Dan has long had the power to make his GTR potent in a straight line but my reposte as a fellow GTR owner with a less densely populated stable under the bonnet was that I could always kick his butt in the handling and braking department.
Dan- Bilsteins and standard GTR brakes (tisk)
Stu- Nismo, St Bosoe and Tomei's finest bits and Brembo for retardation purposes. Stu 2- Dan 0
Dan obviously felt that time was right to balance the god almighty wallop that his planet sized turbo can serve up with sublime brakes, sublime Greddy 355 discs with Grex/Alcon six pots and truly awesome Apexi N1 coilovers and springs, fresh from residing on RK Tunings club class GTR. Furry muff :thumb: Lets play ball.............
So with these and many of improvements (oil coolers, adjustable arms and new wheels) Dan handed over a fistfull of dollars and Ron waved him off. A few hours later Dan arrived at the shop and our tale started to take a turn for the gloomier.
Dan walked in and had this slightly crazed look on his face. He had been without his GTR for many weeks and more boost, more grip and more brakes had obviously had an affect on our brave young Jedi. We walked out the back, a rare occasion when my GTR was at work too, and Dan went to move his car around for a photo opportunity.......the whirring from his car indicated that his battery was fooked. Time check.......5.35pm Friday afternoon. Dan swore. I swore. We both swore. I called ATS, they had a battery but they were closing and wouldn't help. I then rang Breckland tyres and they also had one in stock but would only wait 5 minutes so Dan jumped in mine and rattled down there, quick sharp. 10 minutes later I heard the shockwaves of the RB26 cacophonate off of the local shops and terraced houses. The next hour would break normal men.
The battery was slung in and Dan noticed a little smouldering from the terminals. Within seconds he had realised that the terminals (ironic name that) were the wrong way around and he spun we swapped the connectors around and fastened the fittings up. A few minutes later, all the checks done and Dan fired her up. Or rather, he didn't. We looked at each other and the scratching of our smooth heads started. What could it be? Perhaps the mistake with the battery fritzed a fuse....perhaps it knocked out the fuel pump........perhaps we should leave the car the fuck alone and get someone who knew what they were doing out to look. Ron had gone away for the weekend and couldn't be roused on his mobile, so Dan called Leigh but it was really difficult to describe what was what so I pitched in and asked a favour of Gary of APT. Bear in mind this was now 6.30pm on Friday night. The call went a little like this.
Stuart' Hello Bud, do I have any favours left?'
Gary' Haha, no!' 'How can I help?'
Stuart' I think Dan has fucked his car, this what we did.......blah, di, blah, di, blah...and now it won't start'
Gary' Try.......blah, di, blah, di, blah and give me a call back if that don't sort it. By the way, we just ran the S13 and got 190 brake and Chris reckons the diff makes it easy for donuts :wack: '
Stuart' Er......cool. Yeah, I'll call you if I need anything'
We followed Garys advice which meant removing, checking and replacing every fuse in the engine bay box, under the dash and the fuel pump. This yielded no answers but I had spotted something which put the fear of Christ into me. When Dan tried to turn the ignition, his Power FC commander wasn't lighting up the way that it should. Fook. 10 minutes later, now losing light in my carpark with no tools and still a stricken GTR. Another call to Mr Hayward, definitely my last lifeline in this increasingly stressful moment. We chatted for a while about various trouble shooting things and then decided that the only thing was for Gary to come out. This was Friday night at 8pm!!
The next few moments involved me hiding my worst fears from Dan and us both complimenting his new brake set up. Tan had left for home, she knew I was in for the long haul and soon enough we heard a exhaust note from the EVO, inbound and in true rally car fashion it spurted up the drive showering the brickwork on either side in WRC style. Dan and I were both relieved that an adult had arrived. Hopefully the day could be saved. Gary tested all sorts, a frustrating batch of trial and error, all leading to one conclusion. A destroyed ECU. I have to be honest, when Gary broached this with Dan I thought I saw him twitch like the Inspector off the old Pink Panther movies. I was predicting a full toys out of the pram moment, but credit to him, he swore, cursing his rash error and asked ' so what's next?' The only option other than an a very expensive recovery to Essex or Norwich was to borrow the ECU from mine and see if that would help. Bingo! Rough, smokey and irritable (The car not Dan) the GTR started and we decided to limp home to the unit so respite and further consideration before diving in. Gary took this chance to go home to his wife (Thanks Debbie) and Dan and I made the trek 3 miles to the unit. I can tell you now, it may as well have been 300 miles. Torture. Dan and I didn't say much on the way back. The stricken GTR was a fallen hero. Thousands invested again to be sideswiped by a schoolboy error. I was gutted. How the hell did Dan feel? We agreed to leave it for a few days. I got straight on to the internet and started scouring. As luck would have it I found a brand new full kit and contacted Dan. The price was fair to the point of being suspicious but he was in a tight spot so a plan was hatched to drive several hundred miles on Friday to get it.
Dan did indeed make the trip on Friday but a lot later than planned. Ron had kindly said that he would forward the map via email for Hayward-san to upload onto the new ECU on Saturday ready for the dyno on Sunday (no pressure) and that he did. So with Dan and I proficient in swapping ECU's in 5 minutes or less, he embarked on what he hoped was a plug and play solution to 500 brake. Like hell. Now he was at the unit with no electricity, failing daylight, one set of hands and the feeling of doing some awful things to his car should the worst happen. Gary had helped to fit the ECU and basically get it started and he left to fine tune some of his own affairs, leaving Dan to gloat over his freshly running GTR. Except that didn't last. Mid-flow with Dan basking in the glory of his rejuvenated Skyline, the car cut out. Dead. Totally and utterly dead. He called me. I could hear the mixed emotion in his voice, anyone of us could have sympathised with his pain, so close to the simple request of a car that starts after investing thousands of hard earned pounds only to shoot your pride and joy in the back...........I said give me 5 minutes and he hung up. I MSN'ed Ian, calling too and also called Gary. This was gonna be a interesting few hours. Gary offered some advice and a solution, Ian offered some guidance and elbow grease. Hope wasn't lost just yet. A plan was hatched. Dan would go to Garys and get some bits, Ian would meet Dan back at the unit and I would join at 9pm when I finished work.
9.30pm( :roll: ) when I finished work, my hastily ordered Chinese waiting on a hot plate, my urge to help with zero mechanical knowledge kicks in and I'm off to the unit. As I roll in I can see Dan and Ian with the GTR outside the unit. I jump out and they make quips about the hired muscle arriving. I didn't realise they referred to pushing a 1.5 tonne car up hill and onto some ramps. Cool :thumb: 30 minutes later, the car was in place, after dan tried to remove the drivers door by leaving it open and we could start removing plugs, cleaning plugs and generally taking the piss. How we laughed in the face of such potential adversity is beyond me.
Ian and Dan were spannering whilst I was cleaning the plugs and making sure that silly things weren't left in the engine bay prior to start up. Final testing before the big moment was thorough. Very thorough
Garys advice was clear and not to be deviated from. With that in mind, it made the following all the more poignant. All that was left was for Dan to twist that key.
BRING
IT
ON
The RB ran, for the first time in a week, lumpy as hell but running so we needed to let her idle and swap back again to the colder plugs before a lengthy test drive. Time check 23.30 hours
We headed for Shell as I was nearly out of fuel but that was shut so we then headed 19 miles the other way to Thetford. No fuel left and 20 miles to go at near midnight is a poor set of considerations for an equation, we persevered. Into the fuel station and Babylon followed us in. Two skinheads at midnight with GTR's, no plates and grinning ear to ear must have looked appealing to Thetfords finest but after a few cheeky witticisms and bare faced cheek on the part of Mr Booker and the feds went into the garage for coffee and donuts. Dan and I didn't want to switch the cars on with them inside as they are a little on the noisey side but after 10 minutes of chatting to Danielle and Bruce with their PS13 by coincidence.
We decided to scarper in true Smokey and the Bandit style and made a break for the border
We called it a day at nearly 1am quoting at 8am sharp meet at the Shell garage for quick refuel and a hoss down to APT for our dyno day. Dan texted me at 6am to say the car was running ok but I failed to answer it until 7am or thereabouts. A combination of fatigue and Tanya lying on my arm fast asleep
We got to APT early doors after a great drive and were greeted by Nik and Fil and an empty car park. I think it was then that Dan and I started to relax, the bloody car would get to run after all. The car park steadily filled and by 9am the majority of runners were there.
26 cars were scheduled to run and it was going to be a long day. Murano still looked hammered, Fils Mrs Jo and Dominique were doing the catering and by rights should have looked knackered, but kept everyone topped up with excellent food and drink all day. Bloody superb effort on two hours kip :wave2:
The runs in the morning went well, all pretty smooth, all pretty slick. Dan could only run baby boost but hit a figure he was happy with and many of us would have loved. His face said it all. From despair to a deep seated pride in 10 days. There were some good laughs during the day.
Ian was terrified of his pristine R33 getting tarnished in some way so a few of us, namely Bladey, hatched cunning plans to unsettle him.
The fire extinguisher by his feet was a nice touch.
The Bladerider himself ventured onto the rollers and the 'Worlds Lowest Car' eventually got on, even if it meant lifting by hand and by trolly jack
We asked why was his car so low, when others of a similar ilk were not. The answer was clear if you looked close enough
Matt S also blessed us with more drifty presence and his nicely turned out S14 produced some nice figures, if a little smaller than James' (Here James looking supporting)
Anyway, lets bring this lengthy diatribe to a close. If a Hollywood director took a look at Dans story this week, even they would have thought that Dan winning would have been too cheesy, a challenge too far. Well. He did win and the challenge that he and Gary and a few friends rose too paid off.
Wheel figures
Pub figures
No caption needed
What a week. Now. I need a beer :thumb:
....I used to be average, now I reminisce !!!