I've never really been one for build threads in the past, however I really do need all the help I can get with this car, so it seems like the perfect way to get other people's opinions/advice/bitching all in one place rather than posting a new thread every time I have a question about something. So here goes: I've wanted an S13 for ages now but prices have gone mental. So I just accepted it's probably not gonna happen, and have been driving this; mostly lifestyling, with the occasional cheeky skid and a few Teesside practice days thrown in (having to use it for 2+ hours of commuting every day kinda fucks up any ideas you have of drifting a car). But MX-5s are tremendously slow and uninspiring to look at, so I've never really stopped wanting something proper. Which brings us to last Tuesday, when I saw an advert on facebook for a friend's old S13 shell, with an SR20DET loosely positioned in its engine bay, but far from actually installed and working. The shell is far from clean, and the engine could be shagged for all I know, but the temptation was strong and by the following day there was finally an S13 sat in my unit, and considerably less money now sat in my bank account. The front bumper, bonnet, and gash chopped front wings got taken off (will be replaced with fibreglass ones if anybody has any?), and I borrowed an engine crane to get the SR out, which was rather easy considering the majority of stuff was either missing or just not connected properly, for example the gearbox, held on with two bolts Stripped a bunch off stuff off to inspect/clean/replace/etc. Aaaaand here comes the first of what I imagine will be countless problems I discovered that the threads in the oil feed port in the block are shagged. As of yet I'm not sure what to do about it, so if anyone has any advice then I'd love to hear it. My ideas so far are fill the hole with grease to try and catch any swarf, then drill it out and either helicoil it or use a larger fitting on a custom oil line. Neither of which are ideal, and I'm doubtful of being able to actually stop swarf getting in the engine. Also, seeing as the hole isn't just straight through, but has a flat bottom where it reduces to a smaller hole, I presume it'd need a straight fluted drill, and as far as I know that means it's not doable by hand, though I could very well be wrong. To be fair though, it needs to be properly square so doing it by hand isn't ideal anyway. PLEASE HELP But anyway, carried on having a look over the engine, whipped the valve cover off, and i gotta admit, it's not the prettiest. Faaaar from the worst too, but it looks like the oil definitely could've been changed a little more often. Oil spray bars have been removed and are currently soaking in petrol, looks like maybe they could do with it! While I was there I had a quick glance in the ports and noticed a slight bit of oil seeping down the stems on a couple of exhaust valves too, so I'm thinking it may be worth replacing them while I've got the chance... and then if I'm doing that, why not pull the head off... and then why not port match it... I'm undecided at the moment haha. Either way, when it goes back together there'll be a set of rocker stoppers in there amongst it all, unless anybody can recommend anything better for helping deal with abuse? Other than spending major £££ on some super snazzy valvetrain. I think that pretty much covers what I've managed to get up to with it so far anyway. Current spec/mods from what I've seen: DW braided clutch line Solid steering bush Relocated rack HKS actuator Nismo lightweight flywheel - now, this's been used with a slipping clutch so whether or not it's useable I don't know, gonna have to find out how I can check, will get some pictures at some point. Current ideas that I need help with: Reliable ≈ 300hp - what do I need for good useable power in that sorta region, that won't lead to a dead engine? 5 stud conversion, am I right in thinking that all I need is: S14 front hubs S14 front knuckles S14 LCA's S14 front brake calipers S14 rear hubs Front arches - the car will be dickhead low and probably running modded knuckles and rack spacers (if they're a good idea on these?), sooo, will I need to tub the front arches? Dickhead lows - every car has its own unique problems when it comes to running low, what are the S13's weakpoints when it comes to hektik stanzz? I think that'll do for now, there's a lot more shit that needs doing/I need to learn, but for now, it'll do. I'll be doing my own research on stuff as well so don't just think I want everyone to practically build the car for me, but if you can offer any advice then I'd be grateful to hear it. Cheers ladsss
Rack spacers? Yeah, go for it O Offset rack spacers? DON'T bother. We now know them as Death Spacers. For dick'ed lows, Keeve has managed to avoid tubbing the arches on his. The outer arch has been cut to give clearance for the dick'ed lock he's got. Watch out for soft areas around the chassis rail/inner arch area and if it gets chewed up by tyres, it will chew your tyres when it finds a hard spot. You WILL need to relocate your loom from the inside of your arches to your engine bay, chewed wing loom can cause a shit load of problems that can quite frankly be avoided.
Speaking from experience, you can just move the arch looms up. Remove the plastic wrapping makes it more flexible and smaller so as to not affect how the guard sits. Advice for running an S13 low: - Make sure engine mounts are in good condition and that the sump is above the line of the subframe. You don't want a dented/cracked sump. If it still sits low, shim the mounts with washers. Avoid the solid / hard mounts as it makes the car undrivable on the roads. - You can add extra protection with a power brace (google it if you don't know) and incorporate a bash plate with it - BFH any seams in the inner guard area and inner guards itself. Small but good tyres help with clearance and don't trade off grip - Spend time to get the front pipe of the exhaust sitting above the chassis rails. If you have access to a welder, do a custom job. Add a flexi too, so any impacts on the exhaust don't travel up to the turbo and cause things to crack or loosen - Accept that you will eventually wear a hole through the exhaust as it snakes past the rear subframe. I added a 3mm plate and it's worked pretty well for the past couple of years - If you can deal with a few extra clunks from the rear, fit solid subframe risers to help keep your axles from stretching too far and exploding. Angled camber and toe arms also help clear the chassis rails and subframe mounts but if they have normal adjustable arms run with them until they are a problem There's heaps more but it's more fun to find out yourself
My arch was basically from running wrong sized tyres. they were burst already so just cut out the fucked bit to make it look less aids and made it look worse. Offset rack spacers were always a fucking nightmare for me but other people have had no problems. For all the hassle of moving the rack, just do that. Tubbing, if the engines out and you have skills with a welder just do it. Make sure and do it from the top of the turret and not just follow OEM arches, pointless IMO. I'm limited to how low I can go from my upper chassis leg which tore through two RSR's. - I've never hit anything apart from the upper chassis rail but once thats cut out there may be less clearance. Loom doesn't have to be relocated to the engine bay, mine is out the side of the drivers arch and then over the lip, no problems since and its tried and tested in japan. Don't bother doing the tuck through from the arch into the bay, waste of time and you'll just encounter more problems. Coilovers, if you're getting HSD's you can get relatively low but you have to remove all the collars. CS2's are meant to be better for lows, or Geomasters will give you plenty lows regardless of coilover. Stock up on driveshafts. I'm on 5 killed shafts so far. Still trying to get a solution. Not as straight forward as running a low mx5 tbh, I still get grief from folk asking me if its worth it.
Drive shaft spacers should save you killing shafts, kinked rear toe arms for non knocking lows , maybe lift the rear subframe with solid bushes, depending on wheels size you may have to trim the top leg at the front, if you want to run hateens and go low you will need to do this. Check out Struggles Build, he did that. You can get a pre-facelift splitter touching the ground with out anything bar coilovers, a hammer and scaffold pole, but your rear alignment will be shit without arms.
Just get a tap that's was the original size it should be flat topped anyway and try and run that through first. If not drop the sump of and drill and tap a bigger size. Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
Well, not a lot of progress has occurred with this so far I must admit. However, I managed to actually go drifting for the first time since NEW YEARS EVE FUCKING 2014! Didn't quite know what to expect from Three Sisters circuit, but after a hesitant start to the day, it is absolutely mega! Weather was hot, like, really hot, so giving the little mazda death all day in 27° heat lead to coolant temps creeping up quite a bit, which in turn meant running with the heaters on, which was HELLISH. But I didn't care, cause I was having the time of my life haha. Was also my first time driving with modified knuckles courtesy of Destroy or Die and they are awesome; only span a couple of times all day and those occasions were just from me fucking up, not from running out of lock. Another first was actually managing to produce some tyre smoke for a change haha, potato quality photo but I'm too proud to not share So yeah, that was incredibly fun, and I'm super keen to get back on track way more often now. But now back to Nissans... I wanted 5 stud and whatnot yeah? Well... yesterday I got it haha Wasted lots of money on another bloody rolling shell, this time a 180SX, and with some bits on that I actually want. Thinking of actually using this shell instead of the other, and running stock rear arches (though they're a little tatty so I need to weigh up the feasibility of that first). One other problem is that it has a sunroof, which I do not like, and what I also do not like is that the sunroof is kinda knackered, so I'm not 100% on what I'm doing yet And oh yeah, at some point in the life of this shell, it has been painted with glow in the dark paint, which is fantastic haha. New shell spec as far as I know: 5-stud 14 lower arms Adjustable tension rods (probably fucked, haven't looked yet) Camber arms (again, probably fucked, haven't looked) HSD Monopros (quite old, maybe seized, haven't checked haha) Chargespeed rear bumper and skirts Some form of aftermarket exhaust, which is better than no exhaust! Think I will be looking for R33 rear brake bits in the future if anyone can help. That's it for now I guess, see what I find when I actually start working on it!
I think this is Ashs old shell, that was Skyprinces old shell, that was orange, and had panels from Ashs flipped ex Dan Joyce ( the dirty sanchez / "check out my Subaru" Dan Joyce) glow in the dark URAS 180 on it. If so it was clean when I helped him put it together. Stock arches are where its at, fibreglass literally wants to kill you, don't let it, run stock, or sell me the shell ha ha.
