# Upgrades for 1992 nissan truck



## bluecarbonfiber (Feb 22, 2010)

Hello all.. im new to the site.. I just picked up a 1992 nissan HB single cab pickup 2.4L 5 speed.

i have a few questions about upgrading it.

Question 1) I have bench seats. what can i do to get bucket seats instead put in? ive heard Pathfinder seats will fit but im curious if so. what year? will they bolt in? stuff like that..

Question 2) need to update the suspension in it.. i was thinking of doing a 2 inch drop.. i dont want to do air bags is there anyother options? also does anyone make a beafier sway bar kit?

Question 3) my truck doesnt have a Tach gauge i want to update the gauge cluster is there any gauge cluster that will fit that has a tach built in it?

question 4) i want to beef up the engine.. is the RB20e-T a bolt on and go application? or is there more involved with it



Thank you all for your assistance


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## zack. (Nov 19, 2009)

1) 86-95 pathy or KC hardbody seats will bolt in.

2) don't know much about this, but i've heard of drop spindles and lowering blocks as options

3) Pathy or hardbody with the same dash.

4) no expert here either, but I'm pretty sure not.


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## bluecarbonfiber (Feb 22, 2010)

awesome.. that helps narrow a few things down =)


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## tinworm (Aug 20, 2009)

We have almost the same truck, mines a 93. You have power steering?

I got rid of the god awful bench seat a while back. You will love the captains chairs instead. SOOOOO much better. Used a couple out a 96 extended cab.

Get the center console as well when you grab the seats, its nice to have that arm rest, and I think you can only get that out of a pickup instead of a pathfinder, not sure though. 


On the suspension, I spent a while actually undoing what you are proposing. Its pretty easy to drop the front end with the torsion bars, simply release the tension until you hit what you want for height, but you will have to play some games with the leaf springs in the rear to get your drop. However, the ride sucked big time, and was real hard on the wheel bearings on the front. I had to redo both after fixing the front end.

One of the problems that were going on on mine was that the suspension was lowered enough that you would come slamming down on the rubber stoppers jarring you. 

there must be a more professional way to do what you want, that method certainly worked for minimal investment though. maybe the above mentioned drop spindle or lowering block method would still give you a decent ride. 

If you do the tach, post back on what else you had to grab other than the dash. This is something I also want to do


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## bluecarbonfiber (Feb 22, 2010)

I have no power steering.. it sucks cause i have a 05 acura tsx and an 05 scion TC and both have power and then driving this block or grey poop around is night and day difference i have to man handle the steering wheel haha.. 

i will have to start looking around for the seats.. i just did a custom fiberglass box for a 10inch sub and i dont like the fact i cant put my seat back all the way cause the other stays forward alittle more (if that makes sense) 

honestly i just want to stiffen my ride alittle and give it a better stance.. i live in an area that has lots of back roads and i mainly use the truck for the gravel drives

if i come across the dash setup i will surely take a few pictures the dash and seats are my main priority right now


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## zanegrey (Dec 5, 2005)

as far as the ride go with 15 inch rims and tires and leave the suspension alone..

and for the engine ..it is made to be very reliable as an everday truck engine . if you race it around and use the tach to see how many revs you can push to u will run through that engine very fast..


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## bluecarbonfiber (Feb 22, 2010)

i was thinking about 15s.. i have stock chrome ones on there now.. i think they are 13s.. but i would still like a stiffer ride plus lowering alittle might help with the wind speed =)

the reason why i want a tach gauge cluster is cause i plan to do a turbo swap.. ill need something to show the RPMs. i was reading around though last night and it seems like some people have problems trying to figure out how to wire in the stock tach.. might just throw in a mini tach if thats the case


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## estetic (Aug 6, 2009)

Your best bet when lowering and trying to maintain some sort of ride quality are 2 inch drop spindles up front and drop leafs in the rear. Belltech offers spindles and at one point offered drop leafs (still may, i am not sure). To run spindles upfront you need at least a 17 inch wheel (15 inch pathy wheels will work with a bit of grinding on the radius arms). The rear would be a straight swap and trimming of the bump stops.

As far as the tach goes I would head to the junkyard and find another HB with a tach cluster. Pathfinders of the same year may work but I know that in 93 something changed, I have a 93 pathy cluster and am going to need to do some work to wire it into my 91 HB...

I dont know for sure but from what I gather the RB is not the way to go, the engines are large and not a direct bolt in (other then the KA & VG30 i dont believe anything will bolt straight in)...I would look building a KA-t, check out ka-t.org for more info.


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## bluecarbonfiber (Feb 22, 2010)

Awesome ^ good stuff to know.. so i take it no one makes a camber adjustment kit for our truck huh? whats the safest drop i can do to keep the alignment in spec?


i will have to check out the KA-T site.. i think the more i drive the truck now the more i need to beef up the HP i just feel sluggish trying to get on the highway


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## estetic (Aug 6, 2009)

after any suspension adjustment you should get the vehicle re-aligned. Camber is adjusted via shims on the upper control arm bolts, these have plenty of adjustment until you start getting real low (trying to lay frame on larger wheels ect...)


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## tinworm (Aug 20, 2009)

bluecarbonfiber said:


> i will have to check out the KA-T site.. i think the more i drive the truck now the more i need to beef up the HP i just feel sluggish trying to get on the highway


Really? I have read this a couple times on here, and I feel lots and lots of power with mine. I constantly have to back off on the speed. I just tuned it up and its otherwise stock, but its pretty peppy. Ive never had any problem zipping onto the highway and getting right over into the left lane to pass a slower merger. 
the only thing different I did is I have a set of high dollar NA miata plugs in there, but that mazda engine is only 90hp or so, so it can't have made too much difference. 

I reccomend an illegal steering wheel knob for that power steering issue. With a knob, you can crank that sucker around one handed and parallel park quickly.


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## CMax03 (Jan 17, 2009)

1. Make your own CAI or do a drop in filter
2. Headers
3. Hi Flow Cat
4. 2.25-2.50" custom catback with a turbo muffler or 18" long Magnaflow (6" round) muffler
5. Ignition system
6. adjustable fuel pressure regulator
7. oil cooler
8. JWT ecu or VAFC/ e-manage
9. 3 Angle valve job
10. Port matching
11. Cam w/adjustable sprocket

These are a few things that I know can be done to enhance the performance in a N/a point of view!


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## joe_yoh (Feb 9, 2010)

Welcome to the forum man. And good luck on upgrading.


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## dentedsub (Oct 23, 2007)

bluecarbonfiber said:


> I have no power steering.. it sucks cause i have a 05 acura tsx and an 05 scion TC and both have power and then driving this block or grey poop around is night and day difference i have to man handle the steering wheel haha..



haha, i used to drive a samurai and when went from that to the powersteeringless nissan i thought it was like driving a caddy cause it seemed so easy to steer. my point to all this is man up, it could be worse. keeping your pressure up on the front tires helps though.


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## Minitruckinit (May 28, 2010)

Dropping it? I did a torsion drop to the front of mine a few weeks ago and didn't notice much difference in ride. As for the rear I would recommend lowering blocks. Simple install and not a bad ride. If you hit your bump stops then just remove them. Stock ride height requires a LOT of impact to hit the bump stop so if you remove them you get that much more space and it'll be the same concept. And if you do go for a lowering block setup I'd recommend using aluminum blocks because they have more flex and steel or iron blocks will just crack and get brittle. Lowering blocks are anywhere from $30 to $80 and still look sick


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