Work in progress

So, this year I decided to start the year with one week off to work on the skyline and begin my quest for a GT86/BRZ .

Concerning the first part (who interest us on this blog), I had planned 3 main things to do :

1) Taking off the interior on the right side. I discovered some rust around the rear right window so I decided to take care of it. To be fair I asked it to someone more competent than me but he asked me to remove the interior by myself.

Result in pictures :

First, removing the seats

 

Interior taken off

Traces of rust

There's more rust at the bottom ofB-pillar but I don't have taken pictures of it yet.

2) Changing High/low beam settings. The objective was to have all lights working when I asked high beam. I must admit that I chose the fastest and easier way to do it (soldiering some parts of the switch, for more info : http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/296785-bcnr33-high-low-beam-same-time.html ).
It's not elegant but it works and that's all that matter for me.

3) Testing the low pressure switch of aircon to find why my airocn pump doesn't engage. (will be done tomorrow I hope).

And that's all for this month. With rear audio and seats taken off, the car is louder and I must admit that I found ride in it less pleasant so it will stay at the garage until begin february.

P.S.: the car overtook the 20000km riding since the motor rebuilt \o/

Still Alive and riding

Hello everyone,

Long time I didn't post here.
The 33 still runs, I drive it here and there and meet her sisters

Nice T-shirt don't you think :) (Yes , the covering of my front lip is a bit torn :( )

R34 GTT vs R33GTR

An immaculate 32 with a true carbon front lip

So it still drive but I must admit that I was close to sell it following trouble with the injector in August.
It was not a big trouble by itself but the accumulation of trouble since the start of the project began to weight a little.
Fortunatly, I didn't find anyone interested for a reasonably price so I kept it.

So the renovation process slowly continue. I took off the front lip, remove the covering and give it to a specialist to repair and repaint it. I also took this opportunity to replace clip and screws taht hold the lip by new ones.

Something is missing here.

As rust began to appear where the front shocks damper are fixed (sorry don't know the english word for that), I asked for that being repaired too.

Goodbye rust :)

There is still some rust around the rear right window that should normally be treated in january or february. I'm a bit afraid of this part because I must take the interior by myself and I must admit that I'm bit scared to do something wrong and brake something (as skyline interior are not easy to find in Europe ... ).
We'll see, I'll try to make pictures od the "dismantling" when I'll do it.

P.S.: For Aki, mazda evolution in picture (next step, full paint, revised motor and custom inox exhaust).

Edit: Bonus image as we had some snow in Belgium for the last week-end of 2014

Winter is coming ...

… and my OEM wheels came back from painting, with their Nokian tires (and the new center caps I bought some months ago).

In my father's garage, waiting to be clean up ...

After a (very) quick wash, in the winter last daylight.

In my last post, i was talking about pursuing the upgrade of the skyline or buying an "oldie" aside.
Since then I thought more and more about it and then came the opportunity to buy a 1976 Mazda 818 coupé (known as "Grand Familia" in Japan, 808 in US, ...) in very good condition.

My new toy. A 1976 Mazda 818 Coupé "Deluxe".
Thanks to my friend Eric for the picture.

So I took it : I didn't want to miss such an opportunity to find a clean old japanese car.
On the european market, it is everyday more difficult for a reasonable budget to find a pearl like that.

I will keep the skyline but i think that I'm done with upgrade/modification part .
Now that the car is stable from a mechanic point of view, I just want to enjoy it (and replace/renewed the older/most worn parts).

Some hours ago, in the already black night, I was quietly driving back to my flat, listening the soundtrack of Format67's documentary "We write the streets". 
The blue lights from the dashboard (again thanks to AKI for the idea) and gauges were slighty glowing in the car and I thought "That's it".

 It's difficult to explain but this simple moment was one of those which nearly erase all the difficulties that happened before.

I really do appreciate sport cars (as photographic subject and from a technical point of view) and I still want to test my R33 on a track but I'm not sure that I will really appreciate it so much.

Of course, speed and power are generally the first thought that comes at mind, when you look at documentaries such "We write the streets" or internet sites as "Speedhunters", but you can also just enjoy the car for what it is and the whole story within it.

As I already said it before; I was not a huge fan of the Skyline at first. It was, for me, just a rare (on european scene) japanese sport car. That’s all. 
But, after all the time I spent working on it, it slowly became my car (and not just "a" car).
Even if I didn't exploit it to its maximum potential, I appreciate being behind the wheel and that's all that matter.

P.S.: 
For those who did'nt know Format67 yet, I recommand Daniel Michaelis's channel on you tube :
http://www.youtube.com/user/fastmichaelis?feature=watch
And the soundtrack I was talking about:
http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/We+Write+The+Streets+Part+2+Soundtrack/8611046

Some thoughts about the future

Hi everyone,

Some news about the car itself :

• The OEM wheels had been repainted and received new OEM center cap for the winter. (picture when the car will come back in winter mode)
• The oil relocation kit is back with more reliable fastening system. 
• There's still has some tiny oil leakage in the system to be checked (though, the oil level stay  stable)
• I didn't have find yet why my air conditionning isn't working (There's gas in the system and the ECU send the order)
• Sealing of ATTESA system (near the gearbox) still need some checking and renewal.
• I still have to put thermal tape on elbows and te downpipe.

So, the car is fine and rides well but ther's still some work to do to make it back to a clean state.
 







Since my last post, i have the opportunity to take part in a large meeting organised by a french magazine dedicated to japanese cars ( Autoworks : http://www.autoworks-mag.net/ ).
There also was a round of the French championship drift and i must admit that it was great to see that.
I hope that i can see more rounds next year (so some road trip in sight given where the rounds took places).
Anyway, back to my car,  here's some pictures taken during the event that I found on the web.

Courtesy of Arret sur garage

 

Courtesy of "MAT photography"

 

Courtesy of "All cars photography"

Now that the meetings season is nearly done, it's time to wonder a little about the future.
When I first decided to bought a skyline it was more to have something different from the rest of the european automotive scene rather than because i was a skyline fan.
From this point of view, it is a succes when you see how people react when they see the car.
I must admit that some reactions still surprised me even if i'm aware that the skyline is pretty rare in Europe.
On the other side with the biggest problems solved, I start to realise that such great could be this car, it's very difficult to take pleasure with it on the open roads that i have without exceeding legal speed limits.
Compare to my ex old mini, it's a very frustrating situation.
Given the time and money that i put into it, i will keep it some years (still have to do some road triping with it) but i'm still wonder what to do next :

1. Just fixing the last problems and drive it like it is (more as a GT for long road trips) and maybe looking for a japanese oldtimer car for fun on open road.
2. Continuing with equipping it with more fancy stuff (oil radiator, metal water radiator, NISMO suspension parts, etc ...) .

I don't have any answers right now. I think that some tests on a closed track would be needed to take a decision.

So as they say

Some last issues and first mountainous ride

 Hello everyone
 
Long time i didn't post anything new here.
So since last time, the boost controller, gauges and NISMO carpets were installed:

Gauges installed :
AFR one replace the ash tray 
Greddy one (oil, water, EGT) replace the right vent (but still need some cosmetic adaptation)

Some week after that i must go to the annual "technical check" mandatory in Belgium.
The car was rejected because the CO percentage was to high.
After replacing the sensors and the catalyst (by a sport one with 76mm entry and exit), the problem was still there.

,

The new "sport" catalyst and mounting of AFR and EGT sensor

After some internet research and help from an french skyline owner, i found the origin of the problem. As I choose a "generic" mapped 32 ECU for SP98 use instead of full mapping, there was some conflict with the R33 harness.
Eventually, the solution was pretty simple (two wires to switch on one sensor and a link between two pin to make on the ECU). (fro more details, see : See also : http://nistune.com/docs/R32%20GTR%20ECU%20on%20R33%20GTR.pdf )

Situation before and after the mods.

I know that remapping or not for SP98 is always source of conflict in the european GTR owners community and ok may be I didn't choose the best way to solve it but I didn't (and still don't) have a unlimited budget so I could'nt afford a "new" motor and a full appropriate mapping.
Remapped 32 ECU seems the best and fastest way at the time.

Anyway, problem solved, technical check OK, i eventually can enjoy riding my 33.

So last week-end I decided to take a right south to make a visit to some friends in Alsace and enjoy the mountainous roads there.

As it was a first one for me and the weather was not the brightest one (it was literally a drive into the clouds some times), it was a very calm ride .
Anyway, I enjoyed this "first mountainous" experience et hope that i could do it again with better weather next year.

Monument on "Le vieil Armand" dedicated to the memory of the soldiers who fought and died during WWI.

My passenger of the day and my 33 in the clouds near the top of "Le grand ballon d'Alsace"

Seems that I was not the only one who wants to enjoy a drive that day.

Out of the clouds and on the road down to the town of  Guebwiller

Mods summary so far / Résumé des modifications

Hello everybody/ Bonjour tout le monde

Comme on me demande de plus en plus souvent les modifications qui ont été faites sur la voiture, je pense qu'il est temps de faire un petit résumé des modifications réalisées jusqu'ici (jespère ne rien oublier)
En bleu les pièces en cours d'arrivage

As I am asked more and more often the mods that have been made on the car, I think it is time to do a quick summary of those made so far (hope forget nothing))
In blue, parts that will arrive very soon.



Base:
1995 Nissan Skyline R33 GTR std (+/- 76000km)

Engine/Moteur :

• second hand RB26 std dismantled, checked and rebuild with / démonté, vérifié et reconstruit avec :

• NISMO 1.2mm metal headgasket (joint de culasse metal)
• NISSAN new gaskets set (autres joints moteur nissan neufs)
• New piston rings (nouveaux segments)
• TOMEI oil baffle plate (cloissonnement de carter)
• TOMEI oil restrictor (restricteur d'huile)
• MINES Triple baffle plate cam cover (système de récupération d'huile dans les couvre culasse)
• NISSAN new coils (nouvelles bobines)
• ACL bearings (coussinets)
• ARP rods and studs (boulonnerie)
• NISMO thermostat
• NISMO oil cap (bouchon d'huile)
• NISMO timing belt (courroie de distribution)
• NISSAN N1 water pump
• NISSAN N1 oil pump

• GARRET GT2860Rs turbos
• KINUGAWA turbo hoses (durite turbos style aviation)
• Reinforced hoses (durites renforcées)
• GREDDY oil relocation kit (kit de relocalisation du filtre à huile)
• NISMO water cap (bouchon de radiateur)

Intake & Exhaust / Aspiration & Echappement

• HKS mushroom filter (admission directe HKS)
• TOMEI turbo outlet pipe (pipes de sortie de turbo)
• KAKIMOTO type R exhaust ( ligne d'échappement)

ECU

• R32 ECU with stage 1 mod (boost pressure 1bar, no more speed limit and some other mods to drive with SP98)
• HKS EVC boost controller 

Transmission/Suspension

• NISMO sport coppermix clutch kit
• TEIN short springs

Interior/habitacle

• NISMO speedometer (compteur de vitesse)
• NISMO triple gauge (triple manos)
• DEFI racer turbo boost gauge (mano turbo)
• GREDDY multi D/A gauge (oil pressure, oil & water temp) / (jauge pour pression & température d'huile et température d'eau)
• NISMO floor mat set ( set de tapis de sol nismo)

Audio

• ALPINE CDA-117Ri
• DLS 125 front speakers (HP avant)
• ROCKFORD-FOSGATE Punch series amplifier
• KAPPA Infinity 62.9i rear speakers

 
Exterior

• ROTA GTR 18" wheels
• NISMO S-Tune Side Winker/Marker Set (clignotants latéraux blanc)

Aesthetic change

Some weeks ago, I bought a 1/18 autoart R33 S-tune and I thought that it could be a nice inspiration to complete the look of my 1/1 model.

So I look for some specialists to realise this idea.
I found one ( http://www.mikedsign.be/ )  not far from home and after some phone and mail exchanges, we agree on a project.

And here is the result.

Autoart R33 S-tune 1/18 and my R33 1/1

My 33 project from rear left

  

My 33 project from front right

I still have a "Format67" to place to finish it but it's almost done. I must say, i'm really happy with this project. It gives the car a nicer look without being "too much".
May be some people will think that the look doesn't completely match the performance but I'm happy with the result.
What do you think?