My 240 and it's problems

[the-rusty-240]

Hey everyone first post. So yesterday I picked up a 1996 240sx with 96,000 miles on it and sadly it was a auto. It also was in a "small" front end colission and the air bags were deployed. It was pretty rust free and had low miles so I said what the hell and paid the guy $1700. I drove it about 30 miles back to my house and noticed it shutters a little but that was all. So I get home and take all the tires of and realize there all different.... great. So when I put the drivers side front tire back on I see that it's closer to the back of the wheel whell then the pasenger tire! So tonight I go back out there and take apart the bumper and the drivers side fender and find this..... what do you guys think I should do repair the car or find another?

[240o'clock]

Welcome to the 240 life.....This is the first of your worries and deff wont be the last.

those pics don't look good.

[the-rusty-240]

Yeah I think im pretty screwed

[Future240]

Damn dude. I'm sorry to see that. I see a few options.

1. Contact seller and see if he will refund money since he did not fully disclose the "small" accident.

2. Get a repair estimate from a shop to see how much it is to fix it. Depending on cost either fix it or...

3. Sell the car and start over.

Good luck dude.

[ghoti]

Yeah I think in pretty screwed

Frame damage.
Looks like that "small" crash warped the strut tower which is why your wheel is pushed back. Besides the obvious damage to the apron

[the-rusty-240]

Do you think it could be this warped piece of metal conected to the tie rode end that is making it have more toe out and pushing it back into the wheel whell?

[Juantwo3]

i was in the same situation with my very first coupe, outside looked decent then i put on a rack started taking things apart and saw how fuck the frame was, in my case i just sold the whole car ate the loss. and started over.

good luck man.

[ManoNegra]

when you see 240s selling for prices the appear too good to be true
it's because they usually are

[crzsteveo]

you may be able to file some sort of lawsuit maybe depending on the circumstances between you and the seller. this could be some sort of "fraud" that the seller committed.

[240Cali]

you spent $1700 on a car.. and didn't check to see frame damage?? ManoNegra is right.. you get what you pay for.. get your money back and do NOT go this route unless you have money ready to blow to make it the way it should be.. or you can try again and this time if you're gonna spend less than 2k for a running s14 make sure you check ERRYTHINGG specially if they told you it was in a "small" collision and air bags deployed..good luck id get my money back asap lemon law is 30 days I believe? don't wait around

[Hanzi]

Must of been one hell of a "small" accident for the airbags to deploy. Use this as a learning experience. Sell this car and get a mint 240. Better luck next time bud.

[upsdude]

you're in for a hell of an expensive restoration if you keep the car. sell or part the car to make back as much as you can. part it down to the last bolt and you might even make a profit.

[the-rusty-240]

I took Measurements and looked at the frame rails. Everything looks to be good besides in front of the strut.

[XxNickxX]

I see a lot of people talking about going back and telling the seller to give him his money back but in all honesty it's not the seller's fault that you didn't fully check the car to make sure it was a perfect candidate for you.

[dluevanos01]

Sorry to hear this but how did you no notice how messed up/far back it was? If you decide to sell this one and buy another one, don't jump for the fist car you'll see. With 20+ year old cars that have not been properly taken car of, you want to take your time and buy a good one. Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

[the-rusty-240]

I don't blame the seller. It was my fault that I didn't look more extensively into the damage before I bought it.

[angel mkiv]

i honestly dont think you can get your money back at this point so id take it as a learing experience and part out the whole car and try to make as much as i can from it, and then usually junkyards or scrapyards take shells for a couple hundred dollars if i remember correcly.

[AZRB20]

crap the shell and find some cheap s14 sheel and start a build.

[Anhell_ito]

so did they replace the dashboard when the bags deployed? if it is black, no cracks ill buy it :D

[the-rusty-240]

What would you guys think about making a tube front end? Bad for a street car? Weaker then stock?

[DJ-of-E]

What would you guys think about making a tube front end? Bad for a street car? Weaker then stock?

What is your OVERALL goal for the car? Street daily or Pure track car.

If it's track car, who gives a damn, you gonna hit something anyways. Straighten the frame out enough (never will be perfect again) and use brash bars.

If it's a daily, don't bother risking your life and the life of your passengers. The frame rails did its job with other parts of the car already by absorbing its impact instead of passengers.

btw, I would NEVER be comfortable with a tube front end design unless I'm in a bucket seat, harness, neck brace, and helmet. 1 front end collision can end up in actual whiplash and paralysis. Look up car accidents in 1950s and 1960s where even small 30mph accidents ended up really bad for the driver/passengers.

[the-rusty-240]

What is your OVERALL goal for the car? Street daily or Pure track car.

If it's track car, who gives a damn, you gonna hit something anyways. Straighten the frame out enough (never will be perfect again) and use brash bars.

If it's a daily, don't bother risking your life and the life of your passengers. The frame rails did its job with other parts of the car already by absorbing its impact instead of passengers.

btw, I would NEVER be comfortable with a tube front end design unless I'm in a bucket seat, harness, neck brace, and helmet. 1 front end collision can end up in actual whiplash and paralysis. Look up car accidents in 1950s and 1960s where even small 30mph accidents ended up really bad for the driver/passengers.

Thanks a ton man! This helps me out a lot!

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

[DJ-of-E]

Thanks a ton man! This helps me out a lot!

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

Granted I'm only generalizing as I am not a car safety engineer, but it's information I discussed with friends who are working as engineers for Hyundai and aerospace as well as NASA prep cars. We discussed about building a track car and how to build for safety. When you take away one aspect, you need to replace it with something else to make up for it.

[the-rusty-240]

I'm taking the 240 to a frame shop next to my place and see what they would do with the damage.

[sleepyS14se]

coolant jug looks different than mine. i tought all s14s had the same coolant recovery jug.
odd...


car is too damaged for me i would sell it and restart

[Bellagio]

Looks like that... "small" collision was a little underestimated.

Honestly, if this isn't your daily driver... this is perfect for a RHD clip. No use in paying for that repair, local shops are going to absolutely destroy your pocket to repair that when you can find a clean front clip for the same price with labor.

Good luck with whatever you do!

[J3123MY]

LOL. how did you not see this?

[the-rusty-240]

I just went and got a quote from a frame shop they told me $600-900 to fix the damage without parts.

[sleepyS14se]

dude just go find a better car that isnt bent/rusted to hell and back

[silva.240]

i dont know how you buy a car and don't realize major things..... all the tires are of different sizes. if you opened the hood you should see the damage too...


if somebody gave me a ferrari to drive and take care of, I WOULDN"T be able to do it. it is just too expensive... when life is too good to be true there are several hidden catches

and 240sx are money pits no matter how you look at it... they are getting to be more expensive then newer cars because you have to replace EVERYTHING all over again

[Frank_Jaeger]

I just went and got a quote from a frame shop they told me $600-900 to fix the damage without parts.
You'd be hard pressed to find an S14 for $2600 in any condition period. Get the damage fixed and save another s-chassis.