Beginner Long Post with Pics!

[guttershark]

Alright guys. Now before you start reading and the elite members start raggin' on me for my complete noobness. Please know that when It comes to vehicles, I pretty much know the BASICS, this thread will be full of super noob questions. So if you have no patience or the will to educate the dumb. Turn back now! This will require lots of reading!

To be completely honest. This is my first car. I purchased a 1990 Nissan 240sx Automatic (PIIGAYY!) Fastback two days ago, and I am freaking stoked, it's sitting in my driveway right now.



No. I don't want to race.No. I don't want to drift.

It's a daily driver car. I got it because I love the look of these cars and the fact that even though there are four cylinders, they have a bit of go. I just didn't to buy a generic civic, sunfire or cavalier. I live in Canada and thats ALL you see studnets driving and I wanted to get something unique. From what I know there are 3 240's in my town.

What will I be doing with it? Sound system for sure, Redoing the interior is a MUST, and might get a new set of rims. I just want my daily comuter car to be clean and nice.

Practicle but sexy. Yay.

Okay now one to the pics - and super dumb questions.







First Dumb Question - Spoiler. Yay or Nay? I kinda want to take it off but I know I'll be left with holes. I could fill them with bondo an use touch-up paint to hide it right?



Second Dumb Question - What in the hell is that? An intake right? I was wondering if this was stock, It doesn't look stock, but I swear I've seen it on other piggies, is this some backyard mod?

Okay lets move on.



Third Dumb Question - A little too ricey? It's white btw, I used a special setting on my digital camera and everything turned out different colours.

Anyway? Remove or keep. Suggestions would help cause I'm kinda indecisive about it so far. What would be the best way to take it off btw?

Yes. Im that much of a noob.

Okay lets's move on to the rims.



Forth Dumb Question - They are Konig Verdicts right? I didn't know what they were and did a bit of googling.

The tires are Yokohama and they were purchased in 04'

Alright, so so far you've all seen the good thing about the car, the body. It seems like it's in very good shape. In person the does not seem like a 1990 at all. Theres one small dent on the front panel, its like a dent with rust on it and a dent on the passenger side door and a tiny bit of surface rust under it. The wheel well lips are pretty solid too, not much rust to be found on it.

The car was sandblasted and repainted in 02'

But then you open the doors.

BROWN!



Fifth REALLY Dumb Question - Yeah I agree. Thats fugly ****. and yes I have gauges on the... thing. Whats that called?

I have alot to learn! Shh!

I've never seen too many pics of interiors of 240sx's before but this was a rather nice sight when I bought the car.



The seat folds down to expose a box. I don't know if thats how they all come or if it's custom or some aftermarket box, but it's pretty sweet. Wanna hide your stuff? Fold it back up. Everything fits nicely.



The speakers and sub are old and suck, no questions asked. I mean the cd player doesn't even play mp3 cds. I havn't heard the sub because the amps are broken but they suck too.

Sixth Dumb Question - It wouldn't be that hard of a job swapping the interior for a leather interior from a standard 90'? Would it? I might be able to get my hands on the whole damn thing.

Now it kinda seems like a rollercoaster of good and bad, until...



Yeah 300 659 Kms ... But the car runs excellently. Turns on flawlessy and the idle seems strong and consistent, no rattling or random noises. I took it around the street and it sounds, and drives very nice.

The previous owner really took care of it. I have a record of all the work that was done to it. From 1997 to 2005 (The muffler was done in april of this year.)

It has yet to be etested or certified but I have faith it will pass both with minor troubles. The last time it was certified was in 04'. I know the handbrake is messed, my friend said it's probabily the lines.

Seventh Dumb Question - You guys think that replacing the handbrake lines would be too big of a job for a noob and a frequent DIY'er. I'd DEFINITLY go through the trouble to save labor charges and like fixing things, its interesting to me, and I really want to put work into the car. I find it rewarding.

Woo Dirty old engine pics!



Most major work was done in 2003-2005. New fuel lines, starter, injector, rear shocks, fuel sender, fuel pump, couplings all purchased in 04'. There was an oil leak fixed in 04'. Frame rail was repaired in 02'.

Eigth Dumb Question - Whats the best way to clean up and engine? Yes theres a search engine. And whats up with the tape stuff?

So thats it. I bought this car for $1800 Canadian and it has 300, 659 kms on it. From what you've seen and read, was it a decent price?

Thanks for bearing with me.


Modified by guttershark at 12:03 AM 8/4/2006

[~4N~]

Don't do anything to it just yet. Some things may grow on you, and some you may start disliking. Hang around the forums, drive your car, talk to other owners, and slowly and patiently decide on what you want to do to your car.

[KDashy]

Looks nice, do those gauge pods on the side work? and if so, what do they measure.

[Mez_DK]

nice find.

start saving for a swap, thats alot of miles/kms!

[drftsil8ty]

good looking car. for your first car...Welcome to NICO!

[ArcherV20]

If the body is tip top - it looks like it's a great condidate for a conversion / swap!

[guttershark]

Yeah they work and look pretty rad at night.

They measure BOOST! No, no they don't.

[wa-chiss]

the guages are on the "A" pillar. the pillar right behind your head holding up the roof is the "B" pillar and the back pillar you guessed it, is the "C" pillar. The tape on the intake looks like some sort of heat barrior tape. Take it off, it not only looks bad but is totaly unnesessary. The wing/spoilerisn't that bad looking. Looks like you got lucky on a pignose w/ a lip. If your looking to get a body kit, sell your front bumper/ lip. you can get a decent amount for it. I personaly don't like the rims but to each his own. And yes i do beleive they are konigs. All in all i think you got a good deal. Welcome to the family and enjoy the ride!

[574-240sx]

The spoiler looks like a TypeX one. I think in this case the car look cleaner without it. Take off the 240sx decal. Start with a razor blade then use an anhesive remover for the left over glue. Rims look good for now. Ditch the brown interior if you can find some black interior for cheap. Replacing ebrake cables isn't that hard but they are pretty expensive from the dealer, thats the only place they are available from. Depends how much rust is on the car, its pretty easy job, may take a few hours for a noob. Not sure what the tape deal is you should pull it off. Just go to you local parts store and grab a few cans of some foam engine degreaser. Good find though and welcome.

[guttershark]

Yeah I really want to get a new interior.

I MIGHT be buying my friends leather interior if he can't fix the laundry list of problems. I hate my interior, looks like melted chocolate.

I hope all goes well for his repairs.

Anyone got any comments bout the intake thing?

[Sneaky-Russian]

Yeah I really want to get a new interior.

I MIGHT be buying my friends leather interior if he can't fix the laundry list of problems. I hate my interior, looks like melted chocolate.

I hope all goes well for his repairs.

Anyone got any comments bout the intake thing?

My interior is brown too. I have matching tan leather tho. But I kinda like it , man.

[Jiggyfry]

Welcome to Nico, Canadian bud-dy! The car looks awsome too. IM surprised there is little to no rust seeing as how we have the worst winters up here. Awsome find and great price. 1800$ Canadian= 5$ U.S.

[roplusbee]

Welcome to NICO. Your ride looks like a great deal. That is, if it is rust free for the most part. I think you should just give it some time before you start changing things. You may find that you actualy like it's configuration. You will eventually know what you want to do with the car and had the time to read up or search for useful info. Have fun with it and good job on a nice find.

[amolao]

Whooaaa!!! Your car is a clean excellent stock looking S13, the exterior is perfect, I even like the wing. But when I saw the engine bay..... I almost puke a little bit.... Honestly, your car is even rust free for a Canadian S13... Leave the brown interior alone, is in excellent shape and I think you are going to need the money for the engine. Whatever the previous owner told you about new that, this, good maintenance,etc....dont believe it.

The engine shows signs of high mileage, which is not too bad on a 240sx. But all the leaks, duct tape,etc are hiding a lot of problems. Please do this ASAP:

Take the engine while is warm and not running, and hit it with a good brush and solvent and hit most areas while rinsing with a garden hose, so the solvent does not sit in the painted areas too long. Make sure the water pressure is low for this step. Be careful of open or cracked wires, dont get water in them because then you will have problems.

Buy 4 or 5 cans of engine degrease and spray engine while warm. Let it sit and loose the grime and grease on the engine. Using high pressure and while engine is running (make sure to cover electrical areas) spray the heck out of it....Let it dry while running .....Repeat all steps with the under carriage...sorry about the long post, I just hate to see engines like that, If I was near you, I stop by and help you:)...It will be awesome if you post before and after pics.......Email me if any questions......

[da40]

thats such a long post im sleepy now.......ohhh welcome to nico

[LiteraryCannon]

Welcome to NICO. This forum was created in the hopes of gathering a Nissan/Infiniti enthusiast community. We will educate you, break you in, and show you the way. A lot of decision making is your own responsibility but my personal goal has always been to just give advice and let people hae the knowledge so they can make their own well informed decision. The first thing you need to know is that if you have a simple question, use the SEARCH button. It is your best friend whenever you have a problem or want to do research. Even the experts use it. The other thing is that you should get a Factory Service Manual made by Nissan for your specific year and model. You can find this on ebay or other websites. The Service Manual will show you detailed diagrams and how to remove/inspect/install pretty much everything factory-related on your car.

Your car looks to be in good condition externally. You may grow tired of the automatic transmission after a while but since it is your first car, maybe it is best that you get used to driving the car and the rear wheel drive layout before you change your transmission or upgrade to a vehicle with 5spd. The car has potential to be found and since you are a new driver, you have potential in yourself to be found. Drive, drive, drive, and drive some more. Get used to driving, the feel of your car, and you will love it. I will give you a piece of advice, do not beat on your car, drive it relatively easy because of you have high mileage, automatic transmission, and the ka24e, which is the sohc motor. Others may tell you differently but the sohc motor at least for me in the past has given me tons of headaches with headgaskets, idle problems, and bad valve tapping. So do yourself a favor and maintain your motor while driving it in a responsible manner.

Yes, these cars do have a real bit of go with them. 240's are said to be the last affordable RWD car ever made. It has a 2.4 litre sohc motor that puts out about 150 horsepower at the crank and the same in torque. These KA motors dont rev high but they make good torque and are relatively strong and can take some abuse.

Sound System: The factory speaker sizes for the 240sx hatchback are 4x6. The back speakers are in the corners between the quarter panel glass and hatch glass and honestly in my opinion are useless. The front speakers are in the doors and are too tiny for any real power. Look on ebay and you will be able to find 6.5" adaptor door cards which will allow you to use the larger 6.5" speakers in the doors. From there you can get any 6.5" speakers that you like or you can get a component set (speakers, tweeters, and crossovers) and rock out. A good affordable headunit is Pioneer. Stay away from Sony, JVC, and the other cheap brands, they wont last long and you will waste the money in the long run.

Wheels: Do some research and find out what wheel sizes fit nicely on the 240sx's. You will find that offset and width have a lot to do with the type of look you are looking for, etc. Do you want to remain 4 lug or go 5 lug? If you want to stay 4 lug for practicality and monetary ($) reasons then you should do so and look for some good 4 lug wheels. What is your budget for wheels? Almost everyone on the forums has nice wheels and if you start a thread that says something like.. need help with wheel choice, and then in the thread you say you want 17's that are at least 8" wide and have a rwd offset, a lot of guys will be able to help you.

Question/Answer Session:

1 - Leave the spoler that is on your car. It doesn't look too bad. If you take it off then you have to deal with doing body work on the trunk to fill the holes, sanding, and painting. I dont think you want to do that just yet. Wait it out a bit and reconsider it. The wing really isn't that bad.

2 - What intake? I dont see what you are talking about. Circle it in the picture and repost it.

3 - If that decal is annoying YOU then remove it. Everyone on here will give you a different opinion but at the end of the day you have to decide for yourself wether you can live with that decal or not. I personally dont like it. If it is on the outside of the glass, take a blade and remove it. A blade, the type of blade that go's in a box-cutter. Hold it with your hand and scrape the decal off.

4 - Yes those are Konig Verdicts. They dont look that bad to me personally. If the tires are in good shape, roll with them.

The brown interior really isn't that bad. I have the same interior and you start to get used to it after a while. If not then wait till someone is parting out their car and grab the black interior pieces.

5 - That is called an a-pillar gauge pod. You have space for two. The speakers are aftermarket. Looks like a decent job. If they work, keep them. That is not factory equipment. Factory gives you two weak 4x6's in the corners. If the speakers, subs, and sound equipment doesn't satisfy your needs, save some money and throw them out and replace them with better ones. Remember.. before you go out and buy expensive sound system items, post threads here and you will be surprised at the hookups and connections and websites that we can suggest that will sell you the same product or something better for less.. No one wants to waste money so remember to ask where is the best place to get so and so.

6 - You can swap the leather from an s13 right in, no changes needed and it is not that hard. I dont remember exactly but I think the leather was only available on the LE models which were made in 91?

The handbrake probably needs to be tightened, check on that and run a search on how to tighten the e-brake. That is a lot of mileage but I have seen more than that and had a car with 300k miles and not km's, so these cars can last a long time as long as you maintain them. If it runs good, dont sweat it. Do have the inspection done and let us know if it passes on its own. A lot of people just pay the mechanic to have it pass.

7 - I doubt you need to replace the brake hardlines. That is almost never the case unless there is rust that eats away the lines. What you want to do is find out what exactly is the problem. Are your brakes good? If your brakes are good then its just your ebrake, and all you need to do is adjust it. If your brakes are bad then you need to change your pads, check the rotors, and bleed the brakes. Stainless steel brake lines are a good upgrade as well.

8 - The best way to clean up an engine is to tape up all the electrical sensors, plugs, wires, and devices. Then once you have them covered up in bags and taped, start your car and spray some under the hood. There is a thing called Engine Brite which you can find at a lot of stores, you can use that spray and wait a while, then rinse it off and your engine bay should be very clean. I did this and it does make a difference. However, if your engine bay is extremely dirty you will need to do this a couple of times before you get the clean-ness you are looking for.

The cars price was decent, congrads and have fun.

[guttershark]

Thanks for your detailed response!

Here is what I meant by an intake.

[amolao]

homemade.....only real 180sx's came with such intake....

[Sneaky-Russian]

Cannon's reply should be a sticky for all newbz with lil modification.

[wayfast240]

great looking car bro, i would wait and think about what you want to do with the car, give it time to figure out what you like and dont like. like amolao said you should clean the engine and find out if there is anything wrong first, address that and then work on your inteirior. good luck with what ever you decide to do, ohh and welcome to nico.

[XXDRIFTCRAZYXX]

lucky!!!!! thats the exact car i am looking for!!!!!!

[DrJuice164]

Don't want that spoiler, I will take it off your hands. Get me on aim if interested.