Want to buy a 240sx but want advice

[aluminody]

Ok so ive been wanting to buy a 91-93 240sx 5sp fastback for FRICKING FOREVER NOW... Want 91-93 because of dohc since i wouldnt do any swap right away. Anyways ive been only looking on craigslist (sacramento) for 240sx's and so far all i get is coupes, 89-90, and 91-93 automatic's. I have found great deals that come once in a decade but they all get snatched minutes before i would buy. Ok so today i found a 1989 salvaged title, 5 spd, pwr everything, 177k miles, decent red paint, and decent interior. smogged and just registered to. Guy says it pulls strong, havn't tested myself yet though ($1,500 for car). Ok now to the question, should i buy? Im kinda already impatient waiting so damn long to find the right deal. Also if anyone on here has a 91-93 fastback and lives in sacramento post below. Mabey even a 91-94 convertible coupe. And for my last question to experienced 240sx owners. How much of a difference do you see from SOHC and DOHC?

[an_orange_s2k]

dont rush into things man, have your tried looking at the sf bay area? i bought my s13 coupe from socal and drove it back up. i'd much rather drive a few hours to get wht i want than buy something im kinda ehhh about but thats just me.

[azndoc]

Don't do it.

Save your money.

It's a non-stop money pit.

It's even worst if you get into drifting.

Save your money and get a bmw or mercedes.

Chicks dig that more.

That's is all.

continue with your life.

[aluminody]

Yeah i hear drifting is expensive, but i wouldnt always do it. As for bmr and merc, ive thought about it before but nah. Theres just something about 240's, wanted one forever. And yeah i have looked in sf, found some good deals. But the problem is, before you buy a car you test drive it, and from sac to sf is like 2:30 drive. So if i go there, dont like the car, i lose 5 hours in driving. People tend to lie alot in there car descriptions, and when you get there you find defects. If i knew the car was good for a fact id go though no doubt. And yeah it is true about not rushing, but you have no idea how long ive been waiting for that perfect deal =O. Im carless atm to so need transportation, thats why im kinda in a rush id say(had to get rid of my old car =\). But i guess i'll give it 1 more month or so. Thnx alot for info though guys, i was confused on buying and had no one to ask.

[downshift_sideways]

Don't do it.

Save your money.

It's a non-stop money pit.

It's even worst if you get into drifting.

Save your money and get a bmw or mercedes.

Chicks dig that more.

That's is all.

continue with your life.

hahahahaha I was about to say the same shit...but I seen you've spoken. :bow:

[flip3d]

It is kind of a money pit. Ever since I got my SR20 swap running, I always needed just one more part to get it running right. Shit, just an O2 sensor and its running perfect. Crap, alternator went out, just need one and it will be running perfect again. Damnit, losing fuel pressure, need new injector O-rings. It's always just one more.

If you do choose to get one, look for one with modded suspension already so if you wreck it, you can just buy another cheap shell and swap everything over.

[racepar1]

Don't buy anything with a salvaged title if you want to modify it. Sometimes a salvaged title means noting but it got in a fender bender and the value of the car was not enough to justify repairing it to the insurance company. Sometimes it can mean frame damage, water damage, etc.... Be VERY careful!

[8-Bit Riot]

I'm sure it's not such a problem out in CA, but here in MO my biggest (and pretty much only) concern when looking for a good shell was rust on the frame. I don't know much about the KA engines, I swapped in an SR as soon as I found my 240.
Good luck.

[Jimmy Up]

with cheap cars come expensive problems


in most cases, get an unraped s13 even if you have to pay more and dont settle for salvage if you have any future plans for the car at all man.

[dmragecm]

damn 1500 for 177k miles. i remember when i bought my 89 fb for 1500 with a fresh black metallic paint job and 95k miles. that was like 4 years ago tho lol. those were the days.

[aluminody]

Yeah forget it i just wont get it. And yeah i remember the day's 240's were easy to get. I started liking them in 2004 a little before need for speed underground 2. Underground 2 made me look into them more and thats when i fell in love with them. To bad i was only 14 then :-/ . But yeah ive wanted a 240sx way before the hype and all these people getting them. Was just to young and parents didn't sign for my permit or liscence, so had to wait till 18. Now you like see a 240sx on each corner. Idk what made them blow up so bad, probably influenced kids off tokyo drift or idk. And yes im trying to avoid salvaged titles. But ive been searching for a 240sx with cash on me for id say like 8 months now... so you can only imagine. Finding a clean title 91-93 5 speed fastback, stock (not abused), and with low miles is really hard. Especially with them so hot on the market right now. I found a really good 91, 145k miles, clean title, stock, for $1,500 obo. I saw it on craigs exacly as the dude posted like 10 minutes after if that. Called him and he told me to meet him at a place. When i get there, i call him since i didn't see him there and he goes "SOLD". That happened to me a few times, thats why my patience is dieing. Whenever i do find a deal that suits me that happens, and a deal like that is once in a great while. Other then that all you find is bad shaped, salvage, high miles, automatics, 89-90, etc etc.

[thejapino]

Sometimes, an auto KA24DE would be a better start if you don't mind swapping the tranny.

You'll find less abused, non-modded cars in automatic b/c seriously, who wants to race around in an automatic slushbox! Usually, secretary's and guys past they're mid-life crisis drive A/T's around so you know the car's never hit redline or been dogged at the track.

The only thing you'd want to worry about is deferred maintainance but thats with any used car.

EDIT: I had a '93 that I swapped to 5 speed and with almost 200k miles, it had great compression, even 190ish across all cylinders.

[sumoboi7]

i agree with the money pit thing. since i bought mine ive been constantly spending money on it. its not just upgrades but also maintaining the car. there will be things that will need to be fixed since its an old car. and azndoc is right. to chicks a 240 is just an old car even if it has a sil face and is done up right it still is just an old fixed up car. i get more looks driving my dads beamer then my sil-40.

[aluminody]

Sometimes, an auto KA24DE would be a better start if you don't mind swapping the tranny.

You'll find less abused, non-modded cars in automatic b/c seriously, who wants to race around in an automatic slushbox! Usually, secretary's and guys past they're mid-life crisis drive A/T's around so you know the car's never hit redline or been dogged at the track.

The only thing you'd want to worry about is deferred maintainance but thats with any used car.

EDIT: I had a '93 that I swapped to 5 speed and with almost 200k miles, it had great compression, even 190ish across all cylinders.
Bro how much is a automatic to 5 speed swap? I have a buddy who knows how to do it but avoids doing it. He has a 1993 fully loaded 240sx automatic himself with only 60k miles he bought off a granny. He said he'd sell it to me for $3,500 but i refused since 1) it was automatic & 2) i dont know cost of swap. I remember him saying something though about not having to change whole transmition. Just clutch and a few other parts.

[redtop91]

The money pit motif is 100% correct especially if you plan on modifying in. 5K for my chassis and moderately modified SR and now I'm rebuilding it, I'm 4K in and I still need almost 5K in turbo/FI needs and then I'll be rolling stock suspension and wheels still. IE I'm almost 10K into my S13 with 5-6K more in the future and I STILL don't have a running car. Last time I checked 08 Civics were 15k from the dealership.

[sumoboi7]

you would have to change the whole tranny cause an auto tranny is very different from a manual tranny. u would need the tranny shifter etc. and clutch master and slave and pedal. auto is less abused tho. alot of supra guys buy auto tt supras and do a manual swap. some even go for na supras and do a manual swap and add a turbo. but either way old cars require maintaining so either way ur gonna be spilling money into it alot. wen 1 thing goes out on a 240 another goes out when you fix the first problem. its endless. knowing how to do alot of the work and being a loyal customer to my mechanic saved me lots of money.

[rb25crazy]

haha, are you guys serious? my 240 isnt much a money pit. had it for 40k miles so far aside from changing oil every 2.5k miles the only thing that broke was the starter but, my car has 133k miles on it now. and the general maintenance. my cars an autotragic too =D but i like it in the los angeles traffic. then again doing a lot of the work myself saves me a lot of money. so get a 240 if your ready to wrench or learn how to. this is my first car and my 240's a 97 so get one of those =P you'll like it a lot more.

[sumoboi7]

well that explains why u havnt had any trouble. mine is a 89 so its considerably older then yours. and the one that aluminody is looking at is an older style. s14s are sick only with a kouki front or s15 front imo. the zenki front can look sick with mods tho.

[rb25crazy]

well, i do have coilovers, 300zx brakes, ssr sp1 rims full exhaust from headers to catback, injen intake. and diamond audio componenets, amp, and woofer.

i've spent around 4.5k on my car so far haha. but, that's over the course of about 2 years.

just gotta look for the deals and work on the car yourself and you'll have a nice daily monster =D i know mine is. nothing fast like you sr/turbo heads though. but, def. emissions compliant and fun to drive. that's what my 240's bout.

[thejapino]

Bro how much is a automatic to 5 speed swap? I have a buddy who knows how to do it but avoids doing it. He has a 1993 fully loaded 240sx automatic himself with only 60k miles he bought off a granny. He said he'd sell it to me for $3,500 but i refused since 1) it was automatic & 2) i dont know cost of swap. I remember him saying something though about not having to change whole transmition. Just clutch and a few other parts.

5 speed swap parts can be had for less than $500 if you find a complete car in the junkyard with everything you need. If the car isn't complete, it won't take long to piece together everything you need. Plus, pulling all the parts from the junk car teaches you everything you'll need to know to put them on YOUR car (besides a few wires here and there to get your ex-auto to start).

Search "5 speed swap" in any 240sx forum and be like a sponge.

[sillydrift]

be patient, it took me about 3 months to find my s14, but it was worth it, it was all stock no mods and i got it s for a great deal too, and it was 5 speed,

[rb25crazy]

dude, if i were you get an toyota mr2 spyder. those cars are sick... and very comfortable/quick/nimble. i see them going around for 8k and up. a lot of them are 5 speeds and you can always just swap 2zzfe if you get bored of the motor. i'd get one of those if i could it back four years ago haha, but i couldn't so i got lucky and got my 240 from an old man for 6k. those cars have a 97" wheel base very similar to 240's so if you want to go sliding that's a good platform. plus, chicks love convertibles so =D.

[OneForMe]

Don't do it.

Save your money.

It's a non-stop money pit.

It's even worst if you get into drifting.

Save your money and get a bmw or mercedes.

Chicks dig that more.



That's is all.

continue with your life.


wtf no, all the local asian girls in high school here in vegas dig that JDM madly


they go head over heels for a gutted out interior and 2 bride seats=]

haha

[sumoboi7]

well shit i needa move to vegas cause the girls around here dig expensive euros and luxery cars

[nissanguy13]

Like the others have said, just wait and be patient. Last October I picked up a 91 auto hatchback for $1800. I paid around $600 for the 5 speed swap parts, I had to put new seats, carpet, dash, stereo, component speakers, starter, belts, and changed out the center garnish and a tail light for ones that weren't cracked. All together I've spent around $4,000. But the paint is pretty damn clean and now the inside is clean as hell. And it has an S14 KA with around 120,000 miles on it, with a brand new head gasket and p/s line. Now I just need to find some help and a spot to do my auto->manual swap:confused:

The deals are out there you just have to find them. I see old people driving clean ass s13's in the Sacramento all the time, they gotta be close to croaking then you could snag theirs.:keke:

[thejapino]

To the OP, there is an almost complete 5-speed conversion in the pick-n-pull in fairfield. Missing driveshaft and slave cylinder. Everything is therrrrreeeee.

BTW its for a SOHC ka in a black fastback. Someone will pick those parts soon.