The perfect marriage between Australia ,Japan and USA means.... swapping a Ford Barra engine in a Nissan Skyline R32 coupled to a 2-speed Powerglide
This page is contributed to our project build of swapping a Barra engine in a Nissan Skyline R32 that we want to achieve the magic 8 second numbers pass on the dragstrip.
If you have any questions about the build or you like to know more, do not hesitate to ask us below in the comment section or on our social media.
This is Alex's personal Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-t Type M (60th Anniversary) from 1993.
It is a special model as it is a R32 Skyline with a RB20DET and 4-speed automatic gearbox system, a HICAS System and a Viscous LSD from factory. When Alex bought the car he did not know this, as it was sold to him as a manual.
After checking the VIN number in the known registry of Nissan Skylines he found out this was a pretty special car.
Since then it was already modified many times by previous owners in Japan and in Europe.
After rebuilding his RB20DET he wanted to do something different with the car, his thoughts was that he would like to see if it is possible to make a fast drag racer with this.
Unfortunately the RB20DET is pretty limited in aftermarket parts and not capable to go more then 500/600HP.
Then some Aussies on Youtube showed up with drag racers that use a Ford Barra engine and do serious times with this type of engine.
After asking several people in Australia what is the best option and solution to make this happen for a Nissan Skyline body to achieve the numbers of a 8sec pass.
All of them said the same, get a Ford Barra engine, buy the necessary parts of Empire Elite Performance Parts and link it up with a Powerglide or a TH350/400 gearbox.
Alex bought a Ford Barra engine from a wrecker in Australia and have it sent to him in the Netherlands. Luckily he could find a 2-speed Powerglide gearbox in the Netherlands.
The Aussies that created this dream in Alex's head:
We also have to say THANKS to the awesome car community that lives in Australia and well willing of them to answer your questions.
- Alan and Woody from the Skid Factory
- Benny from Benny's Custom Works
- Marty and Moog from Might Car Mods
The necessary parts
After contacting Rod & Omar from Empire Elite Performance Parts and asked for advice and expertise what is the best combo of parts to achieve more then 1000HP without losing the reliability.
Rod gave a warm welcome to the Barra Family and helped Alex to pursue his dreams of getting that 8sec pass on the dragstrip.
All the necessary parts can be found on our website to achieve this goal of more then 1000HP. If you need help for your Barra engine we can help you.
We cannot say this enough: BIG THANKS TO EMPIRE ELITE!
Click on the red button link on the side for the Youtube video, this is us talking about the parts that we already received from Empire Elite Performance Parts and other suppliers.
Fitting the Barra Engine in the Skyline
The RB Factory in Australia supplied Alex with the necessary engine mount brackets of a R32 Skyline and the necessary spacers for lowering the subframe. Since Stijn has joined the company they finally could take the steps to test fit the engine and gearbox and check if there is enough clearance to run this setup or that they had to make some cuts in the firewall to make this fit.
Luckily this chassis was already an automatic so it provided enough space for the Powerglide gearbox to fit in perfect without any ''soft massaging'' or cutting the firewall.
To make sure the engine would fit together with the 2-speed Powerglide gearbox we have used an adapter plate from Castlemaine Rod Shop in Australia. They have a great package that includes an adapter plate, high torque starter motor and all the necessary bolts, studs.
If you are really interested in how and what we needed to do to make this fit. Go check out this Youtube video from us.
Disassembly of the Ford Barra
After checking the clearance with the engine and gearbox in the Skyline, now comes the time to open up the Barra engine and see the inside.
When opening up the engine we noticed that this engine is a beefy boy that can handle some big power with the stock block. Of course you still need to do some modifications to achieve a 1000+HP, but this was not as big as it is with some other engines.
When disassembling the engine we noticed that the engine was in pretty good shape. There was a small sign that recently in the past the engine got a new timing chain kit mounted. For the rest the engine had no damage or scrapings inside the cylinders.
At this moment the engine is at the machine shop for resurfacing the head and the engine block to make sure everything will connect perfectly when the re-assembly begins with the fresh new parts of Empire Elite Performance Parts.
Check the Youtube video as we disassembly the Barra Engine.
Doing the small bits and bobs on the Skyline and get it ready for paint and a roll cage.
In every major build of a car, there comes a time you have to spent a lot of time with a very f-ing large list of all the small things that needs to be done. On the body, interior, exterior, fuel supply, cooling etc. etc.
We prepared the car as far as was asked by our friend Tristan from Tristan Kustomizing in Heerlen. When we took the car to Tristan we also had some extra time to work on the car as in how Tristan would like to have it prepared for the roll cage and paint.
The means remove all the exterior parts like the bumpers, spoilers, mirrors, trimming.
Then Tristan and his employees prepared the car, remove some small rust in the wheel arches and remove every small dent and scratches that accumulated over the last 30 years the car has been driven on the roads.
Then the car was pushed in the paint booth to get a primer as well as all the exterior parts like bumpers, spoilers, mirrors. When the car was finished, we pushed it back in the work space to work on the roll cage and the seat rails to be adjusted for the new(second hand) original Bride seats that we picked up for a bargain.
Before putting in the roll cage we remove every interior part except for the dashboard since we wanted a roll cage that goes around the dashboard instead of right through it.
Since it was quite cold we managed to remove all the insulation easily because it would easily break due to the cold. We weighed all the insulation we removed and we were surprised that it was roughly 15-20kg.
After the roll cage was finished and fully welded and finished we were contemplating what kind of wheels we would use on the car for the drag tyres. At this moment Tristan came along and said he had some wheels which would fit the stud size of the Skyline. We were lucky he still had the full set of 4 wheels to set the car on full drag tyres for our first event.
After all was finished and checked, the car went back in for the final paint session to get back to the original white color from factory.
We had a small chat/interview with the creator/owner called Tristan of Tristan Kustomizing, who helped us to create our dream we have for the Skyline with a roll cage and a perfect paintjob while fixing all the dents and small rust spots on the car.
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