Current Modifications

Since I’ve had the car, I’ve undergone some small changes to make the car perform better. These changes have been noted in the introduction, however this is more of an explanation of these.

Removal of the EGR:

The EGR is a module that recirculates exhaust gases for when the car is cruising. It cuts off the exhaust gases when the car is under load so it breathes just clean air. When we found out that the module has worn and seized, we removed it and replaced it with an aluminium plate with a gasket.

New headlamp globes:

Previously, the car was installed with excruciatingly bright 90/100W H4 globes. These basically imitated driving with your high beams on constantly. These were removed shortly after the car was purchased and were replaced with Calibre Xenon Blue 55/60W globes. These globes aren’t a great performer, but they’re more appropriately suited to the road in comparison to the previous globes.

Once I had my hands on the car, I purchased some better globes with LED 5W equivilant parking lights. Here’s the comparison between the Calibre globes on the left, and the new ones on the right, claimed to be 30% brighter than normal halogen globes.

Audio system:

When the car was first purchased, the audio system (likely to have been a Clarion system), had been removed. I purchased a JVC Head Unit, and Boss Audio 6” front speakers, and JVC 6” speakers for the rear parcel shelf also. These have provided a decent level of audio quality.

Here is the head unit:

The speakers have currently got the covers on them.

Steering Wheel:

I have installed a sports steering wheel onto the car, for a more aesthetic appearance, and more cruising functionality for faster, straighter roads. The steering wheel is an Italian made DBA brand with a Nissan horn emblem. It’s great for everything but parking.

Seat Covers:

Boring as it may seem, but i’ll add it anyway. No Fear seat covers for the front seat.

Debadging:

For a cleaner and less cluttered look, i’ve debadged the boot lid.

Before:

After:

My LED fascination:

Well, this one is pretty big. But all in all, it’s noted down for reference.

I used:

• 25 X 5W equivilant T10 Wedge globes
• 12 X 2W equivilant T5 Wedge globes
• 4 X 3W equivilant 28MM Festoon globes

Using these, I replaced the interior light, door lights, boot light, the whole dashboard, and clusters, parking lights, and side indicator globes.

Door lights:

 Dashboard cluster:

Security System:

A steering lock.

Cooling System:

I’ve removed the clutch fan and the shroud off the motor and replaced it with a thermo fan. This has quickened up the warm-up period, and has allowed the motor to reach a higher operating temperature. It has also decreased the amount of noise it creates when the car is running and the fan is off. The fan is triggered manually inside the car.

This is how much space it has saved in the engine bay:

The fan is controlled by the black switch on the right.

The switch on the left is for the…

Klaxon Horn:

I installed, as a novelty item, a Klaxon horn. It’s a vintage sound, and mainly put it on for a laugh, and to give my passengers a reason not to dislike the car. The horn was off a paddock basher (1981 Datsun Stanza GL) that was purchased up at our property. I took it off after we stopped using it so frequently, saving it for when I got my own car.

Removal of the Air Conditioning System:

This was one of the things I did to save weight and fuel. The system hardly worked, and I would usually prefer to have the windows down than to have the A/C on.

Overall, it probably saved a good 15 kilograms, the compressor, the metal pipes, the switches and the condenser.

Front Sway Bar:

I purchased an R31 Skyline sway bar with Nolathane Polyurethane bushes to stiffen up the anti-roll in the car. The original sway bar was 22mm thick, the one I installed is 26mm thick, and is a major improvement to the handling and ride of the car.