Bob Morgan - Nissan Skyline R33 GTST

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Bob Morgan

Nissan Skyline R33 GTST

Instagram: @midnight44club

A Journey from Wales to Devon

I’m Bob Morgan, and I live in sunny Devon, near Exeter, after moving from Wales to live with my wife. My dad got me into the car scene, fostering my love for cars by watching Formula One and touring cars on TV, and taking me to car shows with his classic Mini. My dream car has always been a Skyline, ever since playing Gran Turismo on the original PlayStation as a kid.

The Early Days

My first car was a classic 1986 Mini, which I modified. After that, I got a Proton Satria, which I absolutely loved. Unfortunately, a motorway accident caused the car to be written off. I then bought another Proton, which was featured in several magazines after I did extensive modifications, including adding a supercharger and nitrous.

The Dream Car: Nissan Skyline R33 GTST

My current pride and joy, and the source of many headaches, is my dream car—a Nissan Skyline R33 GTST. I purchased it for £2,069 back in 2011. It had a few mods when I bought it, with a standard turbo and stage 1 tune. Over the past 11 years, I have modified it extensively. Here’s the current spec list:

Nissan Skyline R33 GTST Spec List

Engine

• Petrol blue cam cover bolts & blue dress-up washers

• Kandy blue rocker covers with lightning graphics on the cam/timing covers

• Carbon fibre cooling panel

• An-10 GReddy oil cooler kit

• Freddy intake plenum

• Turbosmart 1200 FPR

• Torques fuel filter

• Hel An-8 Teflon braided feed fuel line

• Hel An-6 Teflon braided fuel return line

• HKS earthing/grounding kit

• Japspeed alloy radiator

• Carbon fiber strut brace

• Gtech cooling fan

• 90mm throttle body

• Boost Junkie’s silicone hoses

• Brake stopper

• 3-inch inlet/outlet aluminium intercooler with custom-made pipework

• K&N air filter

• Bosch 1000cc top feed fuel injectors

• Billet fuel rail

• Holset HX35/40 modified turbocharger with bigger billet comp wheel

• HKS stainless steel power steering reservoir

• Aftermarket screen wash reservoir

• Aluminum An-10 oil catch tank

• An-10 stainless breather pipes

• RB26DETT longnose crankshaft

• RB26DETT Manley conrods

• RB26DETT oversized CP pistons 87mm

• RB25DET head with 1.6mm Cosworth head gasket

• Uprated intake and exhaust Supertech valve stem seals

• ACL race bearings (big end and mains)

• R35 GTR coil pack conversion kit with PRP stalks

• Hel braided turbo oil lines

• N1 oil pump

• N1 water pump

• Engine fully balanced

• Tomei poncams

• Tomei oil restrictor

• Link G4+ ECU system

• NZ wiring CAS trigger kit

• Engine torque damper

• Twin Turbosmart Comp-Gate 40mm wastegates with screamer pipes exiting at the side skirt

• Hybrid performance steam pipe exhaust manifold

• HKS dump valve

• Walbro F90000274 (455LPH) fuel pump with direct feed separate relay wiring

• Custom 3-inch turbo-back exhaust system with 5-inch exit

• ORC 559 twin-plate clutch

• MRL stainless steel braided clutch line reservoir to slave cylinder

• Supra exhaust manifold studs

• URAS direct billet gear shifter

Brakes, Suspension, Wheels

• BC Racing adjustable suspension: set at medium/soft on the rear & medium on the front

• Driftworks HICAS eliminator kit

• Front and rear strut braces

• Ferodo DS2000 rear brake pads

• Brembo rear grooved brake disks

• Electronic line lock system

• 30mm hub-centric wheel spacers on the rear

• 15mm hub-centric wheel spacers on the front

• Ksport 356mm floating front brake disks

• Yellow stuff front brake pads

• 18" x 9.5 ET30 custom powder-coated Rota GTR alloy wheels

Interior / Exterior

• R32 GTR front seats

• GTR Middlehurst floor mats

• Sunroof solar panel and headlining replaced with a non-sunroof model

• GTR clock clusters

• Top Secret gear knob

• Top Secret gear and handbrake covers

• Auto Meter monster rev counter with shift light

• Auto Meter turbo timer

• Snap-off OMP steering wheel

• Sony rear speakers with Kicker front speakers

• Cusco dash dodger roll cage with door bars

• Car painted in a custom silver with 3-stage blue pearl

• GTR carbon fiber grille

• GTR Top Secret front bumper

• GTR Do-Luck rear bumper

• Blue air horn

• Modified headlights

• LED smoked indicators on the bumper

• Greddy Gracer side skirts

• Nismo smoked side indicators

• GTR original front wings

• Ganador carbon fiber edition mirrors

• APR carbon fiber Big Gay Wing

• GTR Top Secret bonnet with aero catches

• Fiberglass flush-fit boot lid

• Light-up rear Skyline panel

• Fog light removed and installed in the offside rear tail light

• GTR rear over fenders

• GTR fuel flap

• Hornet Maxx 1 alarm system

Miscellaneous

• Motul 10w60 8100 engine oil

• Motul Gear 300 75w90 oil in the diff and gearbox

• Motul 5.1 brake fluid

• K&N oil filter

• NGK spark plugs BCPR8ES

• Toyo Proxes Sport tyres

The Build Process

Most of the work has been done by me, but the engine work was handled by DJR Performance. Parts for the build came from Auto-Extreme, JDM Garage, and Conceptua Tuning. The amazing tune on the ECU was done by Grant at GB Enterprises, and the custom paint job was done by Carl at Pristine Finish. A big thank you to Sean Franklin and his family. Sean, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago, was always there when I needed help and extra parts.

Performance and Future Goals

I've gone through several stages of tuning, managing a 12.6 1/4 mile at 118.6 mph at Santa Pod Raceway with an easy launch to avoid stressing the car too much. The car's last dyno reading was 562.7 bhp and 475 ft-lb at 1.5 bar. I started making changes to the engine and drivetrain after being beaten on the drag strip by a 70-year-old lady driving a Rover 75. The video is on YouTube, and I'm still friends with her and her family, joking about it to this day.

Hopefully, once everything is complete, the car will reach around 650 bhp. I'm aiming for a low 11-second pass at Santa Pod next time. Once I’m happy with the engine, it will be off to be mapped for the final time.

Midnight 44 Club

I am also the owner of Midnight 44 Club. We can be found on Facebook @midnight44club and Instagram @midnight44club. The link to our YouTube page is Midnight 44 Club. We attend many shows and have won several trophies as a club and for my car.

Thank you for reading my story! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram! I hope you enjoyed the read and look forward to seeing some of you at car shows!

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