A Build in the Mitten State...

[SolaraOnBronze]

yup ive read your build on zilvia i think.....ooppps! i said the "Z" word!! lol

lol... touchy subject these days!

Hey Damon,

Car looks great! Glad you got it all together. Anything left to button up?

Thanks! There are still little details in the bay and a few mods I want to add to the car, but I doubt that will ever change haha. The top thing on my list right now is coming up with some sort of splash shield to protect my fuse boxes from water- you'll see why in my next post, haha.

Man I live about 10 mins from SCAD. I drive by there all the time. My wife goes to Armstrong not far from there. I'll be back in the good ole US in OCT. So if you ever do come down that way def send me a PM I'd def get together and swap some stories. Hopefully by then I will have found a decent body shop in the GA area and had the new front end and aero kit properly fitted and painted. Its turning out to be more difficult than I thought though. So who knows, but yeah def hit me up. Keep up the awesome work on the car.

That's awesome man, I will remember that for sure! I doubt I will ever have my car down that far from home, but it would be cool to check yours out sometime! I'll let you know if I ever end up down there for a visit.

looking good man. Did you end up switching seat rails when you got the bride seat?

Nah, I am still using the same Nagisa Auto rail that I was using with my Corbeau. It seemed slightly lower than the Buddy Club one I bought initially, so I am happy with how the seating position is now!

Nice build man! Love this car! Keep up the good work

Thanks man, I appreciate it!

[SolaraOnBronze]

OK, now for an update...

Soooo this weekend...



Yay! :lol: We were driving to my wife's parents' house and the car just shut off. I pulled over, turned the key, and nothing- the fuel pump didn't prime, the Power FC and gauges did not turn on, etc. My hazards, dome light, and exterior lights worked though. I was really worried that I had somehow fried my Power FC. Luckily, a super legit flatbed driver stopped after we were there for about five minutes. I told him I didn't have roadside assistance since I never thought I could even get my car on a flat bed without destroying it.

He ended up knowing a bit about 240s, and he towed me about ten mines for $50- I guess he said he was on his way home. It couldn't have happened at a better spot and I got super lucky that he showed up- we got the car to the house without any damage from getting it on and off the flatbed, which I was super happy about. It made me glad I invested in the legit kouki spoiler and not a fiberglass one, that's for sure. :lol:

So, I went to check the main fuse box, and a river of water flowed out:



LOL! It has been on my list to wrap and build some sort of shielding to protect the fuse boxes from water, but I just hadn't gotten to it yet. I hadn't driven the car in the rain since Wednesday, but it had been fine to and from work since then. I guess the water finally splashed up enough to pop the ignition switch fuse. Thankfully, Stevespeed (THANKS dude!) was able to hook me up with a fuse, and I was back in business!

So, aside from that, great weekend. Wiring Specialties has posted the top 8 cars in their photo contest, and I made it! Check out the link below to vote for me- hopefully I can make the top 4!

http://wiringspecialties.com/wshara.html

[Broadfield]

Is the fuse box mounted right side up? Also, did you leave the bottom on? You need to take the bottom off so water can't collect in there. Or if you mounted the box upside down then you need to leave the top off or drill several holes into the top cover so the water can drain out. Water splashing up on it shouldn't be a problem... it's only if it collects into a puddle and submerges relays or fuses.

[SolaraOnBronze]

^ good to know, Toby! I have it mounted upside down right now... drilling relief holes is a great idea! I have it wrapped up in a ziplock bag with some tape on it right now, haha- super ghetto. I for sure need to figure out a splash shield this winter. I'll make sure it is protected before next month in case I hit rain on the way down- then I won't be stranded! lol.

Some weekend shots:





Wish this was my garage, lol. I was diggin' the all black Nissan theme...



New seats! Picked them up from Greyhound last night. Super clean- I am really happy with them! I sat in the passenger side last night and it almost made me want to rock the driver's side too, haha.

[Broadfield]

^ good to know, Toby! I have it mounted upside down right now... drilling relief holes is a great idea! I have it wrapped up in a ziplock bag with some tape on it right now, haha- super ghetto. I for sure need to figure out a splash shield this winter. I'll make sure it is protected before next month in case I hit rain on the way down- then I won't be stranded! lol.

That's what I figured. The only reason I guessed that you mounted it upside down is because the same exact thing happened to me. I originally had mine upside down with the lid on and it filled up with water, with no way to drain out. So the fuses and relays just sat in water for weeks. Over that time the relays formed corrosion internally and my car wouldn't start. So I drilled holes in the lid and then wrapped it in a bag. However, the bag could potentially hold moisture if it gets a little water inside. Like I said, it's not the water splashing on it that's the issue. It's the water pooling inside there and submerging everything. So a bag really isn't necessary. Mine now is mounted right side up under the drivers headlight. Since mine are the Silvia headlights, I have the benefit of being able to mount it up in there further. In this pic, you can see where I drilled holes in the lid for when I use to have it mounted upside down:

[SolaraOnBronze]

Good call- I think I even saw that picture and wondered why the holes were there, haha. I had the same concern about a plastic bag holding water if it did manage to get in there. I'll have to do something similar to your setup- thanks for the advice man!

[zach-Ka]

I put my fuse box in the same place. Good to know what I need to do to keep this from happening. Car looks great man. Perfectly executed.

[SolaraOnBronze]

^ Thanks man!

Well, I got the dreaded call yesterday... injector number four is a gonner. I've gotta say that I can't thank Chris at Deatschwerks enough for the awesome customer service- he's been super helpful, prompt, and willing to spend time helping me out. I shouldn't have bought "new" injectors from another forum member- not his fault at all, but that's what I get for trying to save a buck I guess.

Since Deatschwerks no longer sells a 650cc injector, I am forced to go with an all new set. I need some sort of replacement set by a week from Saturday, since I will be leaving in the morning to head down to Broadfield's BBQ. I have a couple friends selling some NISMO injectors locally- both 550cc and 740cc- so I might go with one of those sets. I'm just looking for something temporary to get me down to Illinois, then I will sort out the exact injectors I want this winter while the car is down.

In the mean time, I removed my 180SX VLSD last night. I forgot to break the axle nuts loose before I dropped the dif, so I have to borrow an impact and get those out tonight. I am replacing it with a Tomei TRAX 2 way that I got from a friend that sold his car. Another friend is buying my VLSD and hooking me up with some six bolt axles, so I will need to get those from him and toss it all in before Saturday next week.

Last but not least, I ordered some Bride fabric from Driveline motoring yesterday for my door panels. It should be here just before I leave so that I can take it down to Normal with me and have Toby work his magic.

A couple shots of the progress:

[Riq]

I'm sorry to hear about the injector, but im sure you'll get some for the time being. How much did the Bride fabric cost you if you don't mind me asking? I'm thinking sometime down the road doing the same for my car. Toby's car looks awesome with that setup plus the all black interior makes the car look cleaner and more modern.

[SolaraOnBronze]

The fabric was $104.XX shipped.

Picking up some NISMO 550cc injectors from a friend tonight or tomorrow, so I've gotta solder the stock clips back in and install those. I am grabbing the Tomei on Saturday and the axles to use with it Monday, then taking it in to be retuned on Wednesday. Hope it all goes well!

[SolaraOnBronze]

So, time for an update... this damn car! :lol: My friend forgot the Tomei diff at his work over the long weekend while I was out in GR to hang out and get it, so I wasn't able to install it. However, I had a tuning appointment last night, so I needed a diff to get there. I helped my friend Greg remove his open diff/six bolt axles on Labor Day and put my old VLSD/axles in his car. Thankfully, Greg was cool enough to let me borrow his open diff so that I could get to my tuning appointment.

I also picked up some NISMO 555cc injectors from another friend over the weekend and installed those. I needed to solder the stock clips back in as well, since I am no longer running the deatschwerks injectors. I took the car back to Matt at Monkey Wrench again last night and had the car retuned for the new, smaller injectors. He said that the NISMOs were actually opening/closing faster, so the tune was actually richer at mid throttle with those installed. In the end, I made the same numbers and am only at 80% duty cycle, so the car is back on the road and feels great!



I decided to throw the 180SX driver's seat in as well to try it out yesterday. It looks pretty cool, but I threw the Zeta III back in last night. I like the seating position a lot better, and I fit well with a helmet on- everything is nicer overall with the Bride, aside from climbing in and out, haha.





So yeah, that's the current status- it's great to be driving the car yet again! Everything is pretty much ready for my trip down to Toby's BBQ in Normal, IL this weekend. I just need to drill relief holes in my fuse box covers to keep them from filling up with water again, since rain is in the forecast for Saturday. I'll have some new pics after this weekend! I'm hoping to throw the Tomei in and hit the drag strip next Wednesday as well, but we'll see how that goes...

Oh, and I made the top 4 in the Wiring Specialties Contest! Here is a link to the voting page once again:

http://wiringspecialties.com/wshara.html

[mRodiek]

I wasnt sure if I was gonna like the type x body better than your old setup but it came out great!
Annd there is a reason people call those "death works" injectors lol but live & learn!

[SolaraOnBronze]

^ So I have been told. I heard a lot of other people say they were legit though, so who knows!

Snapped some new pics yesterday. Just realized my position light is out... FAIL! :lol:















Leaving for the Broadfield BBQ in the morning! This will be the longest trip I have taken in this car, so I hope everything goes smoothly!

[SolaraOnBronze]

Alright, so I made the trip out to Normal, IL to meet and hang out with Toby and Kyle this weekend. I was really happy with how the car behaved for the most part and had a lot of fun! Cool dudes and nice cars down there! I snapped a few pics from the trip, but Kyle did some awesome shots of my car- I'm sure he will post them up after he has played Halo Reach for a few months first, LOL.

Here are some of my snaps from the weekend:

Shortly after arriving and washing the car:



At the photo spot after Kyle got out of work:



Toby and Kyle setting up the rig. No less than 15 bums came by to either ask us what we were doing, or take a piss in the parking lot, LOL:





Toby laying down the glue for the Bride fabric for me on Saturday night:



My car chillin' in the shop while we hung out and worked on the door panels Saturday night:







In the driveway at the start of the BBQ on Sunday:







Finished (mostly) door panel- I just need to add the piping to the edges:



So yeah, I had a blast- it was an awesome trip! Huge thanks to Toby for guiding me through the whole door panel process, I couldn't have pulled it off without him. And thanks a lot to Kyle too for working so hard to try to make my car look good in pics and for letting me crash at his place!

On the drive home, I hit a huge crater on I-55 and knocked one of my D-Max sidemarkers out- all that was left when i got to the gas station was half of the chrome internal housing and the bulb socket, lol. My lip suffered a ton of rock chips and one of my wheels has some paint issues as well. I also started to see some knock on my Power FC, so I need to address all of those things when I get time. Overall, though, I am really impressed with how the trip went- the car did really well! I had never driven it for longer than 2 hours on a trip before, so this was pretty fun!

PS: Don't forget to keep voting for me if you haven't yet at http://wiringspecialties.com/wshara.html and thanks for all of the votes so far! Voting ends this Friday...

[SolaraOnBronze]

WS Harness Contest UPDATE:

So first of all, thanks for all of the votes guys! Unfortunately, I did not advance to the finals, but Yury at Wiring Specialties was kind enough to declare me the Shop's Choice winner! Wiring Specialties is going to supply me with a custom engine swap harness for my car that I will be installing and writing a detailed review about in the very near future, so stay tuned to my build thread for the details!

HUGE thanks to Yury and the Wiring Specialties team for choosing my car and hooking me up! I really appreciate it guys!

As for the car, I ordered a replacement headlight and D-Max sidemarker light to replace the damaged ones from my trip to Illinois. Aside from that, not a lot is going on- not that I can actually talk about, anyway. Stay tuned!

[SolaraOnBronze]

Pretty quiet in here, but I'll keep updating it lol.

I managed to finally get my Tomei TRAX 2-Way from a friend this weekend and install it yesterday afternoon. I am really happy with it so far! It isn't noisy or annoying like I expected it to be, and locks up really nicely. I took some new pictures of my interior, since I wrapped the arm rest and glovebox in Bride material to match the door panels last week, but I forgot them on my other memory card at home- so I'll have to post those pics tonight! Here are the ones I have from the diff install though:







Installation went pretty smoothly. Of course, with any install like this, you have to do some testing...





I'd say it works, haha.

[mRodiek]

haha yessss enjoy it

[Yasko]

vvvvvvvvvv

[SolaraOnBronze]

haha, thanks!

s promised, here are the other pics and the rest of the update:

New D-Max clear side markers to replace my busted one:



Bride fabric on door panels, glove box, and arm rest. I'm impressed that I was actually able to pull this off! (With Toby's help on the door panels, lol):









And some other random shots...

[SolaraOnBronze]

So I got some advice from Jacon at AutoLavish and picked up the products he recommended for me last night. I've got to try to get as many of the swirls and scratches out as I can in the next two weeks, so I figured I would give it a shot. I'm just going to be doing this by hand, so the outcome is not going to be crazy or anything- but I am already impressed with the test section I did last night. Like I said, not perfect, but a lot better!

Here are the products I will be using:



I left some pretty terrible micro-scratches when I had a tarp duct taped to the car this spring while the hatch was in for paint, lol. As you can see, most of it has been reduced to nothing- pretty awesome! This was really bugging me, so I am glad it is making such a big difference! Especially considering it is being applied by hand.



Here a less severe area- still makes a pretty nice difference!



So yeah, I'll have to do the whole car next week- I'll probably work on it tomorrow night a bit as well. Aside from that, I sorted out some lighting issues last night. Matej told me to run 921 bulbs in my front signals instead of the 194s that came with my D-Max position lamps, and thankfully that solved my fast blinking issue! I need to pick up another pair for the running lights, since the light output is a lot better as well. Now people can actually tell I am turning from the front of the car, haha.

My replacement H4 clear headlights also showed up from Sonic Motors, so I threw those on the car. I hit the headlight shrouds with some trim paint to freshen them up a bit as well. I dropped one of the previous headlights I had while trying to fix a wiring issue the night before my trip to Illinois, so that is why I needed to replace them. Thankfully they are pretty cheap, haha.







That's all for now. I'll update again next week when I have finished with the wax and whatnot. I am expecting my engine harness from Wiring Specialties by the end of the week as well, so I will install that and post a detailed writeup for everyone when I get a chance!

[7x13]

Another Reason why I want to fit my 240 with Type-X Aero,

Amazing Build
+1

[Maverick05x]

The car is really looking great man. Congrats on the Wiring Specialties contest, I'd say you could chock that up as a W. I am finally flying out of this damn country in a week so definitely looking forwards to getting back and working on my own car. If you still have plans to come by GA anytime hit me up man. The car will be in over at Iceberg Customs (Rs2000's shop) for most of Oct for the new bodywork and paint. Any time after that though and it will be chilling in the garage. Did you ever figure out what the car needs to convert from KM/H to MPH by the way? I still need to sort that out. Keep up the awesome work man.

[SolaraOnBronze]

^ I haven't sorted that out yet. I still need to find someone willing to do it for me. I'll probably wait until winter to have it sent out, though. I know there are a couple of threads here that list the details of what needs to be done, though.

[Maverick05x]

Yeah I hear you. See I guess what I need is to figure out what they changed on my original dash to get it from MPH to KMH. That way I should be able to basically undo it and revert it back to MPH. I hear it has something to do with soldering some of the diodes on the back of the gauge. If I figure it out when I get home I'll let you know and maybe you can reverse engineer it from my side to work for yours.

[SliviaBum88]

I have read this build from the beginning and i love it. That is one of the sexiest s13 builds. Great work!

[Bumnah]

I've typed this in like 30 times in different threads.

Contact the user knate on NRR or FA. He did my conversion, he's the one to get in touch with.

[SolaraOnBronze]

Yep, I remember you telling me that earlier in this thread. Just haven't had time to mess with it.

[SolaraOnBronze]

So, as you can see, I haven't been on Nico to update my thread in a while! Oops!

Not a lot has changed since my last update. Parts wise, I have a Tomei short shifter going in soon to replace the B&M (which has been sold). I also still have my kouki 180sx cluster to install. I'm preparing to order my Cusco bolt-in roll cage, but have not decided on a five or a six point yet. When I do, I will place the order.

Be sure to check out the January issue of Modified Magazine! It should be on the news stands in about three weeks- my car is featured on the cover with Toby Broadfield's coupe. It should be an awesome feature- I can't thank the staff at Modified enough for the opportunity! I'll post a link and some updates soon as I begin working on the car- the driving season is pretty much over with in my neck of the woods.

Damon

[nevertheless]

cage? you taking this beauty to the track?

[SolaraOnBronze]

Most likely not. Pretty much just a vanity cage. Let the hate begin!