Dilemma

[elbles]

Hey everyone,

Right now, I'm sort of in a dilemma with the 240. I'm trying to sell the car locally, in the hopes of getting a MR2 (NA or Turbo, I don't have a strong preference), but so far, I have gotten no "bites" on the 240, and without selling that, it will be impossible for me to get a MR2 (the insurance is a bit higher on the Deuce).

Anyway, what I was thinking of doing was doing the infamous SR swap into the 240, or perhaps a CA18DET, or RB20DET. Doing any of those would end up costing about the same amount of money as a MR2 would (not taking into account all the money I've spent on fixing the 240), but would also technically be illegal, whereas a MR2 Turbo would have the same amount of power (roughly), and would be fully legal, with all parts necessary available from any local Toyota dealer. I'm aware that since I am on a Nissan forum, there will be bias towards doing a swap into the 240, but how have those who have done the swap made out? My primary concerns are these:

1. Reliability. I need a car that will last me 4 years easily. I can understand things here and there, but how have SR's held up for people who have had them for a few years, and put around 50,000 miles on them? Do such people exist? ;-)

2. Legality. The 240 with a swap would not be legal, period. But how have people faired with emissions in various states? I've seen both pass and fail on stock SR's, but what seems to be the majority on a stock SR?

3. Cost. I've been looking at MR2's in the $5,000-$7,000 price range. I'm looking to get around $3500 for my 240 (bearing in mind that the engine was just rebuilt 5,000 miles ago), and if my car should sell for that price, after paying off what I owe on the loan, I'll have about $1,200 leftover, thus "lowering" the cost of a MR2 by the lesser amount I will need to borrow. There will be no such option in swapping the 240, so I'll still owe ~$2300, in addition to whatever a SR swap costs. I've checked around, and seen various prices for a SR swap, ranging from ~$4000-$6500. I'd probably have the SR installed with the factory IC, and an aftermarket exhaust system, and leave it at that. I figure that would be around $4500-5000 after installation costs, but does that sound about right?

I'd appreciate any opinions on this, as I kind of need to decide which I'm going to do by the time I go back to school, and start my new job (which will make it all that more necessary for me to have a car on daily basis). Thanks, in advance, and sorry for the long post.

[quiksilvia]

you wont get 3500 for the 240, the cost is about right for the swap, 45-5, u can pass smog if u know someone, these are reliable motors if kept in shape, they only have around 60k miles but how those miles came, we dont know. as far as which car, i wanted a mr2 for a while, but they are more $$, but it depends on what this car will be used for, thats where you make the decision

[240SXedUp]

Id say go for the RB20. And if ur crazy the RB25. If you are out of your mind, the RB30 (which im not sure if it will fit)

[elbles]

I'm not sure on the $3500; there's no way of calculating what value a rebuilt engine with a warranty adds to a car's value, as no place has an allowance for such a thing. Yes, I know I won't get back the cost of rebuilding it, but a 1990 car with 76,000 miles on the chassis, and 5,700 miles on a rebuilt engine would have seemed like a pretty good deal to me when I bought the 240, especially considering that I spent $2,000 on the car with a dying engine.

If I were to do a swap with the 240, after sinking another $4,500-5,000 into a swap, along with still owing ~$2,300, I'd be right around the price of getting a very nice MR2 turbo, which doesn't include the fact that whatever price I sell my 240 for, if over ~$2300, is money I could apply towards a MR2. I like the MR2 better; it's a quieter car (believe it or not), as well as just being more refined in general, and it would probably pass emissions here in Connecticut. I've heard of SR's passing, but there's always that fear of an underhood inspection, and someone noticing that your engine isn't quite legal, and sadly, I don't know anyone in emissions. :-(

The whole reason I asked this question is because I haven't gotten any inquiries about the 240 (and OBO was in the ad), and if I can't sell it, I'm probably doing to do a swap of some sort. But to be honest, after driving a MR2, the 240 just doesn't feel the same. :-) Anyone interested in my 240, please feel free to ask questions . . .

[krazy skwerel]

If you do a swap how much would you sale the sohc engine for? Just curious.

[quiksilvia]

put it on ebay, thats how i sold my car when no one locally wanted it

[elbles]

krazy skwerel: Not sure, are you making a potential offer? ;-) I'd probably ask around $800-900 to start (I paid $2000 for the rebuild, with a 3 year/unlimited mileage warranty), but I would be negotiable, as always. :-)

quiksilvia: Thanks for the reply, BTW. I appreciated your thoughts . . .

240SXedUp: I think you meant RB26DETT in place of RB30. I also believe that all (RB20, RB25, RB26) have been installed in 240's, with the RB20 being the easiest, and the RB26 being by far the hardest.

[krazy skwerel]

Elbles what extent was the engine rebuilt and what company, or shop did it? Did you break it in before getting on it real hard? Is the warranty transferable? Let me know and we can talk business good sir.

[elbles]

Whole engine was done, the only thing reused was the block and crank. Everything else was/is new. I was religious about breaking it in, no full throttle, kept it under 4,000 RPMs at all times, changed the oil right around the 500 mile mark, etc. Never consumed a drop of oil in the process. The company that rebuilt the engine is a mass rebuilder called "Recon", and is based in Philadelphia. It's probably not built to the "performance" level with high end everything, but it does run very strong, just like new.

I'm not sure whether or not the warranty is transferable. The paper work that I have doesn't indicate whether or not it is, but I would imagine that it is, as long as you can provide documentation of when the engine was purchased, installed, etc, all of which I can provide. I'll check tomorrow, but I don't know right now if I'll be swapping, or getting a MR2. I'll be sure to let you know though . . .

[krazy skwerel]

Cool keep me informed. I'm needing a new engine. I was originally gonna rebuild it with performance specs in mind, but I would just as easily buy a rebuilt engine just because I am lazy.

[elbles]

Haha, that's what happened to me. Car died on my way to school in the middle of a New England January . . . hence a quick rebuild and install order. :-) You do know it's a KA24E, right?

[vwluv10338]

Check my sig. if you want actual emission numbers for an sr20. Also the ca and the redtop do not have egr valves but the s14 blacktop does.

Eric

[elbles]

Thanks for the nmbers, I'll have to see if that will pass around here. Oh, and I guess you can tell I absolutely hate EGR valves, huh? ;-)

[krazy skwerel]

LOL man in my original post I asked for the SOHC engine. Yeah I know its the ka24e I have an 89 model coupe.

[elbles]

Haha, sorry man, I'm tired I guess, and just missed it . . . but yep, it's definitely a SOHC. ;-) If nothing else, it feels stronger than my dad's S2000 (below 3,000 RPMs anyway ;-)).

[quiksilvia]

hey krazy, i got my sohc you can have for less if u wan to do the building up yourself

[krazy skwerel]

I don't know North California might be a bit much for shipping. My original plan was to buy another s13 and simply build that engine and throw my curent engine in it ansell it. Like a moron though I let 2 of them slip by me. One for 350 and the other for 500.