1990 240SX Autocross Build (DSP)

[mirochuki13]

Looking good. The rust isn't too bad.

[fullmetal]

what type of spring rates are you running? are you planning on keeping it streetable or track only?

[nissanman04]

double post

[nissanman04]

what type of spring rates are you running? are you planning on keeping it streetable or track only?

550 lb/in front, 450 rear...This won't be too streetable, I'm pretty much just driving it too and from events.

[nissanman04]

So I found a few hours today to put on the clutch/flywheel and drop the engine in. Once it was in there and mounted, I was done for the day since I was freezing and wet. For this same reason, I have no pics at the moment, but you've all seen an s13 w/ a DOHC KA in there.

Still left to do (so that the car will be drivable):-Wire up engine-Install radiator/hoses-Hook up fuel lines-Plug EGR/AIV holes-Install exhaust-Make custom intake-Have spring perches welded on front strut housings-Install new tie rod ends-Install replacement FLCAs-Install PS hoses-Replace wheel studs-Install brakes-Bleed brakes-Bypass clutch damper-Bleed clutch-Install DOHC gauge cluster-Find wheels/tires for street use (anyone have a set of 16x8 +10 rota grids for sale?)-Set appropriate ride height-Get alignment#1

After all this is done, I can tackle bushings on the rear of the car (fun, I know!). Supposed to get around 6" of snow tonight, so the project will be on hold for a few days probably...

[MRNA]

Looks fun...

[nissanman04]

Looks fun...

Yeah, it has been, except for today...it was really too cold and wet. I can't wait until I graduate and I can move somewhere warm.

[nissanman04]

This is what I'm dealing with at the moment...

[nismofly]

you guys got quite a bit more than we did, its actually raining here right now, ill be driving my car back to long island tomorrow no problem

[Nis-240sx-san]

Hey, I didnt realize you lived in rochester. I'm in buffalo, and we got a ton of snow too. I have a red hatch just like yours, and it looks exactly like that, the snow and all.

[nissanman04]

Hey, I didnt realize you lived in rochester. I'm in buffalo, and we got a ton of snow too. I have a red hatch just like yours, and it looks exactly like that, the snow and all.

Since you're in Buffalo, you should come out to some WNY region events.

So I finally got the engine started up. I drove it up and down the driveway to make sure the clutch was operable and everything looks good... I still have to hook up the exhaust and get an alignment. Also, I'm gonna need a fender roll in back because I got some 16x8 +0 sportmax 002s (not really my first choice, but they are cheap and come in a decent size).

[fullmetal]

great build man I keep us up dated

[nissanman04]

OK, so I'm almost finished...

I still have to mount the battery in the trunk, have the front spring perches welded on, bleed the brakes, set the ride height, roll my fenders, and get an alignment. I have until the end of April to do this, so I think I'm in pretty good shape...I don't think I'll have the R-compounds by then because of funding issues, but driving on the Z1's may help me learn how to drive the car a little better. Seats, harnesses, strut bars, and bushings will have to wait for the same reason, but it should still be a fun car to drive (on the course at least...i took it for a spin around the neighborhood, and the vibrations from the hockey puck engine mounts and urethane transmission mount are pretty severe. I wouldn't recommend this setup for a daily-driven car. I may experiment with an engine damper to see if I can tone down the vibrations a little.)

[blinker_fluid]

I hacked up an old tire and put a small piece of it between the mount and the frame. It raised the engine 1/4 inch but it also toned down the vibration about 50%. Make sure your bolts are tight b/c my power steering idler fell off and almost lost the passenger side fender.

[nissanman04]

I hacked up an old tire and put a small piece of it between the mount and the frame. It raised the engine 1/4 inch but it also toned down the vibration about 50%. Make sure your bolts are tight b/c my power steering idler fell off and almost lost the passenger side fender.

May try that, but I'm not too concerned about it since I'm only going to drive it once a week or so. I want it to behave as well as possible, but I'm not expecting it to run like my LS400, which you can't even tell is running.

[Ali 556]

OP,

you can't go wrong with KONI/GC setup.... ...and if you have extra ~600$ get a Execcive intake mani....will shave ~8 LBS and delet all the EGR Crap...And will add ~15Whp on the Stock"ish" KADE...

GOOOOOOOOOOOOD Luck I'll Do The Same As You In The next monthes...also when you have the car on the track...give me any feed back on them koni's....

GL,

Ali

[nissanman04]

OP,

you can't go wrong with KONI/GC setup.... ...and if you have extra ~600$ get a Execcive intake mani....will shave ~8 LBS and delet all the EGR Crap...And will add ~15Whp on the Stock"ish" KADE...

GOOOOOOOOOOOOD Luck I'll Do The Same As You In The next monthes...also when you have the car on the track...give me any feed back on them koni's....

GL,

Ali

Will do...

Hopefully I'll have some more money to play with in the next couple months, so the intake manifold is not out of the question, along with a cheap header to drop some more weight.

[Ali 556]

Also If You Have MAD money...Go With Silvia Front End...I've read somewhere that you will save ~20-30 LBS...

And if you are realy CRAZY.....cut the raditior(SP?) support and weld some piping instead...you will save EASY 80 LBS....

GL,

Ali

[nissanman04]

Also If You Have MAD money...Go With Silvia Front End...I've read somewhere that you will save ~20-30 LBS...

And if you are realy CRAZY.....cut the raditior(SP?) support and weld some piping instead...you will save EASY 80 LBS....

GL,

Ali

Nice idea, but I don't think that modification is legal in Street Prepared, or even Street Modified for that matter.

[Asmar]

Lookin' good so far.

[DJButton]

Also If You Have MAD money...Go With Silvia Front End...I've read somewhere that you will save ~20-30 LBS...

And if you are realy CRAZY.....cut the raditior(SP?) support and weld some piping instead...you will save EASY 80 LBS....

GL,

Ali

OMG I did that, I must have a racecar now! LOL

Looks like it's coming along nicely man, I'd love to actually compete with my car at some point.

[scole]

Hey man, the car looks great! What are you doing for front strut housings?

I cant wait to get out there and race, ive been dying to all winter.

[nissanman04]

Hey man, the car looks great! What are you doing for front strut housings?

I cant wait to get out there and race, ive been dying to all winter.

Hey, what's up...yeah this has been a really long winter, the first event can't come soon enough. Still gonna be running in STS this year?

As far as housings go, I hacked up the stock ones that I had. I still need to have the spring perches welded onto the housings. At the moment they are just kind of sitting on what is left of the stock weld. I'm not going to have much shock travel once I get the ride height to where I want it to be. I wish I had the shock rod and housing shortened when I ordered them, but I didn't know about the problem at that time. It's like a 6 week turnaround from Koni to get this done. After I heard that, I didn't even bother asking how much it would cost.

See you out there...

[scole]

Where'd you get the shocks from? Koni has a bunch of variants in terms of rod length, stroke and what not. You might be able to get different inserts to fit a bit better.

If you need to get those spring perches welded on, my brothers got a welder at his house; it would take no time at all.

And yeah, still STS.

[nissanman04]

Where'd you get the shocks from? Koni has a bunch of variants in terms of rod length, stroke and what not. You might be able to get different inserts to fit a bit better.

If you need to get those spring perches welded on, my brothers got a welder at his house; it would take no time at all.

And yeah, still STS.

I got them from nolimitmotorsport.com. Yeah, If I ever replace these, I may go for the 8610s or 8611s, and I'll make the appropriate measurements to get the perfect size. I'll probably take you up on using that welder...I'll let you know.

[nissanman04]

OK, so I finally got to take this thing out for a little drive, and it already feels pretty good. The engine runs flawlessly. The idle is around 1000, but that is necessary with the lightened flywheel due to lower inertia. Maybe I can dial it down a bit, but if I can't, I'm not going to worry about it. I still need to have it aligned properly, and the front is still too high because I need to lower the spring perches on the housings. I also haven't touched the damping adjustment on the front.

Since I could really care less how this thing looks, to make room for the +0 offset wheels, I just pounded out the rear fenders with a BFH and a heat gun. It didn't come out too terribly, however apparently someone did some bodywork on the passenger side, and the bondo was chipping off. At least there is no more tire rubbing. Even though it looks better slammed, I think I'm going to raise up the back a bit because the camber is a little too high (at least by looking at it, I'd like to know exactly how bad it is). Also, the control arms are on the verge of pointing downward, which is not a good thing in terms of roll center.

The only problem that is bugging me is a slow power steering leak at the pump AN fitting. I'm gonna try some teflon tape on it and see if that takes care of the issue.

Current pics as of 3/30:

[irocznissan]

nice keep it up man

[prestodevil]

That thing is looking clean......props on the clean motorset

[onosqv]

Nice idea, but I don't think that modification is legal in Street Prepared, or even Street Modified for that matter.

Silvia front will be legal for SM class. Radiator cutting & rewelding will put you in a Prepared class (EP in this case).

Yea, either way, no go for DSP, haha.

I have such a long way to go before I'm competitive at all as a driver, so I just mod to my content & run the local "California Street Mod"/"no holds barred" class, basically somewhere between SM-EP-XP, hee hee.

I'll build a car to win a class when I actually feel I would be competitive.

Good luck on the DSP build!

[r34 gtr]

Wish I qualified for SP. Hell, I don't even qualify for SM anymore, and every car in that class dominates me. My mom just leased a new base model miata though, and its gonna show some people how its done at this season's first autoX.

The car looks good though! I would love to hear some feedback on that shock/spring combo after you have your first race!