Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Good morning all. I figured I might as well start a build thread on my 1990 Skyline GTS-T (Gxi hybrid). The backstory of this car is pretty out there. It's an FR chassis, had a motor swap done on it, the previous owner cut the engine harness and hard wired an R31 ECU and hard wired the TCM as well. Needless to say it was less than attractive. 

Fast forward to yesterday. We just finished installing the chassis, engine and alternator harnesses. I was fortunate enough to find the harnesses on eBay via international sellers. For >$500 I was able to secure those. I'm still missing a transmission harness for the A/T which I can likely source off of a Z32. They had the same transmission so I can assume the connectors are the same. 

Right now I'm at a standstill, the coilpack harness was hacked up as well and the connectors from the old harness don't look like the typical 6 pin plugs but rather have a rubber boot on them and a metal clip. In addition there's a single wire plug (round) that comes off of the coil pack harness. Again, not connected to anything. As such I decided to deal with Wiring Specialties for the coil pack harness. Unfortunately they don't make harnesses for A/T which limited me to factory only. 

That being said, I trust that once I get the coil pack harness and the transmission harness I'll be back in action. From there it'll be time to consider relocating the fuel filter, installing new suspension components and replacing the single pot calipers to something beefier. Yes, I forgot to mention that I've got single pot front and rear calipers. The Gxi came with rear drums so I'm not sure what these are. 

20171023_150304.jpg

20171023_150309.jpg

20171023_150406.jpg

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/472484-r32-overhaul/
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Well the since the repairs and upgrades have been a "weekend only" kind of job, there's little that I've been able to accomplish since I first started this hellish nightmare. 

Since I last posted, I've taken out the interior completely and cleaned it thoroughly before repainting it black. If nothing else, it looks a lot better than the stained grey mess that I had inherited. I sprayed everything in a booth then brought it outside to "air out" thoroughly since the smell lingers for weeks if you don't. 

Next the floor was seal coated on the inside for good measure since the previous owner had done bits and pieces of the floor with some kind of "industrial tar." After curing the wiring to the back was run and successfully buttoned up. Laying the carpet down was a breeze now since everything was bolted down and there were no exposed wires. The next snag was the transmission harness, the gear selector and solenoid wiring connectors were snipped off so I had nothing to go off of. It took me nearly 2 weeks to finally track down a pin out for the A/T and so far no luck. I as able to figure out the connection and wire colors by reading dozens of obscure threads from across multiple forums. It's amazing that no one has yet put in the effort to pass on that sort of information.

Of course being overzealous, I figured I might as well take out the A/C while I’m here and free up some space. The only issue I ran into was the pump itself which was a nightmare to remove due to the perverted nature of where the bolts are. Nissan really outdid themselves, it’s like they don’t want you to take the damn thing out lol.

Moving onto the next challenge was the FMIC. The dreaded SMIC was still in place and quite frankly I couldn't wait to be rid of it. We removed the old piping relatively easily but removing the actual intercooler was more challenging because of the placement of the bolts. I mocked up the FMIC the other day and took some measurements to fabricate some brackets and see where I will need to cut the long bracket for the hood latch. The intercooler is so massive that the piece won't fit correctly and  The only minor set back is the oil cooler which I intend on replacing with a new unit with new lines.

Now that the intercooler is mocked up and we know what’s what (wiring wise) the rest of the project will ultimately be mechanical which means a lot less guess work and a lot more money lol. I started to remove the upper plenum and then realized that I needed to bore out the holes on the lower runners to allow for the new manifold to bolt up. Even with the lower runner holes blocked off to prevent any metal shavings from slipping in, I still decided it’d be best to take off the lower runners and see what exactly I’m getting myself into. It’s a good thing I did because when those coolant hoses came off, they were brittle and brown on the inside. Oxidation is a pain in the ass to clean out and even with several fluid flushes the hoses themselves have been coated thoroughly so whatever coolant I pour in will eventually become contaminated. I thought it best to just remove the coolant hoses and pursue a full hose kit to make sure that everything that’s going in will be new and clean.

Pulling off the lower runners had its own set of challenges since the coolant lines are near impossible to access from top or bottom. I ended up snipping the lines just to get everything out, when I go to reinstall, I’ll be sure to direct the clamps at the right angle to access them next time.

With the holes to the block itself blocked off I think it’s only safe to say that it’s time to clean up the lower runners, degrease the block and chassis and a start scrubbing away all the grime that has built up.

On the other side of the engine, I suppose I’ll need air tools to take the turbo and manifold off since everything is so rusted and seized that it wouldn’t budge. Considering that the downpipe itself has a few bolts that don’t seem to want to cooperate with a socket wrench because of where the bend is I can’t slip anything over, nor can I get a ratcheting wrench in to access the bolts. Once that comes off I’ll be doing the same step, clean, degrease and tucking all the wires away.

The power steering reservoir too needs new hoses as the current ones are way too short and it was floating around the bay not attached to the strut tower. The alternative is to invest in a new polished reservoir to brighten up everything.

I know most people’s builds don’t go over the gritty details like this, in fact most build threads are “here’s the old turbo” and then another picture, “here’s the new turbo” and that’s that. Though frankly I think it’s just as important to show the ugly details that no one thinks about. If nothing else, this build is not only teaching me more about the Skyline, but how to curse in more creative ways while my 2 year old runs under my feet.

10-25.jpg

10-25-9.jpg

10-26-4.jpg

11-3-2.jpg

11-3-4.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/472484-r32-overhaul/#findComment-7857351
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Well the car is at my buddy's shop to get the FMIC installed, there was no way to piece together that awful CX Racing kit. I have no idea what they sent me but their customer service is terrible. (deep breath) Obviously this isn't a thread to bash another vender on, just venting.

On the plus side with the new engine and chassis harness installed (and assuming I wired up the A/T harness correctly) it should fire up and run. If not, I'm in trouble.

I did manage to score a good deal on a NEO motor with 55K approximately with an A/T. That being said, has anyone done of these swaps? Namely motor and trans into the R32 chassis? So far most people have done the motor swap, but the transmission aspect of it no one has really talked about it anywhere. Am I the only one? I have tried searching all over and have yet to find any information via Google or any other forum outlining the do's and don'ts. 

Hoping someone on here can be of some assistance and guide me through. I was thinking for the sake of ease just to yank a chassis harness out of a Stagea and run that in the R32 body. Obviously I'd have to custom fit some stuff like the cluster but I also considered just investing in the Stagea cluster and mounting that into place. The climate control will be gone so i can make room for gauges. I just hope that the mounting won't be an issue.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/472484-r32-overhaul/#findComment-7868854
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • My dream is also to have a proper hoist, but I don't think it will ever happen. My quickjack is probably as close as I'll ever get, it really is very good though. 
    • Yeah we keep on in the dailies, it is pretty poor how many animals get hit and the driver leaves without checking....have saved a couple of little ones over the years. Bit of a gruesome job though, pouches generally need to be cut open because they are so tight and often the joey doesn't realise mum is gone so they are still locked onto the teat. I checked the modules in front of the DS wheel where an oil cooler should go.... There is the radar unit - that can go for race use) One of the 2 HX water pumps, the silver cylinder. That needs to be kept but might be able to be relocated But the bad news, the big computer mounted vertically in front of the wheel (blocking any potential air exit) is the electric steering computer. That is required until/unless i do a hydraulic steering conversion, and in CAD based modern car design it is not like I can just pop a big unit like that somewhere else (plus the loom would be too short anywhere else too). So, the passenger side is OK to clear out (just use a smaller washer reservoir, potentially elsewhere), but the DS no beuno
    • Well, all the best with the new camry It was interesting to hear about the UK process, it is generally a lot more streamlined here with a shipping agent looking after all the import side (noting the exact final price can still be a surprise.....) and I've used a few different brokers on the japan (or US) side, and never had any trouble with any of them....luck of the draw I guess. You mentioned you didn't get the auction sheet (understandable since you bought it from a dealer, not auction), but I always try and get hold of that because they are pretty thorough. I've imported 2x R grade vehicles over the years and both were fine, repairs in Japan are pretty thorough compared to here in Oz.
    • BTW I measured the jack I have, it is 70mm at the saddle but you only have about 700 until it returns to 150mm high at the cylinder so it is good but no magic bullet.
    • My experience with Rising Sun Exports Before agreeing to the sale I tried to do as much research as I could (obviously), his Facebook reviews are 98% and he goes Live at least once or twice a week. I contacted 2 people in the UK who had used him for their imports, both had positive feedback. His explanation and talk through of the import process was thorough, answering any query no matter how stupid it was. It felt as soon as the money was sent, communication dropped off. I asked for shipping updates every 2 weeks or so, not wanting to pester him, he never had any updates. I wasn't informed the car had been dropped off at the port, I only found out by his Facebook story. I asked for the photos taken at the port, knowing he would need some for insurance purposes. I received a few 5 second clips and that's it. When asked again, he said his staff had them. Weeks later I asked again, he tells me he doesn't have any, but does have 50 photos from the original advert. I never received them. I eventually got the documents sent via WhatsApp after I mentioned the port was requesting them. I purchased a CarVX report, to find out the vehicle is a Grade R with recorded accident damage, first recorded in 2017 when it was first auctioned. He never told me the grade, then again I didn't ask. His response was "Grade R means nothing, it wasn't chassis damage". Still, I would have liked to have been informed about it. Jon prides himself on being open and honest when it comes to inspecting cars, it's his main job doing so at the auctions for customers. When the vehicle arrived in the UK I noticed a few little cosmetic issues. It's a 21 year old car so it wasn't going to be mint condition. The side skirts are cracked on each corner and the sealant is failing. The front grill on the bonnet/hood isn't secured very well, mounting studs are missing. Both minor things, but again, it would have been nice to be told. During a Facebook Live walk around video of the vehicle, he mentioned it has a front Whiteline anti roll bar/sway bar. While on the inspection ramp, I noticed the stock item has been installed. When first questioned, his response was "the ARB? Switched? Since when, it never had them". Since sending video and photo evidence I've not received a response. I'm probably being over critical of the overall condition of an old car, but all I wanted was honesty (which he claims to have). I'm aware I wasn't his only customer, he's busy doing XYZ but other reviews praise him for great communication with regular updates and photos, I felt I didn't receive the same treatment. 
×
×
  • Create New...