'89 A31 Cefiro

[Nic_A31]

I'm bored, so figured I'd dedicated a thread to my other nightmare A31 Cefiro.

Some of you might recognise this:
http://i46.tinypic.com/14t7yg6.jpg

I got this off Clint (DESAM8) back in April, similar to below pic, with minor panel damage. It had a few goodies on it and the asking price was a steal.

Tidied it up as best I could and passed pits first go with RB20E/Auto setup.

http://i46.tinypic.com/2je4wmf.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/cu8zr.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/bhc64w.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/sblttj.jpg

Added a few things to it
Series 2 tail-lights
http://i25.tinypic.com/ibhx4w.jpg
Almost got this working
http://i29.tinypic.com/e63n81.jpg
These make a world of difference
http://i34.tinypic.com/4qga37.jpg

Was running sweet on full compression until one day early July it gave up, never found the problem but stopped pursuing when I found radiator coolant inside head.

Fucked around for way too long trying to get an RB25DE NEO + 5 speed setup working, eventually threw in the towel on that idea.

It currently sits like this
http://i56.tinypic.com/2lxz0o0.jpg

Factory A31/C33 Turbo setup (no blow off valve) and a proper manual conversion in the works, hopefully firing up tomorrow night.
http://i52.tinypic.com/9vl8jl.jpg

Have an LSD to fit, and some interior work to do (couple of gauges, and Laurel dash).
Brakes need a re-bleed. I'd like to go non-ABS but this would most likely mean downgrading from its current BM50 master cylinder to a 44.

Will update again tomorrow if she starts.

------------

Recap of current specs.

RB20DET (C33)
R34 N/A 5 Speed gearbox w/ 8 puk clutch
R33 GTST Brakes (upgraded calipers again since last pic)
R33 GTR rims
HSD Coilovers
LSD

[Nic_A31]

Might as well ask while I'm here.
Can anyone confirm what sort of pressure the factory turbo's on these A31/C33 motors push, factory?
It's been rumoured that they less, hence the lack off blow off valve, but haven't heard that from a reliable source.
Housings and wastegate actuator both look very different to turbo off my 32 motor.

Guess I'll find out when I fire it up, but would be keen to know before hand if its worth chucking my R32 recirculating BoV setup on, or atleast the huge red atmo one that came on the halfcut.

[Kaido]

you can get a BM50 non-abs master. however they aren't cheap brand new from nissan they are $450 (trade if i remember right). They normally have them in stock or get the from overeast within afew days.

its the master from a r32 gtr vspec 2 n1

[DESAM8+PANIK]

i know the r32 wastegate is 10psi Nick

[kurbn]

nice project man! needs some love but I think that would come up a decent car with some work.

Perth needs some nice ceffys again, havnt seen one for a long time

[D3FEKT]

If im not mistaken but dont the C33s only run 8psi? Well thats what the one i seen was running anyway. Dont want to sound like a doosh.

[1JZVL]

Ahahaha nice! RB20e with auto!? oh shit...25det will give the ceffy much needed power.

Good choice of wheels as well :)

[lysdexia]

my cefiro turbo ran 10psi standard if memory serves

[Marti]

Awsome rim choice and 10psi sounds about right

[Nic_A31]

33 GTR rims seem to be much loved by all, haha.
Another pic
http://i56.tinypic.com/sztny0.jpg

They sit dead flush with the guards until I dropped it, now they sit JUST inside the guards with camber.
This is a better idea of how it'd look with the coilovers all at the same height, proper alignment and a kit.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk114/madgarbage/browncef/servo1.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk114/madgarbage/IMG_1015_1024-1.jpg


Anyway, I got a little done on the car tonight.
All electronics are up and running, air con and power steering are on (just waiting for one bolt for air con pulley), cut holes out for the intercooler pipes and got that all sorted.
Little ways to go yet but getting there.

[S15_NUT]

so........ Did it fire? or catch fire?

[Slip_]

Good start keen to see progress

Net is currently shaped and bulk pics struggled, thought the example car was yours for a tick. Is that from over east? Do like.

[Nic_A31]

Still running into a few drama's.
The car just wants to rest in peace I swear. Bolt for the centre bearing snapped inside the body and refusing to come out....I can only guess it partially threaded into the nut on the other side of the metal, and the welds for the nut broke free, so it can't wind in either direction and just floats around in there. Might be time for a single piece.

That brown one is from over East, yes, and has an SR20.
http://forum.jdmstyletuning.com/showthread.php?p=469697

[adrenalin]

SR in a land barge ... why

[Slip_]

Because its a s13 chassis??

[Nic_A31]

They handle better with SRs than RBs

[Nic_A31]

After 7 battery recharges (the fucker is finally getting charge back in), multiple electrical problems w/ new loom/dash setup hunted down, alarm completely disarmed (causing ignition engagement issues) and a fuel delivery problem rectified, it STARTS, and RUNS.

Runs very smooth. After no more than 5 seconds into its first run the rpms were stable at 1500rpm and slowly dropped down, not bad for a motor that's been sitting for God only know's how long.
It needs some attention, and a service, badly. Has a oil leak somewhere up the back at the bottom end which I'll have to find and sort out.

But it runs.

It spools up quick, and hard, and likes to blow off intercooler pipes.
Begins spool at mid 3's maybe, hard to say when full boost is on as (and what exactly full boost is with these turbo's) the boost gauge isnt hooked up yet and I wasn't going to run her up to 7k with kids in the street.

[Nic_A31]

Same shit. Different day.

Running.
Battery is losing charge (finally rooted).
Motor is pissing out oil steady-mid rate. (still havent been able to isolate the problem to one point, infact located several leaks which I'm not happy about)
Fuel pissing out in boot. (possibly a rooted O-Ring, or cradle not seating properly)

Have gaskets + seals waiting for me at Nissan.
Sunroof motor has finally broken it's last legs, need to track down a new motor.

Things that I HAVE done:
Bled Brakes + Clutch
Adjusted coilover height, damper and camber on all corners (pics below)
Properly fitted and assembled C33 Laurel dash and some electronics.


Dardy rim fitment.
http://i54.tinypic.com/111p0ys.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/350oqrt.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/14xi69i.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/sztny0.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/23kq2qp.jpg (rears)

Pimp C33 Laurel dash.
Washed it down 3 times, then used some VHT Vinyl Dye on it (black). Looks alot better. Still mismatched to the rest of the interior, but alot better than brown.
http://i53.tinypic.com/2u3y714.jpg
(dont mind the mess. Car has again become storage/dumping grounds)
http://i54.tinypic.com/2w40i7q.jpg
Decided against removing the clock. So I put it back where it's meant to go, and mounted the boost gauge using existing shitty-effort drilled holes.
http://i53.tinypic.com/2zylyj4.jpg
Yeah, the Laurel dash is ripping, and has holes n shit, but it's still much nicer than the Cefiro dash.

One more pic. Kick-ass stance.
http://i55.tinypic.com/1654zm.jpg

[Nic_A31]

AAAAND Finally she's back on the road.
Well it's been back on the road for a while now.

Exhaust leak was NASTY. 2 snapped studs, 1 unwound stud, only 3 out of 4 nuts on the T3 flange (the remaining were on finger tight), and one snapped on the outlet to the dump pipe (which took HOURS to remove)
With that finished the turbo response was even quicker.
Under load it'll begin spool at 2000rpm and hit 10PSI @ 3000rpm which is apparently normal for 20s?, occasionally it'll hit 11-12 briefly but seems to be intermittent.

Pic here: http://i54.tinypic.com/10pdoud.jpg
comparison of the turbo off the halfcut motor, apposed to turbo off my old R32 motor
Dunno if what I've got is red-top RB20DET turbo or RB25 Turbo but yeah, definately different.

Haven't been able to lower it evenly at the back due to slight clearance issue.
http://i54.tinypic.com/2hf6yqu.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/25aq4us.jpg
IS actually driveable but being that low it automatically develops hardcore camber - gotta roll guards out a tad and get adjustable camber arms.

Few other bits n pieces to fix before it's safe to drive it hard but massive releif to finally have it back on the road, considering it was never meant to come off in the first place.

Computer is still having a hard time adjusting to it's new home. 290km out of 60 odd litres, fairly normal driving with the odd kick in the guts.

PROOF that it DOES RUN
http://i53.tinypic.com/2ykjh4x.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/2u3z5n4.jpg
Excuse the Gosnells Spec interior.
http://i51.tinypic.com/28v60w4.jpg

[Nic_A31]

Faaark, been a while.

I had non-stop drama's with the 20 from the start. It kept playing up one night on the way from Joondalup to Midland, running on 5 cylinders, then 4, then 5 again, and then on the way to work the next morning, it developed some big end rattle, aaaand, pop.
So, I wasn't going to bother throwing any more coin into that.

Coincidentally, about a month before, I'd just bought a low kms 25DET through Mayhem.
Didn't even have plans to put it in anything, I just bought it because I had too much cash (and because Steve likes to pressure his customers in purchases)
Even better, a week before the 20 blew, I went and bought all new gaskets, exhaust studs, nuts, bolts etc for the top end.
Towed it home on a Tuesday morning, sat at my place for a week, towed it to my mates place on a Saturday, pulled the 20DET out on the Sunday, dropped both looms off to Ant on Monday and did all the top end and exhaust side gaskets, picked loom up on Tuesday, dropped 25DET and box back into the car on Wednesday, and spent Thursday (Australia Day) attaching ancillaries, loom etc:


Becoming an all too familiar sight :(
http://i44.tinypic.com/fvgwfq.jpg

25DET in
http://i41.tinypic.com/34yxk7s.jpg

All good to go
http://i41.tinypic.com/rirxuu.jpg

It went back in with a standard R32 GTR clutch and pressure plate, on a 4.8kg flywheel, and RB20 box.
Only thing I had to do was reset the idle (3 times....) and it's been perfect since.

Other news on the car:

-Cusco rear camber arms, then sent off to Wilkinson's to even ride height and wheel alignment.
-R32 GTR rear sway bar
http://i54.tinypic.com/14cqgio.jpg
Enough said

Bought some Series 3 R33 GTR Seats in
http://i53.tinypic.com/2w725mo.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/24x1g06.jpg

It started looking a little bunky, with mismatched series of doors, black guard, etc, and the bumpers looking rather old.
http://i54.tinypic.com/54de7o.jpg
Especially the driver's side.
http://i52.tinypic.com/192ob6.jpg

Resprayed front and rear bars, and spare guard, in touch up paint
http://i51.tinypic.com/1tkkzs.jpg
Got a couple of runs in there, but it IS a shitter, so she'll be right.

I also took off all the door bumpers and that chrome lining down the ends of the doors. Looks ALOT tidier without it.
http://i52.tinypic.com/suy72a.jpg
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/407828_293537747354139_109188375789078_785015_6783 12558_n.jpg

Bought some more cool shit in from Japan.
http://i41.tinypic.com/1113uo2.jpg
(This will probably come off until I get Autech side skirts and rear bar, it looks way too Mr Snow Plow spec from the sides with just the front lip)
http://i40.tinypic.com/f0vno6.jpg

It's pretty much at where I want it now (running....lol)
I've got a BeeR exhaust in my shed, and I've got Trust shotguns on the way from Japan, I gotta decide which is cooler and has more street rep, fit that to this daily Ceffy, and use the other on my project.

BeeR
http://i56.tinypic.com/15xwx8z.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/30iga3k.jpg

Trust
http://i44.tinypic.com/2s1ofo5.jpg

All she needs now is 3" split dump pipe, down pipe, new cat (20DET clogged that one up real good), then PowerFC and tune.

Anyway, that's the last year and a bit in a nutshell.

Comments, criticisms, bashings etc all welcome!!

[Shauno]

Looks good, i usually sit next to you in traffic most mornings.

[Nic_A31]

^^ Really?
Which one are you?

I have a lot of people stare at me in weird ways in traffic, so I try not to notice these days.

[Shauno]

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/396197_10150563894190886_709515885_9124952_9605313 82_n.jpg

In this

Or this

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/423096_10150602922820886_709515885_9261278_9079832 42_n.jpg

Or in a white econovan or a white getz with Veale Auto Parts on the side haha

[Nic_A31]

I'll keep an eye out for ya n give her some high revs if I spot ya.

[DJ84WA]

Always been a fan of cefiro's. Just really like the shape of them.
Will you be tracking it at any stage? :)

[Nic_A31]

Neg. This is my daily driver these days.
The plan is to finish my other project, apply for the army, and if successful, take the project with me over East, and sell this one (back to Clint if he's still keen), in that case, in the small time frame I own both, I might have a crack at drifting.

[Slip_]

Dope!!

[Nic_A31]

Keep telling myself I've spent enough money on this thing and I'll stop.

Right side (either front or rear, couldn't really tell) started making a weird scraping sound at low speed.
First thought was brake pad(s) getting low, second thought was JJR bearings that came with the 5 stud hubs (at about 40'000kms old now).

Turns out it was pads. Rear right, inner pad down to bare metal, the rest were all pretty even with a decent amount left on them.
http://i44.tinypic.com/5l1dg8.jpg
Took the good part of a couple of hours to do all 4 corners and rotors by myself at home.
Had some f**king around with the rears.
http://i44.tinypic.com/2h560wx.jpg
Bendix Ultimate up front, General on the rears, machined rotors.

Done a whole bunch of other work on it since, won't bother with pics:
Split Dump Pipe (3 Inch)
Trust Downpipe (4? Inch)
TurboTech V2 Boost Controller

FMIC
http://i50.tinypic.com/30cyh6s.jpg
Test drive was as per above pic with plates zip tied onto the reo' bar
http://i50.tinypic.com/59od2.jpg
Got that on without cutting any cutting to the reinforcement bar, but I did have to chop the bumper a fair bit to fit the pipework, and had to chop down the fanblades as per usual.

These rocked up but I haven't put them on yet.
http://i46.tinypic.com/idtb7q.jpg

Gave the car to Manny (Beyond Custom) for a week to get a big list done.
Front bar: hole for parking antenna filled + resprayed
Front lip: plastic welded + resprayed + some work to make it sit properly
Front right guard: resprayed
Right side door, front: dents removed + resprayed (maybe rust removal under the mirrors removed as well)
Right side door, rear: dents removed + resprayed
mirrors, both sides: resprayed
Stage 21 side skirts: sprayed + fitted
Stage 21 rear bar: sprayed + fitted (needs some cutting and fibreglassing in some area's to make it line up properly)
Boot panel: Pulled back into shape to accommodate rear bar properly.

Pretty stoked with how it turned out, especially after a decent clean.
I stuck with the 2 tone scheme that it already had with the white front bar and black lip. Still unsure weather I like it or not.
http://i50.tinypic.com/24zy4us.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/262krv7.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/25f4oow.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/351tqvt.jpg

(eg. what they look like painted all white http://cdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp/minkara/photo/000/002/105/216/2105216/p2.jpg )


Anyway, what you all think?

I swear on my left nut, new steering wheel, PFC+Tune, and mod' the exhaust (or put that 110mm BeeR Exhaust on there) so it fits up with the rear bar properly (ref here = http://i46.tinypic.com/35ar63b.jpg), and THAT'S IT, no more.

[Milhouse]

Wow ! Thats one clean looking A31 mate

The two tone actually works well

[flamo_damo]

That looks really neat mate, perfect streeter.

Agreed, two tone works well

[DJ84WA]

Very nice.
The overall package with the 33R wheels, subtle two tone and clean white paint really give off a decent look!
Actually quite jealous! :p

[Marti]

Very clean car, nice work

[RoTangus]

Looks perfect, well done!

[MadDocker]

You give this a bit through the Albany Hwy / Royal St intersection around 415 yesterday arvo? If so, sounds good.

[Nic_A31]

Cheers guys :)
neg. Not me.
It's come to my attention that there is now another white Cefiro rocking 33 GTR wheels and some kind of front lip, getting around Perth. Might be that dude (copy cat bastard!)

[Milhouse]

I need to show my brother this, and get him to swap his 34R wheels for 33R's hahah

[Nic_A31]

Boredom update:
Not really an update, just, more pics.

Forgot to chuck this one in last post.
http://i50.tinypic.com/ndqu8g.jpg
^^Had to do a manifold off job a while back, took the opp. to hit everything with a wire wheel and clean it all up. Intake mani, crossover pipe IACV, thermostat housing, etc.

Picked up a DSLR last week, getting the hang of it.
http://i48.tinypic.com/30kel3c.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/16kw7dz.jpg

Covered the B and C pillars (doors only) with gloss black vinyl and put the shields back on.
http://i46.tinypic.com/346ls40.jpg


Threw some stickers on, because stickers are cool.
http://i50.tinypic.com/6ehj5c.jpg

Interior shot since I've never posted one of these either.
http://i47.tinypic.com/dcvwva.jpg
Isn't looking its greatest these days.

I need a new end section exhaust made up, Kermit doesn't seem too interested to finish the job off, and Clint is a busy mofo, any recommendations ??

[Finjonz]

4 doors for more whores... best part of the car haha Nice build man.

[Nic_A31]

^^haha, yeah, that gets a few comments everywhere I go. I've got 2 more in my glove box if anyone wants one.

Ended up calling the local exhaust mob 5 mins. from my house.
$200 later
http://i48.tinypic.com/2ytnw93.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/2m65th0.jpg
Nice solid hanger at the end. A little quieter <2000rpm now with that bend just before the canon, above that it's just as noisy.
I did forget to ask him to poke it out a bit so everyone can see the Bee*R logo and know how JDM I am, but still looks sweet, and I've now once again got legal ground clearance all round.

Had the dash back out again yesterday to put the heater core and air con back in, took the chance to undo an extra 7 fasteners and put this new steering rack bush in.
http://i49.tinypic.com/2lcvaxj.jpg
$55 delivered off eBay, made by a guy in SA, billet aluminium. Definitely recommend.

[ml87wa]

Sweet Ceffy champ. Best one i've seen around.

[Floyd]

Seen this today on roe hwy
Very tidy looks great makes me appreciate jap cars

[confuzion]

Love this dude, so fresh n so clean with that paint job!

[H1GHROLLR]

Do you work at a warehouse that supplies welder parts/welding accessories ? I think G&S Welding sent me there when they didnt have something a set of Lincoln feeder roller ? hmmm building and car look familiar

[Nic_A31]

Cheers guy :)

H1GHROLLR, yes I run the WA warehouse for Lincoln Electric Co.

[aussievr4]

Nice clean ride you have there good to see something a bit different.

[disc0-dan]

Would be very proud to own this, car look great. Awesome streeter.

[DESAM8+PANIK]

If I wasnt so busy I would like to dedicate some more time to this or other project Ceffys :( looks great bud, ater baby comes we will get into the other ceff mate :)

[Nic_A31]

Cheers dude :)
Nothing left to do on this one, just keep it tidy, running and water sealed (.....grrrr)
RB26 restoration ceffy project will be where it's all at! (for everyone else, I'll start up a build on that once it's getting sprayed....when I can find someone to do it....)

Question time:
How would you guys feel if I put Rota's on this ?
I mocked this up in Photoshop a while back, Rota Torque. I enquired a while back they've got some 17x9 +25s on the way in the next container.
Alternatively I can get a set of Work Emotion CR Kai's in 17x9 +28 for about $500 more (delivered ex-Japan)
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/616320_10152032952985131_818157494_o.jpg

Original photo by Darren Oneill
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/538983_3080416029292_983322261_n.jpg

[DESAM8+PANIK]

CR KAI look tough mate :) Borneo used to run around on R34 GTR rims and they look tough too ....

[jzx_andy]

nice ceffy mate, if the emotions are mint, go for em, or at least get them cleaned up before you wrap tyres around them!

[Nic_A31]

Well Torques are ~$1000+ set new, local distributor, CR Kais are just under $1700 delivered ex-jp up to 2 month wait for delivery.
That chop in last post is Rotas not Works.

I think 18s look a bit oversized, and gap between brakes and wheel is big enough now as it is with 33 Gtst anchors.

[dmwill]

Saw this as I turned up at AutoPro this evening....so clean!

[Nic_A31]

VivaGarage floor mats.
http://i45.tinypic.com/j7q3hu.jpg
I'll fix the dash up soon, one of my mates has some left over adhesive suede he bought for his door cards, see how it goes.

OMP knock off wheel and rear toe arms from Keiran/D-Speed. GKTech eccentric lockout bolts.
http://i45.tinypic.com/2s5y1vp.jpg
They're going on next Saturday, and I need to start thinking about new front wheel hubs.
Bearing has finally started to go on the front left (very minor play). I put those on at around 78'000kms and I rolled over 119'000kms today, so I think I've set a new world record for JJR wheel hubs lifespan.


http://i49.tinypic.com/23rmtdh.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/4kjrmc.jpg

I promise I'll stop spending money on this...soon....

[Marti]

I'm fairly sure I spittd you on eother leech highway or spearwood av, great looking car

[Nic_A31]

Things were looking up for a while
http://i49.tinypic.com/n36lav.jpg

I added this FRP roof wing to it
http://i48.tinypic.com/2zin1fk.jpg

Moved that "smoke tyres not drugs" decal onto the sunroof
http://i45.tinypic.com/hvct21.jpg

and I retrimmed the dash in some adhesive suede I got off eBay
http://i46.tinypic.com/347w6zs.jpg

I was heading home one Friday afternoon and it started playing up pretty weird, washer jets on full time, indicators going on and off by themselves, then smoke pissing out from under the bonnet.
I'd had problems with the engine bay loom earlier in the year which couldn't be fixed (called a couple of guys out to come have a look, no success), I ended up just replacing the whole loom, when the new one went up in smoke I wasn't exactly happy about it.
http://i49.tinypic.com/20g04rn.jpg
Sat in the driveway for a good couple of weeks before I even looked at it.

Got a bonus from work which went towards this
http://i45.tinypic.com/xrkoh.jpg
Meanwhile, the environment at work was getting worse and worse.

Eventually took the cover off the old girl and started hunting around the engine bay for the obvious. Couldnt find anything, concluded that I'd had the same problem I had circa December 2012, so I began pulling the loom out and was going to send both my looms off to be completely remade. Got as far as removing the front right guard and um, well....here
http://i50.tinypic.com/34hxjy1.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/2lx8013.jpg

To be honest I was actually GLAD to see that if anything, it meant I didn't need to work out what happened anymore.
Scored an R32 GT-R engine bay loom off Mayhem to rape for wires.
http://i41.tinypic.com/1441mb.jpg

Cutting my Cef loom up in the section that it rubbed on the wheel, and extending it ~800mm there so I can run it through the engine bay.
Recently quit my job, so I've had more time to work this thing lately, something I haven't done enough of.
Front wheel bearings are done, just need to chuck them and their hubs back on.
I'm going to keep the Civic regardless and use that as a daily so I can do some more work on this thing and just keep it as a fun after hours/weekend car.

I mocked this up on Photoshop about 6 weeks ago
Had been toying with the idea of camo vinyl on the lips for a while to try and separate the car from it's own shadow without making it look as low as it would if it was painted all white.
http://i39.tinypic.com/akzxg4.jpg
Funny enough there's now an RX8 rocking the same idea in Perth, but what do you guys reckon?
yay or nay?

I can get that vinyl in for about $220 plus shipping (the largest sheet they make, that'll leave me with stacks of left over)

and I'm just going to leave this here:
http://i41.tinypic.com/15gf3oy.jpg

Not for this Ceffy, but for my other one.
Build thread coming soon.

[caibs]

i like the car as it was. the camo skirts look pretty shocking in my oppinion. never been a fan of colour coordinating wheels and paint but its a good choice of rim none the less.

nice ceffy regardless mate

[Skitzo]

HAHA. Welcome to the low life.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/205956_10150353563874050_568749_n.jpg

[Evolved]

One of the cleanest ceffis iv ever seen

Could go lower though, you didnt even chew through the whole loom hahaha

[Sensible]

Spotted that yellow Rx8 yesterday and it looks fucken horrid
Don't Do It

[Nic_A31]

I'm fucking mad-pro at soldering now. I criticize the SHIT out of most soldering I see.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2cgk2dj.jpg

This is about a third of the mess I had left at the end of the ordeal

http://i42.tinypic.com/54gld5.jpg


Taped the loom back up but I taped the modified section in red and black, there's some wire colors in there that are off because the GT-R loom didn't have those colors or sizes.
http://i41.tinypic.com/ipzac0.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/2ppxzz8.jpg

Ended up being a little bit too long, but no biggie, just means less sharp turns in the wiring.

http://i41.tinypic.com/9r4l1v.jpg

Was running smooth as soon as I started it, serviced it, fresh wheel bearings on the front hubs and brand new speedo cable from Nissan.

Was thinking about selling it for a while before I finally drove it again. Drove it around my suburb for about 10/15 minutes and I was still pretty bleh about it, went to the servo and got a comment about it before I'd even made it to the door, then got out on the highway and opened her up a bit, changed my mind pretty quickly about the idea of selling it.

Went out with a mate on Sunday arvo to take some pics of his JZA70
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3746/9056464743_737e803e81_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76796377@N08/9056464743/)
DSC_9563 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76796377@N08/9056464743/) by Nic_A31 (http://www.flickr.com/people/76796377@N08/), on Flickr
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2889/9056446051_029e857314_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76796377@N08/9056446051/)
DSC_9568a (http://www.flickr.com/photos/76796377@N08/9056446051/) by Nic_A31 (http://www.flickr.com/people/76796377@N08/), on Flickr


A certain somebody on this forum decided to point out my intercooler is on the piss on Facebook :p
to be fair it has been on the piss half the time since I put it on, because it was only mounted via single point top and bottom,
made up 2 new brackets this arvo and linked both mounting points at the bottom directly to the radiator support, shit ain't gonna move now!
http://i44.tinypic.com/2l887r5.jpg

Now I'm just waiting for something else to break.
Need to drill out a broken exhaust stud, (cyl 6 :mad: ) but that's about it on the list of shit left to fix.

Plans:
rebuild & high flow turbo
PowerFC & tune
Clutch

maybe plans:
Using it for drift practice....
330mm F / 300mm R brakes + new BMC & brake lines
(current rotors are fucked & need to replace the BMC anyway)

[Milhouse]

LOL glad to help :D

/ may have been the c*nt on facebook who pointed out the cooler was on the piss

[disc0-dan]

Love this car, hands down best ceffy ive seen in perth. Couldn't stop walking around it when I saw it at the last AL cruise.

Just out of curiosity does the A/C still work ? When ever I find one of these for sale the A/C doesn't work.

[caibs]

ay dont stress about the broken exhaust stud man there's a guy called peter whitefoot who specialised in stud removal. all he does is drive around in his little hyundai wagon, i've heard a few workshops use him.

i had a snapped stud in my rb25 on cyl 6. it was in a vl, was pretty tight. snapped an extractor in there trying to get it out. tried a number of different things to no avail. gave this guy a call he had it out in about an hour or so, cleaned up the thread and put in a new stud all for $100. 0438068166 is his number.

[Nic_A31]

Love this car, hands down best ceffy ive seen in perth. Couldn't stop walking around it when I saw it at the last AL cruise.
Just out of curiosity does the A/C still work ? When ever I find one of these for sale the A/C doesn't work.

Cheers.
No gas in the A/C at the moment but when it does have gas in there it works pretty good, it's started to lose it a bit over the years, back when I bought it off Clint it worked as good as a brand new car, it's still pretty decent now, but I rarely use it when it's gassed up, prefer to just have the window down on a hot summer day (as much as I hate the heat)


ay dont stress about the broken exhaust stud man there's a guy called peter whitefoot who specialised in stud removal. all he does is drive around in his little hyundai wagon, i've heard a few workshops use him.

i had a snapped stud in my rb25 on cyl 6. it was in a vl, was pretty tight. snapped an extractor in there trying to get it out. tried a number of different things to no avail. gave this guy a call he had it out in about an hour or so, cleaned up the thread and put in a new stud all for $100. 0438068166 is his number.

Yeah I'll probably call him when the time comes - I've seen him at work more than once. Last time I needed a stud removed he was in Queensland but gave me the number of a mate of his, guy rocked up and no shit, not over-exaggerating, 3 studs out in about 5 minutes, done, but the snapped stud in the turbo took him a while.

[DESAM8+PANIK]

Dont sell it, as stated CLEANEST ceffy around

Good to see this moving again

[Nic_A31]

Pretty uneventful update.

Last time I drove the car was boxing day, it blew off a joiner yet again which finally made me crack the shits.
3 years of owning the thing, every little problem, one after the other, and I cracked it over a joiner blowing off 1 time too many.
So I parked the car up, started pulling it apart to get the pipework fixed, and noticed the turbo was pretty shagged as well, so I just literally left it as it was for a while, I dumped a lot of money into new camera gear and took some time away from cars, much needed I reckon, but around May/June I started to miss having something cool to drive, the car still hadn't moved and had developed a thick layer of dust on it. I figured if I was going to get proper pipework done, and the turbo needed replacing, and there wasn't much rush to get it back on the road, I'd go the whole 9, again.

Kinugawa TD06SL2 20g
Forward facing plenum
JECS 800cc injectors
Bigger FMIC
New pipework all round
Tidy up the engine bay
Braided brake and clutch lines
Power FC
Exedy 5 puk HD
Tune

Parts been building up in the corner of my room
http://i57.tinypic.com/evasy8.jpg

http://i60.tinypic.com/2qvqbk4.jpg

Got my cam covers hydro dipped in digital camo (Dip Designs on Facebook)
http://i58.tinypic.com/2pt3pxw.jpg

Here's an example of how carried away with little shit I'll get, I don't know if I've got some undiagnosed condition or what.
Paint on the driver's side chassis rail was peeling, probably from spilt brake fluid, so I cleared some shit out of the way, sanded it back, then I was like, fuck it, I'll just spray can all these faded area's in the bay, then realizing half the bay had dirt caked well into the paint, I was like, fuck it, I'll spray can the whole bay, stripped it out and started sanding, turns out my neighbor is a panel beater and his spray painter at work sprayed his engine bay in his drift car in their shed, it turned out sweet, so he hooked me up with getting that done.

http://i62.tinypic.com/dcqa35.jpg

http://i59.tinypic.com/16m7txe.jpg

It turned out tons better than I'd expected, even the dude who sprayed the bay was stoked with how it turned out.

I'll start piecing it all back together in the next week or so, the bay will be a shot ton neater when it's back together.
Just trying to find a PowerFC for not-crack-money and to actually suit an RB25DET.
Then just a matter of pipework, fit clutch, and tune.

Stay tuned pingpingpingpings
xoxo

[Brett_J]

I can see you selling the anti surge internal gated turbo real quick, get the non anti surge version, also external goodness :)
Not many people having luck with them.

[flamo_damo]

Nice.

Cam covers look fucking sick!

[DESAM8+PANIK]

keen to see engine bay when finished :)

[hEEVO]

cool car mate.

[Jumanji]

Awesome Progression.

[Nic_A31]

Cheers fellas

While I'm here, I shot these around Christmas I think.

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/76796377@N08/11493784914" title="DSC_6933 by Nic Italiano, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7356/11493784914_103f6d5a76_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_6933"></a>

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/76796377@N08/11493792464" title="DSC_6911 by Nic Italiano, on Flickr"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3778/11493792464_04e228ff4d_z.jpg" width="640" height="425" alt="DSC_6911"></a>

[LS 34 WA]

deffently stay with the 33 gtr wheels looks so good! tops to you man. so tough!

[Nic_A31]

Taking shape.

http://i58.tinypic.com/11j555h.jpg

Cooler pipework going to be done by the one and only, old mate Clint.
Slight change in plans, was trying to sell my 26DETT intake, decided on keeping it after rounding up some advice on it (and after copping flak for buying China from a few of the more 'senior' AL members...), so I sold the FReddy intake and side feed 800s, I just need to source a set of top feeds, resistor pack, then mock up some fuel lines and a pressure reg.

Can anyone confirm if I NEED to run a resistor pack on PowerFC? or will it adjust accordingly if I just plug-in and go?

Bits and pieces.
Pipework.
Clutch.
Top up fluids and bleed.
Tune.
Skids.

[DESAM8+PANIK]

No Nic you have to run a resistor pack with tail feed "GTR" injectors unless you find low impedance injectors that will bolt in.

[Nic_A31]

Was hoping I'd have this thing done by now, but nope :\
Not having a good time finding solid employment the last 12 months.

Tidied up the injector wiring, since I had to wire in new Bosch plugs anyway
http://i59.tinypic.com/5pqzgk.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/5ajmt5.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/juzew7.jpg
Ended up making it even tidier after this, shortening the wiring for each injector.

Old mate Clint is taking care of the fabrication and pipework for me.
http://i58.tinypic.com/2hnuouf.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/a46cfp.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/aop1lk.jpg

A while back (must be coming up on 2 years now), I gave it some herbs in the tunnel, and heard a pretty horrific rattling/clunking sound straight after, my heart dropped thinking it was either a big end or the box, the car seemed to drive OK and everything seemed alright, I didn't look into it too much, figuring it must've been something in the bell housing flying around....well, after dropping the box tonight, and only having to remove 8 clutch bolts (not 9)...I know what that was all about...

http://i58.tinypic.com/i4iadl.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/16jn1ie.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/155tdtl.jpg
http://i61.tinypic.com/mmbgx5.jpg

Its gouged most of the outer edge of the flywheel (which is a 4.5kg), I'm hoping it's still in good enough shape to remain balanced after being machined.
Clutch looks ok, pressure plate has a lot of battle scars on it. Guess that'll learn me for being a dickhead in the tunnel.

I tried to sell that set of CR Kais for my other Ceffy, but had minimal interest. Took the tyres off my GT-R wheels and sold those instantly....not something I wanted to do, but tough times calls for selling shit to make money. I guess putting the CR Kais onto this Ceffy isn't such a bad thing, but I did like the GT-R better on this thing....when I'm good for cash again I think I'll get another set.

http://i58.tinypic.com/5l2978.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/20k3s6c.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/257epvq.jpg

I've got the car back at my place now, I believe Clint is or already has finished the fab work.
http://i57.tinypic.com/30ww7ww.jpg

Not much else to update really.
Series "1.5" (2) headlights

I've got plenty to keep me busy still.
Trying to figure out why the ECU has partial power when the key is out of the ignition and remains on after the ignition is switched off.
Theres 2 relays near the ECU, if only one is connected, it's all sweet, if both are connected, that's when the problem exists.
Need to figure out which is ECU and which is fuel pump....but if anyone has any ideas on what that's all about, I'm happy to hear, haha.

It's been 15 months since I've driven this thing now, it's well overdue to be back on the road again.
It's been pretty relaxing being out of the car scene for a while, my photography skills have become a million times better, so as soon as this thing is rolling again, I'll definitely do it some digital justice with some photos and videos.

Anyway, enough dribbling, looks like I've got some steady work again now, so this will be my priority 1 until it's finished.

[anton]

pfft just a nissan shit, just replace it ASAP then SKIDS

[Nic_A31]

http://i62.tinypic.com/2cmoqv7.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/x40let.jpg

^^ Found that last clutch bolt when I pulled the box apart

http://i61.tinypic.com/hs1fo0.jpg

http://i60.tinypic.com/2rwxqtl.jpg

[leoner]

how is it going?

[Nic_A31]

how is it going?

I'm about a bee's dick away from parting this thing out and scrapping the shell.
(Legit.)

[phatboy]

NOOOOOO! its so close(i assume).
plz dont! i wanna see this thing drop a skid.

[Nic_A31]

First things first, I've sold most of my DSLR gear, so it'll be damaged phone camera pics for a while.

http://i60.tinypic.com/2itj2f9.jpg
Got busy last week. Somehow the RB25DET gearbox bolted straight in without a gearbox modification...

http://i59.tinypic.com/29c6p9v.jpg
Apparently this Nissan gasket glue is the go....I guess I'll find out soon.
http://i61.tinypic.com/a2ytn6.jpg

http://i59.tinypic.com/2rnva5i.jpg

Pipework is all done.
http://i60.tinypic.com/demtzp.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/2564mjd.jpg

http://i58.tinypic.com/30kfvif.jpg

Got these bitches all rubbered up
http://i57.tinypic.com/28hzy9d.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/zkrbwo.jpg

Gonna need some mobile guard rolling dude's services I think...
http://i60.tinypic.com/51q8mo.jpg

So close, yet so far.

On a serious note, anyone interested in buying this car either as it is now, or running and tuned somewhere around 400hp, feel free to send me a message.

But yeah, this thing is in the way of some life goals at the moment, and it is just a car..so if it doesn't move soon I'll just part it out

[hEEVO]

Shame, was keen to see a nice example of one of these.

[Nic_A31]

So I had this up for part out for a while, and I got the typical response, dude's looking for one petty little part, like one weather shield, so I might've just hard parked it again for a while. Then I got some shit sorted.

http://i68.tinypic.com/sgin9k.jpg
http://i65.tinypic.com/axoh2h.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/zxlgfl.jpg

Runs. Runs rough. Needs tune.
http://i68.tinypic.com/2h2fc5w.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/2i20caf.jpg
http://i68.tinypic.com/jaz3ah.jpg

Really not sure what to do with it now.
Don't even have the motivation to drag it up to Hyperdrive for a tune.

[Madhav]

Nice looking A31. They are a lightweight car, and with a decent bit of power and a good tune they are great fun to drive. This one should be no exception.