Hey guys, I have some noobish questions. I"m thinking of getting S13/S14 from either son or here or somewhere. wanted a “built” car. ie buy and go to the track type thing and it will be used as DD car all season. my parking arrangement atm only allowed 1 car…damn apt complex! (it’ll be crown rust proofed, so no worries). there are a few on son that I’m interested to see/pursue it a little further.
q-1: SR vs. KA-T which one is more reliable? it will used as mainly a DD and occasional auto cross/lapping day.
q-2: what should I look when buying ka-t? any flaw points I should be watching? what other areas I should particularly pay attention to?
q-3: what should I look when buying SR? any flaw points I should be watching? what other areas I should particularly pay attention to?
q-4: what is the flaw points on S13/S14 in general that I should pay special attention when checking the car? ie crack rear subframe mounts, rust prone points, etc etc
the ka-t chances are will not be as reliable as a sr with minor mods. but don’t get me wrong there are ka-t’s out there that run like they came boosted. if i had a pick i honestly would rather go with the sr even though it has less power than a ka-t. when buying s13 places to check for rust would be strut towers, wheel wells, frame railes, inside the engine bay make sure to check frame rails from inside next to the bottom of the motor as well. check the hatch best to get wingless hatch. check where the spare tire goes they tend to rust there as well. also check rockers and floor shit basically check the whole damn car! when buying the sr car make sure to ask the owner when he did the swap if he changed all gaskets, front and rear main seals cuz those will be a bitch to change later on if the seller actually cared about his car he would have done this while the sr was still outta the car. just remember the most important thing though. when buying a 240 you are better off getting a clean chassis and frame with bad motor than to get a good motorset with a bad chassis/frame. so don’t jump on the first car that you see for 5k with crazy hp/tq numbers. but then again people want way too much for their 240’s now.
I rather have an engine that’s gonna serve me long time than something with crazy power that’s gonna blew up 6 months down the road. 240sx is $$$ these days.
if you go KA-T you will need about 5 spare motors laying around. there not built for boost end of story. the sr is a reliable motor but as with any turbo setup there will always be problems. look for evidince of a sticker on the valve cover (glue,scratches ect…) if it dose not have a sticker it has most likely had the timing chain replaced that will save you a TONN of hastle. but as with any motor the whole reliability thing comes into play with how much u beat the motor. you can go big power and get a SAFC 1+2 and a boost controller ect… and tune it down for street and tune it up for track… but as for the s13 just look EVERYWHERE for rust. espetialy rear and front frame rails. trunk and base of front strut towers are also big rust areas. happy hunting!
If you rebuild the KA with lower compression pistons, forged rods, bearings, cams, etc along with a proper tune it can be just as reliable of more as an SR. To do a proper KA-T it will cost more than doing an SR.
