My New R33 GTR - so it begins...

[ColinR33]

Forgot about the wheel picture Frank, here it is.

[cortexx]

So she is pretty much back together, rebuilt brakes and all the suspension bits in:


My ghetto oil cooler vent

Gauges in and working

Fired her up and checked everything, no leaks Yay! Wheels on and interior back together and she's back on the road.

HOLY CRAP , thought that was my dash for a sec , and why is it parked in your living room ? I'd get in **** for doind that from my wife ! Nice updates btw , i have those tires , make sure your alignment is spot on , too much camber and they will chew incredibly fast .

[ColinR33]

+17 offset, need some spacers. Will get some better pics tomorrow.

[frankiman]

you will not be disappointed by those tires my friend, good choice

got another angle shot of the rims? offset looks wack

[ColinR33]

Had the car out for an autoX driving course, was my first experience being a passenger in it while it was driven by several of the instructors which was quite fun along with all the driving I was able to do. All of the instructors had lots of good things to say about the steering and handling, they were all quite surprised by how well she handled, but as one put it "your suspension has a lot more to give than the tires can offer". This was evidenced by both the instructors and myself having occasional trouble keep the back end in the back (they weren't used to the power either). So time for a tire upgrade, something I was planning on doing anyway. New shoes:

Before I went to have them mounted I decided it was time to take care of 17 years worth of brake dust and grime on the inside of the oem wheels. Obligatory before/after pic:

When I took the wheels in I ended up trading the oem wheels and old tires (plus some extra suspension bits I had lying around) for some Work Emotion XD-9's, 9.5" wide, I think they look pretty good!

[ColinR33]

So managed to get her back together and out on the road for a brief shakedown. Even without an alignment she tracks very straight and feels quite planted, and the difference in the steering is unbelievable, so much more responsive and better feel. Couldn't resist and caned it once, my son was grinning ear to ear.

[ColinR33]

So she is pretty much back together, rebuilt brakes and all the suspension bits in:


My ghetto oil cooler vent

Gauges in and working

Fired her up and checked everything, no leaks Yay! Wheels on and interior back together and she's back on the road.

[R33-East]

Love what you did with the wheel wells, looks great!

[ColinR33]

where do you get the 3M carbon fibre film?

I ordered it on line, can't remember the website, but if you do a search you should be able to find it no prob.

[bellis_GTR]

Awesome work ! It's better to do it your self any ways. It feels better

[JDMotion]

great job man!

[tommyboy]

[QUOTE=ColinR33;425666]It's actually 3M Di-Noc Carbon Fibre Film, it's a self adhesive film, I just made sure the whole surface was lightly scuffed. No additional coating needed. You can feel the "weave", but it's not real CF. Figured this would be easier (and a lot cheaper if I f'd it up).

where do you get the 3M carbon fibre film?

[Messiahlee]

the brakes look great man.
Soo clean

[flipridah17]

Great update!

Yes POR15 works wonders. I wanted to paint underneath of my car to prevent it from rusting.

I'll wait for your update to see how you will be doing it.

[ColinR33]

Doing my suspension work I noticed surface rust and a few spots where the paint had been worn away to bare metal by the fender liners and was starting to pit, so I figured I would paint the wheel wells with POR-15 (Thanks Archeic_Bloke and your SkyLife blog for the idea!). Now, my car is white, and I didn't want black wheel wells (the white colour also makes it so much easier to see!) so I nought some WhiteKote as well from PORCanada. Lots of scrubbing, cleaning, wire brushing, masking, etc. and waiting for warm enuf temperatures I was finally able to get it done. Two coats of POR-15:

Then two coats of WhiteKote after curing for a week and scoring with skotchbrite pads:

Shouldn't have to worry about rust or chipping any more! Will do the frame rails etc later.
Also finally got around to installing my oil cooler. Never want to put fittings on braided hose again! Had to work by feel to get the relocation plate on the engine block, that was a PITA. Fabbed up some supports for the cooler and installed it in front of the passenger side wheel well. This is how it will sit:

First attempt at mounting brackets, these turned out a bit flimsy so I went back and remade out of thicker stock:

I also cut a square opening in the fender liner and fixed some SS mesh to allow for air flow and to prevent rocks from being thrown onto the cooler. I didn't want to mount my oil filter up high, so I modified the mounting bracket and installed it thusly:

This way, I can drain things a bit more completely when changing oil and don't have to worry about spillage when taking the filter off.