Crunch time

Alright, well the first drift event of the year is coming up in just 3 days. I’ve cracked down on this car quite a bit to get the car ready, but unfortunately it won’t be ready to slide. But if I can at least get it ready to look pretty on the sidelines…that will be good enough for me! 

My buddy Derrick came on by before dropping his car off at a body shop. He’s getting all body work done and a new pearl paint thrown on, should be awesome!

I finally got around to installing my outer tie rod ends and ES bushings. I apologize about the dirty fender wells, it’s a mixture of overspray, caked on junk etc.

Bushings – Old vs new

 

And everything installed, including the tie rod ends.

Eventually I’ll get rid of those nasty stock arms..

My next project was to get the BRW03’s ready before the event. This was tough, because the barrels still needed to be separated from the outer lips in order to slap the new ones on. Rather than sending them off and possibly waiting weeks, I decided to do some research and see if I could do this myself. From the help of some other 03 lovers, I got enough tips/tricks to get to it. Basically the main point to keep in mind was: Stay in the middle! I cut a little bit towards the lip just in case, I’d rather do damage to the existing crappy lips than the barrels which I need to reuse.

Here’s the outcome! This was after being separated, and I flattened the existing weld and shined it up a bit to have a clean mating surface.

 

For those of you looking to do this yourself, here’s a pic of the cut weld afterwards, to give you an idea how thick it is. All I used was a 3″ cutoff tool & lots of patience.

 

Before/after shot

I did the same to the other front wheel as well, put them all back together, sealed them up with silicone and went to get some tires mounted. Now the rears look all crappy…haha. After some events I’ll be sending the rears along with the front faces back to Wheelflip to get polished and wider outer lips for the rears.

 

After getting them all assembled, I got the wheels on. Unfortunately since I have low disc faces, they didn’t clear my Z32 calipers so I’m running a 8mm slip-on spacer. Too bad it wasn’t enough to clear the coils, so I’m not sure what I want to do about that. Any readers have an idea? 

Here’s the outcome:

Looks pretty good! I got the wheels to sit in between the coil spring, but on a large bump that’s not going to end well..took it for a drive and here’s my next issue:

Literally no clearance! I definitely made some neighbors mad when I drove around scraping almost 100% of the ride. 

So, that’s my next issue I need to address. Only a few more days to crack down on this!

Say goodbye to the visors!

Just a few small updates. I love OEM visors on all my projects, they usually add a nice subtle touch to any build, and serve a purpose if you drive a car in the rain and need some fresh air. So with that being said, I had to try the OEM Nissan S13 visors. Unfortunately, I really hate the design of them and how they block out the entire A pillar, so they were short lived. Took them off, and the white A pillar is so much better looking in my opinion!

Also bought myself a DA sander for my new body projects. Figured I’d start on something small, so I decided to get rid of the blue paint and bubbles on the Ganadors. 

 

They came out pretty good if I don’t mind saying! 

Also got my new shifter in, as well as a CS brass shifter bushing. I’ve had the shifter in the car for awhile, but I just now upgraded to the brass bushing. It increases the feel significantly, I was very impressed. A must have for anyone who’s looking to improve your shifter feel!

And the interior all back together

I FINALLY received the tracking number for my 17×5″ lips for the front 03’s, they’ll be here on 3/11. Which is awesome, for any of you 311 fans, haha.

And a few other shots messing with the new camera.

More updates over the weekend as I start the refinishing/repairing of the OEM lip! Stay tuned.

The RB

When it came time to get the SR20 to run, it became apparent the head was warped. Rather than tearing it all apart and having the head and block decked (like I should have done in the first place), I parted out the entire motor setup. Figured with the cash I get from this, let’s have some RB fun. I parted it all out within a month, and purchased an RB25DET. 

 

Knowing my luck again, I receive an RB25DE+T. I tried to fight it and get the motor I actually purchased, but that didn’t work out and Paypal decided with the seller. I said screw it, I’m going to make this happen.

Dropped in. Ended up purchasing a Shaft Masters 1 piece aluminum driveshaft, wiring specialties harness, all new gaskets, fluids, downpipe and dump. 

 

 

 

I was on the fence about this purchase, but I eventually bought some OEM 180SX window visors. Still not sure if I like them or not, but for now they’re still on the car.

A few more pictures of the car:

After getting the motor running, the lady was definitely excited to get it on the road!

I test drove it once, but realized it needed some tuning help. It’s running VERY rich, but at least I made some progress. It finally saw the road for the first time in over a year!

Got some more goodies in – Key!s racing wheel

Sold my set of S14 Ganadors to my friend, and ordered a set of S13 Ganadors

 

And last but not least, sold the G33’s and purchased some more Blitz 03’s. Figured I’d take another stab at it. Here’s the rears, the specs are 18X9 +32. I will be relipping them 1″ wider, so the specs will be 18X10 +19. The faces are being polished as well.

 

I recently purchased my fronts, they will be here soon!

 

And there you have it folks! My build up to date as of about a week ago. Any future updates will be posted here, so stay tuned! 🙂

Ganadors, FC3C and the move.

My buddy Dan got a S14.5 as a trade for his old S14. It came with a set of Ganadors that I sweet talked him into hooking me up with. Even though they were S14 model, I finally had a pair of Ganadors in my hands!

 

 

During this time of building the car, I had gone through a few other dailies. I like to always keep my daily driver fun, but never found anything that I connected with. I had a EJ1 (’94 Civic EX) and I received an offer for an FC3C. I immediately agreed to trade! Only a little while after I traded, I had already purchased some Cusco Zero-1 coilovers for it and threw my G33’s on it. Since I also had the Ganador fever, I got a set for it as well.

I had recently purchased a house, but because my buddy Dan owned a house with a 4 car garage, my car stayed there for quite some time. Unfortunately, he had made the decision to move to TN, so I had to get my car out of there. So, I got my car in a rolling state, and towed it to my house. 

Although it sucked to lose such a good friend, it was great to know my car was at my house for the first time, safe and sound. Now I could start making major progress on it!

 

Wheels and motors!

After loosing inspiration when only 3 03’s came in, I got an offer for some Gramlight 57D’s (2 for 2) for the weak 17’s. I said what the hell, and went with it. Had them for a little while, here’s some pics:

 

Picked up a Buddy Club seat rail and an ISIS 3″ Exhaust with blast pipes

Got the exhaust installed along with my rail and Bride LowMax I recently picked up.

My buddy really needed a KA24 since he recently blew his, and offered me his Work Equips for my longblock. I of course took him up on that offer. He also said he’d purchase all my turbo stuff for near what I paid for, so he basically cleaned me out. Now I was on the look for a new motor. I eventually found a guy selling a complete SR20DET longblock and transmission for stupid cheap, and picked it up. 

I almost threw it right in, but something told me to rebuild it first. So that’s what I did. I threw it up on an engine stand to disassemble it – and guess what I find? A spun rod bearing. The rod cap was destroyed along with the crank journal…no wonder this guy was selling the block for so cheap! So, trying to not lose inspiration again, I went ahead and rebuilt the motor.

Carnage pics:

Then the parts started to come in. Polished crank, honed block, CP pistons, Eagle rods, full OEM gasket sets, etc etc.

 

 

Got the equips on for a few days

While the motor was being built, I decided to clean up the bay and harness. I basically stripped the front end apart, cleaned it all, reloomed most the fender harness and tucked them above the wheel well, primed and sprayed the bay silver. Also picked up a set of G33’s for temporary spares and sold all my other wheels for parts I needed more haha.

 

 

Got a few more parts in. Greddy boost gauge and FMIC

Got most of the car back together as well as the motor. Threw it all together and bam!

 

Colorado Fire July 2012

This was one of my craziest experiences that I figure I’ll share in my build. I recently grabbed a DB8  for my daily driver (’95 Integra GSR 4 door) with no A/C. I loved the car, hated that it had no A/C. During the period I owned this car, it was one of the dryest and hottest summers I’ve personally experienced in Colorado; and it shows. We had a number of wild fires during this period, but one was right up the street by my work, and next to my dads house. 

Here’s a picture from my work:

The next day I remember clearly – I came to the warehouse to ship my orders for the day and all over the radio is talk about the fire and how fast it’s spreading in the direction of my dads house. After getting most my stuff together, my dad comes rushing in saying he’s gotta leave cause the fire came over the ridge. He’s gotta get anything he can out of his house. He rushed on out and hauled ass out of there. I ran outside to see what the fuss was about, and saw this:

^ That picture was taken at the same spot as the picture above (different angle). 
So naturally, I start to freak out. I call my dad multiple times, and get nothing. I ended up hauling ass towards my dads house in fear of the worst, and here’s a few pictures of my drive towards the fire:

 

After I get almost all the way to his house, the road was blocked and I couldn’t go any further. Officials made me turn around and leave the area. Keep in mind it’s almost as dark as night, smoke surrounding me and fire coming towards me from the field next to me. I was also in my DB8, which had no A/C. I thought I was going to die of heat stroke.

After about 2 hours of being within teh smoke plume and brush fires next to me, I got out of there. Still no word from my dad, I rush to my friends house and start to freak out. Eventually I received a call from my dad saying he’s fine and he got out of there safely.

A few days later, the fire was contained and people were allowed to return to their homes. I got a call from my dad saying surprisingly his house was still there. His house backs to a hill, and the fire was literally contained before it hit that hill. 

Needless to say – what a freaking experience! Anywho, back to the build…

 

Even more…

Finally upgraded suspension. Not by much, but I got a crazy Black Friday sale on some F&F Type 2 coilovers. Honestly they rode very well for the quality!

After the install:

 

Picked up some OEM 180SX Mats

Finally got around to cutting the bumper and installing the BNR33 ducts

Then we took some actual photo’s of the car:

After having multiple issues with the current turbo setup, I decided to go with a simpler setup. A bottom mount with a smaller turbo. Also got some Dmax clear position lights.

(Small warning: I just found instagram, so don’t mind the terrible filter in some of these photos)

 

Then this was about the time I got a craze for Blitz Type 03 wheels. I ordered a set of staggered 17/18 03’s, and my luck came to play – I only got 3 of them in. The seller had strapped 2 wheels per package, and one of them got ripped apart and one of the 18″ 03’s was lost forever. So now, with 3 wheels…I lost all hope. I got rid of them quickly, but here’s the 17’s that came in.

 

More progress!

Continuing with the Type X theme, I searched and searched and found a set of white OEM Type X sideskirts. I’m not sure why, but this is my favorite piece on a S13 hatch. They just look awesome!

Quick picture of the garage at this time. Dan’s Silvia was coming together nicely. I believe at this point we were working on his SR20 swap and this was rigtht after he scored a Dmax rear spoiler.

Since Dans car didn’t run at the time and I really wanted to test his Equips, so he let me drive around on them for a week or so. Of course, I had to snap some pics. Something about this pic just screams early 2000’s in Japan lol.

And a few proper quality photos by Dan

So after that, I decided I needed wheels! I didn’t have super deep pockets at the time, but I wanted new wheels. I figured I’d go with the best bang for the buck, and order some RPF1’s. Unfortunately before they arrived I had a small mishap on the highway driving home from work. A work truck cut through a side lane and kicked up two wooden planks which flew at my car. Nailed my front bumper, hood and fender and dented them up. I was PISSED. The guy cut off the interstate so I had no way of turning around and finding the guy. I called the business and they pretty much said I was shit out of luck. Blah.

May not look like much, but it was enough to cause some damage! I ended up doing a small fix to the bumper for now, but even till this day the hood/fender are still dented. 

We finally got Dans car running, so he demanded his wheels back. I threw back on my S14’s and we ran out for a quick photo shoot. Here’s a couple pics

After some time, FINALLY my RPF1’s arrived. Sizing was (F) 17X9.5 +18 and (R) 17X10 +18

I wasn’t ready to get rid of the KA since it was so reliable, so I decided to make it UN reliable, and went KA-T! 

Attended my first car show, didn’t win anything but it was a cool experience!

Decided to step up my lug nut game since I got some neat wheels, so I picked up a set of Project Kics neo chrome nuts

I love the OEM freshness of a Type X front, but I noticed a trend within the Type X community, BNR33 ducts and a cut license plate area. So I figured I’d take a stab at it. I also FINALLY got myself a front lip. Unfortunately I didn’t want to blow 700$ on an OEM front lip, so I had a Vanquish lip imported for a third of the cost.

More updates in my next post!

Inspiration means progress!

First off: I will apologize, I haven’t spent the cash towards a good camera so most of the images on this build are junk. Eventually I’ll update so bear with me!

So after searching endlessly online and discussing Nissans with friends, I knew what I wanted to do: Type X aero! I have a trend with my cars, I usually focus on the exterior before I do anything with the interior or engine. So here’s the first couple mods I did with the car.

First off: OEM RPS13 carbon taillight panel

Next up, OEM Type X rear valences

OEM Type X rear spoiler:

Painted and installed:

 

Found a deal on some Ksport coilovers for cheap, figured it would be a good purchase. Turns out it was the worst purchase I’ve ever made! The car looked better lower, but rode TERRIBLE. Goes to show you get what you pay for.

Then I started to piece together my Type X front end. Got a few more parts in: OEM corner lights & OEM lower winkers.

Bumper extension brackets:

And finally got what I was most excited for, my brand new in box OEM Type X front bumper! Thanks to Russel @ Nissanparts for hooking it up!

And after searching and searching, I finally found a pair of band new bumper extensions! Fontana Nissan FTW!

Painted the bumper and threw it all on. This was an exciting moment in the build! (Don’t mind the dorky fake Ganadors, those weren’t on for long lol)

More updates with my next post!

’91 240SX. First updates

Alright, here’s a small summary of my first few updates. I traded the Miata for a riced out 240SX back in April of 2011. All my friends (except for Dan) thought I was out of my mind. But after seeing the drift-kid trend here in Colorado, almost all the local 240’s were busted, rusty and trashed; then I found this one. Yeah it was riced out, but wow, can I say it was taken care of? Previous owner built the car for show, so it only had 120K original miles, pearl white paint, leather upholstered interior, and every option still on the car. Oh, and it came with kouki tails which was a plus! Here was the day I traded for the car.

 

I still miss the Miata to this day, but since I’ve traded I haven’t looked back!

I’ll fast forward about a week. As soon as Dan and I got the car back to our garage, we started removing the vinyl from the exterior, as well as the Bomex lip kit and spoiler. I also managed to sell the wheels and found out the car was converted to 5 lug (wooh!) so I picked up a set of OEM S14 wheels for temporary. I still wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to take the car, but I knew starting with a clean OEM base was the right choice. Here’s some pics:

It was one of the cleanest 240’s in the state! Then I started to realize I would be an idiot to drift it and destroy it, so I decided to do what I do best – see what cool rare stuff I could find and enjoy the car as it is, and not slide it into a wall lol.