So! One of my favorite movies growing up was Mad Max, and to this day it is still my quintessential car movie memory. So of course I had to build my own "interceptor". Something heavy enough to be stable at high speeds but light enough to still stop and turn well, tight suspension, quick acceleration. Once upon a time, I had wanted to get an old FHP Mustang. I really liked the way they looked, and they had the right look. And then I discovered imports. Turbocharged engines half the size of a V8 making similar power. And Nissans. I loved the Z cars from the start, and still like them greatly. From there I learned of the 240SX, with it's nearly identical indi rear suspension. And of course from there I discovered the S13 Silvia, and instantly noticed, hey, that has alotta the same lines as the FHP stangs (long hood, squareish body / headlights / taillights, etc), only it's smaller, lighter, and has a superior suspension. Sold. I found myself in the market for a 240SX coupe.
So I eventually found a 1993 240SX SE coupe, 5-speed, non-abs / hicas / vlsd, power everything and sunroof (and sunroof rust), that I picked up for $2k. It had been badly neglected, but never raced or wrecked, with 150,xxx miles. Perfect.
Naturally, the first thing I did was cut my springs. HA!
Yeah right. The first thing I did was savagely beat it with some basic maintenance. Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, oil & filter, air filter, water pump, 3" aluminium radiator, silicone upper and lower hoses, etc. After that what mainly needed attention was the suspension. The (every) bushing and the (every) ball joint on the (every) arm was completely worn torn and otherwise useless. Everything rattled or clunked constantly, and cornering felt like driving a tub of water. So I replaced (everything). I'm all about stability. ISIS coilovers, complete Circuit Sports suspension arms, Greddy front STB
First the fronts.
Got a hold of some solid subframe bushings and a subframe that already had the OEM bushings removed. Did the whole thing in one shot.
Subframe with solids
Old out
New in
Later I got Suspension Techniques front and rear sway bars. Never took pics cos, well, they're sway bars. The car handled SO much better after everything got installed. Sat nicer, too. I've been told by a few people that like this, she looks kinda like Karr from the original Knight Rider. It's especially funny cos she is definitely an evil car.
While I was doing all that I also did wome interior work. Replaced alot of the oem gray tweed, painted some things to match, got a new floor carpet, cleaned it up in general, did some stereo work.
I like purple.
Sony Xplode R series 6.5" 4-ways up front
Sony Xplode R series 6x9 4-ways in back
Rockford Fosgate 10" Punch series, taking up most of my trunk
Sony Xplode 700w 4-way amp driving the 4 speakers
Alpine 300w amp driving the sub
Later did the Silvia conversion to her. Much more the look I was going for. Replaced the projectors with usdm spec 6K bi-xenon projectors for street legal cutoff. Replaced both low beams AND both hi beams with bi-xenons, so I have 4 low beams that become 4 high beams. Because lumens (family tradition). Only thing is, now with the new front end, and NO "Nissan" logos on her anywhere, people keep thinking she's an old Prelude
NO. Just, no. Things to buy: NISSAN badge for grill and trunk.
Then I found some decent 17 x 7.5 wheels with good tires for less than it would have cost to replace my worn tires. May eventually switch up to some 17 x 9's down the road. They're better than the oem wheels in the meantime though...
And most recently I picked up one of these. RB25DET S2 w/ ~ 45,000 mi.
Compression tested 175+ on all 6 cylinders. Turbo was blown (MASSIVE play on every axis), pouring oil into the housing. Otherwise the engine looks to be in good shape. First odd thing I noticed was that it had aftermarket vacuum tubing T'd onto the intake FPR line. Second was that the turbo was not a S2 RB turbo (it was metal not nylon). Much to my surprise when I pulled the timing cover off I found an N-1 water pump bolted in place. I'm wondering what else I might find. It seems as though the engine was not just raced, but built for racing, by someone who could throw money at it to do things right, rather than just abuse it. The compression was great, so it doesn't look like the engine was fried beyond the turbo. I took the valve covers off and it looked brand new underneath. Right now I'm in the process of peeling open the crank case so I can see whats going on in there. And thats basically where I am now. Not yet 100% certain of how I'm going to build up the engine, mainly because I'm not 100% certain of exactly how much power I think I'm going to want, though I am pretty certain at least 300-350hp.
Aside from that the suspension still needs some attention, chassis still needs some bracing, and I'm going to put Z32 front and rear brakes on her. Later on a 1.5 LSD, maybe go 5 lug and change the rims with it, maybe upgrade the axles. Body needs paint and some rust repair, the chop-shop 2-tone look drives me crazy. just going to re-do her in solid gloss black. And a pink pinstripe. Gotta keep the pink pinstripe. I want to keep her reasonably stock looking, but I dont like how the oem silvia bumper barely covers a fmic. And I can buy a whole kit for the cost of what most people seem to be asking for an oem silvia aero bumper. The only kits I personally like at all are the v-speed and supermade style ones. So I'm not sure whether I should try to make the stock look work, or to say screw it and tack a v-speed kit with widebody fenders onto her with a matching stance, or something in the middle, or what. My failsafe plan is "stock".
And that's where Ive been, where I am, and where I'm going. Sorry that was so long, but I had alot to cover, I guess. Anyway, happy to be here, and looking forward to hearing from people
good luck and welcome to nico, homeslice!
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I like the green on the timing cover, too.
The paint may look good in pix, but irl its a crummy flakey wavy chipped maaco job, and theres like 4 other completely different cars in my area that have the same exact paint scheme. Thank you maaco, for letting so many cars all wear the same dress to the dance... So one way or another, the car was getting a respray no matter what. In the meantime, its ugly and looks like a prelude. I can live with that. It's actuallly kinda funny. What could possibly be a better sleeper mod than make it look like a lame car 
DO WORK GAL!!!
Then I make all y'all look like chumps 
Untrue, but thanks! 
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