First foray into the Skyline world, R33 GTST restoration

[Neostead2000]

Hey all,

 

I'm Steve and I recently (finally) got my hands on my #3 dream car, which is an R33 GTST. It was a trade I could not sleep over so long story short, I bought an EK4 civic VTi and traded it for the Skyline. The twist is, the Skyline came with no engine nor transmission, and needing body work and rust work done.

I wasn't sure which was the main most active Skyline related forum, so I decided to sign up here even though I'm quite a ways away from down undah.

 

I have a long history with Mitsubishis (Galants, Legnums, Eclipses) and now it's time to add another piece of Japanese FeO2 into my collection. I have so far completely re-done the boot area, chiseling out all the old seam sealer and patching up rust, then painting and rust sealing. I will be making a new build thread for this vehicle to keep as a diary, however everything is being done as professionally as possible with the tools I have. 

I also paid for and had shipped to me an RB25DE Neo however the person sent me an RB20DE Neo from a 34. Maybe he also frequents these forums and I don't want to call names but I was REALLY upset and I was set back money wise by quite a lot. What's worse is I've been digging through the internet and there is VERY little info on these 20s; they have nothing in common with the 20DETs from 32s and not much has been done with them. I am still trying to decide whether to build the 20... I have no money to get a 25 even in N/A form right now. Also where I'm from there are no readily available parts for these motors/cars at all so difficulty right now is 12/10.

 

Anyway, I will continue to work on the chassis and keep looking for info on the RB20DE Neo. It's in absolutely MINT condition so it would be a shame to let it sit and rot away.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far and if you have any advice for newbies I would very much appreciate them!

[Duncan]

Well, welcome to the forums and it would be great to see a body restoration build thread on here.

I would have thought that if the car was originally a GTST you would want at an rb25det in it, depending on your level of commitment to original it could be a the original r33 series or a NEO from a 34. It will be a slug with an RB20DE 

[Neostead2000]

On 1/30/2022 at 10:01 PM, Duncan said:

Well, welcome to the forums and it would be great to see a body restoration build thread on here.

I would have thought that if the car was originally a GTST you would want at an rb25det in it, depending on your level of commitment to original it could be a the original r33 series or a NEO from a 34. It will be a slug with an RB20DE 

It's an original ECR33 GTST Series 2 however as I said, I DID want a 25 in it but got sent the wrong motor. There is no way this car is staying naturally aspirated so for sure I shall be turbocharging this 20. It has some interesting swirl-valves at the inlets right before the head openings which improves air-fuel mixing and provides a leaner AFR for economy and emissions. Then, under certain conditions such as sudden load increases or WOT, the valves fully open allowing all the air to pass freely through. I did a quick comparison on actual inlet diameters and the Neo is not far off the 25DETs, so I am not worried about airflow. In addition there is the low-RPM torque valve at the center of the intake which further helps low-down response.

I have yet to confirm whether the conrods are as thick and sturdy as regular 20DET motors, as that will determine how much boost I will be throwing at it. That said, the wall thickness remains biggest as other 20 motors,  at around 5-5.3mm on all sides (as per Motive's testing).

The idea would be to try and use as many of the systems that Nissan implemented into this motor while making it livelier and actually fun to drive. In my parts of the world there simply isn't access to 25 motors and our Patrols come with diesel engines so no 30 swaps...

I believe the RB20 Neo mostly came on 34s sold in Japan and ones imported in Russia, so those guys undoubtedly would have most experience with 'em.

[Shoota_77]

Welcome!

Yeah that is a bugger about the engine!  Just shows how careful you have to be when buying things remotely.

I personally wouldn't bother with the RB20 but at the end of the day you have to work with what you've got.  If you don't have the funds or the capability to get an RB25 or 26 then send it!  I'm sure a high revving RB20 could still be a lot of fun but you would have to do a whole lot more to it to get the same outcomes as just whacking a snail on a 25.

I feel for your working conditions, you need a shed you poor bastard! 🙂

[Neostead2000]

On 1/30/2022 at 11:53 PM, Shoota_77 said:

Welcome!

Yeah that is a bugger about the engine!  Just shows how careful you have to be when buying things remotely.

I personally wouldn't bother with the RB20 but at the end of the day you have to work with what you've got.  If you don't have the funds or the capability to get an RB25 or 26 then send it!  I'm sure a high revving RB20 could still be a lot of fun but you would have to do a whole lot more to it to get the same outcomes as just whacking a snail on a 25.

I feel for your working conditions, you need a shed you poor bastard! 🙂

Thanks. I've got a garage actually (pictured in front of the car), however it is small by Aus/US standards and you can't even swing the door wide open. I just put up a build thread where you can see some progress.

Honestly I'm not too fussed about the whole thing now since this is NOT going to be my only 33. I will most probably end up selling it once I do as much as I can to it, then I'll look for another 33 with an actual 25 in it. That one will be the one I end up keeping. Prices are going through the feckin roof I tell you!

[Shoota_77]

That's great you have a shed! From the photos it looked like you were stuck outside!

What sort of weather conditions do you get throughout the year in Bulgaria?  Here where I am (Northern Victoria which is the very bottom South East corner of Australia we have a massive weather range of 0 degrees Celsius minimum in Winter up to 40 degrees + in Summer (now).  In my shed at this time of the year it's often well over 40 degrees so makes for very challenging conditions to work in!

[Neostead2000]

We're situated about 40 degrees North of the equatorial belt which actually produces a very balanced climate. However, I happen to live on the coast so I have it even better. Summers start around May around 20C and peaks at 35-36C mid July/September. This year we had 20C up to New Years Eve! I was down working on the Skyline in the shed while everyone was busy eating and celebrating; couldn't let the good weather get away hah! However, normally our winters get anywhere from 0C to -15C and a good amount of snow. My AWD Mitsubishi lets me traverse the city and countryside even before the snowploughs go through!

All that said, I'd give up this place for Australia any day! But that's a whole 'nother story.

[Shoota_77]

Yeah sweet, pretty consistent weather is good.  You can keep your minus 20 degrees though!  I'm sort of lucky that I have snow capped mountains only an hour and a half drive away but our useable snow period is pretty short.  Generally from early June to mid September there is good snow coverage.

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

maybe try sell that motor, and get a RB25DET NEO or non-NEO or RB25DE NEO, tickle the head then bolt on a turbo

[GTSBoy]

Maybe not bother with RBs at all and put in a Euro V8, big yank V8, VK56DE, Barra, etc etc. For sure, if I had a bare shell and nothing to start with, I would not start with a bloody RB.