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It dawned on me tonight after putting so many long hours in that I never got back to the build thread, so here are some pictures of what she came out like. She has impressed many so far, real quick and hooks good with the kumho ecsta ast's.
8" 0 offset diamond racing in front with 195/5015's , 10" +25 offset diamond racings in the rear with 225/55/15's kumho ecsta ast's.
As for springs I have 175lb 10" in rear on eibach adjusters with custom shock tunnels and 350lb 8" eibach springs in front with adjustable sleeves, ebay camber plates as well. Looking at getting 10" 300 or 350 for front, ran out of adjustment on full up.
Thank you by the way, I know many people couldn't see what could become of the car but I certainly could and just after a year since getting it and is about 85-90% complete. I put the Rb20det through hell trying to learn to wire and everything else but runs very strong and very quick!. Only complaint on the RB20det is the power band, full 10lbs of boost at 3200rpm but she starts pulling real quick at about 5k. I have a holset hy35 turbo for it that I got cheap, but that may be a winter project.
She's got a few kinks to workout and some wiring to tidy up but she'll be a prime build soon enough.
This dark bronze mist metallic, a GM color. Carstar collision in Amherst, NS gave it a comb over and primed/sprayed her. It's grey until some good sunlight hits her.
man, i am REALLY digging your car. i love these sort of obscure builds where it begins with a question mark, but ends with an exclamation point. until i got to the point where you had your little run-in with MazdaMike02, my brain had somehow "corrected" your engine into an RB25. then when i finally realized it was an RB20 and read your thought process, i was like ... yeah.
i also love the mish-mash of themes you've got going with it - a little bit of this, a little bit of that. awesome stuff. and while that color is pretty commonplace with Gen I cars, it truly is timeless and your car is gorgeous man. be VERY proud!
i would like to see more of it - maybe and honest-to-god photoshoot and couple videos?
Yes, this is a build thread, but I suspect some here may not know the history of this ancient, crappy six cylinder motor we are wasting our time with. Here is a little history. In the early 1950s, Prince Motors made a licensing agreement with Daimler Benz to build their straight six motor. In 1966, Nissan bought Prince Motors, and continued to build certain Prince models, including the Skyline. Nissan made changes and improvements to the motor and produced the L series which they believed was sufficiently different that they no longer needed to pay royalties. This motor was used in the 240/260/280Z and other models. This was eventually replaced by the RB series, originally with single cam and later with the dual cams we are familiar with. Of course a motor with dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder is very modern technology, first used in the Peugeot that won the French Grand Prix in 1912, but perhaps more familiar to American car enthusiasts in the 1929 and later Duesenbergs and various racing engines by Miller in the 1920s.
The second version of the RB20 was the RB20DET first used in the R32 Skyline in 1989, and had improved heads, cam profiles and fuel injection systems. This is the same year the SR20DET was introduced, although the front engine/rear drive version was first used in the Sylvia in 1991. People much more knowledgeable than I have stated that the technology of these motors is essentially the same. Of course the aluminum block with steel liners is a very old technology, but was used in quantity by Alfa and Fiat from the 1950s and 60s. Obviously the iron block of the RB series was used because was it thoroughly developed and there was no pressing need to redesign it. My opinion is that the smooth running of the RB20 is primarily because of the straight six configuration, but also because of the rigidity and inherent damping of the iron block.
The RB20DET and SR20DET have essentially the same power over the years produced until the last version of the SR20DET was used in the S15 from 1999 to 2002, with variable valve timing, more refined cam profiles and improved fuel injection, and another 30 hp. Equivalent changes were made in the RB20 and RB25 Neo versions, but only in the normally aspirated version of the RB20. These changes were made specifically to improve emissions and fuel economy.
My local JDM source here in Seattle has not been able to come up with an S15 or RB25DETNeo front clip from their contacts in Japan, but if they do it will cost at least twice what I have paid for the RB20DET clips. Everyone seems to want more power, so the RB20 is cheap and in my opinion is the best bang for the buck of any JDM engine. Hundreds of people have seen my RX-7 at various car shows and informal JDm meets, and no one has ever suggested that an SR20 would be a better choice. But for people with no swap experience and limited fabrication skills, I have often suggested the SR20 would be easier to deal with.
my hat's off to you. thank you for the history lesson. i happen to be a huge fan of the RB26 and put it on my engine bucket list, though prices are NOT at all concerned with my desires and probable lifespan. i was actually an L-series fan-boy (because my Japanese sports car history began with the 280Z and 280ZX) until i fell in love with the R33 GTR and did some research on it and became familiar with the RB26.
however, i'd never heard of the RB20 until this thread. i will make it a point to try to read some more on the history of this engine and the whole line, but i probably would not have been motivated to do so without your post, so thanks again.
Thank's so much man! It was quite the project to undertake in such a short period of time. There's some videos floating around but none that the neighbourhood watch should see.... I will get some videos uploaded and try and find someone with a decent camera to take some pics for ya's.
Rb20's are very tough engines with 400hp+ possible on stock internals. The only downfall is a restrictive head and nissan sensors lol.
There are a few good reads pertaining to the 20's:
Also the RB20det-r red tops that came in r31's was what the RB26dett was created off of, and was quite similar to the newer silvertops that everyone has.
Went to the drags on the weekend got 9 runs and the best run was a 13.68 @ 103.5mph and a 2.1 60 foot. needless to say the tires where spinning, tried skipping the water with a big dirty burn and she came up solid and broke the axle.
I was gifted a shortened 9" ford housing, I rebuilt the diff and third member assembly with 4.33 ring and pinion. I cut the brackets off for the struts/trailing arms from the old housing and welded them on the 9" housing. I want to keep the original Watts link system but will have to do some more in depth fabrication to adhere to the giant housing.
Is your 9 inch rear end short enough to require tubbing the body? That is a pretty messy proposition with the RX-7. What width tires are you planning to use? I am looking forward to the final results, even though I do not plan to "hot rod" my RB20.
My Studebaker project keeps getting interrupted and is taking much longer than I had hoped, but should be painted in the next month, then we can go ahead full speed. You can follow that project here:
Stilettoman, That is one crazy Studebaker!!!! I applaud anyone who is wiling to swap an independent style suspension into a straight axle vehicle.
My 9 inch housing is a half inch longer end to end than the Rx-7 housing. I needed something much bigger as I broke an axle the first time I got traction at the track.
I am going to have tub the body above the axle housing in order to get my favorable ride height back.
The current snags are the axle faces, (Bolt Pattern & hub size) and the position of a watt's linkage setup. Any ideas would be appreciated lol
A variation which is becoming more popular is the reverse of the traditional Watts linkage - the pivot is mounted to the body and the links attached to the outer axle housing. This may work better in some situations where there are space constraints, and it functions just the same.
For mounting the pivot to the axle housing, look at this picture of the Art Morrison setup - hard to see in the picture, but the pivot is bolted to the bracket which is welded to the back of the diff housing, with multiple bolt holes so you can move it up or down to adjust the roll center.
Did you look at the way we mounted the Nissan independent rear suspension in the Mustang? A friend of ours is thinking seriously about having us mount a similar rear suspension in his FB.
8" 0 offset diamond racing in front with 195/5015's , 10" +25 offset diamond racings in the rear with 225/55/15's kumho ecsta ast's.
As for springs I have 175lb 10" in rear on eibach adjusters with custom shock tunnels and 350lb 8" eibach springs in front with adjustable sleeves, ebay camber plates as well. Looking at getting 10" 300 or 350 for front, ran out of adjustment on full up.
I am really digging the look of your car! Awesome work!
I am interested in putting 15x8" Diamond Racing Wheels at all four corners of my 7, do you think the +0 offset would fit all around?
I am not very good with wheel sizing and offsets, I know the stock wheel on an SE is +40
I am really digging the look of your car! Awesome work!
I am interested in putting 15x8" Diamond Racing Wheels at all four corners of my 7, do you think the +0 offset would fit all around?
I am not very good with wheel sizing and offsets, I know the stock wheel on an SE is +40
Thanks,
Al
8" in the front might be too tight for OEM springs in the front you'd need stretched tires to clear the fenders at 0, I have 10's at +25 in the rear so 8 at 0 should be fine there!
Had bay painted, painted some accessories myself. Had it looking good and then figured I would install the new turbo with a custom built manifold that my brother had built for me.
Looking to buy some tuning software and injectors
hory sheet.... So so so so so pretty! Nice work dude!
then when i finally realized it was an RB20 and read your thought process, i was like ... yeah. 
i was actually an L-series fan-boy (because my Japanese sports car history began with the 280Z and 280ZX) until i fell in love with the R33 GTR and did some research on it and became familiar with the RB26.
