Nissan GT-R R32 w/ Rb26DETT

[stump]

Originally Posted by gionc

Yes Greg: this is just what I was wondering: I'll send his engine from Italy to Australia so you'll forward him in USA... LOL!!!!

For sure I didn't sent him a PM: I guess he'll find a way to contact me if is interested

Thanks Gio, I'd hoped you would chime in..
O/Topic. How have they been selling Gio ? All good

[675datsun]

wowzers
subscribed

[joegtr]

i gota gota get me one of those engines lol who do i gota get in touch with ? This build is gona be great

[MPWR]

Right, it's only been two years- time for an update! The weather here is crappy, so I can't fly. After months of perfect weather, this is the third straight day I've canceled for thunderstorms, and tomorrow looks much the same. So I thought I might pass the time by doing something novel, and updating a build thread!

Blue.



Nissan Bayside Blue, to be exact.

Not a factory color on the R32, but it is a popular choice for repainted R32s. When I got the kit from Will (thanks again, Will!), he threw in most of a bottle of CobraColors Bayside Blue. Of course, I have bottle of Millennium Jade for the R34 I'm going to build, so the Bayside got used here. I think it looks great.



Tamiya included some very nice engravings for the Nissan and GT-R emblems on the rear of the body. I covered these with BMF before paint and primer. After the paint and before the clearcoat, I gently rubbed the emblems clean with a toothpick dipped in isopropyl alcohol. The the 'R' was painted red by hand. A bit hard to photograph, but it looks terrific.

Looks like I need to clean the polishing compound gunk out of those panel lines....



I also CFed the hood. I'll admit, I'm not a fan of CF decals. There are many applications where I think they look completely wrong- but a large, flat even surface like a bonnet can look OK. I used ScaleMotorsports hidef. Of course, it really fought me going on....





Fortunately, the second try went better. Under a lake of clearcoat, it looks pretty good.





So it's a Skyline- that means it needs to be lowered, right?? Well, maybe just a bit. Slammed is not my thing, but Tamiya R32s I've seen built look like they ride a tad high- particularly in the front.

The kit stock suspension is very nicely done- but it leaves little in the way of a good option to lower it- especially if you want it really low. If you want to retain steerable front wheels, it gets really complicated.



But against my better judgement , I decided to take an inch off of the front and ha half inch off of the rear. Realistically this is about as far as you can lower a car like a GT-R without utterly destroying the suspension geometry and therefor the handling. But even a small change can make a very nice alteration in the look.

So here's how I'm going about it. These are the front suspension support thingies from the R32. (The blue stuff on the to is Blue-Tac, used for sticking posters to walls. I use it for mocking up parts assemblies.) I reinforced them with a thick piece of Evergreen styrene strip.



Now, to take off a scale inch of height. 1"/24 = just about 0.040". So, I marked that much off of the bottom edge with digital calipers.



I marked the part with a black Sharpie marker, and scribed the cut line with the caliper. Then with a photoetched saw, I carefully cut along the scribed line.



Here is the modified version (and now you can see why the reinforcement is necessary).



Put back into the wheel well (and stuck together with blue-tac), you can see that this allows the upright to ride 0.040" higher than it otherwise would.



Of course, that leaves a gap between the bottom of the upright and the lower control arm. So, a spacer is needed to take care of the gap. I cut these spacers out of a piece of sprue. A lathe makes this kind of thing really easy.



So, how did it come out? More pics again soon.... (less than two years, I'm sure! )

[jaxson]

sub'd for a terrific build. It inspires me to do something similar.

[da_ashman]

Nice work, Ive always thought lowering the R32 would be very difficult but I like what youve done & may need to try the same. What wheels will you be using?

[countach79]

looks nice in blue!

love the detail going into it

[Hirob0y]

The standard BNR32 ride height is high, lowering was 1st mod on the list when I got it.
Nice build , I'll keep watching the build

[auw12]

Wow Andy struck back! It's a bit surprised to see you on a gtr, with carbon bonnet and lowered suspension... I thought you only play with exotics~ Or is that a commission build for gio? Definitely subscribed for another masterpiece！

[turbothirtytwo]

impressive. have the engine in my stash too. shame it is made from WM coz some small details could be replicated better in resin. make a testfit with body and chassis with wheels coz every tamiya R32 is strangely molded. one side is thicker and wheels stick out on one side. dont remember which it is and dont know how to explain it in english

[MPWR]

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by auw12

It's a bit surprised to see you on a gtr, with carbon bonnet and lowered suspension... I thought you only play with exotics~ Or is that a commission build for gio?

Hi Tang! Yeah, it is a bit of a departure from my usual BMW/Ferrari/Porsche lineup, isn't it? But after helping Gio with the technical editing for the engine kit, I had to build at least one. I've always liked Skylines (and Fairladies, too!), I just never got one into the mix. So Gio didn't give me a commission- just an excuse.

make a testfit with body and chassis with wheels coz every tamiya R32 is strangely molded. one side is thicker and wheels stick out on one side. dont remember which it is and dont know how to explain it in english

Thanks for the advice, I'll look for it. You may have noticed, I like to do a lot of test fitting.

What wheels will you be using?

Not sure yet. I have a set of BBS's I've been planning to use (ala Wangan Midnight)- but the more I look at them, the more I like the stock 5 spokes.

It inspires me to do something similar.

That's the idea!

The standard BNR32 ride height is high, lowering was 1st mod on the list when I got it.

It really is, isn't it? Even the real ones look high.



I have to admit, a certain blue 1/12 R32 has gone into the inspirations for this build....

[willimo]

Woah! I was already thinking on the first page that this all seemed familiar, even before I checked the date. I had totally forgotten that I'd sent you this stuff - but you've made the most progress in the last two years on any kit I've ever had! I'm bummed I missed my opportunity to get one of these motors, I have a Z-Tune that I've wanted to do full detail, but I think I somehow have a plastic motor that I can detail.

This is looking great - and I love when a builder goes out of their normal subject matter, it usually turns out awesome. I can't wait to see more, but with as slow as some of us build, no one can begrudge another 2-year wait!

[willimo]

Oh, and I LOVE your lowering technique. Perfect look and it will all fit together well, which is so hard to maintain when lowering a model.

[white_R34]

The hood came out wonderful and the pewter engine block look grate it's to bad once you have fully assembled the engine and bay, Know one will all of it's body detail. Still grate work. Keep at it M8.

[tonioseven]

Alright Andy, you have my attention!!! You must've know that I've pulled out the engine Gio sent me and started test fitting it into the chassis of my S.A.S. Mine's R-34! I'll follow your build before I get too serious with my undertaking. I beg of you to NOT make it another two years!