new to the club-but not to the car

[Type X(J)]

hey, wassup guys. newbee here, just wanted to check in and intro myself. I've been crazy 'bout the 240 for 'bout a year now. first read 'bout it in a popular import mags, signal's 15-80 had a big part in bringing-in my curiosty for the car. eversince then, I've read/researched most of the stuff related to the 240 (except 'bout the CA engine). 'bout a month ago i found a used '89, in average condition, no radio, sporting a custom exhuast and K&N intake, and it has a TRUST shift nob!!-freebie! the bad thing was that the transmission's busted (planning to replce it anyways) got it for $300. think that's a good deal? let me know. after having it delivered, i further inspected it and found that the trunk, where the spare tire rested, was badly rusted and also some area on the doors hinges, and the engine was blowing white smoke!!! another bad thing!!! well anywayz!!! excited 'bout this car. can't wait to chang the transmission and rebuild the engine-thinking of going SR route.---Daunttless, just wanted to know if the S13>S15 front conversion can be installed easily, plannin' to purchase it if I can install it myself.aite guys....posts again laterz:D

[Daunttless]

Yeah, the kit I sell is easy, it makes everything nice and bolt on. : )

[SpeedRacer1]

You should get an SR20DET if you can since you wouldnt wanna waste money fixing the transmission only to fix it. If you have the money and are in an area where the engine isnt a concern then go for it.

[Type X(J)]

question---how much am i looking at for a complete body restoration and repaint?

[SpeedRacer1]

Alot, you get what you pay for. Paint jobs range from 200(maaco) to 2000(ok body shop) to 5000(excellent paint job) 10000(immaculate job). Im not sure how much other body work needs to be done but most of that can be taken care of by you. If you decide the maaco or ok body shop way then do your own stripping to ensure that it is done right. I would have liked to have done a body restoration, silvia conversion and SR to my car all at the same time. But prices can get really high when you start talking about body work.

[Daunttless]

It also depends on where you live and what kind of hookups you have. I would assume you don't have any hookups if you're asking about cost. : ) If you're doing a single, standard color a quality job is cheaper than if you're doing something custom or exotic for the same quality. For a fairly "normal" color I would expect between 2000-2500 for a very quality paintjob. If you want all your door jams and your engine bay painted and such, probably another 500.

As far as body restoration, you'll have to define that a little better. If you're talking rust, the 240 is unibody so you have to cut it out or grind it off and then reweld and/or bondo. If you're talking dings and dents you can do that yourself. : ) Especially if you're going to get a paintjob anyway, it doesn't matter if you crack the paint then.

Could you give us a bit more info? : ) The picture is nice, but we can't tell you much from just that.

[Type X(J)]

yeah---it is rust.the pic shows the trunk (spare tire compartment-an area that is closest to the center panel, lower right, rusted through, a hole developed 'bout 3/4 of a penny's size), and the area inside the passenger and drivers side door hinges.

i'm wondering how/where the water sipped through the trunk?

question Daunttless---i saw in one of your old posts how you repaired your 240, i was wondering if i would be able to do the same work myself, and if I can, what tools would I need for the job. doing the job myself, if its do-able will save me save major $. i don't know 'bout cutting & welding, i could definitely grind the rust off but i would need directoins of the steps after that. would you be able to lists the next steps in order for me to finish the job

& yes---no hook-ups for the repaint---yet---haven't developed the connections needed for that step. hopefully somewhere down the road, i'll meet someone who can hook me up. just want to work on this car myself for now, atleast the stuff that i can do myself, it's important that I personalize the whole project. in the future, if its possible, i would really like to repaint the car but that's is highly unlikely so I'll probably just lend a helping hand in the process.

I joined this forum looking for help and indeed I've received plenty---I'm really thankful for this and any other additional info that you guys can lend would be greatly appreciated. maybe sometime in the future i could pass the 240 knowledge to another newbee like me.

[Daunttless]

Don't worry, I'll be doing a walkthru when I get around to repairing it. : )