Guest bastaad525 Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 w00000t well FORGET that crap Ford LTD wagon... anyways that thing ended up going for like $500, which I definately do NOT feel was worth it... $300 tops. But, no matter... after some more fruitless car shopping in the local classifieds, I was talking with a friend of mine from work, who has been a mechanic for many years and currently works as such for a local Lexus dealer. Anyways I was asking which cars he would consider if he had approx. $1k to spend, just for a good, reliable daily transportation car, and he suggested I buy one of his cars He's got this NIIIIICE 1990 240SX hatchback that he's decided he wants to get rid of, to make some room in his already overcrowded garage (owns 3 other cars). It's loaded, with an auto/overdrive trans, and he just rebuilt the engine and trans about 6 mos ago. Now, this guy has helped me out quite a few times in the past with my car problems, and I can tell this guy really knows his stuff. I also know that this guy TAKES CARE of his stuff... takes really good care of his cars, so I've no doubt this car is in tip-top shape mechanically. He was going to sell it to his wifes friend for $2k but the guy didn't have the money, so now he's offering it to me, but with a nice discount... $800 discount to be exact!! Yup... a '90 240SX with rebuilt engine and trans with less than 10k miles on them, in very nice shape inside and out, for $1200!!! Man I was bouncing off the walls when he told me the price. He doesn't owe me any favors or anything either, rather, I think he's going so low out of sympathy seeing as he's heard every thing that has gone wrong with the Z. Hey, I aint to proud to take a little $800 sympathy! He'll bring the car tonite to work for me to take a test drive, and I"m gonna have the cash right then and there so hopefully he'll be read to sign it over just like that and I can go back to having my Z 'semi retired'. The coolest thing is it will practically have a warranty... this guy is really friggin cool... Chances are if anything does go wrong with the car, at least for a while after I buy it, I'd bet money this guy will help me fix it for free... that's just how he is. So I'm jazzed... after seeing all the junk cars that were in the classifieds for a grand or less and knowing that no matter which I might have chose I would have had to deal with SOME problems... but now I know I will not only get a reliable car for $1200, but a nice one as well... I really like the 240SX's styling. So I'm a happy guy... now I'll have myself a nice, economical, reliable daily driver, but instead of a more sedate corolla or whatever I get to slip into something that's still a little sporty and fun, and can stop racking up the miles on my Z... very happy indeed. So... '90 240sx... KA engine right? what kind of power/torque they have stock? Anyone know what the base weight is approximately? These cars are supposed to be really good handlers, stock, as well, right? Key word stock I gotta make some kinda contract with myself promising that this thing is gonna stay STOCK... no mods to start causing problems.... But damn... SR20DET's aren't very expensive these days.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 Just think what $1200 bucks could do for your Z though......plus double insurance, registration, tax etc......Plus you will have o smog this one, so no major mods...... **It's fun to be the wet blanket sometimes ** Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 About smog... are people putting SR20DET's in these things legally? I've always wondered about that.... how do they pass emissions? $1200 wouldn't do a whole lot for my Z except ensure that it would keep being driven everyday (about 50 miles a day), which I really dont want to do anymore. And ensuring that should the Z have any more major problems that I will truly be stuck again now with no backup car. I NEED a backup car, more repairs and mods on the Z can wait. Registration wont be much, my wifes '89 prelude was about $50 I think, tax wont be much, as we'll just do like always and put the sale price of the car low. Insurance wont be much, I only get basic coverage, and again, I dont expect the coverage on the 240 to be much higher than it was on the prelude... I think like $30 a month? And anyways... really... I can't afford to really do lots of mods to another car... my next mission is to do some improving on my credit and get into a house. So this car will remain stock, at least, for a very very long time. But thanks for trying to rain on my sunny day Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 But thanks for trying to rain on my sunny day Tim Hey...what are friends for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 About smog... are people putting SR20DET's in these things legally? I've always wondered about that.... how do they pass emissions? You're kidding right? There is no way that is a legal swap...at least not here in CA. Yes, they are prevalent, but not legal in the least. Texas might be different--let's move there. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 Wow... I never really know with engine swaps what's legal and what's not. Last I'd heard was any engine swap was legal in CA as long as the engine going in was newer than the year of the car you're putting it into, and that it's going in with all the smog equipment that it had in the car it was originally out of. I didn't know if this applied to japanese engines as well or not. Seems a pain in the ass if that's really that illegal... would be hard for me because it seems I used to get hit with a 'state only' smog check every second time I had to smog... I'm sure there are guys out there that will even give you one of these state only certs if you slip them enough cash... but damn... that's a pain in the azz and would get expensive. So no way no how is an SR20DET swap legal? Are there CARB approved turbo kits for the stock KA engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 The engine has to have been approved by CARB and the Feds in the first place..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 can it be done with the SR20DET? has it been done? Even Courtesy Nissan sells wiring harnesses for swapping an SR20 into a 240.... a DEALER is carrying these items!!! Crazy... wouldn't have expected that. I guess I"m kinda boned in that this SX is coming with the single cam, lower hp Ka24... ah well... *must keep it stock... must keep it stock... must keep it stock...* Just uh... out of curiousity here.... where would one go about getting an SR20DET for a good price? my google searches are oddly not getting me very good results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 A little update: Guy brought the car to work last night for me to have a look/drive. Firstly, it is the SOHC motor, not the DOHC Sux for me... about 10-15 hp less for that motor... oh well. The car has about 130,000 miles on it. Which prompted me to wonder... why a rebuilt engine and trans already? Well the engine... apparently the last shop to work on the car before my friend bougth it had removed the crank pulley for whatever they were working on, and when the put it back on, did not install it correctly... theres a little half moon nub that's supposed to fit in a notch, and the shop didn't insert the nub... they just torqued down the pulley misaligned. After who knows how much driving, the front of the crank was toast from the pulley free spinning, and the pulley was barely holding on... so that's why he rebuilt it. He showed me pics of the snout of the crank.... evil. He rebuilt the trans just because he could, since he had the drivetrain out he figured what the hey I guess. The drivetrain has all of 500 miles on it. The car is red ( I KNEW it would be red or black... are there any other color 240's??? yeah silver and that's about it!) and the body is perfectly straight. The interior... well... that's another story Well for $1200 for a 240 with rebuilt drivetrain I guess I can't complain... this is a mechanics car, and you can tell when you sit in it. The cars a mess... and it smells like engine oil (first stop, car wash). The carpets are about a 6 out of 10, and the drivers seat has a really nasty 6" gash on one of the bolsters, where a piece of the metal frame is peeking out (gave me a nasty poke when I made a hard U-turn). The passenger seat is maybe a 7 out of 10... otherwise it's just messy as hell in there. It has a nice detachable face stereo with tape player ah well I dont really listen to music while driving anyways... In cars like my Z or anything that can handle worth a damn and get out of it's own way... I really just like the full concentration that just doesn't happen with the music on. The motor runs FANTASTIC... very smooth, quiet idle... only sound I heard was injector noise... and it idles so low! Well I guess it's a normal idle at about 600rpm or so... not used to that The thing just purrs. All hoses and belts are new. Very clean underhood overall, except for a leaky valve cover gasket... he had just recently adjusted the valves and retorqued the head and thought he could get away with reusing the gasket, but no dice. He has a spare which I'll try to install today. Well then I took it for a spin... let me tell you, this thing really surprised me with how torquey and responsive it was... it really felt like a fast car, much faster than I expected, even with the 'only' 140hp SOHC engine. Amazing throttle response. I can't wait to do some 0-60 runs with a stop watch and see... probably in for a dissapointment as I'm betting it's not as quick as it feels, but really... I dunno if it's because it's such a big four cyl or because of gearing or what, but the thing really feels like it's got some pull. And it handles and brakes VERY nice as well. I just wish the thing was a stick... but... I digress... it's gonna be my daily driver/beater.... and I keep telling myself, for this purpose, I wanted an auto. Well just from that short test drive I can say this, this thing kicks ass all OVER my wifes '89 prelude that we just got rid of!!! Well... I should be picking it up this morning. I'll get it washed and maybe take some 'stylish' pics of it together with my Z... my two 240's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR I'm starting to think that some one or some thing really gets a kick out of pulling the rug out from under my feet. No dice on the 240SX. I should have taken for a more in depth test drive yesterday... going down the block and back at 15-20 mph is really not a good indicator of how a car will behave. Well for one, and this I DID notice but didn't realize just how bad it was... the seat was VERY uncomfortable... I'm a big guy, and the bolsters on the seat are obviously meant for someone much smaller than I. And the fact that one of the metal bolster frames was poking thru a tear in the seat wasn't helping it. Secondly, the car is sick. Today I picked it up and went to put some air in one tire, and immediately notice the thing has NO grunt at all. I'm not talking, say, relative to my turbo Z... I knew it wasn't going to be the fastest car, but I mean this thing had no go. from a 5mph rolling start, floor the gas, and it was taking about 20-30 seconds for it to even hit 3000rpm/25mph or so. I"m not exaggerating. My wife was along for the ride, and when I told her "I'm flooring it right now" her jaw practically hit the floor. I also noticed that the check engine light was on. So I called the guy and of course right off the bat he's on the defensive... seems offended that I would even suggest somethign is wrong with the car... he say's that's just how it is, that's how much power it has. Um... okay my wifes 1.8L geo which is heavier than the 240 I assume pulls faster than this... So I ask if he knows why the check engine light is on, he says it needs the speed sensor on the tranny replaced. Okay well the speedo was working (though it was VERY inaccurate) so I dunno for sure what he's talking about... I suggest that maybe just replacing that sensor and getting rid of the check engine light would probably solve the problem (I'm assuming this could have put the car into the oft-rumored 'limp mode', and hence wouldn't let the car move?) and HE suggests I just bring the car back and drop it off and call it a done deal. So... back to shopping I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Learn from this....U get what you pay for, and: If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.... Just fix the Z and be done with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 Nothing really to fix on the Z right now... well I still need to install bushings... and that damn rear main is leaking again but f it I dont care anymore. Injectors will need to be cleaned or replaced I assume to get rid of the light misfire problems, but that's nothing that is keeping me from driving the car. Only other thing is to install the I/C but now i'm waiting to see if I can get this Trust unit from work for free or cheap. Otherwise, the Z is running fine, I really dont need to fix anything on it at the moment... just really want to stop driving it every day so I can keep it that way. Tim... you're so negative lately LOL but then again so am I usually... we're not negative, we're just realists Think I could get a megasquirt together, installed and running, but someone else doing the labor, putting it together and wiring it in (sorry I'm scared to try it for now) for a grand or less? Or alternately, and 300zx efi setup. That'd be a fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 Tim... you're so negative lately LOL but then again so am I usually... we're not negative' date=' we're just realists [/quote'] Nah, just taking every opportunity to give you a good ribbing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zguy95135 Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 it sucks that the 240sx didnt work out, but at least you didnt pay for it. BTW take a look at this sweet little Datsun 1200 thats at WheelsnDeals. Its more then what you wanted to spend but since its been there for a long time you could probably get a good deal on it. http://wheelsndeals.com/main.tml?class=Cust&method=searchVehicle&function=Detail&thid=400007200 The interior is good, paint is pretty good, and it runs great but it needs a new throttle spring. I wish I had the money to get it myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 dude, just buy v8dat's 73 datsun pickup with a ford 5.0 in it. it's running, it got balls, and it's reliable. and it's like 1600 bucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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