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R33 N/a Manual Conversion - Compatible Gearboxes?

Hobbo33
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Hobbo33 Rookie

Hobbo33

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So I'm finally getting rid of the slushbox my N/a R33 came with and I've got a few queries I'm hoping someone can answer.

-I've heard the Rb25DE and RB20DET gearboxes are almost indentical apart from slightly different raitio's, in that case could I just use an RB20DET gearbox and a Rb25DE tailshaft together in an R33? I know you can't use a Rb25DET tailshaft as it's too long for a 20 or 25DE box

-Rb20DET box uses a speedo cable, while Rb25de gearbox uses a speedo sensor, can you easily swap the box to accept a speedo sensor?

-Is it possible to even use a RB30E on an R33 without an custom work? As their the cheapest of them all

GTSBoy Grand Master

GTSBoy

Posted
Posted

In answer to your first point/question. Yes, identical except for ratios. RB25DE ratios are the better ones, They are also the younger gearbox. When RB20DET boxes became harder to find (in good coondition at a good price) about 10 years ago (!) I opted to put an RB25DE box into my R32 GTSt. I cannot imagine why it would be more sensible or easy now to do the opposite.

Yes you would want the tailshaft from a manual NA R33 as your easiest option. Otherwise it is cut'n'shut, which is only worth it when you have no choice.

Yes. Per my above point, RB25DE box fell into my R32 and used cable speedo drive.

All the RB20DET/RB30E/RB25DE boxes fit up.

Here's a point worth pondering. Is it really worth tipping any money at all into a manual conversion on an R33? Hint, the correct answer is no. So whilst you would get closest to it being sensible to do the conversion with the cheapest available gearbox, it is always worth not doing things the cheapest way. Find the "good value way", not the "cheap way". Unfortunately, I simply cannot see the value in what you propose. Burn the car to the ground, claim insurance, buy a manual car with a turbo.

Hobbo33 Rookie

Hobbo33

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To be honest I paid $2500 for my auto R33, so by selling it and buying a manual one I'd end up spending more money than converting it since the current market for manual N/a r33's is still $5500+ on average. And I've always found a good cheap way, all the parts I've on my car so far have been cheap second hand things I've gotten good deals for, cheap is good if you know where to look and what to buy, and putting a $1500 Rb25DET gearbox in my N/a R33 is a bit pointless which is why I'm looking at the alternatives aka other RB gearboxes.

GTSBoy Grand Master

GTSBoy

Posted
Posted

I think you missed the point I was trying to make. Spending the money to convert an NA R33 to manual is a total waste of time.

Pissing the car off (and thank you SkylineR33RB25 for totally missing the irony in the insurance claim idea - as if i was serious - as if you weren't meant to read it as "sell it and upgrade") and getting a whole GTST rather than whatever the hell you thought I meant (perhaps you thought I meant buy a turbo box and install that) makes so much more sense than modifying ANY part of an NA Skyline.

Doing up a P plate spec Skyline is like doing up a Pintara. There's not enough going on under the engine cover to make it worthwhile.

Hobbo33 Rookie

Hobbo33

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I think you missed the point I was trying to make. Spending the money to convert an NA R33 to manual is a total waste of time.

Pissing the car off (and thank you SkylineR33RB25 for totally missing the irony in the insurance claim idea - as if i was serious - as if you weren't meant to read it as "sell it and upgrade") and getting a whole GTST rather than whatever the hell you thought I meant (perhaps you thought I meant buy a turbo box and install that) makes so much more sense than modifying ANY part of an NA Skyline.

Doing up a P plate spec Skyline is like doing up a Pintara. There's not enough going on under the engine cover to make it worthwhile.

Besides the fact that I'm still on my P plates for just over a year, I don't care for huge power under the hood considering all I want to do is drift. And an N/a Skyline easily has enough power to do that, I have multiple friends who can drift their N/a R33's very well, one of them infact won the amateur division at the Rayleigh drift series this year and he was up against much more powerful turbo powered cars. I understand I won't ever make my money back for this conversion when I eventually sell my car but that's not the point, it's something fun to do on a weekend with some mates and as well as being a learning experience it'll be worth the money with the amount of fun the car will provide over the next few years.

Hobbo33 Rookie

Hobbo33

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$2500 for an r33. that's an awesome deal if it's in decent condition. my r33 manual was 7k but it's in pretty good condition

Yeah I'm still surprised I got it for that cheap haha. 137,xxx km's (and actually genuine for once), original Skyline floor mats, interior is near perfect, downside was the paint and panels on the rear end were pretty rough and it's auto, but for $2500 with 2 months rego it was a steal, still alot of money when you're on a borderline minimum wage job though, hence why I want to find the cheap alternative to an rb25 gearbox haha.

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Hobbo33 Rookie

Hobbo33

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I have a n/a r33 but I don't have the balls to drift it yet. Idk if it can drift stock, i think you would have to redline it to keep the wheels spinning.

All you really need is an LSD/locked diff, coilovers and a good wheel/tyre setup and you're good to go. Alot of clutch kicks, raping the handbrake and a tiny bit of hitting the limiter seems to do the job.

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  • 1 month later...
H@ME Mentor

H@ME

Posted
Posted

Sorry to drag up an old post and i perhaps someone can put me in the right direction.

HAve a auto r33 series 1.5.

Just wondering is the rb25de and tails haft going to be a direct bolt up??

cheers.

GTSBoy Grand Master

GTSBoy

Posted
Posted

If what you are asking is...."I am doing a manual conversion to an auto R33. If I put in a manual gearbox AND the matching tailshaft, will it all bolt up?"....then the answer is yes. A qualified yes though.

You will need to get a spigot bush into the end of the crankshaft before trying to install a manual flywheel and clutch. You will also quite likely need to change the gearbox crossmember. I must admit to not knowing which one is which with the R33s. In general though there are typically 3 available gearbox crossmembers from these Nissans. One marked "A", one marked "B" and one marked "C". Usually when changing from one type of box to the other you need to grab one of the other two from whichever you are starting with. It is best if you can have all three available when you do the swap and hand back the ones you don't need! That is unless you can find someone to tell you categorically which one you need for that swap on that car. The main difference between the 3 members is just the fore-aft relationship between the holes for bolting it to the chassis and the holes for bolting it to the box.

  • 2 months later...
  • 5 years later...
KiwiRS4T Grand Master

KiwiRS4T

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, Jayden.zzzrfb said:

How did you go about clutch slave master and pedal? Did you drill a hole in the firewall?

Be pretty tricky if you didn't. Have you had a look? You might find the positions marked.

BTW last post in this thread was over  5 years ago....

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