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

General discussion forum about the 240sx, and a great place to introduce yourself to the board!
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IanS
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TJG wrote:may i ask why you dont want power steering?
Its not a want thing. Its more of a need. I dont need it. The steering feel without it will be more direct, plus there should be less kickback.

The biggest benefit will be the simplicity. The power steering pump/reservoir/lines, are just another thing to break/work around at service. Removing it will free up space in the engine bay, take a belt off the crank, and it will mean one less spare bottle of fluid I have to bring with to races.

Also, every ounce counts especially in a rally car. The more weight I can remove from the car the better.

I got some more work today.

Started out by getting the car on jackstands.



Apparantly, yesterday I inadvertently pulled one of the washer fluid lines part way off. It spent all night leaking on the floor. Happy happy joy joy.



Right down to business. Out came the front subframe, wheels and all.





I can now lift the front end of the car off the jackstands with one arm.





Oops, snack time again.



Some of you may have noticed, (or not) that there seems to be orange cups here and there. They are actually empty gatorade mix cans. I have a whole bunch of them, and Im keeping bolts in them. I have each one labeled for where the bolts came from, front suspension, rear suspension, body, interior, etc etc.



Ok ok, back to work.

I pulled the ABS sensors out of the knuckles. Wont be needing those. One came out ok, the other broke after a little persuasion.



Then I pulled the struts off. They are most likely garbage, but I nay end up reusing the tubes if I end up going with inserts.



Before calling it a night. I pulled the knuckles off the lower control arms. I will have to get those cleaned up later.



Almost forgot. I got the spec V wheels pulled of, they are officially for sale. For right now they will be pickup only, because shipping with tires on them would be obscene. If they don't sell in short order, I will consider shipping them.

If anybody has any 15" nissan alloys to trade for them, I would be very interested.



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DMan II-40
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Someone suggested re-valved Koni yellows, and you replied Koni or Bilstiens...

I would go with the Blisten because they are cheaper to re-valve, more places can do that (you need a special license to re-valve Koni or something allong the lines of that), and faster turn around time. Just a little info I though I would share if you didn't know.

Also this might interest you (True manual steering rack): zer...age=1

Great build keep it up!
Modified by DMan II-40 at 5:52 PM 10/28/2009

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IanS
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DMan II-40 wrote:Someone suggested re-valved Koni yellows, and you replied Koni or Bilstiens...

I would go with the Blisten because they are cheaper to re-valve, more places can do that (you need a special license to re-valve Koni or something allong the lines of that), and faster turn around time. Just a little info I though I would share if you didn't know.

Also this might interest you (True manual steering rack): zer...age=1

Great build keep it up!
Im with you on the Bilstiens, only problem is, I cant find the application for a 240SX.

An custom rack would be cool, but steering racks tend to be disposable on rally cars, so its not something I will be putting money into.

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Koshin
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you dont wanna sell those fender liners do you sir?

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DMan II-40
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FlatBlackIan wrote:
Im with you on the Bilstiens, only problem is, I cant find the application for a 240SX.
I'm not sure about the fronts, but I know for the rears people use the ones for 3000GTs. Check out http://www.nissanroadracing.com/ they are very knowledgeable about custom suspension and all the good stuff over there. It is a little slow, so a response might take a bit.

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IanS
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Koshin wrote:you dont wanna sell those fender liners do you sir?
The drivers side is wrecked, I tossed it. The passenger side is perfect, and sitting on top of my pile of stuff to sell. How much you want to give me for it?
DMan II-40 wrote:
I'm not sure about the fronts, but I know for the rears people use the ones for 3000GTs. Check out http://www.nissanroadracing.com/ they are very knowledgeable about custom suspension and all the good stuff over there. It is a little slow, so a response might take a bit.
I will look into that, thanks for the info.

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DMan II-40
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Found an S14 Bilstein set up for sale (could give you an idea what you need) here http://www.nissanroadracing.co...=1164

He used 3000gt inserts upfront in to OEM strut housings and z32s out back. I'm not sure if it would vary between S13 and S14 much. Defiantly just ask on that forum and they can point you in the right direction.

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Ajax
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Ian, you can keep my alloys- just let me peruse your extra parts whenever I finally get over there and we'll work out a deal.

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IanS
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Ajax wrote:Ian, you can keep my alloys- just let me peruse your extra parts whenever I finally get over there and we'll work out a deal.
You got yourself a deal.

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IanS
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Man I really need to update, I have like 100 pictures. Here is just a little teaser.


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breadbox
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How the rack coming along?

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IanS
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breadbox wrote:How the rack coming along?
Hahahah, I haven't even touched it since I tore it apart. Im working on other areas of the project right now. Im rolling out to go work on it right now, and I will do a good full update tonight.

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Ender_Zero
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Great thread thus far! Keep it up!

Are you going to do anything about the stock bushings? What do you have planned for a skid plate? Will you put one on the whole bottom of the car or is it going to be under the engine/tranny only?

Can't wait for the updates!

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motorhead0293
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FlatBlackIan wrote:Lots of POR 15 is headed my way.



I spent the night thinking about wheel choices. I need something strong and light, but also affordable. I will be running 15" wheels, so I may just find a couple sets of 7 spoke SE wheels, or even some teardrops. What do you guys think? I would love to run a set of Enkie 92 meshies, but they are too spendy.
por 15 is great stuff! i used alot of it on my car project. can't wait to see the finished project

spolitte
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This is a sweet build man, keep up the get work as well as the awesome updates.

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spooled240
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nice! subscribed

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IanS
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Ender_Zero wrote:Great thread thus far! Keep it up!

Are you going to do anything about the stock bushings? What do you have planned for a skid plate? Will you put one on the whole bottom of the car or is it going to be under the engine/tranny only?

Can't wait for the updates!
I will be running a 1/4" aluminum skid plate covering much of the underside of the engine and some of the trans. I will then have a secondary stone gaurd made of polycarbonate protecting the driveshaft, brake, and fuel lines. I will also build a steal gaurd for the rear diff.

As for bushings, that will depend. I will be pulling every bolt out of the rear suspension, and if any of them are seized, I will do a full urethane bushing kit. But if I can get away with it, I will run stockers until I get a few events under my belt.

On with the updates.

I pulled the rear hatch off. Man that thing is heavy.



I lade down some plastic, and then put the hatch on top of it.



Then I whacked it with a blunt object.



Huh, no thats not a hammer, its a poundometer, its a precision adjustment instrument.



Its not so heavy anymore. I wonder why I looked so grumpy.



Im sure some of you will ask why I broke the glass. The reason is simple, I plan to run lexan in all the rear windows. Removing the hatch glass without breaking it, is nearly impossible, so I chose to break it on my own terms, thereby minimizing the mess.

Moving on to the rear suspension

Out came the shocks.



Man I got lazy with the picture taking. Suddenly the subframe is out.





Man that rust looks bad in the pictures. In reality, its just surface nasty.



Ive never removed an S13 fuel tank, but its honestly the easiest tank I have ever dropped. Its dirty, but in good shape. I have not yet decided whether to run the stock tank or a fuel cell. Just another item on the TBD list.

That was all I accomplished that night.

The next day I took delivery of some parts I nabbed from a local 240 guy.

SR20 5 speed trans, SR radiator, heater core, with box, and a set of really ugly wheels, one of which is wrecked. Before you ask, the wheels are just for spares, and I got all of it for $250.



After snapping the picture of the parts, my camera died. I spent the rest of the evening removing glass. The only windows left in the car are the door windows.

I started the next day by making a rather large purchase. Some of you may have noticed that some areas of the car do have rust, and that stuff isn't going to fix itself. Its time to get serious.







I bucked down, and bought a welder. Its a millermatic 140. This is nothing industrial, but its a very high quality single phase wire feed. Its versitale, easy to use, and semi portable.

I wasted no time laying some beads. Ive never welded before, so it took a little getting used to.

I played on a pipe, and got used to the gun in my hands.



Then I grabbed some 1/8" steel plates, and began welding them together in Ts.



Luckilly I had Gage (professional welder) there to help me practice the basics.



As entertaining as sticking metal together with lightning is, I got bored.





Then a genius idea hit me. Its time to truly christen this project.



I drilled 2 holes in it, and hung it above my parking space.





And I will finish with that. There are a few more pictures from today. I will get to uploading them now.


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spooled240
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those welds look pretty clean, you're using gas right?

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IanS
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spooled240 wrote:those welds look pretty clean, you're using gas right?
Yep, running a 75/25 mix of Argon and Co2.

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IanS
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Its time for a new page, this one is awefully pic heavy.

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IanS
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New page, and another update.

I only had a little while to work, so I cleaned up a little, then I started working on the rear seat mounts.

They are dead weight, and any structural value they may have had, will be replaced by the cage.



MMM spot weld cutter.



There is just a tiny bit left, but the battery for the drill died, so I called it a night, but you get the idea.



I almost forgot. I was playing around with the welder, and ended up sticking a couple things together.

I welded the practice metal to part of a brake rotor for a base. Then I welded one of the discarded heat sheilds off a 05 WRX, followed by the jack stick for the 240 hatch, and I topped it all off with the broken crank pulley from a late 90s Subaru Legacy.

I will find a reason to present it to someone at some point as a trophy.




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Ajax
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FlatBlackIan wrote:I almost forgot. I was playing around with the welder, and ended up sticking a couple things together.

I welded the practice metal to part of a brake rotor for a base. Then I welded one of the discarded heat sheilds off a 05 WRX, followed by the jack stick for the 240 hatch, and I topped it all off with the broken crank pulley from a late 90s Subaru Legacy.

I will find a reason to present it to someone at some point as a trophy.


Lol. Thats awesome. I'm missing way too much of this. I need to get out there.

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Idahos13
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This thread is full of win! Subscribed!Any updates?

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IanS
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idahos13 wrote:This thread is full of win! Subscribed!Any updates?
Thanks. I got the rear seat rails all the way out. Thats about it. My wifes parents have been in town, so i haven't really gotten much done.

Ive been spending a lot of time trying to sort out suspension stuff, as well as differentials.

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DMan II-40
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I was watching a SNL recap from last night, Taylor Swift hosted, and this guy reminded me of you. It was the beard, I thought it was funny.



It was from the digital short if you wanna watch it on HULU
Modified by DMan II-40 at 8:08 PM 11/8/2009

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BMAR240SX
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Checking in

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IanS
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DMan II-40 wrote:I was watching a SNL recap from last night, Taylor Swift hosted, and this guy reminded me of you. It was the beard, I thought it was funny.



It was from the digital short if you wanna watch it on HULU
Buwhahahahahahah


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kenno470
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Great looking project, Ian!

Can't wait to see it in the dirt.

You know...Rally America has returned to Pikes Peak...just an idea

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IanS
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Man, I have been slacking on the updates. Good news though, the first wave of suspension bits have been ordered!! Im going to blaze some trails for myself personally with this setup, and Im sure it will get lots of comments. Look for pictures, maybe even a breakoff thread in the next few days.

On to the update.

I left off last time with one of the rear seat mounts mostly removed. I finished that one up, and got the other one ripped out.







All gone. You wouldnt thing these things weighed much, but when you put them together, and add them to the long list of other stuff, it turns out to be quite a bit.



Opens things up nicely.



With that finished up, I shifted gears, and moved to the engine bay. Looking at the pictures, some of you may have noticed I left the front sway bar and tension rod brace in the car. There was a reason.

Most of you have heard of or seen the Nismo and Jonnie Fraz tension rod braces. Well, those cost money, and a lot of it. It will be much cheaper to make my own, but even more importantly I can build it to my own specs.

The factory tension rod brackets are two separate pieces, bracing them together will help shore up the front end. The only problem is, I need to clean and prep it properly before building. Not to mention I have more important things to work on. The brace is something I can work on while the chassis is away for caging.

To keep the shape, and lock the pieces together I grabbed a couple pieces of steel, and went to town with the welder.

First I cleaned off the area, so I could get a good tack.





It doesnt look like much, but it keeps them together.





Then I pulled it out of the car. It will go on the shelf to be addressed later.





I wonder if it needs bushings?



That about raps it up for what I accomplished that day.

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IanS
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Speaking of bushings. Before the car can go for a cage, I will need to get it rolling again. First of all, I needed to tear down the rear subframe. It needs a thorough cleaning, the bolts need to be refreshed, and coated with antisieze, and the bushings need to be replaced.

I started by lifting the whole hunk of metal up onto some saw horses, so I dont have to bend down so much.





And Cale struck a pose.



My battery impact made short work of the camber arm, thrust arm, and axle.





Then I pulled the bolts out of the toe and lower control arms, to drop the knuckle to the ground.



Its looking lighter already.



The right knuckle followed shortly.



For now Im piling all the control arms in a plastic tote.



Only a diff on it now. I pulled it off to, but forgot to take a picture. I put it on the edge of the bench and pulled the plug. The gear lube that came out looked ok. The diff will be a project within itself.



Can anyone say rear suspension in a box?



And that about raps it up for the evening. I have Monday off work, and I hope to really buckle down.


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