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Thread: Nize's S13 - RB20DET Swap - Restoring Project 'XS'

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    Nize's S13 - RB20DET Swap - Restoring Project 'XS'

    Edit - Hello again SXOC...

    Well, I'm pleased to say that I'm still going to get this finished, even if it's gonna take me another 2 years!! lol


    Edit of an Edit - Well, it's taken me about 10 years to complete but it's now finished!!

    You can see all the pictures if you follow this link to my website, as there's too much to post here just now, I just don't have the time to do it just now.

    I'll post links to my Youtube slideshows on the end page of this Thread. Please follow this link to see them.


    Here we go again... another round of RB20DET'd S13 tinkering madness!!

    I thought that instead of adding to my original thread that maybe this time round it's best to start a 'project thread', as most of the work im doing now, is on the actual bodyshell, so this is more of a restoration/rebuild project just now.

    Hopefully (if Mod's allow) I will try to add any pics of the engine fitting etc to my other thread as I get them...
    This one: http://www.sxoc.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=233582

    Basically this project thread will have all the chassis and body repair pics etc, and the other can hopefully be updated with the pic's etc that I didn't manage to get the 1st time round.

    Anyway, enough of my boring ol' speech-like patter... bring on the resto' !!
    Last edited by Nize; 11-03-2018 at 21:44. Reason: It's been a looong while... update time!!

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    Here we go again! - Day 1...

    Well, here she is, in all her -slightly tatty but in a general sense not too bad condition really- erm, glory!



    I have seen worse, and really I thought just the chassis rails were the worst part... little did I know!

    So here's what happened next... 1st you take 1 complete RB20'd S13, then with the aid of a small tool kit, you do this:



    lol

    The front of the car is now fully stripped, but I'll stick in a photo here when I take it.

    So, that was 'Day 1'... was actually the other week, but you get the 'jist.

    Under closer inspection tho, even the worst parts that I knew about were actually much more severe than I had 1st thought...

    Pic's to follow in next post.

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    Guest M.D.'s Avatar
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    glad to see your restoring the car mate, hope your still enjoying the engine, i know i am,
    do you find it to be very gutless round town at low RPM tho, i know mine is but that may be due to very long intercooler pipework killing the response,

    good luck with the build mate

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    Thanks mate, it's gonna take me a while yet, but it'll all be worth it to have the chassis back up to full strength.

    Actually, on that note, i've got some pictures to put up which will probably have a lot of folk running outside to check on their chassis rails'!! lol

    Will put them up tonight, along with plenty more pics to come.

    And regarding the torque m.d, I think it's a bit lower than we'd probably like, but...
    I managed ~6 second 0-60mph's with ease, and I hit 78 in a tad over 7.2secs as well, so the acceleration is there, but they do need to be revved a bit to get you from trundling pace up to a 'brisk cruising' speed without resorting to using 1st or 2nd gears...
    My clutch didn't really like the engine's new found torque tho, and has since bitten the dust, literally.

    Last edited by Nize; 05-02-2010 at 00:45. Reason: rambling on... shortened ramble. :)

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    Day 2... The carnage!

    Well... here's the next days results - There's a lot of pics here to post so I will do this in a few seperate posts:

    A 1st look at the Driver's side... not good!

    Front upper chassis leg is easily sorted, just a bit of surface rust to see to:


    Now here's the inner front arch after a bit of 'probing' with the aid of a stiff finger!!


    Another angle of the front D/S chassis leg, from underneath:


    Makes me when I know how much work there is to do!

    And now, moving back up the car a bit, here's what's left of the rear of the inner Sill section:




    Not nice!

    The rear arches are non-existent so I won't get into them just now...
    So that's the drivers' side pic's ( ) next, the passenger side.

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    Day 2... continued.

    Ok then, here's the Pic's of the Pass' Side, from the front chassis leg to the rear section of sill... are you all ready for this??!!

    Compared to the D/S, this chassis leg is in much better condition:


    And moving back along...




    So, far, most of the metal on the P/S seems pretty good, but there's still a few nasty bits to do.

    Here's the rear of the sill tho:



    And closer:




    About 2/3 of the Pass sill will need replacing... and on the D/S, it's more like 3/4!!

    BAsically, if your sills have had a crappy repair done, probably a repair where the original bad metal was only covered over, rather than removed... These pic's are of what it could look like underneath!!

    So be well advised people, if in doubt about your car's rust problems/chassis strength, get stuck in there and have a good look!!

    In this next pic you can see the underside of the sill, looking past it at the rear floor section and chassis support:



    And another couple, of the P/S floor from the inside:





    Next, a closer look at the front chassis legs etc... from the inside!

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    uurrgh, crusty as fcuk mate

    good luck with the resto, you really have your work cut out with it

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    Day 2... Continued...

    Ok, now a closer look at he chassis legs/rails things...

    Here's the Driver's side 1st, from the front of the car:



    There's a few bolts I couldnt get off from earlier when i did the swap originally... will get them off this time tho.

    And here it is from the footwell end... floor cut away:



    Not much left to recognise or to take templates from tbh... thankfully the P/Side wasn't as badly corroded:



    And much closer still:


    I think there's got to be a good reason why S13's rot on the Drivers' side much faster than the pass' side does...
    I've got 3 S13's here, and they're all like this, but each is at a different stage in rusting just now! lol

    So... here's the P/Side chassis leg from the front of the car in comparison:



    As you can see... it's clearly in much better condition than the D/Side's leg.

    Here's the inner side of the same chassis leg, it's in pretty ok fettle:



    And the Drivers' side:





    I think because I painted over areas last year that I hadn't rust-killed, it's coming back and causing the paint to flake... so that's why it look so much worse tbh.

    But, the metal on this leg itself is just too thin, and obviously well past it now... a lot of work to do here.

    Up next, some photo's of progress...

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    Quote Originally Posted by calicagesracing View Post
    uurrgh, crusty as fcuk mate

    good luck with the resto, you really have your work cut out with it
    Thanks matey... you're dead right there!

    I did consider re-shelling, but this way I get to hone my bodywork skills a bit.. as you will probably see from my welding in the next few pic's, I'm needing the practice anyway!! lol

    Cheers for the support tho mate, it'll be a slog, but im hoping to get it completed in the next 4-6 weeks!


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    I <3 BBS LM Actual_Ben_Taylor's Avatar
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    Hats off to you for taking on the repair work

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    Smile

    Cheers Ben, tbh just I couldn't face the thought of seeing an S13 go to the scrappy... at least not until i've done everything I can to try and prevent that happening.

    That's probably the same reason that has led to me now having 3 of them! lol

    Thanks again mate, I need all the encouragement I can get.

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    does the front panel unbolt on an s13 then?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Razzario View Post
    does the front panel unbolt on an s13 then?
    Strictly speaking, no, as it's spot welded (I think!) at either side of the slam panel to the body...

    However the bottom of the centre section's 3 legs are only bolted on, and once these are removed, and you've disconnected or removed the bonnet latch gubbins', and dropped the wiring loom off it, it's only the top piece (slam panel) that is holding it all in place...

    So with the help of a hacksaw, and about 30secs each side to cut it... the centre was off!

    I've cut it as evenly as possible, and I check every now and then to see if the part I cut out still slots back in with the right gaps! lol

    So I'm going to weld thicker 'Tabs' onto the underside of the panel, and then just have it being a bolt-on panel... as this isn't a strictly structural piece of the body, I don't think there would be any problems to this as far as for the MOT is concerned.


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    Now with 400bhp....
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nize View Post
    It looks like the titanic Good luck mate will be watching this one with interest
    1998 Nissan 200sx s14a , 2000 std 5 speed with nismo supercoppermix clutch bn6 Sapphire Blue

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chriscooke View Post
    It looks like the titanic
    Lol, or an entrance to a rather well-stocked Welsh tin mine circa 1900

    It's times like this when I'm happy to be an S14 owner!

    Still, I'll be following this one - looking forward to seeing the finished product

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    No, the other one. Pete C's Avatar
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    You're a madman and you clearly have far too much time on your hands


    1993 [L] RS13 200SX
    2003 [53] MX-5 Angels
    2004 [04] E63 645i
    SXOC Member #199

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    Wouldn't it be better to get another shell...
    Anyway respect for waht You're doing. The car will get a new life thanks to You

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    Muchos respect dude.

    I have a chill running down my spine as i know my S14 will be like this in a few years time

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    is there any solid metal left

    good luck though mate be worth it when its done

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    Talking

    Lol

    Thanks guys for the excellent comments and words of support... this is going to be a trial run for me really, and hopefully if it goes to plan, then I will be rebuilding/restoring my 1st ever owned S13 over this coming winter... it badly needs it! lol

    I had seriously thought about re-shelling the car, but I've got this desire to know how the S13's are put together, which will hopefully mean that once I understand fully how the 'pieces' come together, I can spot signs of rust/rot happening, and just get them fixed and back to a good condition quickly and before it gets worse.

    Im probably not alone in this, but I've see rust starting in places before now, and i've left it alone for fear of doing more damage by trying to fix it myself... only to find out that in most cases, it's a fairly straight-forward job to repair it really.

    Having the equipment and the time to spare (Pete C's spot on there! lol) also makes it more manageable too.

    Hopefully now tho, if I ever get a good condition shell, then I can easily keep it that way.

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