# Shilakadaddy's R33 GTR



## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

A quick introduction - I used to own a Toyota Supra TT, which I loved. Owned it for two years, but then had to sell it simply because I couldn't really afford to run it anymore.

This was about 3 years ago, and I've been desperate to get a quick car again ever since. Was thinking about another Supra, but figured it'd be a bit boring to just go for the same again - so the only alternative that really appealed to me was the Skyline.

My Supra was only BPU spec (around 380bhp) and I always dreamed of fitting a single turbo and running nearer 550-600bhp. So with this in mind, I went searching for a Skyline that already had the work done and running this much power...

And then along came Justin - http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/135494-huge-spec-silver-r33-gtr.html

Went to see a few others, but ended up buying this one a couple of months ago. As copied from the advert, here's the spec:


*'95 Nissan Skyline R33 GTR* 

RK Tuning 2708cc Built Engine

N1 Engine Block (New from Nissan Japan)
RK TNG​2.8l (+2mm) Billet Fully Balanced Counter Crankshaft
CP​ Custom 86mm Forged Pistons
Eagle​ Con-Rods
Fully Rebuilt, Ported Head with Oil Gallery Mod
Apexi Power FC with Hand Commander
Trust Sump Pan Extension
HKS Twin GT-RS Turbos
HKS ​Steel Head Gasket
HKS ​Turbo Extension Pipes
HKS ​Stage 1 Cams
HKS ​Adjustable Cam Gears
HKS ​Uprated Actuators
HKS ​Fuel Pump
HKS ​Fuel Reg
HKS ​Fuel Rail
HKS ​700cc Injectors
HKS ​Intercooler
HKS ​Thermostal
HKS ​Oil Cooler
HKS ​Intercooler & Hard Pipe Kit
HKS ​Powerflow Filters
HKS ​Down Pipes
HKS ​Hi-Power Muffler (Full System)
HKS ​EVC
ATI S​uper Damper
OS Giken ​Triple Plate Clutch
Clutch Conversion Kit (From Pull to Push)
Nismo Slave Cylinder
Trust ​Triple GT Radiator
Iridium Spark Plugs
Splitfire Coilpacks
Trust Rear Diff Case Upgrade
UK Spec Gearbox Cooler
UK Spec Diff Cooler

Suspension & Brakes

Uprated & Lowered Springs
Alcon 6 pot 355mm Brake Kit (Front)

Exterior

Medium Level Window Tints All Round
Xenon Headlights
'98 Spec Front Bumper, N1 Air Intakes
Nismo Rear Spats
18x9.5 Rota GTR Wheels
Nismo Clear Side Repeaters 
Nismo Clear Front Repeaters
Nimso B-Pillar Carbon Fibre Trim
Carbon Fibre Spoiler Blade & End Trims
Ganador Mirrors

Interior

Cobra Mizano Leather Seats
HKS 2.0 bar A-Pillar Gauge
Nismo Carbon Dash
Nismo 3 Guage Dial Set
Momo Jet 350mm Steering Wheel

Stereo

Kenwood Head Unit - kdcw808
Kenwood 4 Channel Amp -kacps541 
Kenwood 10 Disc Multiplayer - kdc-c179mp
Kenwood Front Components - kfcps17oup
Kenwood 6x9 Rear Speakers - kfcps 6900

And now for some pictures on a lovely sunny day...


















































































Cheers, Chris


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## MIKEGTR (Jul 8, 2005)

Amazing spec, it looks nice, shame the weather didn't help the pics, silver really needs good lighting to bring it out. Try some pics in a well lit covered car park at night!


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## Wills_GunR33 (May 16, 2009)

Now that is tasty. Also loved the LMGT1's in the original advert, spotless.


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## mr mugen (Jan 11, 2007)

very nice 33


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## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

Thanks for the comments. Needs a good clean too - then I'll get some better pics! 

I really liked the LMGT1's, but I'm sure Justin said they were really weak and got ruined, which is a shame.

Looking to get some BBS LM's fitted once I've done a couple of other bits here and there


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## Snowfiend (Jul 11, 2006)

Well done is a nice car, know it well from when Justin had it


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## birdman.1 (Aug 17, 2010)

Very nice 33. I bet you are glad you jumped into the Nissan world, 2JZ's are great but nothing like and RB


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## bluesky (Mar 12, 2006)

Enjoy! looks very nice:thumbsup:


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## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

Progress hasn't been as quick as I'd once hoped it would be in putting my own stamp on this car. Nevertheless, I have managed to spend a bit of time in the garage playing around with it since buying it over a year ago. I've taken a few pictures of some of the things that I've been up to, so I'd thought I'd update this thread to share with everyone...

The major thing that's surprised me about owning the Skyline is that it's not that comfortable to live with in everyday life... actually that wasn't at all unexpected; the surprise is that I'm bothered by it! I mentioned at the start of the thread that I used to own a Supra, and I found that a pleasure to drive every time I got in it - whether I was doing the daily commute to work, going on a long journey somewhere, or just for a quick drive to the shops. However, I always wanted more power.

Now that I have the Skyline, I feel like it's a step just too far in terms of the sacrifice of comfort for the additional performance. I find driving it quite an effort when I'm not looking to go for an all out, full throttle blast, due to the noise, sensitivity of the clutch and turbo shuffle. With that in mind, I've been looking at ways to make it a little easier to live with for normal, day to day driving...

*Soundproofing*

I've tried soundproofing in the past and been disappointed with the results, but after reading up on the subject in a little more depth, it would appear that my previous efforts had failed due to the use of the wrong type of soundproofing material. I'd used a vibration damper and nothing else, hoping to reduce road noise - which on its own doesn't really work.

This time I bought two bulk packs of Second Skin Damplifier to reduce panel vibration, and then 4 sheets of Second Skin Luxury Liner Pro to block airborne sound waves. The end goal being to have a quieter car and improve the sound of my stereo.



















This is where I started. As a sub project, I was also installing some new seats - again in the pursuit of comfort, I bought some Recaro Speeds - meaning that my Cobra Misanos are up for grabs (no sub-frames though - I used those on the new seats).











Removed the seats and centre console.











Unfortunately in order to get the carpet out, the entire dash had to be removed too.











Carpet out.



























And so the Damplifier goes down...



























































Picture of the door.











Next up was the Luxury Liner - I read that it was best to keep the sections as large as possible. However, as this stuff is quite thick, it doesn't tend to shape easily to the contours of the car body.



















In addition, the standard carpet also had a lot of soundproofing material attached to it, some of which needed to be removed to make way for the Luxury Liner and to avoid the carpet becoming misshapen.











Luxury Liner a little more shaped, and properly installed.



















Carpet and dash back in.



















I actually ran out of Damplifier after doing the doors and CAD stopped selling it. So I needed to buy a different brand of damper material to finish the rear door cards. Silent Coat seemed to be a popular choice, so I got a bulk pack of this.











I can't comment on it in terms of performance against the Damplifier, but for ease of installation it's in a whole other league! It's so easy to work with - the way it sticks to the panels and shapes around awkward corners, opposed to the Damplifier which was incredibly stiff by comparison, and needed to be cut into much smaller pieces to make sure that it didn't crease. 



























Last of the Luxury Liner installed.



























And finally all back together with the new seats.



































*The Verdict*

...meh.

It has worked. But it's not exactly what I'd call a transformation. 

Although I've uploaded the pictures all at once, I actually started installing all this stuff back in March, so I've rebuilt the interior after various stages of the installation and heard the difference after doing the floor, then the doors, then the rear. Doing the floor, pretty much made no difference - it didn't even seem to make the exhaust noise any quieter. The doors, I'm hoping will help the most with improving the sound of the speakers, but again in terms of overall road noise there wasn't a significant improvement - most of the noise coming from the doors seems to be wind noise, so not much I can do about that!

I think the biggest change has come from the deadening in the rear, which seems to have completely blocked out all road noise coming from the rear wheels/arches. Unfortunately this wasn't exactly an area that made much noise anyway. In reality I need a quieter engine, turbos and exhaust! 

Ok so all of this didn't make the car that much quieter, but I'm yet to find out whether my other objective of improving the sound of the stereo has been achieved? I bought some new speakers and I've been making some speaker brackets.











More to come on this later...


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## nick the tubman (Jun 28, 2006)

that has got to be the first time i have ever seen someone putting in more soundproofing/weight... but fair play to you.


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## Jags (May 20, 2007)

Have you tried sound deadening the boot aswell?


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## akasakaR33 (Oct 10, 2005)

*FANTASTIC! * I'm actually working on exactly the same project - except I started last week, and I'm too lazy to remove the entire dash... but good to know my efforts will NOT be a total waste of time.

Of particular interest were your efforts in the rear, I noticed the huge cavern of space in front of the rear arches too.

As for the trunk - I plan on doing that too, except I do want the sub to be able to transmit sound to the cabin, so not sure exactly how much to install.

Thanks for putting this up! Let us know if you DO figure out a way to quiet /insulate noise from the engine and turbos!

Aki


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## akasakaR33 (Oct 10, 2005)

Question - what is your estimate as to how much all this weighs?


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## qad (Jul 21, 2011)

love your car mate! lots of Soundproofing it must be good :thumbsup:


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## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

Thanks for the comments.

Not sure on the overall weight. I would estimate around 30kgs as the Luxury Liner weighs just over 5kgs per sheet, and I have 4 sheets of it. Obviously it will have reduced the car's performance slightly, but not enough for me to notice.

Jags, I've not done the boot yet. I still have some of the Silent Coat stuff left, so I might use the last of this in the boot, but given the amount of soundproofing I've already applied in the back of the car, I'm not sure it'll make a big enough difference for me to notice.

Aki, I've just read your latest blog post - glad to see I'm not the only one that thinks like this! In my opinion the Luxury Liner has made the most significant difference, so if I could squeeze a sheet of this behind the dash, stuck to the firewall, then that would probably make the engine a bit quieter - it's amazing how much louder it is when you remove just the glovebox.

On an off topic note, I can see that you were researching what speakers to install due to the shallow mounting depth of the R33 front speakers. The shallow mounting depth is due to the plastic speaker pods/enclosures in the doors. I've removed these completely and made some wooden speaker mounts, as seen in my last pic. This gives you loads of room and allows you to install pretty much any speaker you want - only thing you need to worry about is stopping the new speaker magnets from getting wet. There's various products you can buy to help with this, but all I've done is make the speakers some little umbrellas out of a biscuit tub - hopefully should do the trick!


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## Rocketbunny6666 (May 4, 2011)

That's one nice looking r33


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## akasakaR33 (Oct 10, 2005)

Shilakadaddy said:


> Thanks for the comments.
> 
> Not sure on the overall weight. I would estimate around 30kgs as the Luxury Liner weighs just over 5kgs per sheet, and I have 4 sheets of it. Obviously it will have reduced the car's performance slightly, but not enough for me to notice.
> 
> ...


Wow, thanks for that information! Glovebox eh? Yeah agree that blocking sound coming in from the the firewall would probably make the most difference - I'll see what I can do when I get my car back this weekend from my BBK install...

Oh and thanks also for the info on the speaker mounting depth. I have actually purchased some MFD speaker baffles already... but what a relief! Was driving me crazy trying to find "shallow mount" speakers... now a whole new world to explore, LOL! 

Keep us posted on your progress please!

Aki


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## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

*New Exhaust!*

As part of my making things quieter crusade I did a bit of research (on here) to try find a quiet exhaust that wasn't horribly ugly! Eventually I decided on the Fujitsubo Legalis R and asked Matty from Newera to source it for me :thumbsup:

After a long wait for it to sail over here - it's finally arrived!! And it came in a bloody huge box!


























Many thanks to Newera. Can't wait to get it fitted! 

Chris


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## Simonh (May 24, 2002)

It did a fair amount of deadening in my car and found that not doing the firewall was my biggest mistake, I just don't know if I can be bothered to take the dash out again to do it!


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

i had wanted to post it to you via express, but when it arrived we realised it was one piece lol so hence had to go via shipping.

the box is huge, you will really like that exhaust

in the mean time ...finish that jigsaw!


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## Chou (Apr 18, 2005)

Look forward to seeing it on the car and maybe a sound clip?


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## gillsl500 (Jun 20, 2005)

Despite the weather that 33 looks mint...also really appreciate the seats too ... Good on ya mate!!


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## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

@Simonh - Yeah I think this will make a big difference. I'll order another sheet of the luxury liner and see if I can squeeze it in somewhere behind the dash!

@matty32 - Totally understand why it needed to go via shipping, the porter guys at my flat nearly refused to accept delivery of it because it was too big to go in their office! Lol my girlfriend's spent a week completing that jigsaw!

@Faz - I'll see if I can remember to do a before and after test, and also record the db levels on my phone (although I doubt the figures will be very accurate). Won't get chance to fit it for a while though as I don't have many free weekends in March.

@gillsl500 - Cheers mate. Found another picture when it wasn't raining


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

thats very very clean!


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## Chou (Apr 18, 2005)

That pic above is gorgeous

So simple, yet so perfect

You don't have to do a lot to make an R33 with Xenon's look good


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## qad (Jul 21, 2011)

looking awesome! love the wheels aswell:thumbsup:


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## akasakaR33 (Oct 10, 2005)

I used to have that exhaust, a VERY nice exhaust. The sound is very good, especially if you have a tuned engine, very deep and powerful, yet mature. I wonder if it was a mistake to sell it, frankly...


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## Mudflap (Feb 1, 2009)

That exhaust does look superb.

Does anyone know about the earlier Fujitsubos. My system has been modified by me to be straight through retaining the rear box which has a plate saying Fujitsubo-Giken and Ti is etched on the tailpipe. 

Latest Fujitsubos seem to have dropped the Giken name a I wonder why.


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

Mudflap said:


> That exhaust does look superb.
> 
> Does anyone know about the earlier Fujitsubos. My system has been modified by me to be straight through retaining the rear box which has a plate saying Fujitsubo-Giken and Ti is etched on the tailpipe.
> 
> Latest Fujitsubos seem to have dropped the Giken name a I wonder why.


There are about 8 different exhausts from them for the GT-R

they may still do it, i coudl check


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## Mudflap (Feb 1, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback. It would be interesting to me if Fujitsubo-Giken is still available.

I don't need a replacement 'cos mine is in excellent condition but as I said, I'm just interested.


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## Streetgasm maus (Mar 7, 2007)

this car looks really good !!


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## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

Finally got round to fitting the exhaust today.

Here it is...


















Tempted to see if I can adjust it to sit a tad higher, probably just by replacing the old rubber mounts, but it looks fine for now.

Afraid I didn't get round to doing a before and after video, although I did do a very basic sound test using my phone (so I have no faith in the accuracy). The old HKS Hi-Power was 74db on idle and the new Fujitsubo is 70db on idle, and it certainly sounds far better now. Still a deep burble, just quieter. 

Out on the road it is definitely much less 'droney' and intrusive. On full throttle, it doesn't really sound any different, again just quieter. The only disappointing thing being that I think I'm down on power, but this isn't unexpected given that I assume a quieter exhaust usually means more restrictive? Time to try squeeze some extra power from somewhere else to compensate!


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## Simonh (May 24, 2002)

I did my boot with silent coat and LLP this weekend, made a huge difference to the exhaust drone


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## .::TopSky::. (Nov 4, 2010)

Awsome job on the interior (did the same on my R33 GTR)! Nice exhaust 

Any plans for the body?


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## MINTER (Mar 29, 2006)

Shilakadaddy said:


> @Simonh - Yeah I think this will make a big difference. I'll order another sheet of the luxury liner and see if I can squeeze it in somewhere behind the dash!
> 
> @matty32 - Totally understand why it needed to go via shipping, the porter guys at my flat nearly refused to accept delivery of it because it was too big to go in their office! Lol my girlfriend's spent a week completing that jigsaw!
> 
> ...


thats just pure perfection...hope my GTR turns out like that when finished


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

Simonh said:


> I did my boot with silent coat and LLP this weekend, made a huge difference to the exhaust drone


Yhpm


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## Nigel-Power (Dec 16, 2009)

Shilakadaddy said:


>


That's a sweet looking 33 :smokin:


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## Flo (Jan 22, 2011)

Loveley R33 with tasteful mods. Well done!:thumbsup:


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## matty32 (Dec 18, 2005)

one of my favorite 33s


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## Audiophile (Sep 23, 2009)

Thats one tasty looking GTR. My car will be really similar once its done -the mirrors, the paint...


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## akasakaR33 (Oct 10, 2005)

Mudflap said:


> That exhaust does look superb.
> 
> Does anyone know about the earlier Fujitsubos. My system has been modified by me to be straight through retaining the rear box which has a plate saying Fujitsubo-Giken and Ti is etched on the tailpipe.
> 
> Latest Fujitsubos seem to have dropped the Giken name a I wonder why.


Mudflap,

The company is still officially Fujitsubo-Giken, technically "Fujitsubo Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha" 
FUJITSUBO Official site

Reading the Japanese website, it appears that FUJITSUBO (in English) is the brand identity that they are striving for internationally. Probably just like Honda, whose official name is still "Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha" (Note: Fujitsubo also started out pre-war as a motorcycle manufacturer...)

As for the Ti that is etched on your pipe - Fujitsubo no longer makes a titanium model for the R33. I suspect what you may have is a model called the "Power Getter" which was made of Titanium and was 90mm in width.

Aki


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## Mudflap (Feb 1, 2009)

Aki, thanks for such a well informed reply concerning Fujitsubo Giken.


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## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

Update time...

Ordered some new bits that I've been fitting over the past couple of weekends:


























New wheel fitted:


















I didn't take any pictures, but I also ordered some H&R 10mm spacers with longer wheel studs. These ended up taking the most time and effort to fit - but that was just because I didn't have a clue what I was doing at first. Once I figured it out, it was actually very straight forward (just a shame I spent half a weekend messing around with a ball joint splitter trying to figure out what to do!)

Didn't take any pictures of the suspension install, but I'm sure you've all seen that before. First trial was a little on the low side at the front:










The arches were scraping like mad when it was at this height, so I wound the fronts up by 10mm. Still got a lot of rubbing on full lock, so I tried heating up the arch liners and reshaping them to create more space in the areas where it was rubbing. This has helped, but I couldn't really reshape them that drastically as the car body was in the way. 

This is how it looks now... on another lovely day!


















Obviously I now need to get the geometry back in line, but after being informed in another thread that the standard adjustment was not sufficient to do the task, I ordered some more bits:










A Driftworks 4 arm kit and Hicas eliminator kit 

When I fit all these bits I'll probably raise the back end up by about 10mm, then take it to these guys to get it set up - BTR Prep: .


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## Kango_V (Jun 24, 2005)

The stance looks miles better now. Very sweet. I like these driftworks arms. Loads of other makes do not come with those dust boots as standard.


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## Robbo Fandango (Apr 5, 2012)

very very nice... the stance is awesome.

Where did you get the steering wheel as that looks very nice!


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## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

Not an update as such, just a couple of new pictures...

Since the last post, I fitted the Driftworks arms and took the car to BTR prep to get the geometry sorted - I asked for near to standard settings so not to reduce tyre life - and it's been running along nicely ever since. Unfortunately I moved to London about 8 months ago and with only one parking space at my flat, taken up by the diesel daily driver, the Skyline has been living in my parents garage only getting a run out maybe once a month; hence the lack of updates... This has led me to the disappointing realisation that it's time to sell and just have one car!:nervous: 

I got it booked in at Valet Magic the other day to have the underseal done and the guys did a great job. Robbie and Ian are really nice guys and showed me around some of the other cars they had in. The car got a really good clean while it was there, so I figured it was a good time to take some photos:


















Got a few bits and pieces I want to do before I put it up for sale - but I liked these pictures so I thought I'd share


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## DINGER B (Jul 8, 2012)

Very nice... :thumbsup:


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## flovv (Jun 28, 2007)

Just found your thread as I'm doing some soundproofing and it popped up when I searched.
What happened, did you ever sell the car?
Great thread anyway!!


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## Nismo_R (Mar 14, 2014)

Very Nice 33


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## Gtrmad43786 (Aug 21, 2014)

Nice


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## Alex C (Aug 10, 2005)

Thread bump!

Shilakadaddy - just wondered what seat rails you had, for the previous cobra's and now recaro's? what is the Cobra seat-frame or something else?

Cheers!


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## Shilakadaddy (Aug 12, 2006)

Alex C said:


> Thread bump!
> 
> Shilakadaddy - just wondered what seat rails you had, for the previous cobra's and now recaro's? what is the Cobra seat-frame or something else?
> 
> Cheers!


A slightly delayed reply...

The Cobras were already fitted when I bought the car. I think they were Cobra frames, it had sliding frames that appeared to be specific to those seats. They didn't look like universal frames. They didn't fit the Recaros, so I used the slider mechanism, but chopped and welded the old frame to fit the new seats.

I hope you weren't needing an urgent answer!


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