Project: S13 24 Hours of LeMons Racer

[SteveRB240sx]

i always thought that was a joke, lemons.. lol but ya know the car isnt in bad shape at all from the looks of it, but then again i live in snowy, salty, rusty NY so your beaters are our $2k cars lol.. Nice work though

[lbreevesii]

haha not having to deal with rust like Ian has is nice. I've just had a lot of wrung off bolt heads ::

Updates are coming...been slowed down by schedule conflicts and the fact that I get busy and forget to take pictures.

[lbreevesii]

Alright time to share a few more things. I'll post pix of some of it later.

Finished cleaning up the strut towers and stuff and there is a welder in the garage. We started stitching up all the seams in the front end.

Saturday my team-mate rob took delivery of a TON of parts that we got for dirt cheap. Huge thanks to troy from carolina nissans for the hook up! He sold his car and wanted his pile of stuff gone.

For $125 we got: Two sets of rotors.

one S14 232 cam - cam swap ftw

A pair of Z32 30mm aluminum front calipers with stock Z32 lines and some cheap pads

Four KYB GR2's w/ springs, and an automatic S14 booster and MC. Struts may be blown, we'll see. Still better than the busted and binding ones we have now.

Troy, being the awesome dude that he is, is also hitting up the local pick n' pull for a Z31 15/16ths bmc to use with the z32 front / stock rear setup.

We're still talking about it, but I think I found someone who will provide us a free set of Z32 rears in exchange for some sticker space on the car. We probably wont' hook up the drum e-brakes but it'll give us a ton of braking force. We will go to a 17/16 bmc setup when we do that swap.

Coming soon: Naked engine bay, rear subframe removal, finishing up the bushings and all kinds of goodies.

On a side note. We still need to sell that Apexi exhaust, crack free dash, etc. See the fs thread(s).

Also, does anybody want to trade an LSD for a weldable open diff? I'm assuming VLSD can handle enduro racing...

[zachattack_5491]

Looks like an awesome build. Did you throw away that metal roof bracing piece? I really need that lol.

[wishin_on_an_sr]

nice biuld man. i just started a very similar build for the albuquerque turkey enduro with a few friends and a clean coupe that i feel kinda bad about defiling. but oh well. ill have a build thread up in a couple days. so far it looks like we're at about the same point zach, hit me up if the hatch and coupe ones are the same. if they are i have one from my coupe you can have.

[lbreevesii]

Looks like an awesome build. Did you throw away that metal roof bracing piece? I really need that lol.

You're so in luck. I was seriously laying in bed contemplating trashing it to use for patch sheet metal when I saw your post. I've still got it and its in great shape. e-mail me- lbreevesii at gmail.com

[zachattack_5491]

nice biuld man. i just started a very similar build for the albuquerque turkey enduro with a few friends and a clean coupe that i feel kinda bad about defiling. but oh well. ill have a build thread up in a couple days. so far it looks like we're at about the same point zach, hit me up if the hatch and coupe ones are the same. if they are i have one from my coupe you can have.

I don't think they're the same. Thanks though dude. What I really need is the whole roof of a hatch lol.

You're so in luck. I was seriously laying in bed contemplating trashing it to use for patch sheet metal when I saw your post. I've still got it and its in great shape. e-mail me- lbreevesii at gmail.com

Email sent

[Hooked on 240]

Nice project!

A buddy of mine did this last year with a 240 he got....did pretty good too.

GL with whats next!

[lbreevesii]

I've been doing TONS of work, i've just been way too busy and tired to post it up.

Last week I rebuilt the rear calipers:No pix but they're red now.

Finished making and installing my EGR block off plate

Sliced off the edges of the dust covers to fit the Z32 calipers

Last night we pulled out the motor and trans(FINALLY!) The engine is just out to be decreased and inspected. Everything looks awesome. Its pretty amazing for a 200k mile motor. We won't have to do anything to it. Nekkid engine bay. I also decreased the rack and crossmember.

Tonight was subframe night!Out came the subframe

And the diff came out of the subframe and we started to degrease it.

Next step will be to keep working on rear end bushings like this one:Buahhaa fire!!

Heres my neighbor justin helping out with hacksawing through the inner ring. God these things are a PITA to get out. I'm not looking forward to the next few days.

I won't be posting up much as I do these bushings. I'll have a big update once the subframe is back in and the drivetrain is back in tact. I can't wait to drive her again!

[lbreevesii]

I've been kinda busy as of late. My friend is still working on the bushings and i've been dealing with brakes and such.

Saturday I drove down and got my brakes, struts etc that I posted up earlier. I've set about painting and rebuilding everything.

First a geeky vanity plate. They're super cheap and common in VA.

While I was down in NC getting parts I stopped by the junkyard to get a 15/16bmc and a manual door mirror, scored both. Also saw these two fine rust buckets of 70's euro engineering. Ahh german engineering and lucas electrics. who could say no?

I have painted the new z32 calipers as well as done a rebuild on them. Unfortunately I didn't let the paint cure enough so I kinda messed it up when I rebuilt them. I'll fix it later.

Still have to get the quick release and hub but I got our steering wheel as well! Its a Grant, dunno the model.

Brown santa brought me all kinds of goodies today!Hawk HPS pads for the z32's, Axxis/pbr ultra ceramics for the rear, and some superblue/ate 200.

Crappy pic, but he also brought me my oil pressure, oil temp, and water temp gauges w/ adapters and sending units.

Here is where I ran into an issue... Since we have to convert from 1/8bpst to 1/8npt an adapter is required. Unfortunately its too short for the long nosed temp probe. D'oh!

same issue for the T block for the oil pressure and oil temp sender.

So I went to lowes and devised a solution. It aint pretty but it will work. The fix uses my existing 1/8bpst to 1/8npt adapter, a short male/male coupler, female T, and a plug(for the water temp application, none for oil pressure+oil temp). It works and it was cheap!

[J14cm7]

I hope they dont see all the time and effort you have put into this thing and decide to crush it. I always feel bad for that guy. Nice work on the build and keep the updates coming

[lbreevesii]

^ me and you both! Forunately the peoples curse is by vote of the teams. So, clean livin er drivin should keep us out of that situation.

I've been pretty busy, but money wise i'm gonna be at a halt. I lost my job :-( I'm looking for something else, but right now my cash is focused on living expenses. Fortunately i've spent 90% of the money that has to be spent(other than safety equip)

I started installing my ghetto rig oil sender setup and managed to break one of my pipe nipples. damn cheap brass. Easy out took care of that in a jiffy.

Fortunately I have a spare so I put it all back together again and its good to go. My research had said that all the sensors were 1/8 bpst...which was wrong. The coolant ones are some metric straight thread. I couldn't find an adapter bushing that would work, and I don't have a 3/8 NPT tap to retap the hole. So after much head scratching we figured out that the block drain on the exhaust side of the block is actually 1/4 NPT. So a .45 cent bushing took care of it. I don't suppose its the 'best' location, but it works and it wasn't a hassle so It makes me happy.

I also took care of the vac lines tonight. Since I deleted the AIV and the EGR its not such a mess. I did keep the butterfly valves though, so it isn't as clean as it could be.

I also laid out and painted my Z32 calipers.

I got my suspension back as well, unfortunately my buddy gouged the sides of some stuff rather badly :-( I'm going to take it back and see if he will weld them up and grind it back down into round. Thats just crappy! Even if I have to weld them myself its still way better than having to get the bushings out by hand.

[lbreevesii]

I've been doing a lot of work but haven't had time to post.

I worked out a bit of a method for getting the rear suspension bushings in. This will NOT work for the lower control arm bushings(they're way too thick) but it works well for the rest.


Clamp the piece to your workbench


Use a clamp to lightly hold the new bushing on center, then squeeze the sides and tighten the clamp. about 2/3 of the rim of the bushing will go into the hole.


Now use some pliers or something similar to push in on the remaining bit sticking out. Push inwards towards the hole and it should pop in.


squeeze that biznatch on in! Then put in the center tube...then repeat again and again until...


Tada! I'm missing one of my alignment bolts, gotta find it before its back to 100%, but otherwise its all good.


Tonight we got the subframe reinstalled. Soo glad to get it back in!



I used some 14ga sheet metal to make some tabs to be the bottom brackets for the cluster. I still have to make the upper support.


I also realized that I don't really neeeed longer studs to run the Z32 brakes so I put em on. I don't have the rotors turned yet so i'm just going to run the OE pads I have for now along with a cleaned up Z31 master cylinder.

Hopefully tomorrow I will put the rear shocks and brakes in, bleed the brakes, etc. In a couple of days the motor should be back in too. Its sitting in my garage floor with the trans on it, just need to get the cherry picker back.

[lbreevesii]

I have been a very busy man.

I got around to swapping out my stock struts for my very used(but usable) free ones.


Yeahhh I think the word blown fits well.

To avoid glare I painted the white bits of the cluster flat black. It helps a lot but I still need to work on a better fix.


Sunday We got around to getting the motor in. We slid it in at around 11:00. Working alone I had it all hooked up and ready to rock and roll by 5:00.



The timing was a bit off so I ended up flooding it out. Went to pull the plug wires and...

Don't buy cheap advance auto plug wires kids. At least they have a warranty!

Once it dried out and the timing was right she fired right up. I've already put 200 miles on it!

I had a local metal shop make me a panel that will be used for gauges and eventually some switches(push button start, etc). I just gave them rough estimates on angles and such, I"ll have to do some tweaking but it will work out awesome. It is made out of it 1/8" aluminium. I'm not sure how I am going to finish it yet.



I still have to finish wiring, tweak the panel, cut holes ,etc. but I had to at least hook up a gauge or two to make sure the senders are working.


I'm still on the stock pads, but i'm diggin these Z32 brakes up front. Boy does it shed speed fast. I pulled down at 1.2G's with them today(yes, there's an app for that- dynolicious)


That's it for now. I've got a lot of small stuff to button up but for the time being shes mostly done.

[lbreevesii]

I've been driving more than working...

Today I took care of tweaking the angles on my panel, cut the gauge holes, and got everything hooked up.




Now i've got to decide how I want to finish it. I have some tangelo hok kandy. I might do the background this guy did for his SICK work table. I can't decide...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZtyO3I3J3U


Better gague pix to come soon.

I really need to take the fender off and get finished stitching the front end up.

Today I made it down to a recycling place where I was able to weigh the ole girl. Last time I weighed in she was at 2690. That was with the a** end gutted. My goal has been <2500lb.

Now she weighs....2380! Now that is what I call a diet! I wasn't expecting to beat 2500lbs by much without going lexan. This is aweesome! and oh yeah, the passenger seat is still in it, as are the auto seat belts.

[visser003]

Amazing build thread.
A couple of my buddies did the 24hours lemons race at Infinion, I hope to one day build a car for it.

I hope you keep updating this as frequently as you are, it has us on the edge of our seats.

[lbreevesii]

Guys I haven't updated this in forever, there are two reasons. 1. I keep forgetting...and 2- The project is dead :-( Pix and info on that at the end.

But first- the lost updates you guys didn't get.



3rd cylinder never sealed. Guessing its because I didn't spend the money to get the cylinders properly rounded out before using those new moly rings. I decided that if i'm going to have to pull it apart again, i'm doing things right.

So I tore it down, had the cylinders rounded, polished the crank, double checked the valve stem seals, etc.

I also decided that while I'm having to dig into it again, i'm going to get more power! Soo I snagged some used E pistons from a friend from a local drift club. My understanding is that 90' E pistons give 11.1 compression when used with a DE.


I didn't take any good pictures, but I went ahead and rebuilt the oil pump while I was at it. parts cost <$40 from the dealer. HIGHLY recommend doing this if you rebuild a ka.


I've been working on reassembling the motor. Its almost done. Its my first time doing bottom end work myself, so i'm taking everything slow.



Yumm all the pistons in!


Lower timing goodies in place.


Cleaned up the head and the exhaust ports on the bad cylinder.


Head and intake are on now.

Now i've got to do cams, rear main, upper front cover, torque a few things ,etc. Should be ready to put the motor in later this week!


Had more s*** break before I was done. Managed to break a main cap bolt! wtf. Big whoop, broken bit came right out and a new one was all of bout three fidy.


Last weekend put the motor back in the car, putting the transmission on w/ a new pilot bushing was a f*** ****. wore me out . Ran it just a bit and found that the front main seal was leaking...musta butchered it putting the pulley on. New one fixed that right up in about an hours worth of work.

I've put 40 miles on it so far, noticed the oil was a bit low this evening, probably mostly due to the main seal leak for those first 8-10 miles.

Car is idlling crappy, gotta tweak the timing some more. Otherwise, its running strong and will be a real blast once i'm revving it normally again.

Car shakes a ton more with these lowes poly reinforced mounts. So much stiffer though. Trans mount made a huge difference.

Put on my good rotors and HPS pads. They feel awesome. Fronts lock up first now. Can't wait to track it.


I also installed a set of eibach lowering springs. Car felt so good. Motor strong, so much fun.


Then one day I was on a back road. My dad was with me, so I wasn't doing anything crazy, just enjoying a spirited drive. I was coming up a sweeping uphill left hander. As I came around I ran slightly wide to the righ tedge of the road. There was a bunch of tiny gravel by the edge of the road. As I soon learned, there was also tiny gravel in the grass. I was steering left, the car kept going straight....right into a tree. Heres the aftermath





Oh well, I had always said that I didn't care if I wrapped this thing around a tree tomorrow as long as I was ok. I didn't have a scratch, no real soreness, nothin. My dads chest was sore from the belt and he got a cut. Sucks this happened right as the car was mechanically coming together, but such is life.

I am parting out the car, everything is for sale. I'll be posting a for sale thread for all the goodies soon.



The nissan has since been replaced by my first auto love- I had an 85' 318i when I was in high school, I picked up her newer, hotter sister a couple of months ago. 91' 318is.


and yes, those are the wheels from the nissan

[LoserCard]

WOW...

So I am like this is an awesome thread, I hope it turns out awesome. Then comes the end of page 2 (and apparently the end of the car). That sucks so much.

[breadbox]

Wow. Did not see that coming. Have fun with the BMW.

[SX APPEAL]

wtf... this is like one of those movies thats really good until you get to the end and find out the whole thing was a dream

[LoserCard]

Like Repo Men...BTW it sucked...

[LoserCard]

BTW lbreevesii, I sent you a PM about your build. I'd like to know more about it. =)