And what better way to get started than ordering some wheels in. Ive found some urethane coated wheels that will do a perfect job for the application, at 200mm in diameter, they will easily roll over the driveway, and into the workshop and wont lock up on a misplaced M6 washer thats 1.6mm thick like a nylon wheel will.
At 500kg load capacity each, im sure it will handle a fully loaded car with a couple crew in and around the engine bay.
But will i regret it ?. Ive used rubber castors in the past on jet ski trolleys, that flat spot when sitting stationary and cause considerable heartache to move there after, will these do the same ?. Will UV light make them dry out and crack ?. Time will tell i guess.
How does one move 3800kg of Nissan patrol forward very fast ?. About 900hp of TB48 thats how.
Went to have a look at a TB48 today, in a patrol with a turbo the size of a basketball. Impressed on how well it went, how hard it pulled on how little boost ... wow.
But it still is a big motor ... heavy. Lot of engineering to do, its not something you want to just drop in and make it work.
Im not sure on what the weight bias will be like, but i can always push it back and make that function.
I had a laugh when the front left started to lift on acceleration tho, turning 35" mud tyres.
So the original thought for the skyline was running the massively under-rated and least likes Nissan CA18DET.
This had a inspiring effect, it would alienate me while really annoying the hell out of the Skyline community, and get cheers from the ill-represented CA powered Silvia / 180SX community.
Its like dating the hottest girl in school. Some would love you for it, and some would hate your guts.
Its a great motor, sadly its not shown in its correct fashion at most times, because if its mis-treatment because its a one day "swap for a SR / RB when it finally blows up". Sure they have faults, and like any motor they can be ironed out.
LM-3218
V-mounted cooling with more to go back !
The original plan was to have it as a dual purpose car, for circuit, and for drift. Saying that, i dont have the money to race circuit, and ill be modifying it in a way that it wont be for circuit use in any class it would have a chance of winning, so dropping the whole circuit part. That will perhaps one day be a whole new chapter, starting with the line of ... "Toyota Echo (Yaris) .... ".
So now its a drifter only, lets go crazy, what suits my methods of
fabrication where i can let my imagination do its thing, rather than a
rulebook to divert me.
Problem #1 : Eventual peak power & reliability
I had planned with the CA18DET to run a build 500hp, and a car that weighs 1200kg or less. Both were achievable. Pulling the line RB20DE 6cyl out was a great start to dropping weight, but the CA18 at 500hp would need a freshen up once a season, providing nothing fails sooner, and its limited to that, for good.
Sure there are 700hp CA's around, but 6 seconds once a year on a dyno pull for a car show doesnt count as a race car in my book.
So 500 is a roof for that motor on the euro 4-port head in terms of actually using it ... then there is the next problem, torque.
Solution to problem #1 : Now problem #2 !
Thats a easy fix, RB26DETT (single T). tried, tested, incredibly fast. Thats a problem on its own tho ... RB26, really ?. Its been done a million times, AND they are expensive to buy, and rather weak standard, especially for motorsport use. So you need to pour considerable cash into it still. Thats something i know is the truth with any motor for punishable motorsport like drifting, your on something if you buy used motors from Japan and drop them in to expect big hp and reliability.
But its so bland ....
"2JZ-GTE ???". Never. I love Toyota engines, 3S, 1JZ, 2JZ, 3UZ etc ... but i dont like cross dressing. Not when one is a Nissan and the other is a Toyota, as both have incredible powerplants. So what else ?. VH45 ?. Cant put turbos onto and have a functional engine bay. Then the phone call.
Solution to problem #1 & #2 : Lets go off-roading instead !
Nissan's 4.8L Patrol engine
During a call to a friend and il Presidente, Glenn Campbell, the idea of running a Nissan TB48DE came up in conversation, the 4.8L Nissan Patrol straight 6.
NOW THATS not bland !. And would be a LOT of fun. It ticks all the boxes ... easy 700ps, can be made to rev, has incredible displacement, has even more incredible torque, and is known for reliability. What else do we need ?.
The initial outlay is big dollars, and then what gearbox to go behind ?. Then there is a expensive engine build, but once done, its like bringing a Gatling gun to a gun fight.
The LM-3248 is born
When ive done builds in the past, named cars or performed cool engine swaps, i have always taken a fusion of the chassis, and the engine to make a model name. The ISR LM-3218 is a ISR 'L'imited 'M'odel '32' (R32 Skyline chassis) '18' (CA'18'DET). Thus hence now the new, '48' rename.
Its sad in a way, i really wanted to lower the CA down, push it right back into the firewall, and i know the car would be INCREDIBLE. However, i need more a car for the drift setup, than circuit.Now to put the chassis onto a portable dolly, and were in business.
Your here to see post number one, hopefully with many many more, including posts from other countries and continents to fill this page for some exciting reading, or even a interesting look back in time.
I have a illness, a disease you may say, to be better, or ultimately, be the best in something. I can be on my way to the car and see someone who is with me making effort to get there sooner, its on, im racing.
Its in the blood.
Sadly there is no cure, cliche as it may sound, all you can do is supress your desire for another day, by ending todays in a victory of some sort.That maybe a race-part your building, and it works as you had hoped or desired, or able to pull off a win on the weekend.
I have a long road ahead of me, i am dipping my feet so to speak into the world of competitve and later international drifting.
I always had ambitions to be a race car driver after my accident, however being in Perth Australia, isolation and limited opportunities in race tracks, and racing classes means your going to go broke, or get bored ... inevitably most dont see it thru. I had the opportunity to once race in Europe, and the window closed right infront of me, but life must go on as others will open one day.
Now its up to me to build a car for myself, and not others, for me to be perhaps one day great at something again. I wont be a endurance racer for a LMP1 team at LeMans. I doubt ill get a GT drive, so its up to me to do what i also love, and thats drifting.
So now the time has come to build a specific drift car for my needs, to work with my dissabilities, and see if we can "make" it one more time to a podium.
Its time to build a new chassis dolly. 
