Brickhouse VK56 240SX Build

[reiernumans]

Dude, this car looks so perfect. From the wheels to the aero and color, it all works perfectly. Just that part alone was enough for me to make me drool all over my keyboard. Add in the swap, and I'm gonna be buying a new laptop soon. Keep at it, I'm gonna follow this one!

[JJ.]

Amazing!

[Dutch]

Yes. Love it

[loekaaz]

Oh this is guuuud!

[irritatedmax]

This has got me really wanting to weld something

If you go back to the beginning-ish of the build, you'll see this project was the reason for buying a TIG welder. I can't take credit for any welding skill, but this was the first time Greg welded aluminum, steel, or stainless. It's created plenty of opportunity to practice. Haha

[Motoman325]

This has got me really wanting to weld something

[irritatedmax]

More progress! With the engine in the bay and headers mounted, next on the list was the exhaust.

Greg mocked up a couple tip designs with mild steel - straight or pie cut?



Once in agreement, the tip was made first. It was Greg's first time TIG welding stainless but it turned out awesome. Stainless makes all the colors.



And this shows the importance of having a proper back purge setup.
No purge - crusty/gross:

Purged - dimes on the backside:



We both agreed straight dual tip was the way to go.


With the tip done, he laid out the rest of the exhaust and got it tacked up. The exhaust was built as a balance of what's needed and what will work. Also budget comes into play bit. The tips are stainless for the bling factor but the rest was done in mild. All stainless is cool but expensive. Mild steel will outlast the intended life of the exhaust. Oh and again, this is just the test car. The swap kit headers and y-pipe will be built with the goal of being able to use a regular cat-back exhaust.

G-man approves giving it his best JDM peace stamp of approval.


After confirming fitment, it was fully welded.



And mounted on the car - really stoked on the result!

Perfect bumper spacing:


The tips are angled 15 degrees which gives them a really cool vertical look.


Exhaust poke is just as important as wheel poke. Haha.


It was the little bit of flair the rear was missing. It should have a good bark as well since it only has one 14" glas pack inline. That VK56 should make a racket!

[irritatedmax]

Welllll, it's been a good while since we've updated so let's pick up where we left off and try and fill in the gaps a bit. There has been a TON of behind the scenes type stuff happening to push the VK56 swap kit closer to completion but not much to share pictures off. Things haven't slowed down and it feels really good to say we see the light at the end of the tunnel. So here's a rundown of what's been going in the Brickhouse shop.

When we left off, we had just gotten the keys to our much needed shop space. First order of business was to move in.


This staircase that Greg whipped up is way more awesome than you'd think.



As you can see above, the aero got painted and more of the exterior goodies installed. Our goal was to finish the car for the FDTX Offset Kings show, but it just wasn't in a state we were happy with to debut it.


Leading up to Christmas Greg started another 4-wheel build - rebuilding this go kart for his son. Paint, engine rebuild, nuts and bolts, etc. Fully reworked. Can't wait to see my nephew ripping around in this thing in the spring.
Before:

After:


Maybe you spotted the black hatch above. We've had it for a while now and it's finally getting some love. It's going to be thrown together using our spare parts we've got lying around. Goal is for a super basic, super reliable, great for learning drift car. Basically something anyone can hop in and have fun. It'll get the built KA that was originally in my S14, but we sold off 57 trim turbo setup, 740's, and NIStune. We are going to run a T28, 550's, and a chipped ECU. Think TX Street Legal basic-ness.


It was supposed to be a rust-free, 5-lug shell when we picked it up. Hidden beneath the front sheet metal was a history of ugly repairs.







So naturally there was only one thing to do.


Hack off all the bad and tube front it!


And what fun is stock steering angle, so Greg did up another set of Brickhouse knuckles, extended lower arms, and a relocated rack will be done before the engine goes in.

Love that color. Freshly powder coated.


Alright, alright. Back to what this thread is really about - the VK56 S13! Greg's been practicing a lot and working on his consistency with TIG welding.




The equal length headers were a good excuse to practice. Haha. It should be noted that these are purely for experiement's sake and the production headers will be a simpler design (similar to the Ver. 3 headers posted previously in the build). These are just to compare to the production set and see how the dyno numbers change.




New toys showed up - FUPA cups.


Then, and bringing us to the present, our really big "toy" showed up - a LDR Motion Systems CNC plasma table with a Hypertherm Powermax 85 plasma cutter.




Getting it positioned and hooked up in the shop. We've always wanted to keep as much of production in house as possible and a big part of that was investing in our own CNC cutter. This will allow us to make precision pieces with the flexibility to make revisions when needed. Flanges, adapters, covers, oil pan, brackets, intake manifold, yada yada - you name it pretty much and this will let us create it in a precise reproducible manner.


One of the test cuts which gives a good idea what it can do.


And the rebuilt VK sitting in the bay...likely to only be removed and installed two or three more times before it's plumbed and wired. Haha. It's getting close!!


As always throughout this build, thanks for all the support and words of encouragement!! It's been the fuel in finishing this project!

[irritatedmax]

This might be the most well documented build I've read in a long time!

Thanks! Definitely need to get some more updates postes but it's coming along. Definitely getting finished.

Holy balls at that silver color, rims look amazing, great freakn choice, what color are you doing the body kit in? I didn't notice if you mentioned it.

Thanks! The aero is the same body color. It's already painted just not on the car yet. And honestly, I haven't even seen the car all together (at least with aero on and the wheels)! One of the bummers of living in Japan while my brother is building it in America.

[MercTastic]

Holy balls at that silver color, rims look amazing, great freakn choice, what color are you doing the body kit in? I didn't notice if you mentioned it.

[rstaylor25]

This might be the most well documented build I've read in a long time!

[irritatedmax]

Are you guys selling the swap kit?
Where are yall located?
do you use a 350Z clutch?
sorry for all the questions this is just an amazing build and i think i found my weapon of choice lol

Thanks for the kind words and hopefully you'll choose to go VK!

We're not selling the swap Kita at the moment. We're holding off until we have a production grade solution ready and as complete as kit as possible to make it a bolt in affair for the average DIY mechanic.

The Brickhouse shop is in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

We are using a 350Z clutch with a prototype flywheel. Dare I say the first one piece VK to Z trans flywheel? No stacking flywheels on the stock ring gear; completely aftermarket and affordable. Once tested and confirmed to be work properly, it will be available as well.

Keep the questions coming and check out the Brickhouse Products facebook page. We've been posting updates on there more frequently than the forums.

[Drazun]

Are you guys selling the swap kit?
Where are yall located?
do you use a 350Z clutch?
sorry for all the questions this is just an amazing build and i think i found my weapon of choice lol

[irritatedmax]

This is fucking amazing. Great work guys!

Hahaha. Thanks! Hopefully it delivers when it's a complete car.

[theseeker411]

This is fucking amazing. Great work guys!