Project: Flight of the Bumblebee

[judasentinel]

Subsequent to me getting rid of my beloved Lola ('89 GTS-T), I ended up buying Peter's (ph_motorsports') yellow GTR, potentially a track car. The car is exchanging hands hopefully within a few days, and I wanted to start a project thread because I have NEVER put a car together from the ground up and will need all the help and parts that are required to put it together and have it ready for Summer 2010. It IS ready in the non-physical word. Just have to manifest it in the physical, lol. Law of Attraction, anyone?

As we go along in time, henceforth, I will be posting up progress, pics, pitfalls, PITAs, and brick walls that I encounter, for all to learn from and guide me on.

While at it, I am also going to venture into assembling a spare RB26 engine in the near future. Mcfly has very kindly consented to give his input on doing that.

The main focus for now, however, remains putting together this yellow bumblebee that I am getting from Peter (ph_motorsports). First step is to bring it down from Peter's place. So come this Sunday, I am planning to go up to his place and flatbed the car to my place, and park right next to my slowly 'decaying' Lola. Yes, the Lola, the chassis of which is still unsold because the person who promised to buy it time and time again, seems to have vanished for now. Dont know how long I can hold it for him.

Anyway, pics and write-up will follow as soon as the first step is completed. Stay tuned, IF you are interested. The car is bare bones in terms of interior, wiring, and accessories. The engine is in the bay now, but with nothing else in place, it is a project-and-a-half that I have put myself into. Let's see if one ignoramus guy can conjure up resources to put his dream car together within 8 months.

Cheers for now.......

[frankiman]

this is going to be interesting, if you can do a full build in 8 months

and if the car runs, you better come to the track day i'll be organizing!

and if you ever need some help with your suspension/brake setup, i'm just a post away

[judasentinel]

Hey Francois, thanks for the offer. I just might take you up on it.

The car will run, eventually. Its debatable when the 'eventuality' will occur, though. Thanks for your comment. I will ringing your bell if I run into snags, which I am sure I will from time to time.

The suspension seems to be fine, but I think I will need to learn everything there is to set my car's brakes up. I will post an update on what's on and what's not, and what needs to be done/fixed, once get the car down to my house. As far as I know, all the interior has been gutted out, and the engine bay is spotless clean - repainted in white. The engine has been dropped into the bay, but no accessories on it for now. There is no wiring in place for the whole engine bay, so that is the first thing that I need to learn about. Second will be installing all the brake and fuel lines, doing the doors (window motor, installing the glass, etc..) and putting the dash harness plugs in their proper places. Hell, I don't even know what plug goes where. It would be interesting, nonetheless.

[Rapier46]

That's awesome man. I have alot of oem parts intrior and exterior if you need random hard to find things. I loooove full track built gtr's!!

[judasentinel]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. I just came back from Barrie after picking up the GTR from Peter (ph_motorsports)

The car is literally rust-free, with no dents at all. The frame looks like it is brand new (probably redone from ground up). This is what it has:

1. NISMO gauge cluster
2. HKS coilovers
3. Tomei 3" exhaust
4. Blue GTR style bucket seats
5. A custom designed glove box with built-in boost gauge, temp gauge, and boost controller (you have to see it - I will take a pic of it and post it up here - very nifty)
6. N1 body kit (bumpers, spats, side-skirts, rear trunk lip)

Most everything else is stock. The fiberglass parts (N1 kit) were prepped for repaint, and the whole car needs a repaint since the clearcoat has come off and its getting duller by the day. I will be seeking inputs on what color to go for. Somehow, a mango yellow appeals to me with some black ROTA P45s all around. We shall see.

There is a LOT of wiring work that needs to be done, in terms of connections. Most of the in-car wiring is already in place, but I need to put the door glass, with power window motors, front speakers, etc., back in and connect them to where they go. The engine bay is a hornet's next right now, but that is because none of the wires are connected. The clutch master and slave need to be attached and connected, the tranny, driveshaft, and front axles need to be installed, along with the accessories for the engine. I am planning on dumping the AC as usual. Slowly, but surely, it is coming into shape.

Will post progress once I get going on it.

I think the hardest part in this whole project is WHERE TO START. Any ideas what I should do first?

[frankiman]

i love how everything that should be in the engine bay, is in the trunk

first thing i would do; empty the car, and list EVERYTHING that came with it, and make another list for everything you will need

store and label harnesses and stuff

...sell the red one...

[judasentinel]

LOL, Francois, the red one is sold. Its awaiting the arrival of its owner to come and take it away.

It is easy to make a list of what I have, but how would I know what I need? Putting it together has to start somewhere, so assuming I make a list of EVERYTHING that I have got, what should I start putting together before anything else? I guess that's what my conundrum is right now, as there is EVERYTHING that needs to be done. BTW, the intake plenum in the trunk is a spare one. And I dont think I would put the FMIC before doing my turbos, lines, and wiring.

Keep the suggestions coming. Thank you, Francois.

[archaeic_bloke]

hey there! looks like an awesomely ambitious build, very excited to see the progress. most of us canadian skyline owners use winter as an excuse to do some good work on our cars.

heres what i suggest:

#1 get yourself a downloaded copy of Nissan FAST.. and a copy of the skyline Build Manual.

with those 2 things you should have all the info you need as far as how everything should go back together and such.

#2 like frank says, take everything apart... and lay it out like you would a puzzle.. clean things while you can, sort of do an inventory, it will really help you get a good perspective on what you have ahead of u.

#3 again like the other said, once you know what you've got.. its time to figure out what you need.

and try your best to order everything you will need all at once and from the same seller/dealer, that way you can get a much better deal on shipping and discounts.


good luck!

[judasentinel]

Skyline Build Manual......is it the same thing as the R32 ALL manual or the GTR manual? I have both.

I still need to download FAST. What part of it is relevant to Skylines (A, B, C, D, etc..). I dont want to load all parts that don't even relate to the Skyline.

[judasentinel]

Update:

I have started making a list of the stuff that came with the car, in addition to what is already in place/installed/hooked up. Here is what I found:

INTERIOR
- Driver and passenger reader lights and overhead interior light, complete with outer trim,
- Hanger holders (the plastic ones that are bolted overhead on both sides in the rear
- Power window control panel for one door
- Rear seatbelts with latches
- Sun visors (both)
- Headliner trim (only one piece)
- Front speakers with covers and wires intact
- Rear side interior panels (left and right)
- Headliner
- Center console with gauges, climate control unit and a JDM CD player - missing the surrounding trim
- Dash harness, completely unhooked. I have no idea what plug goes where
- Glove box with built-in boost gauge, MBC, and some kind of a temperature gauge gauge

BODY/TRIM
- Both side-view mirrors with casing, motor and all wiring (intact)
- Both door window motors and metal frame with all wiring/plugs
- Both door glasses - one is missing the holding brackets that take the glass up and down
- Right fender...the left one is painted black and is already ON the car
- N1 front bumper that needs a pain job
- Headlights (pair)
- Turn signals (pair)
- Reverse lights (pair)

TRUNK
- Donut
- Some kind of a reservoir for fuel (I suppose), bolted on to the right side, with two hoses going into the base of the trunk, and an electrical connector

ENGINE BAY & TRANSMISSION
- FMIC
- AC lines, rad, fan
- A pair of triangular mounts (dont know what they are for, or if I will need them)
- PS reservoir
- PS pump
- HICAS solenoid/cylinder
- Coil harness with one broken coil plug and one completely missing
- Dump pipes, one with O2 sensor, one without
- Exhaust manifolds with new gaskets
- Coolant reservoir
- Horn assembly, complete, painted
- Freshly painted intake plenum
- Clutch fan with shroud
- Tranny with transfer case and front drive shaft
- Both turbos
- Complete wiring harness
- ECU
- Main prop/drive shaft
- Twin turbo pipe
- Turbo elbows
- OEM coils & ignitor
- FMIC piping
- Brake master
- Driver side engine bay harness (not the main harness)
- Engine bay main fuse box

SUSPENSION/WHEELS
- Both front axles/half shafts - one is missing the end nut on the spline

There is more, and I will update the list as I check the items off. Pics will follow soon.