Ricci's Garage: a *fourth* engine rebuild means the Skyline's RB26 isn't bulletproof

Renowned photographer Mark has been working with Top Gear for many, many years. When not taking photos he’s buying inappropriate cars. Here he shares his addiction with the world

Blow an engine up once, shame on you. Blow an engine up twice, shame on me. Blow an engine up four times? You’ve passed Level 3 Skyline GT-R ownership. 

Why the other rebuilds? The reason for that lies firmly in two key areas – first is the useless specialists who previously worked on the car, and second, it’s the unpopular fact that RB26 engines aren’t as good as the internet thinks. Not unless you’re prepared to overhaul every weakness at great expense.

Fair to say I have been known to run the engine at more than double its power, but if you look at what some of the Aussie and New Zealand builders are achieving now, it’s genuinely possible to have a ‘reliable’ RB engine with double or triple the horsepower. They’ve even pushed them to stratospheric levels in excess of 1,800bhp. This is a near 40-year-old engine design after all, which first appeared in RB26 form back in 1989 with the R32 GT-R. And even in 2025 tuners all around the world are still developing upgrades, thanks in part to their increased values and collectability.

This is something I’m very aware of, as my R34 GT-R ‘refresh’ is completely out of hand now. Nothing original is being reused – there’s new glass from Nissan, a new wiring loom and new upholstery for the interior. But that also means I’m past the point of being able to cut corners, which is why my fifth and final engine – and I really do mean final engine – is on a pallet in Australia waiting to be shipped here.

Dahtone Racing is one of Australia’s most revered RB specialists, building some of the fastest and highest horsepower Skyline GT-Rs in the world. After hosing away money on shoddy, slapped together rebuilds in the past, this time (just like the rest of the R34) nothing original is being reused. And yes, I probably should’ve done this after the first engine failure... but at that time Skylines were still £20,000.

Right, new engine spec. Deep breath, because this one’s getting nerdy. It’s a brand new RB26 block with a Nitto wide journal 2.8-litre stroker kit, PRP block brace, ARP studs, ACL bearings, Hi Octane sump and an ATI 1,000bhp crank damper. There’s a Tomei head gasket, all new seals, new water pump, belts and Barns single stage external oil pump. There’s also a new cylinder head with Supertech valve springs and Tomei cams, PRP cam gears, PRP trigger kit, CAS bracket and LS1 alternator kit. All fasteners and flanges are zinc coated or powder coated too.

That’s a brief spec, and also excludes the machining, balancing of the rotating assembly, settling clearance, modified oil squirters and many, many hours of labour. This is also just the engine block – turbo, intake, fuelling and everything else is still to come.

I’d imagine you’ll be wincing at the cost while nodding in approval. I’m assured this engine will run happily at the 800bhp mark without shooting valves into the atmosphere, however there is also the option of mapping it on spicy E85 fuel to crack the magic 1,000bhp mark. Utterly pointless given it’s a road car that will be plenty fast enough on V Power. But clearly that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Best start saving for engine number six.