The R32 Chronicles

Im sad about it. But oh well

 

Thanks but im a split rim kinda guy.

 

I got this.

 

So i had a productive af weekend on the car. However it was so productive i took barely any pictures. Its hard to remember to do it when you’re trying to crack on.

I started with the car looking like this. Multi coloured and broken aero catches.


So i figured i needed to start getting it together as my appointment at J’s garage is ever looming and i have a million shitty little jobs to get on with.

So i swapped the aero catches over to non fucked ones. Then i decided i couldn’t send the car to jacks looking like a patchwork quilt of colours, so i needed a temporary bodge to get it slightly less bait looking on the road. So broke out the matt black.


Bodgy but only temporary till proper paint.

Then i got on with mounting up the intercooler as that was needed. So used the stock bumper bar. And made a couple of brackets i made for the bottom of the core to make it nice and solid.


Then my boy Ed came over yet again to lend a hand. This was where we became on a mad one and i totally forgot to take any pictures at all.

We started with cutting the dash to fit the cage where we started by trying to take the bare minimum out and quickly realised that is nigh on impossible and this is a drift car. So made it fit. And that will do. However that took a good hour or 2.

Then it was onto a nut and bolt check of the underside, where we discovered like a massive bellend I hadn’t done a single bolt up on the rear subframe. What a penis. So we went through and did all of them. Whilst i was finishing mine up ed jumped in the car and chucked some eye bolts in so i can have harnesses that actually harness. This meant some spreader plates needed fitting. Not the end of the world. But he got that all done.

Next we to fill the diff with oil which was supplied by driven racing oils. As where all the fluids in the car. Ed then set to chucking the drive shafts into the car whilst i got on with figuring out where all the interior parts were for the car that i removed like 3 years ago.

Whilst i was up there i thought id dig the screen out ready to fit. That has been totally destroyed whilst being stored, a hub has fallen on it. So thats a bummer. However i have sourced a new one and its being fitted next week. An expensive problem to have but oh well. Risk of trying to store glass i guess.

Ed had gotten the shafts in at this point. Then it was onto rear eye lignment. Dialled all the camber out i could. But i think i may of shortened my lower arms a bit too much as the best i could achieve was positive 2 degrees. Which is not ideal. But we will see when i get it on a proper alignment rack how bad things are. I think i may need some different camber arms. Worse case I’ll have to make another set of lower arms.

Then ed cracked on with a throttle cable bracket. Whilst i started trying to figure out Defi placement so i could mount the pods and get the wiring figured before i bolted the dash in properly. Ive got a bit more to do on that next week but nearly figured. Meanwhile Ed smashed out the bracket and a few other jobs that were on the list.

Then it was onto bleeding some hydraulic systems and see how poorly id made my brake lines. They bled from dry in 20 minutes and only had 2 leaks. Which were sorted with a nip. I was amazed. The pedal feels pretty good. May need a quick bleed once again in the future once i have the aid of a booster too.

We then bled the clutch and that prick was a nightmare. Took twice what the brake system took to bleed. But eventually ended up with a good pedal and good slave movement.

Its very satisfying to start to see this really start to come together. Ed then filled the gearbox with oil and fitted the shifter which fought him all the way for some reason but eventually went in. Meanwhile I adjusted the handbrake shoes. So now have a fully operational handbrake, foot brake, clutch and throttle. Its almost a real car now haha.

Me and ed quickly pulled the box out of Adams car for him too as he has had some clutch problems recently. Then i chucked some pannels on the car and we fucked off to nandos.


Starting to look dangerously car like. Looking forward to getting some more panels in it, and finally a screen. However thanks to Ed yet again for his help. As well as my old man, Adam and his old man. We have given the list and absolute pasting.


So now we are down to, i need to buy a battery box, mount it, make an earth strap. Cable tie up some loom in the boot, plug the headlights in, do aup the engine mounts, drop the engine oil, fill the engine with driven racing oil, mount the gauges, fit the seats and centre console, fit harnesses, mount rear bumper, fit overs and skirts and Get the screen fitted next week. And i think its ready to go to jack for the last of the fab work and mapping.

Sorry this one is a bit wordy. Hope ive not bored you too much.

 

Well the other day saw the return of my mate Ash who owned the car before me, coming to lend a hand with the start of the assembly of the interior.


He has owned 14 r32’s at our last count. Most of which he has pulled apart to actually knows his way around one pretty well and more importantly has patience with fiddly shit like interiors, which i do not.

We started by getting the dash bolted in with the appropriate looms in vaugely the right places.


Then we assembled the centre console setup and i left ash getting on with it as he is way more relaxed about this shit than i am.


Ended up looking vaugely skyline like after not long.

Got the passenger seat in.


Then went to throw the drivers seat in only to realise it wasnt correct. At that point i threw a lot of my toys out the pram and went home before i set fire to the car out of rage.

Another day came and i started by dropping the engine oil and filling it up with some Driven racing oil.


Then this guy turned up.


Russell from ultimate windscreens. He drove 3 hours to come supply and fit me a brand new r32 windscreen. What a guy. Well priced too.

So he set to work and showed me a thing or 2 about his trade. More to it than you’d think. Also fucking scary holding rare screens on some suction cups.



Excuse the unit it looks like a fucking bomb has gone off. My fault. Too busy rushing around like a twat trying to get this car to mapping and not tidying up after myself.

Anyway after a surprising short period of time. My car had glass in it again.



Strange thing to see for me. I have to say the final assembly of this car and seeing it come together after being a project for so so long is so strange to see. Its so odd to see it look like a near operational car.

Then i got on with a job that id been putting off. I put a grinder through my boot release cable when i was doing the sills and have struggled for a long long time to find a replacement. Well thanks to a mate finally breaking a 32 i got a cable. So i fitted that and got it all working. Which is a real bonus. Im chuffed as fuck because its only a little detail but i thought it wasnt going to be on the car so I’m glad I sorted it.


Then i put my big boy pants on, took a deep breath and had another look at my seating arrangement. Now the problem stems from me being a pretty sizeable dude, and the skyline not being the most generously sized of cars. Now because im a fat cunt. That means i need big boy seats, but with big boy seats, and a cage. Things get pretty tight pretty fast.

After half an hour of sitting and looking i came up with a plan. I carried said plan out. And im happy to say it worked. Seat in a semi respectable position. And a plan to make myself fit the fucking car ive been building the last 3 years.


Its snug, but im in.


This position coupled with a new one of these NRG style stubby snap off boys.


Should sort my seating position right out. Hopefully, we will see. Also whilst on the theme of interiors. Had my apprentice make me a gearknob at work. Pleased with how it looks and feels. Threw that on.


Hate the fact my car has the typical fucked 32 heater vents. But thats a future Callum problem. Also will be fitting a headunit at some point but i dont need tunes to get the car mapped so again, a future callum problem. Also as you can see starting mounting my gauge pods for the defi’s. Gone for the japan af look of on the dash haha.


Then i mounted a battery box in the boot. Went big so i can actually fit a battery worth talking about in there so i dont need a jump pack every 3 seconds.


And finally chucked my rear ARB on as i had totally forgotten about it up until now.

So thats where im up too. Ever closer to the looming deadline but job list is getting shorter. Hopefully I will have it somewhere near in the next few days i have on it.

Thanks for reading.

 

Send that motivation my way. Im in need to keep this mapping deadline.

 

So got back to the unit and got some more done.

I started by plumbing up an expansion bottle.



The bottle was just a cheap ebay jobby. Hence it coming with a fucking jubilee clip as part of the “mounting kit” but hey. Fuck it. Done.

Onto the gauges. Mounted up the defi’s inside the car.


Bit japan and shady but the whole interior of this car isnt great. The typical broken r32 vents is a kick in the dick so i feel like I’ll have to remortgage my house and buy some new ones as they piss me off every time i see it.

Then i mounted the boost gauge sender on a spare bolt hole i had on the firewall.


Then i figured out a brake booster hose.


Got a bit more tidying to do in the bay so make the defi loom look a bit better.

Then i threw some longer front studs on the car so i can use some slip on spacers to make the front wheels work and clear the brakes.


Then i went onto more interior shit. Got the harnesses in and started making the car interior look useable.


Finally looks like a useable interior.

I also had to make the steering wheel fit so my fat ass could fit the car. So then i had to fit my NRG boss.


Looks a bit gash without a wheel on but its good enough. I figure probably should fit the car rather than having a boss that looks ok.

Tried my Driftworks boss to see if it work work with the nrg boss. Worked a treat and finally i can actually fit the car ive been building for the last 3 years.


Obviously the pink wheel isnt staying.

But as far as im aware. I think i have just got to sort mounting overs, mount a kit and send it to jack to become his problem. Hopefully i mean hopefully the week after next it fucks off to his.

 

Shit is happening. They sound lovely but this progress has come at a cost, my ring piece is in tatters. The car has whipped my shorts down and fisted me real hard so no money for anything other than essentials the car needs to drive.

 

Yeah it does really. But i dont want to aids up my bay any more than i have too. It will work where it is but could be better.

 

I was considering writing a book of poetry for children. I think i have a natural flare.