Not a Skyline... honest! Sleeper R33 saloon

[driftimports]

Welcome to the progress thread for my current project. It probably won't see much track action and is being prepared as a comfortable street car that I can use for daily driving.

The car is a 1997 GTST R33 saloon in QM1 white. I imported it from Japan in February 2010 and apart from a Kakimoto Racing cat back exhaust it was completely standard. It's super clean apart from a scuff on the front bumper and I intend to keep it that way so rust prevention and paint protection are going to be top of the list. Apart from that my aim is to keep everything subtle and lose some of the obvious Skyline features.

Here are some pictures of the car as I first got it:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_1044.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_1043.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_1042.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_1041.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_1040.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_1039.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_1038.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_1037.jpg

I have a donor car which is amongst other things offering these:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_1045.jpg
The engine bay was given a thorough cleaning:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00518.jpg

I picked up a cheap set of alloys with tyres. They're 18" Team Dynamics Drifz, 8.5" wide et35 fronts and 9.5" wide et35 rears. Not much JDM kudos, but they fill the arches pretty well and have a nice broad lip. You may also notice that the rear spoiler is gone, I prefer clean lines and think it will stay off. The front badge is off too, but it may reappear in a different guise at a later date.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00737.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00736.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00735.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00734.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00738.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00740.jpg

I have 5mm slip on spacers to help the front out and the rear if I can get away without rubbing.

I'm currently fitting Juran lowering springs, new shock boots and giving the arches some rust protection. The springs should give a 35-40mm drop and firm but comfortable ride. After a good scrub the arch looked like this:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00742.jpg

First stage is a coat of white Hammerite which will later be topped off with a Schutz gun underseal:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00746.jpg

The shock unit is out and awaiting Juran spring and new shock boot:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00741.jpg

You can see the difference in the springs and boots here:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00743.jpg

The new boot is a universal polyurethane job from a 4x4 supplier and with a little modification slips over the original bump stop. It is secured with a cable tie at the bottom.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00744.jpg

The unit is now built up with the new parts:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00745.jpg

That's it for now and I hope you enjoy the thread as it develops.:)

[SIMO]

cool man lovin the 4 door liner, be nice to see pics of it lowered when its done!!! best of luck with the build!!

[20vees]

nice clean car , its grand that its an untouched one that hasent been molested by diy idiots. best of luck and looking forward to updates

[Eoin k]

best of luck wit it. Wil keep an eye on the tread.

[Mac_C]

Fine example ! G.Luck way it :)

Loose the fog light tho

[MissSuz]

I wasnt really feeling it....then the new wheels went on boooom!! Different car! massive difference....I like it as it is atm , just needs to be lowered :D

4 door Skylines seem to be popping up alot lately

[harryk]

i love 4door 33s i will have one sumday lol

[driftimports]

I've had a total of three 4 door R33s now, the first was a 94 spec 1 GTST. I imported it in 2008 but it was stolen in May 2009 most likely for parts:mad:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_0587.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_0586.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_0588.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_0589.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_0592.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_0590.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/100_0591.jpg

I loved it, the colour combination, plain 5 spokes and Impul Blast exhaust made it a real sleeper.

I imported the white spec 2 last year and also picked up a cheap spec 1 2.0 NA auto GTS on ebay for parts:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSCI0611.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSCI0130.jpg

[junior bonkers]

nice 4 door liner .. lovely car nice to see bi ore stuff because it look bit standerd

[Sir Diffsalot]

Wouldnt be a massive fan of these but they can look savage, good luck with it

[driftimports]

Finally got the arches finished so the shocks could go back in and with all four feet on the ground I wheeled out the camera for a few snaps. The difference is erm... subtle but hopefully it will drop a bit once everything's had a chance to settle. It seems to be about a 25mm drop at the moment and the springs are supposed to be a 35-40mm drop. Time will tell!

Please ignore the reflection of my big red overalls, the finish is black and will go matte once fully cured:)

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00786.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00785.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00792.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00791.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00789.jpg

Front wheels do look better with the 5mm spacer:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00790.jpg

I test fitted one of the skirts and think it helped to "draw" the car a bit closer to the ground, but I'm holding off any photos of that until they're painted;)

[driftimports]

Had a quick play about with the front end to get an idea of what the front might look like with some subtle mods:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/newfront.jpg

The dark areas would ideally be a black mesh if I can find a suitable product. I think it cleans the front up enough without being too "in your face".

Hopefully a bit of creativity with some fibreglass, mesh and a decent coat of paint will do the trick when I get time.:)

[insejn]

no mesh!!

[junction_drifter]

shes mint :) and lookin nice :D

[Sapporo]

awesome looking r33 you got fresch and clean try to keep it that way bud :D

[driftimports]

Passed MOT yesterday and registered the car today:) Just waiting on the reg which should only take a few days... or so DVA says! Fingers crossed!

[marksull]

nice car bud. nice to see something different around. good luck with it.

[driftimports]

Got the tax sorted today and number plates are being made up so once they're on it's finally time to enjoy the car!

The other half got her new wheels on the road today too... 3.0 V6 RWD and rolling on 19s but alas it's automatic!

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/jagfront.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/jagrear.jpg

It's a bit of a change from a 1.0 Corsa but she loves it:)

[driftimports]

At last the (not) Skyline is on the road fully legal after a slight delay getting the number plates made. It's such a nice car to drive and is so much more practical than my old PS13. Couldn't resist going to my old work to pick up an air filter and fitted it as soon as I got home. Not a big brand, but it includes the correct adaptor to fit the AFM and is washable so should last for a while. It should make changing bulbs easier as an added bonus and I left the feed pipe from the standard airbox to hopefully channel some cooler air in the right direction.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh249/slidresx200/DSC00850.jpg

It makes a great noise, but now the car hesitates slightly at about 4-4500rpm before picking up again. I might put the standard airbox back on until I can investigate further. It seems like a common problem with RB engines but the possible causes are numerous so it'll just be a trial and error process to find out what's up.

[slithertooth]

It makes a great noise, but now the car hesitates slightly at about 4-4500rpm before picking up again. I might put the standard airbox back on until I can investigate further. It seems like a common problem with RB engines but the possible causes are numerous so it'll just be a trial and error process to find out what's up.[/QUOTE]

Unless your going down the road of proper tuning leave the airbox on it, change in boost sends the ecu a bit crazy,
Looking good now, has it sat down on the springs much

[driftimports]

I'm not sure what the tuning plans are or how far I'll go with it, maybe just the typical "stage 1" modifications, but I'm looking into a turbo swap I've heard good things about to see exactly what's needed and how much it all costs.

The springs have probably settled 5-10mm which should be 30-35mm total, I'll have to measure tomorrow. Not a major drop, but I'm trying to keep it practical and not break the bank lol!

[driftimports]

No new photos just yet but hopefully I'll have some styling updates in the next week or so.

The 4-4500 rpm hesitation seems to have cleared itself, maybe as the ECU learned to cope with the extra airflow but I was plagued with the car cutting out when coming to a stop.

It was embarrassing having to start the car every time the lights turned green and no better having to hold the revs up, but at the risk of tempting fate I think I've eventually cured it.

I fitted a new fuel filter and replaced the spark plugs hoping it would be something simple. The old plugs were only a 5 heat range which I thought could have been the problem (think 6 is standard?) and I fitted heat range 7 which should still be good if the power levels go up. The car is driving so much better now and as a bonus the coil packs are looking pretty fresh (fingers crossed!):p

Neither cured the cutting out so tonight I removed the AAC (idle control) valve, cleaned it before refitting and setting the idle. So far so good and it now idles at around 700rpm instead of 5-600 before.

The ride height has definitely settled a bit, the tape measure now shows just over 35mm drop at the back and nearly 40mm at the front. I'm booked in for a 4 wheel alignment tomorrow and next on the list is changing the gearbox oil.

Over and out for now but definitely more to come soon!

[Johnnyghia]

NICE
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2voFALyHihc/Sk3hrvaNXZI/AAAAAAAAACw/eXZxsuAUHLo/s400/promo_louis.jpg

[Nismotony]

Have to say i like the car and the direction it's heading...After owning 2 4-doors i have alot of time for them..

I moved onto a 96 coupe and it just didn't feel the same but now i'm back in a 4-door but it's not a skyline. It's the bigger brother a stagea.

Anyways all the best with the project and i'll be keepin an eye on this tread to see where it goes

[driftimports]

No great progress updates, just haven't had the weather to paint the items I've been working on:(

I have fitted a Beat Audio 275 CD player, cheap 'n' cheerful but packed full of features and bought some spigot rings as I finally worked out the difference in centre bore.

Next on the hit list is changing the gearbox oil with some Millers TRX 75w90 semi synthetic oil.