Project: VH41DE V8 into HR31 Skyline GTS-X coupe !

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:04 am

Here are some pics of my conversion, I've been taking progress pics right the way through the conversion process, but this is just this saturday's progress... heh this will show you just how badass an oldschool is :

Workshop, please enter... this is the sight that presented itself on saturday morning, before getting started with the assembly !

Can an admin please look into why the [img] tags no longer work ? I just linked all the pics and it failed to display >_< That's annoying !

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:12 am

Here's the engine bay, painted up and ready for a motor ! So much nicer without all that sick crap all over the paint !

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:13 am

Some of you guys might be interested in what clutch master cylinder and brake booster I'm running:

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:14 am

Check out that clearance ! Car's too low at the front at the mo, gotta raise it about 20mm, and that pic is while on stands.

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:14 am

Nolathane castor arm bushes... will have to do for now until I get some nice adjustable pillowball ones !

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:15 am

Fat ! 275/35/R18 + mad dish ! There's only about 2mm clearance between the inner sidewall and the wishbone, so I'm going to have to space the rims out a bit.

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:16 am

Wow this camera really did take quite ****ty photos >_<

Post by **jamied311** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:16 am

nice! good luck with the swap! keep us posted!

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:17 am

Heh, an HR31 GTS-X with a badass VH41DE V8 in it ! Not your every day conversion, definitely one of a kind

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:18 am

Cheers man ! Just about finished, only about two weeks away or so before I can go through the compliance and certification process to make it road legal

Sorry for the quality of the pics, this isn't really a night time camera... will get better though, my mate's coming over during the week to take another batch of pics !

Post by **riu** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:31 am

dude, your R31 is sweet

its great to see that someone is building one, with the GOD of all engines no less.

what kind of coilovers are you running? HKS or D2? and whats your opinion of them? i keep hearing from everyone except honda guys that they are horrible coilovers and they are poorly built resulting in being easily broken.

Post by **defrag010** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:32 pm

sweeeet, the R31 is basically the same car as the japanese leopard and the M30, right?

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 1:43 pm

Hehe cheers for the comments guys... I'm building an R31 because I love how tough it looks... I could have gone with an R32 or an S13, but everyone does those ! I practically never see R31 coupes on the road, so it's really unique.

I'm using D2 coilovers, and I've heard mixed feedback regarding their quality from various people. I've heard that they break and they're **** from some people, and others have told me they're awesome and made their car handle like a dream. I've inspected the quality of construction and can't really pick fault with them, so I guess I'm going to have to wait and see how they work out for me.

As for the R31 being similar to a leopard and M30... I couldn't honestly tell you, but I can say the R31 coupe chassis is stiff as hell, and pretty much a slightly longer version of an S13 chassis, with the previous generation rear suspension system in it. The chassis is so stiff that no matter where you jack the car up from, you can open and close the doors like it's on the ground, with no flex at all... even with the VH in it !

Post by **adrianfromthecastle** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 2:34 pm

wow.... an R31! very very nice. cant wait to see finished pics!

Post by **defrag010** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:04 pm

The reason I ask is that R31 crossmembers, strut bars, suspension, and most every other mechanical component will interchange with a M30.

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:22 pm

Hahah well if you already know, why do you ask :p ? We don't get the M30 over here, I've never seen one before in my life. I've seen a Leopard from the outside, and it looks way different to the R31 though... but I don't doubt that the models of the same generation share many of the same suspension parts, just like a Y32 Cima, R32/R33 skylines, etc.

Oh... mine's IRS btw, in case the M30 is live axle.

The R31 has many interchangeable parts with the Z31 300ZX, but the Z31 parts are typically pillaged and put on R31s like 5 stud hub upgrades (like on the rear of my car for example) etc.

Post by **Rex** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:23 pm

Very interesting looking project, would really like to see more day time full car pics ... as well as under hood . What are you using for a transmission?

Mettler wrote:...Can an admin please look into why the [img] tags no longer work ? I just linked all the pics and it failed to display >_< That's annoying !

Are the pics hosetd online somewhere? they have to be for img tags to work, if they are, post a sample link for me to look into.

Post by **Mettler** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:25 pm

Rex wrote:Very interesting looking project, would really like to see more day time full car pics ... as well as under hood . What are you using for a transmission?

Are the pics hosetd online somewhere? they have to be for img tags to work, if they are, post a sample link for me to look into.

Thanks Rex, here:

^^ in case you see nothing in that empty space, I just used the img tags to link a pic to this:http://mettler.orcon.net.nz/fi...8.jpg

It's manual converted, using a Toyota Supra W57 gearbox. When I can be bothered, I'll edit my first post to include the full specs of everything in the car

Post by **riu** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:53 am

well one thing i can tell you about D2 coilovers

they are made in Taiwan, and being that I am chinese, i can tell you that i am not very proud of the product quality of my people =]

one of my friends ran D2 on his S14 in drifting competitions, they broke after only a small handful of events. he has since switched to Tein.

i considered D2 but upon research, first hand testimonials from friends, and my mechanics, i decided to get Tein instead. I've been using my Tein SS coilovers for 4 months and i've driven my car pretty hard since getting them, they are FANTASTIC

Post by **mtcookson** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:07 am

Mettler wrote:Thanks Rex, here:

^^ in case you see nothing in that empty space, I just used the img tags to link a pic to this:http://mettler.orcon.net.nz/fi...8.jpg

It's manual converted, using a Toyota Supra W57 gearbox. When I can be bothered, I'll edit my first post to include the full specs of everything in the car

http://mettler.orcon.net.nz/fi...8.jpg

That is really weird. You put the code in, and the code for the image simply disappears.

Quote »Oh... mine's IRS btw, in case the M30 is live axle.

The R31 has many interchangeable parts with the Z31 300ZX, but the Z31 parts are typically pillaged and put on R31s like 5 stud hub upgrades (like on the rear of my car for example) etc.[/quote]M30 is independent rear and does seem to be pretty similar to the Z31. It at the very least uses the same engine (VG30E) but I'm sure has other similarities as well.

Post by **tci Jimmy** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 6:28 pm

hey man i was playing around with the idea of the d2 coilovers for my 31, is there anychanges that u had to do to fit them in? other than nice work and hope it all goes as planed and destroyes all on the road.

Post by **hannibal** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:46 am

Awesome!Never met someone that owned an R31, much less modded it with a VH41. Its got that badass 80's look. Very cool and original.

Post by **Mettler** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:41 pm

Defrag I've done a bit of research, and have since discovered that the GTS-X/R coupes and the M30 appear to be built on the same base chassis !

This opens all sorts of possibilities for VG30DETT conversions into R31s by using the M30 crossmember etc... mmm, interesting !

tci Jimmy wrote:hey man i was playing around with the idea of the d2 coilovers for my 31, is there anychanges that u had to do to fit them in? other than nice work and hope it all goes as planed and destroyes all on the road.

The d2 S13 coilover conversion requires the following list of parts & mods:

Front:S13/A31/C33 hub carriers (uprights) & lower armsR32 steering rack, fitted using the R31 rack mount bushes

Rear:3 bolt strut tops, or strut top adaptor (I had my own made)Modified mounting point on the rear wishbones... the factory shocks have a swelled end and there's a chamfer on the inside edge of the mounting point, the D2s won't fit over it... needs to be customised.

If your R31 is not IRS, I wouldn't even bother modifying the rear end tbh !

Cheers for the comments guys ! Things have slowed to a crawl on this conversion, I'm reliant on a few outside sources for getting a few things done, and it's taking ages.