Daemonyk's RB25 S13 Coupe *RUNNING!* now with better video

[daemonyk]

More parts!

SPEC stage 1 clutch kit


WS RB25 to S13 harness


Rad hoses, t-stat, ES poly rack bushings, fuel pump kit


And most importantly.

Thats +25 hp right there

Another box gets here tomorrow. In the meantime I'll be prepping the RB, and installing a stereo in my dad's truck. The speakers are already in, just need to install the head unit. Order has been placed with RawBrokerage. I *think* that's the last of the stuff I need. No. No it isn't. Close though. Very close. Nismoparts stuff will prolly take like a month or so to get here.

I think I've divined a little more of this engine's history. As I said before, the turbo was horribly blown, and there was clearly a boost gauge or something T'd into the vac lines. Also the turbo wasn't actually completely mounted to the exhaust, with loose-ish nuts, and one missing. Most recently I was removing the exhaust mani, and noticed that 2-3 of the nuts were already kinda loose-or-had-been-loose-and-were-hastily-retightened-ish, and one of the studs was pre-broken and half-a$$ed threaded back into place so it looked ok. But, the compression on all 6 cyls was amazing, and the engine looks great. So it looks like someone wound out the boost on the stock crappy turbo, hosed it, went to replace stuff, broke the studs, decided it was f@ck-this-sh1t o'clock, rigged it back together, and sold it. Luckily for me before it got ruined.

More as it develops.

[Jmoore124]

So do you do all your work yourself? Are you planning on having anything painted or powdercoated to make the engine more unique? Or just leave it together and stick it in? What kind of turbo did you replace the stocker with?

[SRS14a]

Solid build! Looks Great so far!

[daemonyk]

So do you do all your work yourself? Are you planning on having anything painted or powdercoated to make the engine more unique? Or just leave it together and stick it in? What kind of turbo did you replace the stocker with?

I absolutely do all of my own work. Except for tires, alignment, welding, and major body work (filling sanding painting etc). The first 2 I *can* do, but don't have the equipment. The last 2 I have no experience with, so my work is rough at best. I leave that stuff to those who can actually do it well. Other than things like that, all of the work done to the car in the build was done entirely by myself. The RB rebuild and swap is also going to be done 100% by me, though my brother is probably going to help me with the hoisting and moving of engines. I'm stubborn, and like to accomplish things on my own if possible. I hate asking for help unless I absolutely need to, and prefer to research and learn and figure things out for myself. I'm a huge advocate of built > bought. I have heaps more respect for something someone toiled over and poured their time money sweat and blood into, than something someone paid for and picked up when it was finished. Don't get me wrong, bought cars are still wikkid nice, and not everyone is a wrench turner and likes grease - but a hand built machine impresses me alot more.

The RB is only going to get a little bit of purely cosmetic treatment. I personally am not into having a bright shiny colorful engine. They look awesome, but it's not the way I build. So here's what I have going on. Valve covers are black high temp, timing covers are getting spiffied up but not repainted. I have no intention of separating the head and block unless/until I manage to get ahold of some ARP hardware. Everything on the engine is getting cleaned thoroughly. The block is also getting sprayed in high temp black. Right now the engine is staying as close to 100% stock as possible. That way I can just get it to RUN, and don't have to worry about troubleshooting aftermarket stuff too. Then she gets tweaked. In the final form it will have something like a greddy style intake w/ stock tb, bigger injectors, fpr, better turbo, one of those nice BRM exhausts, a Haltech, various sensors and gauges, cleaning up the wiring in the engine bay, spraying the engine bay, and -AN fittings and braided hose as far as the eye can see. Or something like that. With the intention of hitting power goals under 400hp. I really can't justify more than that on a daily. We'll see what *actually* happens... Regardless, the idea is to have an engine that may not be flashy, but is clean and well built, and still looks like it could eat a vtec in one bite .

Technically I replaced the stock turbo with a stock turbo - I replaced my leaking oem s2 shaft play having turbo with a non leaking oem s1 no shaft play turbo that I scored for $200 shipped. There's a pic of it on the prev page near the bottom. Once I get everything running right, I'm only going to up the boost to about 12psi or so which to my understanding is safe ish on a s1 rb turbo. From there the car will probably tell me what I'm going to upgrade next. Cos that's how that works.

And thanks for the feedback, everyone!

More to come.

[Jmoore124]

You sound a lot like myself. I do everything myself as well. It has made me collect a huge amount of tools. Most recently, didn't want to buy a top feed rail/injectors or a intake manifold but wanted both.

I do think you just took a shot at my car with the comment about pretty motors though.

Nice to meet a chick that is as interested in cars and willing to work for it. Winner in my book.

[daemonyk]

You sound a lot like myself. I do everything myself as well. It has made me collect a huge amount of tools. Most recently, didn't want to buy a top feed rail/injectors or a intake manifold but wanted both.


I do think you just took a shot at my car with the comment about pretty motors though.

Nice to meet a chick that is as interested in cars and willing to work for it. Winner in my book.

Sadly, I have much fewer tools than I'd like to. I'm not quite on the level of being able to fabrimagicate part like that - nice work! My brother is the fabricator / welder in the family. It kinda works out. I do wrench work on his cars, he does welding on mine.

I'd hardly call that a shot at I love the look of a shnazzy engine bay like yours or OutToWin's - that level of attention to detail is totally impressive, and they look awesome - but I usually take a different route. I like things that have more potential than they appear, are tougher than they look, etc. And I also like things that are inconspicuous and unassuming. That's just my style.

So while I want my car to look nice, I don't want it to look like anything special. Same for the engine. I want you to have to know about cars, and engines, and maybe even nissans specifically too, and to have to give more than a glancing inspection, to notice that theres anything special or unique about the car at all. TBH I love the idea of it looking like just-another-nice-240-or-maybe-a-prelude. It delights me to no end. And here's why.

People expect a car that looks fast to be fast. They're disappointed if it isn't. But if it looks like a slow or ordinary car, and sounds like a slow or ordinary car, people will assume it's a slow or ordinary car. If it doesn't look special, people assume it isn't. And THAT is alot of fun . For instance. There are those circular cloverleaf highway on/off ramps near where I live, and I have to use them alot. They're both posted at 35mph. 35-45 is what I can comfortably do them on a stock suspension. On my current setup, I can do them at more like 65 stable. I was getting onto one from a 55 zone with an altima coupe riding my a$$ for some unknown reason. He started to ride me into the turn. I guess he was waiting for my brake lights, cos when brakes didn't happen and I went into the turn at full speed, he panic braked when he suddenly realized that his stock altima could not make that turn at that speed . Like I said, alot of fun.

And that is, in essence, why despite the fact that I would love to have a totally tricked out ride, I usually end up building things that look pretty normal-ish. What can I say, I like surprises . It's funny. Normally I'm not a very competitive or aggressive person, but put me behind the wheel of something and I can be a more than a little vicious. It's not about being faster than someone else - it's about being faster than I was last time

Got my aluminum steering bushing today. That was kinda anti-climactic. However, more parts due tuesday. That should be my water pump and my Chase Bays ps kit and clutch line. Hopefully RawBrokerage stuff comes in the next week or 2. Hopefully Nismoparts stuff comes in the next month or 2.

More as it happens.

[Jmoore124]

I was just razzing you anyways. Sounds like your real passionate about it. I am pretty similar in reality. There is absolutely nothing done to the exterior of my car. looks like a totally stock 14 until you hear the tractor trailer turbo spooling sound.

[mechanicalmoron]

Things can be rough, tough, n' dirty, and still look smooth enough....

In fact, it's impressive when cars look really nice, but in a way that you don't notice until you have some reason to take a close look.

If you like surprises, there's always those exhaust gates, so you can throttle your exhaust or route it either through a muffler or strait pipe, from the cabin on the fly. Those are pretty neat, and would be a pretty good surprise with your RB ..... If you where feeling crafty, you could even wire it up to some sort of boost gague, or if you have a boost controller that (I don't know if they do this sort of thing) could be wired to run an additional solenoid just as manifold vaccum passes over neutral into boost. Then have a little switch, that makes it either muffled, strait, or boost controlled.

[daemonyk]

I was just razzing you anyways. Sounds like your real passionate about it. I am pretty similar in reality. There is absolutely nothing done to the exterior of my car. looks like a totally stock 14 until you hear the tractor trailer turbo spooling sound.

I am extremely passionate about it . There's only a small handfull of things I really really get into. Cars/driving is one of them. Car enthusiast groups didn't use to be one, but it's becoming one. Partly because there are alot of things I see in the automotive community that really rub me the wrong way. So on some level I guess I'm hoping to subtly change things from the inside. Thats partly why I actually finally joined nico. I like the positive attitude of this place and the way you guys operate

Things can be rough, tough, n' dirty, and still look smooth enough....

In fact, it's impressive when cars look really nice, but in a way that you don't notice until you have some reason to take a close look.

If you like surprises, there's always those exhaust gates, so you can throttle your exhaust or route it either through a muffler or strait pipe, from the cabin on the fly. Those are pretty neat, and would be a pretty good surprise with your RB .....

I've seen those - they're pretty cool and I've thought about that. I had an idea once to get an electronic exh gate and an A/B setting electronic boost controller and wire them together so that at the low boost setting the gate would be closed or nearly closed, and at the high boost setting the gate would be wide open. Not sure if it's feasable, but it I think the idea sounds cool. Stealth cruising mode, and pursuit mode

[mechanicalmoron]

I know the throttle ones you mean, but I was thinking this:

http://www.racelandus.com/exhaust-syste ... stems.html

So you can cut it right over to strait, unmuffled, and have a three way switch that selects one or the other, or boost dependent.

[daemonyk]

I know the throttle ones you mean, but I was thinking this:

http://www.racelandus.com/exhaust-syste ... stems.html

So you can cut it right over to strait, unmuffled, and have a three way switch that selects one or the other, or boost dependent.

I have not seen those before. Very cool. Kinda the exact opposite of what I'd do, or maybe something to do in addition to what I'd do... hmm... ideas ideas so many ideas First I'll get the RB running, then get an exhaust system on it and see how that sounds, then tamper with the system accordingly.

Chase bays ps kit and clutch line, and gktech eccentric lockout kit arrived. Still waiting on oem bits from Japan. RawBrokerage order kinda flopped, looking for a new source for a few things, no big deal. Still need to get a few things from Raw, but I'll get to that later.

More pressing is the fact that my steering and front suspension feel a little sketchy which I am not happy about. I'll know better once I can dig into it this weekend, but right now it looks to be either the rack or the struts.

[daemonyk]

Nismoparts order arrived so I actually managed to get some things done. Also a surprise. I was told they were still waiting on the oil pump, but was expecting the gaskets and timing bits. So the box gets here and there's an oil pump in the box too. Groovy. Today I'm swapping the pumps and I notice they're different.

This came off


This is what was in the box.


It appears to be an N-1 pump. Slick.

I also rebuilt the timing, reinstalled the valve covers, and reassembled the intake mani.



Need to remove a broken exhaust stud before I can rebuild the exhaust and turbo. Also need some hardware (nuts bolts washers) to finish things off. Once I get the engine reassembled I'll start wiring up the engine harness. Then the clutch and transmission go on. Then some prep work on the chassis. Then goodbye KA. I'm hoping to make it happen in the next month or so

I think I figured out the issue with my suspension. I think one of my alignment eccentric bolts came loose. I'll know better tomorrow when I install my GKTech eccentric lockout kit that I've been to lazy to mess with.

And lastly, I will probably be getting a body kit, a subtle one, because my front bumper is FUBAR'd. Something like a "v-speed". We shall see.

[daemonyk]

Small update:

Replaced most of the exhaust studs today. Still have one broken one to extract. Hopefully make that happen tomorrow. Also replaced the rear main seal while I was tinkering. Tomorrow's plan is the last broken stud - then reinstall exhaust mani, turbo, oil pan, and a few other random things that need finishing. I'll try to take pix of what I get done. Looks like I might actually get this thing running soon.

[FusionCola]

Sweet Prelude!!

[daemonyk]

Sweet Prelude!!

Thank you!!

[daemonyk]

Slightly larger update: Turbo and exhaust assembly - complete.





Spiffy'd up the heat shields a little, cleaned and prepped the oil pan for reinstall (drying now), various other fiddly-bits cleaned and reinstalled. Zerolift mounts are installed on the block, t-stat is installed, accessory belts are in place (loose). Next the oil pan gets bolted up, then belts hoses and wiring, then flywheel clutch and transmission.

[daemonyk]

Oil pan bolted up, belts tightened, wiring harness routed and connected.

Clutch installed!


Transmission bolted up!


Basically ready to drop in. Need to buy some fluids and such, but I should be extracting the KA sometime tomorrow. If things go well, ideally, hopefully, I can also get the RB installed, and maybe even started

[Bokeh]

Read through the whole thread! Easily puts my car to shame XD It's definitely refreshing to see a girl who's this passionate about cars/driving and craftsmanship. There are a few things that I don't like about the car (small details) but to each their own. Also cool to see another MCM fan here. BLAAACK.

[pepesilvia]

I know the throttle ones you mean, but I was thinking this:

http://www.racelandus.com/exhaust-syste ... stems.html

So you can cut it right over to strait, unmuffled, and have a three way switch that selects one or the other, or boost dependent.

i heard you have to be careful with these things for a couple reasons.... 1.) you will fail inspection with it, and 2.) they break at high temperatures so most exhaust diverter valves dont last long. Most people dont buy electirics ones for that reason, some companies make manual ones so you have to go under the car to change the pipes position which makes it last longer....

[daemonyk]

Read through the whole thread! Easily puts my car to shame XD It's definitely refreshing to see a girl who's this passionate about cars/driving and craftsmanship. There are a few things that I don't like about the car (small details) but to each their own. Also cool to see another MCM fan here. BLAAACK.

Hey thanks! If you don't mind my asking, what don't you like? I'm always curious about these things MCM is great! Some of their vids popped up years ago when I was searching how to find boost leaks. Then I found out it was a series. Been watching even since. It's MAAAAAD!

i heard you have to be careful with these things for a couple reasons.... 1.) you will fail inspection with it, and 2.) they break at high temperatures so most exhaust diverter valves dont last long. Most people dont buy electirics ones for that reason, some companies make manual ones so you have to go under the car to change the pipes position which makes it last longer....

Valid, and good to know. I probably won't be using one anyways, and here in Flori-duh there are no emissions / inspections, but still good to know. It was a fun idea, but I'll probably just get a nice exhaust and leave it alone. More moving parts = more crap to break / fix.

And by the way...

Oh look, a KA, just sitting there on the floor. I wonder where it came from...


Oh! That's where it came from!


One of my motor mounts was torn so I need to somehow fetch replacements tomrrow. After that, some careful adjustments with a poundometer, and then I get to try to squeeze the RB into place Jeebus I hope the stupid thing starts. I fed the car several ounces of blood while working on it today - that should appease the internal combustion demons...

[mechanicalmoron]

If that KA's in good shape, and you feel like getting rid of it, let me know...

Though I warn you, I am "underfunded". (very cheap)

RB looks (naturally) ballin'.

[acslater9]

Quick question, how long did it take you to find that 240?

[daemonyk]

If that KA's in good shape, and you feel like getting rid of it, let me know...

Though I warn you, I am "underfunded". (very cheap)

RB looks (naturally) ballin'.

I will keep that in mind. It's not in "good" shape, but it's not in "bad" shape either And ty!

Quick question, how long did it take you to find that 240?

That's kinda hard to answer usefully. I bought it 3 years ago, I found it days after I started to look, and IIRC it was the only coupe s13 I'd found. And I'm pretty sure the only reason I got it is cos I was alot more stubborn about getting in touch with the owner. I've since run into 3 other people in town who were also trying to buy it, but the owner didn't like to return calls or something. Took me over a week just to get them to call back. Short version - s13 coupes are rare, and I got lucky.


Spent some time on the car today - scraped off up to 1/2" thick caked on grime in some places need moar engine cleaner... Also replaced the steering rack bushings and steering column bushing, and started installing the chase bays clutch and PS lines. Motor mounts will be in tomorrow. Still need to install the fuel pump, start mocking up the intercooler setup, and likely a few other things. Probably one more day of prep and cleaning, and then I should be able to try to drop it in on Monday

[acslater9]

That's kinda hard to answer usefully. I bought it 3 years ago, I found it days after I started to look, and IIRC it was the only coupe s13 I'd found. And I'm pretty sure the only reason I got it is cos I was alot more stubborn about getting in touch with the owner. I've since run into 3 other people in town who were also trying to buy it, but the owner didn't like to return calls or something. Took me over a week just to get them to call back. Short version - s13 coupes are rare, and I got lucky.

I would agree with you coupes are rare. I've been looking for mine (coupe or vert) for about 3 months and It got to the point where I almost was going to buy a MarkIII Supra, but thankfully did not.

I'm from Florida and all I see are hatchbacks .Now I'm not saying hatchbacks are bad but they're way too common in Tampa/Orlando.

Also love the car you're doing a great job on it!

[Bokeh]

The only gripes I have with the car are the interior and how the system is installed (not OEM looking), but that's just my opinion. It's your car and you do what you like! What are your plans for the car? Just daily? Or are you planning for track? Or...MAD SKIIIIDZ?

[WDRacing]

Sweet build thread!

You're going to love the sound of the RB. Probably the best sounding motor I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Glad your ISIS suspension is working out well for ya! You don't find the ride to harsh?

[daemonyk]

The only gripes I have with the car are the interior and how the system is installed (not OEM looking), but that's just my opinion. It's your car and you do what you like! What are your plans for the car? Just daily? Or are you planning for track? Or...MAD SKIIIIDZ?

Well, the interior and stereo, as they sit, are half-arsed in just enough to work. I'd hardly call them finished, nor am I satisfied with their install as they sit. They sound great though and that's good enough for now. I'll make em pretty later.

The car is my daily, and may never see a track. Of course, that doesn't mean it can't / doesn't do mad skidz (always hoon responsibly ) I have always been an... "enthusiastic" driver, and I like having a car that does exactly what I want it to, repeatably, consistently. Skids are definitely fun, and sliding is something I do practice, but I'm more of a sprinter - how fast can I get from point A to point B - and like changing lanes and shifting gears over sliding sideways, though it is on the list of things-to-do.

Sweet build thread!

You're going to love the sound of the RB. Probably the best sounding motor I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Glad your ISIS suspension is working out well for ya! You don't find the ride to harsh?

Thanks! I'm definitely excited to hear this thing run RB's sound sweet, that's for sure.

The ride is hard, but not harsh, with this suspension setup. Pot-holes suck, and badly buggered roads suck. But at this point, to me, my car feels normal and right, and all other cars feel squishy. The isis coils are the only coilovers I've ever driven on, so I can't compare them to anything else, but they feel pretty good to me - once I got the shocks dialed in right. Strangely, I had to make the shocks stiffer to make the ride less harsh At this point the seats are more uncomfortable than the ride is.

Well! Today I finished installing the chase bays ps lines and the mount adapters, and installed the fuel pump. I think the RB is about ready to be seated in it's new home.

[pepesilvia]

More moving parts = more crap to break / fix.

dang. couldn't have said it better myself.

[daemonyk]

Got the RB seated today! Still needs to be wiggled and adjusted a little, but it's basically bolted into place Tomorrow's task is to finish it off - lines, hoses, connectors, etc.


STB won't clear it but I can probably do something about that. Minor detail. Once everything is hooked up under the hood, I'll tinker together the intercooler setup. Also need to bolt up the driveshaft. And reinstall the shifter. And the radiator. And fans. And I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting, too...

It'll get done. I just need to make sure to triple-check myself.

[daemonyk]

Engine still needs to be wiggled and settled a little, but it's basically bolted down. Connected all wiring and ran the ecu connector into the cabin. Set the radiator in place to check clearances. Chase bays cluch line installed. Probably need to mod the IC piping to make it do. Think I may be tucking the battery into the trunk. Still need to make a throttle cable widget and install the heater and radiator hoses. And fans and driveshaft. And intercooler. And reconnect the fuel lines. I'm running out of things to install or connect. I'm glad for that. Last thing will be fluids and priming. Then cross fingers and turn the key.

We'll see what I get done tomrrow