suede for the win

Actually made a bit of progress today...was able to get my glovebox on the 240 recovered in some blue suede. It turned out decently well, with only minor bunching. Also covered the passenger side door with the same blue suede...that, didn't turn out as well. It's actually a pretty difficult area to try to recover, as it has two severe concave areas. Luckily, the door pull hole and door handle hole are right near the most severe of the two curves, so bunching isn't quite as bad. Still isn't as smooth as I wish it would be. If the fabric were just a bit more stretchy (like the grey stuff....) it'd be no problem. Overall I do like the result. However, when pulling the masking tape off the door panel, I took a lil' bit of the black paint with me. Blimey. Had to give those areas a respray, its drying now.

Also some news on the '66, its got a driveshaft. Yippie. Picked it up today. Broke down and went ahead and had the old shaft retubed, with new u-joints. Something else was also done I'm sure, just can't think of it right now. Haven't fitted it up yet, but I sure as hell hope it fits. Also got some taillights and brake line made for the thing....gettin' really, really close now. Need some front suspension bits and hook up the transmission, then she can move under her own power. It'd be the first time in about 3 years. Effin sweet.

no title

I can't remember what I last posted...but man, that interior is lookin nice. Been too cold to do anymore painting, but I'm a bit anxious to get the interior back together. Been running around trying to locate some carpet dye to take the brown carpet and turn it black. Not sure what I'm gonna do about the seats. I found some black suede and may try to find a decent, near OEM type of fabric in black and make new seat covers; haven't fully decided yet. One thing I did find, and buy, is some really nice grey suede to recover the headliner. I'll probably cover the h/l and a few other bits with it to finish off the color conversion of the interior. I'm lovin' it.

it lives: the sequel

Yesterday, I got the 240 to run! No need for the exclamation point there, but just felt like adding it. All it took was a new battery (didn't even have one) and some plugs. The spark plugs that were in it were way past gone. Fouled beyond help and worn away. They were bad. Really bad. I should take a picture of them. The car fired off as soon as I hit the key, good sign. It smoked, both from the exhaust pipe and plug holes, a re-torque of the plugs solved their smoking problem, but the smoke from the tailpipe is more serious. As is the chocolate milk looking oil. The head gasket is definitely bad. It'll cost about a lil' more then $100 in parts and an afternoon's worth of work, no biggie really. After that, the car should run fine....

Also got started on painting the interior black. Found some vinyl/fabric paint at the parts store and it looks very nice. Just the right amount of gloss. A can did almost all the passenger side panels (door panel, rear side upper and lower, kick, speaker cover, 3rd brake light, etc) so a second can should do the driver's side, while a third will cover the dash and rest of the small stuff. I'm really liking the outcome, I just hope it holds up well...

update....and a step back

The menu at left should now be updated to include the 240. Although all the appropriate files are updated, I'm personally having trouble seeing the new files; even though if I load the files up directly, they are new; just not new when used here. I'm sure its just a cache problem more then anything else. Hopefully its all good and not a problem.

While I've got a 240 page up, I'm not terribly happy with it. It follows the same format as the Ranger and Ranchero pages, which of course I'm not happy with either. I'm trying a new thing with the pictures for the 240 then with the 01 or 66, so far I seem to like it and I think it'll work out for the better.

I've taken down the thumbnails for the Silvia logos, I'm still undecided where to put those again, but I didn't want them where they were. Links should still work, if you've interested in that stuff. And yes, I know, I need to do the rest of them....

cold...rose, i'm so cold

Holy cow is it gettin' cold out there. Its not as cold as the poor folks up in the Lakes area, or out West, but when I'm spending a few hours at a time outside, it gets a bit chilly after awhile. This week I've been removing the interior, trying to get it all cleaned up and ready to get dyed to black. Maybe black. Probably black. Ever wanted to see an S13 with no interior?

Gutted 1
Gutted 2
Gutted 3

Now you know. Also got keys made for it...turns out my $10 wasted key fits the glovebox, and only the glovebox. I guess the locks were rekeyed at some point, but not the 'box. But my new keys fit the trunk, doors, and yes, ignition. Maybe tomorrow I'll put in a battery and try to crank her up.

treasure, or trash?

So, for the price I paid for the 240, you'd think that it'd either be a) trashed, b) non-running, or c) looks good initially, but turn out to be a pile. So far, none of those hold true. I'm only hoping my luck will hold. To be fair, its not perfect. It needs new carpet, various small bits are missing (screws and the like), there was no radio, etc. But really, with my plan for the car, none of that bothers me. Also, to be fair, someone kinda botched an alarm install. There was an alarm and I guess a control box under the hood, with wires running everywhere. Traced them to the tail lights, where I found someone cut the stock wiring to splice in some piggy-back trigger wires. The wires were just twisted together and held together with electrical tape.

Discovered a few more flaws today as well. For one, the key code in the glove box doesn't match the locks. Got a key cut to the code...and it doesn't work. Ten dollars wasted. Oh well. Also, pulled the door panels and found aftermarket speakers installed, some cheapies by a company called RoadMaster. Not only were the drivers side using house speaker wire for signal wire, but it was held in with only a single bolt. The passenger side used cut stock wiring, but only one screw. Both rears appeared to be stock, but the surround was gone. So it goes, but its cool. Other then a mysterious seat belt thing in the back, all seems to be good....for now.

that's better

Spent most of the day getting the 240 cleaned up, and I'll tell ya, it cleaned up quite well. If all I wanted to do was get the car running, I'd drive it pretty much as is. It's not perfect, but not ragged out. For $400, I got an absolute steal. Took my dad and I a bit of time to get the steering unlocked, but finally did...just had to remove the ignition lock. No biggie really.

I've got lots of pics of the car as it sits now. Something I didn't do with the Ranger and Ranchero is take lots and lots of pics of the process; I plan to fix that with the 240.

Funny thing, whilst I was out cleaning the car up, some guys did a few races in front of the house, one of the competitors was a 240 convert...irony. I think it lost. Of course, the convert is the heaviest of all the 240's.

Since the site is made how it is, I don't think I can easily add a "240" section...I'll dive into that later tonite to see what I can do. If nothing else, gives me a chance to redo the site.

Pictures:
Front Left
Right Rear
Rear
Driver Side Interior
Driver Seat
Passenger Seat
Passenger Interior
Rear Seats
Gauges
Engine
Data Plate

not a total liar

Ya know how I've made several promises of getting a car? Even more expressions of desires to own a car. Well, I've made good on at least one. Today, I bought a 1989 Nissan 240SX Coupe.

Yes. I. Did.

I spotted it on Craig's List, and I've kinda had my eye out for a good, cheap car; prefer non-running. This past weekend, I spotted one for sale for the sum of $600. Not bad. Here's the exact listing:
"hey i have a 1989 nissan 240 sx for sale i have had the car for two or three years the car will run the transmission is great but the car needs a head gasket it is dull primer black it has 3 new tires one is missing but it has a dougnut on it it has the alunminum wing on the back and the scoop on the front i have a clear title any questions you have feel free to email me i need to get rid of it asap the car is way worth putting the gasket on it or if you already have one it would be a great parts car cause all the parts are like new i already have three cars and i do not want the city to start about thank you and have a great day"

So, I emailed the lister to get some more info. Really, they were on little help. Couldn't even tell me what transmission the car had, the mileage, or even the condition. I thought the seller was going to sell it out from underneath me, as they had someone else go look at it who was "very interested". Eh, oh well, I thought. Turns out they didn't want it. So yesterday, Thursday, took a family trip to go see it (turns out the car was maybe 2 blocks from where my great aunt lives). I liked it, real good condition. Small hole and wrinkled fender where a side marker light used to go, not sure whats up with that. Anyway, get home, make some calls and set a deal. Four hundred dollars and the car is mine. Sweet...

Turns out making the deal was the easy part; and last nite's problems were a harbinger...A neighbour had borrowed our car dolly to tow home a Honda Prelude, had had it for about a week, so my dad and I go to fetch it. The tow ball on the truck was the wrong size...off to Wal*Mart. Get that all sorted out, and the plan is to pull the dolly out from under the car...try it and all we get is spinning tires (damn open rear ends...). Finally after a bit of luck and the car shifting itself off the dolly, we were able to get the car off.

Alright, so off to fetch the 240. The idea was to get it and get home before dark...didn't even get there until 5:30ish, about the time the sun's disc gets below the horizon. Wait about 20 mins for the people I bought the car from to show up, then its just a matter of unlocking the steering wheel, putting the car in neutral and pushing onto the dolly....yeah, right. Turns out the guy didn't bring the key. Had a whole fistful of keys to choose from and none of them fit. Hopefully he'll be able to find it. But the problem is that the car's wheels are turned...so, back the dolly down to the car, push it on and go. Wrong. Took the come-along, some pushing and coaxing, but finally the car is up on the dolly. Now its a matter of squeezing the dolly through a gap in the fence only slightly larger (i'm talking maybe 2" wider total) then the width of the dolly. Spinning tires and everything. Well, finally, get the car on the dolly, the dolly with the car out of the backyard where it was parked, title signed over, bill of sale, handshakes, etc. Drag it home no problems...other then a slight detour going down a closed road because of road works.

Tomorrow will bring a bath, some pictures, interior cleaning and hopefully figuring out a way to unlock that damn steering wheel....

Not only that, but finally got the Ranger put back together. Have been having battery problems, constantly needing jump starts. Problem: Battery is under the bed. Problem 2: Fuel tank is in the bed. Problem 3: No way to remove battery for testing without removing the bed; or test to see if anything worked without putting the bed back on. Yeah...now you've got a scope on the situation. Battery turned out to be good, just needed some lovin' from a battery charger. Put the bed back on and everything is Good To Go.

Not only that, but went and picked up my new side mirrors for the Ranger. They will be sweet. And....there's more....picked up some 1953 Buick taillights (for $15 no less) for use on the Ranger. I may still go with something else, but really this was a case of "get 'em while their hot", couldn't pass it up.