Flicked the BA4, got a R31

[HondaJG]

Sup! I figured Ive been scrolling through all the build threads on here for long enough and time to post up my own haha.

I'll start with my old car, 1989 Honda Prelude, 4WS, B20a7 motor, lowered on BC coilovers, and some cheap 15x8 rims to make her sit right.

Heres how I bought it,


And how it was when i sold it,



Then one day I woke up and wanted something new, something fresh, so I started eyeing up some R32 4 doors, the only ones I could find were beat up and thrashed, then I stumbled across an old Nissan Skyline R31.

Its gold, literally the color haha, the interior is old man tan, its got a good old filthy RB30E engine and a VL Holden Commodore manual gearbox with 179xxx km's on the clock genuine. Sitting on some matte black Laurel rims and low springs.

Its a little rough but is a fun old car none the less.



I had some SSR Starsharks boasting a 14x6.5 -5 offset repping a 155/70 tyre (awwwwwwwwwwyissssssss) that needed a new home so i slapped them on


Then did a cheeky photoshop of what I want


And then winter decided to hit and the trusty RB30E started shitting itself biiiiiiig time, now I know its probably just the dizzy with some moisture in it playing up, but Ive been tossing up engine ideas for a while now.

Then one weekend this happened



Thats right champs!! I'm going to be ripping the RB30E out, and putting in the trusty SR20DET.
This is a redtop SR20DET engine and box fresh out of an imported 180sx with a genuine certified 130xxxkm's.

I got the engine and box, along with uncut loom and ECU, bigger capacity radiator, aftermarket intercooler and piping.

I've got the engine safely to the workshop to work on when its slow haha (keep the boss happy!)

UPDATE!!!

Figured I'd check a few things out to be safe and prevent anything happening to early on when the engines in.
So I've got a silicon hose coolant/heater kit on the way to replace those solid ass hoses!
I've pulled the rocker cover off to check how the cams and what not look


Doesnt look so bad! (this is what i keep telling myself to reassure myself that this build is a good idea hahaha). And heck yeah!!!!! whoever the Japanese owner was knew what he was doing, theres already rocker stoppers installed! saves me $150 or so haha.

Also checked the clutch, it didnt look too bad, probably couldve ran it but i want to be safe. So I got the flywheel machined, and bought an Exedy Heavy Duty clutch which should be sweeeeeeet!

Will keep you guys updated!

[drift55]

I absolutely love R31s

[HondaJG]

Sorry this has been so dead! Most of you have probably thought "oh hes probably given up, man what a silly idea SR20DET an RB car blah blah", well heres the crazy amount of updates buddies!

Since the SR was just chilling i thought it smash a few things out while it was easier to do. I pulled off the gearbox and chucked in a heavy duty Exedy clutch and got the flywheel machined up. I replaced the rear main while I was in there and bought some silicone hose kit to save my ass later on if any water leaks appear







NEXT UP! Time to pull the dirty RB30E out of Goldie, which went piece of piss haha.


Then to get the SR sitting in, I took the R31 engine crossmember and a S13 one to my fabricating mate to do some magic, and here it is all bolted in


Then I put in some S13 Daiyama coilovers to accomodate the S13 front suspension conversion, replaced sway bar link bushes, steering rack bushes, torsion bar bushes and for bump steer issues I replaced the stock tie roads with angled Hardrace tie rod ends. Pictures!!












Then it was time to put the new heart into the bay!!
And here it is,




I freakin love it! Theres enough room for another SR in there hahaha , I love the amount of space in there!

Now it was time to take it back to the bro to fab up some stuff, I needed a custom gearbox crossmember made up, intercooler and brackets/bracings and custom intercooler piping (the least amount of silicon joiners is what i was after) and my mate knows how to make some clean asfuuuuuuuuck single piece piping!











A new Fenix alloy race radiator to suit the rest of the shiny


The one piece intercooler piping tucks nice behind the headlights! and is pretty damn sleeper looking!


And here we go


And for wheel setups, I've uncovered some rare as shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit, SSR Hiro V2 Libra directionals 15x7.5 3 piece, lips have been welded but damn for now the fit good!
Just need to sort the height later on down the track





UP NEXT! I've got all the intercooler hose clamps sorted for the final install. The wiring is nearly done, just need to sort the fuel pump and speedo now! And also wire in 2 12inch electric fans (because that distance between the fan and radiator wont cut it haha)
Then make up the custom 3inch exhaust straight through.
Then get the BOV sorted and all other little vacuum lines.
Gauges and all that fun little expensive stuff, then whatever else is needed to make it road legal here in NZ

[HondaJG]

Sorry about crazy sized photos on that second post haha

[Robitussin]

This is gonna be great! i love a good r31.

[danielsahhhn]

wheels & car on point....will never forgive the removal of the 30 for a sr20..... :x

[HondaJG]

Thanks guys! haha I'm not asking for forgiveness buddy :P where I live RBs have the worst name possible (mainly by the people that drive them being a bunch of wanks that think theyre on top with an auto 20e hahaha). But I love the little SR engine! and i love the reactions this will bring hah

[HondaJG]

Had my mate over to get it all wired in using the SR20DET ECU and engine loom, after a few nights/weekends etc etc we finally got it going mint!! just had to get a few vacuum lines sorted and find any leaks if any (which later on down the track there was haha).

Next on the list was to get my mate at LDS.fab back out to make a custom 3" stainless exhaust from the dump. Heres the final result. It sounds bloody beautiful!





I got the exhaust all bolted and mounted in looking good. Then found an exhaust leak form the gasket between the manifold and turbo so off came all of the hot side manifolds and I replaced all the gaskets found, so new multi layer exhaust manifold gasket and turbo gasket, and since i was there I replaced all exhaust manifold studs and oil/coolant turbo line washers.
Fired it up, no leaks!! Sorted all vacuum leaks and running issues that arose (one being stale fuel/no fuel )


Then got to take it for its first drive/thrash around the block in the first time in nearly a year.

[HondaJG]

BOOM!! everything back on, all running mint, no leaks or anything sounding bloody good!



Then back to its new home in my garage FINALLY



After all this work in New Zealand I have to go get a certification plate before I can get this car road legal so no long drives for me yet.... but ofcourse Ive take it around the block a few times, and it pulls so good with the amount of torque these SR engines deliver is amazing. And with R31 Skylines being lighter than a stock S14 Silvia, after putting a smaller motor in the weight will be even less.

Finally, I was able to drop the R31 as low as possible/see how low my coilovers could get me.
I didnt really get a before photo of the height, but this is the after, and its bloody good!
(sorry about the average photos)





Now for the wheels! On the weekend me and the bro went on a mission to pick up a pair of wheels for his KE70, a nice offset pair of 14" Volk mesh. We wanted to see what they looked like on the R31 and we were fizzing!





Then I managed to chuck some scrap tyres on my 15" SSRs just to test fit, and heres how it looks (sorry for the average photos).







Now I'm on the damn fence about if I should run 14" rims or 15". At first the 15s looked strange but theyre growing on me! I need to widen the rear pair of the 15s to fill the rear guards if I use them though.



Cheers!!

[nishy]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo keep the starsharks! They're goegrous

But for real, gorgeous car all around. I'm a big fan of grandpa colored cars

[HondaJG]

The starsharks are gone! 😥 And I'm depressed by it because God 14s suit it so well!!! Got to love the old man colours haha, even with the plush beige interior

[STU?]

i love 31s and this one is proper cool. keep up the good work

[HondaJG]

Cheers guys! Yeah, got to love the big brick cars haha. Suprisingly, stock R31's with the RB engine are lighter than stock S14s, and since I've put a smaller sized motor in, this thing pulls so well!