Building a GTR Engine?

[Sebstar]

Hey fellow modellers!
Looking at my background (the Nur Spec Engine), I thought to myself "Hey wouldnt it be nifty to have a model of the engine on my desk, about the same size as a 1/24 car..." Do you think its possible to accurately reproduce the rb26dett engine block purely out of styrene, putty and maybe even metal tubing? I mean, just imagine, having a RB26DETT or even a 2JZ sitting on your desk, perfect detail and all.

You guys have any ideas if and how this could be made? Maybe going down to the local import tuning shop and taking a lot of photos of an actual NEO RB26DETT, or if anyone is in the business, use a infra-red scanner and make a 3d model out of it?

THINK ABOUT IT!

Thanks for reading this and fire away!

[MPWR]

Sure. It's entirely possible to build a replica engine out of styrene, putty, tubing, etc. The limitations would be only your scratchbuilding skills, and much more important, your research materials. This is the big kicker, though. It's not the sort of thing I would attempt without good engineering drawings of the engine- and I've certainly never found a source. Picures (LOTS OF PICTURES!) are necessary also, but unless you're a professional photo interpriter, it would be nearly impossible to get reasonably accurate dimensions and angles of the engine from photos. This is a project I've always wanted to do, too- 'cept I would do a Ferrari engine- either a Testarossa or an F40. But even with numerous trips to the area Ferrari dealership, shooting out lots of rolls of film on Testarossas in various states of assembly, I still don't have nearly enough material (course then again, maybe I am just a bit obsessive about these things.... ). Still scratchbuilding like this is about 10% building skills, and 90% research.

Failing engineering drawings of the engine, the only other possible approach might be if you had a really good model of the engine in 1/24- one of Tamiya's finest efforts, say. Gather together drafting dividers, dial calipers, engineer's scale, triangles, etc and a sharp pencil, and draft your own drawings- then scale them up. Course you'd just be making a model of a model... but it would be a place to start. Good luck!

[pettercardoso]

Well, I can do the 3d modeling part *AFTER* you scratch build it
But just like MPWR said, you can start with a 1:24...not that acurate, but hey! you have to start somewhere, right? Eitherway, I think it is possible to build that engine with a little effort and lots of pacience.
Good luck!

[Sebstar]

hm, thanks for the quick replies! well my friend is looking at buying a GTR in the near to distant future (like around 2-3 years maybe), when we can import r32s under the 15 year rule for around AU$15k, so maybe then i can convince him to strip the engine completely, lol. has anyone ever tried going to nissan directly and asking for blueprints?

[pettercardoso]

First of all, Skylines aren't sold here in Portugal and even if someone wanted to import one, the taxes would be so high that he would give up the same minute. The price of a vehicule here is calculated by the following formula

Imagine a car with 2.8 liter engine
Base price (let's say) = €25,000

Tax is:

(+€8.69 x 2,800cm3 - (deduction parcel=€8,640) ) = €15,692

Total price is = (base price + 15,692) + (IVA=20%) = (25,000+15,692)*1.2 = 48,830.4!!!

So, answering your question...no, I never went to Nissan and asked for blueprints....

[Zcaithaca]

i imagine it would be a good idea....i mgiht give it a try

[drumcat]

ill go to my local nissan dealership even though im in the US, id imagine they have blueprints of the car, il see what i can do

[MPWR]

Cool. I'd love to see if the dealer is able to give you anything. Most car companies will keep all but the most basic of engineering drawings (at least of cars currently/recently in production) out of the public eye- why give the competition a look, especially if the car is raced? But it's possible they'd be willing to give you something. After all, they know if they're nice to you, you're alot more likely to come back and buy a Nissan!

Good luck!

[Ragnarok043]

Originally Posted by drumcat

ill go to my local nissan dealership even though im in the US, id imagine they have blueprints of the car, il see what i can do

id imagine theyll just give you stupid look, they wont have anything on the GTR, much less a blue print. and if they did i doubt they just hand it over to you.

[nis.k.a.]

You can try but I doubt the local dealership would have anything. Gotta agree with Ragnarok043.

[nis.k.a.]

[clem24]

Originally Posted by Sebstar

hm, thanks for the quick replies! well my friend is looking at buying a GTR in the near to distant future (like around 2-3 years maybe), when we can import r32s under the 15 year rule for around AU$15k, so maybe then i can convince him to strip the engine completely, lol. has anyone ever tried going to nissan directly and asking for blueprints?

What's with that 15 year rule? In Canada, it's the same deal. 1989 R32s can be pretty much be legally imported now (as of jan 1 2004) or as long as the date of manufacture is at least 15 years. There's actually an R32 for sale now in Toronto (check it out on autotrader.ca --> $28k). Wonder if it's also a coincidence our currency is almost on par....

As for scratchbuiding, can't you just take dimensions off the R32 kit from Tamiya and then take it from there? Or just track down one of those Fujimi 1/12 kits. Those things gotta be monsters..!

clem..

[Sebstar]

well i want it as detailed as possible... Hm, what would be easiest for me is to go to the local GT-R tuners and ask them for blueprints, because thats what they should have... now i just gotta find them. Exvitermini should have em...

[hirofkd]

Start from various gaskets. You can get very accurate dimensions just from a picture, and that's what I'm doing. You can even buy one, and sell it on ebay after measuring it.
As for reference photos, there're many good books on how to disassemble and reassemble the RB26 in japanese magazines. Hyper Rev, Option, and AutoWorks are pretty good. MotorFan's special issue usually has the factory drawing of the engine, too.