akwikz

Allright guys, it's been a while since I've posted. I have barely had time to blink. Anyhow, as some of you may know I was the one that bought Ray's car. You all know how it was equipped at that time. Well, since I got it here just a few months ago, I've managed to make some upgrades. Here are some pics of the new drivetrain. And here is a walk around video of it I got it all together in time for the largest Classic Japanese Car Show on the West Coast. We towed it all the way there and back. In the two weeks since, I have managed to get it sorted a bit more. It idles smoothly, revs easily, and is down right scary. The suspension and brakes are not up to the task and will need an overhaul very soon. Today was the first time I really had the chance to see what it can do. The car has such thrust that both rear tires are rubbing the body. I will be sorting it out further, but I think I will be leaving the stock electronics in it. If anyone here is interested, I have an older, I believe a version 4, Wolf 3D plug and play system for an RB26dett that I most likely won't use. In my disassembly of the car I found quite a few things that need to be adressed. My dash has obviously been switched as it is a late model version. As is my center console. It's not too big a deal but some of the bits are pretty well cracked or broken. If anyone has a spare dash face I would like to know. I also would be interested in what mods are normal for the rear suspension. As I stated my car squats hard. Please give me your opinions or suggestions. Brian

Guys, Last Thursday I finally picked up the '73. I just had the chance to give her a bath and snap off a few shots. The car is a lot cleaner than I had actually expected. First off I need to publicly thank Kent. He really made all of this possible. If it were not for his assistance I would not have been able to get the car. I'd also like to thank Ray for selling it to me. I am really quite pleased with the car. I will be getting her registered and such next week. After that I will start installing all the parts I have been collecting over the last year. Brian

I like the idea of a Skyline run. I had been trying for a while to get as many classic Skylines together in one place and would be willing to bring mine out from Az. for a weekend just for that kind of event. I will most definately be at the JCCS this year. With a car no less. And yes, Chad will be/is the new owner of the '74. I had not mentioned it publicly as I wanted to give him the chance to if he wanted. He even mentioned the idea of driving it back to L.A some 6 hours or so. The '74 is actually that smooth and easy to drive that I don't think it's a bad idea. As for the JCCS this year, by my count we should have between 5 and 7 Skylines this time. Let's hope it comes together that way. I am inclined to agree with Matt. Z cars, 510's, AE86's, and such have all been done to great limits, but they have become somewhat "ho-hum" as there is little new in the scene. The Skyline is always a breath of fresh air. And always draws an audience. Brian

I just saw this post, so my apologies for getting into it so late. I'm not sure of what I might need, but Kent has mentioned that the new car has a scratch on one of the quarter windows. I'll need to check on other bits. Brian

Yesterday afternoon the buyer of my '71 picked her up. It's been a long process as he had to kind of rush to put the funding together over the last few months. I had been alright with it for the most part but that last moment watching her leave on the trailer was a bit sad. I know it's the best decision right now, but you can't help to wonder "what if?". As a couple of you know I bought Ray's car a while back, and I still have Kents car as well. I will be doing a bit of work on Kents '74 and then selling it as I will be keeping Rays car for myself. I have a few plans for the '73 and afterwards will be looking for another Hakosuka. My plan has always been to have both. And both in running condition at the same time. That last part is the tough one for me it seems. If all goes well perhaps by this time next year I can start shopping. But for the meantime, I'm pretty excited about the '73. I kept the majority of parts from my '71 so it would not surprise me if they found their way onto the '73. You can rest assured I'll post it all here. Brian

Well, I'm sure the new owner will be happy to take questions and examine the car more closely to help sort things out :devious: . Brian

The manufacture date of the car is August '73 or thereabouts. That obviously would not fit into the time frame Alan laid out for 100% true GT-R builds. And again there are numerous discrepancies in the details of the car. What does appear to be the only sure thing is that the car has a KPGC110 VIN as assigned from the factory. But any assumptions after that do not really apply. Do any of you guys buy toy cars? Like Hotwheels etc.? I have a rather large collection myself. Nissans only of course, but from all brands and all sizes. My point in this is that I have on occasion bought one with a "backwards" paint job. Or one having wheels that were reportedly not available. Accidents happen in any type of mass manufacturing. Most are nothing more than a dinner time conversation. Some get out of hand. That is what I consider this. The car technically has a "GT-R" VIN. But it lacks much of the defining aspects that make a GT-R. So is it a real "GT-R"? Depends on who you ask. If you apply the usual critique of car collectors, no. The car never had an S20, and most likely did not have factory flares. Hard to be a GT-R without those. To the rest of us who are not as critical, yeah, why not. It's a clean car. It's a '73. It has a KPGC110 VIN. And the flares and fenders can be worked to closely match the original. But the car will most likely only be worth slightly more than a comperable condition KGC110 because of the curiosity factor. Brian

Did it finally get here? I had not heard anything for a while now. I'll give him a call later to see whats up. On a seperate note, something else will be here soon too. Brian

I have 17x8 front with 245/45 and 17x9 rear with 275/40. The front is a bit tight, the rear has some room to spare. This is with the standard GT-R flares. Brian

Yes, this is going into my Kenmeri. They are not a direct bolt in. You need to modify the rear mount some. It is not all that difficult though. The 280ZX turbo does have an R200 that would work, but it is one of those early 10mm bolt versions. The ones from the later Z31 300ZX and 200SX are 12mm bolt R200s. You will need the inner stub axles from an R200 out of a 280Z if you do not use C.V. joints on these later diffs. The inner stubs from your R180 are not compatible with the R200 so you can't just reuse those. Now, one other option you might have is a rare diff called an R190. These are a direct bolt in replacement of the R180, are substantially stronger than the R180, and will also bolt to your axles and the driveshaft. There are a few around, I may be able to help you source one if you'd like to go that route. Brian

Here in the U.S. the only Fords with IRS are the Explorer/Expedition S.U.V.s, and the '00-'04 (I believe these are the years) Mustang Cobra. An R200 should be able to handle the power of just about anything really. I know that Jun used the R200 in both of their HyperLemon Silvias. Each were putting down about 700hp. And then again you could go a step further with the R230 from the Z32TT. These are short nose cases and would need some work to get it in. I am just going to use an R200 LSD in mine. And this will be with the RB30dett I'm building. The real trick to the R200 is to find a later 12mm bolt version. These were from the '86 and later cars. These are typically considered stronger than the early 10mm bolt ones. Brian

I have not been able to look at my 240K yet, it's on the boat, but I am going to assume it is similiar to the GC10. Here is what I found when I made changes to the rear of my '71. The rear stub axles from a Z31 300ZX are interchangeable if you also use the bearings from the Z31. I went with a 5 lug conversion on the '71, but the '84 and '85 cars were also available in 4 lug in the non-turbo. You can then also use the companion flange from the Z31. I personally used CV axles from a 280ZX turbo, but I know you guys did not get those. I do know that the non-turbo Z31 uses the same type of CV axles as the 280ZX, but I'm not sure if they are the exact same length. None of the S30 series Z cars had a stub axles that would work. The shaft size is different so they won't fit into GC10 bearings, and the S30 bearings will not fit into the swing arm on the GC10. The Z31 was the only easy swap I found. Brian

They did the same mods to my '71 to make it a GT-R clone. The rear fender is cut up to where it meets the flare. Then the gap is filled with sheet metal that is bolted onto the wheel well arch/inner fender and has non hardening body putty connecting it to the outer fender. The flares are not supposed to be blended, they are clearly bolt on style. The only real difference is that the KPGC110 actually came with front and rear bolt on flares, where as the KPGC10 only had rear flares. Brian