work out the height and weld on the legs and wheels. Then I can tick off another almost useless piece of workshop equipment. Once I powdercoat it of course...

 

Tried to make up the PRP turbo drain kit but fark me it's ultra thin stainless tubing. Way above my skill level to weld that flimsy shit onto the AN fitting. Binned it and now sourcing some other similar concepts to do it myself. 

In other news, getting a pool!  Don't have to sell the Skyline to get it, winning!  But to please @Dose Pipe Sutututu I may still have to sell a child or 3 kidneys (wife can lift her weight and donate one) to get a Samsonas.... Or I could just be a pleb and row 5 gears like a real man!