240sx questions

so heres the deal..... i found a nissan 240sx for sale. its a 1990 body and a 1993 engine swap and front end swap. its got suspention, 17" enkei rims, 5sp tranny swap, and a blown head gasket... it has the DOHC KA24DE motor, header exhaust, egr removed, AEM intake. only issue really is the head gasket...

so first off would it be worth it to buy and fix? or would there be to big a chance the motor is about shot from that?

secondly, how big a project/expensive would it be to do myself?

thirdly, WOULD ANYONE WITH THE KNOW HOW BE ABLE/WILLING TO HELP?????

i would appreciate any comments or helpful advice. i'm looking at making my final decision monday or tuesday (feb 8 or 9)

The first question cannot be answered unless you tell us what price they are selling it for. $10k, not, not worth it, $50, you bet your sweet ass it is So, lets start with that. How much are they asking?

he's askin 2000 but i was gonna offer a couple hundo less for travel and all.

it everything is in pretty fair shape ( body,tires,interior,) then id say its probley worth 1700 or so. its a car that can be made very nice IMO.

i agree, granted it hasn't been drivin with the blown head gasket. not to mention it could possibly be something other than a headgasket too. cracked head, cracked block,bad gaskets, possible bearings both rod and main replacement. not trying to sway you from the deal, just hope you are looking at the big picture. but anyways, heck i'll help you get it running if you decide to buy it.

I have a 240 and my brother has a 240, in my opinion they are the best car out there (I own one so yes i am biased). The best thing about these cars is you can buy anything for them, so if you can spend the money you can fully build it into any style of car you like (drag, scca, time attack, drift, etc.)

The dual overhead swap can make a very fun car, many entry level drift cars that compete are 240's with DOHC swap, lsd and coilovers..... so they can perform well in certain aspects.

Check to see that the swap was done cleanly, not a perfect way to tell if it was done right. But people who take the time to make things clean looking usaully have also taken the time to do the swap right.

Check for rust, they are old cars... and a lot of them rust. If it is a hatch back right near the 3rd brake light is the most popular spot for rust.

As for a blown engine, I wouldn't sweat that too much. Ka's are not expensive if you have to replace the whole engine. Sr20det swaps are also not to bad, so you could possiably just upgrade right away, just depends on what you want to spend.

Something to consider before you buy this car is what do you want to use it for. this car will be completly useless in the snow, so don't even try to rationalize that you can drive this in the winter. Maybe stock suspension and gnarly snow tires you could carefully make your way around down, but any lowered 240 is a death trap on snowy roads.

Is this the blue 240 on craigslist? For referance if everything was super clean, no rust, clean black interior, coilovers, and running, I would bet in todays market you could get $3,000. I got mine for a super good deal but for another referance point, mine has zero rust and had an sr20det swap with it and I bargain him down to $1700.

For a clean chassis, I would probably pay around $1100. A non running engine is a copmlete unknown unless he can provide you hard proof otherwise. If all the parts are name brand, I could maybe see him getting $1500... if it's generic, i would stick in the ball park of $1200

Let me know if you have any specific questions... i will try to help.

haha well heres the story he told me: he was driving to work and the temp peaked. he stopped and let it cool down and started it again but it kept wanting to overheat so he parked it. the heater doesnt work, thiers coolent in the oil and it just kept over heating. he hasnt started it in a few weeks. i was gonna make him an offer monday for it. he also sent me pictures of the motor and by god is it gorgeous!! haha its sure peerty.. but ya i would really like to do all the fix up work myself to save on labor and to get to know my motor better. i would like to turbo it so all the build for that too. so all the help i can get is welcomed!! also a place to park it maybe? i could pay for rent or somethin?

its not the blue one no. its the black 90. its the first post on the 31st. i'm not 100% sure what i want to do with it yet. mostly just a daily driver with spunk and potential?? haha thats about it for now. possilbe scca kinda stuff. you woiuldnt happen to have an extra motor? or the know how to get a sr20?

i have some space for parking it. outdoors though, the sprock boyz are very keen on the sr20det stuff and they would be who i would talk to about the engine most ya know. water in the oil is never good, but it doesn't spell junk right off the bat , see what happens i guess.

I made a call to my friend up in Missoula that also has a 240 and has bought and resold probably ten 240's after he fixed them or did engine swaps, so he definatly has good insight on fair market price.

He said the bad thing about the KA is the way it's designed requires the head to be resurfaced if there is any head gasket issues and he strongly suggest going through the head to make sure there are no valve train issues. his estimate on a new engine is $700.

He said for a car like this he wouldn't pay over $800. Being in Missoula gives him easier access to Spokane and Washington where these cars are a dime a dozen so I would think with his barganing skills and access to more cars his prices might be slightly low. But then again I have bought one and he bought ten... so he has better insight.

I just saw that the car is in Kalispell, I will ask Laramy if he knows who it is who is selling it. (the 240 world is a small one in Montana)

I would also really think through the idea of driving this daily. I drove modified honda's all through highschool and college so I know what those cars are like in the winter.... rwd is a whole different animal. You will have issues driving this car in the rain on low profile tires and any sort of camber.

I can help direct you towards some good places if you want an engine. If you were really serious I would maybe even consider selling my whole swap with all the fixings (i.e. intercooler, intake, ecu, afc, etc.)

ya i've had rear wheel drive before. not in a light tiny car like that tho. what other details could u give me on what you'd sell me??? other wise i would pretty much get a K motor and keep it pretty much stock for awhile till i could afford a turbo or to swap. so nothin crazy yet

Here is a link to a KA motor and tranny for $400
http://montana.craigslist.org/pts/1588982019.html
Right there above the car.
Try to talk the guy down to about 1000-1200. Tell him you don't want the motor, then pick this one up for $350.

I would sell and install my SR into your car for $3200. That's includes the following... I will probably forget something, but this is the basics.

Low mileage SR that I gaurantee runs (I say this because a lot of SR's that you buy today have issues), it ran all last summer (60,000 km, roughly 37,000 miles)
Good 5-speed Tranny with short shifter (zero grinds, no issues)
Exedy Stage 2 Clutch
Mines tuned ECU
Apexi AFC to handle the new mass air flow sensor (New MAF good for 300hp, stock MAF only good for 250ish)
New Koyo Radiator
Maxima Fans with temp switch wired to work like factory
Megan Racing intercooler core (good to 350hp)
Blitz BOV
Top Fuel 1000 catch can
Coolant Breather tank
Phase 2 Rocker Arm Stoppers
3" Downpipe with flex section (helps avoid braking exhaust studs)
3" turbo elbow

No heater or AC...... I could probably hook up the heater if your car still has all the lines in it already.

Its your basic swap with a few extras that make it nice and reliable. Should be good for daily driving and can handle a good amount of abuse.

I could probably install it all in a day, with nice weather so I could work outside!

ya i'm not one for ac anyway and the heater would be nice tho. that would definatly be something i would want to do down the road tho. but i cant quite afford that right now haha. i gotta get the thing first!! i'll let everyone know as soon as something happens! thanks alot for all the insight and help. very much appreciated!!

alright let me know what comes about. I will be jealous if you get it, I wanted a black one!

i always wanted either a 240 or a early 80's z car for a turbo swap, that never happened due to my old man being a v8 guy and all. damn genetics.

You just wait for when I roll out to the track with the V8 240! If my car didn't come with an almost free engine, I was going to swap the VH45de out of the huge grandpa infiniti's. It's a 4.5L V8 than can have 400whp with just a mild cam.

If I didn't lose my ass on my first house in Salt Lake, and now throwing kids into the mix i would have one parked in my garage right now.

I guy in florida has a supercharged Vh45 in his 240 right now that he built the kit himself. I believe now he is working on a turbo kit for it. He is the original guy of the v8 swap and is an awesome fabricator so he just messes around... also his family owns a junk yard so he has free access to tons of engines for trial and error.

when it's done and running bring it out, i'll still be here for another 11 months probably so get er done so we can run.
the first rule of race club is run your car, not your mouth

^^^^Ha ha very true. I don't see the 2.0L turbo engine coming out that soon. I will probably just enjoy the car for what it is now and start a new project with bigger goals in mind at some point down the road. So I can save you the hassle of the race and say you win!

maybe i'll convince my dad to let me take out our chevelle and then we got a race???

sweet... im all over it, i went out and bought a sprayer yesterday for the vht.

vht?

15*_awesome wrote:

vht?

shit the dragstrip uses to make the launch pad sticky, ever walked across the launch pad on a warm day, bout takes your shoes off your feet.
not to mention anyone can by it by the gallon out at DRW on the way to sheperd for 38 bucks. the sprayer at wally world is 15 and some change.

keep the ka and boost her