1995 240sx:
RB25DET s2
rb transmission
i believe its using the rb ecu and chasebay harness. could be wrong
Freddy Intake
q45 TB
knockoff HKS BOV ) =
Custom stainless steel exhaust
stock turbo
VMIC
custom driveshaft
300zx lsd
z32 calipers
bf goodrich g-force on stock se's painted black (unsure of tire specs will have to check)
short shifter
custom body work and paint
tein coilovers
not sure what other suspension mods
as far as flaws, ebrake doesnt work, there is a crack in front bumper, needs new weatherstripping, ive arleady fixed driver window but still in process of fixing sunroof, may need new tps, speedo and tach dont work, no stereo, no ac (yet), need gauges, need boost controller, should get power fc, should get a wideband...
That was the previous owner's pictures above on autotrader when I first found it. Now for a bit of some backstory leading up to the car. This isn't really a build thread, if anything its more of a fix thread with hopes of building onto the great platform this car already is. So instead of a build thread, the meat here is really how i obtained the car. If you want to skip this part and go straight to what I'm doing to the car, just scroll on pas the story time here...
I'm currently 17 years old, but have probably loved different types of vehicles all throughout my life. Growing up my dad had several builds going on all at once, and the ones he's finished have been awesome. Since I was little he has had a Chevelle w/ a 502 that is insanely clean and is almost done in 2014. Anything from Iroc-z camaros, big block muscle cars, to even 350 swapped YJ jeeps when I lived in Nevada. If I had to indicate where I derived my love for cars from, I'd definitely assign the blame to him haha. About a year ago I was fresh to my drivers license and needed a vehicle ( we had a beater isuzu amigo we'd gotten for 500 that he fixed, but even with the rodeo v6 injectors on the poor little inline 4, it wasn't enough). I really wanted a sedan at first so I could take my friends in it comfortably, but also looked good. At the same time, I also wanted to do something different than what a majority of the kids my age are trying to build ( integras, civics, etc... I'm don't hold anything against those cars, I would just prefer to stand out a bit.) My mom has driven an 02 Acura RL for quite some time and I liked the performance the Acura's v6 had to offer while at the same time the luxury it had. I started obsessing over a similar model, an Acura TL and did all the research I could. I clearly remember getting flaked on by every TL type S for sale in florida haha. I even changed a girls flat tire in my school's parking lot because she had a mint tl-s and I wanted to get it off her ( her mom offered me 30 bucks for changing the tire and i declined cause I said I was going to buy the car and I couldn't take money I was only going to give back... the girl was supposed to ask her dad to sell it, she never even got back to me. when I finally asked her about it a week later she just said "oh he doesnt want to sell it" then slammed her car door off in my face and sped off. i still regret not taking that 30 bucks lol
).... One of the rarest Tl's out there is called the A-spec tl type s. It was a limited run of 800 2003 tl's only released in canada (the last year for that generation too). If your into tl's that is one of the most coveted ones and I somehow found one for super cheap on my local craigslist, AS i was giving up on looking for tl's cause every time i found one, it fell through. The interior on the aspec i found was in mint condition, it just needed some minor things, the real problem was the way it ran and also the exterior of the car. It had a bunch of chips and dents, paint fading, it was missing the front foglight, had a crack in the oem ground effects, the car ran terrible, the center console didn't close, and my gauge cluster was in KMH (canadian car. would of left it like that but would of probably gotten a speeding ticket haha). So me and my dad got to work on the car for the next few months. Overall we cleaned the intake plenum/egr port out of all the carbon gunk, replaced the plugs with NGK iridium X plugs, did a valve adjustment, replaced the upper intake gasket, went through a iacv or 2 until we just got a new throttle body all together and it fixed the cars idle, replaced my battery cables because the previous ones were green from corrosion, we had an acura dealership redo the AC, fixed the center console, and replaced the gauge cluster with a MPH one out of a CL. Thus far, I noticed my car was idling better yet my ride was rough. Got the car on a lift and found out how much of a toll those canadian roads must of taken on the suspension/chassis. most of all the suspension components had rust, some more than others. I had to replace the front sway bar end links cause my old ones weren't even cononected, I had to replace the rears as well and a mounting bracket that holds the sway bar because it was rusted through. Then I found function and form type 1's super cheap locally, and I had to jump on em. Got em, and I couldn't remove my oem blown struts cause the rusted bolt on my FLCA's wouldn't come out lololol. Not even the best of PB blaster was going to do. So I just completely broke them all around with a saw, and went to the junkyard to get new FLCA's and hardware. After this the coilovers went in like a charm. I dialed my height in and was content with life..... Until I realized the lowlife wasn't for me haha 
. I loved the look of the car, but I was so low somehow my half shaft boot got cut open and grease was flying about. Rubbing sucked, and speed bumps, driveways, and hills were even worse. And honestly, that interior was so mint I was going to be depressed the first time someone ripped it accidentally. It was that nice inside. Alot of my friends had been autocrossing and drifting and I always envied them, I figured it was time to go functional. At all the meets I went to, 240's and skylines have always caught my attention. Plus the rwd platform, large enough engine bay to do a variety of swaps, and the huge aftermarket support is crazy. I figured if I was going to give up the tl, i wasn't going to settle for anything less than a rb swapped s14. I searched for over a month daily, messing up my sleep pattern scanning autotrader and craigslist. Searching for that dream car became an obsession of mine. Finally I got into contact with a custom painter/body work guy down in MIA ( I live in Jax, FL). He was willing to trade his clean zenki with custom paint/bodywork with an rb swap and all the necessary stuff for my tl, but I had to add 2g's. *insert img of me crying cause I don't have 2 g's.* I asked my dad's permission to sell the beater isuzu, and he laughed and told me good luck trying to get what he wanted for it. I instantly knew the mission. I vacuumed, wiped, and detailed the hell out of that 98 amigo haha. I had that thing super clean, took it out by the water, and took good enough looking photos that random people on craigslist would compliment me on the car, not even wanting to buy it. Finally I hooked up with a guy and his wife who wanted to see it on a wednesday night at 10:20 p.m. I took it to a lit parking lot, let them see it, test drive it, and they were sold. We agreed on a price my dad was comfortable with, and the next morning we had a bill of sale ready and sold the car at the DMV. It was the 2nd best day of my life knowing I would now be able to get literally a dream car for me. 
. My dad kept the leftover money, and I was grateful to get the 2 grand I needed to get the 240. The last time I called the guy, I was told the only flaws with his s14 were that the driverside window didn't work and the sunroof didn't work. I told him all the flaws of my car and he was ok with that. We set up a day, and we were on our way to MIA. Woke up late on the day of, and the trip was going to take 5 1/2 hours. the tag agency closed at 2, and we barely got onto the highway after 9. We were under the impression a bill of sale will exclude you from having a faulty tag, only to ask a state trooper and have him tell us the car would be impounded and we'd be arrested if that happened. 
Now hauling a** to make it to MIA, we realized there was no way to get there on time. We were going to have to illegally drive the car home and hope nothing went wrong. about an hour away from MIA and only 30 minutes left till 2, the seller contacted me informing us the tag agency would now be open until 5 oclock 
. Thank god. We could now drive safely for the remainder of the trip. We got to his house, checked out the car, and I instantly knew it was the one. The paint was so amazing in person, and the body work was tastefully done. The guy had his shop open for 30 years, and knew what he was doing. Apparently he's won several major shows including a few 1st places at NOPI before, and I could see why. He had built the car for his son, and it was "too fast" for him. (no such thing!! nevarr!). But as soon as he turned that key and I heard the viscous roar of the RB with the stainless steel exhaust, a part of me ascended to heaven. But it was not all good news. The guy didn't do the swap, a shop did, so I coudln't ask any technical questions really. I did found out in addition to his stated flaws, the car idled high, the emergency brake didn't work (kind of a big deal), there was a crack in the rear tail lights ( not as big of a deal), there was a crack in the front bumper (again, nbd), and oh, the tach deff seemed off and the speedo didn't work at all (what is my luck with used cars and there gauge clusters? haha) Regardless of all the flaws though, we swapped titles before I even test drove the car. All I needed was to hear that beast run and I was sold. After that, we gassed it up and trekked on home to the 'ville. Driving without AC or a functioning window for hundreds of miles wasnt the best, buuuuuut i was driving with boost so everything in life is irrelevant. Thankfully, a main ignition fuse had blown and caused the car to break down in the middle of f***-nowhere at 11:30 at night with only 100 miles left home . This is where I was extremely grateful we had legally swapped titles, had we not a cop would of definitely impounded the car, or we wouldn't of been able to use triple A to tow the car. Because of this, I will never illegally drive a car home. I learned my lesson there. Waited in s***-town nowhere for over an hour waiting on the tow truck, and ended getting home at 4 in the morning. But I still marveled over the car sitting in my driveway. I was still in shock. somehow it had happened, but i was questioning whether I was truly alive or if I was going to wake up in Neo's birth chamber in my true matrix life. thankfully I lived to see the next day. Now to whats been done since owning the car:
Went to advanced auto parts and got the fuse for 4 bucks and she started right up again
. I had a viper alarm attatched to my key, so time to check out whether it worked or not. Opened the viper mechanism to no battery. Went to advanced again to cop the battery, and boom a good ole alarm for the whole neighborhood to hear for the next 10 seconds. took me a sec to unlock the car but i figured it out. good to go there.Now time to evaluate mechanical condition. Checked my grounds and it wasnt a good sight. Because the battery was relocated to trunk, I couldn't spot a good main ground running to the engine. When i finally found what I considered to be the main ground, It was sad. I mean wow. This thing was held together with a small piece of tape. Fixed that with the crimp and hoped it would fix the idle. Unfortunately, no
. Took it to a friend who works at nissan and he's owned a rhd s13.5 w/ rb25det for a year and recently a gts-t r33. You can say he knows a thing or two on rb's. I have the series 2 rb25det, and it seemed as if i had a faulty tps. Either that or my maf/iacv. Lord knows its something in the wiring, that will be fun. also found out my "hks" bov is a knockoff 
. Will need to get a true ssqv, boost controller, and power fc one day. not as urgent at the moment though. So currently, I am in need of a: q45 tps (unsure of what years)/rb25det s1 tps/ rb26 tps. I found a 94 q45 tps at the junkyard and need to hook it up soon and see how it will work. I just know keeping a flat tip on deck at all times for the idler screw was a pain, so I'm looking to address that asap. i dont trust that ground either, so i do want to run a true ground from my battery to my engine here soon. 00 gauge from a marine shop oughta do the trick.i'll find out soon. 
that original ground was held together like this.. smh. Will take a pic of it fixed soon.
As for the driver's window not working... After asking several owners, the most common response was the window amplifier right behind the door panel. Called a bud and he said just look for a similar year in a nissan coupe and it ought to work. Took a picture of the connector of my oem amplifier, and went to the junkyard. found a s13 still intact and it had the amplifier that matched the connector pattern. 2 bolts later and it was in my possession. Brought it home, unbolted my door panel and she went right in. put the key in, and boom driver window is back. Unfortunately, when I took my door panel off, I saw why it was so loose this whole time. Shards of the plastic/fiberglass yellow material splattered to the ground. I may of fixed one thing, but now its time to search for door panels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHYIGy1dyd8&feature=kp ( i should of taken pictures of this process, but its fairly straightforward. just remove door panel, and replace the amplifier. When i buy new door panels i take pics then for anyone confused)
Ah, now the infamous sunroof. I had no idea where to start. First of all, the thing didn't even stay up properly, it was held up with a piece of garden hose and towel
. Second, hitting the switches did nothing. It neither moved it, nor made a noise indicating anything. Well hell, I have nothing better to do with my life than take it apart. Removed the switch, pillars, and got the headliner out. Wow. This thing was asbestos ridden. 3 Flat tip screw drivers also fell out of the headliner. Maybe that rattling in the back wasn't so "bad" after all . From what I could see, the brackets connecting the glass to the tracks was AFU. the switch didn't want to work either, and when I removed it, the motor looked faulty as well. I asked on my local forums if anyone had the assembly to no avail at that moment. F a 4th of july, its time to go to the junkyard dammit!! Measured the dimensions of the glass to help me on my search, and took pictures of everything on the assembly. Headed out to the junkyard and got in luck. Not only did i find the q45 tps, I also found a 97 maxima with similar but not exact sunroof dimensions ( the long part of the glass is the same, but the shorter side is different. coupe>sedan>different size>fml.) Upon looking inside though, the switches that go on the headliner was a perfect match. took that out, removed the motor ( which is also the same), and moved on to the sunroof assembly. as I removed it, the junkyard closed though. Got a free pass for tomorrow, I'll head back and see if i can get the brackets mounting the glass to the tracks. Not sure if it will work or not, but its worth a try. Luckily, someone ended up hitting me back on that local forum with the frame, glass, and motor for 25 bucks . So hopefully that will work out but if not ill hope to fall back on the maxima brackets. Well see.
remove all the headliners!
old motor
its seen better days
comparison of whats to come
another comparison. forgot to get the other side but they're the same pretty much
dirty headliner
crucial
ah sick
whatever it takes i guess
kind of dirty in there
struggle is real
yikes
after cleansing it of all its 240 sins
clean all the 240s!!
liberating the 240 of asbestos
removed the sunroof
w/o sunroof assembly stuff
removal
with it gone
gone
ew
*vomits*
such disgust, much 1995, very 240
needs a bath
Because I had my headliner and other stuff disassembled from the sunroof stuff, I decided to clean my car of its asbestos. Took some cleaning wipes and went to work. Man this s*** was nasty, disregarding the random a** flat tips chilling in the headliner, the dust indicates this thing was never even taken off. I probably contracted a few diseases, but its ok cause parts of my car that noone will ever see are now clean lol . with the sunroof and headliner out, I decided to go for it and clean them as well. I also cleaned the sunroof tracks , but if i buy another frame locally i may not even use this one. but still, them before & afters doe... haha. detergent/air compressor/ worklight & fan for the headliner stuff, and wire brush/air compressor/dish soap for metal stuff. felt pretty good to clean this s***, and actually came out alot better.
one last before pic
my setup
never took a before pic of this but it wasnt pretty. cleaning it up deff helped
aaaaand the after. Came out so good!! detergent and soap worked wonders. Pretty much all the stains are gone!
no stains!!
a clean headliner is a happy headliner
made a big difference. happy i took the time to do this.
So far this is my progress with the car. I'll probably need to replace my weatherstripping stuff soon, I still need to figure out my ebrake, and I'm hoping the TPS fixes the idle. But yet progress is progress and working on this car is amazing. Driving it is even better. Its awesome to get thumbs up wherever I drive, and I even pulled over to talk to a military dude who was in japan for some time the other night. I love how 240 enthusiasts are much more of a community than my tl ever bonded me with someone hahahaa, not that that's my main motivation to own a car, but its definitely cool one thing can bond complete strangers like that. I hope to get the rest of the issues resolved soon but we're making progress baby! soon have to pull out my dash and check wiring and all that good stuff, and eventually put AC, radio, and some gauges in. Its all in due time though. The hard work is all done for me, thankfully I just have to care for the car and resolve the little issues.
. Stoked on that. Took it apart, cleaned it up, used loctite lube so it'd be smooth, and it was good to go. went right in (lawl), and with a little bit of fine tuning, sat flush and perfect. With that out of the way, went ahead and put my headliner and all that s*** back together. So far fixed all my windows and now my sunroof. definitely gonna need that considering i live in florida and I don't have AC yet. 
