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Into all of this.
BBQ pic from last summer is wicked too. |
Managed to carve out a little time to work on the LED conversion.
I tried at first taking apart one tail light with a heatgun at home and it was extremely difficult and I ended out cracking one of the lenses. not visibly but it was enough to figure out an easier way. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a87c929e_c.jpg We have an environmental chamber, may as well use it. I set it to 75deg C and the lenses came out without issue. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9bd19cf1_c.jpg I had planned on gluing the PCBs to the reflector but its angled which would cause the boards not to be concentric with the lenses. I printed a mounting plate to glue to the inside of the lens. The boards are held in place with push pins (which are typically used for this application). these brackets were given a quick shot of black paint so they dont stand out too much against the lens. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8a7da29b_c.jpg The board assemblies are nicely loomed and include a grommet to prevent the housings from filling with water, (typical problem with many of these cars). The wires are soldered and potted to the sockets so no modification to the car harness is needed. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0954a332_c.jpg I glued on some cable tie bases to neaten up the wiring. The extra length allows you to pull the cable out and attach them into the car harness. we also glued the solder joint to add some strength to the area. I am still trying to clean up the lenses and housings. the butyl sealer is a pain in the dick to clean off and gets everywhere. I am going to put the lenses back into the environmental chamber to soften everything up and hopefully get them as clean as possible before I put them through the UV coating machine. Progress is progress. Till next time -Jordie |
This is very interesting to me.
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Did a quick refurbish on the lenses. I say quick but it was actually hours of picking adhesive off and soaking in goo gone. One lens cracked when I removed it from the housing. Its not too bad and wont be noticeable once the covers are back on. Thats likely to happen when youre playing with 30 year old plastics. Then it was into the hardcoating machine to repair all the minor imperfections to the lens surface. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...07f80c2e_c.jpg The lenses are sprayed and then cured using UV lights. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d1f41089_c.jpg Its hard to capture the difference it makes on camera. All surface imperfections (scratches, haziness scuffs) have been fixed and the lenses look absolutely brand new. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f21e3c31_c.jpg Its a slow process but it should all come together soon. |
I assume you're doing this at work? What do you do for work if you dont mind me asking?
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another piecemeal update .
The adhesive has cured and I fired the boards up in the lenses for the first time and they look incredible. DRL https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...91e8c406_c.jpg Brake Lights https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ce3d8fcb_c.jpg The LED ring will appear closer to the outside of the lens once the tail light cover is in place. We also added this to the fleet this weekend. My 2000 civic is really starting to show its age and is becoming more trouble than its worth. I will take over the Micra and my wife will daily the 86. Excited for her to start doing autocross and other other events together https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...92a47ae0_c.jpg -Jordie |
Congrats on the 86. That's also what I daily. They're fun for sure.
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Just read this front to back, love the fact that all the photos still work! Awesome thread. What are you using for photo hosting?
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Not much has happened for obvious reasons. But I managed to drop the motor off to the machine shop a week or so before we were told to self isolate. With any luck my builder will be slowly working through work he has. The plan is to have a refresh done. Valve job, deck the head, ARP studs, valve seals and poncams installed. We will see when all that gets buttoned up. My tail lights are isolated at work so there hasnt been any progress on that either. Stay safe everyone |
Made the most out of quarantine time and decided to refresh a set of cam covers I had sitting around. They looked pretty grimy and corroded when I started.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b1eb5655_c.jpg I let them soak in some oven cleaner for an hour or so which worked surprisingly well. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...984fd603_c.jpg Gave them a quick sand hit them with some paint I had kicking around the basement. Everything is closed so I just used what I had. I wasnt expecting a satin finish (I guess i put the wrong cap on it) but I think they turned out better than gloss. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...48e966e2_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...37556ec3_c.jpg I was almost tempted to leave it that way. But decided to go with the obvious choice https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9ca09f53_c.jpg This time I chose to go with the newer teal colour scheme and Instead of masking and painting, I thought I would try vinyl. I have some concerns as to how they will hold to the heat but people have successfully used vinyl on valve covers and even brake calipers. so we will see how she goes. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...05135904_c.jpg The red and HKS logo really made it all come together. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3c61ee46_c.jpg Ive got an order in for some clear and am going to attempt to seal the vinyl in to better protect it. I hope it works because I am stoked on how these turned out. :wiggle: Hope you all are healthy and safe. make the most of the quarantine time and make / build cool shit. -Jordie |
Awesome man. Love little jobs like this.
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That turned out awesome!
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Knocked out a bunch of things over the weekend.
I picked up my engine from the builder a week or so ago and got to work getting everything back together and looking pretty. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...76b336dc_c.jpg First was to do lots of maintenance / prettying up to the engine. time to get rid of the diarrhea brown paint in favor for some gloss black https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c25d8a5a_c.jpg While it was out, The pilot bushing, rear main seal, oil pickup seal were replaced. I resealed the oil pan and replaced the aluminum plate which holds the rear main seal (mine was stripped out). I also replaced the clutch release bearing and thermostat. The mounts were swapped out for some Nismo units. No real pictures of this because its not that exciting but everything was degreased and painted prior to installation. Hopefully all these little maintenance items fix a lot of the little issues I was having before. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3732c00f_c.jpg Had my wife give me a hand and got it settled into the bay. no real dramas here. Thats where we are now. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d8f6f425_c.jpg Time to button up the intake side of things and get this running again. It snowed here yesterday so I have some time :down: -Jordie |
Them new engine feels :)
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Had a little time to work on some loose ends last night.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...08df57c5_c.jpg Time has not been kind to my original set of covers I painted years ago. I sealed in the vinyl with a 2 part 2K clear. It worked fantastic besides the Shiba hair that got into the clear coat. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...78003536_c.jpg I also got around to printing a proper gauge holder for my AEM Wideband gauge. This bolts up to the oem mounting locations for the knee vent (which is most often missing) in R32s. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...eab2df70_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d41b7de2_c.jpg Finally got to mock up the ITBs in the car. I found out after receiving the Otaku Adapter kit that many people opt to make their own adapter due to the modifications required to make this fit. Much of this is hearsay and I think i want to see from myself. no biggie as I already have the parts. I plan on trying to get this kit to fit and working with what I have but also working on my own adapter plate in parallel. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8111bb11_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7ed815f9_c.jpg I already love how it fits in the bay, the vision is slowly coming together. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2c92e62b_c.jpg I cut out a template in .125" clear to check fitment prior to machining it out of aluminum. If the Otaku adapter doesnt work out, Ill have this flange welded to the stock RB20 manifold. Time will tell. This progress is making me excited to work on cars again -Jordie |
Awesome! Looking forward to hearing those ITBs!
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Got the wheels fitted up. Found a little rust in the quarters which was unfortunate. Really digging the meaty fitment now.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...9491280c_c.jpg Just waiting on a few more things to come in the mail and we should be ready to start it up soon. -Jordie |
I finally managed to get the LED Tail light retrofit on the car and illuminated.
So much work went into these and I am absolutely stoked on the outcome. Below are the running lights in direct sunlight (sunset) https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...14de326b_c.jpg Running lights at night: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1be760db_c.jpg Afterburner / Brake lights at night: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...dc553a8a_c.jpg Now if only my parts from overseas would show up so I can finally get this running. -Jordie |
Man those led tail lights are awesome
I want to do led on my coupe tail lights for safety reasons and for that modern look too Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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Adapting the RB26 individual throttle bodies to the RB20 has been an interesting process with many different challenges so far. One being the lack of a traditional plenum to pull vacuum from. Now, the RB26 has its own overly complicated vacuum system. The lower portion that houses the IACV wouldnt fit with my setup due to the oil cooler sandwich plate. Time to get creative and remote mount it. I took basic dimensions for unused mounting holes on the drivers side strut tower and printed the first prototype. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4dc88b5e_c.jpg It mounts here: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d44cbb2a_c.jpg At this point I figured out that I had a little more room to play with and changed the design up a little to incorporate more ports. These parts were machined from .375" aluminum on our cnc router table. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...26984f67_c.jpg Tapped all the holes and did a test fit of everything together. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7647ff15_c.jpg I 3D printed a template to cut the gasket from and used a small punch and exacto knife to cut it all out https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fd99b69c_c.jpg I had some leftover Ford UH Black from the engine bay so I hit the aluminum parts with it to match. I used M4 titanium hardware to hold it all together. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4aaceae4_c.jpg Pretty happy with how this little project turned out. |
I seriously love this build (and the thread!). You've really been plugging along with this thing!
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That vacuum block is seriously slick. Great job!
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So. As the saying goes, bolt on is never truly bolt on.
This post will detail the mission, rather exercise in frustration that is getting ITBs to fit with the Otaku RB20DET adapter plates. People who have used them have just said that they are tough to get to work correctly but dont offer any details in what the process actually was. To start, I would like to add that they were quick to answer any questions I had over instagram and this isnt a stab at them or anything. When I had mocked everything up on the stand there was a huge interference in between the coolant passage on the Rb26dett intake manifold and where the thermostat would like to live. Turns out that even with the proper parts it would be a game of Millimetres to get everything to play nice. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1d046a58_c.jpg Otaku instructed to get an RB30 thermostat housing for more clearance and to modify the lower coolant passage. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ff986d32_c.jpg I marked in black the areas I needed to further modify the thermostat housing. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...80185f34_c.jpg Modified the coolant passage and machined down the lower screw boss to get it to clear the thermostat housing. Just clears as is but still no room for the lower rad hose. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...de0ee34f_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e5f9517a_c.jpg Got the thermostat housing cut and angled down to free up some more space. Also you can see I had to countersink the top bolt hole as well. Everything finally clears. Time for "final" assembly. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...beb3ee49_c.jpg I also drilled out the threads marked with the "X" this is to allow the fastener to go through both plates into the block. I was concerned that the small area around the front water port wouldn't seal correctly. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b96abee4_c.jpg I made a gasket to go inbetween the two plates and used a light buttering of RTV to make sure everything is sealed correctly. I completed the assembly with an HKS RB26dett intake manifold gasket set. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...fb826e2f_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...084c575b_c.jpg Those are the main hurdles in getting the otaku ITB adapter kit to work on RB20det. I can see why people knock on the kit because its pretty fiddly and doesnt fit out of the box. Now I dont know yet if it leaks or anything. This was just to make it all physically fit. I just need to plumb my swirlpot in and figure out some vacuum lines we are ready for fluids. Getting there -Jordie |
Can't wait for a sound clip on this one. Great work!
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Slowly crossing things off the list.
Got my swirlpot in the mail and got to getting it fitted. It (as does everything it seems) required some work to get it fitted properly. This jibberish is what my brain figured out. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a10a8e1a_c.jpg Which was then refined into this https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3f01e8a7_c.jpg Printed on our production grade 3d printer. Its pretty stout and I have no doubt it will stand the engine bay temps as the oven it is made in is way warmer than where it will be mounted. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...59ab1f5e_c.jpg My replacement injector seals came in so I chucked them on and get the fuel rail all buttoned up. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5153afdd_c.jpg Finished up the passenger side tail light and got it mounted. Im super happy with this mod. Was never really a fan of the standard R32 LED tails which have the LEDS with large optics that are spaced far apart. Continued with the theme of the aesthetic feel good mods and installed the new valve covers. This really brightens up the bay and make it all come together. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...919a1b39_c.jpg So this is how we are sitting now. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0e98f774_c.jpg Just waiting on a RB26 Upper rad hose as the RB20 one was nowhere near the right shape. -Jordie |
Time for a monthly update.
What a month of frustrations. I got everything all buttoned up with the ITBs ready for the first start. filled it up with coolant and watched it all run out onto the floor. At this point I gave up on the ITB conversion and slapped the old setup on. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4352ee52_c.jpg Got to this point and realized that I really would not be happy and ordered more intake manifold gaskets and committed to getting the ITBs to work. After talking with some people on skylines Australia who were battling the same issues. we figured out that 10 or so holes on the adapter plates lined up with those on the head. So I drilled out the plates and ran bolts straight through everything which sealed everything up nicely. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...db60f043_c.jpg The holes with the fasteners in were the ones I modified. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...05d4c01e_c.jpg Keen eyes will spot the catch can bracket I made. the standard one with flimsy and wouldnt mount anywhere nicely. Got it all together without leaks and fired it up when I immediately realized that the timing belt was too tight. Drained the system, rad out, pulley off and got it all re adjusted. During all the ITB frustration and in an attempt to make myself happy I ordered this. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a934df76_c.jpg 1600mm GT wing. Got it through streeter for relatively cheap. Wasnt happy with the curvy stands so I got to changing those. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...663d0ef9_c.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4fb28daa_c.jpg With the afterburners on. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...22fca04b_c.jpg Got it presentable (enough) to drive it on the street for a quick test drive. It had breakup issues but new plugs solved that. Obviously not running Ideal as it needs a tune but the AFRs seem happy enough for me to drive around. Made it to work this morning (with only minor rubbing). Pretty happy right now. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...94584800_c.jpg Now its time for the fun part of buying new fiberglass |
Awesome work Jordie! Keep up the hard work. I love to see all the effort start to pay off. Was all the work for the rb26 ITBs worth it?
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Are the ITBs worth it? Its really hard to say really. There are lots of much easier "bolt-on" ways to remove the crossover pipe to get a forward facing plenum. They are tough to get to idle properly and require tweaking and adjusting to get it to idle OK. if you read online there are countless threads on rb26dett high idle from leaky ITBs. Over the winter I might try some Tomei sealer on the ITBs to get the idle perfect. Right now its around 1050-1100 which is livable. But to me I love how they look and sound. As Nissan designed them, they look at home in the engine bay. The car feels snappier and sounds a lot better. I also dig the mechanical linkages and feel that they fit in with this build perfectly. So in short. No. But yes. Now all I need is a GTS-R style manifold and a HKS 2530 and the Area13 Racing checklist will be complete ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYJhrkv_nVo&t=3s |
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