“Golddust” – Jordan’s RB26 twin turbo powered S14 260SX

[JordanTr]

Thanks guys. I'm pretty happy with how things are going so far. It's nice having a fresh slate where I can do everything how I want the first time!

Yes Joel, it sure looks like your 240 needed some lovin' when I saw it. Working 600km away from the car really sucks. I work hard to plan things remotely and hit the ground running in the shop when I can. No more school for this cowboy though-- graduated this past year!

No school means more time to do cool stuff though!

[JordanTr]

Wasn't able to do much recently but I pushed it outside on all 4 wheels for a transformation Tuesday photo op. Still needs some ride height/camber/tire/fender tweaks but so far so good. The rear tucks a 265/30R19 when set with a ride height of -1* with the Apexi N1 coilovers fully lowered (shown below). The rear fenders were rolled pretty heavily to accommodate this.

I also loaded it all up with fluids. Redline 75W90NS with a half bottle of plate LSD additive in the diff (~1.55L), GM modified synchromesh in the trans (~2.45L), bled the clutch with DOT4 and cheap 5W30 dino oil in the engine to re-break it in (~5L).

I got the GTR almost exactly 23 months ago so I'm pretty happy where we've come thus far. I've certainly learned a lot about the R32GTR and the S chassis in that time.

Pics:

[Byron510]

You know, the cool thing about your build to date is that aside from the wheels and ride height, the car doesn't look menacing at all, considering what you have put under it. Can wait for the fury to be unleashed on some unsuspecting road later this year.

Byron

[JordanTr]

That was the plan! If I throw 17s back on, it will be very sleepy. I'm currently refinishing the factory mud flaps up in Q town so I can throw them back on later.

I'm taking after Matt on this build--granny body for maximum sleeper status.

[Byron510]

There is something to be said for sleeper status.
My E30is was a similar colour to Golddust, and was nearly invisible to detection. I stepped out of my bright red 70 hot rod wagon and into the 325,and suddenly I was just not noticed like I was before, especially when it came to road check, radar traps and the like. Don't get me wrong, in the 13 years in the BMW I still had a few infractions, but nothing like I was getting in the bright red 510! Yetthe BMW was way more capable, and I likely drove faster on average.
If Golddust was a daily, definitely stock wheel would be awesome, or better yet super wide steel wheels painted black, mirroring the size you have with the same rubber.

Byron

[JordanTr]

Got a few more things done on the car recently.
- Powersteering pump and pressure line
- Cleaned up and painted mud flaps
- Pair of new front tires (245 35 19)
- Fabricated intercooler mounting using OEM R32GTR rubber isolators
- Powdercoated some little bits (radiator brackets, PS reservoir bracket, T bolt clamps, etc.)
- Various other distractions
- Wiring

I opted to go to a 350Z single stage powersteering pump since it is a bunch smaller than the R32GTR 2 stage Hicas pump and offers a slightly higher output pressure as well. R33GTR pumps are supposedly a bolt on solution for a single stage pump but they are expensive and difficult to find. The orientation of lines on the Z33 pump also allows a very clean route for the flexible pressure line. I had to modify the bracket to suit but the pulley offset from the front mounting ear is fine as is so I only needed to modify the rear ear. I still need to find a hydraulic shop to crimp my custom high pressure line.





I filled scars in the mud flaps with plastic bumper repair goo and painted in matte plastic bumper black spraypaint. I'm pretty happy with the outcome!




I fabricated some brackets that mount off of the framerails and the rad support crosspiece. Each is held on with 3x M8 fasteners with captive nuts in the frame thanks to rivnuts. Powdercoated in 20% gloss black (my new favorite color).

The usual cardboard templates first.







Valvecover for pops' lil Datsun truck. Custom mixed powder by yours truly seems to match the truck quite well.



Powdercoated some 20% black on the T-bolt clamps for the IC couplers on the IC inlet/outlet. I wanted to keep them sleepy and this is just what was needed!




Now for the distraction time...

Last summer I picked up some very cheap 16x7ET40 3 piece wheels for the daily driver Audi. They had been "professionally" painted some gnarly 90's cream yellow and overspray was on everything. Supposedly they were pulled off an Audi coupe in the early 90s. I felt justified purchasing since I needed new summer tires anyways. I disassembled the wheels completely, bead blasted the inner barrels/faces, polished the lips, replaced all fasteners with stainless, reassembled and sealed. Needless to say, this ate up a good chunk of my shop time but I'm pretty stoked on the outcome. I only with they were slightly lower offset.













Clear goes on white!



Reassembly time! Fasteners from mcmaster.com.





Back on the daily beater! Purchased 205/50R16 Yokohama S drives after success with them on the 510.




I began working on finishing the placement of the engine harness. I have some wiring lace and I've been trying to put the harness in the stock loom location. I need to lengthen the wiring to both MAFs and O2 sensors.



Now that the intercooler placement is settled, I can put some work into the charge piping. Once charge piping and wiring have been completed, the car should be ready for first start up!

That's it for now--I'm out!

[RONSLYCHUK]

Very nice work Jordan. I can't wait to see and hear that beast running!

[JordanTr]

I'll just leave this here for the night.

https://www.facebook.com/Jordan.Traas/p ... 31505376:1

[RONSLYCHUK]

IT'S ALIVE IT'S ALIVE!

[JordanTr]

Spent the last while working on the intercooler piping and you'll soon see why. To take a break from that, I got the car fired up this past weekend for the first time and it all went really well! Not having to push the car around is oh so rewarding.

I drove it up and down the driveway without mafs/piping/brakes etc. but it really feels nice. Thankfully, there are no bad noises coming from my wrecker transmission.

Got my new front tires mounted. I opted to ditch the 235/35 since one tire would not hold air. The ones currently mounted are 245/35/19 on 19x10ET30 up front with no spacer and stock LCAs. Rear are 265/30/19 on 19x10ET30 no spacer. I've since raised the rear of the car to match the front since the front can't go any lower without significant spacers to get the tire past the lower spring perch.













The intercooler piping is all tacked up in place. I still need to do final welding and bead rolling at the ends of tubes. It is all 3" 0.065" wall 304 SS. I still need to plumb a BOV flange (or 2) into the lower passenger side hose.





















Main things on the list to really finish it off are the following:
-Mount BOV flanges onto IC piping
-Final weld IC pipes
-Fit BOV recirc piping
-Get high pressure PS line made up
-Run PS cooler lines
-Finish looming harness
-Reinstall ABS pump
-Install battery
-Modify/install wiper fluid reservoir
-Bleed brakes
-Install electric fans(s)
-Reinstall HVAC stuff inside/mount ECU

[okayfine]

Jesus, the intercooler piping! No one makes a set, since this can't be the only RBS14 swap out there? What sort of bead roller do you have that'll do 16ga 304?

[JordanTr]

I wanted the welding practice and I wanted to do it exactly how I wanted. I'm sure you're aware of how well kits fit...especially on cars like the S13/14. I'm going to run the stock twin BOV setup which likely wouldn't mesh with any kit out there. I'm not sure about the bead roller yet since I haven't looked. Worst case is that I'll follow Joel's method of using modified Vise-grips to swage the ends into a bead.

[PoorMtnKid]

Wow nice pie cuts Jordan!

[msaunders]

Nice fitup Jordan! Should be able to autogenous weld. FWIW I had some 16 gauge 304 bead rolled at Kinetic Motorsports in Langley a few years ago.. not sure if they're around anymore.. and most recently I bought some pre rolled pieces at Mopac.

[JordanTr]

3 videos on YouTube:
First Drive 1
First Drive 2
First Drive 3

Obviously it still needs a few things but so far so good. Boost hits pretty good!

I spent a lot of time this past weekend getting the charge piping welded up and the harness cleaned up and installed properly. I reinstalled the abs pump and bled the brakes amongst a bunch of other small tasks.













Did some trouble shooting and found out why I couldn't get into 5th or reverse. Discovered that the RB25DET shifter is indeed not the same as a late Z31T shifter. It is longer and binds on the shift pattern bolt in the trans when going for 5th or reverse. I initially installed the RB25DET shifter I had because it had a good boot on it. I've since cannibalized the RB25 shifter for the boot, installed a fresh shifter bushing and installed the Z31T shifter and voila! All 5 forward gears and reverse work good.





I wasted some time up here drawing up some BOV flanges for the RB26. I had some BOV flanges cut from 3/8" 304SS and will have them machined to suit a -131 O ring to eliminate the need for gaskets. The mounting holes will be tapped for M8 like the stock BOV manifold. I would have just bought some DSM flanges but they only come with thru holes and aren't set up for O-rings. Trying to thread bolts onto loose nuts in tight spaces is for peasants. Captive fasteners FTW!





The biggest items on the list now are cooling fans and power steering. The end is in sight!