Hmmm...What to do?

[dominion03]

I have finally got a 240! It's a 93' with about 130k miles on it. I just picked it up from a girl friend of mine for $400. Outside is in great shape and exterior has a few very minor problems, but the engine needs a head job. It runs, but not for long and the shop she left it at recommended a head job or either a new engine.

I have been thinkin about this for a long time and now I actually have the car to "play" with...so, what would you guys do?

I am selling my current ride very soon and should have about 3-4k to spend and I will also have somethin to drive around while the project is goin on. I have always been leaning toward the SR swap and just doin it myself, but lately I have been readin up more about custom kits and they seem to be the way to go...if u know what you are doing...cause they are definately a lot cheaper than the SR swap. I would like to see at least 240-250rwhp (with room to expand...300+ wouldn't be bad in the future), out of whatever I do to somewhat try and keep up with my friends' cars.

So, should I go with the SR swap or just rebuild the KA and turbo it?

Any advice as far as what to do would really be appreciated...

Thanks...

[Nathan]

If you never planned on doing anything outrageous with the engine, it's quite possible that a light performance rebuild (maybe new pistons/rings , keep stock rods, have the head freshened up, everything balanced and put back together, new timing chain kit etc.) coupled with a custom turbo kit would help you achieve what you want while simultaneously giving you the joy of knowing you have a practically brand new motor. It's the option I would lean toward if I KNEW I could commit 4k to the project but didn't want to spend more. I figure that for the machine work and new pistons/rings your looking at about 1600-1800 dollars depending on where you get it done. That leaves you with 2200 to put together a turbo kit which isn't too hard to do. The only real question is does the car have any OTHER problems that will need to be addressed soon? Brakes, suspension, etc. If it does and money is tight that could influence your choice as well. Lord knows you'll be darned lucky to get even a stock SR swap put in for under 4k though so it's still not a bad option to rebuild the KA and do a budget turbo setup

[offtheline]

I totally agree with Nathan. He laid it out quite well. I would probably do what he said, because you could be making good power with that setup and have room to grow.

[dominion03]

As far as I can tell...the car seems to be in pretty good shape. My grandfather is a mechanic at Nissan so he will be looking it over soon. Yes, it will probably need brakes soon, but I think that's about it. I will still have $ left over tho in case anything does occur. Also, I can get some pretty cheap prices from Nissan.

Ok looks like as soon as the SUV is sold...the project starts!!!

And one more thing...I know it basically just depends on my driving style as far as which turbo to go with and everything, but what are the neccessities in piecing together my own kit? I think I pretty much know, I just don't want to leave anything out.

[offtheline]

there are numerous posts about this... I think the faq also talks about this. People will respond better to having you list what you have so far and asking if you left anything out.