Wilson's R32 GTR Project Build

[turbogtr]

That cars motor was actually rebuilt. I was about to buy that car and do a full motor build but
things came up and I wasn't able to complete the purchase. At that time the motor was completely
pulled apart. the issue with the turbo's is that they used to be garret units but then they were removed
the fins were very badly damaged so they were replaced. that motor will last for quite a bit having owned
one of kojus built motors before. Seals leak all the time even if they are new sometime they don't sit right or
something else. good luck with your build.

[clandestine]

That cars motor was actually rebuilt. I was about to buy that car and do a full motor build but
things came up and I wasn't able to complete the purchase. At that time the motor was completely
pulled apart. the issue with the turbo's is that they used to be garret units but then they were removed
the fins were very badly damaged so they were replaced. that motor will last for quite a bit having owned
one of kojus built motors before. Seals leak all the time even if they are new sometime they don't sit right or
something else. good luck with your build.

Yea that's true, in any case, it will go through another rebuild just in case with new seals.

Here's a quick update, nothing fancy. I haven't been active lately since the car has just sat in the garage and I'm fighting some health issues.

Anyways, I picked up Enkei RPF-1 18x9.5" 245/45/18 over the holidays. For some reason I think my alignment or camber must be out because I drove it for an hour and realize it was rubbing bad only on the left. It unfortunately cut into my tires a bit and now I will probably need to camber in some more and roll the fenders - aiming for 265/35/18 down the road.

Prepping some stuff to get ready for some maintenance work to be performed, hopefully it's the last of it:
- Select transmission gaskets and seals provided by Adam from Feast Auto, thanks!
- Engine rebuild gasket kit
- Used turbo metal coolant feed lines
- Full replacement of new vacuum lines
- Full replacement of coolant lines
- Upper and lower radiator hoses
- New clutch master cylinder
- New clutch booster (mine actually failed on me)
- New nismo clutch slave cylinder push type
- Front outer and inner CV boot L + R
- Camber in, roll fenders, alignment

I don't expect this all to be done til around April. Cheers, thanks for reading.

[leeaspin]

Is it just me or does it look like it has positive camber in the rear?

Looking good man

[gtrkrauss]

yes it does look like it has some postive camber in the rear. That car is really nice. looks great.

[clandestine]

Haha you guys are right it was positive camber mainly because when I had the stock wheels on it was aligned at - 1.0 amd after putting the wheels on it must have gone the other way.

I'm rubbing like hell on the fender liner.
Thanks for the compliments, it came a long way and still have a bit more to go before insuring it again.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[clandestine]

4/28/2013 Update

Here are just some pictures of my car thus far.

Picked up from thenismoshop.com
Nissan Factory JDM Idler Pulley & Timing Chain Tensioner Kit 13074-58S00 13070-5L300
Nissan OEM Timing Belt Tensioner Spring 13072-58S10
Greddy Extreme Timing Belt
- Package total of $226.17 USD (including shipping to Blaine, WA)


Koyorad from topseller ebay Sabersport $327 USD includes shipping to Blaine


Now my mechanic pulled the engine and transmission, lucky not find too many more horrors than expected.
The turbo coolant feed lines are bent to sh*t hence a lot of the leaking.
Turns out the shifter assembly was held together with zip ties and the seals were leaking oil. This was the cause to the leaking oil from my transmission that I couldn't identify. The whole underside of the chassis is drenched with oil that will need to be degreased.
Several piping throughout the engine bay was held together by zip ties so this will definitely need to be done right this time around.



We moved my car back to my house for safekeeping and further work will not be done for another few months as my mechanic wants to slowly take apart the engine and carefully plan the build to ensure we buy all of the right parts it needs.
Here's a pic for some giggles.



Thanks for reading

[clandestine]

Went to Rainbow Powdercoating (recommended by other threads on GTRC) for my valve cover and intake manifold.
The price was a bit expensive but the quality of work was definitely worth it.

Nice old guy, very passionate about old cars and good attention to details.

[leeaspin]

Those look great! I'll definatly be getting my stuff powdercoated aswell. You mind sending me a pm with what you paid for them to get done.

[clandestine]

My car is finally on the road again! Too bad its like 1 month til wintery weather .

Here is an overview of why my car was in the shop for over 8 months.
If anyone is interested, I have the below list in excel format, with links to the website ordered, the part number, $ value converted into CAD plus shipping and labour, should you wish to rebuild your car.

Engine -
Nismo Engine mounts
OEM Oil tube
OEM Full engine gasket rebuild
Koyo Performance rad
Koyo rad cap
OEM Thermostat
OEM idler pulley, timing chain, tensioner spring
Greddy Extreme Timing Belt
OEM Water Pump (thanks Daryl)
N1 Oil pump
ATI Street Harmonic Damper (500hp)
OEM R34 Valve cover plate
OEM IACV Regulator
OEM Engine and fuel harness (thanks Adam @ Feast)
PCV Valve
PCV Vent Host
Rocker cover fastener and grommet
OEM Turbo rubber drain hose, power steering hose
HKS Equal Length Downpipe
A/C delete - pulley and condenser

Trans -
Nismo SS clutch line
Nismo Clutch slave
OEM Clutch Master Cylinder and Booster (thanks Daryl)
OEM several various gaskets (Thanks Adam @ Feast Auto)
OEM Transmission member bushing
OEM entire shifter assembly

Suspension -
OEM Front inner, outer CV boot rebuild, both sides
SPL Parts Eccentric Bolt Lockout Kit
Nismo Stainless Steel Brake Lines

Other -
Alignment

Result:
1. Car drives straight under load now (i think the lockout kit finally solved the mysterious toe movement)
2. Perfect idle
3. Car finally handles and drives the way it should
4. Boost at all levels without hesitation








BEFORE


AFTER


Unfortunately this car has seen two shops Evogarage and AES Auto (formerly Paulo from KeepLabs).
TLDR (Too long didnt read) - Evogarage left me out to dry making me have to find another shop to transport an engine and transmission on a palate and a shell of a car to a new mechanic. AES completed the job with much better results than expected.

Evogarage after 3 months with the car ending up giving up on this project, which at the time was a large job. I was ended up charged for engine removal and assembly, which I will discredit due to two faults: (1) the new shop had to redo the work to install the oil pump which I requested originally but the previous shop didn't want to perform due to having to remove the oil pan and (2) charged for throttle plate adjustment (about 3 hours of labour) which did not make a difference after my car was mobile.

The mechanic believes in a motto "you don't bring a steak to a steak house for them to cook it", meaning you don't bring parts to a mechanic shop to be installed, it should come from in house. This bothered me the most, as I spent more than 10 hours over weeks assembling the list above at the best price, across several websites in different countries (I am sure many of you can relate). The cost alone for a mechanic to research would be ridiculous, so I definitely did him the favour here.

Evogarage charged me close to $2600 in labour for engine trans removal, gasket and piping installation, timing belt and waterpump, throttle plate adjustment. I was still pretty choked about the cost, so we negotiated down to $1,900 after some heated debate. Problem I was left with was arranging my own pickup of the engine and trans on a palate which was not impressive. Don't get me wrong, I'd still recommend his quality of work for Honda/Acura, I'm just not pleased with the professionalism I got.

AES Auto took my project, with literally a shell and engine/trans on a palate, had no problems and agreed with my way of thinking in terms of acquisition of parts. In addition, he was able to give me an accurate timeline of when the car would be complete and updated me on a weekly basis. Also, AES has built several GTRs in the past which gave me confidence in their ability to work on my car.

AES charged $2,700 in labour to install the clutch system, engine and transmission, new radiator, HKS equal length downpipe (there were issues), oil pump (which required removal of the timing belt again x2 labour), A/C delete, suspension lockout kit, alignment, and testing. This I felt was fair since he had to put back together the mess and put a lot more time into it.

Thanks for reading.
What are your thoughts about this situation? As much as I want to let it go and say, I have my car back...but at what cost?