Ian's Nissan 240SX S14

The End

2009-10-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

Thats right. Its all over, the car is gone, and its never coming back.

This will conclude this build.

Dont worry though, I already have something better in the works.

The last picture I have of her. On somebody else' trailer. My new project in the backround.

The time has come, the walrus said, for everything to change.

2009-10-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since my last update. A lot has changed, but everything is about to be turned upside down. In my last update, an unfortunate radiator explosion put the car down. Within a week I had the car back up and running with a new copper core Koyo sports radiator, a 14" Derale race fan, a polished aluminum coolant overflow can, a new Greddy 1.3 bar rad cap, and blue Samco Silicone racing radiator hoses.

I was actually surprised, with the new cooling stuff, the car actually warms up faster, but holds temp better than before.

As you can see, while the car was down, I also took the time to color match the intercooler piping. It didnt turn out perfect, but it does add a little more color to my underhood.

Two full months pass. For a long time I have been happy with the abilities of this car, and that still holds true, but its time for something different.

As of Sept 8th 2009, my S14 was for Sale. 240SX For Sale

With the car listed on a handful of sites, I got lots of interest, but nothing solid. With the economy the way it is, many people are hard up for money.

Now you may ask, why sell something you've had for so long? Well, for years I've been obsessed with Rally. I've serviced many times, I've marshaled, and I've even spectated a few times. Ive always had dreams of building a rallycar,but never had the resources to do so. By selling my S14 I could have easily funded a decent budget race car. Things dont always go as planned though. Time for plan B.

In reality, if I could choose any car to build a race car, it would be a 240SX. Some people might say RWD i no good for rally, but to me, RWD is the only choice.

Why not build my current car you ask? Well, almost none of the parts I have will cross over. I figured a total reboot would be less work. But the stars did not align.

My S14 has a plethora of expensive, and popular parts on it. I have made to hard decision to part the car out. Everything I cannot use will go. All the money from selling parts will go into the build fund. As soon as my S13 is ready to start driving, the tear down will begin.

I hope to be updating this thread much more frequently from now on.

210K mile OE S14 radiator + 1.3bar cap for 3 years = BAD JU JU

2009-06-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

This is why you should never put a high pressure cap on a stock plastic tanked radiator. Especially one with 210,000 miles on it. Ive been meaning to upgrade radiators, now I guess I have to. Im also going to get some hoses, as I will be switching to a radiator with the upper water outlet on the proper side for the SR20. No more hose across the engine bay for me.

A little competition, sort of.

2009-05-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

I picked up a new project.

Say hello to my 1983 Chevy C10 Scottsdale.

I had to drive to Negaunee Michigan to get her, but the S14 need to stretch her legs anyway.

The rain gave my car a temporary clear coat (I wish I had money for paint) Also, check out the new amber tinted parking lights and turn signals. I got some translucent orange paint for them. I really like the way it looks.

Sorry to anyone who liked the teeth. I cut them off when I tinted the lights.

Lake Superior, looking beautiful as always.

She needs a lot of work, but this truck should make a decent parts runner someday.

You given me lip boy?

2009-05-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well, my new (to me) zenki front lip showed up today.

This thing was rapped to survive the end of the world. Apparently it had an interesting smell, as Nismo (my cat) was infatuated with the packaging.

Out with the old, in with the new CD deck.

2009-05-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

After years of dealing with a cheapo off brand CD deck. I decided it was time to freshen things up in the stereo department. I just so happen to work with a guy who also works for Mach 1 Car Audio and Security, he said he would hook me up. After work, I swung down to the Little Canada location. I spent nearly an hour chatting it up with the sales guy on duty. He really knew his sound stuff, and he helped me pick out a deck to make me happy, without pushing me into something uber expensive.

I ended up going with a Clarion CZ209. I also got an antenna kit, so my FM radio will finnally work YAY.

Im glad I went with the clarion unit, because the car already has a Clarion factory 6 speaker system in it. Its nice to keep things in the family.

The one downfall of the factory audio system is the wiring. Back when I originally wired the aftermarket deck, there were no adapters available for the Clarion equipped cars, so I had to hard wire. To install the new unit, I spent more than 2 hours, soldering and heat shrinking to get the wiring bullet proof.

The new deck really fits better with the flow of the interior too. Seeing the pictures reminds me of how badly I need new floor mats.

I guess the age of this car is starting to show. After nearly 15 years, the trim around the radio had become incredibly brittle. It had a crack when I started, but just trying to remove the DIN, I broke it in a few more pieces, good thing Im good with glue.

Someone call Buffy.......

2009-04-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

......My car has been bitten by a vampire.

On a mini road trip to St Cloud, a semi kicked up a rock, and shattered one of my fog lights. After removing the old lights, I decided it was time for a new bumper skin, but in the mean time, there was fun to be had. Hilarity ensued.

On the road again

2009-04-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

It feels so good to have the S14 back in driveable condition.

With all the new suspension parts installed the car feels better than it ever has. Its like a whole new car. The suspension feels so precise.

There were a few hiccups along the way. The ebrake cables keep coming loose and dragging on the yolk for the drive shaft. I will have to find a better way to affix them.

Having the battery mounted in the trunk is working out great, and having a working alternator is a relief.

Ive decided to spend a little much needed attention on my interior. I have thoroughly neglected it over the last few years, and besides being very dirty, there are some very unsightly imperfections. The shift boot, which was made from raw carbon fiber has become torn and shaggy. I took some time to make a new one from some vinyl I bought at Hancock Fabrics for $3. I also plan to make a matching parking brake boot. I also decided to replace the shift nob with a nicer piece. The current nob was a cheapo fake carbon fiber B&M unit that I acquired free from a friend. I will be upgrading to a nice black HKS ball knob I picked up from FR Sport. With that covered, I plan to replace to cheapo CD deck, with something nicer that incorporates an aux output. I would also like to redo my gauges, possibly with Defi, some time in the near future.

While browsing FR Sport, I decided now was as good a time as any to upgrade my oil pickup tube, to the larger, and stronger S14 unit. Hopefully this takes car of my random oil pressure problems.

Putting humpty dumpty back together again.

2009-04-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since my last update.

I moved into my new home earlier in march, and sadly that put the project on hold a little. I have gotten back to work this week though.

The subframe is fully reassembled with all its new parts. I also took some time to polish the aluminium rear differential cover. Now I have some bling to go along with all my paint. The whole assembly is resting on the floor underneath the car, and should hopefully be installed tomorrow. All that will be left will be the front control arm bushings, and sway bar links. With everything back together I can limp the car to work for a much needed alignment.

I also picked up a new alternator to replace the sketchy one that was in the car. During the last weeks of fall it had taken to failing to charge on cold starts. I had to keep an eye on the volt gauge so as not to drain the battery. After getting the alternator installed I attempted to prime the oil pump, but was met with a flat dead battery.

After a day on the charger I gave it another shot. I had no better results the second time around. A little investigating told me I have a bad cell. I know last fall was hard on the battery, but I was hoping she had a little more left in her. The winter was the straw that broke the camels back apparently. I have a Optima RedTop battery on order, but my local interstate guy only comes around every 2 weeks, so I wont see him again until at least a week from today.

Sub frame transformation

2009-02-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

With the sub frame bare, I took the time to prime and pain it. I chose red for color, its undernieth the car, and a little color seemed like a fun idea.

Clean and ready for primer.

Primed

Pretty and red

I also tore apart the knuckles. I will be replacing all the bushings with polyurethane pieces from Energy Suspension.

While I was at it, I popped the differential cover off and tossed it in my trunk. I will take it to work to run it through the parts washer. Once all the gook is off of it, I will polish it to a nice shine.

Disassembling the sub frame

2009-02-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

I got to work on the sub frame today. I removed all of the control arms, the axles, the differential, and the knuckles.

I took the bare sub frame and cleaned all the dirt and dust off of it.

Suspension overhaul

2009-02-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

With the car out of commision, I decided it was a good time to overhaul the rear suspension. Most of my parts showed up today.

Circuit Sports toe adjusting control arms, with heim joints.
Circuit Sports rear upper control arms, camber adjustable.
Energy Suspension Hyper Flex master bushing kit.
Goodrich braided stainless steel brake lines.

I ordered them all from FRSport.com, and they threw in a free Tshirt with my order.

I also grabbed a Nardi Torino steering wheel to replace the flat Nismo wheel I have.

Getting down to business.

2009-02-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

With the air still cold and snow on the ground, I started getting things ready for summer. I got her up on jack stands, and got all the wheels off.

I removed the exhaust to get it out of the way. Then I dropped the whole rear sub frame. I can now work on the rear differential, all the control arms, the knuckles, and the sub frame itself.

I will be working on the sub frame over the next few weeks.

Moving day

2009-01-24T21:54:00.000-08:00

Well, as of this afternoon the S14 is in her new home. There she shall continue to hibernate until it begins to warm up, hopefully some time in early March. I had a nice day, and the roads were dry so I fired her up, and moved her to the garage at my condo.

Hibernation

2008-10-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

As of today the S14 is in storage. Stabil in the gas tank and cut up bars of Irish spring in the interior.

Im now driving my S13 daily.

Attempted murder

2008-08-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

I attempted to drown the 240SX today. Unknown by me, a small lake had formed at the bottom of the bottom of an exit on my way home from work this evening. I hit it at about 50 mph, and my speed instantly dropped to 20 mph. The passenger carpet is rather wet, as is the carpet under my seat. The water was between 10 and 20 inches deep, a large amount came over the hood and through the hood vent. There were 2 stranded cars about 20 yards past the puddle. There doesn't seem to be any damage to the front of the car, although the splash shield is hanging lower than before, I guess Ill consider myself lucky.

The engine sputtered pretty hard for a mile or two. When I got home the air filter was damp, and Im guessing the MAFS got wet. Tomorrow I will have to clean the MAFS and air filter, they need it anyway, and I will inspect for further damage.

New ball joint

2008-07-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

While inspecting the car during my last oil change I discovered my right front lower ball joint is loose.

This is something I'm not very surprised by as I replaced the left side 2 years ago, and the right one was still OE. I will do my best to pick a new one up today, that way I can install it tomorrow.

Preparing to play in the dirt.

2008-07-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

I want to play in the dirt, RWD style. So Im going to take the car rally Xing.

There are some things I need to get fixed for the car to pass tech, here is a quick list.

Battery hold down, I have one, I just need to reinstall it.

Mud flaps, I dont think I need them to pass tech, but my paint wont like me if I dont get some.

Tires, I can run the snow tires if it comes down to it, but I will be keeping a lookout for some decent 15" all season tires to put on my other wheels.

Harness bar, I passed autocross tech with it once, but I dont want to push it, I need to find out the rules.

Boost, Ide like to turn it down, I spin the tires enough.

Ride height, I want to go as high as I can, if I cant get enough height out of the Megan's, I may make some spacers for the KYBs, and just run those.

Skit plate, my factory plastic splash shield is mostly gone anyway, so I need a metal one, Im not looking for anything that I can slide over boulders with, just something to keep gravel out of the engine bay. Anyone have any large road signs laying around?

I should also check the brakes, my front pads are about due, Id like to change them before they begin grinding. Id like to upgrade to Q45 brakes, but I cant afford it right now, so pad slap it is.

Id like to change my hood vent, I want to make it bigger. I would like to cut a hole about the size of a stock EVO vent, then Id like to build a box to act as a reverse scoop/rain guard.

Oil light scare.

2008-07-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

Something very unnerving happened on my way home from work yesterday. As I was entering onto 169 I noticed one of my idiot lights flicker on for just a second, I just caught it out of the corner of my eye. A few seconds later it clicked back on. I don't know how many of you can understand the feeling, but having your oil light come on a 70 mph demands a quick reaction. Clutch in, key off, hazards on, both eyes on the oil pressure gauge, all in less than a second. As I coast up an exit my mind is racing, then it hits me. I don't have an oil pressure sensor, how can I have an oil light, the gauge was reading normal pressure, I wasn't having oil problems, I was having wiring problems.

Lets just say the ride home with the oil light flickering was a very uncomfortable trip. Once home it took me all of a minute to find the wire, and move it away from the frame rail.

Coilovers

2008-07-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

I finally saved up the funds to replace the yucky suspension on the S14. I picked up a set of brand new Megan Racing street coilovers.

I installed them without a hitch.

I actually spent more time tweaking the ride height and alignment then I did installing.

I currently have the car pretty low, and I played around with the adjustable dampening a little.

On full stiff, I might as well not have suspension, its like riding on blocks of wood. On full soft its really nice, there is more noise over bumps than the previous setup, due to solid upper mounts, but the ride quality is greatly improved, it takes small and medium bumps in stride, and even moderate undulations dont upset the balance. I have yet to truely push it around corners, any time I turn in hard it rubs on the front splash guards. I did notice that bump steer is significantly worse with the car this low.

Not so winter storeage

2008-06-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

The 240SX is now back in storage. I had known since spring that the KYB AGXs I had on the car were leaking. The struts have deteriorated exponentially over the last week. I fear any more time spent on them will do irreparable damage to things like the tires and front end parts like bushings and ball joints.

Fixed exhaust

2008-04-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

For the last few months I had been dealing with a persistant exhaust leak between my catalytic converter and down pipe. I also had a sneaking suspicion that my cat had long since burned up.

I picked up a high flow converter, and a flew section and had them welded in by a buddy who works for Midas.

The car is much quieter, and doesn't whisper and hiss at idle like it did before.

Dyno Day

2008-04-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

The time has finally come. After so many years with this car, the one think I have never done is put her on a dyno.

She put down 251.4 rear wheel horse power, and 250 ft lbs of torque. Im very impressed with these numbers as Im still running a stock T25 turbocharger, and factory 370 cc injectors.

The Dyno was a DynoDynamics Dynamometer at DB performance in Maple Grove MN.

I had my HKS wastegate actuator set to 13 psi.

Pillowball tension rods.

2008-03-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

With the subframe brace to be delivered shortly, I decided some new tension rods were in order. The factory tension rods have large rubber bushings, which, at this point, have seen better days.

I chose Megan Racings adjustable pillowball tension rods for their affordability. This will allow me some much needed caster adjustment.

Oil change misfortune.

2008-02-29T16:49:00.000-08:00

With the S14 sitting in storage waiting for the new tension rod setup, I decided it was a good idea to change the oil.

While attemting to remove my oil filter, my hulk like strength snapped the threaded lug right off the oil filter assembly. After a quick search on NicoClub.com I found a used replacement housing.

Custom tension rod brace.

2008-02-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

I just got word from a fabricator I have been in contact with about a brace for my tension rod brackets. He has finally gotten a few prototypes built, and he is sending me one at a ridiculously reduced price.

The tension arms bolt to the front lower control arms, and go forward to to brackets on the front engine cross member, they limit the movement of the lower control arms during braking and hard steering inputs. The brackets themselves are rather flimsy and allow a lot of movement under stress. Until now the only way to combat this movement was to purchase an upgraded brace from Nismo, to the tune of $250. From all the reviews Ive read, the power brace is the most noticeable chassis upgrade you can make besides a full roll cage. I pondered buying one for a long time, but could never justify the cost.

Through the wonders of the internet I came in contact with a guy named Jonnie Fraz, he was interested in designing a tension rod brace for the S13/S14. I exchanged many emails with him, and I and a few other forum members have been chatting with him for the last few months. He finished the S13 brace first, and has been selling them for almost a month now, everyone who has reviewed them says they are unbelievable. It took a little longer to design the S14 brace because it is slightly different and requires a little more work to install. The difference between his unit and the Nismo are interesting, instead of replacing the whole bracket, it just braces it, this means, all the stiffness, half the cost. Im very excited to get mine and get it installed.

The Jonnie Fraz brace uses a cross bar with extra support struts. It also uses slugs that go between the original brackets, so instead of bolting the brace to one piece of flimsy sheet metal, it bolts through both sides, locking everything together. It comes with all necessary hardware. My cost plus shipping $80.

New wheels

2008-02-24T16:20:00.000-08:00

Tired of staring at the ugly motegi's on my S14, I decided to upgrade.

For a darn decent price I picked up a brand new set of Rota Grid Offroads. They are sized 16"x8" with an offset of +10. They should fit perfectly flush with my stock fenders.

Many say that 16"s are too small for the S14 chassis, but I disagree. I think, done right, 16"s can look great. I chose to stick with a 16 because of all the driving I do. I would hate to spend every moment behind the wheel terrified of potholes.

The fitment on the car is fantastic, and it really changes the look of the car. To wrap these new wheels I ordered a set of Falcon Azenis Sport RT-615s. They should be nice and sticky, while still retaining a little streetability.

Knock sensor problems

2008-01-27T16:15:00.000-08:00

Only a few weeks after installing my wideband, I noticed my car had lost a great deal of power. A quick scan of the ECU showed me that the knock sensor was throwing a code.

I hope to have a new knock sensor installed in time for her first ride on a dyno come April.

AEM wideband install.

2008-01-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

To ready myself for future tuning, as well as give me an idea of how my engine is running. I installed a AEM gauge type wideband UEGO controller. Its nice to know my A/F ratios at any time. It will help me should anything go wrong, a shift in the AFRs will be a good early warning.

Single Piece Aluminum Drive Shaft

2007-10-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

After years of abuse, the two piece steel drive shaft has lived its life. The U joints were beginning to loosen up, and make noise, and the carrier bearing was on its way out.

Instead of trying to rebuild the weak factory unit, I opted to replace the entire driveshaft with a single piece aluminum shaft from ShaftMasters.

It weighs in at 11 lbs (7 lbs less than stock), and has greaseable, replaceable U joints.

The new shaft allows far greater throttle response, and increase acceleration slightly. It will also take my abuse far better than that stock shaft.

Brake fluid reservoir heat shield.

2007-09-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

After driving the car for a few weeks, I noticed the new manifold tended to increase under hood temperatures. Its proximity to the brake master cylinder, and fluid reservoir made me want to do something about it.

Using some sheet metal, I fabricated a small heat shield to keep the brake fluid at a reasonable temperature.

Tubular turbo manifold

2007-09-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

After discovering that 2 of my exhaust manifold studs had snapped, I decided to upgrade. I chose the TopSpeed Performance tubular steal manifold/dump tube combo.

we got it all installed, its slightly different so I have a massive exhaust leak where my down pipe meets my cat, WOT the car has a slightly different sound now, more of a tuned growl, it is also quieter at cruising speed. Something I did notice, after it ran for a while the manifold gained a neat gold tinge.

A little history.

2007-07-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

This is my autoblog.

I will use it to chronicle the long term build of my 1995 Nissan 240SX SE.

I bought this car in May of 2003. When I got the car it was completely stock except for a cone style air filter, it had about 102,000 miles on the clock and it was still running strong. For almost a year I accumulated parts. Stock it stayed until April of 2004, a persistent oil leak and a grinding transmission told me the time had finally come. Out came the Tired KA24, 48 hrs ,a few bloodied knuckles, and way too much fast food later a red top SR20DET was nestled comfortably between the frame rails. After messing with the wiring hell, and an improperly aligned cam angle sensor my baby roared to life. In the 70,000 miles since installation I have had no major issues with the motor and I have continued to add parts too it

As of March or 2007, the parts build list is as follows.

Chasis and body

-Custom vented hood
-Custom Krylon flat black paint
-Custom smoked headlights
-Custom chopped bumper to fit intercooler
-Rear debadged
-Antenna removed and shaved

Suspension and Wheels

-16 in Motegi MR5s (super cheap)
-225 50 16 Potenza GOO9s
-KYB AGXs
-Ground Control Coilovers
-SPL Racing aluminum rear subframe bushings
-Front and rear strut tower bars

Engine and Drivetrain

-Redtop SR20DET from a JDM S13 Silvia (DOHC 1998 cc Aluminum block and head, fuel injected and turbocharged)
-Walbro 255 lph fuel pump
-Factory Garret turbocharger, custom rebuilt with bead blasted and balanced turbine wheels
-Heavythrottle Racing intercooler hotpie with custom Greddy blow off valve flange
-Greddy Type S BOV
-Greddy VSPL Frontmount intercooler kit
-Factory intake manifold with secondary butterflys removed
-HKS 11 PSI adjustable wastegate actuator
-Megan Racing 3 inch downpipe
-Hollow Catco race cat
-Muffler shop special full 3 in exaust
-Magnaflow 3 in inlet dual 2 1/2 outlet muffler
-Mocal thermostatic oil filter sandwich plate
-Setrab oil cooler with AN fittings and -10 braided steel lines
-Nismo motor mounts
-Nismo transmision mount
-Nismo clutch release fork pivot
-Nismo clutch slave cylinder
-Nismo throw out bearing
-Custom clutch damper box removal
-RPS stage 2 pressure plate
-RPS stage 2 high friction 6 puck clutch disc
-Fidanza flywheel

Interior

-Custom Harness bar
-Sabelt quik release 5 point Harnesses
-Nismo steering wheel
-Custom din panel with Oil pressure, Volts, and Oil temp gauges mounted about radio
-2in Autometer Boost gauge mounted on right side of Gauge cluster
-6 speaker Clarion audio system, with crappy walmart head unit
-Free Carbon Fiber look B&M shift nob from Jordan Schulte
-Giant Sisu sticker on dash