My New Project

[96Turbo]

Here she is, a '89 240 with somewhere around 150,000 miles. The previous owner replaced the gauge cluster therefore doesn't know exact mileage. I'm really excited to get working on this project and i'm expecting all of you to help me when i run into problems. I'm gonna round up parts and hopefully have everything to do an RB25DET swap by next summer. This car is in incredible shape, for a car thats the same age as me. I couldn't find a single ding or dent in the entire car. Paint is decent, but i definitely wanna repaint it. It's an Arizona car, therefore ZERO rust. i paid $2,000. i'm thinking i got a steal on such a perfect project car. I used to like the hatchbacks better, but you dont' see the coupes quite as often. Plus the rear end kinda grew on me... anyways here she is!!!

My questions: Does my car have HICAS? If so, why do ppl disable it?? Also, what is significant about having ABS. I know it changes something with the driveshaft (IE RB25 swap). I'm gonna go out and find out if it has an LSD too:coold:

[96Turbo]

lame....i hafta resize camera phone pictures...wtf? now i'm pretty much at my attachment limit...

[Z33dori]

hicas only came in fastbacks....

and it only came after 91

[georgesal]

its a coupe so i would say you dont have hicas and about having an lsd you dont unless you have hicas which you dont. dont change the color please that is a rare color

[motorsnail]

Damn if you paint that thing it should be punishable by death. Sick car dude been a while sence ive seen a nice stock two tone.

[96Turbo]

cool, i didn't know it was such a rare color. But just because it's rare doesn't necessarily mean it's attractive. The bumpers are a little faded, but other than that its in incredible shape for a car this old. Took it in for an oil change today and found out that the tranny fluid bolt's head is stripped. I'm planning on driving it 2000 miles next week, i pray to god that thing has enough oil. I washed it and took some more pics today.

[96Turbo]

how am i supposed to post a decent picture with such a puny attachment limit?

[projekt_s13]

cool, i didn't know it was such a rare color. But just because it's rare doesn't necessarily mean it's attractive. The bumpers are a little faded, but other than that its in incredible shape for a car this old. Took it in for an oil change today and found out that the tranny fluid bolt's head is stripped. I'm planning on driving it 2000 miles next week, i pray to god that thing has enough oil. I washed it and took some more pics today.

Im guessing its 5 speed if so then you can take the shifter off and pour some GL-4 in there.

[96Turbo]

nice, thanks for the tip. any harm in over-filling it? other than pouring oil in my interior haha.

[camppain]

its a coupe so i would say you dont have hicas and about having an lsd you dont unless you have hicas which you dont. dont change the color please that is a rare color

What are you talking about? My 92 is a coupe and it has a LSD, stock. HICAS is not a determining factor in LSD's.

[babowc]

use imageshack or photobucket.
upload photos and post them with "" tags.

[BBSilvia]

noooo dont paint over the two-tone!!!!!

[deadpirate]

paint this car and a million plagues will rain down upon you.

get the OEM paint touched up. that color is sick

[96Turbo]

shit, well now that i'm cursed with plagues and voodoo hexes should i repaint....i might have to leave it the way it is. Last night i went up to the top of a nearby parking garage to test out the differential. It left two stripes, but one was noticably darker than the other. It wasn't perfectly clear whether it was an LSD or not. I would have to guess that its not.

So then i parked my car and walked down the stairs. As soon as i get to the bottom level, a cop car rolls up in the parking garage. I keep walking, playin' it cool. Then another cop rolls up outside on the street and blocks me. And just for good measure 2 bicycle cops come from my only possible escape routes. The cop was a total douche bag but I got off with a warning. He was talkin about how he could charge me with destruction of public property or somthing because there are tire marks up there. Hmm...cement vs. rubber...I'm thinking my tires lost that battle. The cops down here are incredible. The two times I've had a run in with the law they bring the heat. Last time when i was walking around inside the track & field complex with some friends late at night, 6 cops come up and start hassling us. Maybe this is why there has been numerous recent rapes, car thefts, and murders nearby that have gone unpunished. They're too busy fuckin with kids doing burnouts in an empty parking garage. There's my rant

[96Turbo]

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj187/crazyhazey33/PC050063.jpg
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj187/crazyhazey33/PC050064.jpg
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj187/crazyhazey33/PC050055.jpg

[96Turbo]

nice, those pics are so much better. I gotta take what's left of that bra off.

[Jbma327]

wow really clean chassie. NICE!

[PoorMans180SX]

+1 for not painting over the two-tone.

Nice find for sure. Better be careful with this thread, so far it seems like you should have just posted in the pic thread. Just a heads up.

[bo2o]

nanice!.

keep it the way it is!!!

[motorsnail]

That coupe is offical!! Offical!! Thats all I got to say.....:love:

[posdrift240]

Do you have a plan or a budget when doing the Rb swap?

[96Turbo]

my estimations for getting it all running are in the neighborhood of 5000-6000 bucks. I'm planning on a lot of ebay components (radiator, intercooler, piping) to save cash. My plan is to just find parts and get everything i need together and then do the work in summertime. Then i'll have an unbalanced stock suspension'd rocket. Then when i get more money coilovers, wheels, and tires are a must. It will probably stay two tone for a very long time with all these expenses. Happy? haha

[96Turbo]

There are a few things i could change to lower that price too. I'm leaning toward the Syko kit because it looks like the best fitment and construction. But there's also the $200 ebay mounts that don't require the R33 x-member. Since im not getting a front clip, i'd hafta find the x-member separately. Does anyone know how much Syko sells the turbo elbow for?? Do they sell it separate from the kit?

[SexPanda]

that is by far the cleanest 89 stocker i have ever seen. +1 for getting that, but at the same time, i wanna neg 1 because its better looking than my car...

[wannabe_drifter]

Oh shit, that car looks like its rolling out of the dealer !! :eek:
(except that crack in the windshield and that ugly bra ...)

Good luck for the RB swap, hope you get it done

[96Turbo]

Thanks for all the compliments. God bless Arizona cars.

[posdrift240]

There are a few things i could change to lower that price too. I'm leaning toward the Syko kit because it looks like the best fitment and construction. But there's also the $200 ebay mounts that don't require the R33 x-member. Since im not getting a front clip, i'd hafta find the x-member separately. Does anyone know how much Syko sells the turbo elbow for?? Do they sell it separate from the kit?


Well in my swap I found a motor/trans/ecu wiring/r33crossmember/driveshaft/tranny mounts/all for 1500$ 2000 shipped. 2 years ago.

15grand later im done!! Well almost. Its been a night mare!! I suggest not starting the swap without 10 grand at hand just for the crap that will bite you in the butt.

My problem was After I got the motor set in, R33 crossmember is the way to go very simple!! Love the way it sets, I had wiring!!! OMG another night mare, I did all mine myself took me 6 months to finish it properly. Then after a year I finally got to fire it. Well Then I got into MAF problems, Recommend z32 MAF, Then I was not able to start the car after it was warmed up!!! So after I got the car drivable after replacing fuel pump,MAF,Radiator,fans,belts,hoses,intercooler, piping,BOV,plugs Acdelco work best #4's and are cheaper. I was finally able to drive it down the road. I find out it has a blowed head gasket, So now I pull the head and get it machined and a new cometic gasket with ARP head studs were installed, So I put it back to gether and then it starts blowing all of the oil out of the valve cover and dipstick tube. So here we go pulling the engine back out prob a bad ring, but Nah couldnt get that lucky found out I had a broke piston!!!!:duh: So Now time for rebuild!! Well they don't sell std bore pistons so I Decided to do the 2.8 stoker.

I don't mean to scare ya these engines are very very strong Im sure most have not had the luck I did but if your engine has been dogged b/f you get it. Then your looking into a nice rebuild which is going to cost a pretty penny!!!

But def try to find the r33 crossmember I think this is the easiest to use, I have not heard alot of good things about those other mounts. With the r33 you gotta beat the firewall about and inch in to clear the tranny!! Only other real problem your going to have is the down pipe clearing the steering shaft. If you have a welder not a problem. But if you do this swap yourself I really recommend a good shop alot of tools and a nice lift!!! This swap isnt for the driveway and will not be done in a few days!!

[96Turbo]

now ur scarin' me man!!! Are there any good wiring guides online? Thats the main part that i'm unsure of. I feel pretty confident i could do everything else of the swap. Some things plug straight in, and others need to be spliced into the old KA harness, correct? Some shops will do it for you for like $300, but id like to do as much by myself as possible to save cash.

If i were to go SR20, the stock driveshaft will mate to the sr tranny right? No special mounts needed, probably just replacement polyeurethane mounts?? Since these two engines are priced pretty comparably i'm leaning toward the RB. I know it will end up being more for the mounts and driveshaft, but other than that they both require all the same accessories to get it running right? Could i get by with the stock KA radiator with the SR?

[posdrift240]

now ur scarin' me man!!! Are there any good wiring guides online? Thats the main part that i'm unsure of. I feel pretty confident i could do everything else of the swap. Some things plug straight in, and others need to be spliced into the old KA harness, correct? Some shops will do it for you for like $300, but id like to do as much by myself as possible to save cash.

If i were to go SR20, the stock driveshaft will mate to the sr tranny right? No special mounts needed, probably just replacement polyeurethane mounts?? Since these two engines are priced pretty comparably i'm leaning toward the RB. I know it will end up being more for the mounts and driveshaft, but other than that they both require all the same accessories to get it running right? Could i get by with the stock KA radiator with the SR?


Don't mean to scare ya but I also just wont you prepared!! Don't want ya having the same mistakes I did! Go RB man you will enjoy it alot more than an Sr sorry but I see too many sr's around I would rather see another Rb.
Wiring: Simple take your old Ka harness and the Rb harness send it off and get it wired correctly. It will cost you 250-300 but well worth it!! Everything will then plug straight in and look nice.

Radiator: Honestly I don't know what to tll ya in this department Im running an aluminum racing radiator with 2 12" fans and im still having issues with cooling. I am going to build a custom shroud to see if it will help better but mine likes to run in the 190 degree range which isnt hot but hotter than I like it. I am having clearance issues with my radiator and fans. I had to notch my fans out to clear the power steering belt and as of right now you can't stick a piece of paper between the belt and the fan!! its tight.

Driveshaft: You will need a custom 1 piece made. Most are between 300-400$

So what are your plans with the car? Daily driver, drifting, drag?

[96Turbo]

I see the driveshaft shop sells the steel shaft for $380 shipped. What about having the stock shaft shortened?? Would you not recommend this route? I'm not sure what most shops would charge, but it's gotta be less than 380.

I want the RB to be unique, and I also like the idea of having a competely stock (ecu tuning/turbo) engine that will still make this car haul ass.

Thats surprising that you've still got cooling issues with that radiator and 2 fans.

I just want a fast ass daily driver. Eventually when i get the suspension upgraded i might do some autocross or try a drifting event. I have a feeling once i do some drifting i'll be hooked. Thats in the distant future though. In the mean time i just want the stock clean two tone sleeper with RB power

[posdrift240]

You can go with the stock shaft the only prob is I dont like the carrier bearing on them, It takes away some throttle response. But im not sure if the yokes are the same between the 2 or not. I have both but I never tried my stock shaft in the tranny.

Stock Ecu is good for about 325WHP if your using the SAFCII to tune. If you plan on going any more than that you better get a stand alone unit.

on these motors you can make 300WHP simple. anything above 325 you get into electronics and turbo upgrades, injectors,manifolds,ETC and you spend an easy 8 grand on about 4 items. to make 400-750WHP. Thats the heart breaking side! Here is 2 links to my build. This will give you an idea of how she looks.

http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee40/rb25drag/?action=view&current=6255dbba.pbw

http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee40/rb25drag/?action=view&current=9bcd09db.pbw

[96Turbo]

looks great. How much did those Megan coilovers run ya? Are they as good as Tein Flex's??

I'll be plenty happy with 300hp for a while. I just got my 3400 pound saab up to 270hp 290ft lbs, and that thing's a handful. I'm new to rear wheel drive. What's the best LSD for the money? You can get the VLSD's from the S13 pretty cheaply correct? But they wear out over time right?

[96Turbo]

Does anyone know what wheels these are?? Very nice.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj187/crazyhazey33/2043hw6.jpg

[statik]

^^

ask kevin (mrmephistopheles) I believe thats his car

[posdrift240]

looks great. How much did those Megan coilovers run ya? Are they as good as Tein Flex's??

I'll be plenty happy with 300hp for a while. I just got my 3400 pound saab up to 270hp 290ft lbs, and that thing's a handful. I'm new to rear wheel drive. What's the best LSD for the money? You can get the VLSD's from the S13 pretty cheaply correct? But they wear out over time right?


I bought the Megan coilovers for 800$ They handle great!! Love em, I have never ran Tein Flex's so I can't rate them.

Rear end I have a welded diff!!! I love it, Everyone has there own preference tho! Its all in what you plan on doing with the car. I do mostly drag so I will have a diff setup. I do drift on occasion but not often.

Some will say welded others will say LSD!! So honestly once you get the car running happy I would suggest to experiment with each.

300Hp the 240 is a hand full!! For a daily driver it will be all you need.

Since you new to RWD ya better get in some practice before you push the car it will bite you in the butt in a hurry!!! HAHA Trust me been there done that LOL!!

[burnsauto]

Does anyone know what wheels these are?? Very nice.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj187/crazyhazey33/2043hw6.jpg

URAS ns-01's (i think, but double check with kevin.)

[rbs14kouki]

Does anyone know what wheels these are?? Very nice.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj187/crazyhazey33/2043hw6.jpg

could be :
- Uras ns-01
- Bee*R B5 Wheel , http://www.theskylineshop.com/products.php?cat=12
- Nismo GT-4

[BILLYhoang]

wow ............ thats pretttty mint !