Modified Nissan Skyline GTRs Pictures 
THAT’S JUST GREEDY
What sort of image do you conjure up about a guy who owns twin Skyline GT-Rs – a Professional money launderer, Casino boss, human traficker perhaps? Nope he’s a truck driver and blames his excess on compulsive petrolhead Syndrome...
gallery (55 photos)
Delving deeper in to the mystery of how an ordinary, hard-grafting trucker like Paul Applin from the UK can afford to spend £85,000 on his mouth watering toys we realise that the poor guy has absolutely no life beyond his love for cars. But then again when you have one top-privateer drag car to play with at the weekends as well as one show stopping beauty developed by Top Secret in Japan you can hardly complain that life is dull. Because these motors are so high maintainance though, it does take someone with a fair ammount of passion and patience to keep them running. Paul’s first Skyline for example nearly made his dreams go up in smoke quite literally when only after four drives the bottom end went.
While this car was out of action Paul ordered a 1990 Black GT-R complete with a Top Secret bodykit. It was one of the first motors to be given the full treatment from the company which back then involved an induction kit, uprated exhaust and custom re-map, giving it a proud 330bhp. With its demonising black paintwork contrasted against those sporty Gold BBS wheels he was soon picking up trophies at shows. This initial boost of confidence led to him checking out what other stunts he could pull to make his Skyline the pick of the bunch. During his search he stumbled across the name of Gary Passingham at GT-Art who was a bit of a wizard when it comes to tuning these Eastern exports.
As Paul wanted it to be a daily driver he had to be a bit realistic with the upgrades. With this in mind the engine was balanced and blueprinted to enhance reliability and a HKS steel head gasket was added. The pistons and rods are kept as standard as they are usually durable enough to cope with the extra demands of the engine but the cylinder head was given the complete overhaul. The GT-Art Stage 1 addition includes modified cooling channels, road/race modified combustion chambers and fast road inlet and exhaust ports. Gary then concocted a bit of extra ‘tornado swirl’ for the inlet ports; this is the GT-Art frontman’s signature piece which he has developed after many years working on cylinder heads. Being somewhat of a perfectionist, Gary spent 100 hours on just the head work but there was much more to come.
The Top Secret twin turbos were left in place but they were given the added guarantee of steel innards instead of the ceramic ones. They now run at 1.225 bar boost which the turbos find just about manageable. The standard injectors are also under quite a bit of strain with 440bhp now proved by the dyno but this is the top end of safe according to Gary. To deter a build up of heat, a Veilside copper core large radiator and Apexi intercooler are now also in place and because everyone wants to marvel at Gary’s work its kept pretty tidy in there – unlike its Silver GT-R twin. Another crucial difference between the two is that this black beauty is built for the twisty stuff with its 18” BBS LM1 wheels and Apexi N1 coilovers. The standard R32 brake kit is also adept for punishment; all these components together offer very direct handling and masses of grip.
So why does Paul need another Skyline – for outright speed it seems. The Trucker’s 1994 Silver GT-R is a vehement race car and the engine bay is proof. Having once blown up and been pieced together with standard engine components, its still a bit battered and neglected. However when you consider that this machine labours 607 break when running on 120 RON race fuel it is quite understandable. On the less potent filling station stuff it still manages a blustery 565bhp which makes it comparable to your average super car. Of course its 2.6-litre RB26DETT engine is bolstered by a turbo, in this instance its a
Trust T78/88 hybrid variety, which it came over from Japan with. In addition there was an Apexi oil cooler, intercooler and race radiator as well as a GReddy boost control and special launch control system. In the internet ad that Paul’s wife found, it was claimed that it could produce around 800bhp but when it arrived and Gary at GT-Art inspected the engine bay he found that this may be somewhat exagerated. First off some of the essential parts were missing so Gary set about fitting a Trust six-speed gearbox, Ogura triple-plate clutch and locking Cusco diffs which are fit to burst your ear drums when the Skyline is pushed to the max. There was also the task of fitting an HKS 2.6 steel crankshaft, Nismo block and bearings. Then came the Jun 87mm pistons, oil pump and head stud kit followed by the job of re-cutting the valve seats and having the new valve stem seals fitted; no wonder the costs were adding up.
The 264 camshafts were the most sensible choice, given the fact that this Silver racer would need to be used on a regular basis. They may limit its power to a potential 740bhp but reliability is just as important and Paul has already been stung with costly repair bills. Since his first R32 shed its bottom end, the block cracked on the black car and finally the engine blew on the silver car on his way home from Santapod. He’s also had to grovel to his friend Dave at DT Engineering for three gearbox rebuilds. Despite the Silver car’s nickname of ‘Stealth Bomber’ it is not invincible and if you drive it hard it’s going to let you know about it.
The Mines cylinder head on the silver car however has been very durable; it came with the car and has seen quite a lot of service. To improve its efficiency though Gary at GT-ART has fitted an in-tank HKS fuel pump which feeds an external swirl pot, there are also two Bosch Motorsport fuel pumps added to the mix. The injectors have then increased to 1000cc and the whole show is managed by a HKS V-Pro ECU system. Because it spends so much time on the track it is down a rear wing which reduces drag and also makes it lighter. Surprisingly it’s Bridgestone road tyres that it wears during its 10-second quarter mile stints. Last year it was the top privateer at the Jap Show finale with a 10.98 second pass. Despite its fame Paul is happy to keep it as a bit of a sleeper. A few subtle touches like the Veilside C1 Combat body kit and those BBS LM1 rims are all that give away its intent. If there is any more work to be done, Paul is keen to spend it on the engine.
Provoking such tamperings is the paperwork which came with it. It states that trust managed 223mph out of Paul’s racy silver Skyline and he himself had only managed 195mph. In fifth gear it reaches speeds of up to 170mph and is hoping to run it at 2 bar boost soon so that it can realise low 10’s on Santa Pod’s drag strip. On the road it runs at 1.6 bar which is already pretty scary. With some Mickey Thompson ET Street tyres it will be even more potent. Paul rarely pushes its limits on the road though; the Silver GT-R is set-up for beating Porsche Turbos or racing bikes down the straight. When it comes to rural country lanes, the Silver car’s Black twin shows what it is made of. Spoilt for choice, eh? Well we always like to see someone making the most of their motors and when you give as much loyalty and perseverance as Paul has given to his Skylines you can be certainly be forgiven for being greedy!
Paul Applin’s 1994 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 special Trust development car (silver): 2.6-litre, DOHC, 24v, RB26DETT with Nismo block, Nismo bearings, Jun head stud kit, Mines race head, valve seats re-cut and new valve stem seals fitted by GT-Art, 264 camshafts, 87mm Jun pistons, HKS earth kit, GReddy fuel rail, in-tank HKS fuel pump feeds external swirl pot and two Bosch Motorsport fuel pumps, aero-spec fuel drain (switch in boot for in-tank pump), 1000cc injectors. Trust special T78/88 hybrid turbo, GReddy controllers for extra fuel, GReddy boost controller, GReddy simulation kit, Trust special launch control system, HKS V-Pro ECU, Apexi oil cooler, Apexi intercooler, Apexi race radiator.
Paul Applin’s 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 Top Secret Veilside (black): 2.6-litre, DOHC, 24v, RB26DETT balanced and blueprinted by GT-Art, standard pistons and rods, Nismo oil pump, Nismo bearings, Nismo thermostat, HKS 1.2mm steel head gasket, GT-Art Stage 1 cylinder head with modified cooling channels, road/race modified combustion chambers, fast-road inlet and exhaust ports, extra tornado swirl added to inlet ports. Two Veilside steel hybrid turbochargers, Veilside down-pipes, HKS hard-pipe kit, Veilside copper core radiator, Apexi intercooler, HKS oil cooler, Apexi Power FC ECU
Paul Applin’s 1994 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 special Trust development car (silver): Transmission: Trust six-speed gearbox, Ogura triple-plate clutch, Cusco locking diffs, HKS 2.6 steel crankshaft. Suspension: HKS Drag Competition custom setup. Brakes: Standard Skyline R32 front and rear.
Paul Applin’s 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 Top Secret Veilside (black): Transmission: Standard R32 gearbox with HKS triple-plate clutch. Suspension: Apexi N1 coilovers
Brakes: Standard Skyline R32 front and rear
Paul Applin’s 1994 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 special Trust development car (silver):
9x17” Star SSR3 three-piece alloys with Bridgestone S-01 255/40/17 tyres.
Paul Applin’s 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 Top Secret Veilside (black): 8x18” BBS LM1 wheels with Falken GR3 FK451 245/40 tyres.
Paul Applin’s 1994 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 special Trust development car (silver): Bride Racing seats, bolt-in rear roll-cage, Cosmic Racing gear knob, Nismo speedometer to 320km/h, GReddy boost gauge on steering column, Autometer Pro Comp Ultra-Lite monster tacho with shift light, in-dash gauges (Tomei air/fuel, GReddy exhaust temp, GReddy temp, GReddy fuel pressure), .
Paul Applin’s 1990 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 Top Secret Veilside (black): GReddy Turbo gauge, Monster tach with shift light, Nismo speedometer to 320km/h, Cosmic Racing gear knob.
Paul Applin’s 1994 Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 special Trust development car (silver):
Sony and Ministry of Sound ICE install
CAR MAKE & MODEL
Modified Nissan Skyline GTRs Pictures
CAR REF NUMBER
23452
VIEWS: 104
TOTAL VIEWS: 6,917
View this page on our mobile site
Links:
