When I was buying the bumper and skirts for the RX8 this kit became available, fell in love with the yellow one that Powervehicles had sold a few years back so bought the kit and threw it into the shed for next year to build a daily.

However as things transpired one of my mates decided to break his 1997 Bathurst Model FD3S and since I knew the car from previous owners and its history I decided to take the plunge now. It has been fully Polly bushed, tein coilovers, red carpet and most of the interior (no seats). There is no running gear in this so I will be looking at fitting something reliable but with enough poke not to let the car down.

On the shopping list down the line will be wheels, running gear, seats and paint. For the moment I have been looking at 1UZFE's (4.0 V8) and M3's as a power plant however there seems to be a lot of grief converting the Toyota lump to manual. Don't expect regular updates on this project as my main focus is still on the SRX8 and I want to get a few bits done with the KP61 while its above in John Stones.

Never realised the sheer size of the kit but soon figured it out :



Unpacked it and threw the Works under it for a giggle :







As close as I’ve been to drifting the past year :



The minty shell :

 

Picked up yet another vent from Mr. Driftkits


Got my hands on a BGW from damo86 so I plan to cut it, extend it and wrap it in carbon and have some legs made up :


Since I’m getting a lot of bits off Brian he added the Team Chihuahua logo into the vent, it is actually between the layer of fibreglass, I think it looks pretty cool



Test fitted the quarters and it fits in the garage, fit is absolutely brutal but it just means a few more hours work and that the quarters will never come off once fitted

 

So I broke out the the Meisters and I'm shocked, they have actually been tamed ha, ha...





They will not be staying on this, they are for the RX8 but dam they look sweet...

So before I started cutting the quarter panels, I wanted to make sure the widearch panels were placed properly. That they would align with the skirts, front wing and rear bumper. To be fair the fit is brutal So this will just save me time down the line.

Sideskirts really do step out from the car and even at this height are only 4.5"'s from the ground, car is to be dropped at least 2" yet...



Wings will take a full day each to get right at least :




But she will have a nice fat **** on her once complete :


Try go at the quarter panels with the grinder next and get them ready for welding...

For the latest updates on any of the cars as usual just check out :

https://www.facebook.com/#!/teamchihuahua2012

 

Had a bit of time free so decided to sort out the clearance for the wheel, will weld it up Monday when I get a chance but happy enough for now :

 

Looks like a big project, congrats and good luck! Keep us updated.

 

looks awesome! subd!

 

your nehibor getting outa the car in the one picture looks grumpy haha

 

Will do fella, should be back on this next week hopefully...

Welcome along

Just confused more than anything

 

The mock up on the driveway is great, confuse the neighbors.
This will be a fun build. Body work is always cool cus the changes are so visible.

 

This is gonna be super dope when done.. Gotta be careful with that beaut.

 

looking forward to see finished car

 

Ah ya, just need to get rid of the S13 Shell from my driveway first

Chop, chop, chop

Be a while but hopefully this year.

Well I have been up the walls with work the past few weeks but I have a little update, I finally bought an engine for this pony, I decided to stay with what I know, Nissan. The new power plant is a forged RB25, spec below :

RB25DET Spec 1
Head Polished with Gasket Matched (Westward Precision Engineering)
HKS Camshafts : Intake 254 / Exhaust 264 (Spec’d By Garage D)
New Mahle Forged Pistons (1mm Oversized)
New Eagle H Beam Rods
RB25 Crank Balanced (Westward Precision Engineering)
New ARP Head Studs
New Spool Head Drain Kit
New ACL Race Bearings
New Nissan Full Gasket Set
New Metal head gasket
New Nissan Belt Set
New Nissan N1 Oil Pump
New Nissan Water Pump
Anodised Blue Lightweight Pulleys
New Nismo Low Temperature Thermostat
Garrett GT3037 Turbo Dynamic’s (Turbo Dynamic’s)
Japspeed Manifold
Metal Exhaust Gasket (Summit Racing)
Custom Downpipe
Z32 AFM (Japanese Performance)
Nistune RB20DET ECU
New Crank Case Breather Kit
SARD 280LPH Fuel Pump (Japanese Performance)
New Fuel Filter
Turbo Blanket (Turbo Dynamic’s)
Custom Intake Pipe
RB25 Gearbox
Custom Prop-shaft
HKS Twin Plate Clutch

In the car :


On its way up to Gripfab


I want to change the injectors from 550cc to something a bit higher and replace the standard intake manifold, have it looking more like the engine below :


The aim is for a comfortable 500bhp without pushing the engine too hard.

 

Definitely going to be an awesome build

 

Will try...

So I offered up some Racing Harts I had out in the shed, 18 x 10JJ and with a 50mm spacer I think they'll be minty

 

this is going to be a nice build looking good

 

I love how the engine is in the back of the van...

 

I was with you until the engine choice......

 

^ lol, so true tho...

 

love the wheels

 

Thanks mate...

Classy alright

Direct strokes for different folks...



Cheers fella...

Poor car is feeling neglected but hopefully she'll be heading up to Gripfab soon to have some fab work done :


But at least its good for storing wheels :


And here are some shots of the Racing Harts :

Front 18 x 8.5JJ offset +5
Rear 18 x 10JJ offset 0




Rear dish 4.5"


Front Dish 3.5"

 

That is a lot of fiberglass. Good luck with the build.

 

love the racingharts! work meisters are def cool too but everyone and their mother has them now it seems.

lol dog poop

 

Practically the whole car, hmmm, must get a bonnet now too

The Meisters have been kept for the SR20 RX8

I actually got the wheels at good money because they need a refurb and thats what I do outside the day job Here it the car they came from, a GT300 Kitted Celica from back in the day. The Racing Harts filled out the arches nicely however these are 5 x 100 so when I have my adapter/spacer machine I can sit the wheels exactly where I want down to the MM

 

Be careful who you trust to build your engine, so called built RB25, ran for 30mins, opened her up to have a look and found sand in the oil and the so called machined head wasn't exactly right ?! Real pro at work here, good job I didn't trust him and had a proper mechanic strip it down to inspect it. Now she needs some head work, new acl race bearings, polish the crank and oil wash the engine before rebuilding it properly !!! Rant Over...

 

I would be hella pissed!

You need to have those racinghearts widened to like 18x12 and 18x13 with 7in lips to be super legit with that bn blister