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Rick Astley inspired s14

44K views 320 replies 32 participants last post by  collegekid 
#1 ·
"We're no strangers to love,
You know the rules and so do I,
A full commitment's what I'm thinkin of,
you wouldn't get this from any other guy"




So hello. I've been on this site for quite some time now. I have been broke since about 5 months ago when I started working full time for my dad over the summer. I bought the car stock as hell (March 19, 2011) with only an aftermarket headunit and speakers. It was Auto, 182,xxx miles, no rust (Except under the battery tray which I found recently). It needed brakes, the owner (some pothead's mom, very nice lady btw) thought it blew the powersteering pump, but it just needed some fluid.

Also the drivers rear quarter window was broken and I'm still finding glass in there to this day. Car also came with a mouse who decided to make a home in my center console, but I didnt try to catch him as long as he pooped out side of the car, didnt attack my girlfriend at the time, and didnt eat any of my wiring.

I got it for 2 grand including title and tags. CEL came on as I was driving home and my big ass grin turned into a "Oh shit balls" face. Needed just a new O2 sensor and IACV


So the day I bought her




Put on 15% tint in the rears and 30 on the doors because the hoodlums kept bugging me while driving to buy my car. I was like "Dude were going 45 mph right now and I dont want to trade for your caravan, leave me alone"



My friend "Read" (Kevin) Bought an s13 some time later, 5 speed, 166k miles, 1900 1989 SOHC. Blew his headgasket recently.



So yeah, fast forward to about 5 months ago. I was broke like a joke but managed to save up 1 grand for my car. Getting paid shit money and having a girlfriend who was a bigger money pit then......I dont know, (insert car with many expensive repairs needed here). Got a job working for my dad and the money started coming in. So my friends and I got bored and decided to explore the suburban areas near me and aggressively drive through the back roads.

So Nighttime + shitty faded headlights + stock tires + stock brakes + Decelerating from 80 mph on a road 10 feet wide didnt end too well, but better than what would have happened.



My car stopped just to the right of that fire hydrant. The trees were about 15 feet in front and there was someones house right there that you cant see.

Story was, a friend in a 2012 scion tc and I were going too fast, I was in front, brakes locked up, and I slammed into a curb. Both airbags deployed, for no reason might I add, wheels pushed back, tensions rods snapped, brackets crunched, rad support touching my engine from the bottom, frame crumpled and raised on passenger side, bumper raped from the bottom, and all i got was a seatbelt scuff mark. I sat in the car right after it happened. My friend ran out, almost pulled the door off screaming "OMG APU ARE YOU OKAYY?!". I looked this gentleman in the eye and replied " FUCK MEE DUDE, LOOK AT MY CAR!"





The hood was locked shut, I towed it to a shop my mom knew, I asked them to pop the hood and they didnt, telling me its not worth it and I should sell it to the owner. Towed it home the next day cuz I wanted to strangle him because of how scummy of a move that was. I got to tearing it apart.







Took the motor out and everything. Artur (A2thak) suggested I go in for a tube front. After talking to the shop, it would be better to get a new radiator support and just have them cut and weld a new piece of frame from a front clip they had. The shop is One motion in NE Philadelphia.

Day she left


What they accomplished after 1 month




The job they quoated me, originally for a tube front, and the new frame piece was around 1500-2 grand. After talking with the co-owner/welder, it would be better to get a new rad support just because it would be easier to resell the car as stock then to sit there and try to explain the tube front on a street car (I wanted to keep the apron in front of the strut tower) and if I went with a tube front, Id lose the ability to swap front ends once I have it made for a zenki, kouki or s15 front. They were gonna make custom brackets for everything, so I went along with the rad support, the quote still stayed the same though so I was kinda mad about that.

But yeah, 1 month and all they got to was taking off the tension rods, brackets, a/c system, and rad support. They said the hold up was the frame being bent, and that they had 2 different frame guys, none of which showed up and wasted 2 weeks of that time. I went to one place, found a frame guy and handled everything in a 3 day period. Last tuesday it went to the collision shop (Bucks collision), they did everything on wednesday, Thursday got dropped off back to One motion.

Dat Ass


For Some reason through pictures, it looks very shitty and un aligned. But It is just the seam sealer or whatever he called it. Rubber coating to prevent the welds from rusting.




Last night I picked up used Tension rod brackets and worn Tension rods from a guy with leftover parts from a Zenki with no title. It was $33 for those parts.

So currently it's sitting at One Motion. I still wanted them to cut out the frame he straightened and put on the new piece, and fix my battery tray. They said stop by Monday. Today is monday, so naturally I stopped by. Car looks the same. UGH. Right now the wait, according to them, is on which rad support I wanted, Zenki, Kouki, or S15.

My options are as follows

Front clip from Zerolift
-900 shipped for the JDM Zenki Front. Comes with Navan front bumper. I got quoted 1000 shipped and Mike (Owner of One Motion) got it down to 900.

From the dealer
-Zenki rad support alone is 500 shipped
-S15 rad support is 350. I chatted with mike and he said the Zenki front can be used on the s15 rad support, but I have to modify it for the hood latch and headlights.

He called me about 30 minutes ago and told me all this, I said order the S15. He told me to drop by tomorrow and drop off the 350 and they would order it. I am posting this now so anyone who wants to say anything can say so.

I have questions about if I should tell them to do the tube front or not. Someone told me the material (Dom 1 5/8's) would be too strong.
-is it true that you can only align the tube front to one front end?
-They are also doing the battery tray rust, should I tell them not to do it and tackle it myself? Never did any welding before but I have money to spend on a welder.
-Should I even bother with letting them put in the new frame piece? I want to paint the engine bay white so I can find leaks and such, I'm just afraid it would look shitty.

Any input is appreciated, Thanks guys




 
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#3 · (Edited)
Thanks bud



I ordered a new s15 core support from Cali thru my shop for $350 shipped. I also cleaned up the tension rod brackets and gave them to the shop as well.

Right now were all playing the waiting game so they can do everything in one shot ( cut and weld new frame piece, cut and weld in new sheet metal for battery tray, scale on s15 core support).

Lol they let my car sit for about one month before doing anything and now they're losing customers because my car is taking up space in their shop. (they have 2-3 of their own and the whole shop can only hold about 7-8)


I've also been trying to hunt down Zerolift thru email and phone calls. The first 2 emails Robert sent me were very helpful but now he doesn't even respond. I stated that I wanted to buy a front clip and I had questions about some other parts so they can all ship together on the same pallet but he's either too busy or ignoring me.

I sent in multiple emails and left messages at his Zerolift extension. I know he checks his email because everyone in the Zerolift review thread says that Robert tells everyone to go from Zilvia pm's to email for quickens responses.


Luck of the draw I guess. Wahhhhhh


Edit, Got an email and a follow up call from robert. Just as I was going to buy the weird champagne colored zenki front, we started talking about s15 fronts. He i looking into what parts are available right now, and I am looking through aftermarket steering wheels. Sparco anyone?
 
#4 ·
S14 zenki front from zerolift = ordered

S15 core support = arrived

I shall order the Extreme dimensions conversion fenders tomorrow morning for sure and possibly more if the guy from andy's auto sports/parts can get me other stuff at a good deal

Origin is on back order till November
Chaser Aero is hit or miss based on all the different shops telling me things

Look @ me buying the shit I thought I would never need. And I will find a way to ghetto rig the zenki stuff on there I promise you that
 
#8 ·
Thanks everyone

Right now I'm in serious need of help. I am set on Extreme Dimension fenders. I dont know what front bumper to buy, there are like 6 million front bumpers for the s15.

95-98 Nissan 240sx Body Kits from Extreme Dimensions at Andy's Auto Sport

I'm looking at either the GPR or the WX9 kit. I need to order the entire conversion according to my shop. They want to line everything up so I cant just give em the fenders and any hood. They said I can but I want OEM quality. Extreme Dimensions has good quality but the salesman himself said they might need some work to make it fit.

Someone give me some OEM looking front bumpers. I'm still waiting on Zerolift to call me back. I need to order this shit ASAP so I can get my car back. I do like the Instant G one. Any thoughts?
 
#9 ·
Just one- get a setup that looks good to you and fuck what everyone else thinks. Save soliciting for suggestions for functional items that enhance/preserve performance... For aesthetics, be YOU :)
 
#10 ·
Thank you Mike, I got the GPR Conversion ordered just now like I LITERALLY just got off the phone with Rick from Andy's Autosports. I got it For 1000 Shipped to my house for the conversion with the Carbon Fiber hood. Looks like my Swap will have to wait a few weeks while my wallet recovers from this Conversion.

Damn, I made this thread a bit too early thinking my car would be in my posession by now. My shop and I had a misunderstanding and I didnt think they needed the panels to just weld on a radiator core support.

Next phase after I get my car back is Chassis cleaning/Prep/Redo-ing my interior. At the Same time, I will be redo-ing my suspension and Underbody, replacing bushings and herculining the underbody like Mikesters build. I know I'm a copycat
 
#12 ·
Well at first, the s15 core was cheaper than a new zenki core, and my shop told me I can use my zenki front end with my s15 core with a little modification.

Tuesday I stopped by, he had the core in its Japanese box and shit and he was asking for my s15 panels. I was like what da fuq. He said he needed s15 panels so they can line that up and weld on the rad support.

My plan is to ghetto rig the zenki front on after they line up my s15 panels so my car doesn't get stolen by hood rats when I drive to school. Even if the zenki front is off by a little ill still rock that out until my s15 stuff is paint matched to the rest of the car, which won't happen for a while since its coming in primer black and I'm in no rush to paint it. I need to start the rest of my build. I don't want to be that ricer douche on Craigslist with a s14.5 auto ka, I am building the rest of the car.

I had no money before and no reason to pull the ka. Now I do :)
 
#14 ·
I am going s15 from that is correct. I have stuff coming in so my shop can cut and weld everything rust wise, weld on my s15 rad support so it all aligns properly.

Once I get my car back and have to drive to school with it, I will take off the s15 stuff and put on my zenki stuff in a ghetto way so it's not as theft worthy
 
#15 · (Edited)
Received my zenki stuff today.

It was an awesome surprise, for once I actually received my stuff in te condition described.

It was a pleasant surprise too, the pictures he sent made the parts look champagne colored but the real parts are actually a kind of silver. The left side headlight actually looks brand new with clear plastic and I spy a hid ballast.


What amazes me is that people who buy motor swaps from them get a pallet and black Saran wrap. I got a huge treehouse surrounding my parts and on a giant pallet for an order that costs far less than a motor swap.

Amazing quality products at a good price and shipping took a week including the weekend. My only strife is that they're so hard to get in touch with and they don't really like to research products they don't readily have in stock. :(



I leave you with this.



How nice, they made me a treehouse too.









Next up is the Extreme Dimensions fenders. I found an amazing dealership who gets JDM parts and isnt Courtesy Nissan (they dont pick up when I call wahh). Gonna be ordering Brand new in box s15 headlights tomorrow. Once I get my fenders, I will determine whether to order from Andy's auto sports again or to buy chaser stuff.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Oh hai, I've been meaning to pm you about something. Can you do me a super duper favor and I'll love you forever?


Can you take measurements of your s15 hood? Like from your hood latch area in the front back to your hood hinges? I'm trying to see what kind of difference there is between the distance of the hoods (s15 and zenki). I think my shop owner told me the s15 had a longer hood so I think I'd want to use the s14 radiator core support with an extension or spacer on the hood latch. Pweeeeeeaseeee



*** gpelton I can't wait to have my car back damnit!


An boost I got the non hid ones



Double edit: got my s15 conversion fenders (extreme dimensions) in from Andy's auto sport. Apparently they have shitty parts and service but I checked my measurements of the s15 vs s14 fenders and it all looks pretty spot on. They made it So you have extra to cut which means better tolerances which means better fitment. Pictures later but first I have to get in touch with a dealer for a hood and bumper

Edit #3, Just ordered hood and bumper. S15 conversion parts, check
 
#20 ·
Bull.

I'm using the stock S14 core support. Hood latch lined up fine. Also, s14/15 hood hinges are the same. It should slam down just fine. Tell him he's nuts. Or you got a crappy hood. (For reference, I used the OEM HL brackets, bumper retainer, and steel hood. It lines up perfect.) Go check again.

And yes, AAS is craaaaaaappy parts.
 
#21 ·






Green one is stock zenki and black is s15 in duraflex. Got it with a few small scratches but nothing I can bitch about. Looks like the Zenki is a tad longer, but the hood should line up perfect as BoostinTexas said



Look at that driver side light, sooo shinyyyy. I like that they have 2 different lights in there.

Once I get the s15 headlights, I'm going to be looking for some wiring solutions so I can switch between s15 and zenki headlights without it being a big deal. Anyone else like switching front ends and have any ideas? I'm thinking of just going to a stereo shop, explaining myself and hopefully i can give them some OEM connectors so they can make a little conversion wire for me
 
#22 ·
Why on earth would you do that? That's suuuuuuuuuuuch a pain in the ass.....

Wiring needs cutting and splicing, there's no universal solution. Different connectors and wiring locations.

That's a tooooooooooon of work. Pick one and be done. You'll also run the chance of getting the wrong resistances because you've got 18 miles of extra wiring you won't need in there, and Nissan looooooooooves closed circuit systems, not to mention all that wiring jammed in the core area. A shop is no doubt going to charge up the butt for something you can figure out and do yourself if you really had to....

Get it installed right, whichever you want, and leave it. Swapping back and forth is going to do nothing besides screw up the fitments and add tons of scratches to everything. The 15 front doesn't go on and off easy when installed properly. Every time you torque down the nuts, you'll weaken the frp more vs 1 initial tightening.

Hope you also noticed you can't run any fender linings, there's nowhere to attach safely to fenders.


Also, stop measuring fenders. Nothing is reused on body panels, why do you care which ones are longer/shorter. It's not affecting their mounting.


And what's this BoostinTexas crap :p F texas, never ever going back lol. That's an i not a t before my x.
 
#23 ·
I just like the idea of switching between the strawberry face and zenki. I have seen one s15 conversion with a zenki hood or something like that. It looks amazing because it reaches out past the headlights and gives it a shadowy look.

I'll stick with the s15 I guess.


I know about the roman numerals I was just busting your balls. I was bitching hard cuz Robert said he sold the last siebon or vis hood and I was like "you bastard you sold it to Casey!"

Now I just gotta get the super duper backfiring motor like you
 
#24 ·
Haaaaah :p It's actually Image Xcellerated, a shop waaaaaay back from my Supra days.

Yaaaaaaaaaay you picked a front end :p

And hah. Seibon must have more styles in stock, you must have wanted the dmax-style :p

It no backfires since the tune. Not like in the T28 days. Now it just goes ;)
 
#25 ·
Hmmm, I wasn't talking about the image xcelerated one, I have it saved on my computer. It's just a clean looking s15 front end. I'm gonna search the one you are talking about later because I'm stuck on my phone and have to go to work in a little bit.


Not gonna lie, your sr makes really nice power. Like 349/347 is perfect I'm just looking for a nice growl.

For the hood, I was just messin around are we were talking about you and how you order a lot from him lol.

Headlights are delivered and are at my dads store. (had to be delivered there because it had to be the same address as the billing address because my dad wanted to get points on his business card, phew)

I'm contemplating going up to the poconos this Sunday for a mint dark green dash, mint steering wheel and blown SE wheels. It's like 120 miles one way but the parts are at a decent price.

Remember, my airbags deployed and it looks quite ugly. I have been contemplating the sparco L550 wheel with hub and qr but $40 for a wheel and airbag is a good deal, mint nonetheless.
 
#26 ·
You're killin me. Lol. THe Image Xcellerated was what the IX in my name means. I was in TX for a bit, yeah, but never with a TX handle. And no S15 front before.

Heh. Reliable 350's isn't cheap ;)
 
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