02-01-04, 03:54 GMT+10#1
JET-88C : Peter's Calais Turbo
Ever since he got his learners licence, Peter has been fascinated by VL turbos, this being his second example, and by far the best.
He originally bought the car over 2 years ago as a V8 rolling shell, just resprayed in dark blue over silver. Peter had a lot of work in front of him, and he started by completely stripping it's V8 origins, including all wiring, dash, fuel systems to make way for the turbo mill. The plan was to run an RB26DETT, but this was proving to be too expensive. Since he was dying to drive it, he put a stock standard NA RB30 in it, while he saved up for the turbo motor. In the meantime, to complement the full K-Mac suspension setup, DBA cross drilled discs were added at all corners, and the diff rebuilt with a 4.11 LSD.
Finally he stumbled across the motor he was after, and after a quick checkout money exchanged hands and the mill was his. The motor consists of an RB30 bottom end with an RB25 head. The motor was brand new, fully balanced with new pistons, rods, bearings, etc. It also came with a custom plenum and 6-1 exhaust manifold. The only problem was that the motor was designed to fit into a Skyline.
Problem # 1 - Exhaust manifold was hitting almost everything - firewall, strut towers, etc. It was sent back and remade and as we see it now has been HPC coated.
Problem # 2 - Plenum was too big. The top of the plenum was hitting the bonnet, not allowing it too close. He did not want to wait another couple of months for that to be modified, so he bit the bullet and cut a hole in the bonnet, with stainless steel lining. It was a risk, but the end result certainly turns heads and looks trick.
The rest of the motor could now be put together. A Turbonetics Wastegate was bolted up (with screamer pipe - sounds awesome) along with a Garret T04, capable of about 500hp. A full 3.5 inch exhaust from the back of the turbo runs through a high flow cat and ends with a HKS Superdragger muffler.
The intercooler is a custom Hyperflow unit, with all polished stainless steel plumbing, courtesy of his mate Allan. BOV is a Turbonetics Type 2 and a large custom oil/air separator sits up front as well. Braided lines are used almost everywhere throughout the car, most with anodized blue fittings.
Fuel system was next - Bosch 600cc injectors were added to a custom fuel rail, along with a Malpassi fuel reg. A massive Bosch fuel pump was put in the boot along with a custom surge tank. The battery has also been moved to the boot.
A set of Simmons FR17's were added, and all Autometer gauges (water, oil press and boost) were moved to the bonnet. Very thin stainless steel was added under the bonnet to produce a mirrored effect, and almost anything he could find was polished (so far).
The gearbox is by far the weakest link in the chain, still being a standard VL box. It does have a 3500 rpm stall converter on it, but even after the initial tune it is slipping heaps and could go any minute.
A Desert Cooler Triple Bypass radiator was installed and the stereo wired up. A Sony X-Plod head unit runs Sony 6.5 inch splits in the doors and JBL 6x9 3 ways in the parcel shelf. A 15 inch Soundstream sub and Response amp were in the boot, but Peter has removed these for weight and room issues.
With the Haltech E6K wired up and Haltuner inside the car, it was time to run the motor in. An initial tune saw only 8 PSI and 4702 rpm reached, but the car put out an impressive 240hp at the rears. Now that the motor has worn in, the proper tune should be done within the next couple of weeks, where the boost will be raised and the car revved properly. At least 400rwhp should be attainable (depending on how much the box wants to slip).
The interior is standard blue Calais trim, apart from the obligatory Momo steering wheel. The car made one of it's first appearances at the Calais Turbo second Sydney cruise and traveled without a hitch. It was also entered in Summernats 2003 alongside his brother (OMY-30L).
Here are a couple of videos of it, the first giving it a hit (awesome sound) and the second just giving it a couple of revs in the driveway.
Peter would like to thank the guys from RMK Automotive at Casula, Allan for all the stainless steel work and his brother John for providing the funds when necessary. All the hard work and money he has put in has finally eventuated into something he can be proud of, and thoroughly enjoy driving.
Some original photos have not been recovered yet.
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