Need some help evaluating potential buy of a modded 1990 240sx

Spikuh · 08-17-2009, 07:13 PM

Title basically says it all, but I will fill in some background info.

I already own a 1991 240sx hatchback, but it is starting to show its age from general wear and tear. Mainly in the tranny and clutch systems. I have driven the car since I was 16 in highschool and have kept the car this long simply because I love it but the time is dangerously close to needing a replacement for it.

My original replacement car was going to be the 350z, but since the 370z has come out, I decided to replace it with this car instead. However, with there being some talk about a possible hybrid model for the 370z I have decided to hold off on purchasing a 370z until that plays out. So I am back to square one with needing to replace my current 240sx.

However, however, I simply refuse to sell off my car because I had plans to build it up and keep it as a nice project car once I paid off the 370z, but that is probably going to cost $20k or more to get it in the shape I want.

So during the process of weighing some options of purchasing a go-between car or beginning the rebuild of my car (was wanting to SR20 swap or RB25 swap to extend the life of the car) I stumbled across this possible gem of a 240sx.

Here is the URL for the thread:

NM VERY clean 1990 240sx hatch, SR, Type-X - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

And I will repost the guys first post with all the information pertaining to the vehicle in a quote box.

Quote:

1990 240SX. All of my goodies I brought back from living in Japan 6 years included. OEM Type-X front end with all working lights. Crystal front lights & side markers (not all shown in these pics). Seibon CF hood. Origin side skirts & rear bumper. Supermade rear wing & roof wing. New sunroof seal & extra sunroof as well. Nismo CF RPS-13 center piece with kouki tails. OEM Nissan 180sx "SR20DET" side badges. Windows tinted the darkest the tint shop had all around, with windshield strip as well. H4 conversion lights with Piaa 140W HID style bulbs (very bright! Cost me $130pr new for bulbs alone). Fresh paint, with 5-year warranty from 1-Day Paint & Body.

S13 blacktop from '98 Type-X. Only 25K total miles. ARP head studs, Tomei 1.2mm headgasket, Freddy intake modded with Q45 throttlebody. 740cc Nismo injectors. Sard adj fpr. 255lph Walbro wired for full voltage, Greddy oil cooler/remote filter. 600 miles on new GT2871R .64 ar. HKS 264 Step 1 cams, tomei cam gears-properly degreed & installed. Uras HD motormounts & Nismo trans mount, Jun waterpump pulley, Unorthodox Racing crank pulley, aluminum accessory pulleys. Greddy VSPL FMIC, Greddy Type-R blowoff valve, Z32 mafs with hard pipe intake, 6-puck clutch (600 miles since new), fresh tranny. Cusco 2-way diff with 4.36 gears. Full instrumentation: Greddy whiteface boost/a&f/fuel press/oil press/egt, Pivot stepping gauge tach with shift light. Koyo radiator with Billion silicone hoses & t-stat, radiator cooling panel, twin Pulsar Gtir fans with thermostat switch. Apexi Power FC with Commander. Stainless 3" dp with flex, 3 1/2" exhaust system-not loud, but deep. A bunch more little crap I'm forgetting...

2,000 miles on new K-sport coilovers, greddy front & rear strut bars, firewall braces, Nismo power brace, Kazama adj front tension rods, HICAS steering rack (quicker rate), HICAS front swaybar & Godspeed rear, adj. RUCAS, adj. traction rods. Freshly aligned. 18x9.5" front & 18x10.5" rear JDM Liberty (AVS model-5 clone) wheels (curbed by last owner...my damn ex-wife!) with good Dunlop 235-35-18F, 265-35-18R tires (also comes with another set of BFG KDWs for front & rear), 15mm Project KICS spacers front & rear for clearance. Z32 brakes with crossdrilled front, Endless pads, stainless lines, JDM e-brake conversion & 5-lug.

Recaro SR3 seats with Bride superlow rails. MK2 short shifter with Nismo CF knob. S13 JDM Silvia floormats. Momo race wheel with hub & CF horn button. New Pioneer top of the line CD receiver with bluetooth, Ipod connection & HD radio (with HD receiver). Old school round 12" Kicker Solobaric in small sealed enclosure (sounds great) & Kenwood amp. Infinity Kappa speakers all around.

I know there's a whole bunch of little crap I'm forgetting. This is the culmination of 7 years & $40,000 worth of my life in the S13 game. I'm not looking to part out, so don't ask. I'm not interested in trades, unless you have a clean 70-72 Buick Skylark GS 455...which I highly doubt. I'm getting rid of all my toys for a musclecar.

I'm located in Albuquerque New Mexico. Title is in hand, car was smogged & registered earlier this year. $10K. Lowballers pollute somewhere else.

Left out his name, number, e-mail because that just didn't seem proper to link his personal info eventhough its at the link.

Anyway, I was hoping some of you more tech savvy guys could check this out and give me take on if this is a potential good deal for myself and worth investingating or if I should just move along.

Thanks for any help.

[EDIT]Zilvia.net appears to be a Z forum also, although not a 370z only forum, so I don't know how that will fall under the rules of posting. Sorry if I wasn't supposed to.

shabarivas · 08-18-2009, 12:29 AM

Holy **** that thing is clean - i might buy it if you dont lol

smurfblu13 · 08-18-2009, 12:41 AM

Minus the rims that is an awesome looking 240. Sorry don't know much about them to help you out with it though. Good luck let us know how it goes!

08-18-2009, 12:46 AM

Dont buy it and get a new 370z. You dont want the hassle of buying a previously modded car.

BanningZ · 08-18-2009, 04:14 AM

I would drop money on a 18 year old car unless it was 100% oem, and in pristine condition.

Beware mods that you have not been personally involved with.

Still it is a beautiful car, and I'd totally sport it if I had gobs of money to blow on multiple cars.

Spikuh · 08-18-2009, 06:17 PM

Thanks for all the replies so far guys. Just wanted to give a quick update and ask a few questions of you all to help educate myself better.

I spoke with the owner through e-mail yesterday and asked a few general questions. Found out that actual car has around 135k miles on the frame, so not bad considering mine has close 197k... Also found out that the tranny is the SR one so I believe the engine (which he said was in his 180sx previosuly) to also be the SR20 and not the CA18. I sent him another e-mail today and asked him to clarify just to be safe. Also asked if he did the install of these modifications and what sort of experience he has with this, how hard he drives the car, if he has a comprehensive list of all the mods, and if he has a recent dyno chart he could provide (said it was "freshly tuned").

Anyone have any suggestions for other questions that might be pertinent?

Anyway, now for my real questions for you guys.

I read it has a cusco 2 way differential and did a quick google search to find some info on it. It appears to be a racing differential (although no idea how good, never done the mod thing before) and I understand the basics of how they work, but I don't understand the difference between a 1, a 1.5, and a 2 way... Even after researching it a bit, I still don't understand the differences, so would anyone mind explaining for a poor fool?

I noticed he has a 4.36 gear setup on the car. A stock ratio of my '91 is 4.083, so I am assuming that this means gearing on this car is 6% taller than on my car?

And my last question. Is anyone able to make some sense of the engine modification part? Its mostly in this part:

Quote:

S13 blacktop from '98 Type-X. Only 25K total miles. ARP head studs, Tomei 1.2mm headgasket, Freddy intake modded with Q45 throttlebody. 740cc Nismo injectors. Sard adj fpr. 255lph Walbro wired for full voltage, Greddy oil cooler/remote filter. 600 miles on new GT2871R .64 ar. HKS 264 Step 1 cams, tomei cam gears-properly degreed & installed. Uras HD motormounts & Nismo trans mount, Jun waterpump pulley, Unorthodox Racing crank pulley, aluminum accessory pulleys. Greddy VSPL FMIC, Greddy Type-R blowoff valve, Z32 mafs with hard pipe intake, 6-puck clutch (600 miles since new), fresh tranny. Cusco 2-way diff with 4.36 gears. Full instrumentation: Greddy whiteface boost/a&f/fuel press/oil press/egt, Pivot stepping gauge tach with shift light. Koyo radiator with Billion silicone hoses & t-stat, radiator cooling panel, twin Pulsar Gtir fans with thermostat switch. Apexi Power FC with Commander. Stainless 3" dp with flex, 3 1/2" exhaust system-not loud, but deep. A bunch more little crap I'm forgetting...

It appears the engine is also modded, but I know so little about the actual guts of a car, anyone mind clarifying?

I know this isn't a 240 forum but hopefully you guys can help me with these general questions.

Once again, thanks for any help.

08-18-2009, 06:24 PM

1-Way L.S.D. means that only when the accelerator is stepped on, the L.S.D. comes into use. The 1.5-Way L.S.D. means that when the car is braking, there is little L.S.D. effect and the 2-Way L.S.D. means that either when the car is accelerating or braking the L.S.D. is always active.

sloterg · 08-19-2009, 09:33 PM

ive had a few 240s in my life as well.. if it was up to me only cuz ive been in this situation. i would slow down. investing in automobiles is risky business. IMO i wouldnt get a modified car, especially if its turbo'd like that sr20 unless it was installed by a reputable company, i just dont trust anyone enough to do it.

In my experiences, u gotta really wanna do this and be 100% committed. with that being said. i dont know ur financial background but restoring any car in general can get pretty expensive. cuz thats all ur really doing, is restoring the 240 to get it back to atleast mediocre driving conditions. if u really want that z just wait for it, and get urself a newer car to get u places for the time being. i guarantee u wont regret it, and i know ur wallet wont either

boosted180 · 09-15-2009, 07:55 AM

i've owned 2 240's, one with an sr20 and lightly modded for track use. i've owned both for almost 10 years.

this one looks very nice, but careful of it's mechanical condition and how well it was put together. i would say the vast majority of modified 240s are NOT very well done. they dont "work" for the track in terms of how they're set up b/c the people doing them dont really know what they're doing.

the main fault of the 240 is the weak chasis that has some serious problems with flexing if you're going to drive it hard. other than that, it's a light-weight, great handling car if set up properly and the sr20 is a great engine that's been perfectly reliable for me. and there's tons of aftermarket support for this car. i would say it's one of the cheapest ways of going fast reliably.

however, like i said, just be careful about how things have been modified. i've known people (including my brother) who bought fixed up 240s that looked great, but came to regret it b/c of mechanical problems due to previous owners doing crappy sr20 installs, etc.

sloterg · 09-15-2009, 08:28 AM

wowsers.. this guy never updated us

08-18-2009, 04:14 AM	#5 (permalink)
BanningZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: nowhere Posts: 5,478 Drives: 06' Nismo Frontier Rep Power: 28	I would drop money on a 18 year old car unless it was 100% oem, and in pristine condition. Beware mods that you have not been personally involved with. Still it is a beautiful car, and I'd totally sport it if I had gobs of money to blow on multiple cars. __________________ Become a Premium Member: Click HERE MB 06' Nismo VQ40DE

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08-18-2009, 12:29 AM	#2 (permalink)
shabarivas A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,188 Drives: 370z MB 6mt Rep Power: 914	Holy **** that thing is clean - i might buy it if you dont lol

08-18-2009, 12:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
smurfblu13 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: PA Posts: 2,584 Drives: cars Rep Power: 380	Minus the rims that is an awesome looking 240. Sorry don't know much about them to help you out with it though. Good luck let us know how it goes!

08-18-2009, 12:46 AM	#4 (permalink)
blue660r01 Guest Posts: n/a	Dont buy it and get a new 370z. You dont want the hassle of buying a previously modded car.

08-18-2009, 06:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
blue660r01 Guest Posts: n/a	1-Way L.S.D. means that only when the accelerator is stepped on, the L.S.D. comes into use. The 1.5-Way L.S.D. means that when the car is braking, there is little L.S.D. effect and the 2-Way L.S.D. means that either when the car is accelerating or braking the L.S.D. is always active.

09-15-2009, 07:55 AM	#9 (permalink)
boosted180 Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: long beach Posts: 188 Drives: '09 370z sport 6m Rep Power: 16	i've owned 2 240's, one with an sr20 and lightly modded for track use. i've owned both for almost 10 years. this one looks very nice, but careful of it's mechanical condition and how well it was put together. i would say the vast majority of modified 240s are NOT very well done. they dont "work" for the track in terms of how they're set up b/c the people doing them dont really know what they're doing. the main fault of the 240 is the weak chasis that has some serious problems with flexing if you're going to drive it hard. other than that, it's a light-weight, great handling car if set up properly and the sr20 is a great engine that's been perfectly reliable for me. and there's tons of aftermarket support for this car. i would say it's one of the cheapest ways of going fast reliably. however, like i said, just be careful about how things have been modified. i've known people (including my brother) who bought fixed up 240s that looked great, but came to regret it b/c of mechanical problems due to previous owners doing crappy sr20 installs, etc.