The original Godzilla, Nissan’s R32 Skyline GT-R, is steeped in motorsports history. It hails from a performance lineage and marks the beginning of a series of technologically-advanced successors that would each respectively advance to the pinnacle of street-car performance. When the R32 was released in Japan in 1989, it set a new standard that surpassed all its peers. The high-revving, twin-turbocharged RB26DETT engine coupled with an all-wheel driveline blew the doors off of the competition in both Japanese and Australian racing series. In fact, it prompted the creation of a special racing class specifically for GT-R.
Text and Photos by Richard Fong
No Skylines In America?
It is this proud history and even more so its exclusivity in America that make the Skyline GT-R a highly coveted and sought-after vehicle. Since the Skyline GT-R was never officially sold in America, grey marketers have attempted to bring it to US shores with limited success. There are Skylines that have made their way into the hands of enthusiasts, but they are stuck with off-road/track only machines since the D.O.T. and E.P.A. had never officially signed off on the car for street use and the cars cannot be registered. However, one company managed to legally import the Skyline GT-R to America for street use. The now defunct Motorex Corporation successfully legalized an estimated 30-to-50 Skyline R32 and R33 GT-R models for compliance with federal safety standards.
Gotta Be Different
Jerry Yang, a car fanatic and performance junkie, knew how hard it was to locate and purchase one of the Motorex-legalized cars. Thus, when the opportunity presented itself to Yang, he could not say no. Yang states, “I chose the R32 because it has always been my favorite Skyline model. I love cars, but there is nothing more enjoyable than having a car that’s different from everyone else’s.”
Automotive tuning not only improves the performance of the vehicle, it also gives the vehicle its own identity. Yang wanted to enhance the performance without making any changes to the exterior. He adds, “I’m not much of a fan of changing the exterior of the car because I think that the stock body looks amazing already. However, people that know me well know that I am power hungry. I just can’t keep a car stock for very long. So I decided to take my GT-R to SP Engineering to join the ‘big boys club.’”
Rockin’ RB28
Work began with the RB26 engine. The RB iron block was bored 1mm over and filled with HKS forged-aluminum pistons. HKS forged-steel rods make the connection from the pistons to the HKS 77.7mm stroker crankshaft. The new rotating assembly effectively increases the displacement to 2,771cc. Up top, Tom Fujita at Port Flow performed the port work and the installation of the Ferrea valvetrain. Once finished, the cylinder head and block sandwiched a 1.2mm HKS MLS head gasket, resulting in a high boost-friendly 8.7:1 compression ratio. ARP head studs provided the clamping force to keep the longblock assembly from separating under higher cylinder pressures.
