MEFISTO

My idea on this project consists in 3 parts (will be on 3 different threads)

Link: * [S13 240sx Convertible - Stage 1: Restoration] (body/suspension/engine)
Link: * [S13 240sx Convertible - Stage 2: More Power] (1JZ VVTi Swap)
Link: * [S13 240sx Convertible - Stage 3: New Look]

Alright, this is my 1992 Nissan 240sx Convertible (some of you may know this car from prev owner)
i bought it on February 2016 and start to get her beauty back
This is my first time working on a car, (i was focusing on restoring old school BMX bikes) so everything here was new to learn.

Believe it or not all this is on a budget, from tools to engine parts
trying to spent LESS possible without compromising quality



DO IT YOURSELF...to save money and LEARN in the process (and that's priceless)
Google and YouTube will be your best friends from now on
if you notice i post too many part prices is because i want you to see that you dont have to be rich to do all this.
This is not about being cheap... is about to being Smart



- SPECS - (will change in next Stage)

KA24DE
5 Speed swap
D-MAX D1 Spec Coilovers
350z Seats
Ichiba 5-lug conversion (front/rear)
Q45 Brakes (Drilled, Slotted and Vented Rotors)
Magnaflow 14" Resonator
Borla Catback Exhaust
DMAX smoked Tail Lights
OEM 180sx Sideskirts
Sneakers:
front Sumitomo 245/40/R18
rear Bridgestone 255/40/R18
.... And more



STAY UPDATE !! like and subscribe :P
Youtube channel: https://www.YouTube.com/FollowJulian
Instagram: iFollowJulian

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MEFISTO

i receive her like that...





and you will see the whole transformation step by step





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1st day at home













and the archaeology starts...















Cookie somebody?






Hey u forgot your Bra here!




All what i found in this car... (yep, even the drill)




After some cleaning










And started doing a detail checking... finding whats really on this car








dont know how this happened...






And went to Harbor Freight and Walmart to get all new fluids and some parts to start a Refresh




Cleaning MAF


















Got her a Cover




Got her some shoes




Found some good looking and really cheap wheels on Craigslist, will work for a start




checking fitment






Engine mounts are dead




aswell the tension rods




Found a good pair of Tension rods on Craigslist for $10 ...but i need to restore them












Alright..lets see which color i will use on them..




Done

MEFISTO

Oil pan was in really bad shape and leaking






Found one on Facebook for $20, just needed some TLC










All together looks like that now




There was an unwelded bolt from Power Brace inside chassis arm, so i had to work to remove it and make it work again






Ok, the idea was painting the car with Spray Can, i choose a Metallic paint because is better for those who doesnt know how to paint
metallic gives u a smother finish than flat colors
so i start Testing for Silver match color, but found i really like this VHT Cast Alum color












Things are getting pretty serious here so i better get a Canopy to work under
So..i found this Canopy FRAME on Craigslist for $30..i went for it
just need some Free Harbor Freight tarps to make a roof and voila!






Painting the sway bar




Trunk bay was pretty shitty








It was a Lo-Jack GPS receiver hidden at the Trunk






Visors had some dirt






This was the best cleaner i ever used, i use it for everything, even cleaning engine grease
u can find at 99cents store




It worked, but it had sun marks




Inside engine bay is all about Dirt




i found a hood insulation cover in better condition at the junkyard.. so i grab it




Got some coupe trunk panels at junkyard aswell




and some other accessories




Right side wheel had a blown bearing, it feels like lose
so start to taking all apart



Because real mechanics wear Chanclas (?)




got an Impact gun from Craigslist for $15 (with 19/21/24/26/27/31 sockets)










Ordered from RockAuto a new TIMKEN bearing #510031 (inside came an NSK Japan bearing)




Wheel Fix continued.. (Q45 Calipers)











Ok, RUST and Metal are not best friends, so if you want to know how to remove rust FOR CHEAP
Watch my How-To video


Rotors had too much rust and i wanted to get all parts a Refresh start




so i remove all rust from them








Then some Primer and Paint






And started to clean and paint calipers

MEFISTO

Ordered some ceramic Q45 pads (low dust because white wheels)






Assembly












Looking gooood to me











After i changed bearing and put all together feel some PULSE when braking
saw rotor disk had uneven marks when braking so i did a rotor resurfacing (shop did)







Next: engine refresh!
when i got the car was misfiring, idle was bad and had no water, oil or any other fluid into it
i add some but it was so dirty that i had to flush everything from engine
This is how FUEL looks into my fuel lines









Gear Oil




Got this pump from harbor freight ($6) and use it to remove any fluids from car
Pumping oil back to Transmission (easier than removing shifter)




Ordered a new oxygen sensor from ebay $12 (Denso Japan)
for that price i prefer to get a new one instead cleaning old one






And new NGK BKR5EGP spark plugs (ebay $11)




Car starts and runs GREAT after all those things
(plus gas cleaner, seafoam)






The car was stolen from prev owner and they bent the trunk/garnish to open it
i got a trunk and wing for $20 from Facebook




Also from FB rear garnish and front bumper




Mine was cracked and the one i got it was worst actually, prev owner did holes all over that i had to cover somehow




working on rear garnish








got some Left Fender from Facebook






After peeling the paint i saw it had some dents on it..




So i decided go ahead and try to do some BODY work






















Removing Paint from Trunk
that is the best paint stripper i ever used, it goes all thru core surface, trunk had 3 layers)
Klean Strip Premium Stripper (Strongest)
get the one NON-Sprayable, spray lost presion after a few wheeks












Primered



Sanding

MEFISTO

Refinishing the Trunk interior








New key lock i bought online



Painting old trunk lock







i found some rear tires, NITO INVO 255/45/18
that i later changed for some lower profile 40










Testing fitment.. all OK
later i changed rear tires for a pair of Bridgestone 255/40/18








How underneath the car looks..














Another thing (still not finished) is the Roof TOP



Dunno how prev owner cracked right side Arm (bigggg piece of metal)
but all mechanism still working, just need a new arm/frame and top to change




There was a Vert shell for sale on Craigslist, i asked the owner if he is willing to sell only some parts to me
and he said YES
so i got the complete frame and mechanism/pump plus other stuff




Now i just have to find somebody to do this work for me
i dont want to mess with it because on this part i can't ''try to do it'' like bondo
that if i fuc*t up i can do it again... better leave it to the Pros




Got a new cover because previous last 2 months only lol




ALRIGHT!
here is when everything changed for this car...
i started to see the potential on the car so i had to choose between paint over OR try to fix the body myself
i choose 2nd option
so i count how many dents/imperfections the body had:
38 small dents / 4 big ones
Trunk and garnish were bent
Front left fender had a crash
Left quarter panel had a Kick
Right quarter panel had.. another kick lol

So.. From now on all about this car its gonna be Body Work












Left 'kicked' quarter panel, picture was after i pop up the big dent












Right kick












To see if you are doing a smooth work u have to wet and follow line reflections (turns into a mirror after wet)




If you see distorted image...keep sanding and making it smooth








All Primered with Primer Filler, need to wet sand it now

MEFISTO

And now the image reflection is getting better




after this.. right side is DONE!




Now lets move to the Kicked panel #2 lol
























Body work extended a lot on this quarter panel so line was out.. i had to make it again with bondo




Redrawing side line








i Painted gas tank semi-gloss Black because i like to hide it from eye view
i hate when car lines are good but u see a silver gas tank there



Now is better




Sanding sideskirts with scotch pad so i can paint over it









The left fender i got from Facebook was Aftermarket...so fitment sucks really bad




so i had 1 OEM crashed at nose fender and 1 good aftermarket one that doesn't align at all.




The only solution i found was mixing both
Cut both and use the Aftermarket nose welded with the OEM rear part
because OEM fit perfect at door line!




so this is what it happened...
















Because i didnt had (now i do) a Welder, i had to ask somebody (and paid) to do that
work wasn't good at all so i had to cut and make if fit




Then.. hide the welding marks with bondo and make all smoth








Bumper had A LOT of imperfections and holes to cover



changing the frame from old to new




Ok.. back to the Aftermarket Fender
Because Aftermarket is shit sometimes.. and this was not exception
for some reason nose was SHORT so i had to make the bumper longer with bondo to fit












Painting trim parts











Puting all together and masking.. .YES, is going to be complete painted

MEFISTO

more trim parts












Before:



After:




Let me tell u something about this product
i purchased a couple of this and for some reason it ended looking gloss black
and other can semi-gloss (which is the look i wanted, Original trim finish look)
maybe fabrication Date was due..don't know, next i went to a different shop and got a good one






Horn tone
my love with this horn it comes from my dad, he used this horn in every car he had back in the day
(is the same tone from 70/80s Ferrari Daytona and Lamborghini Countach horn)
As i cannot pay for a original FIAMM horn, found that this Hella is cheap and most accurate tone




BUT.. because i never liked the ''look my horn'' thing
i paint it Black and hide so nobody can see it









PAINT IS HERE !!!

As i really like the Silver on this car, i wanted to keep the same color but with more 'spark' (because California sun bro)
But i dont know how to paint as a PRO and have no idea how to MIX and all that shit..
so i did a research and found this Duplicolor paint, its Lacquer and READY TO SPRAY (like old school hot rods were painted)
it was cheap and reviews told me it was good enough ($25 x 1L can)
i used 2 cans on this car
This is the paint used as BASE (then u apply color), thats why is Candy Base Coat, but my plan is use it as a final color
and after that adding same brand Clear Coat, (same price) i ended up using 5 cans because i fail on the spray settings and too much wind blew it.
(u may ok with 3)

Complete Paint was around $170 <--- No excuses to still have your car missile look









1st Test






This is a GO !!




and after months of work...im ready for it






The day is here...let's paint this lady
i went to the 99cents store and bought 3pc drop cloth (12x9ft) to close the canopy



floor getting some wet so paint will not fly








it took me many hours but its DONE!!
so i did some celebration lol




And after i woke up i found the real color.. WOW




















And start dressing her back again!



1st time under sun




But there was one thing that i still have to deal with..
CALIFORNIA SMOG
Yes, after 6 months working on this car now i have to smog it so i can register
i did a test and fail because to much carbon into AIV/EGR/Manifold and had broken/worn hoses
so i take all appart and clean it, then added some CRC Guaranteed To Pass Emissions additive to gas tank and 1/4 full tank




took my car to a very late night ride (3am) 2 days to empty tank









and then...




SMOG PASSED !!

MEFISTO

Next thing change ugly blue cluster lights for white leds









Give the boot cover a better look
vinyl was pretty dry, Back to Black from Mothers works pretty well on this and the whole interior






Alright.. paint came out good but null
that was because too much wind when added the Clear coat
and gun had to much or low presion (i dont know, i told u that i dont know how to paint)
But the clear coat was there...so i contact some guy i found at Craigslist (with FB so i saw his prev work)
he showed up and we 'tested' paint surface, first he did some polished but Nothing changed...




then i Sanded with 800/1500/2000 leaving surface null but smooth and he polish over and.. BAMM!
impressive finish
That was the trick.. removing all the orange peel to then polish over it and the mirror shine appear




So next step was sanding the whole car with 800 to remove orange peel
and then 1500 to smooth the 800 lines and then 2000











break






And 2 days after he come back






oh damnnnnn... i started to see some image reflection!






















And after that i manage to put all parts together because everything i did had a Redline date..
it was Socal S-Chassis Annual Meeting (August 20th 2016)






































I found some Seats at the junkyard
wooohoooooooo!!








After some TLC




Comparing these seats is impressive.. make old ones looks like a joke




checking what i need to make them fit into my S13

MEFISTO

Done.. Cut & Paste






Testing Fitment... ALL GOOD !














AND FINISHED !! (at the moment lol)












at Socal S-Chassis Annual Meeting entrance line
i was lucky to meet so many ppl there!






January 1st 2017




What a Journey me and my car did... but it ended up pretty good
I LEARNED A LOT !!!







BUT THE BEST IS YET TO COME....

NEXT: [S13 240sx Convertible - Stage 2: More Power]

MEFISTO

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Here are some of the videos i have on my channel
(Subscribe if you like)



video i made about 2016 Socal S-Chassis Annual Meeting:





Love this video, its about those Late night ride in DownTown Los Angeles,
to empty gas tank before SMOG
(because music copyright maybe won't let u watch on mobile phone..use Desktop Computer)







video about my car finished, explaning all my journey
(sorry..its all in spanish with english translated CC)







Starting the 1JZ VVTi on floor






Opening box and 1st Impression of Turbo Downpipe and Shifter Extension
for my engine swap

Dolph_KYAS13

Good Job bringing the car back to a respectable state. nice project.

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-Jordie Lewis
'93 Skyline Type M

andisan

Wow good job

Looks good

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Juantwo3

That body work looks good!

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GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!

solo_ryder

Nice progress! I like these type of build threads keep it up

tricky_ab

I did not expect this at all when I had first clicked on this thread. Great job so far my man!

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Instagram

Back for round two... 4 doors this time around...

Primo's Silvia

Wow looks good!! Looking forward to see more of this

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5280VertDET

This is fantastic!

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S13 Vert | SR | PE1420 | 5-Speed | 15x9.5 - 0 |

blasian

good job bro car looks 10x better now

d_nice

looks good and cant wait to see how the swap comes out.

rawgarage

Great details

Super_OK_S13

Much respect for all the DIY! The body work is great!! swap is going to be awesome!

SoundEfx

Wicked work pimp.

When are you opening your shop? lol

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180sxLove

wow bro great build thread awesome to see the progress! i had a smile as i was scrolling thru the pics of ur car done and going to the meet.

justchrisyo

Loving this. Small suggestion though, you should add small spacers in the back to bring the wheel out just a tad. Other than that, keep up the great work.!!

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yes, unfortunately I'm from florida. I know.

hotlavaflow

Nice work. Gotta get a front lip to go with those skirts.

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Bmx240sx

I always get excited seeing people doing diy body work this came out awesome


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MEFISTO

Thank You ALL !!

Now is time to start adding some balls to the car
KA24 > 1JZ VVTi is next

will make the thread in the next days
i just finished getting all parts, took the engine apart and started doing refreshing, cleaning and stuff, so don't expect all pictures in 1 thread.

but the idea is doing the swap ASAP

wish me luck

inuyasha3466

Very hard worker to get your car up to that level. Great job!

Xaser

Good Job!!!
Deberias comprar la powder gun, es simple y da mas dureza que el aerosol para algunas piezas es lo mejor!!

el techo funciona?

MEFISTO

Thanks!
i got the Harbor Freight purple paint gun (cost $10 after coupon), i painted the whole car with that and a 30gal compressor
for the rest i used spray can paint with gun 'handle' (cangun 1)
And now for the engine i wont be painting any part of it, just sandblasting all
and leave it stock factory look.

Roof works! (check roof top pictures up there) prev owner cracked one arm
but still working, just need to replace frame (i have it) and then put new fabric/top (i also have it)

i gave u english answer so everybody here can read