Hey guys I used to own a 240sx about 5 years ago. It was a 1992 white 240sx with the 180sx front and rear bumbers with kyb coilovers so it was slightly lowered and it had 17" nissan sentra se-r rims painted black. It was my first car and also the car I learned to drive manual in. My dad was a bad teacher and since he went on vacation and it was MY car, I took the keys and hit the road. I went onto a level road not so busy and took it nice and slow. Stalling a couple times only made the experience more exciting. I then moved to a busier road and later on to some slight hills. By the end of the day I considered myself a pro (which I was def not). All the stalling and rough starts made my already weak clutch give in. I took the car to get a new clutch and I got charged $400 which I do not know if that was good or bad because i took my dads word for it. It took the mechanic almost 2 weeks to fix it... after that there was more problems more often, Overheating, blown water pump, misfiring cylinder (which turned out to be the fuel rail) and mas flow sensor are to name a few. The car spent more time in the shop than with me especially because my mechanic seemed to take FOREVER fixing my car. When I blew my head gasket I was driving on 9W(beautiful scenery) in West Nyack, NY(i'm from jersey right outside nyc) and my car just started sounding different randomly... I called my mechanic to ask him why my car sounded like a civic and he told me to bring it in it was a blown head gasket. That took 3 months to get my car back. I LOVED that car regardless. I owned the car for about a year and a half and then I had to sell it because of certain necessities. To this day I have never driven such a fun car. Point of the story... Amazing car need another.
So... after getting that out of the way I want to state I am no mechanic nor do I know much about the mechanics of cars in general. I do not know what things cost to get repaired nor do I know what oil pan nor a catalytic converter look like.Its really bad I know.. I just have an extreme passion for driving. I joined this site for 3 reasons... 1- I used to be a member but I dont remember my id not really important since all I ever did was lurk through threads. 2- I want to educate myself more about cars, mechanics, and 240's in general. I am here to learn and I am open to all opinions. 3- I turn to you for some help (more below).
In about 2 weeks (give or take) I want to buy another 240. Although I loved my 92 hatch I think I want to experience the 94-98 especially the 97 and 98's, but I do not know if i can afford it. I am looking to spend $5,000 tops for a running 240. I have seen a couple sell for 6,500 or even more with a sr20det unfortunately I cannot afford that. What are my options for $5k. Are there any things besides rust that I should watch out for that are notorious with these cars? Will I be able to get the s14 or for the money am I better off getting a s13? Would buying a shell and a motor/transmission (from jdmenginedepot for example) be an option? How much would that run me? Does anyone know a Good shop I can take my car to in the nj/ny/ct tri-state area?
I want to thank all of you for reading this and I appreciate any and all help. Even though it may not be the best/clearest pic its the only 1 I have left
