Type-X Build
 

Less talking, more pictures, I know.

Long time member, back for another build. Went to Japan, this past November, and it completely changed my views on how I want to build my cars; simple.

Here's a video from Touge Course at Ebisu Circuit;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKDNRNocq9A

Came back from Japan, booked the next trip in April, and then went on a hunt for a 180SX shell. Took a while, but stumbled on one in NYC. My only requirements were; no rust, caged, no tubular front end etc.

Found one! Tossed back some Real Gold and headed to NYC.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...A9FEF2ED_1.jpg

It was a good starting point, but a few things had to go. The kit was sold instantly, as well as the Seibon hood. The hunt began for Type X aero.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...C9D49A38A8.jpg

Fast forward a week or so, and I stripped down the front end, thoroughly cleaned the bay, quick scratch sand, and primed it. Then I had to decide what color to go.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...30078A25F0.jpg

In between paint and primer, I sourced a set of Bride Zeta II's. One happened to be a little more special than the other.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...B6D1FB73_2.jpg

My father came down for the weekend, and helped me setup a temporary paint booth. Having multiple projects going on at once, I didn't want to risk getting overspray on anything else. This took no time, and highly recommend it.

The more and more I searched, and it came down to one color. Toyota Tacoma Silver Streak Mica. One base coat down.

This was my first time spraying anything, and I researched a lot about gun/compressor/regulator setup. If you need any help, just PM me, it's easier than you think!

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...E32C97155D.jpg

Two/three coats down.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...FAE59151_1.jpg

And time for some clear! I love the depth of this color.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...A3734B6A9D.jpg

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Started to reassemble the front end. Originally I was going to use extended lowers, and JIC Tension rods, but I ended up ditching that setup and ordering a kit from TechnoToyTuning. As this car is going to see the Circuit, as well as some Drifting days, I didn't want to go with a PBM kit and have 90mm extension on each side, and be forced to run 55mm fender.

The TTT Kit will arrive in two weeks.

https://technotoytuning.com/nissan/s...rods-s13-240sx

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...D396D804BD.jpg

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Wheel choices were the toughest part for me. I originally hunted and found some Origin Lab DNA-02 wheels, but ended up stumbling on a set of Work XT7's. Finally, I decided that it had to be TE37's, lol.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...27C33F3522.jpg

Not so sure that I'll keep the 4" blast pipes. Not really a fan of the look. Still on the hunt for something on Yahoo Japan.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...2B7A6015BF.jpg

And this is how it currently sits.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...A153CB6763.jpg


I pulled the interior apart, pulled out the Faction Motorsports harness, and sent it back Justin to have some revisions done. I want the car to function as OEM as possible.

Right now, I'm in the process of installing the driver-side suspension, so I can drop the front end down, and get the rear in the air to pull the subframe and start cleaning everything up. Will probably get to that tonight or tomorrow.

Still waiting on my R154 to be finished - it's off at TMZ Performance, in MI, being built by my friend, Tim. He's going through the entire trans and adding Marlin Crawler parts where necessary.

Other than that, the car will be stripped and prepped for exterior paint. I'm excited to get to this part of the journey.

So, since I left Japan, the bug has bit me hard. I stumbled on this local 180SX Type X for sale, and jumped on it as soon as I could. Same night I saw it, I messaged the seller, went and met him, and took the car home.

It's a '96 180SX Type X. It's completely stock, except for a cat-back, and a set of Model 6's. It's crazy how nice a bone-stock S-Chassis is. Everything works, and it feels so complete.

The first pic;

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...F44CA15A1C.jpg

I took it out for a cruise, to run some errands, and I am obsessed with this car.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...BDE103B4C2.jpg

The only thing that bothers me, is that it's missing the center valence, so I'll need to source a new OEM one.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...681A378F1F.jpg

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You can see the sun spots, on the hood, that need to be taken care of. Got a quote from my friend at Cove Customs, in MA, to paint the; hood, roof, bumper, and blend it all, as well as a full exterior detail for $600. So I think I'll move forward with that. He did an excellent job, on a Miata, in the past for me.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...D87BADF594.jpg

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All tucked away;

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...AE3293B577.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...DCBE327C3B.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...39DD53CE38.jpg

Wow that thing is clean... great cars man.

Loving it so far, that 180sx is great. Is it a legal import being a 96?

Thanks man. I've ordered from your site a million times! :naughty:

Thank you, sir!

I bought it from an importer in Rhode Island - Blacked Out Motorsports - and went and registered it yesterday. I gave them the actual VIN and had no issues titling it as a 180SX. Even insured it as a 180. They had some seriously awesome cars there, and he sells about 40-50 R33 GTR's a year, in the states, with no issues thus far. Give Dave a shout if you're looking for a car.

That's awesome. Being a 96 it would still have to be a "grey market" car though since it's not older than 25 years? Hopefully you don't have issues later on!

I don't want to go huge into it here, as I'd like to keep this thread on track, but I'll PM you exactly what I was told. It made me feel safe enough to buy the car with no worries. :hsdance:

Hey man, nice color choice on the original 180sx , looks amazing. Good Luck, i'll be watching.

Appreciate it, man!

-----------------------------------

Didn't get nearly as much done as I would've liked today. It was 65* out, so I took full advantage of it and went cruising in the 180.

I did manage to get the head light assemblies apart, cleaned, painted, and reassembled. I must say, RayBrigs lights are so nice!

Before & After:

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...4BAB5D6055.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...2CE2908281.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...F76789DD36.jpg

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...D2BC1A035E.jpg

Looking good so far, and I'll be watching this thread. And I love that 180SX pickup my man!

Better than new! Awsome work!

Very nice cars

Not much to update. My girlfriend and I went on a cruise, because how could you not in 65* weather, and got some sushi.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...313CEEF8A8.jpg

Later, we decided to make the trek, down to NJ, to attend the Flipzco Friday Night Meet. 3.5 hour drive, but it was well worth it, as the cars were awesome, and it was great to see some friends that we wouldn't normally see unless we were at a Clubloose drift event.

The 180 made the trip flawlessly, and I was quite surprised at the attention it received. I don't think many people have seen a bone stock 180SX Type X before - I didn't know.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...EC6C19382B.jpg
http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...EC6C19382B.jpg
[URL=http://s1123.photobucket.com/user/byebye_sti117/media/FA03DFF1-9F79-437F-8533-D9715F67AF24.jpg.html]
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We went down to shoot media for DriftLifeMag, so it was a good work event too. The roads are so brutal though. At one point I thought I hit a pothole so hard that I pushed the strut tower through the hood and shattered all my teeth. Not doing that again. Fuck you NJ, and NY, and your shitty roads.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...5112BD55F8.jpg

Very cool! Love the silver on the kouki! Oh and your sidemarker is out on the passenger side haha :)

Thanks! I thought the same thing but they only light up with the turn signals. :)

So, here is how the car sat two days ago;

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...A4DDA66B33.jpg

The engine bay color is going to contrast so well with the exterior color that I'm going to be picking up in a few days. :)

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...9885311326.jpg

Then it was time to pull the rear subframe off. I wanted to undercoat the underside of the car, as well as the rear wells. I also wanted to pull the diff out and verify the 2-way. This gave me an opportunity to degrease, pressure-wash, and rust-stop coat everything before painting. (Sorry for the IG Story Screen Shots).

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...31783C1B74.png

Pulled the arms off, and sold them in an hour. These will be replaced with Driftworks arms. I also opted to go with Driftworks RLCA.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...64CC98B5B6.jpg

These will be replaced with PBM Solid Subframe Bushings. They were much easier to remove then expected.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...1EE1152145.jpg
http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...B8FE992F8C.jpg

And a quick coat of Rustoleum, and tomorrow I'll be tossing some paint on it. Also cleaned the diff, verified the 2-way, and will paint it tomorrow.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...34EF1E4621.jpg

And this is how the car currently sit - arm-less, lol. The front LCA and Tension Rods sold, as well as the Greddy Coilovers, so I'm just waiting on my TechnoToyTuning Kit and ISC Coilovers. ISC Suspension will be partnering with me this year, for the 2018 season. Looking forward to testing their kit.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...406E44E3C8.jpg
http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...F328CDD75D.jpg
http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...E5B4D50F4D.jpg

This is a better update. Tim, from TMZ Performance, just finished up my R154. With a plethora of OEM Toyota, and Marlin Crawler parts, it looks - and will perform - better than ever. Xcessive supplied us with a shifter extension specifically for the S-Chassis.

Incoming pic overload.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...6B46E121F8.jpg

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Went with a few used, but good condition parts, to save on costs where we could.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...C01AD4EB22.jpg

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That's all for today. Will update more tomorrow.

Edited. Saved for tomorrow.

Not much to update.

New shocks arrived thanks to ISC Suspension.

Painted the rear subframe - the reason I'm going so bright/light colored on everything is because I want to be able to see if something is leaking.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...4415113986.jpg

Fresh coat on the cleaned diff, and we're good to go.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/...222B7E207B.jpg

Where did you find the 180? Forum? Local site?

And there ya go...

Lol I went straight to the comment box. I'm just trying to figure out how people come across cars in really good shape.

It may be for sale soon.

filthy_joe on instagram, right? I've been following for a while but had no idea you were from CT too. Looks good man, can't wait to see how this turns out

Yes, sir! Just moved down to the CT area to be closer to the surrounding tracks (Thompson, LimeRock, Palmer etc). Much easier commute when I have to coach.

New England > all.

Awesome man, welcome! I'll be at Thompson next weekend if you're going. I'm a bit far from the area but if you ever need a hand with the car, let me know!

That headlight assembly looks really clean man. I'm going to have to try to attempt that. Did you get all your screws from your local hardware store or did you have to order some from nissan? I am mainly concerned about that one that sits in the middle underneath the headlight.