MudRunnerTD's GQ From the Ground Up

[MudRunnerTD]

Well here is the next batch of pics from my buildup.

I had an opportunity to buy a full Frozen Boost Water to Air Intercooler system just after the strip down also and grabbed it for a good price. Brand new in a box straight from America. Slightly different to what i would have bought direct but something i could adapt to my needs i thought.

This turned into a MUCH BIGGER JOB than i was expecting and took several months to get it sorted.

The fit up i did was a little left field and took a fair bit of nutting out. I did not want to fit up the heat exchanger in front of the radiator as i did not want to cut the crap out of my grill so i went about trying to fit it all up under the bonnet.

Bloody tight fit and very difficult to sort out.

It took many many refits to get it all to fit and still be able to close the bonnet. I also had to be careful not to compromise the strength of the bonnet and still be functional.

Check out my pics.

Stripped everything off the top and found the guy that fitted up the turbo did not refit the rocker cover vent and that is the oil all over the place.


I retained the bracket from the MTQ air box and used it for this fitup. I made another bracket for on top of it and made it into a heat shield to help protect everything.


I didn't want to spend +$100 on heat shield material so i bought a tin drip tray from Super cheap and made my own




Spaced it out with nuts. very happy with it.


Fitted it up and mounted the Intercooler up. 1st fit of probably 20 times.






Made the intake bracket and adapted the other bracket from the MTQ kit to use at this end of the Intercooler

[MudRunnerTD]

The entire fit up was based around the design of a top mount and a Bonnet scoop.

I emailed Frozen Boost in the USA and discussed the fitup plan and they suggested that it was a fairly common fitup over there so i went for it.

I have attached the heat exchanger to the underside of the Bonnet inside a frame that i have made and this did my head in. It works but its really tight under there and took many many fit ups and adjustments until i had the clearance i needed to work.

Check it out.









Bonnet scoop i got from a 9 WRX off ebay for $56.

[Mark]

mate, love your work, well done!

I can see how that would have done your head in as that is a tight fit.

Also, the tin drip tray would work fine mate, good thinking!

[MudRunnerTD]

mate, love your work, well done!

I can see how that would have done your head in as that is a tight fit.

Also, the tin drip tray would work fine mate, good thinking!

Thanks Mark,

yeah it was a very tight fit, bloody thing.

I ended up grabbing my camera and putting it on Video and sitting it in the engine bay pointing at what every needed to check for clearance and closing the bonnet then watching back the video. Worked a bloody rippa mate and i can tell you that i have ended up in the end with about 20mm between the bottom of the fans and the intercooler. I am happy with that. I need to be gentle when i shut the bonnet and i dont slam it down. But al in all i am stoked with it.

Its a big surprise when ever i open the bonnet in front of someone not expecting to see it set up like that. The pics dont really do it justice.

Thanks for your comments mate

[MudRunnerTD]

Well what can I say Mudrunner? That is one hell of a job you did, and absolutely bloody impressive just doesn't describe it. You have certainly got a good nut sitting there in between your ears to come up with the solutions to all the problems you encountered. Thanks for the great read. I think this project automatically qualifies you for "Legend" status mate!

Ah Good on ya Plasnart, really happy with it mate. got a head ache now but love it.

There is heaps more to the build and this is kinda an abridged version but i should post a pic of the finished product then can lay out the 12v system that i have done and the Air system.

Next pics might be the as built today pics
might post up over the weekend.

Thanks for your feed back guys, really appreciate it. Love my Nissan.....Now! but before?? LMAo

[GQ4.2]

im sure there were many time you pulled your hair out getting that radiator in, what steered you towards the water to air rather than running a top mount air-air cooler?

[Muzza]

Great work MudRunnerTD.

Just went through your whole post from start to finish.

You've got my inspired now!

[MudRunnerTD]

im sure there were many time you pulled your hair out getting that radiator in, what steered you towards the water to air rather than running a top mount air-air cooler?

Hey GQ42, doin the research it was clear that the best result for power was a Water to Air setup as it is the most efficient way to cool it down. The Water will soak a heap more heat out of the air than a straight air to air will effectively giving me more power.

In terms of the plumbing the air will travel alot less distance through this set up too. it goes from the turbo straight up over the top then into the intake. Running a front mount adds a heap for travel and turbulence. With this setup all i have to do is pump water which is much much easier to plumb. I think that the info from the Frozen Boost site about the efficiencies of the water to air system sold me mate and i never really considered an air to air after that.

I have not done much testing with it yet but keen to get it on a dyno in the next month. When out for the maiden voyage i drove around with it all off for a while then just turned on the pump and got a 60c degree drop in exhaust temp straight away. Not a bad change.

When i fitted the radiator up io was keen to not move it. I did not want to corrupt the fixing points by tightening and loosening them a heap of times. You can see the main frame i made up and i think i only moved it once further to the back after the initial setup. I gained the space by dropping the intercooler hard down onto the rocker cover. In the pics you can see the marks in the paint of stuff as i have fitted then removed then fitted a heap of times. Bloody thing.

Last weekend i noticed that there was a couple of wear marks on the intake silicon elbow at the front there and it was the back of the fan centre leaning on the elbow. I removed the elbow and cut another 15mm off the bottom that goes onto the intake flange and it dropped down out of the way. hope that is now sorted.

Thanks for checking out the build mate.

[MudRunnerTD]

Great work MudRunnerTD.

Just went through your whole post from start to finish.

You've got my inspired now!

Good on ya Muzza....

Dont do it mate!! nearlly killed me.

Check out the finished product though I'm a pretty happy man now

[portal pat]

Ah, ya gotta love backyarders!!!!!!!!!