It’s been awhile since I made a post.  Life is kind of funny like that.  So I recently picked up a 91 Nissan 240SX s13, one of my bucket list cars.  It’s strange finally checking this off in my 30’s when there’s teens out there ripping on these things but it is what it is. 

About the build

This thing is equipped with a rebuilt ka24de with about 600 miles on it.  Stock internals all the way through and strong compression across all the cylinders.  The previous owner slapped on a nice little eBay turbo kit on it for a bit of extra spiciness.  Besides that it’s pretty much stock all around, with some supporting mods I did to promote longevity. 

It’s not to say it doesn’t come without its own flaws.  Some of the workmanship on it is shoddy the same say the least but with a little TLC I think we can bring this thing back.  Here’s just a few examples of short cuts taken:

• Coolant overflow tank was completely corroded and non-functional
• Fuel pump cover was held on by 4 bolts and no gasket
• Cutouts for intercooler piping have razor sharp edges
• The wiring…I don’t even know what to say
• Throttle body did not have a set screw, nor was TPS even being used
• The list goes on…

Suspension wise, it has some Raceland coilovers and Godspeed arms up front.  Not the best but surprisingly get the job done.  The biggest issue I’ve seen was with the exhaust system.  The turbo elbow had the most cancerous looking welds I have ever seen.  There were cracks and leaks all through the downpipe.  It was bad.  Here’s some pictures but view at your own risk.  Its brutal.

I replaced the front section of the exhaust with an ISR turbo elbow plus a little ISR downpipe action.  Welded in a midpipe section to connect it to the resonator, and then finally brought it all together with a Vibrant StreetPower muffler. 

This car is meant to be my seat time drift car. However, has all the goodies that you would expect from a street car.  It’s supposedly has functional AC, I just need to get a belt on there and test it out.  Radio is function and when paired with some speakers we’ll be hitting those doooooom drifts.  Suprisingly, the HUD is 100% functional.  The interior is insanely clean…well dirty, but you know clean for what it is.  There’s no major rust but the rocker panels are folded to hell. 

Future Plans

For now I plan to keep the car as is for a while.  It runs, it rips, and I’m pleased with it.  Like I said before, we have an eBay gt2871 turbo on it.  It has a 0.83AR hotside, which makes strong boost but it spools kind of late.  But when it pulls…it pulls! It’s a good time, even at a nice 9 PSI.  I did have some boost control issues previously.  The wastegate port was miniscule and could not let the air flow out.  With a little porting, it’s good to go.  But eventually I plan to upgrade to a similar sized, higher quality turbo.

It currently has 500cc injectors, DW200 fuel pump and ISR FPR.  In the winter I plan to overhaul the fuel system with a Radium fuel rail, Chase Bays FPR, and -6AN PTFE lines all the way through.  Planning to upgrade to ids 1050s injectors and eventually get some nice ethanol action.  Next step from there is standalone ECU (prob Haltech 750 or something) so I can run flex fuel. 

Suspension wise, I would like to get some BC coilovers, maybe GKTech arms and knuckles.  I need some more track experience to really feel out what needs to be upgraded.

She’s a bit rough around the edges, but has good bones. Happy with the purchase and looking forward to getting some track time! I’m going to post some more about the RX7.  We have some major updates going with that.  I just need to find some time to sit down and write about it, upload some images and do all that fun stuff.