32 GTR project with a difference

I thought I would post up details of my other project.

Basically I am restoring an early 32GTR back to completely original spec that is exactly as it came out of the factory.

The car is a 1991 32GTR . Its main clain to fame is that it is in the rarest nissan factory colour . The code is BLO and it was a special order only.

It is a quite a strange pearlescent and can look grey, steel blue or even lilac in different lights.

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I imported in from japan 2 or 3 years ago with the intention in having something different .......... a stock GTR

It seemed quite close to stock and only needed - suspension , air filters , exhaust and a few minor other things or so I thought.................
 
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Click to expand...
a week ?????????

It did take a tad longer that I have expected but it was reassembled in less than a day .

The main thing is that dash is back in and everything still seems to work !

Phone went flat so no pics (yet )
 
pic with the new dash

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I have started on the rear suspension replacing the teins with new stock GTR dampers and springs,
Did the o/s today . Its all pretty straightforward except you need to get the car quite a way off the ground to get the suspension off .

Next installment to follow shortly as things are progressing much faster now I can see the end in sight,
 
So started to fit the n/s suspension .

Undid the front top nut then it was the rear ones turn.............

The nut has been rounded off , not a bit but so much its almost circular. Tried all the normal things including a set of seven lobe "inbetween sockets". No joy

Whats worse is that the car has a rear strubrace fitted , and yes that makes access to the rear nut more difficult. Even decent mole grips would not work as a last resort as its is well........... very....... tight .(avoids swear filter)
Ive got a large nut splitter but that wont it through/round the strutbrace.
I hate say this but it might need an angle grinder .

What I am struggling to understand is how it got done up this tight in the first place.

As the tein suspension is worth a fair bit I have decided to go back when I am in a better mood . That sometimes works .
 
Did you use any penetrating fliud before hand? Even though the bolts probably dont see much road crap Id still coat them in WD40 and try your mole grips again.
 
The nuts dont see any road crap they are in the boot.

I did give them some WD before I left but dont hold out much hope . The nuts have a shoulder that widens at the bottom with a serated face that grips the body as they are done up .

Still can always hope .
 
The nut is off :bigsmile:

Eventually it had to be ground away using a small angle grinder. Tried another block splitter but because it is a shouldered nut it would only go through the top part of the nut.
Hanging upside down in the boot with the strut brace in the way didnt help but after a lot of cursing the nut lost and the suspension unit was off.

The new unit went on fine and after bleeding the brakes and fitting the wheels and a new battery the car was running and driveable for the first time in three years....................................I couldnt resist

Booked an MOT with a friend of mine and took the car for a legal short spin .
It goes fine - the stock suspension is surprisingly good.

So it was back to the workshop to fit the stock exhaust.

I debated whether to just take it somewhere that had a ramp and pay them to fit it .
Unfortunately at that particular moment I was feeling superior after beating the nut and having a drive so I decided to do it myself.

wot a mistake a to make :confused:

I got the car high enough with some big axle stands and started on what I imagined would be the big problem . The nuts between the cat and the exhaust.
Not surprisingly after n years they were very tight but with a decent 1/2 " socket and the help of a long bar they came undone quite easily.

Then came the problem the exhaust refused to budge even though it was "off"
The rubber mounts were being stretched by the weight of the exhaust weight so it just hung there and it is one heavy ..........(insert your own word here)
Had it been on a ramp this would have been easy. But after quite a time and a can of wd40 it was freed.
By this time I had gone into angry mode :twisted: so left the refitting to another day.
sorry no pics yet - my i phone has gone walkabout (and yes it was 100% down to me )
 
The standard exhaust fits fine and was pretty easy to fit. One of the mounting bolts has sheared . I didnt realise it as it wasnt used in the aftermarket system. i will need to drill the broken bolt out and re do it but there are so many rubber mounts that it is solid without this one.

So started the car.....................
I was expecting a quiet burble but the sound is actually more sporty than the aftermarket one . It sounds brilliant.

Only need some new wind deflectors and front splitter ( when/if I can find them ) and get the silver paint off the rear calipers.
I also need another radio as the current one isnt right .

Then it is MOT and photo time.

Coincidently I got the new red V5 though today . I had forgotton I have had the car since early 2008.
 
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Nice one Sleeper. Just changed my exhaust back to a Nissan one from a JapSpeed that was on there and quite agree the sound from Nissans effort is much more pleasant to the ears. Trouble is I love the sound it makes at 6-8k rpm so drive everywhere in 2nd and 3rd gear so not good for the fuel consumption :amuse: Going to take it to any shows when it's finished?
 
Another update
For once something was easy.
A few coats of nitromors ( the proper stuff) on the rear calipers and all the silver paint is gone and the calipers are back to the original "anodised" dark grey finish. Luckily the originals were not painted
Found some wind deflectors which have been fitted . They look fine but I just need to find the right sized clips for the center part and they will be properly secure for driving

All I need now is an original 32GTR radio with all the buttons and plastic covers present .

Pics to follow after another clean and polish.
 
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Another update

first the bad news.
It wasnt untill the car was off the axle stands that it became obvious the springs were wrong
They had been shortened So............... a frantic search and I found some ( after only two months of looking)
they will be back on in the next week

Ive gone completely anal now so the front splitter had to come off as it was scratched and dented.
seems they are even harder to get that exhausts , especially unpainted so it looks like I will have to restore it .
Started with 40 grit and am currently up to about 400 . Only need to get through 600,800,1200 and 200 then its going to be clear satin lacquered which should give the original finish.
Although the splitter is a rubbery plastic it is very strong and seems to respond surprisingly well to being sanded .
After that i just need to get some fixings for the wind deflectors , get a front for the radio or find an original one.
Then its MOT time
 
Your attention to detail and perseverance is commendable. Your lack of pictures is not lol.

I'm really liking these nowadays. Especially yours and the good ones are disappearing fast.
 
Apologies to all for lack of pics :embarrest:

I accept no pictures inst good but it is simply down to a stolen Iphone and a big argument with an insurance company.
 
That was a really generous offer you made there Andy, shame its not suitable though.
This site just gets better and better with members helping each other out :)
 
I found a mint original unpainted splitter on ebay . It was just under £200 with a buy it now option.

Quite expensive for a bent bit of blue/grey rubber but as it is the only one Ive seen in 3 months and it was from a skyline breaker I know I went for it. :D

Ordered with an unbroken air con front and 4 wheel original nuts to replace the locking ones ( I did say Id gone anal )

The parcel arrive but instead of being five feet long it was a 9" square box :confused:

When opened I found a working air con unit with a broken front and the wheel nuts were wrong In short all completely useless to me.:sad2:

I rang up the breaker who told me the splitter had been run over by a forklift truck so was in three pieces ..............:mad::mad::mad:

So all sent back and given a refund and the right wheel nuts as a goodwill gesture.

So Today put the wheels on radio and fitted the splitter and aircon .

It is actually finished. !!!!!!!

My argument about the phone still not sorted (SORRY) but ...............

I am buying a digital SLR camera this week so I will post up some pics very soon
 
All these annoying little things are set to try us from time to time sleeper, but you got there in the end. Looking forward to those pics young man :)
 
Aerial Andy944 said:
Yum Yum well done. Such a great looking car that will get many praises where ever it goes. Calender shoot material :)
Click to expand...

my stagea was in jap performance mag last november (might have been 2010 time does go that quick when your older)

when the guy doing the article came round I showed him the GTR and he did say he would be interested in doing an article on it when it was finished
 
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