Vzr n1

[TheSam]

Something a bit different for these parts, Ive been lurking for a while now thought I would share.

This is copied from another forum so some may not make sense

A little bit of history on the model;

VZ-R N1, which was a racing homologation version intended to compete with the Honda Civic Type-R. Producing 200 PS (147 kW; 197 hp) from its 1.6 L SR16VE engine, it held the highest specific output ever for a naturally aspirated production car, at 123.125 hp/litre until the Honda F20C engine was released in the Honda S2000.

Real king of 1.6L part one - YouTube

So I wasnt actually planning to get this, I was sorting out the next step with the Autech at the time new cams and mapping since everything else had been done.

The Autech being this. SR20DE High Compression, Lumpy Cams....

Heres a departing video we made.

AUTECH 2.0 on Vimeo

So onto what you want.

POC in Ireland had this un-registered and up for sale for a while with no interest then decided to break the car for parts which was a real shame I thought, so finances were addresses a deal was struck and I had just agreed to buy my 4th N15 :rockin:

Few pictures from the original for sale advert

Completely stock bar some lowering springs and a set of HT Leads.

Now I had the task of removing all my go faster mods from the Autech returning it to stock and get it sale ready.

A very long 12 hours later I had the car back on my driveway and got my teeth into it straight away stripping out the interior to find what I was dealing with, the previous owner in Japan had attempted to remove the sound deadening but done a bad job of it removing more paint than anything else. This had resulted in surface rust on the floor of the car the only bad point though really the shell bar a few car park dinks in the panels is mint

There had clearly been alot of electronics fitted in the car which had been removed so there was alot of redundant wiring in around the dash area.

Registering it and getting it road legal took around 2 weeks once the Licensing agency had sorted themselves out.

Pictures from the MOT (The wing was sold whilst the car was being parted out)

Nice and clean underneath

Once this was done as nice as it was to drive in stock form it was a HELL of a difference to the beast that the Autech was so I began fitting bits.

First was the coilovers from the Autech so get it sitting pretty and my stock black wheels which resulted in.

I had got with the car a 5Zigen Pro Racer Catback so naturally this was fitted and again at the same time my Blitz Sonic Air Filter, I had swapped the Ultra Wire HT leads to some new stock ones I had and a nice 5zigen Oil cap.

Got my recaro's mounted up too

 

[TheSam]

The paint on the car was in dire condition I'm pretty happy to say it had never been polished, with a little detailing in my background this wasnt too much of an issue.

50/50 shot on the bonnet

and the end results, so far have polished the front wings bonnet and roof.

Before

After

Before

After

My rare edition Tomei wheels had been sat in my garage unloved for well over a year and I happened across a few contacts that could help me out, so they were sandblasted and then dropped off for powder coating, something a little different.

Then something that had bugged me since having the car was the tatty shiftboot surround so this was dealt with, rubbed back and painted a spare I had.

Despite tell tale signs of the car being freshly serviced before being shipped over;

New Belts
New Coolant
New Rad Cap
New Oil Filter
Clean Oil

I wanted to change the oil and filter so I knew it had been done.

Went down to nissan to get a GTi oil filter and came away with something better


Pitwork filter and magnetic sumplug

Also fitted My Omori Gauges and Nardi wheel

I don't have any picture of the rest of the work I have carried out but I have fitted polybushes to the rear trailing arms and an adjustable link in the rear beam, along with poly front and rear engine mounts.

Have also put in my Walbro 255 pump.

Bits I have left to fit;

Flocked Dash
JWT Flywheel
GSpec Stage 3 Clutch (Need release bearing)
Polybush's for Wishbones, Steering Rack and Sway Bar
Whiteline Rear Sway Bar
Cusco LSD

I am also on the lookout for a nice manifold, I had an ASP on my Autech but I opted to sell instead of fitting.

I have now removed and sold the Nardi though, I'm on the hunt for something new.

 

[TheSam]

Only a couple of pics as I never really stopped all day. Will get some more when I venture down later.

When Nissan designed this car the managed to create one of the worst moisture traps possibly in history, so I enlisted Bruce (MysteryMachine) for some preventative measures.

This is the passenger arch, showing the gap that goes up between the panels.

and plated

and the drivers side, which is more intricate as it has the filler pipe to deal with, its not completely boxed off but once the plastic shroud is back in nothing will be able to get up there.

Have also undersealed the full underside of the car now, just need to remove the front wings and front bumper to finish off, but that can wait.

Showing the panel thats been welded in

So, as I dislike all aftermarket pedals I figured I would do something different.

Gave the pedals a quick clean.

took a roll of this

cut a piece to a rough shape

Then using these tools

and a trick from my time as a skateeer, with it stuck in place file around the edges

ends up like this

then again

and completed

veeeeerrrry grippy

 

[TheSam]

Well the 5zigen has sold, as has the Nardi wheel..

today was a bad day though.... I found some rust

lulz

plan of action, remove screws replace with these.

once all inplace get some sealant and like so

this will stop any moisture getting to them.

I then stripped down the bootlid so I could machine it properly.

remove the seals and cleaned everywhere I could reach

machining done got results like this

tomorrow I will move onto the rear quarters

 

[TheSam]

New additions zee mudflaps

Zee Grille (I have relocated the horns to the lower cross member so I can deafen the antzzzz)

Zee Wiper Bung

And the middle grille bit all stained and white

After

my choice of product....... Peanut Butter

and one from last night

 

[TheSam]

So I bought a real camera

Mint condition recaros

Made the rear view invisible-ish

New Grille and moved the horns

Removed Aircon (Mistake)

 

[TheSam]

Seeing as the 5Zigen sold I booked in for some custom work at ProSpeed in Cardiff, great work for a decent price.

Went for a 2.5" mandrel system, all tig welded and used 316 stainless.

Its very deep and bassy, Ive not hit VVL yet.

Underseal

Had the flanges put here to make it easier to remove

Decided it had a bit too much angle at this point

Final angle

Going to go back for some extra's once I have acquired something else, until then I used all their CNC bends lulz

VZR N1 - Custom Exhaust - YouTube

 

[TheSam]

Bought this turned out it was for a DE though so modified it a little.

Stock 9kg Fuji 3kg

Fuji Downpipe weighed about 1kg less

Adjusting

Trial

Audrey

Corgirl

 

[TheSam]

whipped the rocker cover off for a look see, yet another engine thats lovely and clean

few marks on some of the lobes

and fitted my Hench HT Leads

I also dug out my pulsar mats gave them a clean and put them in

 

[TheSam]

So as I had notched the bolt holes on the fuji I removed it today to check how well it was lined up, happy to see they were near perfect height wise, just had to centre them a bit more as I had used a drill bit that wanted to go to the side instead of down.

A proper Dremel is a great tool

fitted a new rad cap

and this is my current engine bay look.

I want to get the filter pushed a bit further into the wing now, as there is some space for it to move over.

 

[TheSam]

Soooo the biggest thing Ive ever undertaken on my own car.

Monday

began mooching round collecting parts ordered a release bearing, bought some bits n bobs.

This was also delivered Pivot Voltage Stabiliser and Earthing Kit

Tuesday

Collected release bearing and some more bits n bobs, then set about stripping the car.

Front end removed to get in the garage

Work space for the week

Draining fluids

Stripping the bay

Corblar arrived

Crane in place

dash hes ginger

And we are down

On the dolly

Removed the 1 piece shaft for an LSD drivers shaft that bolts to the block

In order to fit this I had to remove a few things

and this heavy bounder

 

[TheSam]

Wednesday

began sorting out the exhaust

Take one hanger bracket ground back

licked with some paint

Then hammerited

this is how I'm helped

a cat

with the engine on the dolly I pulled the gearbox off and put my JWT flywheel and GSpec clutch on

I had also changed the PS pump and fitted a new sandwich plate to allow me to run an oil cooler, I modified the plate to take my gauges aswell.

In the bay I rubbed down a few areas and changed the Steering rack bushes for poly ones.

after umming and ahhing over removing the ABS I broken that off for next year and we got the engine back in

this time on all 4 poly mounts

Thursday

Just tidying up loose ends, had a package from Dale resulting in

Custom brackets cause I'm smart

Refitted the manifold with a new decat from shagwah, got the cooler mounted in place

Friday

Few things that have annoyed me I took the time to fix

the little pockets under the scuttle panel that water happily sits in, Ive drilled two drain holes either side, these were sprayed over with stonechip to prevent rust.

I cranked the car over a few times with the HT leads and plugs pulled till the oil pressure light went out to prime the cooler and it fired up first time

The cooler has given me almost 3/4 litre extra capacity of oil which is a huge bonus

This was brand new

almost complete, green wheels are off now for the winter.

and back down with the bumper all fitted up nice and snug

cheeky cooler

I took it out and I'm happy to report it feels very quick, I did have a moment of no lobes.... the cause was the RSM not being powered on, checked back through the wiring and the earth cable had been pulled from the loom, most likely from being pulled through the firewall.

All in all a hell of a week sweating my tits off but it feels good now Ive done it, mods added weight saved things future proofed and lots of improvements

 

[TheSam]

SOOOO

since fitting the oil cooler and driving it around in the hot weather it kept the oil bang on 80 deg no matter how hard it was pushed.... However now that it is cold, due to the size of the cooler and the fact that even when not up to temp a small amount of oil is flowing through the cooler this was enough to stop the oil warming up sufficiently.

Break out the card board and make a template

and have replicated in stainless steel

remove other cardboard template

insert new stainless item with foam pads to hold it away from the cooler and prevent rattles.

also figured I would check over the base idle and timing since fitting all the new breathing mods, the idle needed raising from around 900 rpm and the timing needed advancing a few degrees

runs sweeeeeet now

tracking and alignment booked for friday, since changing the rack bushes the wheel is a little off.

 

[TheSam]

Well I figured I would have a go at fitting the manifold, with all the grief its given cant say I was looking forward to it, and also knowing how much effort and faffing the ASP required, removing rad fans, dropping the engine cradle etc

So I removed the rad fans, jacked the car up, pushed the manifold under and it lifted into place... doesnt interfere with anything, or touch anything... I'm actually impressed.

and it actually has some clearance its sat just above the engine cradle which is a bonus, it sits slightly lower than the ASP did comparing it with old pictures but that was due to the different style of engine brace.

MLS Gasket

winner

Now I just need to get my lambda installed and the section to the cat, which at first glance I think is going to be too short.

 

[TheSam]

The last bit I needed arrived this morning, (Cheers Dale)

Got the belt fitted reconnected the battery and fired it up, first time since maybe November, initial issues are the downpipe that came with the manifold, its to short and badly angled so is pulling the catback against the car, that needs addressing first once its back on the road, next issue is ground clearance

Few snaps

Seat is now properly mounted

I moved it around a little, it needs a drive to clear off the brake discs they are a bit rusty

I also de-airconned my heater controls

feels so nice to drive even if it wasnt very far

N1 VZR - YouTube

 

[Riddick666]

Seen this build up on civiclife! Car looks amazing!

 

[Bencrx]

Wow nice work mate, well done. Im a bit of a noob, ive never even heard of this car but damn it looks nice and has nice hp figures from factory Keep up the good work mate!

 

[kbartlett1888]

Loved looking through that, looks good.

 

[Rollerpig]

Been reading this on civiclife aswell, love the car dude

 

[TheSam]

Yay
slowly getting things together now

Cant remember if anythings missing from here, so will go with what I have.

Had all my braces blasted and powdercoated.

Cusco front strut brace, Whiteline Rear ARB and the stock 26mm Front ARB, Ive already chipped the front ARB

All the Whiteline fittings are being acid dipped and zinc coated, they will all then be sprayed black.

The Cusco brace was a bit of a cnut to be honest, someone previously had ****ed the thread on the insert section for the middle, and smothered it in chemical metal then forced it into the brace, it was near impossible to remove

So I asked Cov nicely if he could knock something up for me, it is a reverse threaded section, he also kindly sent me the taps so I could chase out the threads of the bars once it had been powdercoated

Ive put in a big order with Greg at GSpec for bits to refresh all the front end, car will then be fully polybushed, I have a few things being machined up aswell that should make a decent difference too

Then once the car is on the road I need to go and get the downpipe modified for it to fit properly, fitting a flexi pipe will/should resolve the issues.

I then need to decide whether I actually want to spend the money on Standalone Im just about there its whether or not its the right thing to do as it is a fair amount of money and a large commitment....

Smart

Custom subframe locating and hard mounting inserts

GSpec orders arrived, no thanks to customs and their extortionate charges.

New wishbones
Cv Boots
Steering Rack Gaiters
Track Rod Ends
Drop Links
Dizzy Cap
Rotor Arm
N1 Chain Tensioner
Thermostat

Also got an Ally radiator and my poly bushes from the recent GB

Going to get the extra ports at the bottom welded up and the holes for the fan bolts tapped out so I can fit the stock fans.

Going to be interesting to see if it actually makes a difference with the temps

Compared with a stock GTi Rad, the N1 is thinner still :/

26mm ARB Bushes on the fresh ARB

Tinkering with the Ally rad, I dont like being able to see things through the front bumper so set about sorting that.

Tapped out the top holes for new bolts

1.

2.

3.

and N1 fans all bolted up.