R32 Street / Track Build and other automotive oddities.

Long time lurker first time poster. 

Ive always enjoyed reading people threads on here and since my other go to forum is having database issues and dying a slow death, I figured this would be a good place to banter about cars and share my automotive story. 

So My wife and I recently moved out of the city quickly realized we needed a larger, more practical vehicle. We currently own a 2019 Toyota 86 and a 2015 Nissan Micra and my project,  a 1993 Nissan Skyline GTS-T (more on that later) Quite an eclectic grouping of vehicles I know. So why not add another.

I am dead against SUV/ and crossovers (and car payments) and started looking into used wagons. Ive always liked the idea of volvos but was always a little hesitant on euro car ownership.

I tested a couple FWD auto V50s and really like how they drove, they were large enough without being huge. I called my local(ish) used import car dealer and told him I wanted one in manual (bonus points for T5) and pretty much got laughed off the phone.

The very next day he calls laughing. Apparently, someone came in off the street with a 2009 T5 AWD to trade in on a Volvo SUV on the lot. I went up the next day to take a look.

He said it was meant to be and sold it to me for what he had into it.

Its a 2009 V50 R-Design T5 AWD 6speed  I got it with 225,000km / 140 000 Miles. It seems be well taken care of, the previous owner seemed to have parked by feel as every corner has a scuff. Also the front lip and undertray had also left the party.

I did what seems to be standard volvo maintenance, Waterpump, Timing Belt, Plugs  and sunroof drains.

R design badge was also missing.

So far is been a great car, great at cruising on the highway and picking up stuff.

Turns out to be a great parts hauler too.

I don't really have plans for this besides bring it back to its former glory. Perhaps an intake to get a bit more noise.

As for the R32, I bought it just over 10 years ago when they were practically free. 

Over the past 10 years, its been running for about 6. Its gone through several refreshes. I got it to the presentable state below. before the modification bug hit again.  I primarily use this car for street and weekend track (occasional skidpad days as well) 

Now the car is in the midst of another transformation.  Finishing up the ITB conversion is on the list as well as a full exterior refresh. This refresh was started before our move out of the city so its taken a bit of time. Now we are all settled its full steam ahead.

The new detached garage is such a nice upgrade over the single we had in Toronto

I am a machanical designer by trade, and my old thread is filled with writeups showcasing many interesting modications to this car. If it ever goes back online id like to port some of that over here and share it so it doesnt get lost forever. Its a good read too. 

Anyways thats my brief introduction. 

Cheers, 

-Jordie 

I'm going to guess your other favorite forum is Zilvia lol.

The r32 has always been my favorite skyline. 

yupididit said:

I'm going to guess your other favorite forum is Zilvia lol.

Yea, its been terrible the last 6 months or so.  I just hope it goes online at least one more time so I can backup my thread.

Definitely following along. Thank you for sharing.

Rb25 with GTR ITBs? Is that right? 

Sweet!

I have a buddy in CA that has a wide bodied r32 project that has stalled. $100k into it...insane!

I look forward to this build.

It is a RB20 with the GTR ITBs. 

I had originally bought an "adapter kit" from which popped up locally for sale. Its made by a company in Australia and is supposed to be a mostly bolt-on affair. 

It is essentially two plates which get bolted together to change from the rb20 intake side flange pattern to the rb26. 

It was not a bolt on affiar. at all. You can see in the below photo the lower coolant passage of the RB26 intake "balance tube" had to be modified to fit. even with the modification, the thermostat housing was completely buried. 

Furthermore, it introduced more failure points to allow coolant to escape into the combustion chamber. 

I fought the kit last summer to try and get it working properly but eventually threw in the towel. I drove the car to work a few times but would gradually lose coolant into cyl 1. I threw on the old eyesore and enjoyed the car for the rest of the summer

I bought a second stock RB20 lower intake manifold to chop up and make my own adapter kit. This will simplify the vacuum system as well as allow for access to the thermostat housing for maintenance. Ive test cut the below flange out of plastic to check the fit and we should be good to go soon.

Itbs are completely unnecessary but I am a glutton for punishment and really dont want this to beat me.

Full specs on the Engine are 

Rb20det - 2.0L 6cyl.

-Tomei 256 cams

-440 GTR injectors

-ARP Headstuds

-Hi-Flowed RB25 Turbo @14psi

-GTR ITB Conversion (hopefully)

-LS Coilpack Conversion

-Blitz Oil cooler with Thermostatic Plate

-Front Mount Intercooler Kit

-HKS 85mm Exhaust 

Should be in around the 300hp range, I plan on getting it tuned in the spring once I switch up the exhaust manifold.

I am excited to finally say the car off to get its exterior makeover. For the past 2 years or so its been stuck in this ugly in-between stage as we have dealt with moving, cities, career changes, and financial uncertainty. For me, Its hard to put a project completely on the back burner. I prefer to slowly amass parts and let it simmer. 

My initial plan for the look of the car was to have a 90s Highway Racer look with a GTR bumper, Jun Lip, Aero Mirrors and a duckbill or drag wing.

I sourced some 90s Tommykaira side skirts, rear valance, wheels (very difficult to find) and graphics and ran this look for a while. 

Finished up looking like this without a wing and a Top Secret bumper which was a spare from a friend. 

Without the graphics.

After that things admittedly went downhill in the looks department.  My Tommykaira wheels I paid $400 for were now worth 2K so I sold them, My friend hit a raccoon and needed his bumper back. I tried to fit too large of a wheel / tire in the back and my soft (read rusty) rear quarters didn't take nicely to the fender roller. Banana wing didn't help either. 

Time to switch it up.

I've always liked the look of Street / Track GTR's from over seas. They mostly sport OEM bumpers and side skirts but have canards and winglets for that added bit of aggressiveness.

Banana wing was already secured, But I machined new uprights to get the wing sitting where I wanted.

I then sourced the GTR bumper, and 30mm wider front and rear fenders. Everything is just loosely fitted to get the idea going.

I toyed with the idea of vented front fenders but really didn't like the look that much

I also picked up some 18x10+20 spare "Advan" wheels to change up the look a bit.

I dropped off all this stuff at my good friends last night and we should get to the body work and getting everything to fit properly starting this weekend.

it was an interesting drive without heat and on frozen 180tw tires in subzero temps but  I got it there.

Pretty excited to get out of this ugly inbetween stage. 

-Jordie

I want to go with itb's for my Mercedes inline 6. Wish we had options like the RB does. 

I came in here expecting VW content, got some Volvo content instead, then an "ah ha" moment. Worth it! 

Loving it - interesting approach and like the variety of styles.

CyberEric said:

I came in here expecting VW content, got some Volvo content instead, then an "ah ha" moment. Worth it! 

Glad to see this pain is at least felt both ways then. 

In reply to R32Jordie :

Hahaha!! Love it! 

Busy weekend cleaning up the shop. 

Delivered all the panels to my friends house / shop where the R32 will get picked away at over the winter. hes dedicated the entire winter to do the body work on my R32, and a friends R34. 

We will work on getting the panels fitted over the next few weeks. 

I am leaning towards Nissan JW0 for the paint most commonly seen on old infiniti's

Also known as Millennium Jade and probably most well known on the R34 GTR. It is a subtle colour that changes between, silver, green and goldish depending on the light. But it really pops with the addition of carbon accents. 

Im pretty excited for the transformation. 

With the R32 out of the picture for a while, I guess I can introduce the other automotive oddities in the stable. 

Alongside the Volvo V50 we have a 2019 GT 86 6 speed which we had hoped to take auto crossing to give my wife a hand at light competitive driving. But between covid, moving and our first little one on the way it will have to wait. The car stock besides some RAYs wheels and an aftermarket lip spoiler. We bought it in march of 2020, she got to drive it to work exactly once prior to being told to work from home indefinitely.

The white micra is also ours which I now use to commute with.

My Shop has also inherited a 1967 Austin Cooper which is my dads, (Isnt having extra space just great?) It needed a front fender replacing which then unearthed a bunch more rust. I will be tackling that and learning my welding / patch panel skills on that. 

As the mini was down for the count, he went and picked a 1974 BMW 2002. It was his first car back in the day and he felt the need to find another one.  It was a really clean, two owner car which had spent the last 30 years in the back of a machine shop.

He has since sourced E30 "bottle cap" wheels, a 5spd trans and the more attractive euro bumpers for it. I dont know much about BMWs, the mini or if im honest, euro cars in general. So there is a lot of learning to be had.

The golf in the picture is my parents (Re: the above comic in previous posts)

Cheers, 

-Jordie

Nice collection, lots of fun cars. Bottle caps will be easier to clean but the wheels on the 02 look pretty good right now.

Where are you in Ontario roughly? What group are you planning on for autocross?

I'm in Kitchener so I've done quite a few laps around TMP and Grand Bend along with Mosport. Typically I've run with PITL or Trillium for autocross if you have any questions about those series.

adam525i said:

Nice collection, lots of fun cars. Bottle caps will be easier to clean but the wheels on the 02 look pretty good right now.

Where are you in Ontario roughly? What group are you planning on for autocross?

I'm in Kitchener so I've done quite a few laps around TMP and Grand Bend along with Mosport. Typically I've run with PITL or Trillium for autocross if you have any questions about those series.

Thanks, 

We just outside Brockville on the St Lawrence river. We moved out of Etobicoke a year ago so I have done many laps of TMP, Shannonville as well as a couple fun sighting laps of Mosport. 

I am hoping to try autocross with the Motorsport Club of Ottawa next summer and would also love to try a few laps at Calabogie. 

In reply to R32Jordie :

Beautiful! I've spent quite a bit of time in Brockville and that area of Ontario in general with work over the years.  

Just from following that club on instagram it looks like a pretty decent group with a variety of cars which makes things more fun.

Its a great area. I grew up here and couldn't wait to leave. After living in the city, I realized how much I missed it.

Below is a quick side project I did to pass the first "lockdown" last year. My past job as a mechanical designer at a transit lighting company was deemed essential as we were a supplier for large OEMs (Bombardier, Siemens ect.). So I was in and out of the largely empty plant for much of 2020.

We had a customer requiring a tail light for a project but wanted a track light mounted in the middle. This meant the PCB for the red brake lights were designed with a hole in the middle.  It was almost like they were also designed for an R32 Tail light conversion too...

We also had all the toys to do this job properly.

Into the environmental chamber to heat the assemblies to 75deg to separate the nasty adhesive. 

Hours of cleaning with goo gone it was into the UV hard coat machine to refurbish the lenses. 

They came out looking showroom fresh.

Then I 3D printed a mount and used headlight sealer to adhere it to the inside of the lenses

Quick test of the running Lights

Then I cranked up the environmental chamber and set in new butyl so they wont ever leak

Chucked them on the car

Running lights at night:

Brake light / Afterburner

This was probably my favorite "DIY" mod so far. It was a lot of work but I got to learn all the equipment we had in the shop. It was a good pick me up as I was battling the ITB adapter plates at the time.

-Jordie

I hope everyone had a great holiday.

The V50 did Christmas wagon things and did a great job ferrying us to and from the In-laws.  I really want to get the front fenders fixed but every S40/V50 that pops up at the Upull is a different colour. so which is worse, Which is worse, minor rust or mis match paint?

I finally got to noodling on Version 2 of the ITB setup. I've been talking to people who have done the conversion and come up with a plan. This is the general plan

I want to keep both coolant temp sensor provisions and add a nipple to go to an aftermarket swirl-pot. The other water passages will need to be modified as well but thats a bridge to cross later kinda thing.

Bit of a time crunch as we are expecting our first at the end of the month. So time to start cracking.

This is the stock lower manifold from the RB20DET. The main benefit to using this as a base is to retain the factory injector placement and factory gaskets. My previous adapter kit stacked plates to change the manifold bolt pattern which introduced failure points for coolant to escape.

Lopped of the runners with the band saw and machined them flat. 

The difference between the ITB spacing and runner spacing is 2-3 mm but there should be enough meat to port them and have a smooth transition. 

Using actual CAD I designed up some .5" thick flanges to have water jet. Which is what I am waiting on now. I should get them by Thursday and we can continue the progress. 

I visited my friends shop to swap the wheels to some rollers I had kicking around. Problem is they don't clear the front brakes and the lug nuts I have dont work with the ADVAN rep wheels I have. so new nuts are on the way via amazon.

He should finish up on the R34 shortly and then dive into my car. 

Just too excited not to share. 

-Jordie

This is a cool project. And the color you picked will look perfect. Very mature and subdued. It will let the lines of the car draw attention, instead of some gaudy color choice. 

JeremyJ said:

This is a cool project. And the color you picked will look perfect. Very mature and subdued. It will let the lines of the car draw attention, instead of some gaudy color choice. 

Thanks, I was thinking the same. The car already sticks out in my small town, I dont need anymore attention .  I read the build thread of your truck the other day, looks like a great little project. 

The waterjet has been down so it was quicker to machine them. I had one of friends at work (who is enthusiastic about making car parts) to give me a hand over the weekend.

We started with .75" scrap we had kicking around and profiled out the shape. 

I transferred over the studs from the oem GTR manifold for a test fit. There is a slight interference caused by the distance between the top and bottom studs being off by .75mm.

Not a huge deal as the split pins which locate the throttle bodies are on the bottom holes and they fit perfect. Ill just oversize the top holes and it will fit perfectly.

You can see the difference in the ITB spacing vs the OEM RB20DET runner spacing here. The plan is to fill it with weld on the inside and weld on the outside as well. I can then smooth out the transition. 

-Jordie 

Very excited for more updates on this. 

Its been a busy summer with our first daughter being born in January, A move to another house as well as my painter having his 2nd child things kind of slowed.

Here is a picture of little Sloane carelessly slobbering over a toy signed by Valtteri Bottas. 

I managed to carve out a little time over the weekend to go see how progress was. most of the body panels have been trimmed to fit. The exceptions being the fuel door (which will be flush) as well as the bumper / impul grill.

It will be awesome when its all one colour. But for now its Panda spec (again.)

It fits a 18x10.5+23 with a 265 upfront with ease. 

Unfortunately the ITBs have been shelved until the bodywork is complete

-Jordie

Not so much an update on the body work on car but It was a neat exercise which some of you may enjoy. Winter is coming and this ill allow me to do work on the car while at my computer (and 3d printer but more on that later. 

My work recently got an Artec Leo scanner to help with onsite measure-ups. I was able to take it home to "practice" with over the weekend. Since the car has been in a bodyshop environment for the past year or so it was covered in dust. Perfect for scanning. 

The tape over the headlights and placed over the fiberglass are just to give the scanner reference points. 

After 20 min or so of scanning, this is the raw data from the scanner. 

I spent a little time cleaning and aligning the scans in artec studio. 

I intend on using this to make and print a cooling panel as well as side skirt extensions. I hate how the front lip sits 3 inches or so lower than the sideskirts but cant justify shipping them from Australia. 

The impul grill fouls on the old aluminum cooling panel I made and many of the off the shelf parts do not fit GTST hood catch. Plus making things is fun.

Speaking of, made my own GTR hood. 

I am going to start on the cooling panel first and will post progress as it uh ... progresses.

Holy crap this is cool. 
 

Keep up the amazing work. 

Came in thinking R32 VW but stayed for cool body panels, UV hardcoat machine, environmental chamber, and scanning.