Heyo, 1st off I’d like to say that I like the new layout and address. I registered twice before but each time the old site got hacked I had to re-reg…after the third time I didn’t bother untill the switch. heh
So, I’m currently looking to purchase my 1st car and after some research I am leaning heavily towards a nissan 240sx 89-94 Hatch. Only thing is I’m very, very new to car tuning and customization and don’t quite know where to start. I was thinking maybe look into taking a night school to learn about fixing cars if at all possible?
Also, when I do purchase one, what should be the 1st things I should be looking into fixing/changing? I would love to just go strait for the aesthetics and such…but at the same time I don’t want to have a car that looks killer but dies on me or handles like shit. Maybe start with suspention? I’m planning on basicly starting from square one and learn allong the way. So that after a few years I’ll have a car that I can truly call one of a kind.
I’m thinking of eventually doing an engine swap and put in a sr20DET. But I don’t know how much that would run me or if I should focus on other things 1st. I’d love to be able to do all of it myself but I don’t know nearly enough to. I’ve been trolling the forums and reading up from some posts and wikipedia, but one thing always leads to another and I’m beinging to feel a little overwhelmed by it all. That’s why I think trying to find some sorta hands on exp would help greatly (Ie: night school).
My advice is spend your time doing ALOT of research, and know what you’re getting into. Buying your first 240, you’re almost guaranteed to get ripped, but we’ve all been there.
Before making any crazy plans, buy the car first, thats always what takes the most work. Then go from there. I’d do all the small maintenance things, and then depending on what you want to do with the car, go on with modifications whether it be power / handling / aesthetics.
you can start by narrowing your search down from 89-94 to 92-94. 89-91 do not have a vlsd, generally come with the ka24e(SOHC) 92+ will have a ka24de(DOHC). i personally love my ka24e, and after my mod’s are on it will be a strong motor. there are alot more performance parts for ka24de & sr20det then there is for the ka24e. if your gonna be looking to upgrade this is something that you will wanna concider. there is performance parts for the ka24e, but your gonna have to search for them and chances are you wont be able to get them at your parts store, online will be your best bet(ebay is awsome).
buying your 240 will take time and effort, knowing what your looking for is a very good start. you have to look att he frame, poke it make sure it’s rush free, the wheel wells, strut mounts, these are all places that 240’s like to rust. your gonna wanna test drive it, if u can try and go alone so you can atleast put teh hammer down and make sure your not buying a worn out motor, clutch problems seem to be a common thing. when i got mine the clucth slipped bad to the point when if you stepped on it no matter what gear it would slip and the rpm’s would go up but no accel, hills were a beotch!!
look up some history on the 240, go through the years and find out what the differences are between each year. this will give u a good idea of which one you will want. some times you don’t get to choose. look to be spending around 3-5g’s for a good 240.
good luck on the hunt. i am on my first 240, only had it for a year and a half, i got luck and bought a solid first 240, i have noticed that ppl get burnt if they don’t look for these signs of a lemon.
There’s enough stuff around this forum to teach you a heck of a lot.
Just look around at certain old threads and the FAQ etc. Doing a lot of reading will go a long way, and most of what’s here will be accurate and whatever may not be should become apparent after said reading.
BTW the 1989-1990 models were SOHC (140hp) and the 1991-1998 models were DOHC (155hp).
IMHO your order of operations should be:
– Reading/research
– Buy your 240sx (which’ll have a clean frame, right?!)
– Enjoy it stock, learn about and experiment with maintenance
– Decide where you want to go with mods, read/plan, and begin modifying
learn the rwd car first… dont do heavy mods til u get use to it… then do suspension… at least lower springs better shocks…then get good tires for summer and winters for the winter…ppl usually run lots of crap tires… then just do watever u want…like appearance mods or engine power mods…
make ur own personal car… regardless of what others thinks… and if u ask on son240… there will be alot of critics… let it be expected.
So I should be looking for a 92-94 preferably by the sounds of it, and make sure that there’s no/ very little rust on the body. From there it’s whatever the individual feels like doing.
As for learning about the parts themselfs and how one might go about installing them…where/how did you folk learn?
it all depends on what u wanna use ur 240 for. i love my sohc, my stock sohc beat a stock dohc. 3 times in a row. u can blame granny shifting, the guy doesn’t know howt o drive yatta yatta, or it’s just that the sohc is very torque’y and with the RIGHT driver the car can be fast!
it’s all about what u wanna do, if u really wanna mod ur car, yea a 92 would be the best bet, tons of parts on the market. alot more then the sohc(hard to find but stuff is there)
your gonna want a rust free 240, but come on, lets be honest!! HARD to find… check the body over carefully, the frame and your floor pannels.
if u want to learn more about the car, i can direct you to manuals for every year of 240, they will give u all the info and how to.
even at stock it’s an amazing car, your making a good hoice buying a 240!!
Darkside, 89-90 is sohc and 91-94 is dohc, your confuzing the new guy.
Trutrax, My advise to you is to TAKE YOUR TIME, Dont rush things, I know you want a 240 now and the first one you see within your budget will look appealing, But make sure you dont jump the gun and regret it later on. Reseach ALOT on 240’s, Sign up to abunch of different forums ( Zilvia, 240sxforums, NICO, Freshalloy, Etc) decide which one you like and call it home. I’ve been on many of those forums for years, and spent Countless hours reading for over a year before I actually purchased my 240.
Find out the common problems with 240’s, find out what mods respond well with these cars and what YOU want to do with it.
Good luck and hope to see you out at some future meets.
true enuff, my bad. did some of the 89-90 not come with the ca18det?
i bought a manual online and when i got it, the motor in the car was a ca18det, not the ka24e like i wanted. the manual was for a 89-90 240sx.
once you have decided ona motor platform ka/ca/sr/rb whatever it is, look up parts for it, this will give you an idea of how much your gonna have to spend to upgrade your car.
when your thinking motors remember the higher you go on the motor chain the more it costs to fix and maintain. head gaskets are a common problem, if u can’t do this stuff yourself, ur gonna pay up the @ss at a shop with a dohc and even more with a sr. my sohc’s head gasket went, my mechanic said that i would almost pay double if i had the dohc.
turbo… wonderful thing, but if it fucks up…$$$$.
no sence buying a car that your gonna have to park for a year to save the money to fix when you break it. yea a 240 witha rb26dett would be nice, but there is no way i could afford to fix that if something happened to it!!!
