4 Door R32 Skyline Project Revival

[R32.Sam]

As many of you probably have read there was a 1990 R32 GTST 4 Door being built which eventually ended up for sale. I bought the car in July/August 2019 as a project, it slowly turned into an overhaul with a lot of work being done. It is still in the process of being built and i expect it to be done sometime for summer.

I came across many issues and ended up pretty much taking the car back to just the bodywork. Here i will document my progress and what has been done so far.

I bought the car under the impression it was a RB25DET Neo and with my very narrow knowledge at the time looked past what was to be a NEO DE+T conversion. After some intense research of the differences between them i decided to run the engine to get it atleast running on low boost for now but replace all surrounding components, including fueling systems, brakes etc.

After a 600 Mile round trip to Scotland the Car was back home and ready to fully inspect.

 

[R32.Sam]

Corbeau RRB Recliner Bucket Seats were bought previous to collecting the car as i couldn't pass at these for the price.

Car was tucked away awaiting work but i departed for a well earned holiday abroad so any work had to wait.

....Once i returned i decided to get started on the broken headlight, the lens was cracked and required some plastic welding where there was a small hole.

Time to strip the lenses from the headlights. I'm not a massive fan of the Bake method so some light heat moving around the lenses allowed me to prize them away slowly.

Then came the inner removals, some tabs were brittle and were broken so i had to repair them before spray, the inners had peeled where the reflective coating was so i decided to spray them satin black, including all bulb holders etc. Lenses from 2UP were used and slightly customised to fit. The tops were originally painted but then i decided to carbon wrap them. Finished Product Below.

 

[R32.Sam]

xt i decided to clean up the wiring in the interior. I replaced all connections with soldered joints and shrink wrapped, Some necessary wiring removed and some rerouted. There were some bad earthing points on the car and the battery in the rear seats was mounted with nut and bolt from underneath the car with the terminals replaced and cable re route.



The dash was originally covered in some sort of cloth which after being removed showed why, therefore i picked up a very cheap and good condition dash with all vents intact.



The front end was taken apart, crash bar cut to fit better and resprayed to clean front end up.

 

[R32.Sam]

Cheeky Test fit to see how it looked. I replaced bulbs with LEDs and also replaced all headlight connectors as they were not in a good state.

After this came the Gearbox, i decided to switch the RB20 box for an RB25 R33 box, collected it from Garage D where i had the full conversion thrown in my van.

This included Custom prop, Gearbox Crossmember, Speedo drive.
I also purchased an R33 Clutch slave due to different mounting than the RB20 box along with R33 Reverse sensor and i delete the Neutral sensor.

After a few days of Degreaser and scrubbing i managed to get it to a state ready to be painted.
After a few coats of paints it was left to cure for a few weeks until all hardware was to be swapped over.

Box was ready to go on and remained in the Garage until i plucked up the energy to throw it on.

Meanwhile ordering some more goodies was on the agenda.

These included

- New Nardi Deep Corn Wheel
- NRG Short Hub and Quick Release Boss
- Solid Strut Brace and Rubber Protectors from JL Design AUS.
- Billet R8 Holder, i removed mill marks and Polished it up.

Some more goodies


More posts to come when i have some more time as there is alot more that has been done.

Thanks

 

[R32.Sam]

Apologies for the Out of sequence work, i am trying to compile all the work done over the last 6 months.

Wiring has been fully wrapped and labelled, dash will go in once all work has been completed


Next job on the cards was to fit the HSD Coilovers and AirCup System.
Whilst the suspension was out i also installed the new Yellowstuff pads and drilled and grooved EBC disks.

I decided to go for lift allround as i have a steep driveway and wanted to retain a driveable suspension setup. Took me a few days to get it all templated in the boot, using existing carpet and bolted in via the bootfloor. All wiring and lines completed and grommeted. All works as should with a decent amount of lift.

All Caliper Bolts were renewed with zinc coated bolts and all suspension hardware was also replaced.


Whilst i was in the boot a walbro 455 was also fitted, just need to finish the hardwiring with relay on it so that it receives the full voltage. (Ignore the Electrical tape this was before i shrinkwrapped all soldered connections)

 

[R32.Sam]

Not being a massive fan of a black roll-cage i decided to strip the paint for a fresh colour, hammerite was handbrushed so it has taken a while to remove all the paint and it will soon be final masked and painted in bronze/gold.

Meanwhilst taking a break from the paint prep i focused on the engine bay for a little as it became tedius.

I noticed that a few relays were missing in the fusebox so i got some replacements. Here she stood looking sorry for herself.

Work on the engine started.

Whilst the covers were off i decided to strip and prep the covers for sanding and polish (This took me a while haha)

The OEM bracket on the right rocker cover was grinded off and smoothed.

Finished product...

R8 Coils and Holder also installed with Oil Slick bolts.

Turbo and 6boost manifold test fitment for clearance.
New MLS gaskets all round and AN10 Oil Catch connctors fitted and polished.

Seriously cracking on with the work now. PS Reservoir was removed and a custom bracket made, It was sprayed same colour as engine bay and the top polished. Custom Fluoro lined hoses now fed it next to the Rad.

 

[R32.Sam]

Next on the list was the Wiring Systems.

The Wiring Specialties Loom was test fitted for purpose and ebay plenum removed (Being replaced for Otaku, not yet installed)
PCV Valve Delete was also installed on rocker cover.
Currently awaiting heat protection sleeve from Funk Motorsport as it goes round the back of the block and then the heater lines can be modified and fitted on the Neo Block.

Oil sandwich plate was installed and positioned with new OEM Filter.

Still some tidying up needed and final adjustments but once wiring is in i can work on the Coolant Drain and then install the inlet.

It was time to install the Meaty RB25 Box. I jacked the car up on axle stands and began to work.

I managed to one man it into position but after a few hours graft i was dead and decide to retire for the day as it would not budge the last 20mm even with dropping the engine down.

Meanwhile i test fitted the Vertex rear bumper that needed some work doing to it, not a bad find for £40. Bodywork is far from perfect at the moment XD

Still enjoying car shows late summer with friends whilst the build goes on,

 

[R32.Sam]

SWINE... Story of my life, always a few inches short

Box went on after an angry dealing the next day i worked on it.
Woo.

I also installed the custom prop to diff, R33 Slave and new wiring.

RB25 Short shifter kit was fitted as it was the only shifter i had from the RB20 (Thanks to Lee on Skyline Group FB) who kindly provided me with a bigger bushing. However i think i will be putting an OEM Shifter back on for more throw and longevity of the box.

I also changed out the electric fans and put a viscous back on whilst more goodies were arriving.

Taking a break from work we decided to go and help a JDM friend split his 2 piece wheels. What fun it was especially when the last bolt on one wheel had fully seized and was spinning both sides.

 

[R32.Sam]

This is pretty much where i am up to at the moment, along with a dozen other small jobs rectifying things. (Which i have probably forgot)

I also got a case for the ECU as the NA Case did not fit.

So i modified one from RB Motorsport to fit the G4 board.

**Things to come**


- 50mm Turbosmart waste gate install with welded flange.
- Full turbo back to twin pipes with Downpipe at SlideMotorsport.
- Cage Paint and finish
- Custom seat rails and sliders on order to fit my seat (3-4wks)
- New front arches (Eventually)
- Plenum and feeds finishing

+ More.

Keep tuned I will post when i have more updates.

 

[R32.Sam]

A sneaky few pics getting an RB20 Engine in my Daily with my mates for his new Forged build

 

[chidley]

So. Much. Information. Brain. Hurts.

Good work though, didnt realise youd put so much time into it already! Hopefully it ends looking the way you want

 

[gt_james]

Woah this thread is off to a great start. Nice 4 door!

 

[gt_james]

Have you gone for HSD monopros with the air cups? I would love air cups for my r32 sedan, I know driftorks do a CS2/aircup deal but I don't want geomasters, so maybe the Monopro is a better choice. Any reason you went with monopros? do you know if they go lower than CS2?

 

[R32.Sam]

Have you gone for HSD monopros with the air cups? I would love air cups for my r32 sedan, I know driftorks do a CS2/aircup deal but I don't want geomasters, so maybe the Monopro is a better choice. Any reason you went with monopros? do you know if they go lower than CS2?

To be honest at the time it was how much was I getting for my money. The monopros were a good all round deal, it can sit on the tyre for me pretty much so low enough haha. I just know they work well with the air cups all round and had a few recommendations for that price point and these were the best option. You can go round in circles asking which is best and you will get a range of different answer. Go with what you prefer and is best value for money.

My monopros had an offer on at the time also so I just bit the bullet

I would give you more feedback apologies but haven't Road tested them yet

 

[R32.Sam]

Update.

Just ordered coolant lines and all turbo outlets including a 1.0mm oil feed restrictor and a 38mm centred 10an drain (believe it or not hard to get hold of!)

Note to self 4 and 6an elbow are not cheap!!!


Also managed to pick up a custom R8 loom to fit the neo made out of thick core wiring. Will have to grind the valley cover to hide the R8 coil harness.

Also a friend collected an S14 throttle cable as oem was too short. BONUS!!

 

[R32.Sam]

More prep work on the cage today after stripping and sanding what feels about 10 coats of hammerite.

Test fitting the r8 coil loom before I sliced the valley cover.
Turns out I need to extend the loom so there goes my free time this week

More bits arriving this week to finish the heater hose connections and hopefully the loom and inlet.

 

[R32.Sam]

After 48 cable joins and more sleeving I managed to extend the R8 loom.

Should be fun when gapping plugs or changing a spark. Was an absolute nightmare to get them in just hoping it all works.

 

[R32.Sam]

UPDATE

Cage is about 80% Prepped for paint.

Managed to sort the following as well.

* Radiator Hoses with inline reducers.
* Turbo Water Return tapped to inlet side.
* Coil pack harness routed and connected.
* All Earth's attached, Gearbox connections tied and speed sensor relocated.

All ready for inlet to be installed.

That's the inlet side then complete bar the vacuum lines

 

[R32.Sam]

Mate took a picture of me working on the car haha.

 

[R32.Sam]

I have bad OCD... Inlet plasti taped for scratch free install

I also got most the inlet side done ready for installation. Some more tidying up required and lines neatened so it's all hidden. Etc and to sort the IACV lines then ready to be done.

Will probably touch up some of the engine bay scratches with light sand and touch up too.