After searching far and wide my patience finally paid off. I found a 240SX that hadn’t been destroyed, neglected, drifted, or half-rusted away. It’s hard to find one of these cars in good condition. There is a huge market for modifying these cars, so finding one that hasn’t been completely riced out or zip-tied together from a few too many poorly executed slides is a task in itself. I managed to find one with a straight body, mint interior, and relatively low miles. On top of that the car has Stance inverted mono-tube coilovers, SPC adjustable rear upper control arms, toe arms, and upper links, plus a few JDM goodies here and there.
The car was located in St. Louis so last saturday morning I made my way down to Union station and took the 7:30 train to STL. After plenty of stops and countless delays my train finally arrived a few hours late.
As it sat when I bought it:
The ride back was quick and I only burned half a tank driving back to Kansas City. Here’s he factory Heads up display unit:
First thing was to get the car on a lift to roll the fenders, and properly set up the coilovers height, spring pre-load, and dampening. All of which were way out of wack.
The idea behind me getting into a 240SX is the fact that so many different engines swap into these cars. Which is a huge bonus on top of an already great chassis and seemingly limitless aftermarket. The most common swap for these cars is the SR20DET (stock engine in these cars overseas) but I’m not looking to stick with a four cylinder motor. Instead I’ve chosen the RB-series engines. The RB20DET, RB25DET, and RB26DETT are factory inline-six engines with single or twin turbos. These engines came stock in a number of vehicles in Japan, namely the Skyline GTS-T and GTR models. Each capable of making enormous amounts of power. These engines are a common, relatively straight forward swap in S13 and S14 240SX’s. My personal choice is the RB25DET. A strong 2.5L straight-six with variable valve timing and a single T28 turbo. This RB, in my opinion is the best choice being as it is a balance between technology, displacement and affordability compared to the other RB engines, Here’s a comparison of the stock KA24 engine (US 240SX) and an RB25DET:
Here’s a great example of what the aftermarket has to offer for RB engines There are endless possibiblities for fabricating intake manifolds, piping, and custom turbo setups. Notice how the RB20DET fits in the 240SX engine bay. It’s a tight fit.
In due time I’ll get my hands on an RB25 and the transformation will begin. The goal is to have the car done by the end of winter but that’s being optimistic.
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