Nolathane rear LCA bushes arrive

A couple of posts back I mentioned my little stuff up with the rear lower control arms...ie. I prepped a set from an R32 GT-R, not an S13. After that little set back, I grabbed a set of S13 rear LCA's and quickly prepped and painted them for temporary fitting to the rear end. I was initially going to look at getting a set of adjustable rear LCA's, but after seeing the prices, I decided to stick with just updating the bushes in the stock ones. Now, I know this is a little anal, but I'm trying to keep a colour scheme going here, and yellow (Whiteline) or blue (OEM Replacements) bushes wouldn't cut it, so I went for the red Nolathane bushes. Still very good quality and red to boot. A quick look up on the web site (Redranger Nolathane), I identified the part number required, 46216, and promptly called around, settling on Repco who had them airbagged across for $107.00 inc GST. See the following picture identifying where these bushes will be installed:



Next step in installing these will be to melt out the old ones with an oxy torch, then sand and spray with paint and finally fit the new bushes. Woohoo. Oh, and if you do order a set of these, get two sets as a single set only does one side (lucky I ordered two sets just in case).

Cheers
Brendan

Front ended...but not finished.

After working on the rear end last week, it was time to move up to the front. I was really nice having all the parts all cleaned and painted ready to be bolted back up to the car...was a matter of picking them up and bolting them in. Started on Saturday morning by removing the Tie Rods from the S15 Power Steering Rack. These are known to be quite weak (ie. bend easily) when hitting curbs/ripple strips at speed, so they'll be replaced with Kazama Super Strength Tie Rods (plus Super Tie Rod Ends). Once removed, it was bolted up to the S13 engine crossmember. There is very little difference between the S13 and S15 crossmembers, so it bolted straight up using the S13 mounts and brackets. After a quick wipe down, I located the nuts needed, applied a bit of anti-seize to the threads and bolted it up. Woohoo *dances a jig*.

- S13 Engine Crossmember and S15 Power Steering Rack
- Tie Rods removed
- Crossmember Bolted Up under car



Next came the Nismo Power Brace, again a matter of selecting the correct nuts and bolts (that had been re-plated) and bolting it into place. As you can see I've also put the castor rod bolts in place so I don't lose them and have also attached the sway bar bracket mounts as well. This way I won't have to go searching for them when it comes time to bolt that bit in.

- Crossmember and Nismo Power Brace viewed from top



Last part of the day was tracking down some crucial nuts and bolts for the strut assembly. Luckily there was a full S13 front assembly down the back of the workshop I could use, so I raped that for the inner mounting bolts for the Nismo Lower Control Arms and the two bolts to mount the top of the hub assembly/spindle to the RG coilover. These will need to be replated, so for the time being I've sand blasted them and will plate when I get my new DIY electroplating kit up and running. I did have to make a quick trip down the parts store however for some new mounting nuts for the top of the coilover (I'll replace these later with better self-locking ones). It then took about 5 minutes each side to bolt what I had into place.

So next step is get my plating kit running, the manual is pretty huge as it covers the basics of electroplating as well as the specific kind you have the kit for. The kit has come from a US company called Caswell (http://www.caswellplating.com/) who have an Australian distributor in Melbourne. This will allow me to do the plating when I need it and have an exterior grade plating done in 60 minutes.

Until next time...

Cheers
Brendan

Rear end together (mainly)

So it's been a while since my last post, but with more renovations going on and Autosalon now out of the road, I got back into the workshop for a full day to complete the rear end assembly. It all went together fairly smoothly, with Roy helping me out with one side of the hand brake assemblies (from an R33 GT-R) before I did the other under his watchful eye. Of course this was after we figured out that I had both the hubs and the hand brake pivot on the wrong sides (left on right and right on left)...der! Then came another minor hiccup...the rear lower control arms. Now after burning out the old crusty bushes with an oxy acetylene torch and repainting up nicely, I put some new bushes in one side only to find out they weren't going to fit! They were from an R32 GT-R and for some reason I had got them mixed up ages ago (about 12mths ago). I went and grabbed the originals, quickly gave it a clean up and coat of paint, and I'll redo the bushes when I replace all the arms with the Kazama ones I have on back-order. Here are some pics mid and after assembly, minus the half shafts which I missed out until someone mentioned I had better put them in then rather than after it was bolted up.

- Partly assembled
- Rear control arms
- Rear control arms
- Diff in place...sexy hey!
- R33 GT-R Handbrake Assembly
- R33 GT-R Handbrake Assembly
- Lower Tension Rod Brace
- Fully assembled (minus shafts)

The handbrake cables used were new Nissan R33 Skyline GTSt, please check new prices from Nissan before forking out for second hand ones as I've heard of some used ones going for same price as new. So once it was all together, we lifted it onto a trolley jack, wheeled it under the car, lined it up and bolted it in. Finally, I felt as though I had achieved something. Although now that it's bolted in, I know I'm going to have to take apart the outside arm assemblies anyway to replace all the arms - but at least it looks like I've done something. Pics of it bolted in:

- Rear Bolted Up 1
- Rear Bolted Up 1
- Rear Bolted Up 1
- DBA 4000 Rear Brake Rotor



After a short wait, my new OS Giken STR (STR2C) Twin-plate Clutch arrived, and damn it's beautiful (as much as a clutch can be). Just a recap about the clutch for those that missed it previously:

The New OS Giken STR series can handle up to 600hp, yet retains drivability very close to standard with 30% lighter pedal effort than most multi-plate clutches. By using special new plate and diaphragm designs, OS Giken has achieved ample power handling with just 715kg clamping pressure. This makes the STR series perfect for everyday driving applications, along with most race and drift applications.

The clutches come complete with lightweight chrome-moly flywheel, ruby red-anodised billet aluminium clutch cover and the required bearing/carrier set or pull-push converter kit where required.

- STR2C Top
- STR2C Side
- STR2C Logo
- STR2C Thrust Bearing

A few other bits and pieces have come in too. The DBA4000 discs for the front brakes are now in, will take pics when I test fit them up. I purchased a Cusco OST Brace - for those who haven't heard of these, it mates up with a Cusco OS Rear Strut Tower Brace and adds two additional arms to tie the struts to the floor of the boot in a triangle configuration. These will need to be refinished as per my other braces (black wrinkle finish on the bar and semi-gloss on the plate). I've also purchased a kit that allows me to do my own Zinc electroplating of metal parts, saving me time in dropping them down to the platers (takes about 60mins to do parts in a bucket on site).

Not sure what's next, I know I have a lot of painting still to do (Sard fuel surge tank, intercooler, IC pipes), but also want to get the front engine support in and start on bolting the front suspension together.

Until next time.

Cheers
Brendan

New pssshhhhhhtt valve

Went and grabbed my new GReddy Type-R Blow-off Valve (Standard Spring) from Jeff's office yesterday and took a few pics. This is one of the largest blow-off valves on the market and comes in two configurations, the first with what they call a standard spring and the other with a 'race' spring. Here's an excerpt from a site I found with info on the two:

GReddy's Type R Blow Off Valve (BOV) is a simple, yet powerful design. The GReddy Type R Blow Off Valve is made from Billet and Cast Aluminum. The GReddy Type R Blow Off Valve uses an oversized 47mm Housing that is Intended for Engines that produce more than 400 horsepower and over 12lbs (0.82bar) of Boost. You can adjust the Pressure Relief by simply turning the knob on the Top. The Stock Spring Type R Blow Off Valve (BOV) Holds up to 18lbs (1.24bar) of Boost. If your Turbo Runs Boost levels from 16lbs (1.1bar) up, you can purchase the GReddy Stiff Spring Type R Blow Off Valve. You will need to purchase a Steel or Aluminum BOV Mounting Flange to Properly Install The GReddy Type R Universal Kit. (Thanks to RacingWorks.com)

As I said I took a few pics so here they are:

- GReddy Type-R BOV (Side)
- GReddy Type-R BOV (Piston)
- GReddy Type-R BOV (Parts)
- GReddy Type-R BOV (Box)

From the size of it, a lot of people (as did I) mistake it for an external turbo wastegate - but I assure you this is a blow-off valve. We'll be mounting it on the passenger side of the intercooler where it will be plumbed back into the inlet just after the airflow meter (AFM - if I do end up with one) and the intake on the compressor housing. This will hopefully reduce the amount of noise from it as I'm not a fan of the psssshhht. Should generate more of a low wooosh sound similar to that of stock GT-R blow-off valves when you change from airbox to pod filters.

Apologise for the slow movement, but with only 3hrs per week to work on it, there's not a great deal I can get done - especially when there's parts that need prep before refit.

Cheers
Brendan