LateNightGarage

Gatebil @ Rudskogen

Some friends from Nissanclub Nederland came over this weekend, to see the Gatebil Festival at Rudskogen Raceway. For those who haven’t experienced Gatebil, you most definately should. Gatebil started out as a meeting / trackday for “normal” street driven cars some time in the mid 90′s, but has now evolved into what I believe is the biggest car festival in Europe. I would think it’s also one of the craziest, too! Check out the pictures, or head over to Speedhunters to see what they’re saying.

Gauges

Found a set of Defi’s on eBay. Oil temp, press and water temp. Want to keep track of the vitals. But first, I have to get this freshly painted little Sunny back together. I need to get work done on the Z. Got time booked for bodywork in a month or so.

Trackday

Went to a small track day / car meet a while ago, hosted by a company called Racespec, and finally had the chance to test the P11 on the track. The track was a traditional SS2 Superstage, which really favors smaller, agile cars with low end torque and good brakes. In other words, not so much the Primera. Anyway, I managed to get in 4 laps, before my brakes were giving in and my clutch was starting to slip. It was good fun, and nice to finally give the SR20VE a good test. Kenneth Moen was there, too, showing off some awesome drifting.

Tuning

Spent some hours tuning the P11, with good help from a friend. Got the fuel pressure dialed in, and started fine tuning the fueling and timing. Still more to be done, but the VE runs smoothly now, with a good torquey power band all the way. Very drivable for daily use, which is how I want it. Will be testing it on the track this weekend, very excited to see how it will run. Current specs: SR20VE SR16VE N1 Cams Nismo FPR @ 3,5 bar Megasquirt MS3

Detailed: Volvo V70

Spent a weekend detailing a Volvo V70, which belongs to a friend. The paintwork was in very poor condition, with lots of swirls and random deep scratches. Did a thorough wash, clay, and two stage machine correction, finishing it off with a coat of Swissvax Endurance. The owner was happy, and the car ready for the summer!

Japanese Auto Fest Netherlands

I was lucky enough to attend the Japanese Auto Fest at Zandvoort Racetrack in the Netherlands this weekend. A huge thanks to the guys in Nissanclub Netherlands for having me over. Was also nice to meet the NPOC‘ers who were there for the show! The JAF is as far as I know the biggest Japanese car event in the Netherlands, and there were some 1000 cars there, from maximum riced out rusty Hondas to extremely serious, pure track prepared cars.

P11 Update

The GT now has a SR20VE heart. And N1 cams. Still some tuning left to be done, but I hope results will come in time. Stay tuned. For those unfamiliar with the Nissan VVL engines, you can start by reading here. These engines have a lot of potential.

At last

I finally received the rest of my engine parts. I’ve now got all rebuild parts ready, including new crank, rods, pistons, all bearings, bolts etc. Can’t wait to get started rebuilding the engine. Now I just need to start thinking about exhaust and ignition. Carbs have also arrived, and they look absolutely fantastic. Todd @ Wolfcreek Racing did an amazing job. So if you’re looking for a good carb setup for your Z, Todd is the man you need to talk to.

Pictures: Gatebil on ice 2012

Finally, some pictures from the Gatebil on ice event at Sigdal in January 2012. It was a good event, with plenty of time for driving on the track for those who wanted. There were two tracks on the ice covered lake, one for normal road going cars, and one for cars with special studded rally tires. Naturally, the cars equipped with rally tires were by far the quickest, as all the road cars struggled to get traction, even with normal studded tires and 4WD.

Carspotting in Japan

Thought I’d post some photos I took in Japan last summer. Being a Japcar enthusiast, I saw cool cars everywhere on the streets. I tried to take as many photos as I could, but a lot of the times I simply didn’t have time. Anyway, read more to see the pictures.

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