ish's car (the first Xenon lipped S13 vert in the world?)

[ishkabibble]

I've been promising pics of the car for a long time, but I've been dealing with crap like this until recently:



Spring is finally here, so here it is after a quick wash today (my car is perpetually dirty because it's parked on the street):













I'll share a pic of the interior even though it's only half done. This used to be a pretty crappy tan leather interior. Yes, I know the stripe on the dash is rice. It was a lame attempt at covering several large cracks until I find a good dash or get a Coverlay cover:



155,000 miles, one previous owner, was always stored winters. This car is my DD and lives right down the street from the U.S. Capitol building.

Completed stuff: Advan SA3R wheels with Yokohama tires (having a problem with the center caps on the rims), Xenon lip, S14 Silvia Q's emblems, vinyl smoked side markers, clear turns and tails w/ silver bulbs, Shark Attack II antenna, new 6.5" 3-way speakers all around, recovered rear seat, S13 base seats installed, glove box recovered in black vinyl, stock carpet dyed black, new trunk struts, Megan Racing 2.5" exhaust, Magnaflow high-flow cat.

"To do" stuff: Nismo S-Tune suspension, paint rear spoiler black, replace ball joints and tie rod ends, Nismo power brace, re-mount lip (tape isn't sticking) door pillar delete, Q45 front brakes, rebuilt stock rear brakes, new dash or dash cover, removable steering wheel, new carpet, buff out paint, soundproof trunk, engine and transmission (eventually - currently undecided), R32 diff.

Opinions, comments, etc. welcomed. Take it easy on me, slownsurious.
Modified by ishkabibble at 7:40 PM 1/10/2008

[WoDan23]

holy hell is that thing sexy! looks amazing, and will look even better once your done with it. *drool* im jealous

[ishkabibble]

Thanks WoDan. How are your repairs coming along?
Modified by ishkabibble at 3:13 PM 3/25/2007

[Eikon]

Holy crap!! You've been hiding that gem from us for way too long.

That's hot. Makes me think twice about doing a silvia conversion.. maybe I should keep the stock front end.

I love the red and black combos all over the cars.. wheels with red, lip and mudguards in black.. very cool!

[Loki]

Looks real nice Mike...love those wheels. Looks like you could use some Plexus though One thing though, whats that red stripe on your dash? Is it covering a crack? Gives me an idea of a racing strip to cover the crack I have in that exact same place.

I should also have some pics up pretty soon...I'm not sure if I want to wait til I have my new panels and seats in though.

^And Dan...when do you guys do meets down in Wilkes? Was it every Thursday?

[ishkabibble]

Thanks for the nice words guys.

Loki, when I got the car, the rear window was scratched to hell. I Plexus it pretty often, but it still looks mediocre at best. No Plexus in the pic because I only gave the car a quick rinse today.

The stripe covers some nasty dash cracking. I would advise against doing the vinyl on the dash; it's very hard to get it looking nice. Mine looks like crap. Maybe try some black commercial carpet?

[madcowvert]

for the love of god please drop the car it is looking really nice all you need now is one mean stance

[Florida240sx]

i love the rims

[ishkabibble]

for the love of god please drop the car it is looking really nice all you need now is one mean stance

I'd love to slam it, but it just isn't practical for a daily driver in downtown D.C. It's getting dropped 1" front, .5" rear (Nismo S-Tune).

[Loki]

The stripe covers some nasty dash cracking. I would advise against doing the vinyl on the dash; it's very hard to get it looking nice. Mine looks like crap. Maybe try some black commercial carpet?

Yeah, maybe something like that. I'm just hesitant on buying that dash cover dammitboy's been showing because it's 160 bucks for one crack; seems a bit excessive. Ooh, I just got an idea...maybe a NICO banner or something? Or would that cause too much glare? Hmmm

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

Wow Ish i'm very impressed. Thanks for showing me how a Xenon lip looks on a red vert vert...damn tasty!

After waiting a long time I gotta say you didn't let me down.

I must say your paint is looking really good...especially in the front. Mine is full of scratches and what not.

Questions:1) I can't really tell but did you remove those gray things (don't know what they're called) from underneath the front winkers or did you repaint them black? If you did remove them did you just pry it open or something?

2) How does the Megan/Magnaflow combo sound?

All in all it's hotness...makes me want to do stuff to mine. Can't wait to see how yours looks with the drop.

[ishkabibble]

Wow Ish i'm very impressed. Thanks for showing me how a Xenon lip looks on a red vert vert...damn tasty!

After waiting a long time I gotta say you didn't let me down.

I must say your paint is looking really good...especially in the front. Mine is full of scratches and what not.

Questions:1) I can't really tell but did you remove those gray things (don't know what they're called) from underneath the front winkers or did you repaint them black? If you did remove them did you just pry it open or something?

2) How does the Megan/Magnaflow combo sound?

All in all it's hotness...makes me want to do stuff to mine. Can't wait to see how yours looks with the drop.

Thanks!!!

1) I roughed the grilles up with steel wool and then spray painted them black with semi-gloss paint. It looked kinda goofy before with grey grilles and black lip.

2) Sounds really good with the silencer, but it's just a bit droney from 2200-3000 rpm because of the cat. That's why I'm soundproofing the trunk. I got the Megan for $100 used and the Magnaflow for $70 new. My old cat and exhaust were on their last legs.

[ishkabibble]

Ooh, I just got an idea...maybe a NICO banner or something? Or would that cause too much glare? Hmmm

Too much glare. I regret doing the red stripe. Dashes need to be a solid, dark, matte color.

Loki, bad news. This evening, I noticed a new 6" crack coming straight back off the lower seat belt hole on the driver's door panel. If you still want my panels, I'll give them to you for free, but that crack is probably going to get worse over time if you put the panel on your car.

[Nissan lover]

It looks good, i like it.

[Loki]

[Queue Vade "NOOO!"]Man, that sucks Does it look at all reparable? Like maybe drill a small hole at the end of the crack and put some silicon in between? It still sounds like that's in better shape than my old panel though

Gar...maybe I should just kiss my precious pillars goodbye.

[ishkabibble]

You might be able to do that. The crack is in a fairly inconspicuous area.

Coupe/hatch panels are about 10x better made than vert panels. I'd advise doing the conversion.

[Loki]

I'll take another look at the tech article I guess. You know off hand how much a good pair of coupe doors goes for?

Edito: Maybe I'm thinking something completely different...how much work is actually involved in putting on coupe doors? Do you actually have to relocate the seatbelts like in the "Remove door pillar" article, or is it just slapping on some coupe door?

(and forgive my complete noobness )

[ishkabibble]

Whole doors... I dunno, that seems to be more difficult than cutting out the bracing. I think KaTe is selling a set of doors (?) and is in PA.

Coupe/fastback door panels go for about $30-$40/pr for manual ones and $100/pr for power window ones. The manual ones can be used if you cut the door handle holes bigger and glue a black circle over the manual crank hole.

I can find a pair of manual door panels for $25 around here. Power ones are the same price, but they are usually taken the minute an S13 hits the junkyard.

Edit: Yeah you have to relocate the seat belts, etc. Vert pilar removal is not an expensive job, but a time consuming one.

[Loki]

How are you doing your swap? According to the pillar removal article or something else? Just trying to get a sense of how much work is involved

[ishkabibble]

According to the article, except I'm going to try and borrow the neighbor's sawzall to see if it works faster than the grinder. Then I'll use the grinder to take the sharp metal edges off.

I've already picked up extra rear seat belts for the conversion. I can try and pick up some extra rear seat belts for you when I'm on my next dash hunt. Heck, I can try and find an extra dash for you, too. No promises, though; it's always a crapshoot at the yards I go to.

[wirelessalpha]

The lip is ill! two thumbs up!

[WoDan23]

sorry for the late reply, my repairs are...well their coming...i have everything on, but as of right now im aztec red, maroon, and black hehe. The frame is straightened out, i just need a hood latch from a junkyard tomorrow and ill be ready to go..yay welding i get a perfect condition red fender next week and the hood and bumper are in absolutely perfect condition...alls i need is paint to match..i still wish my car looked like yours though haha. anywho my uncle paints cars for a living so yea hes doing my whole car for free! woot woot...i just gotta buy paint about $260 in paint for the whole car in the same red..

Loki: we meet at random times, theres usually 2-3 car shows per week during the summer...we are just a bunch of guys that like to hang out and have a good time...catch me on AIM if you want and ill give you the website

[94_240sx]

It's hurting to see your car parking outside like that. You've been taking good care of it. Yeah, like other people said, it needs drop. I wouldn't push black and red theme to interior. Front and side shots are gorgeous and want to see black spoiler ASAP.

[DeXteR]

looks great, for a dixie car, eh.

[ishkabibble]

I wouldn't push black and red theme to interior.

I'll take this under consideration. I originally planned to do the door panels and steering wheel in red, but I'm having second thoughts... might just go all black.

looks great, for a dixie car, eh.

Take off, ya hoser.

[silviatp23]

Where did you get the antenna?

Car looks real nice by the way.

[ishkabibble]

Thanks. The antenna can be purchased from "Lo Custom". They have a website and are on Ebay. The one I bought is called the "Shark Attack II".

[Eikon]

hey Ish..

You mentioned picking up an extra set of seat belts for Loki.. When you do make your next scavenging trip.. if you find a second set of belts.. I be more than happy to buy them from you. Let me know if you come up with any. Thanks!

[ishkabibble]

Sure, I'll pick up any rear vert belts I come across. I'll keep an eye out for Maxima rear belts, too. I read in another thread that they work better for the conversion.

[ishkabibble]

Swapped the stock suspension with Nismo S-Tune. Dropped a bit more than Nissan specified, but still doesn't scrape on speed bumps (whew!). Handles really well for a street setup - firm but not harsh.

Sorry for the crappy pic, it was taken at sunset during the rain.



Currently working on the interior.