some white guy's build thread. (s13 coupe)

[some_white_guy]

So I'm starting work on my new white 240 tomorrow,

Funny story on how i found it, I took my current car into one of my dad's customer's shops (he is a snap-on tool dealer) and i look over and sitting up on a lift is a white 240 coupe and I had been looking for one for several months and now i finally found one. The best part, the shop owner got it for free but had to pay $600 in back registration so guess how much i am paying...yep $600. The only thing is that it has a blown headgasket but he already has a new one so we will be putting the engine back together over this week along with random pieces of the interior that were taken apart.

After this I'm getting some rims then if i stay in state for college next year I want to buy a turbo and all that jazz to autoX with my dad.

Hope you guys enjoy my build/restoration and be ready for some updates, finally get to make this thread (i have been wanting to for soooo long).

[numbnuts240]

congrats and good luck.

[hatedinthemind]

Goodluck and get some pics up

[some_white_guy]

of course i forget my camera today but basically all i did was clean engine parts for 3 hours so it was pretty uneventful. workin again tomorrow so pics hopefully :fistpumping:

[OM3GA]

Yay I <3 build threads.

[some_white_guy]

k here's 2 pictures i got quick with my phone, when i finish the engine i will back it out of the shop and take full body pics.



picture of the engine is dark cuz the shop is kinda dark, especially cuz i'm working at nighttime


my first time posting pictures, i hope it works

[some_white_guy]

do i need anything besides adjustable RUCA's to keep my tire wear even and suspension geometry correct for coilovers?

[some_white_guy]

the shop i'm working in

perfect fenders all around



1 interior pic


gana put the head and valve cover on tomorrow and probably get it running saturday. going to autoX at laguna seca sunday so i wont be starting the paint prep till next week. going with either silver/dark grey/white/satin black. going to have to make a decision soon.

[some_white_guy]

before cleaning

after cleaning


full body shots...4x4 what what




progress!!! got the head back on



not working on it over the weekend so gana have to try to get it started on monday. still need to know about the coilover question, do i only need ruca's to keep my tire wear even? how bout in front?

[some_white_guy]

this is why i didnt get to work on my car today

yes that's a gt2
i got a ride in it, one of my dad's friends asked the driver if i could get a ride in it and he said sure but hurry because he had to leave, so i buckle the 4 point harness in and throw my helmet on and i didnt tighten the seat belt or my helmet down and all of a sudden he floors it into the first corner and i find myself hanging on for dear life with my stomach in my throat. i was absolutely speechless when i got out of the car, the fastest 39.1 seconds of my life. it was phenomenal.

[some_white_guy]

progress means update, hooked up some hoses and put the valve cover on, and bolted the exhaust down

[some_white_guy]

Almost done!



I'm almost positive i can have it running by tomorrow if i find a grommet for the bottom of the radiator that fell out and magically disappeared.

[some_white_guy]

started painting the interior today since the grommet didnt come in from nissan yet. going matte black for EVERYTHING. seats, doors, dash, a-pillars. full matte black interior on a white coupe, i think its gana be sick.

pre-teardown (brown)


first round of painting


i took the doors out today also but had to go before i got around to painting them. hopefully can get everything but the carpet and seats done monday since i'm busy all weekend.

[some_white_guy]

brown door pre-paint


now matte black


you cant see in the picture but i got some runs on the door and some blotches it pisses me off cuz i knew i shoulda taken my time and do light coats but after like the 2nd one i just started spraying on it heavy and it f*** it up but oh well i'm probably the only one that will ever notice.

finished engine


ALMOST got it running, it was studdering like hell wanting to start but cracked radiator and a leaking fuel line kept it from happening today, gana do a compression test tomorrow also to make sure everything is in order. praying that she is gana start up tomorrow. after 2-3 straight weeks of work its finally paying off especially if she starts tomorrow i cant wait!!!!!!

[some_white_guy]

took out the dash today and the old radiator, hopefully the new radiator comes in tomorrow and paint the dash. The interior is half brown half black and it looks funny but no pics cuz my phone died

update tomorrow i guess. need to pick out some rims too, anyone with suggestions go ahead and post, i only have stock 4lug tho so keep that in mind.

[some_white_guy]

damn 10 straight posts, no love for saving a nice 240?

[zach-Ka]

^^^ LOL everyone is only on Nico to show off what they have and have people say how awesome they are these days. No sincere support anymore. And the only way you get attention is if you are droppin $3k a week on parts... But any ways, Looking really good man. It looks like your interior came out awesome! Is there any way you can get some better pictures so I can see the quality?

[Steady_One_S13]

Yeah... looking good! Work on suspension next and get them ruca's to adjust camber.
What did you use so that the paint will adhere to the panels?

[some_white_guy]

i just got them as clean as i could and sprayed them, its a temporary fix till i buy oem pieces to replace them, the paint is already kind of scuffing off on some places so i dont think its going to stay clean for very long.

as for quality, once i finish the interior i'm gana borrow my friends d90 to take some pics but that might be a week or so off. gotta have this car done for prom haha

so yesterday was compression test day, 1st was fine, 2nd was fine, 3rd was 0, 4th was fine. I thought oh god now i have to buy a new bottom end or engine but luckly after putting some oil into the cylinder the compression went back to normal but the car still didnt start. since the rockers had been sitting so long they were completely dried out so i took them off and put oil into the hydrolics of the arms.

here is my rebuilding station haha

[PyR0NiAk]

Keep up the work...

[some_white_guy]

put the doors in and painted the dash



the car still doesnt run, i guess time to troubleshoot the electrical now.

[Philipio]

I'd love to see more pictures of the painted interior parts. What did you use?

Car's coming along, hope you can get it done soon.

[some_white_guy]

i used a matte black carpet/vinyl spray paint from pepboys, i'll take some more pictures of the whole interior once i put the dash back in

[zach-Ka]

i just got them as clean as i could and sprayed them, its a temporary fix till i buy oem pieces to replace them, the paint is already kind of scuffing off on some places so i dont think its going to stay clean for very long.

So would you say that it's not worth it? Or do you think with more prep it would be fine?

[Steady_One_S13]

^Yes what he said.

[some_white_guy]

for me, totally worth it. I can just take off the door panels in like 30 seconds and touch them up if i want plus black is 10000000x better than brown imo. with more prep i think it would work well, i made sure to take more care with my dash so it wouldnt scrub off as easily and so i'm gana go see how it turned out.

update: THE CAR RUNS...the oil pump was off the timing by like 2 teeth so it wouldnt start
going to get some pics of the car out of the shop today for sure if i can get the dash back in, i have to study for my AP tomorrow so i might not completely finish it tonight . mayb i'll take it home and just put everything back in at my house but the tires look dangerous to drive on tbh lol.

sorry for all the words and no pics but mayb some pics tonight (doing this from the library at school lol)

[some_white_guy]

final choice on rims, not my #1 choice but they were cheap and will suffice to drive for the rest of the summer. 17x7.5 all around with 215/45/17 tires.
might decide to get fancy and paint the spokes bronze since that is the color i wanted originally.

also thinking about getting these (Megans). for only $140 shipped it seems like a good deal, 1.75" lower front and back and saving like $700 and no need to buy ruca's i believe.

[some_white_guy]

got some non-phone pics finally, almost finished reinstalling the interior


might go JDM on this ^^ and ziptie it haha but thats only if i cant find a non-broken piece

i can see in this pic ^^ where i shoulda painted more, but IRL its hard to tell, especially cuz its at your feet w/ 0 light

going to give the doors another coat or 2 each, I ran outa paint both times i tried to paint them

very impressed by the dash, it turned out 1000000x better than the doors, i might just completely redo the doors now that i see this pic haha

lol half black half brown, i might just wait till i get the car home to paint the rest of the interior, and no1 can fit in the back seats anyway haha

pic of the now running engine, finally!!

yea thats right, carpet, be jealous. lol jk

most pictures i have ever uploaded at once lol. big update, enjoy

[breadbox]

Keep up the good, work. Does the paint have a smell if the car is closed for a while?

[some_white_guy]

Keep up the good, work. Does the paint have a smell if the car is closed for a while?

nope. i made sure the pieces were completely dry before i put them in and its fine.

update: replaced the flat tire and completely finished the interior. the battery is dead so i left it at the shop on the charger. cant wait to bring it home tomorrow. I'm probably going to take it straight to the car wash then take some pics haha.

crappy cell phone pics again sorry! interior is done


this one is just for fun, had to break out the cheetah on the first tire cuz the bead on the outside was torn but we didnt see it at first.


SHE'S COMIN HOME TOMORROW