My S13 "Silvia" RB20 project! (w/ lots of pics!)

[Dire91]

Awesome thread! A+ for silvia front end on a coupe A++ for rb20 in that same coupe.Am I the only one that finds your sister having a 240sx coupe the coolest thing ever!? I wish my sister would get that as her first car.

[locoluna825]

wouldn't want my sisters owing any 240's they would smash it then i would cry

[hbpignosePA]

sooooo

about your sister

jk jk

[numbnuts240]

sooooo

about your sister

jk jk

except i'm not kidding

[Gabes13]

looks awesome!

Question: How are you going about with the wiring?

[CA18Magic]

lol, this happened in my NWN thread... my sister is happily taken and soon to be married. But here is another pic of her car (threw my wheels on there, lowered and catback). I was kinda excited, cuz everything she wanted for her car was her own aspiration. How could i turn her down when she asks me, "can you lower my car?" or "can you help me put exhaust on?". I about cried... in joy




Modified by CA18Magic at 11:39 AM 12/2/2009

[CA18Magic]

looks awesome!

Question: How are you going about with the wiring?

Research, and more research... There is some awesome stuff right here on this forum for swapping RB's. Ive also reached out to people on youtube that have done their own wiring, got some good pointers. i'll post it on here when i get to it.

[Gabes13]

kudos to you then.

Wiring is the only thing holding me up from buying an rb20.

*Wish there was a write up as thorough as FrSports' Sr20 wiring write up. : /

[thompsn]

lol, this happened in my NWN thread... my sister is happily taken and soon to be married. But here is another pic of her car (threw my wheels on there, lowered and catback). I was kinda excited, cuz everything she wanted for her car was her own aspiration. How could i turn her down when she asks me, "can you lower my car?" or "can you help me put exhaust on?". I about cried... in joy



Modified by CA18Magic at 11:39 AM 12/2/2009

did you use coilovers or lowering springs??

[zacmil]

Very nice build and kudos on the paint. At the risk of sounding like a noob, how bad is the RB20 swap? I know that swapping in a RB25 or RB26 is a pretty big job that requires a lot of work and $$$. I guess my real question is can this swap be done cheaper than an SR swap?

[hbpignosePA]

i think it would be almost the same, or a little more.....

u need to either get custom motor mounts or an R32 crossmember; most rb20s are cheap but are going to need a mild rebuild (getting old now)

i personally dont like the idea of a 2.0 L six but i can appreciate the high quality parts/effort on this!

[CA18Magic]

did you use coilovers or lowering springs??

I put my old Tein springs, cut one less coil all around. They sat perfect in the shock seats. As you can see, way cleaner drop

Very nice build and kudos on the paint. At the risk of sounding like a noob, how bad is the RB20 swap? I know that swapping in a RB25 or RB26 is a pretty big job that requires a lot of work and $$$. I guess my real question is can this swap be done cheaper than an SR swap?

Swapping in an RB25 is almost entirely identical to swapping the RB20. Just a few more fitment issues with the RB25 transmission bell housing and the s13/s14 firewall. Granted the RB25 is a much more "sought after" motor for obvious reason... but i was initially going to just rebuild the KA. But when it all came down to it, the full rebuild of my KA after machining costs and overhaul kit plus etc parts would cost close to or if not more than the RB motor i came across. I paid 1200 for this motor set shipped!

As for the SR, the RB swap can def. be done cheaper than an SR swap... but like mentioned, things need to be replaced before just dropping it in. As for parts, very hard to come by compared to the sr.

For anyone with serious power goals in mind (400+ HP), i would not recommend going RB20. But for anyone looking for a cheap swap, with a little more work, with some moderate power goals and a lust for the ridiculous RB sound... Heck yea

[Wongger]

Doing an rb20 swap now too, but im wondering where you got that downpipe from? ive been looking for one forever

[nevertheless]

Nice cars, but wheres the "CA Magic"?

[zacmil]

Thanks for the info. I'm still not really sure what direction I want to go with my car. My power goals are pretty moderate, and I think that I would be fairly content (for a while at least) with the power that a stock SR20 or RB20 puts out. I've been curious about the RB20 swap for a while now because, lets face it, you can get an RB20 swap for close to the same price as a CA swap. Good luck with the build, I'll definitely keep an eye on this thread.

[hbpignosePA]

yes buying the engine set is the same price

but to actually fit it in the car its going to cost more money

either way, CA or RB20 its going to need thoroughly inspected.... these motors arent that new

if its your first swap id just go w an SR

any updates OP

[Wongger]

rb20's arent as hard to put in as most people think.

Pretty much all you need is an r32 crossmember or rb20 to s13 engine and transmission mounts. And thats basically it.

Then installing you just need to hit the fire wall in a little.

And wiring, I guess you just need a brain

[slidestyle69]

[QUOTE=And wiring, I guess you just need a brain [/QUOTE]

yet some people forget they have one of those things

overall your build is very clean and organized.

[sil80_chris]

Nice cars, but wheres the "CA Magic"?

Probably just stuck with the username since his first hatch had a CA18DET.

[CA18Magic]

Probably just stuck with the username since his first hatch had a CA18DET.

Exactly... you can always tell who actually read through these forums, and who just look through the pictures.

No updates yet. I have tuesdays and wednesdays off so those are usually the days you'll see new stuff

[Wongger]

soooooo............... whered you get that dp?

[CA18Magic]

soooooo............... whered you get that dp?

lol, sorry bro. This I actually ebay'd it. Metal is actually pretty thick, and quality is def. there for the price. Hold off until i get it all put together for some feedback on it.

[heeltoehero]

Props for being in the NW!

I'm curious where you got that intercooler, and what radiator are you using?

I just picked up my RB the other day and I'm having issues finding info about intercoolers and radiators that will work

Also... How's the engine fitment with TopHat mounts?

[s13tomf31691]

lol your doing everything i wish i could do to my car..unfortunately i have no money lol

[zenki-S13]

awesome build manwhen you get everything running could you give a review on the cxracing turbo? looking at purchasing one later on

p.s. to khost26. could you please change your sig picture. it is way to big

[RUHNAy]

last time i checked my local dealer told me a swap would run just about 1000 bucks more then the sr soo about 6000 down here in az installed with labor and parts i think the front clip alone is 3500 again thats with labor this guy is doing an amazing job bro super kudos on your build bro keep up the fantastic work

[240sxJoe91]

Very nice build...Nice 240 cant wait for more this thread makes me lol merry christmas

[CA18Magic]

Props for being in the NW!

I'm curious where you got that intercooler, and what radiator are you using?

I just picked up my RB the other day and I'm having issues finding info about intercoolers and radiators that will work

Also... How's the engine fitment with TopHat mounts?

PNW FTW! Cant remember who its made by... but just search "Same side" intercoolers. Havent dropped it in yet, so not sure on the mounts yet. I'll have pics of bell housing clearance/starter clearance as well as shifter position. From researching though, everything should be fine.

awesome build manwhen you get everything running could you give a review on the cxracing turbo? looking at purchasing one later on

p.s. to khost26. could you please change your sig picture. it is way to big

Will do bud, gonna break it in properly with low boost at first. As well as the clutch anyways. But i'll let ya know.. heard from 3 others since i posted that update and theyve all said that its great and is still lasting them on their rb's.

And thx everyone else for the sweet comments lol. More updates soon... i'm in retail so work hours are crazy right now. More money!

[safin]

do change your user name

[CA18Magic]

Ok, its been awhile since the last update. Christmas season is finally over, so back to normal hours at work (retail). Got the pluming done on turbo side. Oil send fitting worked perfect. But the new turbo doesn't use the factory banjo/bolts. A lot larger tubing for cooling. So i had to do some fab to get things right.

Oil return was too wide, so i had to grind it down a bit.Same with the larger banjo fittingsWater return bolted on easyBut "water send" side was all f'd. It curved right into the exhaust turbine housing. So i let it sit under a work lamp, and slowly straightened it out. BetterThe factory cooling tubes were a lot smaller that what the turbo used, so i made an adapter for both sides to accommodate for the larger hoses. I also flared the stock tubing so it wouldnt accidentally slip off. Along with rubber bonding adhesive.

Here is a pic before flaring the end...and after. Kinda hard to tell, but you can definitely see it in personLarger hose slipped on with adhesive Fab'd water returnAll done (turbo side) PS I will be wrapping all hoses on this side with high heat insulating tape. Prevent anything from meltingOh, and couple things came in as well as more misc parts purchased