Mike's 1985 two-tone ET (formerly Kid Nismo's) updated 30/1

robbo · Post by **robbo** » Mon Nov 19, 2012 6:59 pm

took the old radiator out yesterday, only to discover that it was an inch to high, and the bottom mounts were out an inch or two as well. Thankfully the guys have agreed to give me a refund later this week. As for the old radiator, the bottom copper row had come loose from the radiator tank, for a cheap price a radiator place is removing the bottom row and making sure it won't leak again from that area, as re-coring it would have been in the vicinity of $500. Turbo has been set up with all fittings and the housing rotated, etc, the oil return pipe from the old one just needs to be redrilled so that it can be put on, and this wednesday afternoon it should all go back together, assuming no more little problems arise!

boosted · Post by **boosted** » Tue Nov 20, 2012 4:14 am

good to hear.
i stumbled over a similar radiator:
http://autosup.ru/info/DN2047:AVA:0
apart from the vehicles listed, it seems as it has also been installed in the e15et-equipped B12 nissans.
maybe this made someone think it would fit the n12 also....

Post by **tassuperkart** » Tue Nov 20, 2012 3:35 pm

It would still be worthwhile to modify the mounts either in the car or on the radiator at that price.

Oracle

robbo · Post by **robbo** » Tue Nov 20, 2012 5:13 pm

mm the main problem is the physical height of the radiator, unless i get a hacksaw then it would likely be too much of a pain to be worth while...

boosted · Post by **boosted** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 2:46 am

being the highest point i guess the filler is the problem?

if it can be adapted, this is for the european members:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/KUHLER-MOTORKUHL ... 0797022012

im afraid it is difficult to move the radiator down. you would have to move it back a little, but then there is the turbo...?

greez
martin

robbo · Post by **robbo** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:52 am

Nope the actual height of the cores is greater than the radiator support

Post by **tassuperkart** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:14 pm

Sooo... turn the bottom mounts upside down and re-drill the boltholes.... Thall drop the radiator near enough to 50mm or so. Sheesh!

Bottom rad mounts are nothing more than a pissy bit of angle with a bloody hole in them and a rubber grommet right?

Cmon M8, this is childsplay!!! Think about it. Bring your car to me and ill mod the brackets in about 10 minutes......

Oracle

Post by **tassuperkart** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:16 pm

boosted wrote: if it can be adapted, this is for the european members:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/KUHLER-MOTORKUHL ... 0797022012
greez
martin

Steer away from plastic tanked ally tube and fin radiators.
Very inneficient for their size and prone to cracking.

oracle

robbo · Post by **robbo** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:34 pm

tassuperkart wrote:
boosted wrote: if it can be adapted, this is for the european members:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/KUHLER-MOTORKUHL ... 0797022012
greez
martin
Steer away from plastic tanked ally tube and fin radiators.
Very inneficient for their size and prone to cracking.

oracle

Isn't the honda civic radiator that has been used in some ET's/Exas made of aluminium, or is it an alloy of some sort?

Everything was finally connected up last night, but when i cranked the car to allow the oil to reach the turbo, the turbo oil feed line (hard line/piping) didn't like it. Cue lots of oil everywhere and a $100 trip to motorsport connections on my way to work this morning. Touch wood that will be the last drama with this turbo for a while, will install the new braided line and connections this evening and see if it wants to work this time haha

Post by **tassuperkart** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:30 pm

I hate that!!!! (Oil everywhere....)

There have been a few different radiator installs.
I used a Honda Prelude (late 80's wedge shaped car) radiator in my GX for a long time.
I had to mod the top hose connection and fabricate lower brackets.

Oracle

robbo · Post by **robbo** » Mon Nov 26, 2012 11:49 am

how many rows did that have in it?

the ET is finally back on the road, after a new 12x1.25 fitting was obtained instead of the ?10x1.25 sent out, idled it for a good 20 minutes after cranking the engine over without spark so that oil could reach the turbo without the engine being on. Went for a quiet drive for about 30 kilometres, was very happy with the response, it still boosts from a tick above 2000, and now hits full boost around 4000 (slightly higher than before). Plus it got a quick wash on the way home to remove the bird shit haha

robbo · Post by **robbo** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 4:21 pm

bought some pedders struts with unknown springs (seem quite low and orange in colour?) attached to the prairie front brake upgrade i picked up for the exa, hopefully I'll put them in tomorrow, along with the lowered pedders rear springs and see how it looks. It will be nice to start improving the handling side of things!
Put in the MSD blaster ignition coil this afternoon, only took it round the block but the car seems much more responsive throughout the rev range, and smoother acceleration as well. Will be able to confirm this tonight when I'm going on a blue mountains cruise.

robbo · Post by **robbo** » Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:45 pm

put in some pedders struts with unknown springs at the front, and 1" lowered pedders springs at the rear, seems to handle alright, the rear is still a bit high compared to the front, but the exhaust needs to be sorted next as it sits a whopping 4-5cm off the ground...

robbo · Post by **robbo** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:44 pm

Car's been getting lots of attention over the last week, the exhaust has been raised 1-2" and the resonator moved to do so. Got a wheel alignment to sort out the new suspension and the car is much more enjoyable to drive.
Earlier the car was burning a very small amount of oil, got some advice and cleaned out the PCV and haven't seen any burning oil since which is good, although I will put in a catch can when i earn some more money to catch the blow by.
The car is now running rich, particularly when it is revved, nothing major but my gut feeling says that I haven't quite connected/earthed/something the upgraded ignition coil and hence it is not completely combusting all the fuel. Will have to pull the spark plugs out too and see what is going on.
At the very least, my two n12's keep me off the road and out of trouble (ignoring the cost of keeping them running)!

robbo · Post by **robbo** » Fri Dec 28, 2012 4:41 pm

made an impulsive decision to take the ET from sydney to melbourne after xmas lunch, and ended up going as far as lorne. clocked up over 2300k's in the space of two and a half days, and met up with a couple of mates off PGA that i had sold parts to from my old N13. only drama was when two bellhousing bolts decided to go missing, replaced one and couldn't find one the right length for the other but it went a long way to fixing my shifting problem lol