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Thursday's Hatch Progress Project/Build

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21K views 124 replies 17 participants last post by  Thursday7  
#1 ·
Stupid wall of text story incoming:
So on Friday, April 26 I ventured to East Orange, New Jersey to check out a 240sx I saw in an ad on the preceding Thursday. Found the ad on Craigslist in the afternoon after I got home from school and was drifting on Forza (I have a Fanatec CSR wheel, loads of fun) Anyway, I have been looking at a car for months upon months before this point and was getting more discouraged as each day went by. Either every deal was scooped up before the weekend when I was available, or the car was auto. Started texting this guy and he sent me pics and more info. I asked if I could go see it on Saturday or Sunday, and he said Sunday because like 10 people were coming to look Saturday. I wasn't surprised and was like okay. Then I sparked an idea. What if I could beat these people. I asked if I could check it out Friday, and he said that was fine. Go through school that day trying not to get my hopes up, and end up traversing to NJ right after I got home. So anyway, to shorten things up, I drive about 90 miles to go look at this S13, had a fair share of problems, what could possibly go wrong?
Drove the car home then and there.

But before we get to some pics, I'll give a few details:
-Mainly stock 1989 SE hatch
-Was once SR
-Now has DOHC KA
-Hotshot 4-2-1 Longtube Manifold
-Springs & Struts (I think I have a mix-match setup. The front Springs are orange, so I'm guessing Megan, while one front strut is blue and says "Made in Japan" so I assume it's Tokico, while the other is silver, so I assume it's KYB. The rears are TenzoR springs and I haven't really looked at the struts)
-Guy never took out the Blitz Turbotimer from when it was SR so that's cool I guess
-SE rear wheels, steelies up front
-Battery Relocated to trunk
-180sx Tails
-180sx cluster (have to read in Km/h)
-Sealing manual sunroof
-Doors converted to manual windows and locks (YES!)
-Hatch without SE Wing
-Body is pretty clean, frame rot is starting to develop though :(

So far I've cleaned up some of the stupid rigged things and ordered a few parts up.

First pic of it at my house:
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So there is a shifting issue. Clutch isn't fully disengaging. So I began to take everything apart to see if anything is wrong.

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Trans is still out. Found the car doesn't have a pilot bushing. KA is from an auto S13 so some things need to be done.

So far I've removed the crappy purple tint on both front windows. Luckily since I have a swapped hatch, I don't have to do it on there with the defrost lines and all
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And got battery box mounted. Just did this today. It was sitting on a sheet metal tray before. Not good. Took a while drilling the holes and all for it with the gas tank being there.
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Will update as I go I guess.
 
#7 ·
Thanks, just checked your S13 as well. Can't wait to see more. Plans are to get it reliably running on a budget, and my only mod plans are poly subframe bushings and a catback by the end of summer.

67sleeper said:
Can't wait to see how this build goes I have always wanted a piggy!



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Me too! with a DOHC nonetheless! Although this isn't really a build per se, just trying to get it to the best shape I can for now. Maybe go KA-T in 2 years or so, but for now the 155hp and 2700lbs is good enough considering I'm really used to 3000 lb cars with 120hp

MidnightExpress said:
Holy shit he finally got one


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Haha this made me laugh harder than it should of. I didn't know that many people knew I was car-less.

SRlover240 said:
Niiice!
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Let's hope it gets nicer

Mikester said:
About goddamned time!
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I feel the same way.
 
#8 ·
Started to clean up the trans today and noticed some of the sensor wires were broken. Soldered them and got that squared way.
The DPO decided it would be a good idea to torque the hell out of the gear oil drain plug. It needed to be torched for a good 5 minutes before it could be broken loose with a 1/2" breaker.

Also got the throwout bearing out of its sleeve.

Does anyone know the close-exact length the output shaft on the slave should travel when the clutch pedal is fully depressed? I was only getting about 3/4" before I took the trans out.
 
#10 ·
Thanks scoot. If anyone could go measure theirs, that would be awesome though.

Also got my Exedy in today.

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Also, for anyone who's recently removed the transmission from the KA. Is this bushing the automatic one that should be removed, or do I insert the manual bushing into it? Anyone who has done a 5 speed swap should know.
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#15 ·
If the Manual Pilot Bushing fits in there then there is no Auto Pilot in there either.
If it doesn't fit then you have to pull the auto one out.
I used grease, it's messy but works without having to worry about damaging anything.


Also, Fun Fact.

SOHC & DOHC had different Sized Slave Cylinder Pistons. Physically look 100% identical though ;)
 
#16 ·
okay well I will go check now I guess.
My car is a DOHC but that's just the engine.. The trans is either from an SR or SOHC. The current engine was from an auto, car was originally manual SOHC, then SR20, now manual DOHC.

Pretty sure everything needed with a manual car is from a SOHC, but that's just my assumption.

Also, big question, is the KA's flywheel a stepped flywheel, because that's what the machine shop said, and I was not aware. Again, I don't know if it's for DOHC or SOHC.
 
#21 ·
I have some questions you might know the answer to.

1: Here is my gas pedal. What is it missing? Is it just the pad or is there some type of spring contraption that makes it act the way it should?
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2: Also as far as the manual pilot bushing goes, some people religiously say make if flush with the flywheel, while the FSM depicts it to be driven in until it stops.
Here's the FSM depiction (with a zilvians text overlay)
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Thank you for the help.
 
#23 ·
it DOES NOT look like all the pilots ive seen for a ka fyi. something is wrong from the way it looks in your picture. the diagram shows it has a inset. so you still have the auto one. or at least the wrong pilot.
 
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#24 ·
Pilot is no longer a problem. got that out of there on Friday. Trans is back in. Actually goes into gear now, and shifts smooth. Only problem is it is now only running on 3 cylinders. Took out plug 4 and it was crossthreaded in there so hard. As I started to loosen, it got tighter. I got scared. I was basically like "if the head is screwed, it's screwed" so I just kept going and eventually got it out. Plugs 1-3 are all Bosch Platinums and for some dumb reason #4 was an Autolite. AUTOLITE?! REALLY?! Autolite sucks balls. Anyway, that Autolite had some oil on it. Got more scared. I stuck a rag on a screwdriver down the sparkplug hole and there really wasn't much oil down there. Took a compression test and it's about 170 PSI all around. I tried putting one of the Bosch's in and it seemed to go in normally so I'm hoping a new Platinum for Cyl 4 will help it run better.

Anyway, I got new wheels because my tires were pretty bald, and here she sits:

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#26 ·
thanks Stamps. Personally I really like red hatches, but this grey is pretty cool.

Got the new plug, threaded in well, and I have a 4 cylinder once again.
 
#27 ·
Got some small parts recently.
-Rear view mirror
-E-brake Boot
-Left turn signal pigtail (all lights on car now work)
-Trust GREX shift knob (my brother bought this for me)

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And my cat likes the passenger seat apparently

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