A Build in the Mitten State...

[SolaraOnBronze]

haha thanks man, I have the resources to make it look good, I just don't have the time right now. It took a lot to get it together and running for the season and I was so happy to drive it when I did that the bay details got overlooked. Toss in getting married friday and all that comes along with that and I just don't have the time these days.

I have decided to just wait on making it look good under there until next spring when it comes out of storage. I have a GReddy intake manifold to install, maybe do a turbo manifold, mild wire tuck and cleanup, paint and powdercoat a lot of stuff under there, fix the strut tower rust, etc... it will all get done this winter I'm sure.

[Idahos13]

WoW man the car is looking mighty fine these days! Good luck with the wedding bro!

[Didderson]

Looks nice man, aside from the tucking 'we' have to take care of. Where'd you get your oil fill cap? Seems like you and me did strut bars last lol...

[SolaraOnBronze]

haha yeah, I was waiting for the right deal for strut braces to pop up. I got the oil cap from 240sxmotoring- FR sport has them as well. For sure have a lot of wire tucking to do, lol...

[SolaraOnBronze]

So, the car has been on the back burner with getting married, going on the honeymoon, moving into our new place, and making the transition back to work. However, things are settling down and I am starting to get some more time for the car as the season is sort of starting to wind down.

As the car sits, it still has a laundry list of issues. My recent lack of time has left the car feeling pretty neglected:

1. The fuel latch broke, so instead of driving with a popped fuel door or duct tape on it, I just took it off.

2.The car still idle hunts a bit because of a bad maf, which I have a replacement for, I just need to install it.

3. One headlight still doesn't work, but I have a whole assembly waiting to go on for that as well.

4. There is an exhaust leak coming from the downpipe/test pipe area, so the car sounds like garbage.

5. The stock T25 turbo is on its last leg. The car has begun to smoke at idle on a warm startup and the turbo squeals like a dying pig under boost. It is drivable at the moment, but I would prefer to park it and address these issues.

I am thinking it would be a waste of time and money to replace the turbo with another T25, so I am going to upgrade. I am most likely going with the GT28 from the S15. Still researching, but I will need a few other things with this, including a different intake, injectors, fuel pump, wideband, and something to tune with.

At the same time, I am thinking I shouldn't be spending all of this money when the wife and I are saving for a house. I am beginning to have mixed feelings with the direction the car is heading. I am considering selling the cf hood and hatch, and possible doing away with the jdm side skirts and rear valences. I'm just not sure that they mean that much to me at this point- strangely enough, I almost prefer the sound of some power adders.

Any thoughts? This is the look I would be rocking (the front lip is painted to match the car now):





And this is how it is now with the sides/rear and cf:

[Idahos13]

In my opinion man your car can rock the stock body look without the sides and rear valances, just my opinion. Whatever you do the car will look great! Congrats on getting married!

[Nacho_240]

You need to stop and think about this again...

Do not sell ANY of your aero because it will mess up the beautiful look it has going for it, but the carbon fiber hood and hatch can go. They will fade and probably have less-than-perfect fitment. I've had a xenon lip and chuki skirts for a while and was convinced by your car to get the type x valances because they flows with the xenon lip nicely. I love the look, fitment and durability of it all!

I was in the same boat as you in regards to the smoking T25 with massive shaft play. I bought a used T25 because funds were low, but got so fed up with the used turbo that I applied for a credit card and went the s15 spec R route instead. I got virtually everything from the packages on FRSport. I haven't looked back since. Also, if you don't have the funds to do everything at once then just get the turbo, reclock adapters, oil drain tube package, gaskets, aftermarket elbow and ss braided lines, but MAKE SURE you are at stock boost and temporarily remove any boost controllers to keep you from raising it. This route requires no tune and you can complete the rest of the install at a later date.

Hope I helped you in making the right decision

[Ghast]

With everything you have going on, I would park her.

I don't know how big of a priority the car is BUT. I would take care of everything else in life first and then just come back to the car. (The car is not going anywhere as long as it is parked in a garage)

End of 08 to now life for me as been a bit of a rough patch... But the s13 sits patiently in the garage, until i am ready to go back to her.

Everything may not be as SERIOUS as i may be interpreting it, that is just my advice though.

Also i would not sell the OEM aero, throw it in a closet and just leave it there. You do not want to add them later on down the road and have a bad time trying to find a clean pair all over again haha

Good Luck.

Ghasty

[SolaraOnBronze]

Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it. I would love to park the car, but my brother is having his 2.5 RS swapped right now and he is driving my beater until it is finished. I work an hour from where I live, so I need to be driving the car right now. I have been taking a break with it for the last 3 weeks or so, being so busy with the wedding and family things, so I don't feel too overwhelmed by getting back into it right now.

I am thinking I may have jumped the gun on saying the turbo is bad. I don't hear any whining or squealing from the turbo this morning and it boosts just fine- the only thing wrong is a massive exhaust leak, which has gotten louder and seems to be coming from the downpipe area near the turbo. Hopefully I will have time this week to check it out and see where the issue is coming from.

As for selling some of the exterior mods, you're right ghast- I am going to hold off right now and leave it how it sits for the rest of the season. There is no sense in removing some things to do others. I might change it up if I get bored or genuinely don't like something anymore, but it is better to do it right and save up for when the time is right.

I am going to change the oil and inspect the turbo/downpipe this week to see if I can't fix this exhaust leak and go from there.

[hbpignosePA]

i love this car dude.

ditch the carbon fiber (i never liked it unless it is paint matched idk y)

turbo upgrades are always nice, but make sure not to upset the misses!

[SolaraOnBronze]

Got some goodies today!









They even sent me a free shirt! w00t!



More on the way!

[Didderson]

Oh that is nice man. I have to catch up on the last page. Haven't been following but your work and purchases are always extra clean!

[SolaraOnBronze]

haha, thanks. There hasn't been a lot of news lately, but things are starting to pick up a bit again.

[Bumnah]

Make sure you put that HKS actuator on there. You know for real response.

[SolaraOnBronze]

It's on the grocery list

[SolaraOnBronze]

More stuff today:

Exhaust manifold gasket, new gas door release setup (since mine is busted), and GReddy Airnix intake:







Not crazy about the filter on the GReddy, but I needed the other goodies it came with for my setup. I heard this intake is discontinued, so I scooped up one of the couple that FR Sport had left.

[SolaraOnBronze]

So, my exhaust leak has become unbearable. I need to get the gaskets in there ASAP, unless something is wrong with the turbo as well. It sounds like it is the gasket between the turbo manifold and the turbo that might be blown from what I have read on NICO. I read the How to for removing the manifold, but I am curious to know if it is possible to replace that gasket without completely pulling the turbo lines and the stock exhaust manifold. Any advice?

I want to do everything right and do it once, but I plan to do that over the winter. I want to get what I can from the rest of the season, so I'd like to fix the gasket(s) now if possible. I would just install the new turbo setup now, but I still want to get the following for a flawless install:

PBM Cobra Downpipe (so my scraping exhaust will not cause issues like this again)Tomein Expreme ManifoldDIF Turbo LinesCS Exhaust Hanger BushingsDeatschwerks Tuning Package (ROM Tune, 550cc Injectors, Walbro 255 Fuel Pump)

I can't drop all of the money at once, so I plan to finish collecting things over the winter and let the car loose in the spring. I am open to advice on the gaskets in the mean time- I am going to putz with it tomorrow night to see if I can get anything done.

[Bumnah]

park it.

and do the turbo swap.

[Nacho_240]

I'm really glad you went the s15 T28 route! I would definitely wait for the remaining crucial parts to do the install so you only have to do it once. I've been wanting that cobra myself for a while now.

p.s. Don't forget to have PBM shave off the divider plate since your turbo already has one.

[Fuel4Blood]

Just read through your thread great build! I think you put a good amount of attention in the body and suspension, now its time to work on the heart. I like how clean and effective the look of your car is.

[SolaraOnBronze]

Thanks! The bay for sure needs attention, so that is next on the list. Ordered some more install goodies last night from NissanParts.cc and FR Sport. Still looking at options for a tune. I'm going to work on the car a bit tonight, so I should have another update soon.

[locoluna825]

freaking sweeet i want a profile like that on my car, everything is just so damn tasteful and clean

[Canadianfreerider]

What coil overs are you using?

[SolaraOnBronze]

(K-Sport) shhh... don't tell NICO.

[Ramonesfreak2010]

So since your upgrading to the GT28R, what exactly do you need? Besides the manifold.. lol

Before anyones tells me to search, I searched and the answers are scattered in various threads, so I'd rather just ask someone who is doing it and get one straight answer.

[SolaraOnBronze]

Well, you can use the stock turbo manifold with the S15 turbo. I just realized last night that I have two broken studs on my manifold, which is what is causing the massive exhaust leak, so I think I am going to go with an aftermarket tubular manifold and try my luck with the controversy.

I don't know for a fact everything that you need, but here is my running list for the setup. I have purchased most of it, the rest will be on the way shortly:

Nissan GT28R Turbo from the S15DIF Bottom Mount Turbo Lines (with restrictor fitting for ball bearing turbos)GReddy Airinx Intak kit (includes pipes to run the T28 with stock T25 Intercooler piping and Z32 MAF)N62 Z32 MAFDeatschwerks 550cc InjectorsWalbro 255 Fuel PumpDeatschwerks Fuel Pump Hard Wire KitROM Tune (to be decided)Tubular Bottom Mount Turbo Manifold (To be decided)PBM Cobra Downpipe

I also ordered all new gaskets, new studs and nuts for the turbo outlet, and new hardware for the exhaust manifold area. The necessities are the turbo, reclocking adaptors or the greddy intake kit, gaskets, z32 maf, injectors, and a tune if I have understood correctly from the research I have done. Like I said, I haven't actually done it yet, so I am not sure that I am the one to ask.

I am trying to decide on an exhaust manifold. I am considering giving the Megan a shot since I have a couple of friends that have run them without issue, but I really want the Tomei one. I'm not sure if I will spend the money or not at this point.

[Ramonesfreak2010]

Thanks.

Tomei = Ballin'

[Fuel4Blood]

I wouldn't cheap it on the manifold cause you don't want to keep replacing cracked manifolds.

[SolaraOnBronze]

It's true, a cheap manifold is indeed a gamble. I can see both sides of the argument, since I am never usually one to indulge in knockoff parts. At the same time, knowing a few people running Megan manifolds for extended periods of time makes me consider saving a few bucks and going that route. I am hoping that the flex downpipe, new exhaust hangers, and some added bracing would keep the manifold safe. If the car is going into storage now for the winter, then I will probably just buy the Tomei manifold and be done with it.

[SolaraOnBronze]

Alright, so I have been slacking- time for an update. First order of business: recent goodies!

Z32 MAF:



Outlet studs, nuts, and CS Exhaust Hangers:



DIF Turbo Lines:



OEM Exhaust Manifold Heat Shield (will of course be painted if I keep the stock manifold):



I started working on the car tonight for the first time in a while. I thought that the studs on the exhaust manifold were broken, so I started to pull the intake and other bits to prepare for the T28 install. As I got the intake out of the way, I realized that the four bolts on the manifold had only vibrated loose, and nothing was broken. This was very good news, since I thought I needed a new manifold and would have the car off of the road for quite some time. Now I can just go buy a nut to replace the one I lost, tighten things up, and enjoy the car for the rest of the season.

I removed the carbon hood and hatch tonight. I have interest in both pieces, but haven't met with anyone to make the sales yet. I really liked the carbon and wouldn't mind at least keeping the hatch, but I have spent a lot on the new setup and it would be nice to recoup a good chunk of that. The hatch needs to be painted since it is just spray bombed, so I will probably have that done this winter.

I started working on the H4 conversion and got one of the headlights on, but the screws were rusty and stripped on the passenger side and I did not have my dremel with me, so I will have to finish that up and do the wiring later this week. I also purchased an Apexi Power FC to tune the new setup with. I think that I am going to have Monkey Wrench dial it in for me when the car is up and running, since I have heard good things about Matt from another SR 240 owner. The FC is on the way, but here is a pic the seller sent me:



I also got some valuable info from the previous owner this week. He told me that a Walbro 255 fuel pump is already installed, so that has been checked off of the parts list. I am going to get the hard wire kit from Deatschwerks and install that though. He also said that he had the stock turbo manifold ported and coated by some place here in Michigan, so that is a lot of work and cost out of my way. I am going to check it out when I remove it to look at the craftsmanship and if it looks legit, I will paint it and reinstall it with a heat shield. If it doesn't look all that great, I will probably get a Tomei manifold.

So anyway, the car will be back on the road in a couple of days. I am going to turn the boost up to 10 (I have been running 8 since I got the car) and enjoy it for the rest of the summer. Then, the major engine bay overhaul will begin...

I will update again soon as more progress is made.