BARRA THE WORLD

Joseph’s Barra-swap journey kicked off with an R33 Skyline sedan rolling shell that he intended to drop a naturally aspirated RB25 in, bringing it back to a somewhat factory condition. His initial plan came to a sudden halt as he faced the reality of the overpriced and heavily ‘taxed’ RB market. Gone are the days when you could pick up a motor for loose change or a box of beers.

The frustration of overpriced and poorquality RB25 long blocks triggered this young man’s inner Kiwi ingenuity. Joseph needed to phone a friend but ended up ringing a cousin who happened to have a BA Falcon rotting away on his lawn (as you do). After researching, he found out that Barra-swapping Skylines were pretty common over the ditch.

“The Barra to me is basically an RB40DE. It’s got decent power, it’s robust, reliable, easy to work on and really cheap.” He discovered that an Australian company called RB Factory manufactured mount kits and subframe spacers, making it an easy, direct drop-in replacement for Skylines without modifying the chassis.

Joseph also works at Ford and the “mighty” Falcons were all over the place, meaning parts were easily accessible. He’s decided to keep the engine and auto trans standard, so with the custom wiring, driveshaft, and parts pinched from work, he finds himself well under the cost it would have been if he went down the RB25DE route. “While it may be a little basic, it’s definitely value for money and a very enjoyable process, plus there’s always room down the line for a +T.”

Joseph was able to pull the motor out of the Falcon and drop it straight into the R33 in just one weekend. “Basically all the hard parts are done,” he said. He’s now waiting for a harness from Australia, and from there, it’s simple stuff like installing fuel lines and the driveshaft. Excited to see what this becomes in the near future!