Champ_6's S13 KA-T Coupe - Nissan 240sx

[champ_6]

Some of you may have seen this car on here before but I am creating a new thread because I no longer have access to my old account due to no longer being a vendor. First a little history.

I originally purchased this shell in June of 2011 with hopes of getting some track time in that season. The shell came with the following:

-brand new Ksport coilovers
-tension rods
-wicked tuning tie rod ends
-aluminum rear subframe collars.
-some form of RUCAs
-a 10pt cage
-an attempt at stitch welding
-lots of spray on bedliner in the engine bay

The way it sat at the old owners house




Back at the garage




A few hrs Later


Ksports and subframe removed


Stitch welding by previous owner


I put my GF to work


Spray on bedliner removed


Engine bay painted


Engine pulled from the nismaru


Installed SR in the coupe




Swap Specs
SR20DET
Microtech LT10s Standalone
Microtech X4 Ignitor
Isis RS3371 Turbo
Greddy Profec B spec 2 boost controller
Exedy Stage 2 Clutch Kit
Isis lightweight pulleys
Isis oil pan
Isis short shifter
Isis turbo outlet
Isis air intake kit
Isis downpipe
SSQV bov
Nismo Thermostat


A deal I couldn't pass up reared its head. So I pulled the SR from the coupe and swapped it into this


I no longer had a need for the coupe shell so I sold it to a good friend of mine who I knew would put it to good use. Fast forward a few months I ended up selling the sil-eighty because I just couldn't stand driving something that was basically put together by someone else.

I started looking for another 240 when my buddy who was going to build the coupe decided to sell it back to me because he was struggling with bone cancer. He said he'd sell it back to me for what he had invested into it since it would be a while before he could touch it again. So I got the car back as a shell with most of the parts to put it back together.

It now has a KA24DE for it's heart. First thing I did was rip it out. It had a brand new Exedy OEM Replacement clutch.

I then...
- Pulled the intake manifold off
- degreased the hell out of the engine
- Cleaned up intake manifold and painted it with Aluminum color engine enamel
- Bought new gaskets for intake manifold, throttle body and egr block off.
- Changed all vacuum/ coolant hoses under intake manifold
- Deleted all the extra steel lines for emissions garbage
- Changed front and rear main seal
- Bolted up T25 and connected oil feed
- Reinstalled crank pulley
- Bolted up alternator and power steering pumps
- Reinstalled belts
- Dropped the engine back in

I ordered a few goodies of my own
- ISIS KA24DE FMIC Intercooler Kit
- ISIS Aluminum Radiator
- ISIS low temp thermostat
- ISIS Single GT Exhaust for S13
- ISIS Exhaust Hangers
- ISIS S13 KA24DE radiator fan shroud kit
- Circuit Sports Coolant Overflow Tank
- Autometer Sport Comp Oil Pressure Gauge 100psi
- Nismotronic engine management







I used a painless 12 Circuit Fuse Panel to rewire the entire car which I now realize is not enough circuits.

I got the car running after a few issues which I'm too lazy at this point to type out. So in a breif overview I did the following.

-Changed out injector o-rings
- Installed Isis RS3871 turbo
- Replaced valve seals
- I got to take the car down the road for a quick test drive. As soon as the car hit boost the clutch started slipping.
- Installed a SPEC Billet Flywheel along with a Exedy Stage 2 SR20DET clutch
- I started putting the interior back together and made a gauge pod from plexiglass for the dash where the center vents were.







Installed ISIS solid subframe bushings


Built custom gauge cluster



I like power steering and being able to stop so I ordered and installed the following

- Chase Bays power steering kit
- Z32 Brake Calipers
- Hawk HP Plus Pads
- Agency Power Z32 to 240sx lines
- Circuit Sports drilled and slotted rotors
- Chase bays brake line relocation kit.



So I knew she was ugly so I had to do something about it. Didn't come out half bad for a rattle can job.



So Nismotronic SA was finally released and I am now successfully running MAP. I installed an OMNI 3 bar and GM IAT sensor and had a little tuning fun. The car drives well and pulls extremely hard.

I only have one slight problem. Running wastegate pressure I can't get the boost pressure to drop below 16psi. I have the arm adjusted all the way out but can't get the boost to drop. I spoke with the manufacture to find out that they had a few turbos that the casting was a little rough around wastegate port and caused boost control issues. Looks like I'm going to have to pull the turbo off and port and polish the port.


Also I have a clunking coming from the rear that I can't seem to find. It clunks when going around a tight turn and when getting on and off the gas. Does not make a sound when going over bumps. I have done the following to try and correct it.

- The aftermaket RUCAs were shot and making some noise so I replaced them and the toe rods with ISIS units.
- Installed brand new axles. I figured even if they aren't the problem it can't hurt to have a spare set laying around.
- Swapped the Diff to another welded diff I had laying around.
- Double checked that everything is tight in the rear
- Installed one piece steel driveshaft

None of this corrected the problem so after some more messing around I found that I can lift the transmission by pushing up on the driveshaft. It's safe to say the trans mount is shot. I currently have an xcessive motorsports solid mount kit on the way to correct this issue.

That's about it for now.

[champ_6]

Current Specs

Performance
- KA24DE
- FiveO 550cc injectors
- ISIS RS3871 Turbo
- ISIS V2 KA24DE Bottom mount Turbo manifold
- Nismotronic engine management
- Omni 3 bar map sensor
- GM Iat sensor
- ISIS KA24DE FMIC Intercooler Kit
- ISIS Aluminum Radiator
- ISIS Aluminum Fan Shroud Kit
- ISIS low temp thermostat
- ISIS Single GT Exhaust
- ISIS Turbo Outlet
- ISIS 3" Downpipe
- ISIS SR20DET Suction Kit
- ISIS Exhaust Hangers
- Test Pipe

Interior
- AEM Uego Wideband
- Autometer Sport Comp Boost Gauge
- Autometer Sport Comp Oil Pressure Gauge
- Autometer Sport Comp Tach
- Autometer Sport Comp Speedo
- Autometer Sport Comp Fuel Level Gauge
- Circuit Sports "drift button" for e-brake


Handling / Drivetrain
- BC type BR coilovers
- ER spec one piece drive shaft
- Z32 front brake calipers
- Circuit sports Z32 rotors
- Hawk HP+ brake pads
- Chase bays brake line relocation kit
- Xcessive Motorsports solid mount kit
- Wicked tuning tie rod ends
- Tension rods (not sure the brand, came with car)
- ISIS RUCAs
- ISIS Toe rods
- ISIS solid rear subframe bushings
- Chassis stitch welded
- Welded Diff


Pretty stuff/ Misc
- Circuit Sports Coolant Overflow Tank
- Chase bays power steering line kit
- Circuit Sports brake master cylinder heat shield
- Painless 12 Circuit fuse panel

[champ_6]

So I ripped the turbo off and did a little porting. I decided not to reinstall the turbo manifold because the manifold to head flange was slightly warped and I'm installing a copper gasket. I will be installing an ISIS V2 bottom mount manifold tomorrow along with the solid mounts.

[champ_6]

Well I installed the solid mounts and the ISIS V2 turbo manifold. Took the car around the block and was able to turn the boost down to 10psi but I believe the rod bearings are now gone.

It sucks but what do you expect from a block with a 170k + miles and being boosted at the level it had been. Since I have a short block laying around, I ordered a Felpro headgasket and ARP head studs so I can swap out the bottom end to get her back on the road. I'll have the headgasket tomorrow and the studs will be in on Monday

[champ_6]

So engine turned out to be fine... It started acting up because the wire to the TPS broke and the solid mounts were causing some excess noise. I bought a house in October so I haven't really done much to the car other than install some Tein inner and outer tie rods, changed the tires because the wires were showing through and tuned the ecu.

I decided to re-tune it because Nismotronic has boost comp tables that allow you to tune your fuel maps to wastegate pressure maintaining resolution but still gives you the means to add fuel for higher boost levels.