- 2,436
- Eastern PA
- Weather_Systems
See post #61 for VAN.
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Alright, so I bought a car.
A 1989 Nissan 240SX XE, 5-speed manual, to be exact. One owner, 178,000 miles. Not without its' quirks and issues, but fully functional (apart from the cruise control) and in good working order.
Wasn't originally planning to buy something like this. I wanted a Volvo 240 wagon, but those appear to be one of the hardest things to find in my area in decent condition and for a decent price. This popped up about 3 weeks ago, and after a bit of back and forth with the owner, I went down to take a look at it.
Kinda spoiled the surprise with the pictures, but when I got there, it was sitting in the lot, all innocent... and clean. Untouched. Not a silly sticker or half-assed body modification to be seen - in fact, there's only 2 visible dents (on the trunk) and even then it takes a certain angle to see them.
The first impression of the outside carried on into the inside. Clean, all parts functional, and aside from a missing sun visor and the partly functional cruise control, perfect. Exactly what I had thought wasn't possible, considering once a 'drift kid' gets his hands on one of these, it gets ruined...
But this one wasn't.
After talking with the seller a bit, I'd learned that she was the only owner (purchased the car in Florida in 1989, actually) and it had been regularly maintained at a shop. All the service records were there, all the original brochures (and even reprints of advertisements in Car & Driver, if you can believe it.) All original.
Otherwise, I doubt I would have paid the grand sum of $2,000 for this lovely example of a well-cared-for, one-owner car.
I don't have any plans to turn this into a drift missile or track day car.
At this stage in my life, I'm trying to get through college, so upgrades outside of simple things (and fixing the rust) are out of the question, at least for the time being.
Main goal is to take care of this car, and hopefully it'll take care of me.
What I do want to do with this car, and when I say want to... I mean "3 or more years down the road of life."
I'd like to get an SR20DET for this, since I know that the stock engine will not last forever, despite what I might try to do (and, believe me, I want to keep it living as long as possible.) Also would like to upgrade the suspension and handling, along with the brakes and wheels - I'd love to get a set of GramLights, but that's going to be a bit down the road...
Not a drifter or a track day car, but something I can enjoy driving. I don't want to do any bodykits or anything to the body - other than a possible Silvia front end swap. I guess that Iketani's S13 (or even a JDM-spec S13 Silvia) is a bit of an inspiration for what I'd like to do to this in the future. (Besides sticking it into a guardrail like he did. Don't want to do that.)
Anyway, enjoy the car. Please, don't hesitate to offer any sort of advice - I know quite a few of you GTP members are experienced with restoring a car or cars, and since I plan to do that (with the rust removal and whatnot) I wouldn't mind advice on how to go about doing that.
And, no, this isn't going to be one of those threads where this car turns into a pile of junk. I love it too much already to do anything stupid to it.
Enjoy!
Specifications:
1989 Nissan 240SX XE "Mako"
~178,000 miles
~178,000 miles
~Silver Green Pearl/Dark Gray (two-tone)
~KA24E engine (12-valve inline four cylinder engine, SOHC, with three valves per cylinder head)
~5-speed manual transmission
~Has the "Power Convenience Group" option package, with:
~Heads-up display (HUD)
~Cruise control
~Power windows/door locks/mirrors
~Active speakers
~Power sunroof (not part of the above package)
Modifications:
-Performance exhaust (which I will probably replace with a less noisy one)
Issues that need addressing:
-Cruise control does not work 100% correctly
-Passenger sun visor is broken off/missing Found a replacement
-Minor oil leak from oil pan Gasket and seal changed.
-Rust on framerails Fixed
-Rust on rear driver's side wheel arch (also fixable, also in relatively good shape - right side has no issues, in case you're wondering)
-Rust underneath rear bumper behind the wheels (surface rust as far as I can tell)
-Rust underneath trunk (also fixable, not the lid itself but what's underneath the carpeting and all that)
-Stickers are nearly part of the bumper now
-Right side headlight surround is cracked (the black plastic bit around the headlight)
Current plans:
-Replace oil pan gasket/seal Done
-Fix rust (frame rails, wheel arch, rear bumper, and underneath trunk) Framerails done
-Find replacement passenger sun visor Done
-Find out what entirely is wrong with the cruise control
-Clean out the engine bay, to get the accumulated grime and dirt out of the bay (and also see what will need replacing)
-Get the stickers on the bumper off Residue remains, nothing else
-Purchase a set of alloy OEM wheels from a '91-'94 240SX Done
-Repaint, once the rust is taken care of
-Get the underside sprayed with a rust-resistant coating once the rust is fixed
Future plans (3 or more years in the future)
-SR20DET swap
-Suspension upgrades, including but not limited to a set of coilovers that;
a) Don't sacrifice ride quality for lowered height
b) Can deal with the roads around my area, assuming I stay in the area
-Set of decent wheels (personal choice would be a set of GramLights, but I'll need to do a 5-lug swap for that.)
-Brake upgrades
~KA24E engine (12-valve inline four cylinder engine, SOHC, with three valves per cylinder head)
~5-speed manual transmission
~Has the "Power Convenience Group" option package, with:
~Heads-up display (HUD)
~Cruise control
~Power windows/door locks/mirrors
~Active speakers
~Power sunroof (not part of the above package)
Modifications:
-Performance exhaust (which I will probably replace with a less noisy one)
Issues that need addressing:
-Cruise control does not work 100% correctly
-Rust on rear driver's side wheel arch (also fixable, also in relatively good shape - right side has no issues, in case you're wondering)
-Rust underneath rear bumper behind the wheels (surface rust as far as I can tell)
-Rust underneath trunk (also fixable, not the lid itself but what's underneath the carpeting and all that)
-Stickers are nearly part of the bumper now
-Right side headlight surround is cracked (the black plastic bit around the headlight)
Current plans:
-Fix rust (frame rails, wheel arch, rear bumper, and underneath trunk) Framerails done
-Find out what entirely is wrong with the cruise control
-Clean out the engine bay, to get the accumulated grime and dirt out of the bay (and also see what will need replacing)
-Repaint, once the rust is taken care of
-Get the underside sprayed with a rust-resistant coating once the rust is fixed
Future plans (3 or more years in the future)
-SR20DET swap
-Suspension upgrades, including but not limited to a set of coilovers that;
a) Don't sacrifice ride quality for lowered height
b) Can deal with the roads around my area, assuming I stay in the area
-Set of decent wheels (personal choice would be a set of GramLights, but I'll need to do a 5-lug swap for that.)
-Brake upgrades
||||||
Alright, so I bought a car.
A 1989 Nissan 240SX XE, 5-speed manual, to be exact. One owner, 178,000 miles. Not without its' quirks and issues, but fully functional (apart from the cruise control) and in good working order.
Wasn't originally planning to buy something like this. I wanted a Volvo 240 wagon, but those appear to be one of the hardest things to find in my area in decent condition and for a decent price. This popped up about 3 weeks ago, and after a bit of back and forth with the owner, I went down to take a look at it.
Kinda spoiled the surprise with the pictures, but when I got there, it was sitting in the lot, all innocent... and clean. Untouched. Not a silly sticker or half-assed body modification to be seen - in fact, there's only 2 visible dents (on the trunk) and even then it takes a certain angle to see them.
The first impression of the outside carried on into the inside. Clean, all parts functional, and aside from a missing sun visor and the partly functional cruise control, perfect. Exactly what I had thought wasn't possible, considering once a 'drift kid' gets his hands on one of these, it gets ruined...
But this one wasn't.
After talking with the seller a bit, I'd learned that she was the only owner (purchased the car in Florida in 1989, actually) and it had been regularly maintained at a shop. All the service records were there, all the original brochures (and even reprints of advertisements in Car & Driver, if you can believe it.) All original.
Otherwise, I doubt I would have paid the grand sum of $2,000 for this lovely example of a well-cared-for, one-owner car.
I don't have any plans to turn this into a drift missile or track day car.
At this stage in my life, I'm trying to get through college, so upgrades outside of simple things (and fixing the rust) are out of the question, at least for the time being.
Main goal is to take care of this car, and hopefully it'll take care of me.
What I do want to do with this car, and when I say want to... I mean "3 or more years down the road of life."
I'd like to get an SR20DET for this, since I know that the stock engine will not last forever, despite what I might try to do (and, believe me, I want to keep it living as long as possible.) Also would like to upgrade the suspension and handling, along with the brakes and wheels - I'd love to get a set of GramLights, but that's going to be a bit down the road...
Not a drifter or a track day car, but something I can enjoy driving. I don't want to do any bodykits or anything to the body - other than a possible Silvia front end swap. I guess that Iketani's S13 (or even a JDM-spec S13 Silvia) is a bit of an inspiration for what I'd like to do to this in the future. (Besides sticking it into a guardrail like he did. Don't want to do that.)
Anyway, enjoy the car. Please, don't hesitate to offer any sort of advice - I know quite a few of you GTP members are experienced with restoring a car or cars, and since I plan to do that (with the rust removal and whatnot) I wouldn't mind advice on how to go about doing that.
And, no, this isn't going to be one of those threads where this car turns into a pile of junk. I love it too much already to do anything stupid to it.
Enjoy!
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