The Laurel's (C33) New Heart Transplant

[SKAGEE]

Its been three weeks since the RB25DET transplant and I'm happy to say that everything is going fine. Besides the tons of torque ,as compared to the RB20, I'm getting better milage !!

The conversion was a breeze as all the custom piping and wastgated mainfold that I had made for the RB20 fits perfectly to the RB25.

The side entry intake plenum modification had to redone on the Rb25 as they were different but was worthwhile as it improves the throttle response !

Some minor wiring work had to be done but other than that it was all good.

Though fitted with a 1.2mm gastket, I'm only running it a 0.9 bar as the turbo is still standard. However, due to the extra torque, 'power over'ing is easy and I don't have to rev as high when dumping the clutch. Thanks Cheaka for the hosting





BEFORE



AFTER



The hidden cage I made to improve the stiffness of the chasis, the pillarless design though looks cool, make the car quite flexy.



Upturned pipes.; to improve curb clearences..LOLOLOLOL



Modified by SKAGEE at 11:56 AM 9/25/2004

Modified by SKAGEE at 11:58 AM 9/25/2004
Modified by SKAGEE at 12:02 PM 9/25/2004

[silkk]

That looks awesome!

[Mr1der]

hotness!

what's the yellow thing on the steering wheel though?

[MinisterofDOOM]

I think it's some sort of anti-theft dealy.

[andrave]

badass. how does that thing compare to other nissan models?I have an infiniti m30, and its the nissan leopard in japan. what platform is it based on?what engine does the leopard come with? vg20?

[SKAGEE]

Yup it a steering lock..was told it'll take the car theft 20 sec longer to steal my car. The funny thing is I have a quick release steering boss kit on it..so it isn't any good..LOLOL

The Laurel C33 uses the same platform as the Cefiro A31..everything could be swapped over as I'm am using the manual gearbox ( all C33 are autos) and prop shaft off a Cefiro . As I have mentioned before, the Laurel is quiet flexy due to the pillarless design .Its also queit heavy, weighing in at 1400kg kerb weight.

I can't tell you much about Lepoards as there aren't that many here but I do have a friend with a PF30 Lepoard which came with a Turbo charged L20 engine.( now with a RB20DET) which he insist is the only one here..LOLOL

[andrave]

1400kg... in lbs?I dunno, that car is sweet though. shame they are all so heavy. m30/leopard is 3400 lbs. vert is 3900!

[Repo Man]

Sweet ride bro!

[SKAGEE]

1400 kg is about 3087 Ibs. i suppose it isn't as heavy as the M30 and Corvette but comparing it with the Cefiro, R33 sedan GTS , R32 sedan GTS ,which are similar in size , its about 100-310 Ibs heavier . So it is nice to have a torquey engine like the Rb25 in it.

[undertaker]

that is cool mate. I seriously considered doing that to a Laurel because I broke my RB25 powered Silvia and I really like Laurels. But then I bought another Silvia for $500, they are cheaper! How hard was it to find the trim for the handbrake and to fit the handbrake cable?By the way, I weighed my auto RB20 Laurel on a supposedly accurate weighbridge and it was only 1300kg.

[SKAGEE]

Undertaker:I can't tell how the handbrake conversion was done as It was the previous owner that did it. I believe that the center console is off a manual Cefiro ( which comes with the side handbrake) and have seen people using the R32 center consoles too. If you look closely, the Cefiro trim and Laurel trim don't actually match up but it isn't really that noticable.

1300Kg? Maybe its spot on as I find it hard to believe its heavier than a Cefiro . The 1400Kg figure I got was off a Laurel Medalist borchure on the internet. I can't seem to find any sites on them though. Do you know of any?

$500 for a Silvia???wow! I would love to have one too at that price!

[Mr1der]

why put something on the wheel when you can just take it off?

craziness...

we gonna get some burnout or donut pics soon?

[SKAGEE]

Hahaha..Its suppose to deter people from stealing the car but not stop them, I guess.. Its like placing a big " Protected by Viper" sticker on the screen..

Donuts and burn out? Hahaha..I do have a few drift videos of the Laurel but can't seem to find a place to host it

[MinisterofDOOM]

yes. My personal preference would be "Protected by H&K" But that's just me.

[SKAGEE]

Got a silly question for ya: What's H&K??

[MinisterofDOOM]

Heckler and Koch (pronounced hek-ler and coke) and I'm not sure I spelled that right. H&K makes guns--perhaps the most famous of which being the MP5 assult rifle.

[SKAGEE]

hahaha.. I get it. Do people there still have their guns on the gun rack at the back of their truck cabs? I can't quiet recall seeing them when I was there ...

[MinisterofDOOM]

There? What do you mean by "there"? If you mean Utah, then yes, there are plenty of people who still have truck window gun racks with guns in them. But mostly only in the rural parts...which is 90% percent of the state.

I remember my first year in high school, there was this kid who drove his dad's truck (I think he had just gotten his lisence) and forgot to take the gun out of the rack...that didn't go over well.

[SKAGEE]

I went to school at Western Michigan for four years and worked in Chicago and Jacksonvile for a year and half and did not recall seing anyone having guns in their trucks.. I guess these places weren't 'rural' enough

One thing that I found fascinating were in some neighbourhoods that I went to, the people there don't bother locking the doors of their houses even when they're out. You'll never see that happening here..LOL

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah. When I talk about "rural," I mean a town that 90% of it is made up of one guy's farm. Big farm. Need a truck to get from one end to another in 15 minutes. A friend of mine has one of these.

[SKAGEE]

Yes, I was thinking more like in the mountains of West Virginia of something when you said rual ..Thanks for bearing with me..

[MinisterofDOOM]

Hey what's the hatchback on the far right of your signature?

[SKAGEE]

Its a Ford TX3. 1.8 cc Four pot TO4E turbo. Had the car stripped with a cage and plexi glass installed in it. And yes I don't wash it very often..hahaha

[MinisterofDOOM]

Heh, that little ford 1.8 has seen more use than the SR20 and VQ combined.It's a pretty good little engine. You should find the Cosworth setup for it that they used in the Escort for a while.

[SKAGEE]

The last I've heard , the Cosworth engine was going at three times the value of my car and most of them are off stolen Ford Cosworths from the UK..not good for the 'karma' I guess..LOL

[SKAGEE]

I had the bodykit done to the car and within 2 weeks this happens !!!...LOLOLOLOLOL

Anyways SPS bodyworks ( my new sponsors) had the car knocked back in three days and the car is fine now, I have yet to get the side repainted as I'm too busy with the wedding and stuff . Anyway ,a bit about the front lip; Believe it or not , its made out of metal!! The panel beater had made a marvelous job of folding ( for strenght) and knocking thin sheets of metal to form the front lip. It stronger and most importantly lighter than a fiberglass lip !!!! With the rate of accidents I'm getting into now , I'm glad to a bodyshop/plane beater as a sponsors..

[SKAGEE]

Pictures taken during a drift competition last year.Got kicked off during the two up duel for the top four placing.More pictures later

[elwesso]

So golden.....

[Gold Digger]

Anyways SPS bodyworks ( my new sponsors) had the car knocked back in three days and the car is fine now, I have yet to get the side repainted as I'm too busy with the wedding and stuff . Anyway ,a bit about the front lip; Believe it or not , its made out of metal!! The panel beater had made a marvelous job of folding ( for strenght) and knocking thin sheets of metal to form the front lip. It stronger and most importantly lighter than a fiberglass lip !!!! With the rate of accidents I'm getting into now , I'm glad to a bodyshop/plane beater as a sponsors..

Hey Skagee, how much would it cost me to get a front lip similar to yours made at that shop and shipped to japan. That looks sweet, and I would like something similar, but not like yours, and its cool how it looks like the stock lip, but not...at the same time...sweetness...

Did they do the side skirts too?

[Rex]

Boxy cars like that are soo sexy, you need to be careful, posts can make dents if you rub on them too hard .