Noob w/ 89' S13 Coupe Rolling Chassis - Suggestions?

[kimmie]

I'm not quite a noob.... but no, yeah, yeah I am really. I've been into s-chassis for the last 6 months and found a beautiful rolling chassis (no front fenders, bumper, hood, or lights though, but she's still pretty ) Has a very nice looking frame, very clean doesn't appear to have had any accidents and got it at a killer price. Especially being out here in Southern California, everyone is wayyyy overpricing their 240s right now. This seemed like absolutely a deal not to pass up. So I've had some ideas about what engine I'd like to put in. I'd like to spend about $3,000 more to get the car running, that would be what I hope to be my top budget. She's had an SR20 in her last apparently, I was told from the guy who sold it to me. So I was thinking CA18DET but I was told that these are harder to find any replacement parts for in the event that I did need them. I was also thinking, of couse, an SR20DET. If i throw a KA in her I might be too tempted to just drive her as a daily and that will probably lead me to buying another and so forth... but I really want this build to be special. I was even tossing around the idea of an RB butttt haven't researched that at all. Granted it will be special to me NO MATTER WHAT because it will be my very first build but nonetheless I'm open to suggestions from people such as yourselves so if you have any good ideas for a 1989 S13 Coupe with a very promising future, I'm all ears

[kaptin]

Congrats on the shell! Can't go wrong with the sr. I'm pretty new to the s chassis as well, been doing a lot of research. It's a strong motor stock and has tons of aftermarket support. Bought my car with the sr in it and I don't think I'll swap it anytime soon.

[kimmie]

Originally Posted by kaptin

Congrats on the shell! Can't go wrong with the sr. I'm pretty new to the s chassis as well, been doing a lot of research. It's a strong motor stock and has tons of aftermarket support. Bought my car with the sr in it and I don't think I'll swap it anytime soon.

Thank you!!!! Yeah to be quite honest, I probably will just throw an SR in there, great engine and in my price range. I just wanted more suggestions and stuff to think about before making any decisions. I have to finish saving up some more money before I get to work on her so might as well thinking about it in the meantime ya know? But thank you again though just having this baby step out of the way, getting the shell, has made me so happy!

[Rayne]

Drop a KA24DE into the chassis for the sake of passing SMOG certification testing.

SR20DET, RB24DET, RB25DET, RB26DET, or CA18DET won't pass smog.

[Primo's Silvia]

What are your plans with the car? Ie. daily? Commuter? Drifting? Canyons? Or looks?

[maces13]

Sil front (fenders, hl, hl brackets, bumper, hood, and bumper support) 1400, coils for 4-800 used, dohc until you can do a nice swap RIGHT. That's under three grand, it would run, be fun as hell, look sweet, and it'd be reliable enough for you to stack some cash for a swap of your choice. Don't do a KA-T, CA18. If you wanna be boosted and still be reliable enough just go SR. Plus these are great projects to get you wrenching and learning on your car

[kimmie]

Originally Posted by Rayne

Drop a KA24DE into the chassis for the sake of passing SMOG certification testing.

SR20DET, RB24DET, RB25DET, RB26DET, or CA18DET won't pass smog.

See, that's the question. I probably will end up doing this for the sake of passing smog, but I have the car out next to Willow Springs Raceway already and I do have a whatever daily driver now so I am deciding if I want the car to be strictly a drifting, have fun track car or a daily driver. In the event that I do of course want to drive her on the street, I will inevitably need a smog. I just went to AAA and got all that sorted out, luckily she doesn't have much back fees to pay at all really. I got lucky!

[kimmie]

Originally Posted by Primo's Silvia

What are your plans with the car? Ie. daily? Commuter? Drifting? Canyons? Or looks?

I already have a daily now, that will probably last a while longer but I get the feeling once I get to drive one of these babies and it's all mine, especially if there's a KA in her, I'm going to want just a 240. But that's where I'm conflicted now because like i said in the reply above, she's out by Willow Springs Raceway as we speak so it would be super easy to just make her into a bad ass track car, I definitely do want to learn to drift in her (but only at the track). So the engine I choose would help me decide that. But I know myself, if i put a KA in her and get her smogged I'm not going to want my regular daily anymore, i'll probably sell that to buy another Nissan. Haha I can see it already! But if anything, I'll make this car a track car. But I didn't want to make any concrete decisions without seeing my other options I can play with

[kimmie]

Originally Posted by maces13

Sil front (fenders, hl, hl brackets, bumper, hood, and bumper support) 1400, coils for 4-800 used, dohc until you can do a nice swap RIGHT. That's under three grand, it would run, be fun as hell, look sweet, and it'd be reliable enough for you to stack some cash for a swap of your choice. Don't do a KA-T, CA18. If you wanna be boosted and still be reliable enough just go SR. Plus these are great projects to get you wrenching and learning on your car

I'm a sucker for that Silvia front end.... that's what she had on her before!! But someone obviously sold all those pieces :P And EXACTLY!! That was my main motivation for this project, that there will be no better way for me to learn everything I want to know better than doing it myself all on my own car. I'm not the kind of person who's okay with being all talk. I definitely like the sound of where you're going. Double overhead cam till I can save up sounds like a mighty fine idea... I want to keep the car forever if possible so that's definitely a great start up plan. Thank you for your reply I'm going to friend request you right now!

[Primo's Silvia]

Originally Posted by kimmie

I already have a daily now, that will probably last a while longer but I get the feeling once I get to drive one of these babies and it's all mine, especially if there's a KA in her, I'm going to want just a 240. But that's where I'm conflicted now because like i said in the reply above, she's out by Willow Springs Raceway as we speak so it would be super easy to just make her into a bad ass track car, I definitely do want to learn to drift in her (but only at the track). So the engine I choose would help me decide that. But I know myself, if i put a KA in her and get her smogged I'm not going to want my regular daily anymore, i'll probably sell that to buy another Nissan. Haha I can see it already! But if anything, I'll make this car a track car. But I didn't want to make any concrete decisions without seeing my other options I can play with

Totally true u can always make it into track/street car so u can enjoy the car on the street and the track! i have my daily sil80 for looks! And its hella reliable with my well mainteneced ka and its funn and
Knowing if i get "pop your hood" ill just laugh cuzz im not hiding anything lol it is hella slow thoee -_-
Not like when i was drivin my s14 i had to keep it stockish cuzz im a scaredY katt lol

[Mikester]

Kimmie, I will tell you absolute certainty that your #1 BEST OPTION as a beginner is to embrace the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) concept. If you want it to be special, I'd recommend an SR20DET swap. Prices may be shitty locally there- recommend you correspond with Rob at Zerolift and any number of other places... I didn't read the rest of the posts, but a DOHC KA might be prudent- at least for getting thru smog. I was born & raised in Cali and among other things, the STUPID FUCKING LAWS regarding 20+ yr old cars is one of the things that keeps me from moving back home.

Anyway,

Turn-key SR swap with Wiring Specialties upper/lower harnesses will be more fun than you could shake a stick at... and the best bang for the buck. However, before even doing any motor work, check the link I sent you- great ideas for prepping the shell and building it to last... and tedious but not incredibly expensive. GL!

Mike

[eek]

^^^ Pretty much what he said. I would seriously think about what your plans are for the car and then go from there. If you plan to make a full blown track car, then smog doesn't matter and you can pretty much do whatever your wallet can support.

-KA DOHC version to get car up and running/CALI smog friendly/CHEAP
-RB takes a lot of $ to make reliable/fast/fun
-CA parts hard to find/old/waste of time when you can spend a little more and get a SR
-SR its enough fun with simple mods/smog is an issue like RB/CA unless you have hook up

There are plenty of other options you can think about as far as power plant goes. You can drop in a V8 like many have done and not worry about doing all the turbo upgrades to make that power goal you desire.

If I had a chance to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I would definitely go V8 route. Reason is having a sr20 that is modded is fun and all but like mentioned above cops/laws/smog/being in California sucks when you are constantly stressed out/worried if you will get your hood popped and have it state reffed or impounded. Factor the amount of money to reach the 400+ whp goal is the same if not more than just going with the bigger v8 that you can get Bard and be legal.

[zooopreme]

I'm amazed by how civil this thread is thus far.

[davirene]

I'm amazed by how civil this thread is thus far.

Ditto I think the trolls must be sleeping.....lol

Welcome to the money pit "Kimmie" S chassis are fun and the mods are endless but all limited by your wallet....

Since 2006 I have personnaly owned about 4 of them with another 3 being in the family. The only transplant I have not done yet would be an LS1. Maybe next year....

SR would be the easiest because of the huge after market support. RBs sound and feel awesome but some of the parts are hard to find....

After you decide what to build message me if you have any questions.

Here are some pics of current and pass cars I have built or helped build.

[kimmie]

Originally Posted by zooopreme

I'm amazed by how civil this thread is thus far.

Why amazed? Cause I wrote I'm a noob? Or because I'm a girl?.... Lol

[kimmie]

Originally Posted by davirene

Ditto I think the trolls must be sleeping.....lol

Welcome to the money pit "Kimmie" S chassis are fun and the mods are endless but all limited by your wallet....

Since 2006 I have personnaly owned about 4 of them with another 3 being in the family. The only transplant I have not done yet would be an LS1. Maybe next year....

SR would be the easiest because of the huge after market support. RBs sound and feel awesome but some of the parts are hard to find....

After you decide what to build message me if you have any questions.

Here are some pics of current and pass cars I have built or helped build.

An LS1 is like my dream swap. Maybe one day, way in the future... but for now I'm obviously starting small, lol, to gain the skill and you know the money might have a little to do with it :P haha, but seriously why are you guys amazed? people would troll me cause I wrote that I'm a noob?.... I just wanted suggestions from people with a bit more experience. I pretty much know what I'm going to do, just wanted to see if anyone would give me any good ideas to throw around. And yeah I went ahead and added you to my contacts in case I need ya, thank you

[kimmie]

Originally Posted by Mikester

Kimmie, I will tell you absolute certainty that your #1 BEST OPTION as a beginner is to embrace the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) concept. If you want it to be special, I'd recommend an SR20DET swap. Prices may be shitty locally there- recommend you correspond with Rob at Zerolift and any number of other places... I didn't read the rest of the posts, but a DOHC KA might be prudent- at least for getting thru smog. I was born & raised in Cali and among other things, the STUPID FUCKING LAWS regarding 20+ yr old cars is one of the things that keeps me from moving back home.

Anyway,

Turn-key SR swap with Wiring Specialties upper/lower harnesses will be more fun than you could shake a stick at... and the best bang for the buck. However, before even doing any motor work, check the link I sent you- great ideas for prepping the shell and building it to last... and tedious but not incredibly expensive. GL!

Mike

There's a lot of laws that get me thinking about moving away from this place :| lol! But I haven't left yet. I checked out that link earlier, thank you so much. I'll be doing a lot of prep work on her in the next few months as I go out to the desert for various drift events and just to visit. I'm sure we'll be talking about more ideas soon

[kimmie]

Originally Posted by eek

^^^ Pretty much what he said. I would seriously think about what your plans are for the car and then go from there. If you plan to make a full blown track car, then smog doesn't matter and you can pretty much do whatever your wallet can support.

-KA DOHC version to get car up and running/CALI smog friendly/CHEAP
-RB takes a lot of $ to make reliable/fast/fun
-CA parts hard to find/old/waste of time when you can spend a little more and get a SR
-SR its enough fun with simple mods/smog is an issue like RB/CA unless you have hook up

There are plenty of other options you can think about as far as power plant goes. You can drop in a V8 like many have done and not worry about doing all the turbo upgrades to make that power goal you desire.

If I had a chance to do it all over again knowing what I know now, I would definitely go V8 route. Reason is having a sr20 that is modded is fun and all but like mentioned above cops/laws/smog/being in California sucks when you are constantly stressed out/worried if you will get your hood popped and have it state reffed or impounded. Factor the amount of money to reach the 400+ whp goal is the same if not more than just going with the bigger v8 that you can get Bard and be legal.

That is a very viable option, I actually love v8s, for some reason just imagined that being off in the future. But thank you because this kind of advice is seriously just what I was looking for. The main v8s i know of when it comes to swapping into s-chassis are expensive, which ones were you thinking?

[eek]

^^^ there are a few options besides the beloved LSx motor. If you can't find a LS1 for a decent price, you can deff pick up a mustang 5.0 motor for cheap, 1uzfe motor is also inexpensive then you have the vh45de nissan v8. Like I said, there are plenty of options.

Don't know of any other v8 swaps that have been Bard but there are a few LSx swaps that have been made street legal.

[Mikester]

Kimmie- V8 swap is definitely viable... And not that much more, if not less expensive than an SR... IMHO it takes much of the skill required to drift out of the equation... But makes it FUUUUN!!! If an LS swap is legal there, it might be cool. I still say SR because I like having all my OEM stuff working, like speedo & tach :-)

Oh- and it's also REALLY nice having AC ;-)

[jr_ss]

If you're driving it on the street, I suggest a sleeper KA setup if you must boost it. A V8 swap isn't going to be viable for you. A typical swap runs 8-10k easily, especially if you're not fabricating your own pieces. Hell a T56 alone will run you between 1.2-2k, prices for them have sky rocketed since they started being the go to swap.

[Mikester]

Ooo sleeper KA- there is a Canadian chick on 240sx forums with one of those... Great input Glenn!

BTW Kimmie not to insult you intelligence but the T56 is the tranny you'd need for a V8 swap IIRC.

[kimmie]

It's not insulting at all Mike - if I knew everything I wouldn't be in this forum so thank you (: and see jr_ss that's more what I was thinking when it came to v8s. That's why I wasn't weighing them in the options originally. I do plan on fabricating my own pieces someday but definitely not ready for that. V8s are fun to think about but she'll probably get the KA is what I'm thinking

[Mikester]

^^Very economical choice & plentiful... Relatively inexpensive to turbocharge at low boost levels.

[Clutch Dog]

For semi cheap you can get yourself 260 hp with a reliable easy to find parts for motor.

a 1uzfe swap using brett collins adapter kit and clutch parts maintains your stock transmission and most of your stock power steering and whatnot ( opted for not having a/c for the sake of nothaving a/c in the north) BUT i also had a vipec sitting around after my last build and I was interested in putting a semi different engine in an s14a

[Con-city_s13]

Don't bother with an rb20 or ca18. Both are seldom used in swaps here in the states and will end up costing you as much an rb25. For the dollar, I would say a turbo KA will be best option with an SR swap as a close second. As a not so proud owner of an RB20, I would advocate the USDM engine because it's nice to be able to go to the parts store and tell them your make and model. I'm constantly bringing in a list of part numbers that may or may not translate to any usdm part.

Bottom line: SR or KA-T

[pvtdynamite]

The nissan exterra had a 4.0 v6 mounted to stick or auto transmission. It's basically a vq35(350z) but it's been bored and stroked from the factory for an extra 500ccs of sexiness. Because it's virtually the same motor as a 350z you know it has bookoos of aftermarket support and because it came factory in cars sold in the u.s, replacement parts will be easy to find. Factory numbers are somewhere around 270hp. Also the 240 engine bay is huge... It will fit