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- - Homegrown Garage's 240SX Build (#/f/showthread.php?t=585885)

Homegrown Garage's 240SX Build

https://i.imgur.com/Ov8MsJyl.jpg

Update 11/9/2018: We are alive, and we still have the car. The build is not nearing the end and some fun stuff will be happening over the next couple months.
Update 6/29/2016: The build is nearing the end! The quality of our work is consistently improving so stick with us through these 4 pages!!

Our story begins with two brothers in October of 2013, when after selling our previous car, a 1990 VW Golf, began the hunt for a new project. A few posts on the local Facebook groups and literally a week later we are standing behind a shop in north Philly staring at what we would discover to be a huge POS that needed a lot more work than we thought.
Thus begins the build of Homegrown Garage's 240sx.

So we looked it over for like 5 minutes, and in the spur of the moment bought it for way more than we should have. Drift tax hit us hard. 1990 S13 hatch, hadn’t moved since 2007, single cam that had nothing connected, piles of shit in the back seats, and literally a gallon ziplock bag of assorted bolts.
http://i.imgur.com/cwCZ5Lph.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tC6jgHWh.jpg

Here’s what it looked like when the flatbed dropped it off a few days later.
http://i.imgur.com/6QHxD0wh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RIXt8Mnh.jpg

December 25, 2013. The long winter break begins. We put in 8am-1am days for a solid 10 days straight while off from school. A lot of work is about to begin
http://i.imgur.com/dPtvSXah.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IKV2Y6fh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TBpsoDkh.jpg

In the garage. Up until this point we’ve only done minor things like picking up a set of wheels and cleaning it.
http://i.imgur.com/3eG6luVh.jpg

This is the kind of crap we had to deal with - shoddy wiring, crimps and cut wires under the dash, and the entire engine bay harness was cut for some reason?
http://i.imgur.com/vGiOLHvh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YzaVY7dh.jpg

Single slammer, no idea if it runs, but it’s gotta go!
http://i.imgur.com/aeHqXCqh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/za1WUmWh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gEzxpG8h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/X8cWcs2h.jpg

Fancy ACE hardware bolts!
http://i.imgur.com/e951iulh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rOLOiUqh.jpg

At this point the interior is getting stripped so we can begin repairing the rust in the floor and trunk. I began hacking away at the sound deadening with a putty knife, totally unaware of the dry ice method on the internet. I really wish I knew beforehand
http://i.imgur.com/2d4UMuVh.jpg

Couple holes in the spare tire well. Previous dirtbag owner covered the rust with hvac tape and spray painted it white so we wouldn’t see the holes.
http://i.imgur.com/SBvmH0Rh.jpg

Out she comes! Hopefully an sr20 will replace it.
http://i.imgur.com/76utqvIh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/giEJp9Qh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9I5906gh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/S9nWP9Wh.jpg

Now the teardown of the front begins.
http://i.imgur.com/DMuhR47h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BVQ0jeVh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9gYCn06h.jpg

Nice collection of parts.
http://i.imgur.com/YHfK9EUh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zbsGzBxh.jpg

This is what we were dealing with. When we bought the car, we were unaware of the rusting problems with 240s, nor had we ever thought it would be this bad. Frame rail was totally shot, battery tray gone—which the previous owner covered over with bondo and spray painted it white in another attempt to hide the damage from us… weak :fawk2:
http://i.imgur.com/UC2rCsHh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/uFFcaD1h.jpg

Passenger side not as bad, frame rail was intact for the most part.
http://i.imgur.com/thg4a0rh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bS80Cq7h.jpg

And so the cutting begins…. We have bigger plans than just a simple restore.
http://i.imgur.com/K8zTkZ0h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/80jbQCyh.jpg

Great start guys looking forward to this. what are your plans for this build??

any relation to homegrown in VA?

Good luck on the resto, looks like it will keep you busy.

Part 3 of the build
Cleaned up the axles and gave them a fresh coat of paint
http://i.imgur.com/Mm5Cx1sh.jpg

Same with the diff. Will be cracking that open later to weld it up
http://i.imgur.com/CO6ERtEh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/X2BgKtqh.jpg

Cleaned up the rack and went with black and gold lines, looks tits!
http://i.imgur.com/49XcbKDh.jpg

Finally some cool parts have arrived. Toe rod bushings.
http://i.imgur.com/SZZ1ulfh.jpg

Also picked up a set of solid aluminum rear subframe bushings and urethane power steering rack bushings, and a solid aluminum steering rod bushing thingy
http://i.imgur.com/pzUBW59h.jpg

Also pictured is out Xcessive Manufacturing frame rail replacement. This thing is solid and well built, definitely recommend if you’re looking for a replacement rail.
http://i.imgur.com/L4D95Dyh.jpg

Old bushings knocked out.
http://i.imgur.com/JkZxFuQh.jpg

New ones pressed in.
http://i.imgur.com/njt8yHIh.jpg

Hubs and the subframe getting a coat of paint.
http://i.imgur.com/ZEpz3nYh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/L1aYEOVh.jpg

All our crap laid out in the garage.
http://i.imgur.com/uh80qX1h.jpg

My brother’s Audi A4 B5 in next to the 240
http://i.imgur.com/eUq5qPNh.jpg

All the control arms and bits with a fresh coat of paint.
http://i.imgur.com/jplSTiPh.jpg

Assembled!
http://i.imgur.com/4fc5u7Eh.jpg

Also picked up some strut bars and stainless steel brake lines.
http://i.imgur.com/6tgGmbYh.jpg

I can just feel the car shaking now…
http://i.imgur.com/Y7SQsp0h.jpg

Rear subframe installed.
http://i.imgur.com/2XzBHaxh.jpg

Nice work so far gents. I look forward to the future progress! Keep up the good work.

Next set of pictures is here!

The garbage interior is finally all stripped and ready to be bedlined.
http://i.imgur.com/veBiFgFh.jpg

Floor is completely cut up and ready for new patches
http://i.imgur.com/Wi0NJ70h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NZMoCSbh.jpg

Sitting pretty
http://i.imgur.com/JtSWQQWh.jpg

Small patches in the trunk area. Grinded them down and will seam seal over it before painting.
http://i.imgur.com/beoguUeh.jpg

Sealed.
http://i.imgur.com/tbxHHK5h.jpg

The only thing that keeps us in the garage during the winter. Keeps us nice and toasty
http://i.imgur.com/tiIHkCNh.jpg

More cutting on the patches.
http://i.imgur.com/FfKilnSh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8yrLMqKh.jpg

Painted the floor with Rusteolem Bedliner
http://i.imgur.com/6reFRzrh.jpg

Test fitting the bucket seats.
http://i.imgur.com/JDtvP7Dh.jpg

VTEC JUST KICKED IN YOO!
http://i.imgur.com/Gtd26U0h.jpg

Starting to come back together
http://i.imgur.com/pD5Pys5h.jpg

Just installed those mad tight hydraulics…. Actually lifting the car up so we can address the frame rail and other rust areas. Probably not the safest method but it works
http://i.imgur.com/3OScV6Zh.jpg

Taking a break
http://i.imgur.com/GQGmghBh.jpg

Little gap in the pictures here, but here we are in the middle of fabbing up the tubs. The trailer fender was cut in half and each piece was attached to the strut tower. Our goal is to have the extra room in the wheel well, and also make the tub look good(not a bag of dicks)
http://i.imgur.com/d2P9xV4h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ct9BnCkh.jpg

Welds are starting to get better
http://i.imgur.com/UDhbjMNh.jpg

Left side tacked in
http://i.imgur.com/ESD7zSKh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TMjBSWbh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KxwDYCkh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6nSaAEph.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7CZTSglh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ceTOmDch.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ZoFd5pGh.jpg

Tubs….
http://i.imgur.com/Pu4twluh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KQzbwpIh.jpg

Oops..
http://i.imgur.com/BwK9t9fh.jpg

More to come in the next post!

We finally picked up some second hand coilovers, tanabe sustech pros. Time to get rid of the massive wheel gap.

http://i.imgur.com/2nsZ3Wsh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pxw9nEYh.jpg

Front still sits really high due to having no engine.

http://i.imgur.com/FNhf0rVh.jpg

Used some aircraft remover and a power washer to strip the paint off of the front bumper to get it ready for when we paint it.

http://i.imgur.com/KStLIF7h.jpg

Started to sand down the rear hatch. We then primed it with a rattle can for the time being.

http://i.imgur.com/Uiz8NYRh.jpg

Beginning the body work on the tubs. Don't worry most of the that filler was sanded off on the side of the tubs. It was a thin layer haha.

http://i.imgur.com/uJmCHgRh.jpg

In pieces like a usual 240sx.

http://i.imgur.com/PrW3Qmuh.jpg

We laid down a layer of fiberglass filler as a base and then laid a thin layer of rage gold body filler on top to smooth it out.

http://i.imgur.com/SY9CKtJh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zDPgzEoh.jpg

Hours and hours of sanding later it was starting to shape up.

http://i.imgur.com/GQjOU1Kh.jpg

In the process of sanding

http://i.imgur.com/zM7LKNch.jpg

More sanding

http://i.imgur.com/qHNG22lh.jpg

Made a dumb rising sun on the hood as a joke. And more sanding.
We'll be painting over rising sun once we actually paint the car.

http://i.imgur.com/dq4JA44h.jpg

Laying down some of the finishing touches, but still needs some more work before it actually gets painted.

http://i.imgur.com/CQRNQCAh.jpg

Then we went ahead and bought a ka24de engine and trans to stick just so we could get it driving. Our first intentions were to get an sr but reality set in and we just didn't have that kind of money to throw into the car right before starting college

http://i.imgur.com/Vf0Crxlh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4U9v1fCh.jpg

Time to get rid of all that stupid looking blue spray paint. :facepalm:

More bay work.

http://i.imgur.com/HMDl5twh.jpg

Cleaning up some pieces

http://i.imgur.com/2GHQKihh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BpifAfNh.jpg

Seized piston from one of the rear calipers. Took a lot of pb blaster vice grips and an air compressor but we got that sucker out. We then replaced it with a new piston of of rockauto

http://i.imgur.com/GEh4mOQh.jpg

We ended up painting the valve cover and the pulleys a more subtle black instead of keeping the ugly blue the previous owner painted before.

And now was it was time for the engine to go into the car.

http://i.imgur.com/CPKNQ1Qh.jpg

And in it went. Here it was with out the wiring harness in the bay. This is the look we're going for when we do a full wire tuck.

http://i.imgur.com/M1QQVAZh.jpg

The tubs also shaped up pretty nicely

Oh look it's now a ka-t :rofl:

http://i.imgur.com/RXra6vXh.jpg

Just kidding, that's just someone holding a td04 turbo we had laying around.

We put everything back in put never got it running. Typical.

http://i.imgur.com/hduDBzgh.jpg

Ah the way a 240sx should be. Three different colors.

http://i.imgur.com/cXwLPxoh.jpg

Good Job man, Keep em coming!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoonigan19 (Post 5796946)

Good Job man, Keep em coming!

Thanks man! We're working hard to have it running and driving by spring!

This is Jordan getting ready to begin the tucked harness

http://i.imgur.com/RGSgcTch.jpg

You can see his progression to frustration...

http://i.imgur.com/kd764iph.jpg

....

http://i.imgur.com/fnwtuO8h.jpg

Here are some of the materials he had while wiring. Full wiring diagrams of the car and pin outs for the ecu and a label maker for labeling each wire.

http://i.imgur.com/qAXgnBoh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/O1KyrT8h.jpg

And a trusty note book to write down and label connectors that were depinned.

http://i.imgur.com/LNgRTr6h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/E0szNdZh.jpg

Separating the mess has begun!

http://i.imgur.com/rsCOnIQh.jpg

The label maker made things a millions times easier and really helped with keeping everything organized.

http://i.imgur.com/ovEpjiih.jpg

Some more shots of organizing, labeling and deleting wires

http://i.imgur.com/ahaqwiih.jpg

More mess..

http://i.imgur.com/Cz3lboYh.jpg

All labeled up

http://i.imgur.com/9308wWih.jpg

Wiring is frustrating... can't you tell. :wiggle:

http://i.imgur.com/sD7JynHh.jpg

Here's Brennan with his japanese headbands that one of the guys got him for chirstmas.

Just day dreaming about drifting

http://i.imgur.com/AanqwmPh.jpg

Living life dangerously

http://i.imgur.com/2bA5KK4h.jpg

:wavey:

http://i.imgur.com/vEgE0Ikh.jpg

All the essentials for doing a tucked harness
wire- check
wiring diagrams- check
label maker- check
Japanese headband to keep the sweat out of your eyes when intently deciding whether or not to cut the red wire - check

http://i.imgur.com/sY4CuM8h.jpg

Got the car in the garage and began doing some mocking up

http://i.imgur.com/jTnHV9mh.jpg

Jordan working on the harness

http://i.imgur.com/hvOcdg0h.jpg

Extending the wires for the headlights/motor/side markers

http://i.imgur.com/CIkPQCdh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/cypP3qmh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tySg9Mfh.jpg

Our buddy RJ came over to help create the glove box delete/mounting area for the custom fuse box and relay holder

http://i.imgur.com/fF7LUVGh.jpg

Mocking it up with cardboard before cutting out the metal

http://i.imgur.com/KJh21Yuh.jpg

Trying to figure out where to mount the box and relay holder

http://i.imgur.com/CzKz9vnh.jpg

Mounting the hardware to the fuse box so it can be attached to the glove box delete

http://i.imgur.com/1D9SnR7h.jpg

Got the E-fans attached to the radiator

http://i.imgur.com/o4jWYFRh.jpg.