OFFICIAL: NicoClub's Rally 240SX, by Finnish Fury Rallysport

[Ajax]

Keep me updated on what days are good days for me to help out. It was great to finally put in some grinding time- I'm happy to do those "busy" tasks to free you up for more technical projects. Pay you back for all your help on my car (and hopefully pre-pay for swapping my LSD ...)Hopefully my interior will be done and I'll be ready to caravan with you to Nationals- kinda opposite ends of spectrum, our cars.

[mRodiek]

I dont know why Nissan had to route the exhaust to that side, they should have put it on the passenger side, because who cares about passenger comfort?

[nevertheless]

I am going to try and get the car running and driving in time for the Nissan National Convention, in Omaha NE. It in June of this year, so I only have a few months left. Its time to buckle down.

SAY WHAT! now i have deadline, fuhhg!

[Ajax]

I dont know why Nissan had to route the exhaust to that side, they should have put it on the passenger side, because who cares about passenger comfort?

They did- they designed it in Japan, though, so the passenger was on the left side.

[IanS]

They did- they designed it in Japan, though, so the passenger was on the left side.

Exactly.

I didnt get any work done on the car today, but I did clean the entire garage. It was a freaking mess, and 95% of was not from me. I cleared everything out, which should facilitate getting things done a little faster.

[Speedy7_7]

Thanks for the clean garage Ian

I have to put this in writing so that you can call me out on it.

I Cale, solemnly swear to forgo long term projects in favor of garage cleanliness. I will not store a non running vehicle in the garage unless they are actively being worked on. Hold me to this, clean as we go so we dont waste another whole day cleaning. I am as much to blame for the disorganization as anyone. If I see someone place an empty pop on any surface, I am going to murder them. Murder!

[Shusaka]

Geez, a clean shop must be bad juju, dont be afraid to dirty it up again, even if its only a little dirty lol, update please

[IanS]

Geez, a clean shop must be bad juju, dont be afraid to dirty it up again, even if its only a little dirty lol, update please

A dirty shop is bad juju. Not being able to walk around, due to other peoples crap everywhere sucks. That being said, some of the mess was mine, but I did most of the cleaning, so no one gets to say anything.

This is a picture of John, Cale and I. Im blowing it up, and hanging it in the shop to remind everyone to clean up after themselves. And yes I am holding a Glock and a cordless drill, we gangster (no we're not).



This is what it looks like now, except the bench and shelved are clean too. Look back at some of the old pictures to get an idea how nasty it had gotten.



Then we pulled all the current projects back in. The accord is getting a new transmission, the E36 BMW is getting a new head, and the E30 is getting some holes in the floor fixed, so it stops filling with water.



Enough of that though, on to the...

***UPDATE***

With the co-driver seat mounted, I moved to the drivers side.

I put the seat in, with the mounts set as low as possible. I used shims to get is level. After only a few seconds of sitting in it, I knew I had a problem. No matter where I situate the seat, or how much I lean back, I dont have enough head room, with the seat sitting on the cat lump. I only have about 2" between my noggin and the cage, and that's without helmet or cage padding. Not enough.

This is the lump in question.





Now, Rally America rules stipulate: The floor pan and firewall must remain original; however, theymay be modified only to the extent necessary to accommodatealternate components.

There is the allowance for mounting "alternate components", and this is going to have to fall under that. There is just no way around it. I am too tall, and the roof is too low. I even tried sitting in the seat with no butt padding, and I still didnt feel comfortable with the proximity. Head vs Cage, cage always wins, the hump has got to go.

Getting creative.

I thought about cutting out the whole thing, and just putting a new piece of metal in, as I have seen others do. Then I thought to myself, why not just cut in the right places, and reshape it. Even if It turned out horrible, I could always just cut it all out.

This felt wrong.

Cutting along the transition.



Then vertical cuts at the corners.



And cuts up to the tunnel to follow the shape of the floor.



Anybody know who Taylor Lautner is? Apparently he is a tool, and someone felt the need to sharpie that onto my floor.



No turning back now.







Looks like hell.



Once I had the vertical cuts overlapping the way I wanted them too, I added a few tack welds to keep them in place.





Then I continued to work it into shape.



More tacks, and more working.



Looking better.



Keep on truckin.





I will need to cut a piece of metal to fill the gaps, and to strengthen it all up. But I thinking its looking really good.



I will finish it up later this week, then I can get the seat mount built.



I need to get the interior painted ASAP, I have surface rust starting to show up in certain places. Good thing I have lots of Metal Ready.

[Razi]

Gangsta crew!Sweet work on the lump, Ian.I'd be afraid to do it.

[J14cm7]

looks good ian. thats it show that hump whose boss.

[SR20DET.240]

I just finished reading through the whole thead, I am subscribed. Having some experience with sheet metal fabrication I know it can be tough to work with sometimes and I am impressed with your work so far. I cant wait to see how this turns out.

[SR20DET.240]

I just finished reading through the whole thread, I am subscribed. Having some experience with sheet metal fabrication I know it can be tough to work with sometimes and I am impressed with your work so far. I cant wait to see how this turns out.

[Ajax]

You've now inspired me to choreograph a fight with shop tools.Any chance you guys will clean the driveway now that the garage is clean?..I'll probably try to drop by later this week.

[eidk]

Nice work man, keep it up

[NISSAN240SX12]

this is one kickin project here. this inspires me to finish fixing all the rust on my car. Awesome job with all the fabrications!

[RallyB13]

Ok Ian, you've got me to at least register here. And I need to talk to you about how your tracked down Bilsteins to fit...

For the rest of you: I'm also in the process of building a Group 2 Nissan, but in my case it's a 1991 Sentra SE-R. Since we're both located in MN, we'll be direct competitors. Two Nissans, same year, same engine, but different drive layouts . . .

I've been running RallyCross and stage opening at stage rally events with my old SE-R, but having been a northern car all it's life, the rust was just too advanced to consider making it into a stage rally car. Then, a friend had a rust-free southern car that he was willing to let go for a good price, and I picked it up. It needs a little front end work to repair some collision damage, but the majority of the body is in mint shape.

Unlike Ian, I'll be doing my own cage (I have the tools and some experience, although I may farm out the final welding to a more experienced weldor).

Once I get some photos I'll start my own build thread over in the Sentra section.

[IanS]

Ok Ian, you've got me to at least register here. And I need to talk to you about how your tracked down Bilsteins to fit...

For the rest of you: I'm also in the process of building a Group 2 Nissan, but in my case it's a 1991 Sentra SE-R. Since we're both located in MN, we'll be direct competitors. Two Nissans, same year, same engine, but different drive layouts . . .

I've been running RallyCross and stage opening at stage rally events with my old SE-R, but having been a northern car all it's life, the rust was just too advanced to consider making it into a stage rally car. Then, a friend had a rust-free southern car that he was willing to let go for a good price, and I picked it up. It needs a little front end work to repair some collision damage, but the majority of the body is in mint shape.

Unlike Ian, I'll be doing my own cage (I have the tools and some experience, although I may farm out the final welding to a more experienced weldor).

Once I get some photos I'll start my own build thread over in the Sentra section.

Great to see you finally made it over here. I dont post on specialstage enough, plus those guys have seen everything. Its time to bring rally to the forefront.

Nico is a great place, and I think your build will get lots of attention over in the sentra section. Make sure to drop a link in here once you get it set up, as I rarely venture into that area.

Ive got some more pictures to post, but my camera needs to charge, look for them later this afternoon guys.

[IanS]

Mini update.

I pushed forward on getting the floor patched up.

layed down some sheet metal and tacked it on. I decided to do it in pieces, since its such an ackward shape, and there are lots of obstacles.





And a second piece. The hammer dents are hardly noticeable in person, the camera accentuates them.





And with that, I called it a night. Hopefully I can get more done later this week.

[PyR0NiAk]

Keep up the good work.

[RallyB13]

Nice solution to the floor hump. That went together much better than I would have imagined.

Slow progress here. Two young kids (9mos & 4yrs) + wife who works evenings + day job = very little "disposable" time.

Where did you get your spot weld cutters? The only ones I've ever used (Harbor Freight) were junk and not worth the time. I haven't seen them elsewhere though. I've got all the old seat mounts to take out too.

[IanS]

Nice solution to the floor hump. That went together much better than I would have imagined.

Slow progress here. Two young kids (9mos & 4yrs) + wife who works evenings + day job = very little "disposable" time.

Where did you get your spot weld cutters? The only ones I've ever used (Harbor Freight) were junk and not worth the time. I haven't seen them elsewhere though. I've got all the old seat mounts to take out too.

I'll be honest, I did not expect it to work at all. I just didnt want to have to replace any more metal that was absolutely necesary, so I just went at it. It wont be pretty, but once there is paint, and a seat on it, no one will know.

Im lucky, Im getting my major car build out of the was now, while Im kid free. The only downfall, is my wife is in Grad school full time, so Im currently the only earner. This means I have to keep things on the cheap. Once she has her masters though, she should be able to make a very good living. This will free me up to pursue my dream of working in the performance area of the automotive industry. I'd rather be building, than fixing. (Crosses fingers, and knocks on wood)

The spot weld cutter I picked up at Welle Auto supply in Blaine. They are like $8, but are reversable, so you get 2. They work really slick once you get the hang of using one, there is just an odd learning curve involved.

[bersh240]

all i can think of is...my humps... my humps.. my humps. my humps.my lovely little lumps.

[lbreevesii]

awesome man. I've been too lazy and busy to get much done on my project. I may have to take your hump removal method into consideration. I'm going to have the same issue with my build...

[RallyB13]

The spot weld cutter I picked up at Welle Auto supply in Blaine. They are like $8, but are reversable, so you get 2. They work really slick once you get the hang of using one, there is just an odd learning curve involved.

I swung by the Welle in Hilltop today and picked one up. Much better than the HF cheapies (the spring on the center pin of the HF ones is very weak and and doesn't keep the cutter in place). It was $12 at the store i was at though, which kinda sucks, but I'm not likely to run out to Blaine anytime soon (no clients out that way). Thanks for pointing me there!

[IanS]

I swung by the Welle in Hilltop today and picked one up. Much better than the HF cheapies (the spring on the center pin of the HF ones is very weak and and doesn't keep the cutter in place). It was $12 at the store i was at though, which kinda sucks, but I'm not likely to run out to Blaine anytime soon (no clients out that way). Thanks for pointing me there!

Cool. I bet they are the same price in Blaine. Ive had mine for years. I bought like 4 of them a long time ago to yank a radiator core support on a wrecked car I was repairing. I thought I would chew threw them, so I bought a bunch. Turns out they last quite a while, so Im just now on my last one.

[mRodiek]

They did- they designed it in Japan, though, so the passenger was on the left side.

:facepalm DUH, I guess Im a lil retarded on occassion.

That garage is amazing, wish I had something half that size..or even 1/4 lol

[GregS13Mal]

i got 15inch steelies if you still need to trade

[IanS]

i got 15inch steelies if you still need to trade

Steel wheels bend too easily, they end up looking like eggs after 1 event.

[IanS]

Man, I have been putting off updating for way too long.

I got some work done last week, and I hope to get more done tomorrow.

Got the last of the plates onto the floor.



Got most of them fully welded.



I was running low on Argon, so I left the the last two just tacked. I was also having trouble getting to them, as the dash and steering column were in my way.



Then I built a bracket and welded it in. Sorry, I brain farted on photo taking. Im not entirely happy with the way the floor turned out. It looks decent, but it slopes too much, meaning the seat is still a little tight. I may choose to redo the whole thing at another time, but its not a big issue.



Both seats in. The drivers seat is leaned way back. It gives me ample and a half head room, but I didnt like the position. I put it more vertical, and loved it. I have head room, and the wheel and pedals feel good.









After getting the seats in, I pulled them both back out, and put them safely away so they dont get dirty/wrecked. Then I pulled the dash and steering column back out and shelved them. I left the dash support in, and double checked all of its bolts. I can stay in for painting, and it shouldnt need to come out for the foreseeable future.

Before pulling the passenger seat out, I let Morgan (Cales Daughter) take her shot at Co-Driving. I think she needs to work on her note reading skills.



With the seats done, I finally got around to tacking the roof in place. I had been waiting on this, so as to keep as much light inside as possible for building the seat mounts.



Without an english wheel, I have no way of properly working the thin sheet metal into shape. I knew it would not turn out perfect, but I have to learn somehow you know.





All in all, once I worked all the way around, it turned out ok. Just one lump on the Co-Driver side.





Worse comes to worse, I will get a slick roof from a doaner car and just replace the whole thing. I dont think I will though, it will be hardly noticeable with a roof vent in place.



Thats all for tonight. I hope to make some progress tomorrow.

[Magnum375 Jr.]

Wow, looking great man, I wouldn't worry about the roof, lol, mine looks like multiple fat couples made a few dirty movies on it. Yours looks great.