Hey guys, New poster, Look forward to you guys telling me how to blow my money I have recently (re)acquired a 1992 240sx that I bought for $100 bucks about two years ago, replaced the head gasket, sold it for 2000, bought it back last week for $1000. It's a manual coupe, completely stock, (except for a gutted cat) with 248k on the odo. I'm looking to make this a long term project, with maybe a $200-300 per month budget. It has some hail damage, so I'm not horribly worried about paint and body at the moment. It's in perfect running condition, so maintenance isn't an issue, but my question is this: It has an engine swap or turbo kit in its future. Should I start saving for powertrain mods, (possibly unwise considering mileage, although compression and leakdown tests were great) or start building the suspension? Any ideas, upgrade paths, past experiences would be helpful. Thanks.
PS pics to follow
new (old) acquisition, what to do?
Re: new (old) acquisition, what to do? (Kujo II)
suspension/brakes first, they will have a MUCH more overall impact on your car, your handling will improve, your looks will improve, your brakes will improve....and have you ever driven a 300whp s chassis on stock suspension and brakes.......it is NOT fun...
decide what your goals with the car are, you know DD, weekend track warrior, dedicated track slut,ect......
if your going the dd/weekend warrior route then start off with
-GOOD spring/strut setup(look for ground control/koni), OR go with a decent entry level coilover (KTS, Stance, PBM, Tein there are too many options to list)
-Either a master bushing kit(Energy Suspension) or aftermarket suspension arms(depending on how low you want your car, the lower the car the more that is required to correct the alignment)
- Chassis stiffening (again, depend on how far you want to go)
-Brakes......ok to be perfectly honest i HATE my stock brakes, i use my car as a DD/occasional track car, and the fade and lack of stopping power is bad (power slot rotors and EBC green pads, and please no one come in and bash me on this saying that my tires are probably junk, first set were Falken Azenis RT-615's, now they are Hankook Ventus V12 EVO K110's, and the difference on stopping distance is negligible). I would AT least go with Z32 fronts, Z32 BMC, and good pads and rotors on the rear, there are many options available only deterimed by your budget and needs
-after brakes should be wheels and tires, make a good decision with this, good widths and offsets can be fitted on an S chassis without much trouble, and tire selection is HUGE, do some research on this one, a good tire will yeild MUCH more than better lap times and stopping distances, just remember that YOUR TIRES ARE THE ONLY PART OF YOUR CAR THAT ACTUALLY TOUCH THE ROAD, so please dont skimp here
- A GOOD SEAT, the stock S chassis seats are a joke for anything more than sunday crusing, so a seat will go a long way in comfort, saftey( please get on that is rated and approved for track use), and interior looks
- after all that go either Aero, or power whichever you want depending on your goals
there ya go have fun
decide what your goals with the car are, you know DD, weekend track warrior, dedicated track slut,ect......
if your going the dd/weekend warrior route then start off with
-GOOD spring/strut setup(look for ground control/koni), OR go with a decent entry level coilover (KTS, Stance, PBM, Tein there are too many options to list)
-Either a master bushing kit(Energy Suspension) or aftermarket suspension arms(depending on how low you want your car, the lower the car the more that is required to correct the alignment)
- Chassis stiffening (again, depend on how far you want to go)
-Brakes......ok to be perfectly honest i HATE my stock brakes, i use my car as a DD/occasional track car, and the fade and lack of stopping power is bad (power slot rotors and EBC green pads, and please no one come in and bash me on this saying that my tires are probably junk, first set were Falken Azenis RT-615's, now they are Hankook Ventus V12 EVO K110's, and the difference on stopping distance is negligible). I would AT least go with Z32 fronts, Z32 BMC, and good pads and rotors on the rear, there are many options available only deterimed by your budget and needs
-after brakes should be wheels and tires, make a good decision with this, good widths and offsets can be fitted on an S chassis without much trouble, and tire selection is HUGE, do some research on this one, a good tire will yeild MUCH more than better lap times and stopping distances, just remember that YOUR TIRES ARE THE ONLY PART OF YOUR CAR THAT ACTUALLY TOUCH THE ROAD, so please dont skimp here
- A GOOD SEAT, the stock S chassis seats are a joke for anything more than sunday crusing, so a seat will go a long way in comfort, saftey( please get on that is rated and approved for track use), and interior looks
- after all that go either Aero, or power whichever you want depending on your goals
there ya go have fun
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Kujo II
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 8:10 am
- Car: 1990 300ZX N/A 5-speed T-roof (DD), '92 KA24DE 5-speed coupe, and 10 other cars!
- Contact:
Re: new (old) acquisition, what to do? (Kujo II)
Thanks for the info, glad other people think like I do. New bushing kit already on the way, I have a friend who's gonna sell me his 18" wheels with brand new summer rubber for 400... Hopefully after Christmas the wife will loosen the purse strings a bit so I don't have to wait forever for a set of coilovers... I've seen the Megan coilovers for like $800, anybody have any experience with those? Also, I thought drilled/slotted rotors and some decent pads combined with the tires would let me hold off on brakes for a while, lol just spent like 7k for a new central air system, and another 2k for appliances, so it's gonna be a little while before I can throw any major money at it. Unfortunately track days and autocross don't exist in my part of the country, so it's gonna be more a fun toy than anything.
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Kujo II
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 8:10 am
- Car: 1990 300ZX N/A 5-speed T-roof (DD), '92 KA24DE 5-speed coupe, and 10 other cars!
- Contact:
UPDATE: new pics
New pics
Naturally, after my blathering on about how it was in perfect running condition, it decided to shred a rod bearing on a 6k rpm upshift. So.... I've got a daily driver for now, Lol luckily no one's bought my GTP yet, So I think I'm just going to replace mains, rods and rings to get it back on the road (keep wife happy:) until after tax time. Since I'm pulling the motor anyway I'll replace the clutch and possibly toss on a lighter flywheel. Anyone recommend a not horribly expensive clutch kit and flywheel? .
Modified by Kujo II at 8:08 PM 11/27/2009
Naturally, after my blathering on about how it was in perfect running condition, it decided to shred a rod bearing on a 6k rpm upshift. So.... I've got a daily driver for now, Lol luckily no one's bought my GTP yet, So I think I'm just going to replace mains, rods and rings to get it back on the road (keep wife happy:) until after tax time. Since I'm pulling the motor anyway I'll replace the clutch and possibly toss on a lighter flywheel. Anyone recommend a not horribly expensive clutch kit and flywheel? .
Modified by Kujo II at 8:08 PM 11/27/2009