93 SR Hatch build in the Mitten State

[gbaby2089]

Originally Posted by Corbic

Like completely ruin it wonders.

That is Reece's goal at all times.

[AnonymousBlackX]

what do you do for a day job? and holy crap amazing thread i aspire to be able to do the things you are doing!!!

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by JIMB0

I will end you

Don't worry JY. lol

Originally Posted by tricky_ab

I'm a part of the Ganador club. I think they flow better with your setup.

hahaha. I do like them for sure. I'll probably just change them back and forth all winter while the car sits to give me something to do...

Originally Posted by paradillusional

craftsquare...

ha, couldnt resist

looking great!

haha, this guy. Happy late birthday by the way sir!

Originally Posted by boostzilla

Just read this entire thread. Great work on the car ! I definitely miss my 180 after reading this.

Thank you, appreciate it! I've been trying to go through and update old images that have broken links as I have time. I should have never used Image Shack all those years ago.

Originally Posted by Reece

Hurricane mirrors would do wonders to this car

I actually had a brand new pair a few months back that I ended up selling. I just wasn't confident I would like them. I do think they look cool on Joe's blue car though!

Originally Posted by AnonymousBlackX

what do you do for a day job? and holy crap amazing thread i aspire to be able to do the things you are doing!!!

Thank you for the kind words! I'm a graphic designer.

[SilviaForTheWin]

New on here and I read your entire build thread over the last few days at work because its been so slow around the shop, you sir are an inspiration, your car is a work of art. Love the attention to detail, I hope one day that atleast one of my silvia's will be as clean as your s13!

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by SilviaForTheWin

New on here and I read your entire build thread over the last few days at work because its been so slow around the shop, you sir are an inspiration, your car is a work of art. Love the attention to detail, I hope one day that atleast one of my silvia's will be as clean as your s13!

Thanks man, appreciate the kind words! Glad you enjoyed the read.

[tuzzio]

Still one of my favorite cars on zilvia

[CamryOnBronze]

Well, it's Friday- always a good day to update your long neglected build thread, right?

A fair amount has changed with my car since the last set of photos I posted. While I was determined not to mess with the car at all over the winter, I finally caved and made a slew of changes. Many will argue that the car has since gone backwards, but that was sort of the point in a way.

While I loved the state of the car and could have easily left it alone, I began to long for simplicity. While the Hot Road aero and Koguchi Power hood looked awesome, both came with a set of inconveniences. I ultimately decided that I missed the look and quality of OEM kouki 180SX aero and sold my Hot Road aero to a gentleman from Ohio.

I debated my next move and even considered attempting a chuki front end again for a time. I also thought about running the OEM kouki 180SX front bumper with chuki sides and a Supermade rear wing just for something a bit different than I had done previously. But in the end, I couldn't deny the fact that I wanted full kouki aero again.

I sourced all of the necessary items, had them painted, and installed them with the goal of doing everything as properly as possible. I went with all OEM lighting and installed the necessary connectors, something I had never done before. I spent a long time trying to get the front bumper fitment right and installed a pair of new OEM fender liners like I had done a few years prior to clean everything up as much as possible. Finally, I had a pair of OEM metal front fenders refinished as my previous pairs have always been marked with dings and other blemishes.

A number of things were removed from the car: Hot Road aero, Koguchi Power hood, Ganador mirrors, Bride seats, Defi gauges, Do-Luck rear floor bar, etc. I picked up a set of kouki 180SX seats from a friend and decided to install the rear seat. A clean OEM dash was installed to fill the holes left from my gauges once they were removed. Finally, I replaced my Kakimoto exhaust with a new DMAX unit like I had on the car previously.

I am currently in the process of finishing up some suspension work- Stance Super Sport coilovers, GK tech roll center adjusters and tie rod ends, etc. I dropped to a 225/40 rear tire and moved my 11mm rear spacer to the rear to bring the specs more in line with my silver set of TE37s I had years ago. I also installed a NISMO 2 way LSD, but I am beginning to question if that was the right choice or not. While I am interested in trying drifting, the car really only sees normal street driving (if anything) at the moment.

Here are a couple shots of how the car sat prior to installing my exhaust and the GK tech/Stance suspension components:









All in all, the car is much simpler now. These changes have not only freed up some cash for me, but have made me appreciate the car in a cleaner and more simpler form. Ideally I will finish the suspension updates this weekend, get an alignment soon, and enjoy driving the car on the street when my time as a dad allows.

Moving forward, I would like to pick up a bucket seat again as the factory seats feel a bit odd. I want to take care of some small details like installing the 180SX headliner I was finally able to secure thanks to a friend in Canada, replacing the carpet to get rid of the holes from my old roll cage, and things like that. At this moment I really only feel like replacing things that will offer vast improvements without compromising streetability- small improvements like SPL suspension arms, a one piece driveshaft, etc- but I'm enjoying the calm at the moment.

Anyway, that's my rambling for today! Hopefully that brings you up to speed. I'll post some more photos of the car once it's "completed" and I've had a chance to clean it up. It's still very dirty right now from winter storage.

Damon

[e1_griego]

Much much better.

Either throw a Giken lsd in, or an s15 helical. Off the shelf giken drives like an open diff -- no clunks, no bs.

[Jibbberish]

Beauty, can't beat simplicity.

[Ramonesfreak2010]

S15 seats are comfy as hell. Ever looked into those?

[BossHogg]

OS Giken is nice for sure. Get you some recaro recliners. Feel good, still have mobility. Night and day difference over stock r32 GTR seats. Hell, I even use my spares to play video games in lol.

[Hoffman5982]

If you're wanting to drift I advise against the helical differential. I have run a shimmed j30 vlsd for 3 years and it locks up great, but it does clunk/chirp tires at really low speeds, so that may not suit your needs either.

The car looks amazing, as usual. I would love to see that thing out on a track.

[tlieberman240]

Simplicity is king. I'll miss the ganadors, but the car still looks killer.

Flawless execution.

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by e1_griego

Much much better.

Either throw a Giken lsd in, or an s15 helical. Off the shelf giken drives like an open diff -- no clunks, no bs.

That's what I have heard- just don't have the loot sadly. Maybe someday, haha. VLSD is fine for street cruising which is all I am really doing these days (if anything.)

Originally Posted by Jibbberish

Beauty, can't beat simplicity.

Thanks! Simple is definitely nice.

Originally Posted by Ramonesfreak2010

S15 seats are comfy as hell. Ever looked into those?

They definitely are, just feels a little out of place to me in an S13. Almost like they are too big for such a small car.

Originally Posted by BossHogg

OS Giken is nice for sure. Get you some recaro recliners. Feel good, still have mobility. Night and day difference over stock r32 GTR seats. Hell, I even use my spares to play video games in lol.

Yeah, aftermarket recliners sound pretty nice right about now. More on that in a future post.

Originally Posted by Hoffman5982

If you're wanting to drift I advise against the helical differential. I have run a shimmed j30 vlsd for 3 years and it locks up great, but it does clunk/chirp tires at really low speeds, so that may not suit your needs either.

The car looks amazing, as usual. I would love to see that thing out on a track.

Good to know. I probably won't end up drifting this car. I was keen to give it a try and pretty pumped up for it, but in all honesty it's probably not going to happen, haha.

Originally Posted by tlieberman240

Simplicity is king. I'll miss the ganadors, but the car still looks killer.

Flawless execution.

Thanks! I miss them too. I think they'll be making a comeback soon.

__________________________________________________ ____________________

So, let's see here. I've had the itch to mess with the car a bit lately. Keeping it completely "stock" inside and out was the goal and I was enjoying it, but I just can't handle the boredom. You know how it is for me. Despite my best efforts I am not sure that's ever going to change.

I completed the install of the Stance coilovers and GK Tech components. I'm finally going to take the car in for an alignment on Monday so that it will track straight for my wife and I's drive up to Final Bout SSC in Wisconsin next month. I was also able to install my 180SX headliner to finally remove the annoying gap that has been there for years.

Replaced a bad wheel bearing and cut/installed my modified front fender liners too while I was at it.







It's been fun to take the kids to daycare and to get ice cream in the car lately. Pretty cool to have the rear seat belts in place (I removed my NeXt Miracle Cross Bar in order to make this work.) I ended up attending the Eyes on Design car show again on Father's Day and my girls came out to keep me company.





I replaced my Raybrig headlights with HID kit for some Hella E Code housings and bulbs. Not as cool/aggressive looking but the light output is good so that's nice. The car doesn't see much street driving anymore anyway, but I figured this was a good idea. I might end up with another pair of Raybrigs someday and keep the Hellas so I can swap out the lighting as my mood changes.

Speaking of lighting, I ended up removing my OEM front lighting and went back to DMAX clear side markers and dual position lights. The amber and OEM turn signals were a nice change, but ended up wanting the more aftermarket look again. I kept all of my stock lights so that I can swap back if I decide to.

While I was at it, I also finally caved in and attempted the front license plate cutout. It's a subtle change but I really like what it has done to the look of the car overall. I scored a pair of new in box OEM N1 ducts too, so those might make their way onto the car soon- still deciding on that but at least I'll have them on hand if I decide to go for it.







I finally took the time to replace the stickers on my TE37s which cleaned them up a lot. Also repaired a minor power steering leak and gave the car a once over ahead of our road trip next week. Hopefully it holds up well!



Finally, I picked up a pair of new in box Aero Marker mirrors. I was going for an Itoh inspired look, but I am just not sold on how they look on the car. I really like them on a lot of cars, but something just doesn't look right to me. I am hoping those sell soon. I am planning to grab a pair of Ganadors at Final Bout.





Messed around with the engine bay a bit as well. There are a few things I would like to do in here sometime soon- a new intake pipe and filter, a catch can, new blow off valve, etc. I might just wait until winter to take care of those things.



Overall I am just putzing around with the car as I have the time and enjoying summer. I'll probably have some more updates soon!

[Cortius017]

The aero marker mirrors look great! Can't wait to see this car at final bout next weekend. I can't contain my excitement for next weekend haha

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by Cortius017

The aero marker mirrors look great! Can't wait to see this car at final bout next weekend. I can't contain my excitement for next weekend haha

haha, thanks! I am really excited too. Should be a good time as always!

[RB25GUY]

As much as I love Ganadors, the Aeromarker mirrors scream 90's and are so subtle!!! I test fitted mine on my hatch and they flow so well with my origin overs, They do look really nice with your setup!!

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by RB25GUY

As much as I love Ganadors, the Aeromarker mirrors scream 90's and are so subtle!!! I test fitted mine on my hatch and they flow so well with my origin overs, They do look really nice with your setup!!

Thanks man, I dunno! They make the car look too "skinny" to me if that makes any sense. I think they work better with a brighter colored car or more aggressive aero. That's just me though... maybe I would like them more with a vented hood. It just feels like something is missing to me with them on my car!

[innovation]

Get some Recaro Sportster CS's!

Pic for reference. They are amazing.

[Cortius017]

Originally Posted by innovation

Get some Recaro Sportster CS's!

Pic for reference. They are amazing.

They look super comfortable but I'm not sure if they would fit the style of the car.

[CamryOnBronze]

Yeah, a friend has a pair of those in his Audi R8. They look really cool and comfortable, but they're definitely out of my price range. That and they just don't have that "period correct" vibe I am after.

I've got something on the way that I think should fit the bill just fine. Pretty excited.

[hellaslows13]

Still one of my favorite hatches of all time. Love this build! Keep em coming Damon!

[tlieberman240]

Originally Posted by CamryOnBronze

Yeah, a friend has a pair of those in his Audi R8. They look really cool and comfortable, but they're definitely out of my price range. That and they just don't have that "period correct" vibe I am after.

I've got something on the way that I think should fit the bill just fine. Pretty excited.

Bingo. $3,000 per seat for a 25 year old Nissan is a bit ridiculous, and they wouldn't match the car at all.

I say hell yes to N1 ducts. Aero mirrors look rad, but Ganadors are so good. Lol I knew you'd be getting another pair, but I didn't think it would be THAT soon.

[1gr8bar10der]

I vote for Recaro SR lll or lV. I have one in my coupe and you can't beat the quality and style.

Your car is very inspiring to me. I try to keep mine the simply way as well, as it's also my DD hahaa.

[Amar 240sx]

Originally Posted by CamryOnBronze

Well, here is another mockup. The rear valence I got for this side is a dark green, so I didn't have to alter it in photoshop any- all I touched was the side skirt (made it black). I think it is going to look good, but I want the center section to go across the rear now.





I really hope to have this stuff in to paint by the end of the week and the hatch in somewhere for the glass install.

What lip, side skirts ,and rear skirts are those?

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by Amar 240sx

What lip, side skirts ,and rear skirts are those?

Xenon front lip, OEM 180SX side skirts and rear valences.

[TheRealSy90]

Wow that doesn't even look like the same car haha!


I think you need to source a 180sx rear hatch Nissan emblem

[ViciousCesar!]

Checking in just to say it still sexy af.

[CamryOnBronze]

Originally Posted by TheRealSy90

I think you need to source a 180sx rear hatch Nissan emblem

Eh, I have always thought that emblem looked a little out of place/cheesy on the car. The front is mandatory though!

Originally Posted by ViciousCesar!

Checking in just to say it still sexy af.

Too kind, thank you!

__________________________________________________ ______

The end remainder of the summer has been very quiet around my garage and I expect this winter to be more of the same. The only real change I have made to the car since my last post is the addition of a pair of red Brix 1.5 seats and Bride MO seat rails. I loved the 180SX seats, but it is nice to have something a little more fun again. I think they pop just enough to give the car that extra something.










Not much else to report! I put a solid amount of miles on the car this summer including two trips to and from US Air in Wisconsin, about an 8.5 hour drive one way. I might try to perform some preventative maintenance this winter, but otherwise I don't really have any plans for the car. We'll see what happens but for now I plan to leave it alone and ride out the snow until nice weather returns to Michigan.

[DJTTon]

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