hmm... maybe rescuing my 240SX

[AKADriver]

Allow me the pleasure of thinkng out loud for a bit. :blah: I need to hear some words of support from the 240SX community.

I've been trying to sell it the past few months, no one seriously wants to buy it. It's ratty-looking, the brakes creak, the tires are nasty, the struts need help.

I came to the realization, though, that whatever I replaced it with would probably need just as much work - such is the nature of projects. I sell this car for a grand, I get another $2000 project and I'd find myself replacing a head gasket or fixing body damage. It never ends.

I love the 240SX. I really do. It's an amazing package. But I get disheartened fast when I'm left trying to fix stuff like broken windows that costs more than it should... in this case, $550 for a new pane of glass (I've searched far and wide for a good used one, but the weatherstripping is always destroyed).

One positive thing about my car - I know EXACTLY what needs to be fixed. That's probably worth more than any piece of glass. :)

I just don't know. I know mine will never be pretty or fast, but if it was just a solid fun car, then that's all I could ever ask...

[mrmephistopheles]

dude. buy used glass. buy new weather stripping. simple! used tires in good condition shouldn't run you more than $150 mounted & balanced (stock size), brakes aren't hard to work on, you can get a good suspension package on here for ~3-400.
You can totally save that car!

[AKADriver]

dude. buy used glass. buy new weather stripping. simple!

It doesn't exist. There is no Nissan part number for the weatherstripping for the rear quarter windows of a fastback. It's only sold as part of the glass.

The piece from the original window is destroyed.

[240trainee]

Junkyards, my friend, junkyards. They will be your companion in many projects like this. Be persistant, you will find what you need.

[AKADriver]

Junkyards, my friend, junkyards. They will be your companion in many projects like this. Be persistant, you will find what you need.

I've fixed the hatch, the door window, and some other random stuff with junkyard parts. But that quarter glass, the junkyards ALWAYS RUIN IT when they remove it from the car. It's basically impossible to remove that window with everything intact.

It's just like the 180SX side quarter glass, to use it you need to re-use the weatherstripping you have. I have none.

[AKADriver]

haha, someone's selling one on eBay, currently $19.99, but it's the WRONG FECKING SIDE :bash:

http://i21.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/5b/57/d0_1_b.JPG

[mrmephistopheles]

it can be done.. you need a heat gun to loosen up the windo-weld
junkyards tend to smash them out becaus ethey THINK it can't be done.

[AKADriver]

Yeah, that's the proper way. Tough to haul a heat gun out into a pick'n'pull, though, and the yards that pull the parts for you all mess them up. It's just not really a viable option.

It turns out the list price from my local Nissan dealer is $278. Why did I remember $550? Anyway, that's much more palatable. I should be able to install it myself, I believe it comes with the adhesive. I'd just have to get the old adhesive off the metal - enter the heat gun again. But that can be done in a friend's garage.

I'm going to e-mail that eBay seller to see if he might have the other side, and just not have it up for sale yet.

Ah, the joys of encapsulated glass...

As for the rest of the car, don't worry about what I'll be doing to fix the other problems. I fully intended to upgrade the suspension, get better wheels/tires, grind out the rust, and as much as it's played out like Sega, rattlecan the exterior some flat color. What else... my coolant overflow bottle is spiderwebbing, It needs just about every maintenance item, the A/C is broken so I'm just going to pull it, I need a roll bar to go with my harnesses, and an aftermarket steering wheel with spacer would be nice so I don't have to sit with my knees in the dash to get a good driving position. Yeah... plans. I really do love this car.

[Maeda]

Heat gun + acrylic + marine grade silicon = light weight ghetto glass.

[Natty]

Would you rather dump the money into the S13 or get an S14? Really, why fix up a car that you can't justify fixing? Just think, you may make the wrong choice just to save $1000. It may or may not be worth it to you. What about the rust?

That said, I have been Miata shopping and I absolutly love them. I just can't find a buyer for mine for $2000. In reality, the car is worth far more to me than it is to anyone else. I love that thing. So now I may be taking lowball offers or I may just keep it an buy a beater Miata just for the track/weekends.

Everytime I look at or sit in my car, I get soooo happy. The feeling is the same as when I bought it. I just don't know if I would rather fix it up, or fix up a Miata.

I think in your case, you would be happier with an S14, but I know you like your S13, just as you say. But if you think you'll ever be driving down the road in it thinking, "man, I'd just take a $1000 loss just be driving something else," go ahead and take a lower offer on it. It's a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things, ance once you invenst money in it, there is little going back.

For me, I can't decide. I love my car and I love the NA mx5, but it looks like the s13 is just gonna have to do.

[AKADriver]

I like S14s, and Miatas, but the sunk costs are the exact reason I'd rather stick with this car. I've put quite a bit into it already, backing out now would just be a huge loss. Check out my post on the vortex (http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1260632). Obin's comments are pretty much spot-on.

I was driving my 240SX around after I got home from work. When I pulled back into my lot, I hopped out, smiled, and patted it on the hatch. Good car :) It was all too obvious that it badly needs suspension work, but that's okay. It was just nice to be home...

S13 -> :kiss: <- AKADriver

[Natty]

Before I read obins post, I'm gonna wager he says something about how badly Sentras suck and some more about all Nissans being rusty shitboxes :rofl:
He's a cool guy though.

[Advan]

Giving up on the 240 I see...some Silvia supporter you are..jk You have a pic of the car in its current condition? Wish I had a busted up 240sx so I could work on it.

[brokenben]

eh busted up 240sx arent really that cool when you dont have any money to work on them... not everything can be done by hardwork.. but agreed. its fun to fix something up.. .02

[AKADriver]

I DO have the money to work on it, I just don't like to sink money into things if I don't think I'm going to commit to them. I'm also too cheap to spend hundreds of dollars on a piece of glass :P