Oki_All_Day
07-10-2015, 01:05 AM
Life has forced me out of Japan, and into Orange County. Really looking for a drift car that I can daily, but I'm trying to stay cheap and reliable and legal. This proves to be extremely difficult.
As I'm sure you know, California has some insanely stupid emissions rules and regulations, even worse than the Japanese safety inspection. I really want to start building from the ground up a 240sx (S13 coupe, maybe hatch, maybe Zenki S14, but whatever's cheapest), or an AE86 (I wish I could find a cheap hatch, but that's not gonna happen, so coupe probably), as I've had a little experience with these already, but over here they're pretty damn expensive for the way less power you're getting.
As I'm going to be trying to daily whatever car I get for the next 4 years until I return to Japan, I was wondering if I could get some input from Zilvia on what to do.
My two main ideas:
Buy an automatic trans 240sx that's hasn't been molested, hopefully has low miles and no problems (since they are much cheaper than the manual ones), and do the swap myself, then begin building it up my way instead of buying someone else's project.
Buy a cheap SR5 AE86 coupe that's already manual, then convert suspension, diff, brakes, fuel pump, to GTS spec or better, and do a BAR legal USDM 4AGE or 4AGZE swap (but I heard wiring up a 4AGE to an SR5 is a pain in the ass).
I would prefer a Cressida over both of those (because I'd had a lot of fun and experience with JZX series in the past), but since California emissions doesn't like Japanese engine swaps, and a 1UZ swap seems to be a little too much for me to handle, I'll settle for something else.
Has anyone done either of what I've mentioned and any tips or advice I could get on California in general (like where are the cute Japanese girls? :naughty: ).
Edit: Spelling and Stuff
As I'm sure you know, California has some insanely stupid emissions rules and regulations, even worse than the Japanese safety inspection. I really want to start building from the ground up a 240sx (S13 coupe, maybe hatch, maybe Zenki S14, but whatever's cheapest), or an AE86 (I wish I could find a cheap hatch, but that's not gonna happen, so coupe probably), as I've had a little experience with these already, but over here they're pretty damn expensive for the way less power you're getting.
As I'm going to be trying to daily whatever car I get for the next 4 years until I return to Japan, I was wondering if I could get some input from Zilvia on what to do.
My two main ideas:
Buy an automatic trans 240sx that's hasn't been molested, hopefully has low miles and no problems (since they are much cheaper than the manual ones), and do the swap myself, then begin building it up my way instead of buying someone else's project.
Buy a cheap SR5 AE86 coupe that's already manual, then convert suspension, diff, brakes, fuel pump, to GTS spec or better, and do a BAR legal USDM 4AGE or 4AGZE swap (but I heard wiring up a 4AGE to an SR5 is a pain in the ass).
I would prefer a Cressida over both of those (because I'd had a lot of fun and experience with JZX series in the past), but since California emissions doesn't like Japanese engine swaps, and a 1UZ swap seems to be a little too much for me to handle, I'll settle for something else.
Has anyone done either of what I've mentioned and any tips or advice I could get on California in general (like where are the cute Japanese girls? :naughty: ).
Edit: Spelling and Stuff