frankensteining an sr20det

[240sxdriftrat]

Hey guys im here looking for some opinions,

I know this may sound like a stupid idea, but It crossed my mind today to try and slowly buy pieces from sr20det's selling for a good price, and piecing an sr together.
I always see people trying to part out their blown sr's or getting whatever they can get with a useless motor. I was thinking what if i came across someone who is selling a head and another who is trying to get rid of the block.
Should I give this a shot or just quit dreaming and stick with getting a whole engine.
Because however it ends up im going to school have nothing better to do with my spare time then to tinker around with my s14.
I figure if i do this i can have a project.

Thanks:sadwavey:

[lazysk8er2]

just buy a motor

[hulkster_s13]

i did this. bought a blown motor for cheap that was missing ALOT! had to piece everything together. basically a long block missing wire harness TB injectors,ECU.as i was rebuilding it i slowly bought all the parts that was missing.i wasnt in a rush to get it all together fast. replaced every single gasket and seals. cosworth HG arp studs and some other goodies. im just about done and it still comes out to less than what i would've paid for a 40-60km motor swap. mine will have 0 miles which gives me piece of mind knowing that i built it.

[S14DB]

You are probably going to have to deck them both. The odds of them being square is low. I think being so separately increases the odds of them being warped in some spec(deck or bores).

Make sure you get the cam caps with the head and the Main caps, front cover with the block. have to deck a new front cover.


If you are going for a crazy motor build anyways it may be cheaper. Stock, no way. As stated getting all the little parts will add up fast. if you are going to be replacing everything with aftermarket anyways it may be cheaper.

Get the FSM and look at the exploded parts view. Then add up the cost of everything before you start buying anything.

[tongva]

ive been doing this since the beggining of the year. all i have left to do is find a wire harness and a tranny.. its not that bad it just takes time and i think its saves you some money

[Prok0]

I did it, kind of suck, took a long time, cost more then I had initially planned, but then again I did end up with a built motor with 0 miles on it.

If you have the time/money/know how, go for it.

Just plan on spending extra $$$, little shit you forget about will nickel and dime you to all hell.

[hulkster_s13]

The most expensive thing for me was the machine work. I didn't take the bottom end apart so they charged me for it. I was to lazy to do it lol and it cost me. They redid the bottom with arp rod bolts and acl bearing and new rings. Block was straight so didn't need to deck. It took a total of 9 months but that's only because my machinist was in and out of the hospital due to cancer/kemo. But he's all G now. Guess all those chemicals took a toll on him.

[240sxdriftrat]

:axe:Thanks guys,

All your storys have helped me a little. Its still no guarantee on what im going to do until I do alot more research, but im glad to hear that im not the only one who thought about doing this. In total how much did you guys end up spending so far and is it all replacing with aftermarket parts? or just rebuild?

[jdm213]

this seems like a great idea it will help you leanr more of the ins and outs of your motor and best of all , you feel better once its done,and you know what the engine has gone threw

[Rut Ro]

^QFT. If I could have done everything over again, I would have gone a similair route myself too.

[s14unimog]

unless you're looking to build something gnarly from a short block; its probably the more expensive route... But for example, I've got an s14 block/rotating assembly mated with an s13 head and top end. Now, I've got very few OEM parts but you don't have to do that if you're looking for less than 400hp

[Jimbo_Moone]

I may end up doing something similar, i have a spare SR20det that needed rebuilt anyway.

[Noxy]

Thats kinda the only way I've bought swaps... I get a good deal on a long block, after around a year its all together and ready to go for about 3/4 the cost. Not a good deal if you like instant gratification, but I like projects :)

Oh, I've done this with an RB20 which worked out well, and starting on a CA18 if that makes a difference...