S13 Daily Driver Build Thread

[carbongs]

Well, my little cousin just picked up his first real car a few days ago. He's been driving around his parents' cars and he finally saved up enough for his own car that is his own. He is 19, a senior in high school, and finally getting a good head on his shoulders.

With this being noted it is his first real car and he is wanting to get into the modding game. We all know that he is going to go through his ups and downs (knicks and scratches as well as bumps and bruises) so we are keeping the mods to a minimum for now and keeping things basic. For now we are just doing some bolt on mods. No turbo, no swap, nothing like that. Like we said, it is his FIRST car.

Boost/swap is in the future possibly but who is to say that he is going to keep this car that long?

The good:
there is a quasi new convertible top on it without any leaks
came with decent tires (NOT WHEELS) with great tread left on them
motor seems to be running fine with consistent leak down test results
flip up headlights still function properly
no electrical issues

The bad:
transmission is slipping
interior has issues everywhere
control arms need to be addressed

So, this thread is going to serve as a timeline/log for his mods, maintenance, etc... for his car.

To do list: (Just a Brainstorming list this can/will change as time goes by)

- Service transmission is slipping, interior issues, and control arms

Performance:

- Injen Polished Ram Air Intake System (Completed 2-6-10)

- 4" Catback Exhaust System (Completed 2-6-10)

Suspension:

- Strut Tie Bar Set

- GodSpeed Type-SS Coilover Damper Kit

Wheels:

- Undecided

Exterior:

- Aero Kit

- New Paint

Interior:

- Re-upholster panels

- Racing Seats

Brakes:

- Big Brake Kit

- Drilled/Slotted Rotors

Lighting:

- H4 Housing Converters

- HID Bulb Kit

- LED interior lights

ICE:

- Double Din Radio

- Subwoofer

- Ipod Integration

And so it begins -

Day 1 (2-6-10)

Picked up this 93' Nissan 240sx Convertible for just about $2 k

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-5.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-6.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-8.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-9.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-7.jpg

Picked up this Injen Polished Intake

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-2.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx.jpg

Picked up this 4" outlet exhaust

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-3.jpg

Just to show the size of the piping

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-4.jpg

Jacked up the rear

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-15.jpg

The lazy way to do it since the car isn't lowered (yet)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-14.jpg

Stock motor

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-10.jpg

Intake installed

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-12.jpg

Sprayed some PB Blaster on the 17 year old bolts

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-11.jpg

What the original exhaust note sounded like

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/th_SSPX1263.jpg (http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/?action=view&current=SSPX1263.flv)

Spraying down the rest of the bolts and greasing the hangers (CarbonGS is creeping in this picture, she's been sitting in the garage for a while due to a few small projects :taun: )

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-13.jpg

Removing the bolts (that budged)

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-16.jpg

This canister had a hole in it and had to be replaced and the bolts also snapped when I went to take them off. So, I called upon my trusty Dremel Tool with cut off wheel and went at it!

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-17.jpg

A few moments later the exhaust was complete

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-18.jpg

Tested her out

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/th_SSPX1264.jpg (http://s49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/?action=view&current=SSPX1264.flv)

Took this time to Seafoam the motor at 135k on the odometer

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-19.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-20.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-21.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-22.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-23.jpg

The results

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-24.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-25.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-26.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-27.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-28.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-29.jpg

The exhaust on

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-30.jpg

Yeah, it is gonna get lowered soon. lol gotta take care of the mechanical gremlins first.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/2-6-10%20Nhi%20240%20Intake%20Exhaust/2610n2sx-31.jpg

We finished the day by doing the usual services including an oil change, transmission fluid flush, spark plug change, and minor detail.

Hope to be updating this thread soon :goodjob:

Thanks for looking.

[Genji-Sama]

Wow, it's already so beautiful, can't wait to see where this is gonna go :goodjob:

[Franco Tirador]

nice, i think you should have done the seafoam while the exhaust was down

[JITB]

its funny how nice a stock 240 looks, were so used to seeing beat up ones.. looks to be in good hands!

[allmotorEJ8]

Looks good. What kind of exhuast is that? Kinda looks like my HKS.

[DVSRX-7]

nice, DO NOT DRIFT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[down_shift]

nice, DO NOT DRIFT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

its a vert I agree ;) good luck with the project.

[ATK_Designs]

Nice blog Tony. Good job as always :)

I was about gag when I saw you said 4" Catback. But further reading shows that it's 4" tip and not the piping diameter that people usually talk about.

[TougeGTR-33]

Looks Great! Good luck!

[carbongs]

Wow, it's already so beautiful, can't wait to see where this is gonna go :goodjob:

yeah she's just gonna be a looker. needs a drop and wheels asap but the focus now is on the mechanics of the car. it needs to drive well before we do more mods to it. pointless to have all these mods and not be able to rely on it or drive it anywhere, especially when the emphasis is on this car to be a daily for him.


nice, i think you should have done the seafoam while the exhaust was down

what do you mean while the exhaust was down?


Looks good. What kind of exhuast is that? Kinda looks like my HKS.

it is just a generic catback. build quality seems to be very nice for the price he got it for with no leaks and with the silencer in the tip it sounds pretty quiet. but we all know that didn't stay on too long lol it didn't even make the pictures lol.


nice, DO NOT DRIFT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nah he won't be doing that anytime soon. he knows better and he can't afford the consequences if anything happens to it.


Nice blog Tony. Good job as always :)

I was about gag when I saw you said 4" Catback. But further reading shows that it's 4" tip and not the piping diameter that people usually talk about.

yeah 4" piping would be dumb anyways on something like this. you should know better with this coming from me :thinking:


Looks Great! Good luck!

thanks, we'll see where this one goes

[Nemesis]

Damn! I would have killed to have a car as clean and nice as that in high school. Teach him well man!

[carbongs]

Damn! I would have killed to have a car as clean and nice as that in high school. Teach him well man!

I'm trying to play the "I've been through it learn by my mistakes" angle :goodjob: I just hope he takes my advice because unlike my first car (dodge dart with a dazzle of rust oh.... everywhere) his car actually has some potential

[On_Her_Face]

Looks to be in good condition, are all convertibles automatics?

[carbongs]

Looks to be in good condition, are all convertibles automatics?

nope not at all. there are a few 5 speeds out there :goodjob:

[FriskyWalrus]

nope not at all. there are a few 5 speeds out there :goodjob:
i think he was talking about stock wise. if im not mistaken, thats all the produced them out of the factory with but alot of people like to change them to 5 speed

[carbongs]

i think he was talking about stock wise. if im not mistaken, thats all the produced them out of the factory with but alot of people like to change them to 5 speed

oh yeah, they were all auto's from factory. :goodjob: sorry for the misunderstanding

[veritekracer]

Nice write-up. Reminds me of my old red one. Wish I would have kept her. Your cousin has a nice first vehicle. I think as long as he follows your advice, he'll have a really nice DD.

[laokid]

nice i use to have one of these!same color and eveything too bad it was an automatic...bump 4 a clean drop-top!

[manilikecars]

tony you sure do love your seafoam lol. im gonna bring all my cars and we can smoke up the neighborhood lol. saw these on face book. looks good.

[rollininstyle2004]

tony you sure do love your seafoam lol. im gonna bring all my cars and we can smoke up the neighborhood lol. saw these on face book. looks good.

That's true, he does. We have had our fair share of seafoam fun over the years:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2008/7-16-08%20Detail%20Day%20Jordan%20New%20Trunk/JT43.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2009/5-13-09%20Jordans%20Cars/5-13-09JordansCars-27.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2009/5-13-09%20Jordans%20Cars/5-13-09JordansCars-4.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f279/CarbonGS/2010/1-5-10%20Allroad%20Arc%20Audio%20Build/1510jaltb-25.jpg

Im sure there are some of the Passat and the GS3 somewhere, but that is all I can find searching through Tony's photobucket for the ones I was there for :cheers:

[roscoe]

Can't wait to see where this goes! I know if you have a hand in this it'll turn out great

[carbongs]

Nice write-up. Reminds me of my old red one. Wish I would have kept her. Your cousin has a nice first vehicle. I think as long as he follows your advice, he'll have a really nice DD.

thanks, i hope it takes a good path. i would hate to see this car go to waste. i need to convince him that he needs to worry about the drive train first before he worries about modding it.


nice i use to have one of these!same color and eveything too bad it was an automatic...bump 4 a clean drop-top!

yeah it is an auto but that can change in the future.


tony you sure do love your seafoam lol. im gonna bring all my cars and we can smoke up the neighborhood lol. saw these on face book. looks good.

lol sure do love the seafoam lol! bring em down man! would love to smoke up the hood with you lolz


That's true, he does. We have had our fair share of seafoam fun over the years:

Im sure there are some of the Passat and the GS3 somewhere, but that is all I can find searching through Tony's photobucket for the ones I was there for :cheers:

haha yeah there's more but i think you've done pretty well representing our seafoaming fun haha!


Can't wait to see where this goes! I know if you have a hand in this it'll turn out great

thanks, yeah we've got plans for it but that all depends on time, money, and patience :cheers:

[HypnoToad]

nice little project man,hopefully i dont see it with zipties oneday......lol

[carbongs]

nice little project man,hopefully i dont see it with zipties oneday......lol

nah no zipties in this car's future lol at least not for the use of holding on the body panels :goodjob:

[claybird]

oh yeah, they were all auto's from factory. :goodjob: sorry for the misunderstanding

is urs swapped??? or planning???

[carbongs]

is urs swapped??? or planning???

it is in the plans but not any time soon.

[RL...]

nice....looks like he is taking it in the right direction!