S15 Conversion: Need Advice

[KiLLeR2001]

I'm going through a bit of a dilemma right now planning out my conversion on my S13. Currently, I have the S15 OEM Bumper, s13 silvia brackets, s14 hood hinges, and some unknown fiberglass conversion fenders.

I've been reading, and reading a lot. I'm completely torn on what to do. The fenders I have now seem like they will fit with some modification here and there, but at the tip of one of the fenders it is chipped off, and I really don't want to put in all this work and then have a chipped fender, especially at an important area where the headlight meets flush with the fender.

Thus, I'm more than likely going to sell them to someone who isn't as critical as myself, and buy new ones. But the question is, conversion or welded s13 and s15 fenders? I don't have a problem with conversion fenders that need some adjustment to fit right, but I don't want the possibility of them being so poorly made, no matter what I do to make them work, is all in vain... Anyone know any good brands that can be manipulated relatively easily?

The other option of course is the s13 and s15 fenders welded together. I seriously am thinking this is the route for me, but alas, I cannot weld. And I'm very weary leaving brand new s13 and s15 fenders in the hands of someone who may not do as good of a job as I would like. Not to mention the price is astronomically higher to go this route. Lets just say $1200 for the s13/s15 fenders + labor. Then what if there's a visible line where the fenders were joined? I've got a bunch of hacked up fender parts and two fenders that show lines @ $1000. Fail.

Need some guidance here from some fellow Zilvians. I'm going crazy over here at work :sadwavey:

ps. If you're going to suggest I do another front end conversion or keep my current front, please don't bother posting. Thanks.

[Enna]

If you can find a competent welder, or body shop, I would go the full metal route. Talk to driftfreaq. AFAIK he went that route. Not sure how finished it is however.

[drift freaq]

If you can find a competent welder, or body shop, I would go the full metal route. Talk to driftfreaq. AFAIK he went that route. Not sure how finished it is however.

My fenders have been finished for a long time. My car is pretty much done as well except for little things.

I have been focusing on other things( like powerplant install). Seriously the steel fender route is dope but expensive.

There really is no cheap way around it. You have to buy the fenders $300-400 you have to have them cut and welded and fitted. $200-300 per side at a good deal. Its around a $1000 plus deal.

I did it because I always wanted the conversion and I wanted my lines to be right. I also wanted to make sure that they did not cracking after running them for awhile which is what happens with a lot of fiberglass.

Oh and I was also originally going to run fiberglass and had some very nice fenders which I sold off.

If you love your car to the point of not being overly concerned about how much money you are putting in it go for it.

I would not sell my car unless someone came along and offered me just insane cash for it when its done. I expect to have it all wrapped up i.e. fully done and on the ground running by mid July.

If it had not been for the recession it probably would have finished sooner but the recession took me off the project. It kept me concerned about other more important things in life.

[KiLLeR2001]

My fenders have been finished for a long time. My car is pretty much done as well except for little things.

I have been focusing on other things( like powerplant install). Seriously the steel fender route is dope but expensive.

There really is no cheap way around it. You have to buy the fenders $300-400 you have to have them cut and welded and fitted. $200-300 per side at a good deal. Its around a $1000 plus deal.

I did it because I always wanted the conversion and I wanted my lines to be right. I also wanted to make sure that they did not cracking after running them for awhile which is what happens with a lot of fiberglass.

Oh and I was also originally going to run fiberglass and had some very nice fenders which I sold off.

If you love your car to the point of not being overly concerned about how much money you are putting in it go for it.

I would not sell my car unless someone came along and offered me just insane cash for it when its done. I expect to have it all wrapped up i.e. fully done and on the ground running by mid July.

If it had not been for the recession it probably would have finished sooner but the recession took me off the project. It kept me concerned about other more important things in life.

Thanks for the input, your project looks very promising and is the exact look that I'm after. However, money is the issue for me right now (isn't it always). I've decided to sell my current conversion fenders and buy some new ones. I'll try the conversion fender route first, if I'm not happy I'll just have to park my car and work my ass off until I can afford the metal conversion fender route.

Also, after reading Yoshi's conversion page he said the VIS Carbon Fiber Hood is pretty much spot on for fitment. Are there any other carbon fiber variants using the stock hood latch that are the same?

[mo_hish]

I went with conversion fenders. They're not perfect fitment, but after some work, they're pretty damn good. I say just go with the conversion fenders, and if you dont like them you can swap them out once the metal fenders are finished. And if you're going with metal fenders, you should get an oem metal hood too.

[drift freaq]

Thanks for the input, your project looks very promising and is the exact look that I'm after. However, money is the issue for me right now (isn't it always). I've decided to sell my current conversion fenders and buy some new ones. I'll try the conversion fender route first, if I'm not happy I'll just have to park my car and work my ass off until I can afford the metal conversion fender route.

Also, after reading Yoshi's conversion page he said the VIS Carbon Fiber Hood is pretty much spot on for fitment. Are there any other carbon fiber variants using the stock hood latch that are the same?

LOL thats a VIS Carbon Fiber hood on my car. Its almost perfect not quite. When I add the Aerocatch hoodpins it will be. I am super picky about fitment though. Oh and my car has the Gracer lip on it.

I also used my stock s13 core support and I did custom welded fender supports because the upper bumper bracket has mount points for you fenders. At the time I did not have it, but you can order it from Nissan.

Unless you want to go custom like I did, its totally important. A lot of people who run the fiberglass fenders don't do anything about it.
That is one of the main reasons you see shitty conversions running around. Everything sags and makes it look like shit.

[KiLLeR2001]

I went with conversion fenders. They're not perfect fitment, but after some work, they're pretty damn good. I say just go with the conversion fenders, and if you dont like them you can swap them out once the metal fenders are finished. And if you're going with metal fenders, you should get an oem metal hood too.

Do you happen to have pictures of your conversion? I wouldn't mind going with the OEM Metal Hood, but my only question is the amount it would cost to ship vs the carbon fiber one?

[KiLLeR2001]

Oh and my car has the Gracer lip on it.


Yeah I don't know if you remember but I bought an S15 bumper + Gracer lip from you awhile back. I wasn't planning on starting my conversion this late but life happens as you know lol...

edit:

I was having a hard time locating the real s15 silvia side markers, but apparently the JDM Z33 side markers are the same (just clear instead of amber). This should flow nicely with my tail lights...

http://tehl33tsite.com/240sxdd/cw/Img_1376.jpg

I'm not even sure if I want to go Kouki tails. I'm kinda partial to my custom ones :)

[drift freaq]

OEM hood is nice if you have easy access to one for the right price. I have actually had a few of them and when I was doing the paint I did not want to wait for one on order. LOL So I tossed the VIS Carbon hood on and painted it. I will probably pick up a metal hood and paint it as well.
Like you money is usually not a problem but last year hit me rather hard and I am just now getting back to the project. 300+ HP VQ35HR powered smog, Strawberry face, Kouki tails, Aero mirrors, S15 optional rear spoiler converted to S13 plus a few other trick things.

Your tails look good btw. Oh and that was quite awhile ago you bought the bumper and lip from me. Shit I have had about 3 or 4 stock bumpers as well.

[killer240]

lets see some pics of ur S15 front drift freaq

[drift freaq]

lets see some pics of ur S15 front drift freaq

ok but this is a rare occasion,

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/IMG_0516.jpg (http://s705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/?action=view&current=IMG_0516.jpg)http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/IMG_0455.jpg (http://s705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/?action=view&current=IMG_0455.jpg)http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/IMG_0454.jpg (http://s705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/?action=view&current=IMG_0454.jpg)

[widebodyseven]

^^^
nice!

The lip is a good addition to that front end.

[Enna]

Didn't know how far along you were. Kinda seemed like the project came to a halt, appears it did for a lil while. Can't wait to see a clean hatch with S15 front. Always loved that look.

And killer, this is just a personal opinion, but I think kouki tails complete the look. Yours look great I wont lie, but seem to outdated personally with the strawberry face.

[Geno750]

Damn I wish I bought metal fenders now. I've got Masa ones now which fit pretty well, but I am also afraid of then cracking over time.

Also, not sure if it was mentioned or if you knew OP, but the S14 hinges fit the hood and everything, but you'll need to run spacers to raise the hood up. With places like nissanparts.cc selling the S15 hinges for the low I can't see any reason to not scoop them up.

[drift freaq]

Damn I wish I bought metal fenders now. I've got Masa ones now which fit pretty well, but I am also afraid of then cracking over time.

Also, not sure if it was mentioned or if you knew OP, but the S14 hinges fit the hood and everything, but you'll need to run spacers to raise the hood up. With places like nissanparts.cc selling the S15 hinges for the low I can't see any reason to not scoop them up.

I am running s14 hinges on mine, for the price it was a no brainer.

[silnismo]

ok but this is a rare occasion,

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/IMG_0516.jpg (http://s705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/?action=view&current=IMG_0516.jpg)http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/IMG_0455.jpg (http://s705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/?action=view&current=IMG_0455.jpg)http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/IMG_0454.jpg (http://s705.photobucket.com/albums/ww52/driftfreaq/?action=view&current=IMG_0454.jpg)

How hard was it to get the s15 side skirts to fit?

Haven't seen that done before...

[drift freaq]

How hard was it to get the s15 side skirts to fit?

Haven't seen that done before...

Ah those are Kouki 180sx side skirts on the car. If you want a pic of a car with s15 side skirts I do have one, though the car is in Japan. LOL Personally I am not a fan of the factory s15 side skirts.

[mo_hish]

Do you happen to have pictures of your conversion? I wouldn't mind going with the OEM Metal Hood, but my only question is the amount it would cost to ship vs the carbon fiber one?

I've got some in my build thread.. don't feel like copying them over.

Mo's S13.5 *Murphy's Law Build* - TriStateTuners.com :: Home of Tristate Auto Enthusiast (http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95763)

I did some final adjustments to get everything to fit as good as possible after this. The hood pins were definitely the single greatest adjustment tool for the hood.

There are some pics on the 2nd page that show headlight to fender to bumper fitment.