A newbie. Need advice!

Welcome

These are cool cars but they are getting up there in price.
You used to be able to buy a nice, already swapped S chassis for under 10 grand.
Now the bone stock cars are about that much.

I actually would not recommend buying a 240sx anymore unless you find an insane deal.
Dollar per dollar, the Nissan 350z is just better. A really close second is now the Scion FRS / Subaru BRZ.
The 350z is basically what the 240sx was like 10 years ago.
They can be had cheap, with relatively low miles and are capable of fitting LS swaps if you get to it.
There have been plenty of documented JZ swaps in them too.

Another option if you really want to build a car is the Mazda RX8.
You can find a blown RX8 for cheap and swap in whatever you want.
I just saw an Rx8 with an Sr20 swap for like 8 grand in my area.



If you still want a 240, realistically you will pay like 5-9 grand for a decent running stock car.
Sr20 swaps are $4000 for S13 engines and around $8000 for S14 variants.
You will still need some money on top as they are not all inclusive swaps.
I mean driving on a stock KA24de isn't the worst thing in the world, but I know you will want more power for the money you just spent.
Building a good Ka-t is not cheap. Those engines are $1000 and up now.

At this point you've hit used C6 corvette money.


I'm not saying all this to discourage you from buying one.
I have a few and I'm considering buying another.
I say all this because if I was in the position of not having any of my cars and wanting to buy a car, I would start with something else.
You want to be able to source parts easily, cheaply, have good aftermarket support, and with enough knowledge out there on the internet.
The problem with S chassis is now pricing. They used to be widely available and for cheap. The problem is everyone got them, raced them, drifted them, crashed them and supply is drying up so fast.

If you still are adamant about a 240sx, here's some info to answer your question