RB25DET s13

[Manuelitoohno]

i found a nice little fastback with an RB25DET.

the guy wanted 7.5k

i got in a car crash so i didnt have no cash at all. i explained "sorry bro i didnt mean to flake on you sorry"


now, once im back on my feet i contacted him

he said hell do 4K

for the RB25DET

im just wondering what you guys think i should do.?

its an 89 hatch paint is 3 years old. everything seems so clean. interior too.

but i have no idea what is up with the wiring. nothing works in the dash, except the fuel gauge. obviously no A/C. no P/S.


i have no idea what ecu it has or nothing. what is something i should look into or ask seriously?

[stealthsr20]

I would question who did the harness? He's taking less than half off the price right off the bat! Thats a big jump, is he smoking? What else is wrong with the car? He has obviously ran into someone who know's these cars and has jumped on the price! Think about it and post some pics:2c:

[Manuelitoohno]

Honestly about the price. i dont think that is too much of a worry. i mean he was selling it at 7.5K on CL. we all know how that works. you just hope you find someone that doesnt know S**** buys it but realisticly youll get someone that knows what theyre talking about and sell it for something realistically.

right of the bat he was telling me 6.5K or if i had cash right away 6K


the guy moved across the country a year ago and left the car behind so he just pays the storage garage. and he needs it gone so i understand that

[GSXRJJordan]

Having done multiple RB25 swaps, there are certainly things I look at when examining a RB25-swapped car.

1) Which transmission? RB20 tranny will bolt up and allows the use of the stock driveshaft, as well as costing a couple hundred dollars, instead of $1k... but the RB25 trans is much beefier
2) What kind of mileage and maintenance does the motor have? Stock timing belt cover has a metal sticker on it that mechanics are supposed to stamp the mileage (in KMs) when they swap the timing belt - if theres a number on there like "85000" you can be sure that the motor has over 85,000 km's on it, and is probably on it's way out. Also, the water and oil pumps, timing belt, and timing belt pulleys are normally replaced when people swap the motor in because it's cheap insurance - if that stuff is done, it definitely shows that the owner was interested in "doing it right". If not, it's something you should do.
3) What kind of mods does the motor have? Things like aftermarket exhaust manifolds and Greddy-style intake manis, along with turbo elbow and exhaust, can free up some power, but if they're knockoff brands it shows that the owner is cheap - what else did he cheap out on? Ebay turbos, knock-off FPRs, etc are bad signs.
4) Wiring - this is a big question mark for most people, but since I do everything from simple swap wiring to full on Mil-spec harness work, I can spot instantly whether the person who did the wiring knows what they're doing. The speed sensor reads the same as the KA sensor, so the speedo should work if it's wired up - the tach needs to be recalibrated but it can be done also. The fact that neither of those are working means he either didn't know how to hook them up, or didn't care to.

It's hard to say whether or not you should take him seriously, but if the car runs well, chances are it's worth the $4k. It costs more than that just to swap an RB25, without thinking of the money for the shell.

[Manuelitoohno]

F*** man your worrying me. ahah


this makes me wanna maybe find a clean SR hatch haha



the guy is telling me theres around 40K miles on the RB

the mods are 98 RB25DET

Greddy intake plenum

HKS Racing Blowoff Valve Type II

Turbonetics T Series - HP-66 ballbearing turbo

custom 4" exhaust out to a magnaflow canister

s-14 KOYO radiator

twin FAL fans

Tial Wastegate 38mm

McKenny motor mounts and drive shaft

Quaife LSD

Z32 maf

[GSXRJJordan]

If you can verify at least half of that, you've got yourself a good buy.

*check Greddy IM for red "Greddy" sticker
*Ask about RB25 trans vs RB20 trans
*Does the compressor housing actually say "Turbonetics*"?
*What manifold did he use? Probably ebay, but that might be ok if the rest is legit
*What engine management is he using? AEM/Haltec/PowerFC would be nice, SAFC or similar would be not-so-nice.

But yeah, if that list is legit, and the car's not a rust bucket, I'd pick that up for $4k.

[Manuelitoohno]

i can vouch for the Greddy intake plenum

ill ask about anything else.

another thing he added is that in the swap they took out the a/c lines. now this shouldnt be a huge concern at themoment. but being that i live in the dessert, how much hassle and pain will making or finding someone to make custom a/c lines be?

[GSXRJJordan]

i can vouch for the Greddy intake plenum

ill ask about anything else.

another thing he added is that in the swap they took out the a/c lines. now this shouldnt be a huge concern at themoment. but being that i live in the dessert, how much hassle and pain will making or finding someone to make custom a/c lines be?

If you still have the AC box inside the dash, the AC compressor, and the pulley, the rest is easy. Any AC shop can make the lines/condenser/dryer.

[Manuelitoohno]

nah i need the compressor, and the power steering pump. still dont understand why the guy didnt bother buying the power steering pump. i mean its not a drag car, but w.e ha


can you do the wiring for me.?

bottom line. how moch would it cost me to get the wiring done properly,

[gijoe69]

don't buy it! just buy a stock S13/S14 and learn everything from scratch! + if you buy a S13/S14 with a swap you will just end up having problems at the end! Do it right the first time and don't worry about problems! except boosting too much and fucking up engine shiet hahah also I live in LV just moved here...there is some guy selling a S14 with a RB25 seems legit i would just show up to him with 7k cash and he wants 8.5k he probz take it from you

[GSXRJJordan]

nah i need the compressor, and the power steering pump. still dont understand why the guy didnt bother buying the power steering pump. i mean its not a drag car, but w.e ha

can you do the wiring for me.?

bottom line. how moch would it cost me to get the wiring done properly,

Wait, I thought the engine was in the car and running?

If it is, and you just want the cluster hooked up right, it wouldn't be worth sending it all out here... I could be convinced to come out to Vegas to do it if you have a place to work on it :) Shoot me a PM with exactly what you think it needs. Pricing would range from $150 for a basic swap harness to $1k+ for full race wiring.

[Manuelitoohno]

Wait, I thought the engine was in the car and running?

If it is, and you just want the cluster hooked up right, it wouldn't be worth sending it all out here... I could be convinced to come out to Vegas to do it if you have a place to work on it :) Shoot me a PM with exactly what you think it needs. Pricing would range from $150 for a basic swap harness to $1k+ for full race wiring.

aha and wait what? yea the engine is in the car and its running.

i just want the wiring to be done right, cluster done, tach, speedo, etc..

again i still dont know what is going on with the wiring but once i know and buy the car ill let you know. ;)

[drift freaq]

are the valve covers polished? Is the exhaust a stainless steel with a reasonator before the magnaflow dual tip?

[GSXRJJordan]

are the valve covers polished? Is the exhaust a stainless steel with a reasonator before the magnaflow dual tip?

Lol you think you know what car this is Dave? Could it be your old hatch?

[Manuelitoohno]

Lol you think you know what car this is Dave? Could it be your old hatch?


i dont think it is. the car is an east coast car all its life. the guy moved here from the east coast, then he left and left the car here.



what is worrying me is looking at his myspace. he said

"after i brought her back to life" and its a video of him showing the car.


so WWTF what was wrong with it haha

[drift freaq]

Lol you think you know what car this is Dave? Could it be your old hatch?

Not the car just some of the parts. When it got stolen it was stripped. The chassis turned up two days later in Chino. Right outside of Pomona.

The exhaust system sounded suspicious because my car had a St May stainless steel mandrel bent that could be mistaken for being a 4 inch exhaust because it was 3.25 and I had removed the damaged St May tip and put a Magnaflow dual tip. plus my engine had a Greddy Intake and a z32 maf with 550 injectors and the valve covers were polished.

[wikun]

do you have any pics of the car?