Engine build up

Now the all the parts are here the car is going back together. Although as it is the 24th February it is not an ideal time to call an anniversary! 

Having the super shiny sump fitted at MGT Motorsport is a major lurch in the right direction though. 

A bead of the sticky stuff

And on she goes (never to come off I hope). 

MGT certainly do not hang around

Ric Woods Machined head with Tomie Pom cams in place

Looks more like an engine (as I know it) every minute. 

Much shining N1 goodness on show here

Even as I type pictures keep flowing in..

Custom made and red crackle coated front cover back on

6 Boost Exhaust Manifold welded back up

Should help keep everything in place and no leaks! 

Mark at MGT gave me a slight telling off for the cap head bolts holding the covers on (he wants everything 'correct' which is nice). The Nissan ones have a flange etc. so tighten up with equal force and although am sure these are lovely. Ms Skyline does like the odd sparkle and it looks like they did tighten up okay.

Cylinder Head Porting

Sometimes in an effort to understand things it helps me to write them down. Which kind of sums up the whole of the blog and a general lack of my listening to people! For instance there are things I will never understand, such as why is it that so many UK Nissan GTR drivers are such porky pigs?

One thing that I was keen to do but didn't really know why, was to get the cylinder head ported and flowed. I mean how can porting make such a difference to output?

Cylinder head porting refers to the process of modifying the intake and exhaust ports on the engine to improve the quality and quantity of air flow. As manufactured heads would not have the attention to detail that porting offers due to manufacturing constraints. Porting gives that attention and brings the engine to much higher levels of efficiency. The porting process is greatly responsible for the high power output.

Imagine the air around us, we breath it but do we feel it "as light as air" which is to say it has no substance as we move slowly through it. However engines operating at high speed need to force and suck air, pulling it in and spitting it out again, so in this instance, air becomes unwieldy, sticky and heavy.

Pumping air at high speed is a major problem and bottle neck, so head porting helps to eradicate this.

My head was CNC machined on behalf of MGT Motorsport (or on facebook) at Ric Wood Motorsport who specialise in design, development and build of race winning engines and components.

All of the pictures below are 'after' shots. When enlarged the quality shines out.

A small video of a cylinder head in action.

The whole process was proving to be the Achilles heel of the project at one point. MGT's usual machine shop being too busy and wanting a long lead time. Fortunately Ric Wood Motorsport stepped in and saved the day, although also rather unfortunately at a cost to the budget. 

Ideally I should have purchased a second hand head last Summer and just sent it up to MGT but getting work done wouldn't be the same without a healthy dose of stress.  

Hydro-graphic dipping

I have looked at this in the past, even had a go at it myself Hydrographics or HydroGraphics, also known as immersion printing, water transfer printing, water transfer imaging, hydro dipping or cubic printing, is a method of applying printed designs to three-dimensional surfaces. The hydrographic process can be used on metal, plastic, glass, hard woods, and various other materials.
It really has come on in recent times though, the most famous supplier in the UK being Wicked Coatings. They seem to work out a bit more expensive than others although I can't fault their workmanship.
Just a quick post to show a steering column shroud that a friend of mine has recently had done.

The Key to her heart

Many owners I know have a key to their car (obviously) and no spare! They know that they should get a spare, but haven't got around to it. Of course this will only prove a bit of a stumbling block when they lose their only key!

For all of you out there (in the UK at least). Go get a key, even the worst shop will be able to supply you with a new key that works (more or less). R33 keys for both models are, due to the glory of a shared parts bin, the same as Micra keys.

Naturally I already have four copies, the original two plus two more. However these keys are so, well how can I put it... Boring!

Key types:

I had seen a brand called 'Royal' plus a couple of others that just dripped with Japanese bad taste. Absolutely loved them. There is the obligatory GTR branded key and everything in between.

Above: Typical R33 key with GTR logo. This is probably the most widely available key for Skylines, although I always thought it a shame that they only 'do' a GTR version, when you stop and think it is actually quite fitting for the 'brought not built brigade' to have these. A key like this costs around 7k yen (£45)

Above: Still keeping with Nissan's official keys we have that mighty Nismo logo, exactly the same key though but a different price tag, at time of writing this is 22k yen (£140) 

Above: Nismo? Is that the best you can do?? Here is the mighty 400R key in all its glory.. Yes identical to the two before it but this weighs in at a whopping 500k yen. Yes that's 500,000 to you! Around £3200 in UK pounds or US$4452.60 

Above: A bit of fun, Japanese fashion keys. 

Above: and why not?

I especially like the way they say 'for Skyline' am assuming in case you forget. This one is a handy small size to reduce trouser bulge?

Above: one of my favorites, Has a lovely retro feel to it. 

Above: This is my choice. Made from titanium it is strange to the touch and light as a feather! At 4k yen £25 it was reasonable. Although Japanese auctions do have a tendency to rocket on final figures once all the charges have been taken into account and this was closer to £40 by the time I was done. 

Getting keys cut in the UK.

This can be more of a pain than you might think. Many major chains on the high street will not entertain cutting a blank supplied, stating that the cut key could snap in the ignition for which they would be liable. So they point blank refuse to do it. However I have heard exceptions to this.

You can usually get your local key cutter to have a look at doing it though. It is just a question of shopping around.

There are a few methods of key cutting as well. The majority using the old key as a master, following the contours and cutting directly, others laser scan and cut. 

Talking to my key maker he said that Nissan keys are a pain (to him) as they move about in the jig. I think this is due to both sides being cut (see picture) which can cause some difficulty once one side is done. I have on the other hand heard from a key cutter saying this is nonsense. 

What I do know is, you do not want to be spending lots on a key only for it not to work!

So I had my key cut and... it didn't work. However comparing and the application of a file and yes the ignition turned, a little more work on the grooves and all the doors unlocked. So am happy that I now have what may not be the most unusual key in the world. One that is a little different from the rest.

R33 Extended Baffled Sump

Yes I know with my sense of humour the word 'baffled' is too good to resist.. So that's it done out of the way...

As part of the forging process I thought I could do with a new sump. Some bright spark had jacked my car up on the original sump leaving a lovely dent in it. Amazing isn't it? Just goes to show just because you think you are a mechanic does not mean you have a peanut shell of sense around that tiny brain.

Anyway..

Because I am not too bright myself and have an irresistible urge to try something new, I started to look at baffled sumps.

This will limit how much the oil is able to slosh around and hopefully keep it where the pump can suck it up into the engine.  Simply put a baffled oil pan has chambers that make it easy for the oil to travel toward the oil pick up but difficult for it to get sloshed the other way. Also, they tend to increase the capacity of the oil pan so that more oil will be available in the whole system. 

In this instance it will be probably an additional 3 liters.

There is one supplier that I know of in the UK although was not sure of quality. There is also a well known supplier in New Zealand called the Rotorua Import Pro Shop or R.I.P.S for short. 

Well with a name as impressive as that it would have to be good and I am sure a lot of you out there in the tuning world will have heard the name. 

R.I.P.S extended baffled sump

My original dented Sump (need I rant again?). The sump is not in theory the hardest thing to change... After all it is held on with bolts. The only really annoying thing is that the engine needs to come out to do it.  



The oil pickup had a bit of debris, so was doing its job. The orange sealant type stuff remains a mystery though.

New and exciting package 

reveals....This! 

The R.I.P.S extended baffled sump




Now I think you will all agree that the paint finish is not all it could be, My first reaction was 'nice, but shouldn't it have some... you know... Paint? 
The Sump is actually supplied in an unfinished state.  

A view inside (for the terminally interested) you can see how the oil drains back through the Louvres.. (I am exhausted from spelling that).

A new extended pick up is included 



Back from powder coat 




Not Jack proof...Although quite the work of art. Shame no one will see it much!

Ms Skyline always likes to drink from a straw, it makes her feel sophisticated and does not ruin her lipstick. So there it is, another part sourced and another problem solved. Thanks to MGT Motorsport for the photos and hard work so far.

Near run thing.

Hello, hello, here I am. Got lots to post and not been as regular as I could with my usual mix of nonsense, about Ms Skyline herself. I suppose I am the Watson to her Holmes, always playing second fiddle to her more glamorous and interesting lifestyle.

What have I been up to? Well lots, little and large things. There are posts of the usual disasters and errors. Possibly even a couple of wins. But they are to come, for now will ease into things with this...

I have been working on diverse parts like headlights, room mirrors and a small engine rebuild. 

Lets have a quick look at the impressive stuff left like a ticking bomb after my last work. 

So the engine is coming out for rebuild (no not yet, more on that later). When I dropped the car in I mentioned that something was not right, that I could hear the exhaust blowing a bit although the manifold looked okay. I had half convinced myself that this was just my imagination as the car performed as it should. 

Turns out I was looking in the wrong place. It was the turbo clinging on by a bolt.. Yep the other had left the building (or was forgotten on build). 

The bolt has 'bolted'

Couple to the the joy of a cracked weld in my 6 Boost manifold 

Having a cracking time

The result was as shown in the video (yes we have gone 21st century here). Of course in this instance I got away with it.. Fair makes me shudder to think about it though.

So.. Okay it is rebuild time and yes this isn't because the engine is dying, but more because it is a mountain I want to climb and spit off the edge. Just so I can.

Am sure it's simple? Ermm!