R34 - Out of hand
Discussion
Hi all,
I’ve been battling a Japanese car addiction for most of my life, and foolishly thought I could kick the habit once and for all when I sold my last R34 Skyline a couple of years ago – before prices went boom, naturally.
I tried some different avenues to try and broaden my horizons – I bought a 68 Mustang to try the classic car thing, had some fun with it but felt it was a bit too much of a change of pace. Sold it and picked up a neat little Clio 172 which had been stood for 6 or so years, recommissioned it and used it as a nice daily and track car for a year or so, whilst I contemplated by life choices.
The missus caught that disease where they start bleating on about ‘babies’ and ‘weddings’ all that miserable stuff, so I decided I needed to throw one last hail-mary before things took a turn for the worse and I was forced to… *checks notes* grow up.
I went off in search of a clean, rust free 2 door R34 as a base, and found a 2001 car, factory manual but non turbo RB25DE NEO. I wanted something as standard as possible, with minimal ‘enthusiastic’ Japanese workmanship to correct.
I had the car inspected, where the man from Japan said ‘OK’, and then had it shipped over to Southampton. Papa SBF and I set off in a borrowed low-loader on the rainiest day of the year to collect the car dockside, which is always exciting… part of the whirlwind experience of importing a car is the crippling anxiety and regret, handing over a buttload of cash for what could turn out to be a complete shed.
So what did we end up with? Most of the stuff I knew I was getting:
R34 Skyline 25GT, on approximately 200,000kms
RB25DE Neo – Non-turbo 2.5L 6 Cyl
Mostly rust free shell (they all have a little bit, somewhere, somehow)
Some marks on the bodywork (known, not an issue)
Well used but mostly complete interior
No obvious crash damage repairs, no obvious interior damage, healthy, albeit well used drivetrain.
Unexpected bonuses:
Kakimoto stainless steel exhaust
Trust/GReddy coilovers, which are interesting as I’ve not seen a set before, usually jap imports come on HKS or Tein coilovers. They’re seized solid so that’s nothing new.
Electronic toll card reader, so a pleasant Japanese voice welcomes me every time I start the car.
It's exceptionally clean underneath which is the main thing. These cars rot for fun, and despite clearly being a well used example, it's a perfect base:
I jumped through all the hoops getting the car registered, so I could insure it, drive it to the shops exactly one time on a very crisp, sunny December morning, then immediately take it off the road.
And I’ll be honest, I’m going to be in wayyy over my head on this one.
I’ve been battling a Japanese car addiction for most of my life, and foolishly thought I could kick the habit once and for all when I sold my last R34 Skyline a couple of years ago – before prices went boom, naturally.
I tried some different avenues to try and broaden my horizons – I bought a 68 Mustang to try the classic car thing, had some fun with it but felt it was a bit too much of a change of pace. Sold it and picked up a neat little Clio 172 which had been stood for 6 or so years, recommissioned it and used it as a nice daily and track car for a year or so, whilst I contemplated by life choices.
The missus caught that disease where they start bleating on about ‘babies’ and ‘weddings’ all that miserable stuff, so I decided I needed to throw one last hail-mary before things took a turn for the worse and I was forced to… *checks notes* grow up.
I went off in search of a clean, rust free 2 door R34 as a base, and found a 2001 car, factory manual but non turbo RB25DE NEO. I wanted something as standard as possible, with minimal ‘enthusiastic’ Japanese workmanship to correct.
I had the car inspected, where the man from Japan said ‘OK’, and then had it shipped over to Southampton. Papa SBF and I set off in a borrowed low-loader on the rainiest day of the year to collect the car dockside, which is always exciting… part of the whirlwind experience of importing a car is the crippling anxiety and regret, handing over a buttload of cash for what could turn out to be a complete shed.
So what did we end up with? Most of the stuff I knew I was getting:
R34 Skyline 25GT, on approximately 200,000kms
RB25DE Neo – Non-turbo 2.5L 6 Cyl
Mostly rust free shell (they all have a little bit, somewhere, somehow)
Some marks on the bodywork (known, not an issue)
Well used but mostly complete interior
No obvious crash damage repairs, no obvious interior damage, healthy, albeit well used drivetrain.
Unexpected bonuses:
Kakimoto stainless steel exhaust
Trust/GReddy coilovers, which are interesting as I’ve not seen a set before, usually jap imports come on HKS or Tein coilovers. They’re seized solid so that’s nothing new.
Electronic toll card reader, so a pleasant Japanese voice welcomes me every time I start the car.
It's exceptionally clean underneath which is the main thing. These cars rot for fun, and despite clearly being a well used example, it's a perfect base:
I jumped through all the hoops getting the car registered, so I could insure it, drive it to the shops exactly one time on a very crisp, sunny December morning, then immediately take it off the road.
And I’ll be honest, I’m going to be in wayyy over my head on this one.
What’s the plan then?
Having had stripped out track cars, classic cruisers, hot hatches, scruffy drift cars, and some newer performance stuff with all the bells and whistles, it was fairly easy to cherry pick a list of ‘Wants’ and ‘Absolutely DO NOT Wants’.
The plan is to end up with an extremely capable fast road car, a ‘Skyline GT3’ if you like, which is at home on a Eurotrip across the continent as it is around Brands Hatch. I’d like a full interior, decent ICE, useable luggage space, comfort, and practicality. I’d also like spicy turbo noises, track-spec suspension & geometry, and modern real-world performance and reliability. Easy-peasy.
The beginning of the project has been the hardest, both financially and logistically, but it’s all my own doing.
The R34 GTR is the looker among the R34 range, with wider front wings and rear quarters. Whilst I’m not looking to build a GTR replica, I’d like to end up with the same wider 2 door R34 platform, firstly because it swallows much larger rubber and secondly because it looks awesome compared to the standard narrow body GT/GTT spec.
As I’m looking for the best quality fit/finish I can, there was only one option:
Brand new OEM GTR rear quarters, direct from Japan. These are no longer available, and as such, ridiculously expensive. They were originally available at £800 per side when I first bought the car, and were discontinued not long after, sending the price stratospheric. I sadly missed the boat so had to pay way over the odds for them from a stockist in Japan, and this put a bit of a delay on the project whilst I recovered both financially and physically, after the missus found out.
The quarter panels on an R34 are spot welded around the windows, door shut, sill, rear panel, and boot, and then joined mid-way up the C pillar (I think they are brazed, but may be wrong). The basic R34 shells are the same in these areas, meaning the original R34 GT quarters can be carefully removed and wider R34 GTR quarters installed. Simple on paper, but a mammoth task in reality.
Remember I said the beginning of the project has been tough logistically? I want to strip, clean, and restore the underside of the car, before coating with a protective layer of paint or similar. Unfortunately, because of the fab work required to install the quarters, I’ll end up ruining any of the coatings I put on! So first things first, get these damn quarters installed!
Having had stripped out track cars, classic cruisers, hot hatches, scruffy drift cars, and some newer performance stuff with all the bells and whistles, it was fairly easy to cherry pick a list of ‘Wants’ and ‘Absolutely DO NOT Wants’.
The plan is to end up with an extremely capable fast road car, a ‘Skyline GT3’ if you like, which is at home on a Eurotrip across the continent as it is around Brands Hatch. I’d like a full interior, decent ICE, useable luggage space, comfort, and practicality. I’d also like spicy turbo noises, track-spec suspension & geometry, and modern real-world performance and reliability. Easy-peasy.
The beginning of the project has been the hardest, both financially and logistically, but it’s all my own doing.
The R34 GTR is the looker among the R34 range, with wider front wings and rear quarters. Whilst I’m not looking to build a GTR replica, I’d like to end up with the same wider 2 door R34 platform, firstly because it swallows much larger rubber and secondly because it looks awesome compared to the standard narrow body GT/GTT spec.
As I’m looking for the best quality fit/finish I can, there was only one option:
Brand new OEM GTR rear quarters, direct from Japan. These are no longer available, and as such, ridiculously expensive. They were originally available at £800 per side when I first bought the car, and were discontinued not long after, sending the price stratospheric. I sadly missed the boat so had to pay way over the odds for them from a stockist in Japan, and this put a bit of a delay on the project whilst I recovered both financially and physically, after the missus found out.
The quarter panels on an R34 are spot welded around the windows, door shut, sill, rear panel, and boot, and then joined mid-way up the C pillar (I think they are brazed, but may be wrong). The basic R34 shells are the same in these areas, meaning the original R34 GT quarters can be carefully removed and wider R34 GTR quarters installed. Simple on paper, but a mammoth task in reality.
Remember I said the beginning of the project has been tough logistically? I want to strip, clean, and restore the underside of the car, before coating with a protective layer of paint or similar. Unfortunately, because of the fab work required to install the quarters, I’ll end up ruining any of the coatings I put on! So first things first, get these damn quarters installed!
In order to carry out the rear quarter swap, it helps to have a reference for alignment. The GTR taillights are slightly different to the narrow body GT taillights, in that they step outwards slightly to match the profile of the wider quarter.
As with everything related to Japanese cars, prices have gone through the roof in the past couple of years. A set of used GTR taillights seem to command upwards of £1k these days, so I had to think of a different solution.
It turns out, if you look hard enough, you can buy the tail light covers, I.e. the actual external body of the tail light, brand new, painted, from Nissan. The best bit? They’re £100 each.
They had Bayside Blue in stock, not my first choice but it’s a lovely colour in the sun. Interestingly, it was originally going to be called Wangan Blue, but it was changed to have a more global appeal – The name Wangan Blue was recently revived and is now available on the R35 GTR.
I whipped my tails off, stripped them apart, gave them a quick clean and then temporarily reassembled with the new GTR covers on the car for safe keeping. These will be used for aligning the new quarters, before being disassembled again during final paint and assembly in the future.
As with everything related to Japanese cars, prices have gone through the roof in the past couple of years. A set of used GTR taillights seem to command upwards of £1k these days, so I had to think of a different solution.
It turns out, if you look hard enough, you can buy the tail light covers, I.e. the actual external body of the tail light, brand new, painted, from Nissan. The best bit? They’re £100 each.
They had Bayside Blue in stock, not my first choice but it’s a lovely colour in the sun. Interestingly, it was originally going to be called Wangan Blue, but it was changed to have a more global appeal – The name Wangan Blue was recently revived and is now available on the R35 GTR.
I whipped my tails off, stripped them apart, gave them a quick clean and then temporarily reassembled with the new GTR covers on the car for safe keeping. These will be used for aligning the new quarters, before being disassembled again during final paint and assembly in the future.
I must admit i've never been all too fussed on Skylines but a friend has got 2, one of which i've not seen yet but im looking forward to. The other i've been out in and also been on a drive out in the hills with, both chasing it and having him chasing me and i'm rather fond of them now!
I'll look forward to see where yours in heading. You're right about the last hurrah before the sensible stuff, make sure its finished before you have a child
I'll look forward to see where yours in heading. You're right about the last hurrah before the sensible stuff, make sure its finished before you have a child
Dr G said:
Bookmarked; I'm in.
I like the idea of the project too; more Porsche like than drift-missile or scene-boy.
I like the idea of the project too; more Porsche like than drift-missile or scene-boy.
Jhonno said:
Well I'm intrigued! In!
Jelfy said:
This look's like it'll be interesting. I'm looking forwards to the updates!
Its Just Adz said:
As others said, this looks a great project!
Mattyturbo94 said:
Excellent project. Can’t wait to see how it progresses.
EmilA said:
As a fellow Skyline owner I am looking forward to this!
the griffin said:
What a project, this looks like its going to be fantastic, whole new rear quarters drew me in!
Plenty of photos is a must, all the best with it.
Plenty of photos is a must, all the best with it.
Mezzanine said:
Looking forward to watching you spend all of your money 
Great project!
Thank you all. Hopefully it'll live up to some of the threads I've seen on the Forum over the years!Great project!
scottos said:
I must admit i've never been all too fussed on Skylines but a friend has got 2, one of which i've not seen yet but im looking forward to. The other i've been out in and also been on a drive out in the hills with, both chasing it and having him chasing me and i'm rather fond of them now!
I'll look forward to see where yours in heading. You're right about the last hurrah before the sensible stuff, make sure its finished before you have a child
Thanks Scott. Your car is peak BMW for me, such a cool build!I'll look forward to see where yours in heading. You're right about the last hurrah before the sensible stuff, make sure its finished before you have a child
GR86 said:
Lovely, will you be adding a turbo?
Jonnny said:
I'm in, looking forward to this one.
As above - engine stuff? Turbo?
In terms of engine plans, strap in, this is a dorky one:As above - engine stuff? Turbo?
Generally, Skylines come with a selection from the RB series of engines, straight six lumps which vary in capacity from 2.0 up to 2.6. The RB25DET is the 2.5L, single turbo version found across the range in non-GTR variants, whilst the RB26DETT is the 2.6 twin turbo.
There are lots of advantages to the RB26 over the RB25, namely independent throttle bodies giving great response, solid lifters vs hydraulic, better flowing head, stronger con rods, among others. In a nutshell, the RB26 is more responsive, has a higher rev limit and has stronger rods, meaning it’s very easy to make reliable power, up to a point. The RB26DET generally made ~300-330hp in most GTRs, despite the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ that they would only make 276hp.
This does however make it an exceptionally expensive engine, and as I’ve stated before I’m not setting out to make a GTR replica, nor am I looking for 1000hp. I’m looking to make a reliable, but real-world fast road car. The RB26 also remained largely unchanged throughout the R32, R33 and R34 GTR runs, so it’s long in the tooth these days.
In 1998, Nissan rolled out the RB25DET Neo, a revised version of the 2.5L offered in the R33. This was offered in the R34 GTT and widely viewed as the ‘ultimate’ RB25, as it was given the stronger rods from the GTR, a better flowing head with solid lifters, a smaller combustion chamber giving it higher compression, revised cams, and variable timing. These changes coupled with a slightly larger turbo (with nylon compressor for response) meant the new RB25DET Neo made a healthy 280hp, and was a peppy, responsive engine.
The combination of parts meant, with some more fuelling and a slightly bigger turbo, the Neo version of the RB25 would happily make 500hp without being opened, and the variable cam timing meant it produced great power throughout the rev range.
Back to my car –
Mine being a late 34, it comes with the non-turbo RB25DE Neo. This is virtually identical internally to the turbo version, aside from the N/A pistons having a higher crown and therefore giving slightly higher compression, and the lack of oil squirters which cool the pistons.
The plan is to pull the engine so the car can go on the rotisserie, and whilst it’s out I intend to pick up a Nitto 2.8 stroker kit, made up of forged crank, pistons, rods. This is designed for the RB26 GTR engine, but as the architecture is the same, it’s a great way to maximise capacity of a 2.5L. The Nitto kit retains the factory con rod length, meaning it can still rev like a standard RB26 would, and everyone knows RB’s sound best when they’re being revved to the moon. (it's actually rated to 11,000rpm...)
I have drawn an adapter plate which will allow me to adapt the ITBs from the GTR onto the Neo head, again for the sound more than anything. I have tested a prototype and it’s all ready to go.
I will also be changing the gearbox, possibly for a brand-new turbo unit (as they’re still available from Nissan) or for a 350Z CD009 gearbox, which will give me a 6th gear. My non-turbo gearbox is a ‘small case’ gearbox and I’ve blown one up before, setting my old car on fire in the process. Long story.
There will obviously be far more to the engine build, but they’re the headlines for now. I’m not aiming for massive power, just reliable, responsive real-world performance. Not interested in peaky 800hp dyno graphs and unrealistic expectations driven by YouTubers.
We're a long way off that part though, so let's cross that bridge when we get to it!
Edited by SBF on Thursday 3rd November 21:32
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