[AlwaysSideways]

Since I see a lot of other people are sharing their very involved projects...I figured I would as well. My name is Rob, im 20 years old and pay for everything I own. I go to school for auto-tech and in the meantime work for UPS and at Nissan doing small jobs (oil changes, tune ups, etc). The car is a 1991 Nissan 240sx Hatchback basemodel. The project is to make a car to compete in autocross events and attend track meets with my local autocross and rally team. The motor of choice for this swap is a CA18DET. Why you ask? Welllllll I could turn this into a SR vs. CA thread, or I can just say my friend gave it to me for free :heyhey .

NOTE: I will try to keep this thread as 56k safe as possible.

This is more or less how I bought the car. Not bad for 800 dollars. Those are my Rota Slipstreams off my sentra I just threw on the rear for wheels since the tires were horrendously bald.

Body is pretty straight...soooooo it seems, right?

Which, from the outside...it is...Checked underneath it, checked strut towers....didn't see anything major... Wasn't until later when I stripped it out I noticed some problems.


Here would be the CA18DET. How it was given to me.

Yep...tranny off to the side...head kinda on the messy workbench. I just dropped things off.

Closer shot of the head and pieces...dinky turbo off to the side.

Don't worry the garage was completely cleaned out before the 240 went in for the beginning of the project..I know it's real messy.

Alright, I decided the first thing I should do was strip the interior out of my hatch and go about removing all the sound deadener. So I did just that.

I read up on here that dry ice works wonders with the shit on the floor, so I tried it out.

Let me tell you, it works INSANE. I did it all in roughly 20 minutes. Very pleased with the results. Only thing is... The sides by the center console...the hump for the rear wheels and the sides of the trunk is not made of the same material so brake cleaner / goo gone must be used on it.

I then decided to assemble my whole CA using the FSM then tear it down so I know where everything goes instead of starting in the middle of someone else's work. Yeah I know, I didn't install the belt tensioners. Shoot me.

Harness, coolant lines, intake pipes, clutch and such.

Alright, soooooo I guess tear apart my hatch since it was November at the time and I bought a Jeep for the winter and was real anxious about my project....So heres the beginning.

But first...we had to mess around with the KA and beat on it.

So, the first step and only part we got on pictures was the custom cold air intake my friends and me made. I will start a group buy for these later for 50 + shipping. Yes that is a nitrous nozzle in the intake...right off my sentra..

The horsepower gains were TREMENDOUS.

Here's how far I got in 2 hours working by myself preparing the car to pull the motor.

Parts removed.

Here would be Day 2...finished up and pulled the motor by myself since my friends are assholes...basically.

Almost there...Oh thats sexy me by the way.

And tada!!!

Next day my sister and I cleaned up the engine bay good and removed all the steering, front suspension, and brake components to prepare it for paint.

After some cleaning...

The interior...

Then by the end of the day...

Damn I love my sister...she helps me out a lot.

Then 2 days after that... I applied the first coat of paint.

Not too shabby

Yeah I know I missed some spots...but hey it's the first coat!

Now I wanted to drop in the motor....so I needed a lot of parts for the rebuild. Parts = money. Money = something that I don't have a lot of. So i decided to start my huge wiring project. What im doing is eliminating everything besides lights and anything to start and run the car...basically. I even am swapping out my popups for the raceonusa SMAD headlights to save weight. No HVAC, no radio, nothing. I am also doing a minor wire tuck after being inspired by my Honda friends.


Here is the vehicle harness one with the front lights being extended.

Here are some relays and fuses with wiring elminated off vehicle harness 1.

At this point I started to be lazy...finished vehicle harness 1...moved onto the second one which goes throughout the engine cabin...

No before pictures...but heres the finished product...this is both harnesses...all wiring for my vehicle.

Oh yeah, I am not taping or looming anything until this is in my car and running correctly...Since it is much easier to find mistakes like that then to tear it all apart again.

Here is about 90% of the wiring I removed.

And this amounts to...17 lbs + the other 10% that couldn't fit in the backpack (weight of backpack not included).

Some goodies for you guys...
Head gasket kit, Cometic 1.9mm head gasket, S14 BB T28 (prior to cleaning and rebuild), Adjustable FPR w/ gauge, Brand new Spec Stage 2 clutch.

A t25 vs. t28 comparison for those who havent seen the difference.

Alright well that's enough typing and uploading images today...it's a good start. I've done much more since then...PLEASE leave me positive comments or some contructive criticism with some good advice. Thanks in advance. - Rob

 

[AlwaysSideways]

EDIT: I win.

 

[RyanA96]

Nice build you got goin there, Good luck with it

 

[ChuKi RB]

wow great job man! what made you go with CA over SR, RB, and KA-T?

 

[AlwaysSideways]

wow great job man! what made you go with CA over SR, RB, and KA-T?

Well other then the fact that it was free from my friend? I like the way the CA is setup (belt driven, and iron block to start with). I like how the 87-89 Pulsar NX SE uses 99% of the JDM RWD DET version's parts, so parts for this motor are substantially cheaper and much easier and quicker to get. I also like how it's one of the more less common swaps you see out there. Only swap I would do over this would be an RB20.

 

[ChuKi RB]

I also like how you painted the engine bay and the interior of the car. Did you use same paint for both? and what type of paint? Im def. thinking of doing this to my car aswell. Thanks.

 

[slappy]

wow , just ...wow.

 

[AlwaysSideways]

I also like how you painted the engine bay and the interior of the car. Did you use same paint for both? and what type of paint? Im def. thinking of doing this to my car aswell. Thanks.

Thanks man i appreciate it. Funny thing is, I own a 30 gallon air compressor with a badass paint gun. But I didn't even use it...The engine bay was done with Rustoleum flat spray black. Interior was sprayed with Rustoleum gloss black. You should definitely go ahead and start it, except not the wiring, thats very involved .

 

[Mtndrifter14]

wow im impressed man. your doing a good job. keep it up and dont get lazy like me

 

[angelthepig]

did you really need that much dry ice for rear passenger foot area? i found the driver/passenger area more stickier and harder to remove....

 

[AlwaysSideways]

did you really need that much dry ice for rear passenger foot area? i found the driver/passenger area more stickier and harder to remove....

I actually just kept moving it around. I was done with the passenger side foot area by that time. I eventually moved that all over to the other side and finished it.

 

[WRX to 240sx]

dude you're in NJ.. where at? if you're close by and if you ever want some assistance i'd be glad to come by.

 

[amolao]

Nice build up, a lot of work and dedication for a young fellow like you. Definetely the CA makes a better candidate for an engine swap than anything else....(when on a budget)....now more pics of the car and sister:rotflmao

:thumbsup

 

[Prelude Guy]

Wow, looks good...................except the gutting part. Not a fan of it, but whatever.

I am starting to tear my car apart too (engine only). I've been taking pics too.

Did you pull the KA out with the tranny? If so, how did you support the tranny as you pulled it out? Was it difficult by yourself?

I have pulled out everything EXCEPT for the pass. side engine mount (I am guessing the oil filter needs to come out to get to the mount, right?) and driveshaft.

 

[AlwaysSideways]

Wow, looks good...................except the gutting part. Not a fan of it, but whatever.

I am starting to tear my car apart too (engine only). I've been taking pics too.

Did you pull the KA out with the tranny? If so, how did you support the tranny as you pulled it out? Was it difficult by yourself?

I have pulled out everything EXCEPT for the pass. side engine mount (I am guessing the oil filter needs to come out to get to the mount, right?) and driveshaft.

Every motor I pull (FWD, RWD, AWD), I pull out the motor with the tranny as a whole. I've pulled out KA's a variety of ways (as far as lifting points). Ive used closest the the front of the car exhaust manifold bolt and intake manifold bolt (this gives you a great angle to clear the firewall with the tranny)...However...a better way..disconnect the driveshaft and transmission mount, put a piece of plywood on a nice big jack put the jack under a flat spot on the oil pan...support the motor...unbolt the motor mounts (be careful), then use the motor mount bolt holes for the chains for the hoist. Be imaginative and more importantly, be safe. Use logic, if it feels dumb, it probably is.

 

[AlwaysSideways]

dude you're in NJ.. where at? if you're close by and if you ever want some assistance i'd be glad to come by.

Hah, I needa change my location. I live in South CT, right over the NY border. I go to school in NJ, you'll prolly see it around. You around the Bloomfield area?

 

[WRX to 240sx]

Hah, I needa change my location. I live in South CT, right over the NY border. I go to school in NJ, you'll prolly see it around. You around the Bloomfield area?

yea, i live in kearny. i have a red s13 coupe w/ rb25 and spec v wheels.. can't miss me if your in the area

 

[vanish1]

You gonna keep that pink sticker :greddy:

 

[AlwaysSideways]

You gonna keep that pink sticker :greddy:

Don't hate. You know it's hot.

 

[Soul]

awesome work! keep us updated.