Oh dear... is that powdercoated or painted? I just did my spare in satin black paint, need to install it.It was powdercoated. And beautifully I might add. One of my teammates used to work for a company that manufactured CAT parts, including powdercoating, so this is genuine Caterpillar yellow. The best part? It cost me nothing. :biggthump

Lookin goodSWEET, Love the YellowHot!!!Thanks for the compliments. As mentioned above it was free, and our choices were limited to
A) CAT yellow
B) OSHA (safety) red
C) Gloss black

We ruled out OSHA red because it would look like ass compared to the stock (badass) redtop color. They wanted to do it gloss black, but I didn't want to misrepresent the engine as a blacktop, plus a lot of our other stuff (brackets, suspension pieces, etc.) are in this color. And I am far from one who likes boring chit. So I made the command decision to go with CAT yellow, and I think it looks awesome. It wasn't quite as nice until we sanded the powercoating off the letters and cleaned the spark cover. But now I really like it, and think that it'll get us a lot of props from other racers / enthusiasts.


WOW dude yall definitely know what youre doin, im sure the car will turn out great. what are your turbo plans? what size you gonna upgrade to? good luck man.

p.s. i bought a nissan work shirt from a factory too! hahahaThanks. As for knowing what we're doing, we have Robin Barnett, a FSM, and general mechanical knowledge. But we're pretty much car virgins, with prior experience mainly consisting of changing brake pads & rotors, oil, and other mundane stuff. So this is certainly a learning experience for all of us.

Our stock T25 was in terrible shape (thanks for replacing it Venus :mad: ), so we bought another used T25 off Russ. I thought about upgrading, but we're already running out of money, and a turbo upgrade would have required a MAF, injectors, and SAFCII. Plus, I plan to address braking, cooling, wheels, caging, safety, and suspension (in that order) before ever turning to power upgrades.

The Nissan shirt is nice to have, but mine is irreparably dirty now from grease, paint, dirt, etc. Even after it comes outta the wash it looks like ace.

Added the spare tire/wheel to the list. The 28 pounds has bumped me up to 349.2 pounds (http://www.mysportscar.com/features/project240/weightsavings/index.htm)!

Sorry about the delay and any repetition, and please be patient with me while I try to get updated...

Sandblasted subframe:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/46.jpg

SPL Pro Aluminum bushings in the freezer overnight:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/47.jpg

Heating the subframe after unsuccessfully trying to hammer the bishes in:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/48.jpg

Trying the vice method since heating took too long:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/49.jpg
After talking to Estevan(NOSTALGIC HERO) on FA, I realized that using large washers, studs, and nuts with an impact and a wrench would have been easier...

All 8 pieces (4 sets) in the subframe:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/50.jpg
Note the discoloration from heating.

After blasting the subframe again, I painted it with some black epoxy spray paint:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/51.jpg
Pretty, huh?

Rob lifting the subframe up while I hammer it in place:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/52.jpg
It was difficult to get on, especially at the front studs. The decreased tolerance of the aluminum pieces was probably the culprit here, as the OEM one came off easily.

Rob and I installing the diff:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/53.jpg
Note the mad-tyte orange "Viscous LSD" sticker...bling blang!

Halfshafts, hubs/spindles, and powdercoated suspension pieces added:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/54.jpg

KYB AGX's with Tein S-Techs:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/55.jpg

Removing the ASCD:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/56.jpg

Before component removal:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/57.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/58.jpg

After component removal and taping everything up:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/59.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/60.jpg

Nasty azz crossmember and steering rack:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/61.jpg
Note the torn boot.

After sandblasting and primer:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/62.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/63.jpg

After 4 light coats:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/64.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/65.jpg

Nick's version of "Wash Me":
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/66.jpg

nice job... keep us updated... :)

Looks really great. I'd love to do a detailed re-build like that.

One day.

Looks really great. I'd love to do a detailed re-build like that.
Thanks. My engine and shortblock took so long that I had some time to pay attention to small stuff like this.

The engine bay actually looks much better now that some brackets and battery tray have been removed, excess seam sealer removed, wirewheel used to clean up some more, and two passes with sandpaper. Then some primer, enamel, and 2-3 light coats of clear. It looks awesome now, especially since the underhood wiring and pop-ups were out of the way.

-Andy

Removing the FLCA ball joints:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/67.jpg

Pop-up headlights after removal and disassembly:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/68.jpg

Removing the wrist pin retaining clips from the OEM piston/rod assemblies:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/69.jpg

CP blinginess, y0:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/70.jpg

CP pistons installed on stock rods:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/71.jpg

Russ' wiring job in progress:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/72.jpg

The "finished" wiring, to be completed after the engine is dropped in:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/73.jpg

Engine bay pictures after wiring was gutted:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/74.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/75.jpg

KA brackets, not needed for my SR swap:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/76.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/77.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/78.jpg

First stages of battery tray removal:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/79.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/80.jpg

Center radiator support and hood latch removal:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/81.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/82.jpg

Reassembled shortblock, delivered by Robin of Barnett Performance & Development (http://www.barnettpandd.com):
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/83.jpg
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/84.jpg

The head, ready to be sent off with Robin:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/85.jpg

This kinda stuff makes me mad i didnt do my swap over a long time, and my self. Really nice posts bro. (hateing)

Very nice writeup and pictures. Keep up the good work! *subscribes*

nice and clean!!

Glad to see someone taking the time to do a nice build up. I'm just hoping my project gets rolling along like yours

-Soren

i wish my project was a project like this. Im JUST doing swap, because of limitations on time and a place to do it. but hot damn... Ill have to set up my RB26 project so i can do all the cleaning and making everything beautiful cause damn dude, its lookin good!

Thanks for the compliments. I have had time to do things carefully because the engine and head have taken a long time to come together. I will keep you guys updated when I get a chance to upload some more pictures. Thanks again for the kind words.

-Andy

why did you wait till after you painted to remove the brakets and battery tray?

why did you wait till after you painted to remove the brakets and battery tray?Because I was in a hurry to get the engine bay back together to prepare for engine installation. I then found out that the head needed to be reworked, and decided to go back and remove the brackets. It's a much cleaner job than before since the brackets, wiring, and excess seam sealer were removed before any coats were applied. I also didn't get the idea to remove these things until I was in the finish coat phase (the first time around).

In short, I was in a hurry.