Throwback Coupe Build

[sidewaysil80]

Well I've had a lot of 240's and all had SR20DET's in them. I am very comfortable with this motor and know it like the back of my hand. Here are few pics of some of my favorites...

Track car








Track car




Street car aka the last one (Nov 2012 Modified Mag feature)










Heading to Modified shoot with WishIHadaSilvia aka Knoop


Anyway, as much as I love the s-chassis I got bored/burnt out with the last build and sold it shortly after feature. I toyed with getting back into one but they were all beat to shit and frankly I was too busy with my career. Living within two hours of Summit Point Raceway, Dominion Speedway, and three hours from VIR caused me to search a little harder for a new project. Fast forward 5 years and I stumbled across and real gem that was so clean I decided to buy it and build it and get back into 240's.




While not an original owner, it's only a two owner car. Fully loaded auto coupe with 166k and full maintenance history. It has a working hud, crack free dash, the cleanest interior on a 240 I've ever seen, and not a spec of rust.

In fact, the only real issue were the wipers made a grinding noise and eventually stopped working. The rod that connects the passenger side to the driver side was bent downwards and rubbing the firewall area. Eventually it popped off. Technically this repair was the first part of the build so here it is


Slight effort bending on my part and whoila, now the car is officially flawless!


I decided to part the front end and the motor as I wouldn't be using them.

My savage barefoot daughter helping


Some of the pinch welds were bent and prohibited me from getting to the fender bolts. I used a couple of c-clamps to rectify the issue and it worked quite well actually.


Front end completely off and sold!


28 years worth of shit collected behind the fenders...


Salvaged this as I can use it when I switch to a Silvia front end


Quite the clean motor/engine bay for almost 30 years old


Took about 6 hours but got the SOHC out, luckily some dude in PA needed one so he drove down and bought it a few days later. (Disregard the BP oil spill that took place)




Wasn't sure what motor to do and debated several options. Ultimately I just decided to stick with what I know an keep it simple. Found an S13 block with blown ring land and S14 head. My initial plan was to run a S15 turbo, shoot for 300-320whp, and have fun car that I could drive on the street and also track.


Initially I was going to hybrid the head and block but for ease of install I just traded it for a s13 head. I decided to keep this rebuild all OEM for the most part. Mainly so I can follow the factory service manual, but also so there would be no guess work for clearances/measurements.


Huge fan of Tomei products. They have been an pioneer in the Nissan world forever and I trust their R&D. Went with their 87mm/1.2mm head gasket so coupled with the 86.5mm pistons I'll gain a slight bump in compression. I usually use ARP studs, but I've had a mixed track record with them. With that Idecided to use new OEM head bolts. I will only be running a max of 15-17psi on a S15 turbo so the ARP is overkill and a lot of verified professionals recommend them over aftermarket for lower hp goals.


Because the S15 runs out of breathe a little early, I was hoping some Pon Cams would shift the power band a little. I then said "fuck it" and got some other Tomei stuff to address oil. After all, it will see some HPDE's.


I'm 31 years old and living well enough to avoid headaches when needed. Went with the Pro harness, lower harness, and coil pack harness. I despise wiring, absolutely despise it.


Because I'm paranoid about oiling issues to include blow by, snagged a red top valve cover to make a hybrid. But thats a "down the road project", maybe when the machine work on the short block is being done.


Here is my collection of z32 brakes (bmc not pictured) and equipment. I will eventually swap all four corners to z32 aluminum calipers.


Black friday deal was too good to pass up, fell victim to marketing.


Finally got off my ass and started tearing down the SR for measurements yesterday.




Toyed with the idea of reusing water pump, glad I ordered a new one after all.


Other than the broken ring land this was the only other issue with the motor. Luckily it didn't affect bearings, the assembly rotates very smooth.


So, it was pretty late and my lighting sucked (excuses first), I could have SWORN I saw a torx head on the timing chain guides. I grabbed one and sure as shit it fit pretty snug. Applied some torque and...good thing Harbor Freight tools are cheap, it snapped the head clean off


Ryobi to the rescue to relieve some pressure.


It worked and the damn thing just kind of fell out


After that adventure I called it quits for the evening.



Powered through the motor teardown over the Christmas break.


Made a little box type stand to keep bolts in order, I dunno why as I'm replacing them with new oem, but at least I can use the originals to torque empty mains in place for when I measure them for main bearings.


Rotating assembly...rotating


Fully disassembled, Next I'm going to measure the crank, main caps, and con rods so I can figure out what grade of Nissan bearings to get.


Here is a close up of the damage done by the broken ring land, I'm pretty sure this won't hone out but am prepared to do a slight overbore if need be.

[sidewaysil80]

You know how there is that one thing you ALWAYS want to do car wise, but either you never follow through or its too hard to attain? Mine has been to build a N/A car with ITB's. I don't care about the lack power or the difficulty in tuning. Something about the simplicity of the setup, that glorious sound, and instantaneous response make it very appealing to me. Most of all the uniqueness, which is very difficult accomplish with 240's nowadays.

Well a unicorn of a Tomei part just appeared on Up Garage and I jumped on it...

The long discontinued Tomei ITB assembly for the low port SR20DE


even comes with the necessary map sensor and tps


Every N/A setup needs a great set of cams right, how about some Tomei 260/260's with 11.2mm of lift, that look to be brand new?


Family photo


One impulse buy later and that package is now on its way to the states! There are like 10 JDM importers within a stones throw in my area so this weekend I'm going to look for an S13 SR20DE swap.

The current disassembled motor will be built for high revs and high compression. In the meantime I'll enjoy the cams/ITB's on the stock SR20DE.

[tricky_ab]

WOW that's quite the come up my man! You know we will need videos of this thing once it's running!

[deolio]

oooo looking forward to this n/a build

[Krusty_s13]

DUDE! I had been watching that auction closely but I didn't want to try to make it all work with my s14 SR. Excited to see them on a car, that's a sick ITB setup. We need more NA SR20's in the states!

[CamryOnBronze]

Oh man, this is going to be awesome. Excited to see the progress! Looks like a great chassis to start from as well.

[JIMB0]

NA SR has always peaked my interest! I cant wait to see what happens

[Smurf_240SX]

This looks like its going to be an amazing build. can't wait to see more!

[d_nice]

This is looking good so far cant wait for the outcome.

[TheRealSy90]

I've let about 3 of those Nismo S13 ITB setups go on YAJ simply because I couldn't find an s13 sr20de through any importers. They randomly come up on eBay, but usually the compression numbers are suspiciously low as well. I did miss out on a super clean one that my buddy in AZ snatched up.

[sidewaysil80]

Originally Posted by TheRealSy90

I've let about 3 of those Nismo S13 ITB setups go on YAJ simply because I couldn't find an s13 sr20de through any importers. They randomly come up on eBay, but usually the compression numbers are suspiciously low as well. I did miss out on a super clean one that my buddy in AZ snatched up.

I didn’t know Nismo made ITB’s as well, I’ve only seen the Tomei one. I’m actually going to check out and s13 sr20de tomorrow at a local importer. If that doesn’t work out I’m just going to do the s14sr20de and swap the head to a spare s13 one.

[TheRealSy90]

I SWEAR I saw some that were Nismo labeled. Maybe it was Tomei it’s been a while. Maybe both.


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[RomulanS13]

Sweet build. Looking forward to the rest of the progress. Damn that 30 year old engine bay is super clean!

[Big Zee]

man I love that blue coupe!!

hurry up and build valve cover!! any fab shop should be able to cut and weld it.

[irritatedmax]

Love it! I had the whole ITB plan mapped out a few years back but couldn't get myself to go through with it! Looking forward to seeing it done!

[Almighty So]

Very cool history of cars. Na/Sr is going to be sweet, love the itbs

[sidewaysil80]

So I checked out a couple of importers in my area and bought an SR20DE swap. Frankly it was the only one around so I really didn't have a choice, but it looked super clean and that was less than I was expecting to spend.

My plan is refresh the new motor (new oil pump, water pump, etc.) while at the same time preparing the chassis for the swap. Once the motor is in and it runs on the stock ecu, mafs, and stock manifold I'll throw in the Tomei 260 cams. Once that is running I'll convert to MAP (w/ stock manifold) and get the Reytec tuned. Finally, once the setup has worked and proven reliable I'll then swap to the ITB's and retune. Depending on how the ITB setup performs and what I think of it determines what I do with my spare motor (eg high rev high compression).

Anyway, here is what I did today!

New motor arrived and workspace cleared, the teardown begins


Trans looked super clean


Buttttt not so much once I separated it (which btw sucks by yourself)






At this point I knew I was going to upgrade to the newer oil pickup when I did the oil pan, but after seeing the condition so far I decided to pull the upper oil pan and inspect the rotating assembly.



Although once I removed the clutch the flywheel, and more importantly the back of the crankshaft didn't look too bad in terms of rust/nastiness


On the stand for further disassembly


The oil was thankfully pretty clean (albeit dark) with no contaminates


Exhaust manifold off


Hot side as stripped as it will be for now


Thats all I did engine wise, but I preemptively ordered a bunch of other shit...

thanks zilvia


thanks ebay


ordered the front and rear z32 rebuild kits


Gave some money to GKTech and ordered the following:
-Poly engine mounts
-Poly trans mount
-Solid steering rack spacer
-Solid steering rack bushings
-clutch pivot ball
-shifter return spring kit
-solid shifter bushing

I will be picking up some inner/outer tie rods so while the engine is out I can swap all of the pain in the ass stuff and never worry about it again. I'm going to do a full suspension overhaul to include bushings/dropping the subframe. But I'm going to get the front end stuff done now #worksmarternotharder

[tb13]

Originally Posted by TheRealSy90

I SWEAR I saw some that were Nismo labeled. Maybe it was Tomei it’s been a while. Maybe both.


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There are Nismo ITB's, I sent you a link to a set forever ago

This is rad, N/A SR's are awesome, I'll be following this for sure! I am currently helping a friend drop an S13 SR20DE into his car, I'll be posting about it once we get some more stuff done.

[TheRealSy90]

Man which importer had the DE? I can never find them when I’m wanting to buy one up.


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[sidewaysil80]

It was Japanese Engine Importer in Manassas VA. There are several on ebay right now but they’re s14 sr20de’s.

[TheRealSy90]

Yeah nobody wants those [emoji23] I want the high port s13 head ^_^


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[sidewaysil80]

Finally did some research and came up with a game plan for the coolant lines. I want to retain heat so I'm keeping the heater core hoses. I'm going to disable the IACV and TB coolant as I won't use them anyway when I swap to ITB's. At least when I start off with the OEM intake manifold it will be cleaned up underneath.





Luckily I have everything needed and will do the following:

-Replace head gasket and head bolts (excuse to inspect pistons/cylinders)
-Replace front timing cover/oil pump
-Replace rear main seal
-Upgrade to S15 oil pickup
-Install Ishiwata-Johnson crank scraper and windage tray
-Replace water pump
-Undriven water pump pulley (since cavitation occurs at around 6500k rpms and I'm likely taking this to 8-9k)
-S14 water neck (already have one and would rather use provision for temp sensor there)
-Replace timing chain components
-MAYBE install ATI Super Damper in lieu of oem main pulley

Once I get around to doing all of that I'll drop the motor in the car and get it running with oem cams/manifolds.

[sidewaysil80]

Mild update,

Took my spare head apart and dropped it off at the machine shop in preparation for the cams and ITB's. He is local with a home shop/business. I'm usually skeptical of these types of operations but the guy really new his shit and is known for building 7-8 second pro-mod engines. He gave me a tour and discussed his background in the industry, needless to say he earned my business. I'm not doing anything crazy with the head so I'm not all that nervous about it.

Cleaning
Valve job
Deshroud valve areas
Port match intake side
Clean up intake passages

I'll be replacing the valve seals, updating lifters, and doing the dual guide conversion to the rockers. Reusing OEM valves, springs, and retainers. Ideally setting Rev limit to 9k. No need for new springs/retainers as the cams are only 260/260 w/ 11.2mm lift.









My bootleg organization system


All in all it's in decent shape and is a good donor for the N/A cause. Remember phase one is stock SR20DE swap just to get it running and bugs worked out, phase two is pulling said swap and switching heads and replacing timing chain system and oil pump.


This showed up as well...





I couldn't resist the obligatory "mock up" shot...





I've also been talking to John Kerr of Nismotronics and he has tentatively aggreed to tune the Reytec. He was my first choice due to being a Nissan specialist but also since he developed his own tuning program/software that speaks to his qualifications. He is in PA so I'll likely trailer it there.

[tb13]

Fuuuu that ITB setup is so sweet. Don't know if I missed it, but what header do you plan to pair with the ITB setup? Any plans to run ethanol or some other high octane fuel with aggressive tuning?

[sidewaysil80]

For now just 93 octane. As far as manifold I’m going to use the ISR KA24DE header and switch to the SR flange. Apparently this is common amongst N/A Datsun SR guys. None of the JDM manifolds clear steering.

IF I am head over heels with everything and love the N/A thing, I’ll build my spare motor with SR16VE pistons which will yield 12:1 compression. At that point race gas and custom manifold. But for now I want a simple setup to dabble with.

[TheRealSy90]

This things look so nice.

FYI don’t install an s14/15 style water pump, they actually aren’t an upgrade for s13 like people think.

I’ve been on the hunt for itbs now since you bought yours and haven’t had any luck [emoji30]
For a backup I bought a complete gtir itb intake manifold, if I ever get around to doing the NA build I’ll just modify it to work.


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[sidewaysil80]

Originally Posted by TheRealSy90

This things look so nice.

FYI don’t install an s14/15 style water pump, they actually aren’t an upgrade for s13 like people think.

I’ve been on the hunt for itbs now since you bought yours and haven’t had any luck [emoji30]
For a backup I bought a complete gtir itb intake manifold, if I ever get around to doing the NA build I’ll just modify it to work.


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Thats awesome, the GTiR is a helluva setup! Would love to see the fab work involved.

Also, I’m using s14/s15 water neck. Oil and water pumps are s13, oil pick up tube is s15.

[tb13]

Originally Posted by sidewaysil80

For now just 93 octane. As far as manifold I’m going to use the ISR KA24DE header and switch to the SR flange. Apparently this is common amongst N/A Datsun SR guys. None of the JDM manifolds clear steering.

IF I am head over heels with everything and love the N/A thing, I’ll build my spare motor with SR16VE pistons which will yield 12:1 compression. At that point race gas and custom manifold. But for now I want a simple setup to dabble with.

Feel ya there, we're starting simple with my buddies car to feel out the N/A setup then going to decided on future mods. Interested to see the modified header.

I was exploring cheap high compression options the other day and saw how cheap a set of VE pistons are. Only issue I see is making sure you've got proper piston to valve clearance with the DE head. Seeing Engineered to Slide make 160rwhp on stock compression means there is room to grow with the N/A SR for sure.

[RVAE34]

My brother from another mother! Kudos to you for going n/a too! I am building an n/a RBstroker Z31 so I love this!! Also a huge fan of Tomei products and trying to use them when I can.

I see you're in NOVA too. When finished, we need an N/A Nissan meet!

[sidewaysil80]

Originally Posted by tb13

Feel ya there, we're starting simple with my buddies car to feel out the N/A setup then going to decided on future mods. Interested to see the modified header.

I was exploring cheap high compression options the other day and saw how cheap a set of VE pistons are. Only issue I see is making sure you've got proper piston to valve clearance with the DE head. Seeing Engineered to Slide make 160rwhp on stock compression means there is room to grow with the N/A SR for sure.

For what it's worth check out the MotoIQ blog on their project SE-R. It really explores N/A SR20 performance. I certainlly picked up some good tidbits of information and it led to other research points.

Originally Posted by RVAE34

My brother from another mother! Kudos to you for going n/a too! I am building an n/a RBstroker Z31 so I love this!! Also a huge fan of Tomei products and trying to use them when I can.

I see you're in NOVA too. When finished, we need an N/A Nissan meet!

Sounds good! It'll be the slowest collection of Nissans but damned if it won't sound the best lol. Where in NoVA are you? I'm in the Gainesville/Warrenton area.