locktolock
04-10-2013, 06:37 PM
Hey everyone, my name is Alex Groves and this is my build/intro thread. The car started out as a base model '95 240SX that was in dire need of resurrection. I started out just tearing the car down to a clean slate, with no real end in sight and it has grown into a pretty solid little car. Anyways, on to the build.
Here it is the day I picked it up. Pretty haggard and very molested.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/0A3DCF11-D5F0-4B50-A1A7-6CBCC0BE2074-149-000000029A57F604_zps98a6c5c4.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/0A91917F-339D-474C-8112-5E2D7EE654FE-149-00000002ADE6235A_zpsd0e25084.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/4FD39E7F-3495-4C0D-B10F-576A136CE14D-149-00000002D13749AC_zps325f7f76.jpg
Started stripping it down, as is customary.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D01FC11C-6E5F-4A0D-8517-209F27197A75-149-00000004E721BC09_zpsabefde1a.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/C084FFEE-051C-47D9-9553-32D3C0EE7883-163-000000055048DB8C_zpse792eb6e.jpg
..brought the car home and continued.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/561C58C9-2ADD-4456-920E-3E50B13015B3-163-00000005749EBC25_zps046ed208.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D4CDB18F-14FE-47C1-B392-53156CD09477-163-000000057AF53ABF_zps32accf0b.jpg
I chopped out everything I didn't want, trailered the car to Austin, and had Russell Walker build me a cage. He also cut the knuckles and welded the diff.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/0E343030-D0DB-4A34-BF2B-06DE57D28D3C-163-000000058DA45E9C_zps21539bfa.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/1FB3FC15-E339-4359-AB11-AD5AC5E3657E-163-000000059B63D70C_zps4eb89aba.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/440D138F-0AFA-47C3-93A2-E8D931B18876-163-00000005A2884E06_zpsc9322917.jpg
..on the way home.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/DED39045-8346-4965-A8F9-A019C0DA46AA-163-00000005E6C58060_zps2fc91223.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/8A7917DE-992A-48F1-8119-71518231C5E4-163-00000005FDBABD5D_zps66a2d22a.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/87A08015-16F2-42E8-94D8-13D9DB18B884-163-0000000611001AA4_zps40649d48.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/97F71324-BDBB-47FD-816C-9CE972965A4B-163-0000000618E6D7AE_zpsb3bc3db7.jpg
Got the car back home and began tearing down and restoring the suspension.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/4A0BF71F-5169-43FF-A18B-24C33B685730-163-000000063A8DCEAA_zps55941402.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/FD57E226-7125-4BFF-9D42-9812EF18742A-163-000000064B8CD8A3_zps7261b395.jpg
I sand-blasted, primed and painted everything.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/CA686E2B-8D3B-4B12-9B35-42E85B4F7854-163-0000000642E78292_zpscc27f5a0.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/61F0A076-7B59-4F7C-93B2-95182A473C33-163-000000066E2A3E4C_zpse8ffbd47.jpg
..made the diff look good and started assembling the subframe (in my unfinished dining room lol)
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/CBDBEEB7-4269-45AA-96D3-3DF6A42BD9CF-163-0000000683D9C275_zpse7d8ef3e.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/2366A4DF-28A2-42CD-B4C5-0D17C0C2ADE2-163-0000000694D2CC27_zps2f3728bf.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/72B264FA-07B8-4829-854B-E3BD887E1C31-163-00000006B3B2A6BA_zps772f8560.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/6E7B6479-8B89-4B1F-A0CE-A4B92FF842E4-163-00000006BC2B98E5_zpsf08375ba.jpg
Also, I picked up an S15 SR from a local guy. Pulled some stuff off and proceeded the cleaning process. I blasted the intake manifold and a bunch of other random bits. All new gaskets, front and rear seals, water pump, thermostat, oil pickup, and rockerarm-stoppers.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/A1900B58-3487-46EA-8027-D040D8207E06-163-000000069F6EB3BC_zps4f4c99b6.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/7671E234-F83C-457E-9CF0-8F6EDF70DB14-163-00000006A8261408_zps11a9d9e0.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D03DC34C-FDE4-4081-9189-81A10A50FEB5-163-00000006C67A7F9F_zpse507c972.jpg
I also pulled the blower housing off the turbo and blasted it, added a tubular manifold, elbow and downpipe. Wrapped them.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/BA1A77F4-4F4F-49A3-9968-D4DD27461780-163-00000006D07F5556_zps43e4aeea.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/648A1ABD-6958-4247-B8F1-5685DE6E4D74-163-00000006E05CC791_zpscbe27b80.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/62B77D97-4E6C-43E5-A589-82D8F2A84454-163-0000000769179C44_zps3898b78d.jpg
Here's the finished product. Frickin' beautiful. I also powder-coated the valve cover Harley Davidson engine textured black.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/EB2EA04C-3996-4E09-8FA4-DFA42597B602-163-000000077312A8C7_zps60419c8b.jpg
Started prepping the car for interior paint and suspension bits to go on.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/7E73BA7B-0C2A-4DD3-80F9-D831CB1299B0-163-0000000787B2B293_zpsd3ba93b2.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/1A686453-6C6A-40BC-9186-F6996835287A-163-00000007C720C3E2_zpsf87b9678.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D36ECB77-6B16-4724-807E-C8FFEC5607CB-163-00000007BF2540F0_zps18ae13e9.jpg
..subframe complete.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/953D5534-DEDF-4EE5-8B9E-D3B3DF4E1048-163-00000007AEB44814_zpsaffce160.jpg
Everything piled up and ready to be installed.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D9713710-89D2-4677-B067-EC8B5E846D93-163-00000007DFF6260A_zpsc6f1921c.jpg
Here's a quick rundown on my suspension set-up.
Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers (Thanks to Billy at Import Image)
Energy Suspension Poly Bushings everywhere.
All SPL arms, tie-rods, diff and subframe bushings. (Thank to a hook-up from McRussellPants)
All new brakes; rotors, calipers, pads, stainless hoses, wheel hubs, stabilizer links, and ball joints.
Basically I replaced everything possible.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/F86A2E0D-8855-4D63-A343-CE784AD3C3FB-163-00000007F00ABD58_zps6ded7aab.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/81D62802-BED1-4D69-92BD-A7170A54155C-163-00000007F7FF61A7_zpsfe6738bc.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/10B69DBA-90BF-4171-AC9C-6FFDB18E5183-163-000000080B31C4EC_zps9859e3bc.jpg
My buddy gifted me a Nardi wheel and I picked up some knock-off Bride Seats, because I lack consistent part-buying logic lol.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/DEF46518-0095-4B6B-AD19-765E0A523C07-163-0000000814336682_zps4cc53b54.jpg
..made some mounts.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/013755BE-EA87-49FA-A778-0847B4FDD96C-163-0000000834CEAF41_zps4f85fbad.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/79305A22-1B38-4ED4-B10F-AF9FEF488F56-163-000000082048D62F_zpseb79f3c5.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D86D5EB8-B644-4065-B30D-646A87459853-163-000000083D7B07E8_zpsf220807a.jpg
Got a wild hair and decided I wanted to paint the car, may or may not have been a mistake. Whatever, it's a drift car.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/64583D05-10AE-406B-8A85-DFA999300C0A-163-000000087F8F7AD3_zps0f0c80ad.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/0B2D6B4F-50D8-48C2-A605-214403C3BC67-163-0000000889D7954E_zpsff2f6032.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/79FE1D4F-44C8-4181-9542-FFC4B2AAE085-163-000000086CB24A0E_zpsfd476b40.jpg
I picked up a 5speed trans, Spec 6-puck, plugs, and Circuit Sports quick-release.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/74FB0F24-F57A-4F0A-AFCF-2306AB0634C5-163-00000008757D7B2B_zps4b298164.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/6F2E1400-3883-4F4F-A959-A9B5E081606D-163-00000008B719D550_zpse4169226.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/62B65871-814F-4D77-843D-1BDBF302B9E9-163-00000008BF2BED97_zps7796bb14.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/7F89ADF9-6B6A-4138-8FCE-1D3F0B3389B9-163-00000008CC83CF63_zps04103698.jpg
..made myself a trans mount.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/46A7F302-B63E-4570-A3D5-C0E1404F24C7-163-00000008D547E9B2_zps16f50f30.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/7B1CA4D3-5210-489D-9802-5EF3F059E6FD-163-00000008DDB4BF65_zps950dfff6.jpg
Here it is the day I picked it up. Pretty haggard and very molested.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/0A3DCF11-D5F0-4B50-A1A7-6CBCC0BE2074-149-000000029A57F604_zps98a6c5c4.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/0A91917F-339D-474C-8112-5E2D7EE654FE-149-00000002ADE6235A_zpsd0e25084.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/4FD39E7F-3495-4C0D-B10F-576A136CE14D-149-00000002D13749AC_zps325f7f76.jpg
Started stripping it down, as is customary.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D01FC11C-6E5F-4A0D-8517-209F27197A75-149-00000004E721BC09_zpsabefde1a.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/C084FFEE-051C-47D9-9553-32D3C0EE7883-163-000000055048DB8C_zpse792eb6e.jpg
..brought the car home and continued.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/561C58C9-2ADD-4456-920E-3E50B13015B3-163-00000005749EBC25_zps046ed208.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D4CDB18F-14FE-47C1-B392-53156CD09477-163-000000057AF53ABF_zps32accf0b.jpg
I chopped out everything I didn't want, trailered the car to Austin, and had Russell Walker build me a cage. He also cut the knuckles and welded the diff.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/0E343030-D0DB-4A34-BF2B-06DE57D28D3C-163-000000058DA45E9C_zps21539bfa.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/1FB3FC15-E339-4359-AB11-AD5AC5E3657E-163-000000059B63D70C_zps4eb89aba.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/440D138F-0AFA-47C3-93A2-E8D931B18876-163-00000005A2884E06_zpsc9322917.jpg
..on the way home.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/DED39045-8346-4965-A8F9-A019C0DA46AA-163-00000005E6C58060_zps2fc91223.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/8A7917DE-992A-48F1-8119-71518231C5E4-163-00000005FDBABD5D_zps66a2d22a.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/87A08015-16F2-42E8-94D8-13D9DB18B884-163-0000000611001AA4_zps40649d48.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/97F71324-BDBB-47FD-816C-9CE972965A4B-163-0000000618E6D7AE_zpsb3bc3db7.jpg
Got the car back home and began tearing down and restoring the suspension.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/4A0BF71F-5169-43FF-A18B-24C33B685730-163-000000063A8DCEAA_zps55941402.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/FD57E226-7125-4BFF-9D42-9812EF18742A-163-000000064B8CD8A3_zps7261b395.jpg
I sand-blasted, primed and painted everything.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/CA686E2B-8D3B-4B12-9B35-42E85B4F7854-163-0000000642E78292_zpscc27f5a0.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/61F0A076-7B59-4F7C-93B2-95182A473C33-163-000000066E2A3E4C_zpse8ffbd47.jpg
..made the diff look good and started assembling the subframe (in my unfinished dining room lol)
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/CBDBEEB7-4269-45AA-96D3-3DF6A42BD9CF-163-0000000683D9C275_zpse7d8ef3e.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/2366A4DF-28A2-42CD-B4C5-0D17C0C2ADE2-163-0000000694D2CC27_zps2f3728bf.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/72B264FA-07B8-4829-854B-E3BD887E1C31-163-00000006B3B2A6BA_zps772f8560.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/6E7B6479-8B89-4B1F-A0CE-A4B92FF842E4-163-00000006BC2B98E5_zpsf08375ba.jpg
Also, I picked up an S15 SR from a local guy. Pulled some stuff off and proceeded the cleaning process. I blasted the intake manifold and a bunch of other random bits. All new gaskets, front and rear seals, water pump, thermostat, oil pickup, and rockerarm-stoppers.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/A1900B58-3487-46EA-8027-D040D8207E06-163-000000069F6EB3BC_zps4f4c99b6.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/7671E234-F83C-457E-9CF0-8F6EDF70DB14-163-00000006A8261408_zps11a9d9e0.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D03DC34C-FDE4-4081-9189-81A10A50FEB5-163-00000006C67A7F9F_zpse507c972.jpg
I also pulled the blower housing off the turbo and blasted it, added a tubular manifold, elbow and downpipe. Wrapped them.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/BA1A77F4-4F4F-49A3-9968-D4DD27461780-163-00000006D07F5556_zps43e4aeea.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/648A1ABD-6958-4247-B8F1-5685DE6E4D74-163-00000006E05CC791_zpscbe27b80.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/62B77D97-4E6C-43E5-A589-82D8F2A84454-163-0000000769179C44_zps3898b78d.jpg
Here's the finished product. Frickin' beautiful. I also powder-coated the valve cover Harley Davidson engine textured black.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/EB2EA04C-3996-4E09-8FA4-DFA42597B602-163-000000077312A8C7_zps60419c8b.jpg
Started prepping the car for interior paint and suspension bits to go on.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/7E73BA7B-0C2A-4DD3-80F9-D831CB1299B0-163-0000000787B2B293_zpsd3ba93b2.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/1A686453-6C6A-40BC-9186-F6996835287A-163-00000007C720C3E2_zpsf87b9678.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D36ECB77-6B16-4724-807E-C8FFEC5607CB-163-00000007BF2540F0_zps18ae13e9.jpg
..subframe complete.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/953D5534-DEDF-4EE5-8B9E-D3B3DF4E1048-163-00000007AEB44814_zpsaffce160.jpg
Everything piled up and ready to be installed.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D9713710-89D2-4677-B067-EC8B5E846D93-163-00000007DFF6260A_zpsc6f1921c.jpg
Here's a quick rundown on my suspension set-up.
Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers (Thanks to Billy at Import Image)
Energy Suspension Poly Bushings everywhere.
All SPL arms, tie-rods, diff and subframe bushings. (Thank to a hook-up from McRussellPants)
All new brakes; rotors, calipers, pads, stainless hoses, wheel hubs, stabilizer links, and ball joints.
Basically I replaced everything possible.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/F86A2E0D-8855-4D63-A343-CE784AD3C3FB-163-00000007F00ABD58_zps6ded7aab.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/81D62802-BED1-4D69-92BD-A7170A54155C-163-00000007F7FF61A7_zpsfe6738bc.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/10B69DBA-90BF-4171-AC9C-6FFDB18E5183-163-000000080B31C4EC_zps9859e3bc.jpg
My buddy gifted me a Nardi wheel and I picked up some knock-off Bride Seats, because I lack consistent part-buying logic lol.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/DEF46518-0095-4B6B-AD19-765E0A523C07-163-0000000814336682_zps4cc53b54.jpg
..made some mounts.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/013755BE-EA87-49FA-A778-0847B4FDD96C-163-0000000834CEAF41_zps4f85fbad.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/79305A22-1B38-4ED4-B10F-AF9FEF488F56-163-000000082048D62F_zpseb79f3c5.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/D86D5EB8-B644-4065-B30D-646A87459853-163-000000083D7B07E8_zpsf220807a.jpg
Got a wild hair and decided I wanted to paint the car, may or may not have been a mistake. Whatever, it's a drift car.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/64583D05-10AE-406B-8A85-DFA999300C0A-163-000000087F8F7AD3_zps0f0c80ad.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/0B2D6B4F-50D8-48C2-A605-214403C3BC67-163-0000000889D7954E_zpsff2f6032.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/79FE1D4F-44C8-4181-9542-FFC4B2AAE085-163-000000086CB24A0E_zpsfd476b40.jpg
I picked up a 5speed trans, Spec 6-puck, plugs, and Circuit Sports quick-release.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/74FB0F24-F57A-4F0A-AFCF-2306AB0634C5-163-00000008757D7B2B_zps4b298164.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/6F2E1400-3883-4F4F-A959-A9B5E081606D-163-00000008B719D550_zpse4169226.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/62B65871-814F-4D77-843D-1BDBF302B9E9-163-00000008BF2BED97_zps7796bb14.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/7F89ADF9-6B6A-4138-8FCE-1D3F0B3389B9-163-00000008CC83CF63_zps04103698.jpg
..made myself a trans mount.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/46A7F302-B63E-4570-A3D5-C0E1404F24C7-163-00000008D547E9B2_zps16f50f30.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/deuce40/7B1CA4D3-5210-489D-9802-5EF3F059E6FD-163-00000008DDB4BF65_zps950dfff6.jpg