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

General discussion forum about the 240sx, and a great place to introduce yourself to the board!
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m tr4nch
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Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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had an idea to make a little shield to protect the oil lines/fittings going into the oil filter relocation block. cut out a paper template, traced it onto some aluminum sheet, cut and bent it up.

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threw the front fenders on temporarily to set the coilover height. i didn't want to go too low, but definitely wanted to get rid of most of the wheel gap and still have some suspension travel with (hopefully) no rubbing of the tires. for this i took it off the jack stands and lowered it on cinder blocks.

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then i set the front toe using the jackstands & string method which has worked well for me in the past with my z31.
and finally... back on the ground!!

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m tr4nch
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Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

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well guys, i finally drove this thing!!

took it out of the garage and drove around the block.
man.. felt friggin awesome to drive it again after 14 years. :)


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and some video!
towards the end of the video, and afterwards when i pulled it back into the garage, i could hear the fan blades rubbing on something. so i need to check that out, probably shifted a little while driving.





i'm super excited that i can basically drive it now. i just need to get all the glass reinstalled and start putting the body panels back on. :bigthumb: :bigthumb:

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float_6969
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Hell yes!!!!

macgiver
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You gotta have someone take video of you driving "it" "SLOWLY" right by cops , outside a Police station. :facepalm:

Seriously , you have done some'o the most oustanding work I've Seen :yesnod

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m tr4nch
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Car: RS13, Z31, P11
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more progress!

went back and resealed the exhaust joints with some copper RTV just in case.

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started focusing on the interior and body panels.

installed the s14 seatbelts. made a little extension bracket since the retractor assemblies are shorter overall than the s13 ones.

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got the r32 seats installed. had to swap the rear outer bracket with the ones from the stock 240 seats to get them to fit up. the stock r32 brackets are about an inch too short. drilled out the spot welds, cleaned the surfaces up, welded in place.

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started to install the kouki tails. had to make some minor adjustments to how they sat in the body to get them to fit well. the lower tail light panel fit like crap on the left side, but i think it's the car body's fault. i pounded the sheet metal with a deadblow hammer to massage it out a little which helped, but still had to shim a few of the lower panel studs with a washer in order to get it nice and flush with the tail lights.

made some gasket templates and cut out some 1/8" thick neoprene gaskets to use instead of the messy butyl rubber sealant that comes with them. this way i can remove them easily if i want with no mess and it's still waterproof.

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then, had a local mobile glass guy come and reinstall all the glass. they did a great job with everything. got the hatch glass transferred from the spare hatch i had and installed on the painted one with new oem molding, got the quarter windows cleaned up and back in, and had a new windshield put in instead of reusing my old one. i thought about reusing the original one but it wasn't much more to have a new one put in. i had bought an oem windshield molding kit years ago to use but i opted for the regular rubber molding.

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assembled the rear bumper next with the bumper cover, foam insert, and steel core.
it slipped on to the car fine, but the side brackets kept coming out when i'd go to put the studs through the body. had to get some new plastic clips to hold them in place so they didn't pop out.

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float_6969
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Starting to look like a real car again!!!

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m tr4nch
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i have more to post but nico seems to be broken and not letting me post anything :tisk:

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float_6969
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PM me about what it's doing.

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m tr4nch
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took the hatch back off and threw the guts back in- wire harnesses, 3rd brake light, new rubber bumpers, etc. and put it back on the car.

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installed the new oem weatherstrip retainers and weatherstripping. popped on the b-pillar trim. starting to look like a 240 again!

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scrubbed the cowl plastics clean and buffed them out with some compound. looking brand new now.
threw in the wiper linkage stuff and got the cowl area buttoned up with new wiper arms and blades.

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moving forward to the doors and fenders.
replaced all the door hinge bushings with new ones, threw them on and fitted everything up before bolting down the hinges. body lines matching up!

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m tr4nch
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doors finished up!

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got some hella horns to replace the weak stock ones.

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started putting the headlights back together. was originally going to use the bosch h4 conversion housings that i got back in 2005, but LED's have come a long way since then, so i got a set of LED assemblies. love the way they look, we'll see good they are with output.

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m tr4nch
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worked on the front bumper next. marked off how much i needed to trim off the bottom for the intercooler and cut it out with a dremel. then put in all the new stiffener brackets, new emblem, foam absorber and installed!

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installed the new fender liners next. didn't have to trim anything except for a small bit at the very top hanging down that looked like it might drag on the tire.

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m tr4nch
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threw on the hood with new hinges and some carbon hood struts. man, this was a pain in the asssssss getting everything lined up with the headlight covers and fenders. not so bad, just took a while of fine adjustments.

looks like a 240 again!!!

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gave the car its first wash and buffed it all out, sealant glaze, and waxed. added some final touches- gold nismo valve stem caps, and finally stuck on the greddy badge for the intake manifold.

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got a lot of the interior put back in, at least in the front. still need to get a carpet and i'll throw the headliner back in later. new cluster lens installed, cluster trim back in with new switches, lighted ignition key ring installed, new steering wheel emblem installed..

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m tr4nch
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ohhhhhhhhhhhh s*** it's official! got registered and insured as of 10/17!

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drove it to work on its maiden voyage, no issues! threw it up on the lift to check everything out underneath and take pics.

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m tr4nch
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left work, aimed the headlights. not bad as far as light output goes, could be better.

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gauges look awesome at night!

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m tr4nch
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so i've been driving it around the last couple days trying to put some miles on it to break everything in. been about 200 miles so far, everything seems to be pretty damn good. water temp is steady 180 degrees, oil temp about 200-205 degrees. haven't boosted it yet, soo tempted but i want to get about 500 miles in before i do anything. after that i'll change the oil and see how it rips!

alignment feels spot on believe it or not. i had set all the rear adjustable arms to stock length before installing, and then set the front toe with the string method. did 70 on the highway coming home the other night and everything felt stable, drove straight as an arrow, no wandering, no bump steer, etc. i will leave it for now, but i'll probably throw it on a rack in the spring to at least have the specs checked and adjusted from there. feels great so far though. no clunks, rattles, squeaks or anything from the suspension. feels like a brand new car!

went out cruising with a buddy of mine and his r32 gtr and snapped a bunch of pics.

been waiting forever to get a picture next to this sign :cool:

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feels kinda weird driving it again, but it's so amazing to finally have it back on the road after 14 years! super exciting! :biggrin:
next major things i need to do is get a carpet, get the front lip, skirts, rear valance painted and installed, other touches.

i need to get some rolling videos now!

stay tuned! :bigthumb:

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float_6969
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It's a real car again!!!! What an amazing trip. So happy for you dude!

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m tr4nch
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float_6969 wrote:
Tue Oct 22, 2019 4:57 am
It's a real car again!!!! What an amazing trip. So happy for you dude!
thanks man! feels really good to finally be "done" and have finally completed this super long project. it's not completely done yet obviously but at least i can enjoy driving it again now!

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PapaSmurf2k3
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WOW. Some sweet closure (more or less) to this super long saga.
Came out great man. Let me know if you ever want to sell it :)

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m tr4nch
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PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:01 pm
WOW. Some sweet closure (more or less) to this super long saga.
Came out great man. Let me know if you ever want to sell it :)
thanks man, appreciate it. i don't ever plan on selling it but i'll let you know if i happen to change my mind later on :)

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float_6969
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I think I missed this, are you running an exhaust-vented PCV system? I see a tube running into the exhaust in one of your pics. If so, how's it working so far?

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PapaSmurf2k3
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I'm running an atmospheric-vented PCV system haha :rotfl

:couch

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m tr4nch
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float_6969 wrote:
Mon Oct 28, 2019 8:49 am
I think I missed this, are you running an exhaust-vented PCV system? I see a tube running into the exhaust in one of your pics. If so, how's it working so far?
yes, running a crankcase evac system. the hose on the "out" port on the catch can runs to a check valve and fitting on the test pipe and pulls vacuum on the catch can/breather hoses that way. pretty sure it's working fine as i just so happened to check the catch can the other day and it was full of water from condensation and a tiny bit of oil. so i guess it's doing its job.

i thought it was full of oil until i started to pour it out and it was clear and then i realized it was water. totally normal for this apparently.

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float_6969
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Awesome! Defintely looks like it's doing it's job. I'm currently running the PCV system open, but I'm running E85 and it makes the PCV gasses smell funny and you can smell it in the cabin so I need to change mine up, but don't want to run back into the intake tract and have been reading mixed reviews on exhaust venting, so I haven't done anything with it yet. Glad to see somebody is having good luck with it.

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m tr4nch
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float_6969 wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 8:01 am
Awesome! Defintely looks like it's doing it's job. I'm currently running the PCV system open, but I'm running E85 and it makes the PCV gasses smell funny and you can smell it in the cabin so I need to change mine up, but don't want to run back into the intake tract and have been reading mixed reviews on exhaust venting, so I haven't done anything with it yet. Glad to see somebody is having good luck with it.
yeah i've heard mixed results with doing a crankcase evac setup with the exhaust. maybe some people aren't doing it right? :gotme i chose that route also so i wouldn't have to plumb back into the intake pipe and have another hose running across the engine bay.

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PapaSmurf2k3
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What page was the install on for that evap system?
I just did a catch can install on my (direct injected) Focus ST and am wondering if I should have just went back to the exhaust instead of plumbing it back to the intake.
I've got another one coming up for another ST that could benefit from this knowledge haha.

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m tr4nch
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PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 3:11 pm
What page was the install on for that evap system?
I just did a catch can install on my (direct injected) Focus ST and am wondering if I should have just went back to the exhaust instead of plumbing it back to the intake.
I've got another one coming up for another ST that could benefit from this knowledge haha.
should be on the previous page right in the middle (this post)
i used the vibrant kit since it's stainless and uses a 10AN fitting, coupled with a vibrant check valve.

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Perfect! Thanks!

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m tr4nch
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PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Tue Oct 29, 2019 3:51 pm
Perfect! Thanks!
no prob!


did some interior work this past week.
bought some new door speakers and adapter mounts

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for the radio i'm reusing my old alpine that i bought way way back. instead of having the DIN pocket underneath, i had a little idea in my head to make a custom panel to mount the boost controller and turbo timer, along with some usb charging ports and a panel mounted aux port.

made a paper template, used a sheet of 3/16" thick ABS plastic to cut the panel out of, and took apart an old broken radio to use the bottom shell as the base.

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trimmed down the metal base a little, epoxied the panel to it, and installed everything. i added 2 aluminum angles bolted in to act as stoppers so the boost controller and turbo timer wouldn't slide back from pressing on them.

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done!
the speakers sound decent. i need to dig out the brackets for the rear speakers and get some installed back there and i'm sure it will be a little better.
:bigthumb:

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Looks good as usual.
I've never heard anyone having a bad experience with those old Alpine units. People seem to hang on to them for a LONG time too.
I've never been able to get a 240 to sound good without adding amps subwoofers. Not sure what it is about these damn cars, but I've tried a bunch of different speakers, head units, changing speaker sizes, etc. They sound decent but never as good as my other cars.

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MeanGreenS13
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Man this thing just makes me want to look harder for a new 13... OUTSTANDING work!


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