My "Build" thread and pics (56k unfriendly)

[Rauland-S13]

Its been ages since I posted anything with pics. I keep saying I'm going to provide some, just never got around to uploading them. Now I have, here are the pics. Brief history of the purchase, covered in much more detail in my first post, waaaaaaay back in Feb '07. Now, onto the goodies.

Back in February of '07, I was driving this:Then I totalled it. I decided I wanted another car. Something sporty, two door. Was thinking Prelude, or RX7, something. Then I found this: A 1989 240sx XE, Auto, with about 240000 km.(a few pics I took the night I got the car)

Couple of interior shots: (yes, that is a working HUD)

The first thing I did was gut the stereo. Not much of a gear head, more audio myself, and if my tunes be crappy, I be cranky.

The Stock Speakers : Replaced them with Kaption 4x6's up and 5 1/4's rear. Unfortunately no pics. Equivilant to Alpine Type S, but cheaper. And an Alpine 10" Type R sub

Now onto the install....

Cant really tell from the pics, but I wrapped the wiring in loom and tucked it in through the center consol and under the back seat. Power I ran down the driver side floor boards.



old speaker

wiring for the front speaker



I've since upgraded the deck to this:I'll post pics of it installed once I take a couple that look good.

Shortly after that, my driver's seat broke. So I went out and sourced a very good condition pair of Skyline GTS seats (from an '87 I believe). That was my first upgrade. Very comfy seats, and since I'm 6'6" and just shy of 300lbs, that says a lot. I've done 3 day road trips in these seats and not been tired or sore.

Right after that, I was told it would cost me about $800 to fix my engine (alternator, battery, oil problems) so I sourced out another engine, and got this for $500 with an auto transmission:An 1992 KA24DE with only 150000 km on it. And before I get flamed for grabbing a DE when I could have gotten an SR, or an RB or anything else I have three good reasons: 1) It was cheap. 2) it was available. 3) I dont want an SR or an RB.... at least not right now .

What follows is a series of pics detailing my and my step-dads attempts to do an engine swap. Understand, up till now, I have never done anything more extensive than changing my brakes, and my step-dad had never done an engine swap. Lets just say it was a BIG learning curve for the two of us.





I'm the one in white, step-dad is in black, and my mom is taking the pics.





Well, as you can see we managed to pull the engine with minimal problems (forgot to disconnect the AC lines.... Step-dad got quite a surprise when we did . Forgot powersteering lines. Didnt damage them though, and we forgot to drain the transmission so all of its fluid went onto the drive way.) Never got any pics of the DE going in, but we managed to get it all done in about 8 hours. Then came the electrical and thats when I got intimidated. Took it to a local shop to get them to finish (and fix) what I started. Not only that, but the parents were selling the house in 2 days, so had to get the car gone fast. Long story made short, ended up doing a 5 speed conversion at the shop. In the process of doing that had to get:5 speed trannyfly wheelclutchcylindersecuharnesspowersteering linesAC compressordrive shaftexhaustand a few other goodies I think I'm forgetting

Thats where the car stood for the last year. Saved up some more cash, and going to do the next set of mods/maintenance.

New O2 Sensor

Megan Short shifter w/OEM shift nob. Paid $50 for the shifter

Tenzo R Short air intake.

Replaced my dash lights with UV lights. Not quite the look I had in mind. Looks wicked at dusk or dawn, but in full darkness, the numbers blend into the background. I think I'll search out some Sky blue coloured LED's and try that.

I've also replaced the shift boot and consol trim so it now has the factory 5 speed shift pattern on it. Picked up an Ignition Key Ring light from one of the members here. I also have new Knock sensor coming, and new fuel injectors, cap and rotor. New plugs and wires will probably be with the next paycheck. I also have a new power steering pump and water pump waiting to be put in. I'm also looking at getting my AC hooked up... but thats going to require a little bit of fabricating, so probably next summer, or over Christmas. Right now I'm debating on either suspension, or exhaust (yeah the one I listed above is rusting out...) and I'm leaning more towards exhaust as my stock suspension is still fine (and its less expensive right now for me to get the exhaust). Assuming nothing else comes up that needs repairs.

Ultimately, this is what I'm going to throw down. Starting with the engine, going to do a cam swap. Get the ECU tuned, fix all that was mentioned above. Going to put some 17" rims, and lower the car about 1.5". Not doing coilovers, not racing the car so don't see the need. Just good quality springs and struts. Replace the engine, transmission and exhaust mounts. Possibly get a front sway bar. For the interior, re-upholster my front seats so they match the rest. Fix a couple of air vents that have been damaged. Look at doing a digital climate control swap (assumming I fix my AC). I'm going to upgrade my audio. Put 6.5" components in the doors, a center speaker in the pocket below my deck, remove the center dash air vents and install a retractable screen, hook up a rear view camera and remove my rear view mirror (I sit so tall that the mirror is constantly causing a major blind spot in my front view). I'm also going to re-direct the airflow from the center vents down through my center consol and turn my ash tray into a chilled beverage holder in the summer, and a heated one in the winter. Lastly I'm going to fix the little bit of rust thats appearing on the rear quarter panel and get the car re-painted (I'm thinking Lambo Cepheus Blue) with custom pinstriping and images painted on. I'm thinking a couple of dragons in an 80's tribal pattern (to keep it looking period) on the panels right behind the rear quarter windows. Something muted so that they are there, but not in your face.

Thats all for now. Untill the rest of the stuff comes in and my buddy and I can get some time to throw it all in, thats it for pics. Untill then, heres some random pics of my car...





Many thanks to all who have answered questions and provided suggestions over the past two years.
Modified by Rauland-S13 at 5:42 PM 8/7/2009

[MastaYu]

looking good

[VirginiaPS13]

def. looking good. Love the two tone +1 for a Coupe

[Rauland-S13]

Thanks. But when I repaint I'll probably go a single solid colour. not sure yet as thats a while down the road.

[240_dude]

Thumbs up for keeping two tone

[Rauland-S13]

So today installed everything. New O2, new knock sensor, new intake, new short shift. Much kudos to my step-dad for his assistance (drove 1400 kms just to help me :P). Car seems to be running much better than before. Also fixed my Tach. Anyone who does a SOHC to DOHC swap needs to check out Neverlift's writeup on how to get the tach to work. Super simple (even I was able to do it) and it works. i'll post pics as well as a link to Neverlift's write up in the next day or two.

[hbpignosePA]

looks nice

i want a 2 tone coupe

bad

[Scuffed_ChukiCoupe]

Nice build and work coming along, question about the led cluster bulbs. You bought the multi-leb bulds right? I bought the single and never saw my dash lightup again.

[Rauland-S13]

thanks.

I bought single colour UV LED's. what I discovered was that they have to be installed correctly. Polarity issue I think. I had one bulb that didnt work, but when I turned it 180 degrees, started working. Havent had a problem since.

[GODCHSR]

Cool!

[zeedakay]

thats how far you've got in 2 years?

[Rauland-S13]

I seriously hope I'm not taking your comment out of context.... but not everyone has the time nor the cash to be able to sink into their cars. During that two year period I was working 6-7 days a week at 2-3 jobs just to make ends meet and pay off my debts (some of that included the purchase of the car and said engine above). Not to mention that I have no shop, no garage and virtually no tools. So yeah, its taking me some time to complete the things I want to complete.

Now, instead of knocking a guy for taking two years to accomplish very little (and I admit its not a lot) give props to the guy for taking the time to research, learn and do it on his own (where ever and when ever possible) especially since I have no automotive training, very little mechanical knowledge and until I bought this car, had absolutely no interest in anything to do with cars what-so-ever. So unless I post something absolutely inane and stupid (which I am bound to do sooner or later), I respectfully ask you to keep your petty comments and snide remarks to yourself.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Propsto you! And I like your intelligent response to that comment.

[White Comet]

that isnt originally 2 tone is it? all other tone tones have the lower color go up to the body line iirc

[Rauland-S13]

Propsto you! And I like your intelligent response to that comment.

Some people just have no respect.

[Rauland-S13]

that isnt originally 2 tone is it? all other tone tones have the lower color go up to the body line iirc

Not really sure. Bought the car used, and thats how it was. Had an insurance adjuster look at it, and he figured it was the original paint, other than that I have no idea. I have seen a few other 240's (coupe and hatch) with the same colour scheme posted around the 'net, so maybe it is original. Dunno. While I know a lot of people are rocking the look of it right now, I'm thinking of going a single solid colour.

[Luis240]

hey,where? and how much were those purple uv lights? I like them a LOT (my favorite color is purple )

[Rauland-S13]

hey,where? and how much were those purple uv lights? I like them a LOT (my favorite color is purple )

They were about $6 each and I ordered 5 (or 6 cant remember). I got them from http://www.autolumination.com. Check them out, tonnes of stuff. Like I said earlier, the dash looks absolutely stunning at dusk and twilight when there is still minimal ambiant lighting outside, but really hard to see in full darkness.

[Luis240]

alright thanks man

[zeedakay]

hey i wasn't trying to be rude at all. i can understand that not everyone is capable to do as they wish and dream. you mentioned a couple mods here and there that i didn't see pics of and was wondering what it's current status is. at the same time though when i read "build thread" in the title and having recently gone through the build sticky i was expecting somethin pretty extensive but everybody has different capabilities. i'm not tryin to knock your progress at all and i respect that you did all the work yourself. i'm the only one that's put work into my car with my tools and time as well (besides the help i got with my swap). i really wish my car was that clean though

[White Comet]

Not really sure. Bought the car used, and thats how it was. Had an insurance adjuster look at it, and he figured it was the original paint, other than that I have no idea. I have seen a few other 240's (coupe and hatch) with the same colour scheme posted around the 'net, so maybe it is original. Dunno. While I know a lot of people are rocking the look of it right now, I'm thinking of going a single solid colour.

hmm thats interesting this is how everyone i've seen lookshttp://i31.photobucket.com/alb...3.jpgsee how it reaches up to the black line. i vote keep it 2 tone though

[hbpignosePA]

didnt even notice that the first time WC

i still second to keep it 2 tone

[White Comet]

^ yeah it stood out like a sore thumb to me. that gap of the top color between the body line and lower color

[Rauland-S13]

hey i wasn't trying to be rude at all. i can understand that not everyone is capable to do as they wish and dream. you mentioned a couple mods here and there that i didn't see pics of and was wondering what it's current status is. at the same time though when i read "build thread" in the title and having recently gone through the build sticky i was expecting somethin pretty extensive but everybody has different capabilities. i'm not tryin to knock your progress at all and i respect that you did all the work yourself. i'm the only one that's put work into my car with my tools and time as well (besides the help i got with my swap). i really wish my car was that clean though

I appologize for taking your comment out of context.

I put build thread in quotations in the subject line because i know its not really a build thread...yet. and may never be. I plan on making it a sleeper, looking factory, but not. But its what I'm doing and what I've done, so I figured it counted. As far as the pics go, I had more, but lost them. And I'm horrendous for taking pics (such as the key ring mod, the seats, and the new deck). I did take a few pics of the work done the other day, and hope to get them posted tomorrow.

like what you're doing with yours. Definately some serious work involved and cant wait to see when its complete. going to be inpressive.

Friends?
Modified by Rauland-S13 at 8:36 PM 8/18/2009

[Rauland-S13]

hmm thats interesting this is how everyone i've seen lookshttp://i31.photobucket.com/alb...3.jpgsee how it reaches up to the black line. i vote keep it 2 tone though

I see what you mean but I bought it that way so have no idea. Wish I had kept a link to those other pics, cuz I'm positive I've seen a couple of coupes and a hatch with the same two tone scheme. But I've been known to be blind to the obvious before. I dont mind the look of the two tone, but I'm looking for something.. more ... i dunno.... majestic comes to mind, but thats a bit heavy. I see the car in a deep royal blue/purple w/faint silver pinstriping and some custom art. If I had the photoshop skills (or any artistic skills) I'd whip up an image. not looking to make it stand out in the crowd, or trying to be original....just something that people will look at, smile in appreciation and say "Nice Car"

[White Comet]

i'd like to see if any other s13 2 tones were painted like yours but i dont recall seeing any like that, cuz it stands out honestly. and any hatches you've seen that are 2 tone no longer have the original paint. only hatches were 2 tones from nissan

[Rauland-S13]

so if I understand what you're saying, I have a limited edition, one of a kind two tone paint job? Maybe I'll keep it in the end....

[White Comet]

its pretty rare. only zenki coupe SE's had it imo and not all of them were necessarily 2 tone

[Rauland-S13]

Ok, so its been a while since I updated. Like I said above... really bad with my pics but I finally got them downloaded onto the computer, tomorrow I'm going to upload and post. But for now, just thought I'd share a little bit of goodness. I fixed the O2 sensor, knock sensor and put a cold air intake on it, and i'm not sure which of the fixes is resposible, but my mileage has gone from 19mpg to 24mpg in the city. In the dubious words of Lil' Jon "?YEeah!!"

[King Ranzo]

I'm surely hoping to see a pic of your new stereo. Just out of curiosity, but is it a touch screen?
Modified by King Ranzo at 2:41 PM 8/30/2009