# In for the S15



## MudRacer (Jul 28, 2005)

Hi.
Im looking to buy a 95-98 240sx and I wanna convert it to an S15 for a decent price. Ive been lookin at the forum, and i see that im liking the RB25DET and/or SR20DET if the RB will be a problem or if its too much to have the car as a daily commuter?

Id appreciate it if you can help me figure out:
1. Which engine to go with? SR20DET or RB25DET? 
2. If I were to buy an automatic 97 240sx, would it be a problem to convert it to manual transmission once i purchase the engine which i think comes with the transmission and ecu..(the stick shift etc..) does it cost more?
3. I like the way the S15 looks, Shud my main concern be the look of the car once i purchase it, or should i swap out the engine first and feel the power and the way a RWD runs?
4. Cost: Shud i buy a burned out engine car and then do work to that? or should i get a car thats in running condition, so i can drive it around, get the feel for it, then do upgrades? Since i wanna spend about 6k after purchasing the car what would you guys suggest be the first things to do to the car.



Any help would be great, I love nissans, ive been driving nissan for the past 7 years almost and theres no other car that i would go with.
thanks


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## chrislis (Jun 27, 2005)

in reality, you need to see a s14 kouki in person before you convert it to an s15. i was at a car show last month and i was stationed 2 cars down from one of the nicer s15 conversions i have seen, the traffic at both our cars were about equal, but people really appreciate the original look of the kouki alot. i especially do.


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## MudRacer (Jul 28, 2005)

What does that really look like? Is it the 97 US version of the 240SX with the Kouki kit? I tried looking for some pictures but i cant find any.


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## chrislis (Jun 27, 2005)

well the 97-98 year 240 coupe's are koukis...

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...ar=1997&end_year=2006&make=Nissan&model=240SX


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## MudRacer (Jul 28, 2005)

*What do i do?*

Yea the koukis do look nice. The problem im running across is, that all the 97-98 versions i found are all automatic, and the only manual transmission ones are 95-96. 

Would it be difficult to switch the transmission on a 97-98 automatic to 5-speed stick
Because i want to go and buy the SR20DET engine? Would that make it easier in switching the transmission? would that cost more than converting the 95-96 to a kouki or a S15 look? Im just tryin to make the right decision so i dont end up buying something thatll lead me to a road that i could have avoided given it doesnt work out.

Any suggestions?


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## UchinaHinga (Aug 1, 2005)

Dude, Stay with an SR. Nissan engineers designed it that way for a reason.Being in Japan, we see a lot of freaky conversion but one thing people never do here is put in a Heavy Weak Motor where a Strong Light Motor will do,.Granted you still need to do some reinforcements to the SR too if you want to go real high on the HP, but you wont have nearly the problems you would with an RB. 

Also, Kouki 14 is the way to go.If you had a 180sx then an S15 front end would be nice ,but Kouki 14 fill out the car better( and not nearly as expensive).


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## UchinaHinga (Aug 1, 2005)

Also,
A Mission swap is about a 3 hour job as long as you have everything you need( ie, Pedel assbly,Master and slave cylinder..etc) Should not be that costly either. An S13 mission is the same but will cost you less.


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## chrislis (Jun 27, 2005)

i dont know about you but my 98 is a 5-speed...


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

UchinaHinga said:


> Also,
> A Mission swap is about a 3 hour job as long as you have everything you need( ie, Pedel assbly,Master and slave cylinder..etc) Should not be that costly either. An S13 mission is the same but will cost you less.


.....3 hours....... damn im slow......... I did it in 14 hours at my parents house. First time, learning curve I guess. 

Are you saying 3 hours in a shop?


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## UchinaHinga (Aug 1, 2005)

Nismo14-180 said:


> .....3 hours....... damn im slow......... I did it in 14 hours at my parents house. First time, learning curve I guess.
> 
> Are you saying 3 hours in a shop?


Anywhere as long as you have everything you need. Just knowing what the little ins and outs are takes time but once you do it a couple of times it gets easier.Most times( not sure about USDM cars, KA's and such) but everything you need to do to prep,It already has a place.Should be the same ,except drilling the firewall for the clutch pedal.


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

UchinaHinga said:


> Anywhere as long as you have everything you need. Just knowing what the little ins and outs are takes time but once you do it a couple of times it gets easier.Most times( not sure about USDM cars, KA's and such) but everything you need to do to prep,It already has a place.Should be the same ,except drilling the firewall for the clutch pedal.


its the same with our 240SX. I had a lot of kill time. The guy who was helping me barly knows a thing about working on cars. So he was slower than me to act on things. Plus I had to run back and forth b/w my house and my parents to figure out why the car wouldnt start-- it 15 miles from my home to my parents. It was a headache, I wouldnt reccomend doing it my way.


Is it true that some japanise kids want all sorts of our USDM stuff?


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## UchinaHinga (Aug 1, 2005)

chrislis said:


> i dont know about you but my 98 is a 5-speed...


Yea, the S15 was a six speed ,but the 5 speed is geared better. dont much care for the 6. 1,2,3,4 were too short and 5,6 were too long. thats just what I felt like. To each his own ,though.I always felt like the 5 MT just performed better.


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## UchinaHinga (Aug 1, 2005)

Is it true that some japanise kids want all sorts of our USDM stuff?[/QUOTE]





Some do,Mostly old chevy and Ford guys. Kinda like a status thing to cruise and old Hot Rod.Other groups like the whole Cali LowRider thing.


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## chrislis (Jun 27, 2005)

i sure would hope so, you have more command over your car.


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## MudRacer (Jul 28, 2005)

So, i since i cant find any manual/5 speed 97-98 240 SX. I should go ahead and get an automatic, and then when i do the swap, i can add on the manual transmission, clutch pedal etc?

And it would take 3 hours at a shop or somewhere where they have the know-how to do the swap.

And the SR would be a fairly nice engine to have? 

So adding on a kouki or any other kit to the regular 97-98 240 sx with a good swap will do the job.

Any idea on how much itll cost additional aside from the swap, i.e the price for switching the auto to manual transmission?

Also does any one know a local place in so-cal that i can go to, to do the swap?


thanks. I just dont wanna make any mistakes that i can avoid.


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## [High-Octane] (Jun 2, 2005)

lmao thats so funny how americans crave for JDM stuff while some japanies ppl want USDM stuff!!!!!
hahah its all about being different... but pls tell those pll that want USDM stuff to stick with JDM.. its so much nicer and im saying this from a logical outlook not a fasion thing


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## Pacman (Feb 25, 2003)

If you buy a 97-98 and change to a S15 you're a complete dumbass that needs to have the car taken away. '95's are the easiest to come buy,use that year.


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Damn man take it easy. 

If he gets kouki and wants to put the S15 front on it then let him. I say if your gonna get the S15 front put on a S14, then get a zenki and do it to that. their easier to come by.


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## [High-Octane] (Jun 2, 2005)

nooo... he needs not 2 be easy!!!!!
the only reason i would convert my 240 to an S15 is because its NOT a kouki!!!!!!!!!
i mean look at that shit!!!!!!!!!!
damn kouki's look like they will kill you in blind rage!!!!
while the s 15 looks like it willl sneak up and slice you...
while the zenki looks like its begging 4 help.. then it shoots u


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## UchinaHinga (Aug 1, 2005)

[High-Octane] said:


> nooo... he needs not 2 be easy!!!!!
> the only reason i would convert my 240 to an S15 is because its NOT a kouki!!!!!!!!!
> i mean look at that shit!!!!!!!!!!
> damn kouki's look like they will kill you in blind rage!!!!
> ...



High-Octane has a point.I would not do it either,Easier to buy a Zenki 14 and put a kouki front end on it.The Body lines fit better too.You gota do alot of chopping to make the 15 fenders fit.


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## chrislis (Jun 27, 2005)

Kouki! 10 characters!


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## MudRacer (Jul 28, 2005)

haha. Alright alright, I do see your point. Kouki is the way to go, s15 would be a pain to get done. So i might as well save some $$ and stay with teh s14 kouki body.

But the question remains..What do i do about the transmission? i cant be driving an automatic. Will it be costly to switch it to manual transmission when i do the swap? or any idea how much more itll cost to get the gearbox etc..? Is this the time where i get a short shift or something of the sort?

I wanna kno the best way to go, if i were to get a 95-96, and then i did the conversion, then id have a choice of either a kouki or a s15. But if thats not the case, i can stick with the 97-98 car, but the problem with that would be that i can only find automatic for a good price. spending 10g on a stock 97 stick kouki body, and then doing a swap is too costly..

What to do..


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## [High-Octane] (Jun 2, 2005)

MudRacer said:


> haha. Alright alright, I do see your point. Kouki is the way to go, s15 would be a pain to get done. So i might as well save some $$ and stay with teh s14 kouki body.
> 
> But the question remains..What do i do about the transmission? i cant be driving an automatic. Will it be costly to switch it to manual transmission when i do the swap? or any idea how much more itll cost to get the gearbox etc..? Is this the time where i get a short shift or something of the sort?
> 
> ...


shit you can get a KA engine for less than a 1000.. im sure the tranny is dirt cheap...
well.. not 2 sure.. im sure you can just swap the tranny 4 pretty cheap... all ull need is the tranny, wiring, and pedals...(and im not sure if there is wiring???)
Or you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone and swap the engine and tranny 4 somthing like an SR or RB or CA or w/e theres so many choices for the silvia platform... thats the beauty of it 
but if ur a ka fanatic then just swap the tranny and turbo that big 2.4


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## MudRacer (Jul 28, 2005)

I wanna do the SR20DET Swap. regardless of which year i get. 

Now All Im gonna have to find is wiring, pedals and drill a few holes for the clutch?


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## MudRacer (Jul 28, 2005)

Check this out:

http://used-cars.autos.yahoo.com/us...ZzdWJtaXQ9U2VhcmNoJmNzPXByaWNlJiZiPQ--#imgpop 

compared to:


http://used-cars.autos.yahoo.com/us...ZzdWJtaXQ9U2VhcmNoJmNzPXByaWNlJiZiPQ--#imgpop 

Both are automatic. But im thikning ill just add a short shift or some fancy manual stick when i do the swap, what do u think? 
The one with the dark picture is a silver/purple color car. It has engine oil leaks. What kind of? i dunno. 

The black is an SE or something with moonroof or what not, AND Its black. she said theres some wear and tear in the bumpers so they have to be repainted, and maybe a ding on the left door. 

SO im thinking :

Do the swap, cost about 2500, thatll come with the tranny and Ecu as well. 

Installation 1000?

Get a fancy Manual shifter/ clutch pedal/ wiring etc.. not sure which one tho cost ???

and then later. do a front end conversion to an S14 or an S15 whichever one goes easily. And i was also thiking i dont like the back lights, so thats gonna have to be changed as well, 
Cost for all this should be under or around 3500?

So if i get a car under 3k. it looks good?

I also want to change the struts so it gives the feel of a new car and also to lower the ride get new shocks. So whats it lookin like? Go with old beat up car and make it nice or should i be looking at normal stick shift cars as well? they wont be less than 5k. so im not really saving much cuz that difference can go for a transmission change. 

I was also looking at LSDs, Do i need to be worrying about that right now? 

I can go this weekend and pick up the car, which one should i go with and whats a better option? 

The KA engine would be great, but I wanna make much more out of the SR20 than the KA could handle.

So what do you people think should be the one to pick. Im raedy to drop down some dollars, and I need all this done before october!


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## '91 240sx (Feb 17, 2003)

If your looking to do all that for under $3500 your more than likely mistaken. I'd hate to rain on your parade but chances are something can and will go wrong, meaning you'll need more money. You should never go in only hoping to spend such and such amount, chances are when its all said and done you will have spent more. With that said, if your going to do the swap get the cheaper one as long as the body and other stuff is straight.


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## [High-Octane] (Jun 2, 2005)

[QUOTE='91 240sx]If your looking to do all that for under $3500 your more than likely mistaken. I'd hate to rain on your parade but chances are something can and will go wrong, meaning you'll need more money. You should never go in only hoping to spend such and such amount, chances are when its all said and done you will have spent more. With that said, if your going to do the swap get the cheaper one as long as the body and other stuff is straight.[/QUOTE]
exacly
shit if you dont need the car to run now look around hard enough and you might just find a shell for dirt cheap!!!! how kool would that be


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## MudRacer (Jul 28, 2005)

Thats the thing. I found a shell, it was a 95 going for 800!! when i called it was already sold, and it was only missing a hood and some minor issues of the sort. It SUCKED.
Other than that, there are no other deals i can find on any car sites online. Are there any other places i can look for cars other than autotrader.com, cars.com ..?

I want something that atleast moves. 

But if i get the cheaper one for 2500, and the 3900 for 3k. Is that ok? 

Cuz i heard that if the car is a salvage title, it may be hard to do front/rear end conversions. is that true?

I appreciate all ur help.


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## '91 240sx (Feb 17, 2003)

just because a vehicle has a salvage title doesn't mean it will be harder for a conversion. The only way it will be harder is if it has the salvage title is if it was in any sort of collision that would've caused the fram to bend or twist or anything of that nature. You can find salvage title cars that have no frame damage whatsoever and you would be good to go, just have to worry about fixing it up to spec if it is not already.


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## MudRacer (Jul 28, 2005)

Ive come down to the two automatic cars. 

If the guy sells me this one :
http://used-cars.autos.yahoo.com/us...ZzdWJtaXQ9U2VhcmNoJmNzPXByaWNlJiZiPQ--#imgpop

for 2900 im going to buy it, and then do the swap, i need something to drive around so i cannot buy a shell. I cant find one anyway.

And on the other vehicle. i made the offer of 3200, the car has a few dents and the paint has wore off but the engine doesnt seem like it has much work done. 

Am I on the right track?


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Nice, for 2900 id definatly get it. And im the king of cheapasses :thumbup:


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