newbie vert project

[toplessKAT]

Hi everyone!

I purchased my 240vert last July and I am finally working on project plans (my husband is finishing up his RB25 swap so we almost have money for my car ;-) )

I want this to be my project and not my husbands so I am going to need lots of advice from you guys :-)

I think I want to keep my car KA with T (don’t really want two RBs in the house) and do the manual conversion, but I am open to suggestions. The first thing I need to do is put in a new top (This winter my plastic back window cracked). I think we are going to change it out in the fall. I do not have pics yet but i can post some tonight. I will also add car to the registry with VIN # tonight.

[DeXteR]

hello and welcome! thanks for joining us.

just so you know - and a lot of vert owners don't at first - you can replace the rear window without replacing the entire top.

make sure you hit up the stickies to get a start on things that NEED to be addressed with the verts. from there, do what you like to your car. 5-speed, wheels, drop, and you've all ready got ka-t in the plans, right? what else do you want? that sounds just fine.

but before you do anything, we need pictures... like yesterday.

[toplessKAT]

DeXteR-- Thanks! I was not sure you could just replace the rear window.. that will be a money saver. KA-T is definitely in the plans.

[Topless_92]

Cant wait to see some pics...Im glad your keeping the KA because its def the way to go Good luck with your project

[l0nestar]

Kris, I mean KAT,

I would suggest following what Topless_92 said. Keep it KA possibly do the 5sp swap. I offerred to put my 25 in your car, but you didn't want to =P

DeXter,I had wondered about just replacing the rear window, but was unsure. We shall check out the stickies!

[Eikon]

Welcome to the forums toplessKAT! A KA-T is a great engine choice for the 'vert.. cheap, powerful, easy, etc... can't go wrong! Def. go 5 spd.. that makes such a huge improvement to the fun of the car.

Great to have you on board. You're family now.

Let us know what we can do to help out with your project.

ps.. Dexter wasn't kidding.. Need pics or else!!

[toplessKAT]

Alright... since you insist. ;-)





We just made my eyes sleepy tonight.

There is my husband... TRYING to get in the drivers seat... Thats my spot :-)

Thanks for the replies!

[toplessKAT]

Also, Does anyone know how to fix the yellowing on the bumper and under the headlights?? Other than paint?

[ishkabibble]

Paint!

[GoinTopless240]

Welcome KAT,We are a pretty tight knit bunch here and always willing to help a fellow Vert owner......it looks like possibly a repainted bumper or age... if you do repaint it make sure you use the primer made for plastic (forgot the specific name) bumper covers... it is special in that it bonds to material and flexes as bumper expands and contracts in temperature... oh yeah and bumps (but we don't like to think about those).... pulling the bumper (cover and all) isn't that big a job - if you wanted to do a repaint of the bumper by itself... biggest trick is unlocking it from the fenders.. you could pull that dent out of the passenger side at same time.... Sorry I'm not one of the KA-T fans, but I do hear that if built correctly they can give you quite the kick in the rear. Just don't get boost happy.... moderate boost on stock internals will keep her purring with an occasional hiss (psssst).Welcome again..

[USDM240]

very nice car. good luck with it.

[Ihiryu]

I'm rocking a ka-t in my vert, and I love it, unfortunately for me, my top looks like crap, and I have lots of duct tape on the window, but I guess that makes me a super sleeper

[toplessKAT]

LOL That is very true :-) Im lucky i got a vert with a really nice top. (minus me cracking the back window)

[toplessKAT]

OK so...My husband is now thinking it will be "easier" to do an SR swap. Im pretty sure I want to stay KA-T. My KA now has 150,000 miles on it, so I cant really stick a Turbo on it. What do you think?

[Topless_92]

You probably don't want to just slap a turbo on there. A fresh rebuilt KA would be a lot better and last longer. Also you could probably rebuild it for under the price of buying an sr20...I'm just not a big fan of sr20's but its up to you...

[DirftKing102]

You probably don't want to just slap a turbo on there. A fresh rebuilt KA would be a lot better and last longer. Also you could probably rebuild it for under the price of buying an sr20...I'm just not a big fan of sr20's but its up to you...

I would personally do an SR20DET swap. But unless you don't want to do the auto to manual swap then stick witht he rebuilt KA motor with a turbo. But its all up to you. I am learning a lot about these cars everyday

[GoinTopless240]

Well KAT,Define easier?...lol..The SR swap is easier to build power and stock internals can already handle an upgrade in boost. You do have a bit of work to do to make that swap happen. You have to send out harnesses (or do them yourselves) to be rewired 1) for USM and JDM harness to plug and play 2) for manual to auto wiring...Yuri at Wiring Specialities (Sponsor on this site) does them all day long and for the cost (around $150.00) no brainer. The motor set usually come with a transmission already. A couple hundred bucks for the misc. parts (clutch pedal, clutch Master cylinder, Shifter lower boot and retainer, manual trans crossmember - junk yard most of this for $75.00 - new master cylinder is like $20.00 at autozone). If you order you set ask for the driveshaft from the vehicle it came out of..(got mine thrown in w/carrier bearing for next to nothing). You can read about it on here... just search it.. Motor bolts up to current spot.. heater hose kit (LH and RH enter firewall differently) you can get from Heavy Throttle. ECU should come with set as well as ignitor chip... side mount intercooler and piping should also come with set...ask for the AC from the SR and have AC line ends switched (just hydralic lines). Sounds like a project... wait... that's what I'm doing.. doing all mine at once.. even threw in the Silvia front end for fun.. I looked at putting a turbo on mine too... but after adding up everything to do it right .. I went with the SR..

KA built to handle turbo should 1) have cylinders sleeved2) forged crank3) forged pistons4) metal head gasketThose are just what I would consider the must haves before getting into the upgrades to handle turbo... fuel system (injectors, fuel rail, fuel plenum/surge tank, pressure regulator) fuel management computer.... turbo setup (exhaust manifold, turbo, etc..) you get the point..I would have to agree with your hubby on easier and cheaper... Maybe Greg will pipe in to give you the low down on his KA-T... it is awesome looking and powerful, not sure if he ever found a hood to fit over the turbo... Decisions ... decisions... Good luck.. been there.. it's tough..

list goes on...Hope this helps you two make a decision
Modified by GoinTopless240 at 8:10 PM 8/25/2007

[strawberry shortcake]

wow nice vert you got there!!! nice to see other girls with verts also. you should have a very nice project no matter what motor you go with.

[l0nestar]

KA built to handle turbo should 1) have cylinders sleeved2) forged crank3) forged pistons4) metal head gasket

Not to rain on your parade, but you do not _have_ to do all of that for a KA-DET. One of the faster cars local to us (in our club) has a 'stock' S-14 DE with a T3/T04e and is pushing around 350 Whp. Literally, all he did was remove the engine from a chassis and installed it in his car - never replaced the HG or removed the head. If I remember correctly he hits around 1.4BAR. No need for all forged components / sleeves (at this level). This is not a Honda Plus it is her DD - not a race car.

I'm really thinking about just doing the 5sp swap and running NA for a while to see how it goes. Possibly add an exhaust / intake keep monitoring everything through CONSULT. Maybe reflash the ecu if I up anything like injectors / cams (top-end).

If we proceed to go with adding a snail, I'm assuming it will be something like a T25 or T28 (Bluebird or S-15) (Maybe even an HX30.. ), and by keeping it at lower boost (under 10) I can retain the stock injectors / fuel system for a while. Either way, a decent turbo setup will run around $2500+

Kris's engine I believe just turned 155k miles. I'm planning on doing a compression test later this evening, then possibly a leak-down test as well. Her engine si smooth and pulls strong, but I want to run more tests. We are supposed to be going to a yard in 2 weeks and I will try and snag a 5sp and any components I can find while there.

I could talk about this for hours

[GoinTopless240]

Hey it's all good, I've seen 3 or 4 KA-T locally as well... 3 of the 4 grenaded (boost happy - around 12-14 psi). They drove them hard tho.. The fourth one was built right and can handle a ton of boost... I was going with easier and bang for the buck that's all.. I figured that you doing an RB swap that you must be aware of most of that stuff already.. I was trying to help your arguement for the SR swap... sorry if it didn't help... Good luck at the yard sale... snag some goodies...

[Ihiryu]

Hmm, didn't know you could sleeve a closed deck motor, I've ran 28 psi on mine and still no sleeves. Mine's built of course, and I don't run 28 all the time.

You want to know the real reason why ka-t's blow up? Poor tuning, everyone knows that #4 tends to have the most problem with running lean. Poor tuning = blown ringlands on ka's.

Stock rods are good for 400 rwhp, how do I know? Cause I've done it.

Crank is good for 600 rwhp, who do I know? A lot of High Horsepower Ka-t's are running on stock cranks, check ka-t.org if you don't believe.

Nissanfanatic finally blew his STOCK ka, after four years of running her hard.

Honestly, I don't think running a ka-t with that much mileage on the motor, but it's been done.

Just spend your money in the right place that's all.

[vertbish]

IMO I'd go KA-T. Im eventually going to do that once I get my bills paid off. Everyone hates on KA's and Im more out to be the "little engine that could" lol. Where I live everyone and their mom has a SR or attempts to do the swap, not realizing it just doesnt "swap" in. lol. My bf did the SR Swap and to me it seemed like a headache. There was sooo much to do. There is a lot of good info on zilvia.net. I have been told that building a KA is cheaper and can get more torque. You will find a lot of good info out there you just have to find it. Good Luck with your project!!!

[DeXteR]

with 2.4 liters of displacement you'll get more torque then with a smaller engine. not to mention the bigger displacement spools turbos easier and faster.

in my opinion, if you're going to go ka-t, rebuild your stock ka with forged pistons with a lower compression ratio (8.5-9.0:1). then upgrade your fuel system to handle the increased need for go-go juice (pump, injectors, regulator). finally, besides other basic turbo necessities like intercooler and exhaust, you'll need something to control all of this - reflashed ecu, chipped, piggy-backed, or standalone.

you don't need to sleeve your block - it's cast iron, not aluminum. if there's a lot of wear, just have it overbored. you don't need forged rods or crank. from the factory, they're plenty strong enough to handle what 95% of owners will throw at them.

take some time to browse the ka24det forum.

black verts are sweet. thanks for the pictures.