Project Starting Point
May 12th, 2010 adminHere she is, the way she sat when I brought her home for the first time. ’She’ is a 1989 Nissan BNR32 Skyline GTR. I purchased it on March 18, 2008. As of April 6, 2008 (first Dyno Day) I had owned the car for a mere 3 weeks or so and was still finding out things about it. The Sales Documentation was not very complete as to what had been done to the car, so I literally found out new things every day. Of course basic Bolt-Ons had been easy to identify, so I had a rough idea of where the car should have been in terms of HP/TQ prior to the first Dyno Day on April 6, 2008.
On a notoriously low reading Mustang Dyno, known as ‘The Heartbreaker’ (Dynomotive.ca’s 2WD Mustang Dyno, Mustang Shop, Calgary AB), the car put down some very impressive baseline numbers to not only my surprise, but to the dyno operator’s and other spectator’s as well. At this point, I was more than satisfied with my purchase, although this setup was only to serve as temporary ‘driving entertainment’ as I began getting things together to begin the build of the new power plant/drivetrain.
What I was able to figure out about the car, before/after purchasing:
- Factory Twin Turbo Setup, 1.05 BAR of Boost.
- Impul Tuned/Socketed OEM ECU.
- HKS MAF Mounted Dual (green foam) Intake Filters/Elbows.
- BIG 4″ Tube/Fin Front Mount Intercooler.
- Greddy Intercooler Hard Piping.
- Twin (2) Apexi Twin Chamber Blow Off Valves.
- 3.5″ Veilside Titanium CatBack, Veilside Down Pipe w/CAT delete built in.
- Twin Plate Clutch (brand unknown).
- Gab Sport Adjustable Coil Over Suspension (very stiff).
- 2-way (adjustable) Rear Limited Slip Differential.
- Front & Rear Cusco Type OS Strut Bars
- Brand-X? ‘TT’ Style FRP Hood with Pins.
- Veruspeed Radiator Air Diversion Plate.
- Nismo Side Skirts, Trust Rear Valances.
- Nismo Hood & Trunk Lips.
- Bullet Style Mini (Body Coloured) Side Mirrors.
- Tinted Windows, Rear Wiper Removed.
- Desmond Marquis Promoda Regamaster 18 x 9.5, +12 Wheels.
- 265/35/18 Rubber on all 4 Corners.
Here is a pic that I found some time later on the internet from a JDM Auction House. As I bought the car already landed from a local dealer, this is what the Importer would have seen before purchasing the car:
My goal first and foremost is to build a reliable Street Car, with the ability to run a 10sec quarter mile when the opportunity presents itself. Although the sacrifice of a couple creature comforts will take place (such as Air Conditioning removal to begin with) the car will run a full interior, a small stereo for road trip entertainment and hopefully some flavour of Roll Bar/Cage for driver and passenger safety. Other safety features such as a fire suppression system will also find their way into build at some point, as I lost my last project to a fire and will NOT suffer that fate again.
I have honestly done nothing but drive the car while collecting parts for the last 2 years of ownership of the car, other than general maintenance. I just can’t seem to focus enough to take the car off the road to begin the build, so I have tried to have as many things in place to allow me to start the build using spares outside the car, such as a second Engine Block, Cylinder Head and Transmission so that I could keep driving, then, when everything is ready, do a complete repalcement of everything all at once to hopefully minimize downtime and give myself the time needed to do a proper job that did not force me to cut any corners due to time restraints. Let’s see if my master plan actually works.
With hindsight being 20-20 ofcourse, considering the plans for this car, I should have bought a plain-jain BNR32 and perhaps saved myself a few dollars rather than buying something more or less ‘Drive-Ready’, only to tear it apart and make something else. Oh well, this is my dream car and something I plan to have for the rest of my life, so I am certain it would have happened eventually…..I just didn’t think it would happen this soon.