so here's how the story goes...

i've been into cars since around the time gone in 60 seconds came out (like '98-'99), i was in 7th grade. my older brother and i were going to get a car to build back in '01-'02, but could never find the right one. he eventually lost interest in cars and this is when i "discovered" the 240sx. i fell in love (lol) with the s13 fastback. i didn't even know what drifting was back then. i was 14 at the time so i decided to wait until i was 17 to get one when i had my license (now that i look back i shouldn't have waited ).

i ended up getting my 240sx in june '04, a month after my 17th bday (after a good 3-4 months of searching). 1992, 132,700 miles, 5 speed, base model, bone stock, little bit of rust, no mechanical problems, no body damage (except for a few door dings), clean carfax, ONE owner. paid $1600 cash.

picsha time...

when i first got the car

and more random pics

(current DD in the background)

rusty engine bay

then i started collecting some parts, starting with suspension stuff

new front 5-lug hubs and some hardware

z32 calipers/rotors/lines

all new suspension bolts

some jdm padding in the box lol

i had all the dings taken out professionally, pieces of tape to mark them off

finally on jack stands.. the decision was made to start tearing it apart in june '05 after my inspection sticker expired and i knew there was no chance in hell this thing was going to pass. so i said fcuk it.
(as you're reading this thread, keep in mind i have no previous automotive experience at all.)

"i can't see sh*t!!"

beadblasted headlight assembly

subframe/diff rustyness

more rusty sh*t underneath, the muffler goes here

painted calipers and other stuff

disassembly of the front end

dirty as HELL

"GTFO my engine bay!!"

KA coming out

obligatory engine bay shot

ahh, so much easier to take the rest of the crap out..

the ol' rusty KA, had to cut the downpipe since ALL of the studs/bolts/nuts holding the entire exhaust system together were rusted beyond hell

zomg RB25????

already has nismo FPR

not sure about the condition of the turbo..

broken exhaust manifold stud

cut up harness (not as bad as it looks though)

built a dolly with my dad
anyone wanting to know how i made the chassis dolly, here's my write up: http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=284025

aaaand away for the winter (winter '05-'06 that is )

the rest of the car...

closet full of new parts

interior completely gutted, dry ice is awesome.. also stripping the excess seam sealer off everything

stripped engine bay. rusty and dirty as hell

rusty seams in front wheel wells

bottom of passenger side quarter panel

inside..

driver's side not nearly as bad..

burning the bushings out of the subframe

and so the rust attacking commences...

started grinding those front shock tower plates

this crap was way too deep and i could see stuff hiding under there still, so i decided to just drill it (both sides) off, good thing i did

sandblasted clean

one coat of rust bullet sprayed on

upper radiator support next.. there's a LOT of rust hiding sandwiched between here

got to sandblasting a little bit. here is my sandblasting outfit

after spraying with rust bullet..

new shock tower plates cut out and painted

front wheel wells and battery tray are next...

yes i know this cut-out is horrible, i drilled 4 holes and used my dad's sawzall with a POS blade and it came out like crap

battery tray patch cut out and welded up (i was a n00b at welding back then )

wire-wheeled all the rubber/grime out of the wheel wells

stopped for a couple months for winter
picked up again spring '07..

i gave up on my radiator supports and decided to just get new ones and replace mine

got the upper support off, test fitting the new one

got the bottom one off, man this thing was rusty as hell on the inside..

engine bay sanded down and rusty spots getting grinded down before sandblasting

decided to cut a few pieces out, i hate rusty seams!!

other side

after blasting and spraying rust bullet

then i welded on the new radiator supports and shock tower plates

then i found another surprise

tried doing a little bit of cutting and gave up, saving it for later..

blasted the front wheel wells next, and coated with rust bullet

xenon lip came woohoo!

summer '07.. someone tell me if i'm crazy

starting on the journey through hell..

after countless hours and days later, working like this..
(yes i know the die grinder is on my balls/crotch)

(this is only 1 day's worth of crap, i was out there for like 5 or 6 days..)

the end result...

man, i don't think i want to ever do that again... being out in the 80 degree+ humid NJ summer weather wearing coveralls/ski mask/etc on my back for a few days.. holy SH*T is all i have to say..

after that i figured it was time for some welding

and painted up with more rust bullet

also finally painted over these welds

just some comparison pics of the engine bay after the rust fixage

now the hard part...
started on the rear section first (basically from rear seats back)

after sandblasting

and some rust bullet

and then... a full coating of rust bullet

started the floor section next

rusty seat mount

where the e-brake cable goes through

glad i got that off...

more surprises

wtf, i thought i was done with this crap...

after a little bit of cutting and poking

after a lot of cutting

okay... this is where i stand now, the last pic was from sept '07, the car's hibernating again and will come out in less than a month for me to continue working on it. btw, so far ALL of this work has been done only by myself.

i have decided to cut those sections of frame rail out and replace with clean metal. also i will have more pics up later sometime of new parts that i've been getting over the last few months.

i know it's a TON of pics at once haha, yes some things i didn't get a chance to snap during the moment. keep in mind this "project" has been going on for the last almost 3 years now. but now that i actually started a build thread, i will have tons more pics from here on out.

in short, my plans for the car is to be rust free with brand new parts everywhere (i will get pics of the rest of my new parts later), basically a "brand new" car that i can drive daily on the street and is reliable (for the most part).

a brief list of what's left to do:

finish fixing rust on floor section
remove glass and sand everything down for paint
get most of the suspension powdercoated
new poly bushings installed
throw everything back together

anyways, i guess that's about it for now. thanks for looking and let me know what you guys think.

I admire your dedication. I'd like to think I wouldn't quit halfway through and just sell off all the parts, but I probably would. Serious kudos for sticking with it and doing all that hard work by yourself. I can't wait to see how everything comes together.

there we go..

No plans to stitch weld the frame to stiffen it up? Might as well think about it since it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to do at this point.

I look forward to seeing more updates soon. Keep up the good work!

My whole car would be blue if I marked all the dings on it... lol.

Also, I think you should try to get sponsorship from rust bullet.

240SX Factory Service Manuals

SHIFT_topless

S13 Auto -> Manual Swap / My 240SX / Convertible Top Replacement / Silvia Fog Light Wiring / DIY: SR20DET Rebuild
Stacey L. Childs, NICO Mom

good luck with it.

It is a lot of work, but so long as he enjoys it, it's worth it. Not to mention he's doing a great job at it so far.

m tr4nch, Are you going to respray the underside with rubberized undercoating? They make it in a spray can and it's worth every penny if you do do it.

SHIFT_topless

S13 Auto -> Manual Swap / My 240SX / Convertible Top Replacement / Silvia Fog Light Wiring / DIY: SR20DET Rebuild
Stacey L. Childs, NICO Mom

NICOclub Time Attack S13

1989 240sx KA24E @ Dominican Republic

i'll try and answer everybody's questions.

Quote, originally posted by homeslicej2 »

Nice job so far I too admire your dedication. I hope to restore mine in future as well. I think Nissan still sells those front frame rails. I've seen someone post them up here on NICO. It might be easier/better to just get new ones (if they still sell them), cut the old ones out, and weld in the new.

yeah i've seen people get those frame rails, i heard they are discontinued now? either way it's just that section that is rusty (where the rail bends upwards). the reason is because there's another layer in there for added strength (you can see it in my pics) and that hole there isn't such a good idea, so it just started rusting in between the layers. so i will get some sheet metal from the metal fab place around here and make some new one foot long sections for both sides.

Quote, originally posted by kouki-gymkhana »

Holy shiznit! Awesome work! I admire your dedication and the shell looks awesome so far. Be careful with that RB25...make sure you take the time to sort it through thoroughly before you drop it in. It will save you a sh*tload of headaches down the road. What mounts are you going to use? Might want to think about banging in the firewall where the starter will sit before you finish painting the bay to make it pretty. It will hurt your heart a little less if you do it now than when it's all painted. Don't ask me how I know...

Quote, originally posted by homeslicej2 »

Kouki-gymkanan....whatever, made me think of something, other than take your time to make sure the RB install is great. Look into the SKYO mounting kit for the RB25. I looks like the best one out there right now.

yeah the RB has been sitting on the engine stand for over 2 years now so i will pull things off that generally need to be replaced when doing a swap.

as for mounts, i am almost 100% sure i will be going with the SYKO mounts. i already have the r33 crossmember, and when it's all said and done it will be cheaper than getting mckinney's.

speaking of banging in the firewall, would you (or anyone) happen to have a pic of where exactly to do this? and how far in?

Quote, originally posted by kouki-gymkhana »

No plans to stitch weld the frame to stiffen it up? Might as well think about it since it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to do at this point.

you know, i was originally thinking of stitch welding the whole chassis, but i decided against it. for a street car i don't think it would be worth it. plus i can always add a cage in the future for added stiffness if i ever wanted to.

Quote, originally posted by BMAR240SX »

Did you hit the effin lotto?

lol i wish...

Quote, originally posted by Hijacker »

Subscribed. I'm digging this resto project, and I totally understand your hatred of rust. My car is an ex-jersey car and had the fortunate luck to be pulled out of there many years ago. The few years it did spend up there did damage though, which I've been slowly fixing. Just not to the extent that you're doing. I don't have the patience or garage space to sideline a car for years to do what you're doing.

lots of people don't take care of their cars around here during the winter (mine's a prime example). it looks like the previous owner parked it in the damn ocean for a while, lol.

Quote, originally posted by white90esex »

wow, seems like way more work than its worth lol. good luck with it.

maybe, i guess we'll find out hehe, thanks!

Quote, originally posted by Hijacker »

m tr4nch, Are you going to respray the underside with rubberized undercoating? They make it in a spray can and it's worth every penny if you do do it.

yesssssir. i got my 5 cans of 3m rubberized undercoating sitting in my basement.

Quote, originally posted by nwmrkt »

damn man nice job! You knew I was waiting for this thread.

haha yes i know you were thanks!

Quote, originally posted by Lopin18 »

holy, at first i was like Restoration my *** this thing is brand new!. then i saw the dings out and i was like, ok, looks more NEW, then i saw the stack of stuff i was like, hmm ok thats overboard, he wants to assemble the whole car?, then freaking doing chassis work cleaning, now rb25, OMFG, LOL THIS IS ONE HELL OF A COOL PROYECT, this car is gonna be BRAND new, beautiful. IM IN, Love this car, thread, work, everything!

thanks man! yep everything (mostly) will be brand new. i really need to go downstairs and take some pics of my last nissan order

Quote, originally posted by 2.4Loflove »

your rust problems are somewhat worse than mine, and you tackled them! good luck on whatever is coming. where did you get all the $$$ for the OEM parts?

haha thanks. $$ is from me working for 5 years and saving most of it.

I have a 90 240sx hatch that i used some parts off of, theres rust here and there just like yours, this really makes me want to restore it and give it another chance, rather than giving it to a junkyard.

damn man sweet restoration though...omg !!! this thread is so getting marked

for s