VH45DE Type X s13

[Stiveno]

Figured id make one of these since my cars finally starting to come together. Ill skip most of the boring stuff

After searching for a s13 for ~6 months, november of 2013 I bought my 240sx stock with a single cam with unknown issues from arizona for $300 on ebay, and had it shipped to the east coast where I live because fuck rust.



I didn't really have much experience working on cars, but with some help we diagnosed the ka24e with a bad headgasket and a gas tank with fuel in it that sat for like 7 years.

skipping a bunch of bullshit we had the head decked, replaced a bunch of hoses, gaskets and other small crap to make it roadworthy, put a walbro in it and cleaned out the tank.

Right after we got the car running I was super happy.



Eventually I bought FunctionForm type 2 coilovers,, some cheap 15"s, and used kouki tails


I put a sparco and a s14 seat in the interior at some point, along with some other minor things.



Dumb xxrs and a fart can which was eventually replaced with an apexi ni



At some point I put a VLSD in it and drifted a few events at clubloose, shitty setup and I wasn't good but it was fun until the diff stopped working. Has a welded in it now.









Daily drove the car for a while after that, then bought a second car to drive and tore this thing apart.

[Stiveno]

Daily drove the car for a while after that, then bought a second car to drive and tore this thing apart.



My friend had a cheap "turnkey" vh45 swap that I impulsively bought, we pulled the ka and put the swap in in his garage. Pulled the ka on a wednesday and drove it home the following wednesday.



Mazworx Headers
xcessive engine and trans mounts
xcessive z32 adapter plate
z32 trans
xcessive short shifter bracket
1 piece aluminum driveshaft shop driveshaft
mishimoto radiator

and one ugly piece of shit hood



Modified my stock cluster to have a working tach using q45 needles and tach


5 lug swapped the car, put q45 brakes on it, and bought a set of square g33 wheels




Found a clean set of oem type x sideskirts



Took intake off and repainted a spare, deleted all the emissions and cleaned up and tucked a bunch of stuff


Traded my busted up kouki tails for a set of rays evo 3 wheels, and bought brand new tail lights at the nissan dealer from another zilvia user




Bought dokidori valinces that I was completely unimpressed with but im not going to go into that here, and a pignose bumper temporarly.


Bought some parts from a local guy, weds lineratta


Im almost done refinishing them, polished the lips and painted them myself.





Installed PBM 10k/8k coilovers, isis front tension rods, and circut sports toe arms. I blew the p/s rack so I need to install a new one then decide what I want to do about angle after a few track days.



Lowered it a little, plan to go lower when I fix my exhaust.


At this point I just need to fix a few swap related issues, and it will be back on the road. Ordering type x front end this week, then paint comes.

[Stiveno]

Current picture of the engine bay, in the process of relocating the fusebox, and battery, installing a P/S res and catch can, and getting a 45 degree intake bend so it fits under a hood.



And here is a first startup video and a video of me starting it after it sat for months.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UUNNH3IaiI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEFha3XIAQg

[Stiveno]

Finally got a hood, happened to be color matched too which is awesome. Still waiting on type x front.

[AzS13hatch]

You go thru a lot of wheels haha. I like the build man and it was running/driving in a week, that's impressive. What did you end up doing with the evo 3's? I have a set also and don't ever see them around.

[Stiveno]

Originally Posted by AzS13hatch

You go thru a lot of wheels haha. I like the build man and it was running/driving in a week, that's impressive. What did you end up doing with the evo 3's? I have a set also and don't ever see them around.

Thanks, ended up selling the evo wheels which is why I didnt mention them, was gonna use them as spares but ended up getting those rays wheels and I have 6 square g33, those gold weds, and another pair of something cool coming from japan so im hoping that will be enough for a drift day.

I converted my e36 to 5x114.3 also so I dont mind owning a ton of wheels hahaha

[AzS13hatch]

Right on man. I like having wheels too. I've had my evo 3's for a few years but while my swap was in progress I went through like 2 or 3 sets before the car got running again. Just to go back to my evo 3's and got them a fresh powdercoat

[Stiveno]

Originally Posted by AzS13hatch

Right on man. I like having wheels too. I've had my evo 3's for a few years but while my swap was in progress I went through like 2 or 3 sets before the car got running again. Just to go back to my evo 3's and got them a fresh powdercoat

OH I kept my evo 3s haha, I thought you were talking about some other evo wheels I had sitting in the corner of one of the pictures. yours look good.

[Stiveno]

Just finished assembling and sealing the weds, excited to have some tires on them this week.

[rellik27]

Looking good man keep it up

[rawgarage]

Good stuff in here

[Stiveno]

worked on stuff over the weekend

mounted tires on the weds, should have went with a smaller tire, fender fitment is the same, but they are slightly less wide so there is less tire stretch than my other wheels.



Replaced my buddy club seat rail with a bride seat rail, now instead of my head rubbing my headliner with a helmet, I have inches of clearance



Started installing s14 seatbelts, for anybody curious you need to make a little bracket for the lower piece, and cut a hole in the b pillar

[R_Rod_s13]

manual seatbelts are way better ! I just finished my seatbelt swap but I used b14 belts . You should of got a longer bolt and drilled a hole in the b pillar trim to make it look factory. Just some information that helped me . Good luck with the build ! Wheels look good btw

[Stiveno]

Originally Posted by R_Rod_s13

manual seatbelts are way better ! I just finished my seatbelt swap but I used b14 belts . You should of got a longer bolt and drilled a hole in the b pillar trim to make it look factory. Just some information that helped me . Good luck with the build ! Wheels look good btw

I tried that but didn't know where I could have the belt slip through then. I did a bit ofa hack job cause I have a ton of work to get done. Trying to drift June 12 not sure if I'm gonna make it

[blasian]

that bracket u added dont look to safe for the seat belt

[Stiveno]

Originally Posted by blasian

that bracket u added dont look to safe for the seat belt

The bottom bolt is what holds it in, the upper one is just attached with a body screw on a stock s14 too. Other people do it like this, the bracket looks like crap but it is thick metal, and seems very sturdy.


in other news just ordered some stuff from gktech and am going to be picking up a new rack and gas tank and hopefully drift in 2 weeks

[5280VertDET]

Originally Posted by blasian

that bracket u added dont look to safe for the seat belt

Originally Posted by Stiveno

The bottom bolt is what holds it in, the upper one is just attached with a body screw on a stock s14 too. Other people do it like this, the bracket looks like crap but it is thick metal, and seems very sturdy.


in other news just ordered some stuff from gktech and am going to be picking up a new rack and gas tank and hopefully drift in 2 weeks

If you har stop or get in an accident that will twist. I would AT LEAST attach a third contact point; like so:


Or better yet, fab a one piece 3-point set up to disperse the force. That 'middle bolt will be and snap when pressure is applied, like snapping a twig in half.

[blasian]

That big bracket looks better and safer

[Stiveno]

Originally Posted by 5280VertDET

If you har stop or get in an accident that will twist. I would AT LEAST attach a third contact point; like so:

Or better yet, fab a one piece 3-point set up to disperse the force. That 'middle bolt will be and snap when pressure is applied, like snapping a twig in half.

It really seems fine, and the other brackets ive seen people make looked less sturdy than mine, but since the general consensus is that it looks unsafe ill try one of those ideas. It seems solid without anything attached on top let alone with my bracket, the bottom bolt seems to be the only thing structural about it.

If that bracket were to completely crack break or bend, the belt would still be held in by the huge lower bolt. I'm looking at it now, I can literally move the sheet metal of the car from the bracket, with no flex in the bracket, and can pull on it with all my body weight with no flex. It is just as sturdy as the stock seatbelt motor. I'm not the first person to do it this way, and its more sturdy than other examples. The chassis flexes much more than this bracket.

[Stiveno]

Fixed my header leaks and engine moutns then my order from GKTECH arrived, I ordered some extended studs, steel lug nuts, eccentric lockout kit for the rear suspension arms, and their roll center correction kit with offset rack spacers!

I threw in a new rack and tien inners and outers too since mine was blown, the gktech kit bolts up to the stock knuckle for 40mm of rc correction and more steering angle



Bought a new battery and started relocating it and tucking stuff




Also mounted up the hood, still waiting on parts and need to adjust the toe a bunch

[Krusty_s13]

In for your opinion on that gktech RC kit. going to be picking it up soon.

[Stiveno]

Originally Posted by Krusty_s13

In for your opinion on that gktech RC kit. going to be picking it up soon.

Will let you know in a few weeks when I drive it, they seem nice, and are super cheap imo because of the AUD to USD conversion rate. shipping is expensive but I bought a bunch of stuff. I either lost them or the kit didn't come with 2 castle nuts for the lcas but I found some at work.

[Krusty_s13]

they seem nice. and being able to keep stock lcas and knuckles seems promising.

[Lees_Garage]

sub'd.....

[driftheart]

I like where this is heading. Subscribed.

[Stiveno]

Packages came in the mail, so I got some odds and ends done this weekend!

Still need a catch can but I rerouted my intake to fit under the hood with the 45 bend.


diched the shitty efan I had and retrofitted shrouded altima fans on to my radiator. it took some cutting, wiring, and bracket making but it wasn't that bad. I could post pics of that if anybody's interested. Still need to get a switch for the interior but they seem to work great.



My friend gave me a little cooler for the ps I need to mount and run hoses to it and the reservoir. Not sure where or how im going to mount it yet, but basically everybody ive talked to with this swap has one because of how tight everything is with the headers.



waiting on a few rad hoses to modify the waterneck for hood clearance and a PBM swirl pot and I can put coolant in it again. Also ordered 25mm extended and reinforced lcas for more angle clearance.

Planned on drifting july 4 but my work schedule is interfering so I have a couple more weeks to get this thing going again, maybe ill even start doing some bodywork

[Stiveno]

Finally had time to work on the car, installed the gktech knuckles and also had my flcas extended 25mms, this is the result:






Still need to hammer my tubs out more and get it aligned. im probably going to raise it alittle until I can get some wider front fenders and get rid of some camber.

Also installed a PBM swirl tank, modded the coolant neck with new rad hoses for hood clearance and installed a shitty catch can.

[1988montecarloss]

also wondering how well those gktech knuckles will work, anyone know if they will fit with 15's?

[EveryQuarterMile]

Awesome build! Subscribed

[Stiveno]

Not much progress, fuel pump or something else possibly went bad. Im replacing the gas tank and fuel pump this week just been really busy.

Also sold 4 of the 6 square g33s to buy these oem forged r33 wheels. They will fit better on both my cars so im looking for more of them.




I should have some other cool wheels coming from japland soon too.