Body work - Nose job and bum tuck

Welcome back!

Oh my God, things have been so busy since buying a new house that the car has really taken a back seat, I remember a time when I had a hobby/habit. However they may chain my body to drill bits and paint brushes, but they can't chain my mind! Or in other words, I have been planning in secret and when I say secret it is mainly because I have no friends and my wife isn't interested..

So confession is good for the soul. Well obviously mine could do with a jolly good tidy up.

I have no issues with the GTS-25t ECR33 front bumper (also known as KOUKI in Japanese made from 1996 to 1998). It's okay, the indicators in original form were a bit 'hmmm' but I had changed them to a (in my opinion) cooler four door single lens option. Plus I had the front lip or splitter Nissan option which really helped finish the car and was a great (if hard to find) addition.

Specification 2 GTS cars are hard to find decent fitting parts for, especially on the front of the car. When Nissan gave the car its midlife update for engine and styling, the only areas they changed externally (in a physical can't swap parts way) was the front end. Having a different bumper, lights and bonnet. Nissan moving the car away from GT-R looks and creating a similar but distinctively different car. This was not so great when it came to aftermarket parts and although parts were made it was for a short time and production has long ceased and the spec two is naturally the rarer of the species. So options were limited and although there is a healthy market in the UK for repro parts in fibreglass they are all a little bit "shonky" (a new word for sh*t and wonky).

So with that in mind I spoke to Eastbear Sports in Japan. They will still manufacture parts to order and after a few mail exchanges of my non existent Japanese and their interesting to decode English. We finally agreed on the "masterpiece" (feels like there should be a fanfare of trumpets whenever I use the word "masterpiece" perhaps you can mentally play one in your heads).

Link to Eastbear

Shipping was just out of this world... I mean, expensive and cost more than the bumper. However it was sent via DHL and amazingly efficient (Parcel Force take note! (Parcel Force being a UK delivery firm of ill repute)).

Anyway.. I got the bumper.
Masterpiece (fnarrrr!)

N1 vents (no moulded in copy crap)

Bumper and splitter

As you can see the splitter is a splitter and not some moulded on part (see Vents above)

Mesh in original Japanese newspaper (now framed and hanging in the toilet)

Umm... Side view!

Indicators (otherwise amusingly known as 'winkers'

There is a box of screws and assorted parts... But you know what screws are... right?

Other wish list requirements. or Unnecessary tinkering.

Always liked vented wings but never liked the shonky (there it is again, were you paying attention earlier?) fitment. Fiberglas parts... nothing wrong with them if made properly, preferably by a skilled artisan and not 'Fred in his shed'.

So the only way to do vented wings properly is to fabricate them from steel (hang the expense). 

This work is being carried out at Fully Loaded Cars and to use the word "artisan" they are real experts in paint and body work. Personally I think that they are beyond working on old Skylines now and have clients with some amazing cars these days (this isn't a paid promotion but just in case...)

Slam panel

Am having the slam panel tidied up. Mine was/is currently wrapped (by me!) and was shocking for being dented, scratched, badly repaired (by me!) 

Slam panel in it's current 'look'

Rear boot/trunk

I had the car de-locked at the rear, which is great although in the light you could always just about make out a faint outline of the old boot lock. This has obviously become more pronounced as time has ticked by, probably by the filler shrinking. So lets do it again! 

Intercooler

The black Mishimoto intercooler takes the brunt of stones being flung at it and had a few chips plus... well, it just wasn't painted very well from factory already showing signs of paint flaking from the aluminium. So this will have a blast and paint. 

Side skirts

The metal support structure for my NISMO side skirts was getting rusty as some of the paint/underseal had bee peeled back like a flap. 

Side skirt supports and bumper bar (details on things no one sees!) 

Front grill, bonnet catch support

Gratuitous strip down picture (always scary) 

The flying car that Back to the Future should have had?

Assorted musings

Watched a You tube video of a young chap fitting a bumper to his 33. Amusing, bubbly and excited as he was. It makes me wonder if this is the future, why read when you can watch. However as this is my diary of sorts and you are guests in my 'front room' I have decided I have a face made for text...

I did like his approach, no thought given to indicators, cutting the front crash bar or fitment (he got away with it as well) and it reminded me of the good old days.

A friend said "don't vent the wings, why do you want to do it?" (I paraphrase and remove rude words). To be honest, I have no idea! Why do anything.. Just because I think that they look cool and it is really hard to do? Did consider some Skyline bull shizz at this point and claim that the high power of the car made extra venting for the braking system a must.... brr I need a wash now. 

If you really want to ruin your car, modify it.

Fully Loaded Cars - Making dreams reality. 

EASTBEAR of quality and trust !  (yeah not sure about that tag lines translation to English)

My thanks and undying admiration go to Mr S. Iwamoto / EASTBEAR SPORTS and Marco Vasconcelos / Fully Loaded Cars

Coming soon: More progress!