Coming into this world as a quirky but under-powered Pulsar Q, this 1987 model hatch never had any chance of being left standard. About six years ago, a guy called Andrew Moyle took the car to Adelaide Turbo Service's specialist workshop and asked what could be done to improve every handling and performance aspect of the car.
Before the inevitable major engine up-grade, the car's standard suspension system was revised to give it razor-sharp response and a flat attitude through corners. As it was intended that the car would see some track work, adjustable Koni dampers can be found under each wheel arch, together with lowered heavy-duty K-Mac springs. This gives the car a definite firmness on the road, but the adjustability of the Konis can help tame it down slightly to a comfortable level. As per usual these days, Nolathane bushes are found throughout the suspension system and the set-up is completed with a fat set of K-Mac sway bars front and rear. To get the most from the hardware, a generous 2 degrees of negative camber is dialled in at each end.
While all this was going on the brakes were being lined up for major improvement. At the front, bigger vented Toyota Camry discs have been adapted to suit, with a set of Wilwood 4-pot calipers included in the deal. At the other end, the standard Q-discs remain but are fitted with Metal King pads like the front. Shane Maxwell, the current owner, says the car is quite sensitive to pad materials, claiming it could air the rear tyres under heavy braking with one particular pad brand!
The engine was the next stage of the car's development.
The stock Family 2 GM engine (yep, in Australia this Nissan Pulsar came fitted with a GM engine! - Ed) was removed and superseded by a Nissan CA18DET turbo motor. In Japan the domestic Pulsars came with a twin-cam CA engine under the lid which made installing the imported motor a bit easier. It bolted straight up to the standard gearbox, but required a smaller diameter clutch and flywheel to clear the original bell housing. Japanese spec mounts were used to locate the engine and basically everything else went smoothly.
Because the engine was purchased minus computer and loom, Andrew (the original owner) opted for an Autronic programmable management system to control fuel and ignition. Tuned on Allan Engineering's engine dyno prior to installation into the car, the SMC unit fires four Bosch coils and four standard CA18DET injectors. Configured in a closed-loop oxygen sensing arrangement, the car returns good fuel economy, especially under cruise conditions. And taking advantage of the system's outputs, the water-to-air intercooler water pump is switched on and off by the Autronic brain. A few owners later the car's management was re-jigged, this time with John Keen of DAT Racing doing the mapping.
With the fundamentals of the engine swap completed, it was time to ask the turbomotor for some more ponies. A big 3-inch mandrel bent exhaust fitted from the factory turbo elbow coaxes quite a few kWs and sounds really deep after the sound has passed through a 3-inch cat converter and rear resonator. In fact it sounds so muted and deep it barely sounds like a petrol-powered car at all!
The intake to the turbo is through a large K&N filter on the end of a 2½ inch diameter length of pipe. The turbo itself is a T25 that has been high-flowed by ATS. Shane uses a pneumatic bleed valve to adjust boost pressure up to around 12psi, even although it came to him running 16. "Its just silly on 16" remarked Shane, "it just wheelspins".
A very elegant water-to-air intercooler made to suit the confines of the Pulsar's engine bay, cools the relatively mild 12psi compressed air. The large heat exchanger to the right of the engine is a Spearco unit imported from the US, and it has water re-circulated through its internals via a 12V Whale pump, while a small radiator behind the engine radiator sweats the heat out. A pressure relief header tank is used to fill the water system. From the turbo to the throttle body heavy duty hose clamps are used, as hoses kept popping off under boost with normal clamps fitted.
A viscous limited slip diff transaxle puts the goods to the road through a 4-paddle Kevlar clutch plate and extra heavy-duty pressure plate - guaranteed not to slip. If anything is likely to slip it is most definitely the front tyres! Substantial-for-a-hatch 205/45 15 Falken rubbers cope quite well with the dyno-proven 134kW (180hp) at the wheels, but dumping the clutch gets the car nowhere fast. The "easy off the line and then nail it" approach works best in this case.
Cosmetically the car uses sharply-styled ROH Astron wheels that blend with its angular bodywork, while the lower stance of the car obviously has its visual benefits. To help evacuate some of the underbonnet heat cooked up by the turbo engine, Cosworth-style bonnet vents have been fitted to the bonnet. There're also many more subtle touches that might not grab you at first glance - for example, the front and rear lights are from a Japanese model, as are the smoked indicators.
An imported rear reflector panel spans across the rear hatch, which is equipped with the factory rear roof spoiler also. To keep a clean look, all the side protection mouldings have been taken off and the current trend towards single wiper arms has also been adopted by unbolting the driver's side arm. The front bumper bar is a custom fabrication that used to reach down to only a couple of inches above the ground. But the constant scraping of this so-called "cat killer" lead to its cutting back, and vastly improved practicality.
Inside is stock Pulsar Q upholstery plus a Momo Cavalier 3 flat-bottomed steering wheel, Momo polished gear knob and Sparco racing pedals. We told there are a set of Recaro front seats on there way really soon though... And maybe (finances permitting) a digital dashboard. At the moment there are problems connecting the odometer, so a digi dash would fix that and also give boost, EGT, oil pressure/temp, water temp and a myriad of other read-outs.
Shane suggested he'd probably be keeping the car for a while, spending money on various areas as he goes. But there was mention of a strange triangle of friends who seem to be on a vehicle exchange scheme. The original builder of the car (Andrew) purchased a Mazda Familia turbo after selling the Pulsar to a guy called Eddie, who then sold the car to Shane. Eddie then bought the Familia from Andrew.
For now Andrew owns a Nissan Pulsar GTI-R all-wheel-drive, which might take a while to filter down to Shane. But it should be a pretty serious car by that time - especially looking at Pulsar number one!
Contacts:
Adelaide Turbo Service (ATS)
+61 8 8377 2511
Allan Engineering
+61 8 85 221901
DAT Racing
turbokeen@aol.com.au
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