m tr4nch's restoration/build thread !! (56k = death)

[m tr4nch]

didn't really get anything done in the last week or so since i had family visiting. but anyways, the whole car has fresh seam sealer on- did the underbody, engine bay, and interior seams.






also lately i've been dreading this, but i've been thinking about those upper and lower radiator supports that i replaced and decided to check if everything actually lines up, aaaand they are a little off

guess i was an idiot a few years ago when i replaced them lol but i should have bolted up some of the brackets to them before i welded them on to be sure everything lined up properly instead of just going by measurements that i made . so in a nutshell, the upper radiator support hangs a little too low and needs to be a bit higher, and the lower support is about 5mm too far back. no big deal though i'll just cut my welds, move them to their proper positions, and weld them back. i was going to try and slide by this situation by just trying to bend the upper support up at the front, but then it still sits too low in the back where the radiator mounts up. and then reaming out the holes in the tension rod brackets so they line up.. so rather than half a** it i'll do it the correct way, might as well do it now before paint/assembly. probably a little hard to understand without looking at pics, so i'll try and snap some next time i'm at the garage.

more bumps in the road, but that's part of the learning process!

[JDMice]

Bro you are definitely inspiring alot of people, I bought my 93 hatch last june, my wife used a toothbrush and bowl of degreaser to clean my engine bay (had to wait 3 days until it was perfect to her) when I did my KA rebuild, now she is hooked, told her about your thread and instead of waiting till next summer to purchase my truck, she wants to buy it now just so she can start ripping the 240 apart. She has learned alot in the last year and wants to use my 240 as the practice. What do you guys think?

Again great build and Nissan should award you in some way when done, I think this is the first actually total rebuild from ground up, keep puching forward.

[Madhatter969]

Great resto/build man, very inspiring!

[m tr4nch]

Bro you are definitely inspiring alot of people, I bought my 93 hatch last june, my wife used a toothbrush and bowl of degreaser to clean my engine bay (had to wait 3 days until it was perfect to her) when I did my KA rebuild, now she is hooked, told her about your thread and instead of waiting till next summer to purchase my truck, she wants to buy it now just so she can start ripping the 240 apart. She has learned alot in the last year and wants to use my 240 as the practice. What do you guys think?

Again great build and Nissan should award you in some way when done, I think this is the first actually total rebuild from ground up, keep puching forward.

Great resto/build man, very inspiring!

thanks guys! i need a girl who's into cars like i am lol. if you guys do everything correctly i would just jump into it, however, know what you're getting yourself into first!

anyways, small update on the frontend fitment stuff:


brackets and stuff bolted up


too low in the back


testing lower support fitment using tension rod brackets/nismo power brace



lower support cut off and adjusted



cut some welds on the upper support to loosen it up, brackets bolted back on
everything fits!



how much adjustment i needed



just have to finish prepping the upper support, then i can weld everything back in place. i'm actually really glad i did this to be honest, my original welds on the lower support sucked so much that half of them broke loose by hitting them with a hammer and chisel/screw driver

two particular beads




good thing i actually know how to weld now

more soon!

[StricNyne]

MATTTTT i am home now lol

[mikk]

this thread is nuts!

when you're done you're going to have one of the cleanest RS13 chassis around, with some improvements from stock too!

much respect to you for sticking to it for this long. most people would have lost interest. you're getting close to finished now and we can't wait to see this thing in action. it's an amazing vehicle.

be careful driving this beast.

[cjmirabal1]

Bro sick as resto!!!! Deff ocd but thats never a bad thing! Im from nj to and i know rust sucks.
Then i get back there i plan in attackin my car like this. I notice the rust on my car so much more now that ive been in florida -_-

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Sooooo have you made a final decision on paint color? Also any idea what wheels you're thinking of running with? Since you're so close to paint and body these are some valid questions. Also what are the odds that you'll be able to bring this to Carlisle next year, even if its not running and towed in I can guarantee that you'll be the most popular person there.

[m tr4nch]

this thread is nuts!

when you're done you're going to have one of the cleanest RS13 chassis around, with some improvements from stock too!

much respect to you for sticking to it for this long. most people would have lost interest. you're getting close to finished now and we can't wait to see this thing in action. it's an amazing vehicle.

be careful driving this beast.

thanks man! wow you've been registered this long and that is your first post?!

Bro sick as resto!!!! Deff ocd but thats never a bad thing! Im from nj to and i know rust sucks.
Then i get back there i plan in attackin my car like this. I notice the rust on my car so much more now that ive been in florida -_-

thanks! yeah the rust up here sucksss. if/when i get another older car, i will make sure it's as rust free as possible and hopefully from down south.

Sooooo have you made a final decision on paint color? Also any idea what wheels you're thinking of running with? Since you're so close to paint and body these are some valid questions. Also what are the odds that you'll be able to bring this to Carlisle next year, even if its not running and towed in I can guarantee that you'll be the most popular person there.

for paint i'm going to stick with the gloss black KH3 super black. as far as wheels, i would love a set of work vs-xx gold with polished lip, but can't afford that right now. when i get the car on the ground i have a set of s14 se's i will throw on for the time being. i will leave the aero off until i can get the wheels though so it doesn't look retarted and sunken. and about carlisle, that's in may right? i will at least have it mostly back together by then, if not running and driving. i will definitely try and make an appearance!

so for a timeline of work to be done, hopefully i will have the chassis ready to go for paint in the next couple of weeks. i am about to spray the undercoating in the next few days and then spray the interior and possibly engine bay after that. everything is all done and sanded, just have to finish wiping it all down and i'll be ready to spray!


got the upper and lower rad supports welded back on correctly this time.
i decided to bash in the firewall now for the rb25 trans/starter bulge before spraying the undercoat/paint so i don't mess the finish up later. the rb25 trans is a beast!

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Black on gold is yummy, the gold on the wheels will just POP and will direct your eyes straight to them. Are you going for a super clean OEM finish with mild attitude ( wheels, oem lip kit and wing) or are you going for the gangsta aggressive look? What aero are do you plan on having? Are you going to paint the car or are you having it professionally done? Can't wait to see this when you have it done.

[m tr4nch]

Black on gold is yummy, the gold on the wheels will just POP and will direct your eyes straight to them. Are you going for a super clean OEM finish with mild attitude ( wheels, oem lip kit and wing) or are you going for the gangsta aggressive look? What aero are do you plan on having? Are you going to paint the car or are you having it professionally done? Can't wait to see this when you have it done.

i'm definitely going for the oem-ish look. i already have the aero which consists of: xenon lip, oem chuki sideskirts, and a gp sports rear valance. there are pics of them somewhere in this thread lol. i was toying around with the idea of painting the exterior myself, but i'm just going to have it done professionally. in the end it will probably come out better, and be done a lot quicker than if i did it.

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Do you personally know any paint and body guys? If so you might be able to get the paint done at a discount if you pay them and help with the paint. This way not only does your car get painted but you learn how to do it. That's what I'm going to do with my car, my neighbor does paint and body for Faulkner and has told me that if I help with the Prep and paint and buy the supplies that he would paint my car for $200. Might want to look into it.

[m tr4nch]

i sort of know two painters as a matter of fact, friend of a friend kind of deal. one i know does excellent work (i've seen in person), the other i have no idea. i will definitely be talking to them first lol.

[Coolwhip]

i love this restore/build!

[nightsauce]

not sure If i missed it or not but what welder are you using?

[getangle]

awesome build. give you props!

[m tr4nch]

thanks guys!

not sure If i missed it or not but what welder are you using?

i have a lincoln sp135t mig

[m tr4nch]

major update. undercoat is finished!
a lot of my work over these last few years has been in an effort to get the underbody rust free and in like new condition, and now it's finally complete.

i used 2 coats of herculiner. i absolutely love the way it turned out. it really is basically liquid rubber/tar with tiny rubber chunks in it.







i should mention, if anyone else wants to attempt this, i would highly suggest not spraying it. it will get EVERYWHERE and make a complete mess. for the first coat i did this and i definitely regret it lol. the second coat i used the roller & paint brush that came in the kit and it was much easier and cleaner. so yeah, don't spray it unless you want your garage floor to look like this after:





going to start on the interior/engine bay painting soon!

[Hijacker]

I think I know what I'm doing to the vert's undercarriage next year. BTW, how much do you think the herculiner weighs compared to a more standard rubberized undercoating?

[240TKE128]

Man it came out amazing, i am going to be starting on mine soon. i will remember the advice.

[m tr4nch]

I think I know what I'm doing to the vert's undercarriage next year. BTW, how much do you think the herculiner weighs compared to a more standard rubberized undercoating?

it probably weighs about the same, maybe a little heavier with the rubber granules in it. it's definitely thick. used about 3/4 gallon for one coat.

Man it came out amazing, i am going to be starting on mine soon. i will remember the advice.

thanks! and yeah, roller/brush is the way to go.

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Concerning the Herculiner, did you have to cutout and replace all the rust spots or did you only have to do this with the worst rot? I Ask this because most of us 240 owners in the NE would probably like to do something like this since we all have major salt cancer. Also what is the life span of this stuff? Is it guaranteed to prevent rust where ever its sprayed for the life of the car and how resistant to the salt and brine that we have to deal with ever winter is it?

[m tr4nch]

Concerning the Herculiner, did you have to cutout and replace all the rust spots or did you only have to do this with the worst rot? I Ask this because most of us 240 owners in the NE would probably like to do something like this since we all have major salt cancer. Also what is the life span of this stuff? Is it guaranteed to prevent rust where ever its sprayed for the life of the car and how resistant to the salt and brine that we have to deal with ever winter is it?

i only really cut out the spots that were pretty bad and had rust creeping in between seams. everything else i just sandblasted clean. not sure about the lifespan, although on their site they say "It can withstand years of heavy duty use." there's no mention of any rust stopping guarantees, and they only warranty the product itself of defective materials saying there are too many variables associated with application. despite all that, i am sure it will hold up very well and definitely protect the metal from salt; they do say it's waterproof. i'm not really worried about that anyway since i don't plan on driving it in the winter or bad weather unless i absolutely have to.

[KAman19]

been a while since i last checked up on this awesome resto, great progress love it! i am going to do a lighter resto on mine in the next year or so, i plan on doing a 26 swap as well.

[SpecR1]

all i can say is HOLLY SHHHIAT!! keep up the awesome work dude. wanna see how this baby turns out.

[mikk]

still going?

i think you're through the hardest parts of the build

[m tr4nch]

thanks d00ds! sorry i haven't updated in so long.

i actually bought a g35 coupe in october and it is so amazing!

so i've been parting out my 240 stuff and sold the shell not too long ago...




so that's it for this thread.

[m tr4nch]

lol JK!!






i would never do such a thing. i do love how the g35 is, but the s13 is still my project.


so with that said, here are some progress pics:


taped the exterior off to paint the interior





masterseries silver base coat





masterseries gloss black. really hard to get pictures of the finish




it actually didn't come out as well as i had hoped, it looks a lot better in the pics. so instead of painting the engine bay also like i had planned, i will just have the body shop do that. speaking of which that basically means i am DONE with the chassis restoration and will be taking it to the body shop probably the beginning of next month after the holidays.
currently just trying to finish up some little things here and there before i take it. and yes, i'm pretty much done with all the hard stuff. so basically when i get it back i can start tossing parts on. that's the fun part to me!




aaaaand, here are a couple more pics of the G

[Razi]

Yaaaay!

[homeslicej2]

Sweet G and glad to see the shell will be ready for parts soon! I've been following this build for sometime now.