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

General discussion forum about the 240sx, and a great place to introduce yourself to the board!
User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Thu Oct 31, 2019 7:22 am
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.
i got that alpine back in '06 and it's been in 4 different cars so far lol, always worked great. and i'm sure it will sound a bit better with the rear speakers in since they are pointed up at the hatch glass and the sound just reflects off that and into the back of your head. i was able to find the brackets and rear panels but they need some cleaning up first.
MeanGreenS13 wrote:
Thu Oct 31, 2019 2:40 pm
Man this thing just makes me want to look harder for a new 13... OUTSTANDING work!
thanks man! :bigthumb:


User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

did my 500 mile checkup. changed the oil and filter, oil looked nice and clean still :dblthumb:
went over all the bolts underneath the car that i could reach to make sure nothing loosened up, everything was still torqued up to spec. i figured it all would be fine since most of them are self locking nuts or have lock washers on them, but just wanted to make sure.

Image


did the front end first, then i get to the rear, look over, and i see brake fluid on the bottom of the right rear caliper :facepalm:
turns out it has a very tiny leak coming from the bleeder screw threads. i know i tightened it enough from bleeding the brakes the last time, checked to see if it could be tightened a little more and it moved a tiny bit, but i didn't want to over tighten it and strip the thread. so i just decided to replace the freaking caliper again. :tisk:

good thing i can get these next-day from my job. they weren't available anymore with the black powdercoating that i previously got, so i got a regular uncoated one, disassembled it, and painted the back half red to match again. got it reassembled and back on the car now, just need to bleed it. hopefully no more issues with these damn things. the other 3 calipers look perfectly fine thankfully.

Image
Image

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

a couple of videos as promised :biggrin:




User avatar
float_6969
Moderator
Posts: 19853
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2002 1:55 pm
Car: CA18DET swapped 1995 Nissan 240sx (too many mods to list)
2015 SV Leaf w/QC & Bose (daily)
Location: Topeka, Kansas
Contact:

Post

YYYAAAASSSSS!

User avatar
PapaSmurf2k3
Site Admin
Posts: 23998
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

Post

Pretty awesome!
What kind of calipers are you running again?

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Sat Nov 16, 2019 10:24 am
Pretty awesome!
What kind of calipers are you running again?
just running regular z32 calipers all around.
there doesn't seem to be any wetness anywhere around the caliper now after bleeding and driving it around for a couple hours so hopefully that does it!

User avatar
PapaSmurf2k3
Site Admin
Posts: 23998
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

Post

Gotcha.
You MIGHT have been able to get away with just replacing the bleed screw instead of the whole caliper. But I guess that's a moot point now.
Sometimes the bleeders get deformed and scratched if there's any trash in there, leading to minor leakage.
Sometimes its in the caliper too haha.

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Sun Nov 17, 2019 3:27 pm
Gotcha.
You MIGHT have been able to get away with just replacing the bleed screw instead of the whole caliper. But I guess that's a moot point now.
Sometimes the bleeders get deformed and scratched if there's any trash in there, leading to minor leakage.
Sometimes its in the caliper too haha.
i thought about doing that, i figured either way the bleeder screw wasn't seating properly in the caliper, causing it to seep. but it's all good, sending that one back as defective so $0 out of my pocket!

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

not much of an update, but salt hit the roads the other day around here so that's all until spring time!

ordered a bunch of stuff on some black friday deals, mostly interior stuff so hopefully i'll be posting updates on that soon.

got some silicone parts from zspec. top notch stuff! all about little details like these:

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

User avatar
PapaSmurf2k3
Site Admin
Posts: 23998
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

Post

OOo I like that.
If my 240 wasn't such a hilarious s*** box, I might be inclined to dress it up a bit.

User avatar
420sxWETDREAMS
Posts: 514
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 3:37 am
Car: 1991 240sx Hatchback
Location: @ your moms house

Post

Came out great! congrats on the completed build....Until the next parts!

User avatar
AZ89two4Tsx
Posts: 13635
Joined: Sat Mar 08, 2008 8:02 am
Car: 2017 VW GTI, 14 Honda CBR650F
Location: AZ

Post

I'm not in the 240 scene anymore but I vividly remember this thread from when I joined OVER 10 YEARS AGO. Kudos to you man. This is a heck of a build.

adammickel
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 9:27 am
Car: ???

Post

Not sure how this works or why it's a thing but I'm seeing this build pop up on the op.gg

I suppose it gives cdr a lot soon than other builds... but why would you gate your damage so hard in exchange for.. dueling potential? Curious to see your thoughts

Edit: apparently there's even a new rune page to go along with it. Conqueror, triumph, tenacity, last stand, secondary bone plating and overgrowth... what in tarnation

adammickel
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 9:27 am
Car: ???

Post

adammickel wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:32 am
Not sure how this works or why it's a thing but I'm seeing this build pop up on the op.gg

I suppose it gives cdr a lot soon than other builds... but why would you gate your damage so hard in exchange for.. dueling potential? Curious to see your thoughts

Edit: apparently there's even a new rune page to go snaptube vidmate along with it. Conqueror, triumph, tenacity, last stand, secondary bone plating and overgrowth... what in tarnation
why would you gate your damage so hard in exchange

User avatar
float_6969
Moderator
Posts: 19853
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2002 1:55 pm
Car: CA18DET swapped 1995 Nissan 240sx (too many mods to list)
2015 SV Leaf w/QC & Bose (daily)
Location: Topeka, Kansas
Contact:

Post

I'm not sure what you're trying to say. I'm guessing English isn't your first language? Can you try saying it another way?

User avatar
NukeKS14
Posts: 310
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 2:50 pm
Car: 1995 240SX SE - KA24DE-T
AC Cobra Mk IV Rep.
2020 Civic Si

Post

float_6969 wrote:
Wed Apr 15, 2020 7:37 am
I'm not sure what you're trying to say. I'm guessing English isn't your first language? Can you try saying it another way?
Its a bot.
Theyve been infiltrating phbb boards pretty aggressively as of late. Another nissan site that rhymes with silvia had an infestation about a month ago.

Back on topic. Free bump for a sweet build. If i ever go to the dark side this is what I want to build. If i can pry that rb25 out of ca18det_boy's cold dead hands.

User avatar
PapaSmurf2k3
Site Admin
Posts: 23998
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

Post

NukeKS14 wrote:
Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:29 pm

Its a bot.
Yep, I just gave him the holy trinity of bans. Username, email, and IP.

User avatar
MeanGreenS13
Posts: 3483
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:59 pm
Car: 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD
Location: Ocala, FL
Contact:

Post

I thought it sounded kind of spammy...

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

been a while since i posted any updates. just been driving and trying to enjoy this thing!

got a couple of interior goodies. new shift boot, ebrake boot, arm rest cover from redline. top notch stuff. got some extra material to re-cover the glove box as well but haven't had time to do it yet.
also received a rick & morty shift knob as a gift lol :biggrin:

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image


finally bought a new carpet. went with the "neon red" which i think will look awesome once installed. the black nismo floor mats and the seats will cover most of it so it won't be too intense. this thing is BRIGHT though, it seriously messes with your eyes if you stare at it for more than 5 seconds.

Image


had a little mishap with the clutch fan. i still have no idea what happened but 3 of the fan blades broke off while i was driving normally. car started making a weird vibration. good thing i was only a few minutes from home. contacted gktech and they hooked me up with a replacement fan for free which has been fine so far. didn't hit anything, didn't make contact with anything in the vicinity of the fan, none of the other blades had any visible marks on them, no rub marks anywhere else, just the 3 in a row broke off somehow. very weird! :gotme just glad the broken pieces didn't puncture the radiator or something.

Image
Image


scored a c-pillar bar from phase2motortrend and installed. honestly can't tell if it makes a difference since i don't have enough time behind the wheel yet to really feel how the car is fully. i'm sure it does help though. will eventually get it powdercoated probably satin black to match the car.

Image
Image
Image

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

got around to improving a few issues i had with driveability.

firstly, i wanted to throw a fan on the oil cooler with a manual switch i could turn on just incase i see oil temps rising from pushing it. temps would sit around 220F once fully warmed up which apparently is ok. i feel more comfortable having the ability to flip the fan on if i need to.

got a 5" spal fan and wired it up with a delphi weatherproof connector, hooked up to a relay/switch. made some aluminum brackets to mount it to the cooler, then used a soffit vent and some hvac ducting to direct the air out of the wheel liner plastic. i think the ducting alone helped a lot, now the air coming in through the grille in the bumper can flow straight through rather than just hitting a wall there (wheel liner). temps seem more stable now, i haven't even had to turn the fan on yet.


Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

next up was the exhaust. i noticed the downpipe/test pipe area was hanging down pretty low. it all bolted up just fine, but there was a ton of room between the pipe and the heat shield/floor area, not to mention the flange was scraping on every little thing and getting really annoying.

took the downpipe and test pipe off, cut them up and re-positioned everything, welded back up and heat wrapped. problem solved!

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image


much much better clearance now

Image


finally, long story short the front right coilover blew on me while driving, and the front left started leaking. my guess is since i got them back in 2007 and they've been sitting since then, the seals probably got dried out and didn't take long for them to let go. i weighed my options out, and ultimately decided to just get a new set of stance xr1 coilovers.

leaky:

Image


new set:

Image


while i was at it, i hammered this lip up a bit since i noticed there was a little tire rubbing on the edge. don't want that metal cutting into the tire and blowing the tire out.

Image


of course i reused the coilover covers i made, set the ride height, reset the front toe. blah blah. i do notice a little bit of a difference with these new coilovers. they are a little less bouncy and smoother than the old gr+ ones.

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

got a buddy to take a ricer flyby video for me :dblthumb:



also i went back to the first post in this thread and was able to recreate some of the original pictures :)


Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image


random up in the mountains:

Image


last one, with my p11 g20:

Image


thanks for looking! will have more to update soon hopefully :bigthumb:

User avatar
NukeKS14
Posts: 310
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 2:50 pm
Car: 1995 240SX SE - KA24DE-T
AC Cobra Mk IV Rep.
2020 Civic Si

Post

Awesome. Getting some motivation to put a new trans in mine tonight and get out. Not gonna lie your build thread has been getting my butt back in the garage lately.

I bet that ducting made all the difference for your cooler. I used some pool noodles to box my rad in and that helped my temps quite a bit this summer. Thats a little ghetto for your car though. Suuuper glad none of those blades punctured your radiator.

User avatar
PapaSmurf2k3
Site Admin
Posts: 23998
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

Post

Hell of an update.
I wonder if that fan blade was just molded incorrectly and had some stress in one or more of the blades or something. Hope your new one is from a different cavity/batch.
Also, your exhaust flanges are thick as hell haha.

User avatar
MeanGreenS13
Posts: 3483
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:59 pm
Car: 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD
Location: Ocala, FL
Contact:

Post

This thread makes me want to find another S chassis SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAD! Keep up the outstanding work man!

User avatar
float_6969
Moderator
Posts: 19853
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2002 1:55 pm
Car: CA18DET swapped 1995 Nissan 240sx (too many mods to list)
2015 SV Leaf w/QC & Bose (daily)
Location: Topeka, Kansas
Contact:

Post

Looking good as always! Keep te updates coming!

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

NukeKS14 wrote:
Thu Oct 01, 2020 3:42 am
Awesome. Getting some motivation to put a new trans in mine tonight and get out. Not gonna lie your build thread has been getting my butt back in the garage lately.

I bet that ducting made all the difference for your cooler. I used some pool noodles to box my rad in and that helped my temps quite a bit this summer. Thats a little ghetto for your car though. Suuuper glad none of those blades punctured your radiator.
glad i could motivate you! and yeah i think the ducting alone really helped a lot with it. pool noodles :chuckle: nice haha
PapaSmurf2k3 wrote:
Thu Oct 01, 2020 5:25 am
Hell of an update.
I wonder if that fan blade was just molded incorrectly and had some stress in one or more of the blades or something. Hope your new one is from a different cavity/batch.
Also, your exhaust flanges are thick as hell haha.
yeah who knows with the fan blades. it happened right around the 700 or so mile mark, and the new one has quite a bit more mileage on it as of now so hopefully this one will be fine. and yes, the flanges are pretty damn thick. glad the only part that was scraping was the one on the test pipe and not the titanium one. all good now though!
MeanGreenS13 wrote:
Thu Oct 01, 2020 7:08 am
This thread makes me want to find another S chassis SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAD! Keep up the outstanding work man!
get one! there are still decent ones out there for sale every now and again for good prices. and thanks!
float_6969 wrote:
Thu Oct 01, 2020 9:55 am
Looking good as always! Keep te updates coming!
thank you!

User avatar
LSDrift
Posts: 199
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 4:54 am
Car: 1990 RS13 RB25

Post

So happy that you’ve continued to update this! Such an awesome job! I just got back from deployment so I’m excited to continue mine. That cooler fan is perfect!

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

LSDrift wrote:
Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:49 am
So happy that you’ve continued to update this! Such an awesome job! I just got back from deployment so I’m excited to continue mine. That cooler fan is perfect!
thanks man!



little update on everything.. finally painted the greddy bov to match everything else. looks way better than the purple.

Image


was dealing with an issue for a while with a noise coming from the engine.
long story short i figured out it had to do with crankcase pressure/vacuum. the crankcase evap setup didn't seem to be working anymore, not really pulling vacuum on the catch can anymore. i stopped getting fluid in the catch can, it was bone dry. the check valve diaphram blew out so i replaced it with a different one, but still had the same problem. pcv valve was still hooked up and working properly.

Image


took the catch can apart and found this small plastic piece lodged in the "out" port, i'm guessing from when the check valve diaphram blew out. and the brass filter was super clogged and not really flowing. cleaned all that up!

Image
Image


ultimately decided to ditch the evac setup since it didn't seem to be working anymore for whatever reason, whether it had to do with the new check valve design or not. :gotme i dunno. so i decided to route the "out" port on the catch can back to the intake pipe, like how it is stock. this way i know for a fact it will have constant vacuum.

took out the evac hose & fitting, capped off the hole in the exhaust

Image
Image


made a new intake hose joiner out of 2.25" stainless pipe i had lying around. cut the AN end off the evac fitting and welded it on, bead rolled the pipe ends.

Image
Image


reused the hose and put on a new 60 degree hose end to hook up to the intake. came out perfect! threw some heat sleeve on it since the exhaust manifold is right there. looks a lot better than i imagined it in my head originally.

Image
Image
Image


i've only driven it a couple of times since doing all of this. the engine noise is gone now thankfully, everything seems to be running fine so hopefully that's all i had to do. still need to check on the catch can and make sure it's not bone dry.

User avatar
m tr4nch
Posts: 1308
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:57 pm
Car: RS13, Z31, P11
Location: Eatontown, NJ

Post

also finally got around to fitting up the xenon lip.

trimmed down the middle part where the intercooler is, and drilled a few holes for some hardware.

all mounted up!


Image
Image



just need to get it painted now. going to fit up the rear valance and side skirts next and get those ready to go too :dblthumb:

thanks for looking!


Return to “240sx General Discussion”