93 SR Hatch build in the Mitten State

[Standard]

I've followed this thread since the beginning and love everything you have done! I've owned a black 93 hatch for the past 10 years and your car has always been an ispiration to me. Finally got to see your car in person last year at final bout and again this year at special stage, that was really cool to me!!! So just dropping by your thread to say great work!!!

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by DJTTon

How did the car perform on the trip? Any subtle hiccups?

Navigating downtown Chicago is always a bit stressful in this car, but fortunately I was able to survive the large speed tables near my brother's neighborhood with the OEM aero on there. I am not sure my Hot Road bumper would have lived to see another day.

Aside from some slight rubbing on one front tire and one rear tire on the trip up for Final Bout I've had zero issues thankfully! Those were corrected before my second trip up to US Air in September. I've got a power steering leak that I need to address this winter but for the most part this summer has truly been problem free with this car!

Originally Posted by Standard

I've followed this thread since the beginning and love everything you have done! I've owned a black 93 hatch for the past 10 years and your car has always been an ispiration to me. Finally got to see your car in person last year at final bout and again this year at special stage, that was really cool to me!!! So just dropping by your thread to say great work!!!

It still means a lot to hear things like this from people, even after the years I have been dinking around with this car. Really appreciate that!

[jbcm12]

I've used my free time for the past few days to read this build, it had its up and downs but def worth the read. Thanks for an amazing build

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by jbcm12

I've used my free time for the past few days to read this build, it had its up and downs but def worth the read. Thanks for an amazing build

Appreciate the kind words. Definitely been a ride over the years haha.

[DJTTon]

I feel you on about the Chicago streets. Downtown is okay for the most part, it is the facade for the rest of the city. But once start going through neighborhoods and find speedbumps its game over. When I had my 240 I absolutely hated going home. My street has two really nasty speed bumps that pretty much every car has to stop completely before traversing. I had to enter through a sidestreet and back up into my street and to leave I had to go against a 1-way XD lol. What brought you to Chicago? You said visiting your brother? What area?

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by DJTTon

I feel you on about the Chicago streets. Downtown is okay for the most part, it is the facade for the rest of the city. But once start going through neighborhoods and find speedbumps its game over. When I had my 240 I absolutely hated going home. My street has two really nasty speed bumps that pretty much every car has to stop completely before traversing. I had to enter through a sidestreet and back up into my street and to leave I had to go against a 1-way XD lol. What brought you to Chicago? You said visiting your brother? What area?

Yeah it's rough. He is in Wicker Park. We end up there a couple times a year to visit!

[Teh Luckinator]

hi damon, i logged into zilvia for the first time in like 5 years so i can say it's lit

IT'S LIT

[240sx_sr20det]

Sub'd to this awesome build.

[Martino]

Originally Posted by teh luckinator

hi damon, i logged into zilvia for the first time in like 5 years so i can say it's lit

it's lit

H.V.G
.
.
.
gang gang gang

[Unit 02]

super clean as ever!

[CamryOnBronze]

Finally got the car back together and on the road again for the season. I ended up getting my old mercury silver TE37s back that I had in 2011 and they have hardly been used since I sold them- pretty cool! Since last fall I have changed the wheels, installed black Bride Brix and Maxis seats along with some new carpet, put some Defi Link meter II gauges back in the dash, picked up another NeXt Miracle cross bar, and tossed on another pair of Ganadors.

Basically a lot of modifications I have done several times over the years. I'm thinking it's finally time to leave this thing alone, lol. I know most prefer the bronze TEs to the silver, but I am stoked on the car right now. It just feels like home.



















Just need to sort out a pesky power steering leak and get an alignment- then I should be set for the season pending any issues that arise along the way.

[tricky_ab]

2011 Style = Best style

Glad to see the TE's are back!

[gbaby2089]

Looks really nice! I like the silver a lot.

That Dale Jr. Monte Carlo though.

[s13driftnut]

Need to cut your grass homie, -1 street cred! Lol

[hotrodjoseph]

Damnnnn Damon, back at it again! lol

[BryanS14]

Perfect! (after some PDR :P)

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by tricky_ab

2011 Style = Best style

Glad to see the TE's are back!

Thank you sir- pretty excited I found them. I think I like them more this time around!

Originally Posted by gbaby2089

Looks really nice! I like the silver a lot.

That Dale Jr. Monte Carlo though.

Thanks! And lol, people always comment on that thing. Pretty funny.

Originally Posted by s13driftnut

Need to cut your grass homie, -1 street cred! Lol

Man, it has been so dry! I don't want to waste time cutting it when most of it hasn't even grown. Probably will this weekend though, lol- it looks rough for sure.

Originally Posted by hotrodjoseph

Damnnnn Damon, back at it again! lol

lol ughhh

Originally Posted by BryanS14

Perfect! (after some PDR :P)

Funny, it has been on my to do list since 2008. I always think I'll fix it "someday" when I paint the car. Now that I have kids though it probably makes sense to wait a while. It's constantly getting hit with bikes and toys in the garage, haha.

[S14Serge]

It's seriously perfection! I am a bronze TE guy but this looks so right!

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by S14Serge

It's seriously perfection! I am a bronze TE guy but this looks so right!

Thank you! I will always love bronze TEs, but the silver is a neat contrast with the black paint.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Broken Links Restored

Zilvia has been making me feel nostalgic lately. I had some downtime, so I decided to go back through my build thread and fix nearly all of the broken images that have popped up over the last couple years. Using Image Shack early on was a mistake. Everything should be more or less restored now in the unlikely event that anyone wants to come here and read through it all. Build threads are really important to me and a great source of motivation, so I wanted to restore it as best I could. I also did the same thing with the broken images on my blog.



As for changes to my S13, I don't have much to report since my last update! I've been cruising around town in the car when I have the chance to and drive it nearly every day. Aside from waxing it and tinkering a little bit, I haven't made any real changes. This year will be a relatively slow season for road trips since I don't like to bring my wife in this thing while she is pregnant- it just feels a bit unsafe and irresponsible, haha. Our third daughter will likely be born in the next few weeks, so I won't be able to take the car up to Shawano, Wisconsin for Final Bout this year. I've decided not to really spend any money on the car for the rest of the year since it won't be driven much anyway.



Maybe I'll be able to add some cool stuff in the spring, but there isn't much I am after right now. I keep debating painting and installing my N1 ducts, but I can nevr really commit. Any thoughts? I think they look best with a vented hood, which I don't currently have at the moment.

[deolio]

do ettttttt

incentive to buy back that hot road hood hahaha

[JIMB0]

do the N1 vents, if you dont like it, we can trade bumpers.

[gbaby2089]

I'd just buy a spare bumper to run N1 vents on, so swapping back & forth is easier.

[a13x.]

Originally Posted by S14Serge

It's seriously perfection! I am a bronze TE guy but this looks so right!

100%



I would agree that N1 vents look best in addition of a vented hood but they look cool with oem too, specially when you have the plate off.

However your car looks perfect as is, so maybe keep them because they are getting rare now. $$$

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by deolio

do ettttttt

incentive to buy back that hot road hood hahaha

lol, that's true. I don't contemplate that as much as I used to these days though. OEM is pretty nice.

Originally Posted by JIMB0

do the N1 vents, if you dont like it, we can trade bumpers.

I'll keep it in mind JY, haha.

Originally Posted by gbaby2089

I'd just buy a spare bumper to run N1 vents on, so swapping back & forth is easier.

That's the ideal solution, but I can't spend the money on that at the moment. Maybe someday, haha.

Originally Posted by a13x.

100%

I would agree that N1 vents look best in addition of a vented hood but they look cool with oem too, specially when you have the plate off.

However your car looks perfect as is, so maybe keep them because they are getting rare now. $$$

Thanks man. They're definitely harder to come by now as last I heard Nissan had discontinued them, but who knows. RHD Japan seems to still be able to get them at about $450 for a pair shipped to the states. Pretty crazy. I should probably hold onto them, haha.

[CamryOnBronze]

Well, just like that the season has ended her in Michigan. We got our first show showers on Monday and I removed insurance off of the car to put it into storage for the winter. It's always a bummer when this time of year rolls in, but it makes me appreciate the car that much more in the spring.

My third daughter ended up being born a bit over two weeks early and my wife graciously allowed me to drive the car to Wisconsin for Final Bout III. I had a great time and thankfully the car did not miss a beat on the trip.



Last month my wife and I drove the car to Northern Michigan for a quick weekend getaway to see the fall colors. The weather took an unfortunate turn and it was very cold and rainy, but we still had a good time. I was reminded once again that my car does not have heat, which is very annoying on the few drives we take together in the late fall. We also had some unfortunate issues with water getting into the car. I thought I had sealed the floor up well from my previously installed roll cage, but there must still be other areas where water is getting in. I also dealt with both front wheel bearings going bad on the trip- one before we left that I replaced the night before we departed, and the second on the way home. Both of those have now been replaced.





I also installed a pair of GoodRide Garage fender braces on the front before the trip. Pretty cool piece!



I was pretty bummed on the car after arriving home as it was probably the filthiest it has ever been. But after taking a few days off, I was able to gain the motivation to remove and dry the carpet, wash the interior and exterior, and replace the faulty wheel bearing. Unfortunately, I also discovered that the rust along the windshield has gotten worse and needs to be addressed during the off season.



Part of me wanted to start from scratch and try to find a cleaner chassis- or even purchase an imported 180SX. At this point though I have probably come too far with this car to do either of those things.

For now, the plan for this winter is simple- restoration before further modification. My hope is to replace a number OEM trim pieces and weather stripping, have the rust on the roof repaired and the windshield replaced, and seal all of the holes in the floor. I will likely then coat the interior with Lizard Skin to prevent heat and noise from entering the cabin like they do now.

I also decided to convert back to OEM brake hard lines and reinstall my HVAC system. A friend was parting out an S13 at his shop locally and allowed me to come out and remove the items myself so that I could document how to reinstall them.





Life is crazy as always, but I am hoping to make some progress on the car soon. My goal is to accomplish things in waves to not tear the car down too much this winter. I want to be sure it is ready to go as soon as the weather breaks this spring- which is not something I always do a great job at. We'll see how this goes!

[MattDuqueBMX]

So glad this thread is still being continued. Loved this car since 2009.

[codyace]

Great to see you're still driving it! I'll mimic Matt's post above, it's been a staple of what a clean 240 should be forever!

[DJTTon]

You got some pretty solid goals. If you ever need an extra hand, Im only 15 mins away

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by MattDuqueBMX

So glad this thread is still being continued. Loved this car since 2009.

Dang, thank you! I feel kind of lame still updating it sometimes since forum traffic has slowed a lot- and so has the amount of time I spend on the car. But it's still fun!

Originally Posted by codyace

Great to see you're still driving it! I'll mimic Matt's post above, it's been a staple of what a clean 240 should be forever!

Means a lot, thank you for the kind words good sir.

Originally Posted by DJTTon

You got some pretty solid goals. If you ever need an extra hand, Im only 15 mins away

Thanks man!

[lilpiton]

Hey man it was good talking to you via txt today... I decided to check back on my favorite build thread and see the status or the car. You mentioned that you’ve been working on the car this winter and we are all excited to see how things are going. We should definitely meet up sometime in the near future. I got a few buddy’s with some nice s14’s.

Tom


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