Do you even lift?

Ever since getting the 34, there’s one luxury feature which I’ve always wanted. Well, in fact, before the 34, even. I’ve only ever had cars with the bonnet arm, never any dampers. And having seen many GTRs, a few of which have bonnet dampers, well, the seed was sewn that I one day must have a set of dampers!
And I’ve kept my eye on sales, and the many JDM websites, for bonnet dampers. GTR bonnet dampers won’t fit the GTT because of different dampening rates due to the difference in weight AND the different bonnet mounting points anyway. So, a month or two ago it just happened that someone was setting up a groupbuy on SAU for bonnet dampers. I was IN. Last week, they arrived. And saturday, they were installed (with the help of some mates to hold up the bonnet!). Not an overly difficult job at all, hardest part would have been to understand the Engrish instructions. Pics.

Yes, they are carbon. Not a wrap but actual carbon =)

Practicing that depth of field photography.

A little theme is building here…

Absolutely love hearing the whooooooooooosh when I lift the bonnet.

Mr.GV134's first cruise: Putty Rd!

Last Saturday, Mr.GV134 went on a cruise with his buddy the R33 and another MX5, plus a plethora of WRXes. It was awesome, and a great learning experience for the driver about the car. Now I respect my car so much more, and also know its capabilities a bit better. I’ll let the pics speak for themselves – all credits to NDJ Photography.

 

Cabin air filter change

A few hundred/thousand kilometers ago, I decided to change the cabin air filter as part of continuous maintenance of the car. Owning a third-hand Japanese import means that you can never really trust the previous owners, and the work they ‘did’ on it. It’s best to assume they were all sh*theads and assume that they did nothing, and if anything, not properly – unless you knew the actual owner before! So, having done the fuel filter, oil change, oil filter, brake/clutch bleed, radiator flush, spark plugs, various lights around the car, it was finally time to turn to the interior. Note to self, a 100k service is probably wisely around the corner…
So, to the cabin filter. Funny story about this one. The filters are located behind the glovebox. This means that you need to remove the glovebox in order to reach the filters. In order to remove the glovebox, you need to undo certain screws located all around the glovebox. There is one screw in the right hand corner of this glovebox which is located deep, deep within. It is in a very tight spot, and on the day that I tried to remove it, realised that I had no screwdrivers long enough to reach and give me leverage. The first time I tried this I spent about a solid hour on this one screw. In the end, I gave up. The next day I went to Bunnings and looked around for a long enough screwdriver. There were the $16 Stanley screwdrivers…and there, on the ground in a box labelled “random” was a 2$ version of the same thing. Brought it home, and in a few minutes, the screw was out. Sigh.
Pics and captions will tell the rest of the story.

These are ONLY available in Japan – so the services of a certain personal importer were engaged to obtain these. Pretty cheap by themselves, not so cheap when all costs added – but then again, this is just a once-a-year change so not too big a cost. Bought two packs.

Pretty dirty in there. A massive feeling of relief was felt when the glovebox finally dropped!

Self explanatory. Pull out. Replace filter (as seen in next pic) and put back in.

Green bits replace the black bits, the frame remains the same. Gave it a quick clean off too, lots of dust and random crap on the frames.

The filters come with a service sticker, how useful!

New bits (backlog, x-post from SSL)

Ever since the suspension side of things got sorted, modifications on the 34 have quietened down a lot. This is because I’m trying not to let it become the money pit that we all KNOW it can become. Focus is on keeping it running well, and looking slick. So, in order to achieve that…let me introduce these new ‘bits’.

These are genuine Nissan R34GTR Vspec II aluminium pedals. They are a factory option on R34s (for all models) and so, are available to be ordered from Nissan Japan. But they have become very scarce now, a decade on from production. I sourced these from someone who had quite a few pairs in possession. For a very fair price too.

The bulbs that were on the car seemed to be mismatched in colour. Plus, they weren’t very bright, and were tinged a little too blue for my liking – too ricer (haha yes, I’m treading on a very thin line here). So I bought these. Straight from the homeland. And they’re very, very nice. Clear, white light.

June Picture: Fresh carpark shot

Quick pic

This is how I roll

It's been a while, but everything's done. There were some hiccups after the install - namely, the springs settled and that caused a drop in the strut top, which meant one of the shocks was knocking. So, after getting the car back I had to drop it into the shop again. Also found an exhaust leak between the cat and some pipe (I'm confused about these things) so Dennis fixed that up too. AND most importantly, got that oil pressure sensor leak fixed up. Thanks a heap Dennis. So got the car back on the saturday, drove it round on Sunday. Also finally got my SAU sticker on and them nismo stickers on the rims!

It drives so well now. Absolutely smooth, punchy, and rides like a dream.

First morning out - sitting pretty =D

Now all that's left is:

• Install nismo mats (install??? hahaha)
• Install GTR Vspec II aluminium pedals
• Install front indicators (kinda like the orange though...)
• Respray brake calipers
• Install FMIC

and pretty much after that, I won't do anything except maintain the car, until next year. Just enjoy it!

HERE WE GO

HICAS lock bar arrived at work this morning.

Immediately made the call to Dennis. Bringing car in on Wednesday night, work will be done on Thursday with hopefully Friday as buffer - Saturday pick up, very optimistic!

192 LEDs!!!

On the public holiday (thank you dear ANZACs) I decided to finally get a project done – modifying my reverse lights from a single globe to double LED panels. Yes. That is correct. This was relatively simple, merely time consuming. All I needed was:
LED panels (ebay!)
Solder kit (mate lent me his)
Oven
Reverse lights (I bought a spare set from a wreck to practice on/in case something went wrong)
Tape

screw driver.I’ll let the pics speak for themselves.

 

 Polish up the lenses with Glassylite!

Practice solder and tape with an old LED panel

Accidentally snapped the wiring while stripping the plastic so had to resolder it together.

Two panels together. 48 LED x 2 … hehehe This is just for one side!

Taped up the wires

Stuck it in the civic to test out the soldering – PERFECT!

Come back and work on second set – above, pictured are the complete panels + reverse light housings

That spare perspex is really coming in handy. Used it as backing to make the panels stand up inside the housing. Superglue!

Plug in, tape up the wiring, glue the bottom and put into position – wait around 30-60min to set.

We have a winner.

Also, picked this up on Friday….heeee heeeee heeeeee

And stuck this guy in the car too! However as I predicted, his head is too heavy and there’s no good surface to mount him in the 34′s dash. So I found an even better place…he sits IN the ashtray now (pics later!). Thanks mate!

And a quick note: King springs + Bilsteins have arrived. Now waiting for some cash + HICAS lock bar and then I can send Mr Skyline into the shop!

Hurry up!

Would like to sell my TE37s so I have extra cash to buy other stuffsssssssss!

Like: Cusco catch can, sway bars, LABOUR, proper project Kics nuts....

Few more to add

Well, been looking around and also realised there's a few things I forgot off my previous list.

• Fix up security
• Swap out gauges! Want black faced gauges. GReddy preferably!

Also LED dome lights have arrived, and that means reverse lights =) helllllll yeahhhhhhhh can't wait for some BRIGHT LIGHTS! And stuck one into the civic already for interior. It's a very nice pure white, not blue-ish at all.

and an update, from Feb 25:

1. Camber kits - KCA347/348
2. Castor kit - I don't think I need this actually, since I have adjustable castor rods...
3. Coilovers
4. Tyres
5. Stickers, valves, caps, etc.
6. REAR INNER TIE RODS!!! - High priority  

I.E. ALL ORDERED!

Looking ahead

Alright so I've got a massive backlog of stuff to put into the car - what I'll call 'Stage 1' modifications. But already I'm thinking ahead. So here's a quick list of what is projected to get done this year, and that will be that for the year. The first two items are really more suspension parts so they belong to Stage 1 but, I haven't bought them yet so I'm just sticking them in so I remember too.

HICAS lock bar

Front and rear sway bars (maybe)

FMIC

Optimise exhaust

Nistune + tune

Now let's have a quick look at the cost of this...sad face!

HICAS lock bar - 60-100$

Front and rear sway bars (maybe) - $400

FMIC - $600?

Optimise exhaust - ???

Nistune + tune - $1000

So that's at LEAST $2000 still to go.

More things to do

Great news:

Have finally decided upon suspension, and I've gone with a set of Bilsteins. It will be a shock + spring setup so not on-car height adjustable but it will bring both comfort and handling at the same time. I've paid for them so now am waiting for confirmation of receipt of payment...then things will be underway for them to be sent over!

Few things to do either soon or when I have time:

• Paint brake calipers
• Oops, that's all.

Nah, just kidding. I have a LOT of stuff to put on - but this will wait till after I get my handling/suspension sorted, then everything will go in the car at once -and boy I've got some nice things to put in the car. CAN'T WAIT.

Also, reminder to self: call Leon when I have money!

It's been a while

Been a bit quiet lately, mainly because it's leading up to SUSPENSION TIME. Visited Dennis at Grim Performance and had a chat, most likely will take my car and parts there to him and let him take care of it. Knows what he's doing for sure, I trust him. So just waiting to find the right set of coilovers or shocks/springs. Will be MASSIVE update very soon as I've had bits and pieces arrive here and there, I don't want to put any on yet until I get the suspension fixed up. Then everything will be sweet as.

Quick arrival update: wheel centre caps and NISMO stickers arrived from Jesse Streeter today, excellent customer service and turnaround times. Will definitely use his services again in the future - and if you want to source Japanese parts, GO TO HIM!

Update on 'Priorities'

Quick update on the previous checklist.

1. Camber kits - KCA347/348
2. Castor kit - I don't think I need this actually, since I have adjustable castor rods...
3. Coilovers
4. Tyres
5. Stickers, valves, caps, etc. - Ordered
6. REAR INNER TIE RODS!!! - High priority- Ordered

New Shoes!

Mr.Skyline got some new shoes on the weekend. It’s been a long time coming actually, because the rims that came on the car previously were quite damaged and to me, just plain ugly (with the damage) – otherwise, them being SSR Professors, I love them actually…so maybe one day I’ll get another set. But for now, something even better =). Oh and also the previous owner had nankangs on them. wtf? Damaged rims AND nankangs? Hang my head in shame every time I take my car out.

Saturday was very busy – woke up at 830am, went to Hornsby Nissan to get some front tie rods. Then it was off to Taleb Tyres, massive trek from Hornsby to Tempe! But thankfully traffic was rather smooth, and apart from getting a bit lost up near the airport, it was all good driving – got to boost a bit on the M5 too hahaha.

So, pics:

Camera

HTC Incredible S

Focal Length

4.57mm

ISO

100

Camera

HTC Incredible S

Focal Length

4.57mm

ISO

100

Camera

HTC Incredible S

Focal Length

4.57mm

ISO

100

Camera

HTC Incredible S

Focal Length

4.57mm

ISO

100

Camera

HTC Incredible S

Focal Length

4.57mm

ISO

893

These babies are READY!

 

How it looks now. Super sexy. Once again, bad quality pics, will need to get myself sorted out on my SLR so I can get some proper pics up….it deserves it.

Currently working on getting my Nismo stickers to complete the wheels.

Priorities

Clearly I have them all wrong, if everything is spent on the car. But it's my baby! Right....?

So, I kind of forgot about a few parts which I NEED to buy before getting coilovers on. So, here's a note to myself of what is left to buy so far.

1. Camber kits - KCA347/348
2. Castor kit - I don't think I need this actually, since I have adjustable castor rods...
3. Coilovers
4. Tyres
5. Stickers, valves, caps, etc.
6. REAR INNER TIE RODS!!! - High priority

OR should I just go for the camber arms!? They only cost $100-200 more in total but will give more camber adjustment than just bushes.

Also, note to self: Spark plugs changed with BKR6E-11 on 24 Feb, ~80000km (will check when home)

Eventful sunday

Car hasn't been starting properly for the past month. Originally thought it was the battery problem, which is why I went and bought a new battery a few weeks ago. That seemed to fix the problem but then it appeared again, so decided to change spark plugs as I deduced that it was possibly my rich fuel mix that fouled up my plugs.

Raining all saturday so couldn't do it. Went to CLNSKY's place yesterday to get some help (actually, credit to him because he did most of it) and changed the spark plugs. We had to let the engine cool down first after my drive there, but about 30mins of cooling, heard thunder. Went outside and saw storm clouds in the distance, but we decided to start anyway and get it done ASAP.

Who knew that the rain would come so fast? Luckily my bonnet was up in the right direction, basically giving us a shield against the wet and ALSO protecting the open engine from getting wet. Here's some pics.

 Nice legs Mr. CLNSKY!

Then afterwards, the ever-amusing Moo arrived in his prelude. Didn't get a picture of his window but it gave us many lols. As soon as he turned off his car, he said he'd need a jump start, instant facepalming from me and CLNSKY.

First jump start successful.

Second one, not successful.

That was the weekend of work!

Have to report that after changing sparkies, car felt much smoother to drive/accelerate, and also started better. Now, fingers crossed that was the source of the starting problems. Now, to find out wtf is wrong with my brake booster...?

RAIN

Need to change spark plugs as car doesn't sound so good on startup. BUT IT'S FREAKING RAINING! AND I HAVE NO GARAGE. ARGH

Getting things done

So I've been sick as a dog since sunday. Ended up staying home for the past 2 days, mostly in bed. But, surprise surprise I received a package from Japan on the Monday. So a few things could get further ticked off my list =) But here's some pictures from the weekend.

 New head unit and DIN compartment. Courtesy of a JZX100 owner! Head unit looks the same as my old one except that it has about 10 different colours, so I can change it to match whatever interior theme I have. Currently red. And that woodgrain DIN tray just adds that little bit of class, I think. JDM AS!!!

 After the install, washed the car. Went through my cleaning box and realised I had this "spray and gloss" from poorboys, decided to try it and was pretty impressed. it's the gloss of wax without the long(ish) term protection and also long and arduous procedure. Evidently don't expect it to last very long.

 And here's my new set of wheels =)))))) freaking AWESOME. They look so good! This is the first clean one. They were super dirty and so they needed a real good clean before i put some tyres on.

 Comparison: top is cleaned, bottom is soaked in water, ready to be washed. It's practically a whole shade darker.

 Here's the inside of one rim. Most of them looked like this...

Two clean vs two dirty

Saturday night in Chatswood, looking for a space to park (there were lots of spaces, just wanted one which was convenient) saw this, and thought why not?

 Monday's arrival!

 Lunch. Good with my hands...for many things

 Totally don't remember ordering this.

 This, i did order. Been on my list for ages!

 Pillowball castor rods! URAS made!

 Tie rods (super hard) URAS made again.

Installed corner lamp. Looks slick!