marc's 1990 S13 build

[marc-s13]

Always wanted to make a build thread, so I finally got around to it!

MAY 2017
Bought this car when I turned 16 and got my learner's license.

Found it on Craigslist in woodshop class one day, and went to go look at it that night.


The owner was a really cool guy. He had plans to drift it but said it was "too clean" (his words, not mine!).

Looked good, everything was in order except for a large rust hole on the driver's side rocker. 144,000 kms (89,000 miles), automatic. Completely stock aside from an S14 VLSD that the owner swapped in. Went back the next day and bought it! $4500 CAD and it came with a manual transmission (that I would later sell in favor of a better candidate) and clutch, pressure plate, open diff, etc.



First thing I did was rip off the spoiler and replace the headlights with a Hella H4 set.


JUNE 2017
My first real work on a car was replacing a seized rear left caliper. Also did the obligatory sleep eyes.


Around this time, my friend bought an S13 of his own. Very rare color, (#FG0, only ~700 in NA I believe), and 111,000 kms (69,000 miles). Needless to say I was jealous that he had the lower mileage one.


Started collecting parts I knew I wanted to put on: a set of Ichiba 5 Lug Hubs (still haven't put them on by the way, more on that later).


Sparco Wheel, Circuit Sport quick release, and an NRG short hub (I was 16, give me a break!).


JULY 2017
Since my priorities were clearly completely out of whack, I decided to pick up a set of Kouki taillights for $650 CAD off Craigslist. I still regret getting these so early, but not as much as the other purchases. All OEM parts, with everything included, and the guy even did the harnesses for it.


Got them fitted up ASAP.

Before:


After:


Painted the valence piece by myself with some spray paint. Turned out great!


After clear, wetsand, and polish. Not bad for my first time painting.


Done!


Took out the broken alarm and immobilizer, shedded about a kilo of wiring and junk.


LEDs from superbrightleds.com for the gauge cluster.



AUGUST 2017
Picked up some R32 GT-R brakes with DBA4000 rotors.


Started gathering parts for the manual swap:


Got all of this from a part out for $100 CAD.


Got the flywheel resurfaced:


Went back to the same part out and got this transmission for $210 CAD (+metal dust shield and rubber shift boot). Sold the other transmission that came with my car for $300. It was pissing tranny fluid all over the trunk of the car, so I had to squat in the trunk and hold it for the whole ride home.


Car came back from rust repair! Looks like a decent job but turns out there was like an inch of bondo. That's what I get for only paying $500 I guess.



Painted the clutch pedal and crossmember.


Installed my beautiful freshly painted clutch pedal.



Dropped the auto slug.



Z32 reman BMC off RockAuto, in preparation for the R32 GT-R brake swap.


It just sat like this basically until a year later. Decided school was more important at the time, and I was just too lazy to work on it.


AUGUST 2018
Came back from Japan and got super motivated to work on it.
Put in the manual trans with some help. Ran into some issues with a leaking slave and turned out it was the line, ChaseBays put a banjo fitting on it, so I had to wait a while for the AN fitting type to come in. Got it running the next month.


MARCH 2019
Something came in the mail...

Very excited about these. Square G33s, 17x9 +15


Got the car registered for Spring and started learning how to drive manual! Just enjoyed it for now.



Nice shot with my friend's STI.



MAY 2018
Something showed up on my doorstep the other day.


I've been waiting around 2 months for these, and they were well worth the wait!
Fortune Auto 500s, 7k fronts, 6k rears, Swift Springs and radial topmounts.


Got to work installing them the same day they came in, of course.


Car sat noticeably lower, it'll be even nicer when I get the wheels on. Had some issues with bottoming out on the rears. Turns out I didn't tighten the allen bolt on the preload collars. Nice.
It drives way flatter around corners now, little to no body roll.



Drove two hours today to get my tires because I ordered them from the wrong shop. Oh well, got a good deal on these R1Rs.



Well, that's all for now. Hopefully this thread can get approved quick so I can post updates. Doing 5 lug, R32 brakes, wheels, and tires in the next few days.

[kennedy8383]

Look very good and clean. I wish my 240sx was clean but isn't because the salt ruin it.

[S14Serge]

Coming along really nicely! Wanna see it with the Squares!

[marc-s13]

Originally Posted by kennedy8383

Look very good and clean. I wish my 240sx was clean but isn't because the salt ruin it.

yeah man salt kinda ruined my car too, but it wasnt too bad.

Originally Posted by S14Serge

Coming along really nicely! Wanna see it with the Squares!

getting the tires mounted in the next week or so. r32 brakes coming back from the powdercoater tuesday (gloss black). once the brakes come through im gonna get to work on the 5 lug

[marc-s13]

Loaded up the tires and wheels to go for mounting yesterday


And they came back today. Fitted them up beside the car.


Very slight stretch, basically straight sidewall (17x9 +15, 235/40R17)


Once the brakes come back from the powdercoater sometime this week, I'll get to work on the 5 lug and the brake swap.

[S14Serge]

Gonna look sick man!!

[TheRealSy90]

I really like this simplicity so far. Just making it look good.

[dizzariot]

Your friend is lucky. You both are, man. Clean cars.

I hope it stays along these lines. Don't get caught up in any of the hype...

[da_crew10]

Get caught up in the hype!
Remove all collars from coilovers for maximum low. Get big fiberglass aero plus overfenders. Get some dished out wheels and stretched tires. Huge GT wing. Paint it candy something. Assemble a crew and slap on some windshield banners!


JK

OP, if you wanted to stay along the route of oem why didnt you get oem r33 wheels instead of those?

[Bluejayde]

Clean and simple. Keep the updates coming.

[marc-s13]

Originally Posted by S14Serge

Gonna look sick man!!

Originally Posted by TheRealSy90

I really like this simplicity so far. Just making it look good.

Originally Posted by dizzariot

Your friend is lucky. You both are, man. Clean cars.
I hope it stays along these lines. Don't get caught up in any of the hype...

Originally Posted by Bluejayde

Clean and simple. Keep the updates coming.

Thanks, will do guys. Don't worry, the plan is to just keep it nice and simple.

Originally Posted by da_crew10

Get caught up in the hype!
OP, if you wanted to stay along the route of oem why didnt you get oem r33 wheels instead of those?

OEM R33 wheels only come in +30 offset, and after some research, I think +30 would be too sunken for me. I really want to avoid running spacers. Maybe one day I'll get some crazy extended knuckles or something and run the OEM ones.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by da_crew10

Get caught up in the hype!
Remove all collars from coilovers for maximum low. Get big fiberglass aero plus overfenders. Get some dished out wheels and stretched tires. Huge GT wing. Paint it candy something. Assemble a crew and slap on some windshield banners!


JK

OP, if you wanted to stay along the route of oem why didnt you get oem r33 wheels instead of those?

Bro meet me behind the dumpster. We're fucking fighting.

Originally Posted by marc-s13

OEM R33 wheels only come in +30 offset, and after some research, I think +30 would be too sunken for me. I really want to avoid running spacers. Maybe one day I'll get some crazy extended knuckles or something and run the OEM ones.

The dude that bought my 180SX got OEM R33 wheels and they wouldn't clear the fucking S14 K's brakes. Blew my mind I'm also inclined to think the Square G33s might be a better choice.

[marc-s13]

Originally Posted by dizzariot

Bro meet me behind the dumpster. We're fucking fighting.



The dude that bought my 180SX got OEM R33 wheels and they wouldn't clear the fucking S14 K's brakes. Blew my mind I'm also inclined to think the Square G33s might be a better choice.

Get them, they’re decently well made, nice finish. $820 USD a set. Heard they’re perfect specs for stock body S13 as well.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by marc-s13

Get them, they’re decently well made, nice finish. $820 USD a set. Heard they’re perfect specs for stock body S13 as well.

I have too many wheels already lol. Thanks for the info, though. Car will look good on them.

[Jo_Galezo]

Excited to see what you make out of this! Happy you get to start on a clean slate


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[marc-s13]

Decided to change my steering wheel. It was kinda too gaudy for me (and it had too much dish so I had to sit further back, couldn't reach my indicators well, etc.).

Old one:


New wheel, an old Nardi Personal I picked up for $120 CAD. Way nicer leather, slightly bigger diameter (Nardi: 350mm, Sparco: 345mm), less dish. Fits the interior nicer.


Update on the calipers; the local guy doing the sandblasting and powdercoating on them has been having a real hard time. One of the pistons was seized and the mounting holes cross-threaded. Really cool guy, he broke his piston removal tool trying to get it out, and is taking the caliper to his machinist to get it all right.


No idea when it's supposed to be done but I'm really itching to get the wheels on.

On another note, do you guys think I should rebuild the calipers or nah? I'm contemplating just reassembling them with the parts that were already on it after it's powdercoated... or I could just order a rebuild kit.

[marc-s13]

Calipers are getting casting markings shaved off.


Pistons were shot, so I ordered 8 new OEM replacement pistons and a rebuild kit for Z32 calipers (I think they're the same).
Also ordered 48mm Muteki "titanium" colored lugs, EB48 cupholders, and OEM Nissan metal center caps.

Got this horrible screeching noise that's been happening for a few months, sounds like metal on metal contact. Thinking it's either something to do with my transmission or t/o bearing, or a seized caliper somewhere. I'll pinpoint it when I do the 5 lug and brake swap.

[marc-s13]

Just got them in from the powder coater! Turned out real nice.


Going to be rebuilding them with new seals and pistons over the weekend. Then it's time for 5 lug, wheels & tires, fender rolling, and an alignment.

[marc-s13]

JUNE 2019

Rebuilt the calipers at 2am yesterday.


Got started on the 5 lug, didn't really get pictures of it because it was mostly videoed.


Testfitting the wheels. Kinda scared it's gonna poke a lot, but I won't know until I set it on the ground. Pretty worried about how much camber I'm gonna have to run to fit these, perhaps I'll get the backspacing machined down 5-10mm.




The guy who sold me these hubs two years ago must've not taken care of them, because a lot of the threads on the studs were super dented and didn't allow the lugnut to go down all the way.

What I did was hammer them out (my c-clamp wasn't big enough to press them out), and replace them with OEM S14 studs (Ichiba conversion hubs take S14 knurls).


Then, I found out that I had nowhere near enough thread for me to be comfortable driving this thing.


Small loss, I'll return the S14 studs and get ARP extended ones.

I ordered the ARP ones. For anyone using Ichiba S13 5 Lug conversion hubs, the studs for the FRONT are ARP-100-7717 (evo studs, same as S14 fronts), and the REAR takes ARP-100-7708 studs (GM studs I think).


Kind of annoying to have these hiccups get in the way of this swap, this means at the earliest I'll have my car on the ground in over a week.

[CamryOnBronze]

Nice progress so far. It's always the little things that pop up that you could never foresee. Good luck with everything!

[dizzariot]

Brakes look great!

Yeah dude the little things you don't budget for/think you don't have to worry about are the worst. Better to just power through it, man.

[marc-s13]

Originally Posted by CamryOnBronze

Nice progress so far. It's always the little things that pop up that you could never foresee. Good luck with everything!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by dizzariot

Brakes look great!

Yeah dude the little things you don't budget for/think you don't have to worry about are the worst. Better to just power through it, man.

Yeah for sure. Next week! Next week I get the studs in, then I can start worrying about my fitment, harness tuck, fender roll, and an alignment.

[dizzariot]

Originally Posted by marc-s13

Thanks!



Yeah for sure. Next week! Next week I get the studs in, then I can start worrying about my fitment, harness tuck, fender roll, and an alignment.

Be careful whel you remove the fenders...before I attempted to tuck my harness my fenders fit perfectly. When I went to put them back on they fit like shit. the metal will bend or twist in some way so you might have to mess with them a little bit to get them to fit nicely. Just trying to prep you for more 'unforseen stressors'.

[marc-s13]

Originally Posted by dizzariot

Be careful whel you remove the fenders...before I attempted to tuck my harness my fenders fit perfectly. When I went to put them back on they fit like shit. the metal will bend or twist in some way so you might have to mess with them a little bit to get them to fit nicely. Just trying to prep you for more 'unforseen stressors'.

Any tips to keep my fender fitment good? The pinch welds at the bottom are super bent right now, so I'll have to bend those back before taking it off.

[da_crew10]

Originally Posted by marc-s13

Any tips to keep my fender fitment good? The pinch welds at the bottom are super bent right now, so I'll have to bend those back before taking it off.

That and make sure to remove as much tape and whatever the harness is wrapped with from the factory. Make it as thin as you can so when you re install your fenders they will line back up like factory.

[blo0d]

damn those are some CLEAN cars. please dont wreck. glad to have seen this.

[marc-s13]

ARP Studs came in. These are the rears.


Fronts, with lugs and locks.


Got them on pretty quick.



Car was looking pretty nice! At this point I contemplated keeping my pignose.


Super excited lowered it to the ground, and.... surprise! The brakes drag. Rolled it off the blocks in neutral and I could hear the pad against the rotor.


Really shitty, I was hoping to drive it to my grad event today. Looks like it'll have to stay in the garage until I try to fix stuff tomorrow.

If anyone has any idea what the issue is with the brakes, I posted a thread in more detail here: https://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=669382

[Thursday7]

How bad is it? can you spin the wheel? sometimes the quality control on new rotors or pads is bad and they are made too thick. happened to me once.

[marc-s13]

Originally Posted by Thursday7

How bad is it? can you spin the wheel? sometimes the quality control on new rotors or pads is bad and they are made too thick. happened to me once.

Neither the pads nor rotors are new. It wouldn’t retract even with the pads out.

[marc-s13]

It's been a while since I've updated this. Gotten pretty busy with graduating school and summer starting, but still managed to get some work done.

In terms of the front brakes dragging, I'm pretty sure it was just the rust coming off of the rotors. Drove it around pretty recently and it was fine.

JUNE 2019
Car sat like this mid June.


JULY 2019
Got started on the rear 5 lug. Didn't take many pictures of this, but it was a pain getting those 4 bolts at the back. Hub was fully rusted on and an 8 pound sledgehammer wouldn't do anything, had to get the tool pictured in the first photo. Getting the caliper back on was also a pain in the ass.


Fitting the wheel.


Was finishing up the passenger side hub today. Couldn't get two of the four bolts out at the back, so I had to get creative.


Got it out.


All that's left to do is install the extended studs on the hub, put it on the car, put on the new rotor and caliper, and then the wheel. Then I'll fix my front camber, and get an alignment. Should be driving nice by then.

Little comparison, this is my car in late March (before the suspension) and last month (coilovers, front 5lug, r32 brakes, wheels).