Love this. Kids always ask "what are you gonna put in it???" when they see my coupe. It took 2 years to get this single cam KA running, and by God it's gonna stay in there.
Drift culture is toxic. Strip the car to weld shit on it, then 90% chance youll slam the side of your rare and expensive car against a railing. BUT OH HOW FUN IT IS!
If there was more videos like this , we wouldn't have had such a drastically giant markup on these cars after the 2019 year. Glad I got my car when I did in 2017.
*(shakes cane angrily)* I got my S13 in trade for a Honda Accord with a broken transmission, and bought 2 spare KA24s for $50 each back when people said they were trash motors and were buying Red Top front clips for $1200...
I doubt that's true. Most of the people complaining about the price are people that bought them after the drift tax of the mid 2000s. I almost bought one in 2001 and had a great opportunity again in 2004 and I'm glad I didn't. My friend bought a 98 and while it was a great car - it really isn't that nice until you pump some serious money into it. Stock engine, stock suspension, stock interior, etc are all garbage. If you start out with a sti or evo or something else that right out of the box just works and handles decent is a way better proposition unless you're a masochist.
I myself am guilty of the "your car is not worth such and such" thing, but seriously, there's dudes out here asking $3k or more for their 240 shells that look like they were fished out of a lake or something
If you’re in your 20s and considering a 240 read this!!!: I was one of the rare cases, I’m very mechanically inclined, had rebuilt a fourwheeler and was good with cars. So I thought but I’ve never worked on an old Japanese car, always domestic. Never had tik tok but I knew I wanted a 240. At the time I didn’t know about the hype, I thought it was a rather slept on car and I couldn’t wait so I bought one at all time high but I knew it was an old car so I did my research. 10K and I’m the second owner, flawless body no rust. I drove it all the way from my parents home to my first base with my dad, 1100 miles through a freaking tornado and the single cam purred like a cat while I hydroplaned all the way. I thought I would swap the engine I did the research and I knew as far as swaps I wouldn’t need to fabricate much and I wanted the original engine, the SR in it so I went and bought one outright. At this point, my car funds are getting tight, I’ve just spent around the cost of a new corolla with a warranty that could probably take me 300,000 miles on a 30 year old shitbox but I was committed. I even went as far to sell my other car to save money. Well now I had two engines and a running car I felt good about myself so I told myself to slowly collect SR parts but hell I got a running car so might as well get cool mods. Tax return rolled in and oh boy, 5 lug swap, struts, coilovers so much cool stuff, that I found out very quickly I did NOT need. My headgasket blew, I said whatever I’ll put my SR in it no big deal I got just about everything but I was missing a few gaskets and misc sensors and here’s the kick, you can’t go anywhere to get this shit, no autozone in america or pick yards can save you like my old reliable daily. I was SOL waiting weeks for a part to order from enjuku or ebay just so I could get 4 $20 rubber gaskets or whatnot. I had to start skating to work and bumming rides. It’s taken over a year to get running on my broke ass and in that time I ended up buying a reliable beater (paid off mind you) to get around. That hurt man never been without a car like this and the whole time I felt like my car hated me so much so many leaks that forced me to redo things so many times, old parts failing on stupidist things but I learned a lot, and the forums were my guide along with my owners manual (yeah I’m rich) and I wouldn’t do it differently because of what I learned. But if I could give advice is if you want a 240, keep it stock, wait and pay high for a clean one instead of cheaping out then crying later. Patience patience patience!!!!! But if you want a 240 like me and say, I don’t want that KA (looking back, I probably would’ve kept the KA, I love my sr but the ka is just as good especially turboed) then buy a clean shell, or non running. Don’t be a dumbass, buy a running car and pull the engine out. If you’re 30 and make good money, fine do what you want but otherwise EXPECT that car to sit on jackstands for 1 year don’t be a dumbass and go into debt on a non running car. But if you are like me 20s and have to skateboard to work then don’t be dumb about it that was so dumb I can’t believe it worked for me lol. And don’t buy dumb mods, don’t buy anything until you get it mechanically right, that is so important cause when you buy that $300 gauge and then don’t have money to maintain the engine then you’re screwing yourself out of potentially 1000s of dollars. Anyways that’s my 2 cents from what this guy would probably call a “clout chaser” 240 owner.
I wish more people were transparent like this instead of hiding the actual struggle of what people really have to deal with when fixing up this car or any older car in general. Sure this guy is being harsh but that's just how the reality of owning one is and more people need to realize that. Thanks for making this video man I appreciate it.
man you are spot on. i bought a 300zx Z32 NA with 83k miles and even then i have spent at least 7k on the rebuild of the engine. with that i have gone very in depth with it to make sure it stays good but even with a quick fix up it is very costly. moral of the story these cars are a piece of work but if you have the mindset and the love for the car then all the power too you cause i’m in the same boat haha
@@jaredevers6459 yeah people also just hate working on them because of lack of engine bay room. i don’t find it to be that bad but everyone’s different even with a quick belt change, you have to pull the radiator/rad fan and essentially do a whole coolant flush just to get to the belts.
I feel like this applies to any popular car platform right now. I got into miatas right before the bubble and now it is so annoying dealing with most owners. This is important information for everyone who wants to buy a 30 year old car. They're not good dailies unless you don't mind the ride.
@@CollectorCarFeed Honestly this fits even newer cars like the Nissan 370Z. I sold my E36 BMW to buy one because I wanted a more reliable drift car to get plenty of seat time in, and even still most owners are either divided into two camps. Either old heads who “if you don’t know the answer already, I’m not telling you” or TikTok kids who ask shit like “how much camber can I get in my car if I 2JZ swap it” It’s mildly frustrating trying to deal with either side
I bought my 1990 Miata as a daily and it went nearly 5 years strong before I had to rebuild the motor. Now my daily is a civic but the Miata would still do the job if need be.
I'm starting to feel better about being interested in more lackluster platforms. Too many people think they're the next speed king. I learned to just enjoy spirited driving in a decently fun to drive ride. Learned my limits early at the cost of a GC8 WRX. Still repenting from that.
I've had four 240's, the latest I've owned for 6 years. While there is definitely truth with these cars breaking down on the regular, these cars are stupid easy to work on compared to other vehicles. Total money pits but I will always own one
Agreed. Three 240's in a 20 year span and I can agree definitely something always seems to need attention or breaking on me. However, working on my 240sx is very rewarding and I do enjoy the car, but the list of to-do's is never ending. No regrets at the end of the day here, but my experience has always been different depending on the vehicle. My first was PURE stock, and extremely reliable. The others have been modified. The biggest thing I learned is when those added parts are garbage, so is the rest of the car.
Only reason I've ever seen them be unreliable was from the BS done to them by previous owners, mine I bought bone stock and drive for 20k miles with the must intensive "repair" being pads and a caliper. Then I went and turbocharged it and put another 10k miles on it and still barely any issues besides the ones I created lol
My god, man, you hit the nail ON👏THE👏HEAD👏. This is what’s happened to 80% of the e30, e36, s13/14, and Miata market over the past years. All of these cars used to be dirt cheap, and have HUGE aftermarket support, so everyone bought these with “big plans coming” back in the 20-teens, realized they were way in over their heads, and sold them to the next sucker. They threw away thousands of dollars worth of hard to find interior pieces and panels, just to make it a “TrAcK cAr”, and ripped and tore apart good condition cars to cosplay as race car drivers. Fast forward to today, everyone who had those cars years ago realized everyone ALSO trashed them, because clean cars go for 8x what they bought theirs for in 2009. That bumps up the price of the shitty ones, and now no one can afford them. It’s exactly what happened to old muscle cars in the “Overhaulin” days of the 2000’s.
I have to agree with Thunderhead289 on the dailying classics thing. You want to mod your classic car? Dual chamber master cylinder. Front disc brakes. Overdrive transmission (be it auto or manual). Maybe a bluetooth or aux radio. That's all you need to make a usable daily.
Same thing with Hondas. Old 90s Accords shot up in price like crazy. 10 years ago my Accord was maybe a $2500 car in the really good condition it's in. Now I get offers for $5k+ left and right and it's just shocking. Like who's paying 5-10k for a stock Honda from the 90s💀
Dude you've hit the nail in the right spot!! been in the scene since 2012 used to browse Zilvia everyday and learned all about the car and the community.... most of these cars are know TRASHED. you gotta do your research buying 240s. waited 12 years to buy one, she's one of the cleanest cars
I feel old, got my first S13 as a hand me down from my mom in 2000 it was an 89 Fastback auto trans. Had 3 more later. Sold my last one in 2011 for $5k in immaculate condition. Now I’m looking to get another and they are all beat to death for $8k. It’s unbelievable how cancerous these owners have become.
True, and video is absolutely true.. yet I bought a never crashed, heavily uncared for and minimal rust 240sx lol. Now hear me out, I have another YT channel with about 300k subs and people love seeing content about project cars and getting a 240sx down here (latin america) is hard AF, never the less a clean one, so I got it for 1.2k complete without engine and trans, paperwork in order and got a full Z33 swap (complete drivetrain, brakes, subframe, wiring loom, pedals, steering wheel, ecu, all the accessories, power sterring pump, rack, cooler, lines etc etc all for 2k) So, buying a POS one is doable *IF* you know what youre doing and prepare accordingly, the knowledge, content and aftermarket for these cars is SO HUGE, well documented and available that it's still possible to buy a shell and do great stuff with em with a huge caveat. Research, research, research and budget the hell out of the whole project... and have contacts to get you cheap stuff.
@@Hanschepu Yeah for sure. Totally agree. Rolling chassis aren't bad. The $1,000 one 10 seconds in this video would suck as a daily driver but if you were building a little drift/fun car that might be worth checking out.
@@TERRORIZERRRR I'd be genuinely impressed if you could find any of those highly sought after s chassis in anywhere near decent running condition for any less than around 15k. At least in the current car bubble.
What's kind of funny is that there's an older lady in my neighborhood who owns a black 240sx coupe. It looks to be completely stock aside from some aftermarket fog lights. She only takes it outside in the summer and I've seen her driving it around occasionally. I guess that's a pretty rare sight to see in the S-chassis community.
Bought my s13 when I was 17 as non running, THERE WAS NO PISTONS OR RODS IN THE MOTOR. Yes u read that right😂 rebuilt a homebrewed dual cam and drove my car for the first time 7 months later. Everything he said in this vid applied to me. Never did I think it would leave the driveway. It was very frustrating project but learned a whole lot about cars and the car community
Just bought a 180sx and it’s pretty well modded for 12k aud pushing 310 but I’m really happy with my purchase but I have a daily and the 180 is gonna be my pride and joy
That’s why I bought a 180sx when I was in Japan. It was the complete opposite for me, very well taken care of the sr engine wasn’t beat, little to no rust(there’s gonna be some regardless it’s humid in Japan and it’s an old car)
A 240sx S14 has been my dream car for 23 years. I always wanted to get one stock with an automatic transmission. I would keep it that way. I think the car is just beautiful. I had children and had to put my dream of owning one aside. I did get to drive one for a few minutes. It made me so happy. It was awesome. I was hopeful that I would be able to get one later in life when my children were older. My youngest are teens, but now it's near impossible to buy one even if I could find one. I am a disabled veteran and I became a single father of my children 11 years ago. I also take care of my father. So the dream car is just that, a dream. Other things are more important than cars anyway. The way people ruined these beautiful cars and also drove up prices. It is a shame. I don't think I'll ever own one, but I still admire them. I just hope that there are a few people out there that have a nice 240sx that appreciate and enjoy them.
Same here. I wanted one way back in ‘94. A lot of other “responsibilities” kept coming up, and I just forgot about it. With the advent of social media, etc. and just getting that spark back, I’ve been looking at them and getting my passion back.
It just sucks to hear shit like this. I respect you raising and caring for your family instead of ruining your life on a POS that you MIGHT afford. I hope you get that dream car one day!
I've had my 200sx RS13U (european spec, which comes with the CA18DET) for 14 years. I bought it from an 82 year old man, Mr Price, who stayed in my home town, Cape Town South Africa. He imported it brand new in 1992 from Belgium to South Africa. I bought it from him (I was the second owner from brand new) for R18 000 ($1158) in 2008, it had 78 000km (48 000 miles) Full service history, everything was OEM, including the rims, radio, sunroof bag, full tool kit and jack and some other OEM goodies from Nissan in Belgium. After 14 years of ownership, she still puts a smile on my face, hearing the turbo and exhaust sound. Looking at her all polished and clean always makes me think what a beautiful car that Japanese made. My 200sx still is OEM, with a full service history, original radiator, original shocks, original springs (never cut), still stock height, original rims, original midnight blue paint, the only upgrade i ever did to my car, was a stainless steel exhaust and T28/T25 turbo, original exhaust manifold, original injectors. She is making a reliable 158kws and 285nm. The current milage is a very healthy 184 000kms (114 332 miles) still full service history, i change the oil and oil filter every 5000kms (3100 miles). If you guys would like to see pictures of my car follow me on instagram @200sx_ca18det
As a daily driver of an S13 for the last 25 years, it has been fascinating to watch the evolution of the S-chassis market and culture, especially since TH-cam appeared.
I don't drive a 240, but I did fall into the JDM trap and picked up a B14 SE-R a decade ago. Everything you say in this video is absolutely accurate. I've spent at least the past 5 years alone unfucking things the previous owners have done.
I'm one of the rare story that brought an AE86 as my first car to restored. Managed to do it in 1 year and drove it as a daily up until two years ago. I can definitely agree with so many points on this videos. It is not the best route to take but for those who dedicate so much time and fortitude to stick to it to the end, it is very rewarding. I now know that car in and out and take it out on long 400+ mile trips without a care in the world.
Not the same car but i lurked for about 6 months looking for my miata. Researched everything I could and narrowed my focus on specifically 2 model years that included the LSD. I found my car at the height of the miata boom and still got a great deal. Treat it as an investment, make sure you really understand what you are purchasing, and what it will require in order to reach your goal with the car. Good luck everyone and stay diligent, i hope to see everyone in the car they like at the meets.
Enjoyed the video! Spot on analysis of every 80s/90s car group. Everyone gets mad they go up in value, everyone gets mad at the kids that are modding them and making bad decisions, everyone asks the same stupid questions over and over, and everyone rags on cars like sheep without stopping to think about it. C4 Corvette groups and Thirdgen groups can be the same, but there's a lot of cool people trying to set a good tone for the hobby as well. Always liked 240s... Had a little old lady that lived next to me growing up that had a white one in she bought new a garage she barely drove. She passed years ago and her husband is still there. I wonder what happened to the car. I almost never saw it out of the garage. That's the one you want to find!
I bought the first 240sx I saw, but thinking about I realized it was more of a right place right time situation picked it up for $2500 mostly stock. The Interior was completely gutted except for the dash runs and drives and ac blows real cold the only problem I ran into was the engine and trany mounts were blown easy fix. This was 2 years ago Covid honestly slowed down the build but it’s giving me time to think should I build one of my dream cars or profit haha.
These are no longer cars you can just get into because you like how they look. They are a full blown love it or leave it experience. I've had 2 so far.
Honestly, this represents my entire purchase. I bought mine a few months ago and started working on it. The SR20DET doesn't have compression on cylinder 3 and the guy who was selling it to me, had 4 other guys come up to him and ask him. "How much does it cost to stance," or "did you ever think of putting 2step on it?"
To be fair alot of the older car threads are from locked early 2000s forums and usually have an answer like "this was already answered in another thread" and then you click that link and the forums been dead since 2008 lol
Become a drifter _before_ you turn your car into a drift car. That's what ChrisFix did on his channel. He went drifting with a mostly stock mustang and made mods as he NEEDED them. Also when taking on massive projects, your current skill and part supply aren't really as big of an issue as just your force of will. With time you'll learn what you need to learn if you are dedicated and keep at it. The hard part is keeping at it. Will you get burned out almost instantly the moment it dawns on you just how much needs doing? Then you should probably just buy a running and driving car instead. Let's face it. It's hard to stick with a project all the way through. It's fun to plan and have giant expectations but once the fun part of planning and buying the chassis is over and the hard part shows up, you're probably just gonna give up, aren't you? Make things a bit easier for yourself and buy a car that works.
Your synopsis of the 240 owners is also spot on with lots of JDM kind of cars. Specifically, is300 owners. Your description seems exactly like the is300 people in general
I loved this video. I grew up loving the silvia brand and knew I'd get one some day. I got one, needed so much work. But because I knew what the common solutions were to pretty common faults all I needed to invest was my time and money, got it road worthy after 2 years of picking it up and only having time off work on Sundays! Cut out all the rust and reshaped plate to fit myself, set the car on fire twice teaching myself how to weld, learned how to strip, clean and paint a car myself, rebuilt the engine and accessories, it's been an awesome trip so far. Next up is an engine and gearbox swap as well as upgrading everything that will help manage the upgrade haha. Awesome vid! Gonna share it around with my mates now!
God this guy is hilarious and every minute was worth the watch. I'm 32 now, and I remember in 2008 when every dumbass was tearing the plastics out to shave off a few pounds lollllllll
I’m 16, and earlier this year i bought a bone stock ‘90 240SX. I am the second owner. I grew up around cars and my dad owns a mechanic shop. As proud as I am with the car in its stock form, I plan to modify it. My biggest priority is preventative maintenance, fixing a few small issues, and bodywork. I also plan to do a simple turbo setup on the single cam down the road. I have done months of very extensive research and planning, and I plan to make it as clean as possible.
I come back to this video and watch it every time I see it. It motivated me to finish my 240sx. This is my 5th and last one. Been an 240sx owner since 2006.
Just discovered your channel and I’ve never laughed so hard! I just got a 240sx about a year ago thankfully I got lucky and got a running one with not so many miles or rust. Keep up the funny videos! Love your content
100% true. soon as they went up i sold my s13 of 13 years as a shell for 3k, took that money and got a 2JZGTE VVTI back when they were 3k-4k shipped to your door from japan. i tried to teach the younger people, but they all think they know everything, ask you a question, you answer and then they respond with "oh i know." like then why did you even ask?! the s chassis community is kinda terrible now imo. people are so scared to be wrong or not know something these days, it stops them from growing as a person.
I totally agree with the keep it stock sentiment. I've been daily driving a r34 gtt for almost 10 years now. I don't drive far, basically to work and back and it's never given me any dramas. I love that car. I do get a lot of questions like what mods etc. When I say stock people almost fall over. No need to mod a daily. I enjoy it for what it is.
hit the nose on a lot of this. I put a lot of work into my hatch over the three years I owned it to finally get it streetable, and realized i probably should’ve saved and bought something clean and running and driving.
I bought my 240 as a gutted interior non running pos as a sort of “passing through” project on my way to another chassis but I kinda fell in love with the design and the overall driving experience. I started my channel as well just to showcase that and although ive spent thousands on getting it where it is (not nearly finished either) I have enjoyed just about every step of the way. It depends on the type of person you are. If you have no experience, start with a honda or something with great oe and aftermarket support with a basic drivetrain setup. If you have had the hands on experience, you have the time, and you have the wallet to back all of that up, get yourself a 240. These cars are a blast, but definitely not for teenagers
I agree with the shell sentiment, they can either be a decent way to build a car or the fattest headache. Only buy a shell if you've build multiple other of the same car and know the quirks of each individual year. I bought a miata shell, it was about the 15th miata I've owned and I only bought it because it was a cool spec that I wanted to restore. Even then, it has been the biggest headache, I've fixed 4 other miatas in the time I've spent on the 1 shell, and I've spent about the same amount of money
I actually felt that Ford thing. I cant find the ones who know. So im becoming the one who knows. I end up working on these here imports right now its a rx7 from the 80s. The rotatory drinks coolant quicker than gas. You seemed like you knew what you were talking about so I kept watching. I wont lie this carries over to the OBS Fords really well. Thank you and God bless.
Honestly, I love this. We need more people calling out the bullshit. Seriously. I still want a 240, specifically a RPS13, like the white one kept showing in the video but not THAT far down modification lane. But only reason why I don’t have a 240 is exactly everything you said. I don’t have the tools like welder nor do I know how to weld, don’t really know how to slap an engine back together, I know the basic shit, I have all the basic shit like ratchtets, impacts, Jack and Jack stands etc. I would make it work but some of these 240’s and their price tag is a little much right now and I don’t see it getting any better anytime soon. I don’t wanna fall into the cheap car fallacy right now because simply I don’t have the required skill set yet, but maybe one day, I do like the idea of a ground up build but that could easily fall into a trap, so probably be better to just start with a running and driving one and call it a day. Thanks for being so honest you guys, maybe we can save a dumb person or 2 from making a terrible life decision, or let them learn from their mistakes lol
He's right about the parts. My advice, when it comes to engine parts on KA's is to look at Nissan's D21 hardbody parts. Private sellers parting out parts sometimes only label them as "truck" parts. I was lucky enough that my mom bought this 240x off someone back in 1995. and it sat for years in the backyard. Luckily Arizona has like no humidity so there's hardly any rust. Its mostly original but I bought replacement carpet and its nice now. I do get a lot of questions about "are you going to engine swap it", but I'm enjoying it as a stock clean car. I try not to sound like a snob, and let the people check it out when their interested. The biggest upgrade imma do tho..... is the stereo, maybe the wheels too, if I can get ahold of some LMGTs, otherwise, its staying original.
Hey hey hey,🤫… we D21 guys have struggles of our own.. parts are becoming ghosts left and right… especially if your a obd2 hardbody like myself.. it’s cold out here between obd1 ka24e and 98 and up ka24de, lol
That stock car will be worth more than a backyard mechanics in 5-10 years. People that are serious about building a car, want the most stock, unmolested car they can get. Keep er stock brother.
literally this. why ruin something that just works. people are obsessed with what other people are doing and don't think about the alternative. stock. yes that's it plain and simple.
Not necessarily 240 related, but i do feel it applies to my case. so i've had my first car for a few years now, although driven on the roads only for a year legally due to lack of money license wise back then. Soon 20 and it terrifies me how prices of all cars i've literally dreamed of ever since i was barely able to walk, are getting more and more expensive, so i'm doing my best to save for one. but then we come to even if i had the money, i lack *actual* experience, sure i can google around and watch tens of hours of informative content, but truth is i will still not have any experience that matters. Which leads me scared on the "what if" i do a mistake, a 15-30k mistake. I'm trying my best to be the voice of reason for my friends on their dreams, but the truth is i fall into the same pitfalls of dreams. I just want to own one of my dream cars, eventually, daily it, maybe modify it a tad engine wise because i do want to learn eventually. So i'm kinda stuck here between the zone of dreams and common sense, all the while being *absolutely fucking broke because of being a Uni student*, so basically, i'm probably an idiot lol.
Hopefully when you graduate you find a good job. Everyone I know with a college degree is unemployed and there are computer science nerds. The only one making decent money doesn't even have w GED and is an autist who self taught themselves 7 different programing languages... Normal people be out here struggling.
It sounds like old person stuff, but it does get better. I'm in my 30's and when I was your age I never thought I would be able to afford my car and never thought I'd find a nice condition one. Now I see a car I love to bits in my driveway every day. A lot of crappy things about getting older, but some things do get easier 😉
Haha, this was a fun video to watch. I have a 1990 hatch that I've had for 21 years. Its been sitting without an engine for around 10 years now. I got 263,000 brutal miles out of the single cam k . I pulled it for an sr20 swap but getting married and four boys later the car was on the back burner. Now my oldest is 13 so we're getting it ready for him to take over SOON. I have all the interior minus the seats. I just need to replace the front fenders and hood and slap another engine in it and its ready to go for the most part. But having recently been on the parts hunt, I've seen how much has changed in the past decade as far as availability.
Listen I don't own a Nissan but I do own a 66 Pontiac. I just finished a cam install and all the bull S that goes with it and when I got this car 18 months ago I had never even seen a carburetor in person. It's fun to learn and work on stuff but... BUT.. if you have a lot of things you HAVE to do it QUICKLY starts to take the fun out. This guy speaks truth. Make sure you START with a car in working condition because you will quickly lose enjoyment if you can't use and enjoy the car along the way. At least I got to choose my project and it was finished over winter. Don't be the "soon" guy. Be the "now" guy.
The 90s Nissan ownership experience is a lot different now then when s13s we're first starting to get sought after (around 07/08 in my experience) even back then most of them were a bit busted, at a minimum. Had an s13 from 08-2010, sold it and got back into an 90s nis about 3 years ago. Now it seems s-chassis are ALL busted if they've been passed around different owners in the states. And the parts hoarding is, like you said, not optional anymore- it's a requirement. I have an entire room in my house with HCR32 parts. Bumpers, quarter panels, trim pieces, seals, sensors, clips/bolts/screws, lights, hinges, lock mechs, everything. It gets harder each month to source things that were readily available previously.
This isn't even limited to 240's. This is every kid today who was born past 1995 trying to buy his need for speed dream car for a 1$ put in no work, post about it on social media, and get nothing done.
We must be from the same gen. I completely agree with everything you’re saying! Some kids now-a-days don’t know how to appreciate real cars. Social media ruined things IMO.
Not gonna lie this is a great video for anyone to watch. Not even S chassis owners. Hell, I'm not even an S chassis owner. I have owned multiple 4th and 5th gen civics, e90 corollas, first gen imprezas. Know the car before you buy as much as you can, rust eats every old ass car. Know common swaps,what to look for in each generation, know what different gen valve covers look like, know what different engine heads look like. It is not uncommon for people to swap heads on hondas,subarus,etc and build frankenstein motors. I'm currently building my EJ8 it's been in the works for 2 years and I work on it outside since I don't have a garage. Cars can be daunting I'm a technician and have been one for 4 years and having a project is daunting. If you have no experience with any car at all get something you can tinker with,plan your shit out. Tackling shells,or half finished projects aren't worth it. Cheaping out on parts is okay, but know you get what you pay for. I recommend doing what is in your price range for you, and use legitimate good parts or period correct parts. Realize if you want to do a swap or build any car from shell up,bare block up, etc understand it will take time. You will want to stop and give up, let that shit sit save your money, gather your parts, build it and build it correctly. It sucks having shit sit so have a daily to drive don't touch that shit and keep it nice. Projects are projects enjoy them when you want to, keep your damn daily nice. Good luck, and don't break your bank.
I brought a factory 180sx/240sx for $6k from an old guy 155,000kms and that was 2 years ago. Had a CA18DE in it that was only running on 2 cylinders and now is swapped with a RB20DET put on cobra lowering springs and put on 18x10.5 5x114 Work Emotion CR2P Wheels
One of my fav troll moves back in the days of owning a 240 was to ask “what’s the best motor to swap in?” In the 240 Facebook groups…then just sit back and watch people eat themselves.
I’ve been through atleast 5 and I currently own 1 now (not my pfp) in the span of 8-9 years. I hate money and I enjoy suffering because my 12 year me keeps telling me ‘this is the dopest car ever.’ But your video sums it up my guy! These cars aren’t for the faint of heart and sure as hell aren’t for the “on a budget” build.
You hit the nail right on the head with the build progress. I fell into that trap with a different chassis and eventually lost motivation for it and couldn’t find jack s*** for info on the swap I was trying to do. Luckily, I pulled all my parts worth value off, went out and bought a running and driving SN95, and installed all my drift car parts onto that car, and it was the best decision I have ever made because by the time I finished the other vehicle, I would have been well over $10k into a vehicle that would be worse than my SN95 with harder to source and more expensive parts. I cannot stress this enough. Buy a vehicle that fits your budget and needs the bare minimum to get you seat time in whatever motorsport you want to do because there is genuinely no worse feeling than dropping a stupid amount of money on a vehicle and not even getting to drive it or worse yet, building something like that and immediately destroying it because you have no experience
I also agree with the keep your car stock part. My method for this car is to keep it as simple as possible and only upgrade stuff when something breaks
You’re absolutely right about the price. I bought one for a grand that was all original and it showed it, and the engine had been torn apart for 8 years. After getting it running and road worthy, I turned to the suspension. I’m now $15000 into it, and when you walk past it, it still looks like it did when I bought it but lowered. But it is a rust free car and I keep it in the garage, so that’s a thing.
I think the last part is often overlooked: Keep your car as stock as possible. Even a light modification can tank its resale value. And if you really want to mod it, keep the stock parts. Put them back onto your car when it's time to sell it. Seriously.
I’m 16 at the moment and Bought my S13 a couple months ago from my dads friend as my second car after owning a v6 mustang. I got it for 10k and it’s imported. The lack of experience is definitely there, but I like the challenge of it. I’m also doing automotive in high school so that will help me when I pull my motor out next summer!
I can relate 💀 Had my hatch since 2006 and it's been a money pit since then. And purchasing it maybe was one of the worst decisions I have ever made in my life. Back then I hadn't had a smallest idea of how bad it will be owning that thing. But I've also learned a lot on how to work on cars, rebuilding engines and so on. A lot of memories with this car, I don't think I will ever sell it, just a few left in my country. My advice is, if you don't have plenty of money, time and determination - don't buy an s-chassis, it will ruin your life.
I'm a G35 owner, but gawd damn it's so true. I lowered my car on ISR coils like an idiot, changed spring rates 3 times, and it still rides like trash, $1500 I should have just lit on fire. If you buy quality parts up front you SAVE money because you don't need to un-fuck anything.
My first car was an s13 coupe, still have to this day. Daily drove it for 3 years until I decided to get a newer car. The car is all stock only mods are coil overs I did when I first bought the car, super reliable. Everything broke, power steering , cooling, fuel it all gave out lol buuut the car never left me stranded & it was all relatively cheap to fix. Love the car to death would not recommend it to someone though lol 240’a ain’t for the weak Awesome video btw! Finding parts has gotten extremely hard these past few years shits crazy
Thank God someone said it. Stop buying 240 shells if you don’t have the parts to put it back together. This shit ain’t cheap and it’s not like Lexus and Toyotas where the parts are still out there in abundance, a lot of these parts are hard to find
Just bought a complete stock s13 hatch (besides exaust, needs injectors.) 63k miles on the stock ka, for $8500. I really do appreciate the honesty out of this video!
I just got my hands on a black 1989 AE92 GT-S with 132K miles, mostly stock except for an aftermarket stereo. Besides the apparent maintenance, it's the best first car and hopefully the only car I'll own for a while! The only thing I'll be adding is a killswitch and a club to get a discount on my insurance lol.
Got a nice shell back in May 2023, $2500 got a full interior, rolling shell, trans, engine, and wiring harnesses for KA and SR + ECU. She's on the road today (8/20/23) after sitting since 2016 and one hell of a ride.
I've never owned a 240SX but I have owned a KA24DE and 5 speed out of one that I built and put in a Datsun 620. 4x 52mm CV carburetors on a custom intake, I bought a Chevy Luv distributor, cut the shaft shorter, made an adapter to fit it in the head, and put the gear off the original distributor on it so it would run carbureted. MSD 7AL-2 ignition, Champion C53VC surface gap plugs, 320/320 custom billet cams, 4340 H beam rods, ported head, 13.5:1 compression pistons, Exedy twin disk clutch. Bought it as a pile of parts and had it making 321HP within 4 months when I was 18 years old. Don't care about looks or interior, was all missing, used a Chevy truck wiring harness I pulled from the junkyard. The metal dashboard frame was there so I made an aluminum plate and mounted all the gauges and switches there. Ended up selling it and the guy I sold it to still drives it now. Don't care for anything made after 1989 or anything with fuel injection that isn't a mechanical injection diesel, or mechanical injection gas engine, ie CIS, SPICA, the old Mercedes system, so I really don't want one of these, too late production for me, but boy does the engine make a great conversion into a carbureted engine. Although if I hadn't gotten the engine free with the truck, I would have gone with one that isn't out of a 240SX. Because you can fit a points distributor in with much less modification than in the 240 version. Plus they are cheaper, and the intake they have can be easily modified to fit a large 2 barrel Holley. Truly though I wouldn't have gone with a Nissan engine at all but with a Chevy Cosworth Vega engine with dual Weber carbs. Love those things. That is my ultimate car to aspire to, the Cosworth Vega.
I own a 93 S13 hatch since 2020. Got it for a decent price for what it was. Saved it from being slammed to the ground.($1600) Paint was bad, motor was blown and had some rust on common areas but the interior was intact and it wasn’t falling apart. Got it running within 3 months. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a hard time with the car. It was all worth it seeing it run though it is a money pit😅. Currently I built a KA-T and am doing some more rust repair but luckily I got the experience to do so thanks to my pops😄. Hopefully I can get it running again and looking good doing so. Won’t be easy but I’d Also be lying if I said I wasn’t determined to fix up
The Nissan S13 is hard hitter for me, mainly because it's the car that got me into cars. 4 years ago my brother's friend had a Nissan 200sx S13 with CA18DET engine, and he gave it to us, because he wasn't in the country, and the car needed to get MOT. My brother invited me to change the rear tires for the car. As I stepped outside, the car was sitting there, and I saw that car as a video game car(People who have played Need For Speed Underground 2, know what I'm talking about;)), and I got into the car, and there were three gauges in the middle which I thought was sick. Brother turned on the pop up headlights, which looked really interesting, and car was loud compared to our daily cars. My brother was telling me how the turbo works, and I asked "Does this car even has a turbo?"... So we take a turn and from 1st to 2nd gear does a pull, and I got sucked in to the seat, and also the window was open and the air went straight under my T-Shirt, and at that moment I had butterflies in my stomach and got into cars really fast. Crazy to think how one car can change your life, XD.
This is the true truths. The community side of things especially, if there's one thing I'm glad to see in the last 20 years of owning s-chassis, it's that the increasing rarity of them now at least means I meet less 240 owners. 😬
Yeah 20+ owner here as well. Basically watched the Honda idiots in the early 2000's move into the 240sx. All I know is everyday more 240sx's get destroyed and it only raises the value of mine. So there is that...
I got a mint s12 200sx 90k miles no rust (which is super rare so was excited AF) and went to a 240sx reddit sub to post it, saying s12 coupe looks exactly like “onevia” but square-ish, and oh boy. Got told ima looser/wannabe who wanted an s13 and couldn’t, that this s12 is a piece of shit compared to mighty s13 and so on. I was really surprised and never came back to that shithole of 240 high school fans again. On the other side, s12club are very nice and helpful guys. Guess its the matter of humble, skill motivated old school drivers against raging tiktok users, overfender slapping camber lovers. Ugh
@@CollectorCarFeed It is just temporary. Not everything is equally desired or ruined by clout. Prices normalize when interest dwindles and enough cars are left.
This video is real, and we all needed this. Thank you. Not enough people understand that even if these cars are nice they are still shitty, and cheap feeling. Way overhyped.
LMAO at using the More Skids clips, love Quentyn and DJ and they built that thing from nothing (and he's rebuilding it currently) they're good examples of the "younger" 240 owners. Great vid overall, and I don't think any of the problems presented are specific to just the 240 but current car culture overall.
Thanks, you probably saved me because i am a kid that wanted to buy a shell e36 and repair it, but after this video i am pretty sure that its not a good idea and i first have to get some experience:D (Sorry if my english is kinda bad, its not my main language)
Nobody is gonna call you an asshole for this video. You were EXTREMELY real, especially the end of the video. I've had my s13 for 4 years now and i restored it and It's stock body other than oem chuki aero everything else has been preventative maintenance and maybe lowered and rpf1's teehee but its been a charm for me. yeah i've gotta fix stuff here and there but its expected and isnt ruining my life. Just have knowledge to fix the car asap and realize that when you mod a 240sx its inviting future problems so be ready.
I bought my s13 over a decade ago and it was my daily for 9 of those years. It's been an absolutely fantastic car and a lot of fun, but I did let the maintenance get away from me when I hard-parked it & bought a new (safe) car for my daily. I've been fixing it up again, so many little things to replace as is common with a 25+ year old car, but it's been a lot of fun to do. Many for sale are either in a similar state with small issues, or gutted for drifting which won't make a good weekender, but with some effort they are reliable and enjoyable. I'm not sure if I'll keep it but don't regret my purchase for one second.
I agree with you on almost everything! Only thing I didn’t understand was you saying the community was bad? Maybe it’s where I’m from but almost everyone I’ve met or talked to with a 240 are the absolute most positive people ever, constantly wanting to help work on the car or give you free stuff I absolutely love the community
I really want one and this video really helped. I've been working lots and was thinking of exporting one from Japan. It's a bit extreme for a 22 year old but I have my mind set on doing it right and nothing's gonna stop me.
Hope you get it man, it is life changing when you own and drive the realistic car of your dreams. Had both a Silvia and a 180sx when I was in my 20's and still the best cars I ever owned.
If it's not rotted out don't worry. Plenty aftermarket parts. If done right it's not hard to build a great car around 3k. I fell into a 2000 integra ls. Found a rebuilt motor dirt cheap. New clutch and all the hydronics. New control arms bushings. Sway bar upgrades. 288k miles drives better then new.
100% right and I hate what the car has turned into. I’ve had two S13’s (in EU so a 200sx but anyway) The first one was all riced out and a piece of shit but I unpimped it and used it as a street car and some autocrossing. It was a beautiful machine and just found out it’s been hacked to pieces by some drifting idiot. The second one was completely stock and my daily driver, super reliable and didn’t need anything.
When this video started I was surprised that Julian from TPB was giving me a car lecture. When he pulled out the whisky glass I started howling. Good stuff man, I was a few weeks away from buying a second hand 240 from a police auction
Pretty much can apply this to anything built before the 2000s , over hyped, rusted, modified by an idiot and incomplete. Know what you’re looking at before you buy and realise that you’ll need to know more than what TH-cam and tictok tells you to build a car. Don’t let the internet trick you into buying trash. Great to see a video giving people a reality check on their next or current purchase.
Good point about early fords, lots of the old dudes just wont let up and get rid of some of the parts I need to finish my stuff, especially 32 guys might be the worst, like really, 2300 for a 32 grill? Bro I'll just run a 28 and call it a day
This video was even better than I thought, you're actually looking out for these kids and giving tips for the ones you know won't listen to you. This is why I got a NA Miata to learn how to work on cars thought it would be easier.
I'm not really a 240sx guy (more of an fd or fc rx7 guy). But this really put owning an older car especially an older Japanese car into perspective. Wanna own other cars and gain experience and knowledge before I buy one.
I feel like all Japanese cars that are portrayed in any way in the media have hit this trend as well. To watch someone put a few hundred dollars on cosmetics before replacing their ripped up coolant hoses, fixing leaks, or even as simple as changing a worn transmission mount is such a livid thing to see.
“Want to hear to a 240sx joke?……hold up I’m working on it.” -just some guy that has had 5 240s
Wut
5 broken 240's
Key word : had
@@fudawgable :)
Can I get the worst one?
Love this. Kids always ask "what are you gonna put in it???" when they see my coupe. It took 2 years to get this single cam KA running, and by God it's gonna stay in there.
Key word: KIDS
as god intended
Everytime I get the "aRe YoU gOnNa dRiFt iT!??" 🙄🙄
Drift culture is toxic. Strip the car to weld shit on it, then 90% chance youll slam the side of your rare and expensive car against a railing. BUT OH HOW FUN IT IS!
@@diegosc985 because drifting is fun
If there was more videos like this , we wouldn't have had such a drastically giant markup on these cars after the 2019 year. Glad I got my car when I did in 2017.
I love your boxing videos!
I was seeing clean 240’s with SR’s for 5500 in 2010
*(shakes cane angrily)*
I got my S13 in trade for a Honda Accord with a broken transmission, and bought 2 spare KA24s for $50 each back when people said they were trash motors and were buying Red Top front clips for $1200...
I doubt that's true. Most of the people complaining about the price are people that bought them after the drift tax of the mid 2000s. I almost bought one in 2001 and had a great opportunity again in 2004 and I'm glad I didn't. My friend bought a 98 and while it was a great car - it really isn't that nice until you pump some serious money into it. Stock engine, stock suspension, stock interior, etc are all garbage. If you start out with a sti or evo or something else that right out of the box just works and handles decent is a way better proposition unless you're a masochist.
They still would’ve gone up. So is the cycle of classic cars as they hit the 25-30 year mark. Just like the boomers and their muscle cars.
I myself am guilty of the "your car is not worth such and such" thing, but seriously, there's dudes out here asking $3k or more for their 240 shells that look like they were fished out of a lake or something
theres a guy asking $7500 for a crashed kouki hes currently getting laughed at lmao
If you’re in your 20s and considering a 240 read this!!!:
I was one of the rare cases, I’m very mechanically inclined, had rebuilt a fourwheeler and was good with cars. So I thought but I’ve never worked on an old Japanese car, always domestic. Never had tik tok but I knew I wanted a 240. At the time I didn’t know about the hype, I thought it was a rather slept on car and I couldn’t wait so I bought one at all time high but I knew it was an old car so I did my research. 10K and I’m the second owner, flawless body no rust. I drove it all the way from my parents home to my first base with my dad, 1100 miles through a freaking tornado and the single cam purred like a cat while I hydroplaned all the way. I thought I would swap the engine I did the research and I knew as far as swaps I wouldn’t need to fabricate much and I wanted the original engine, the SR in it so I went and bought one outright. At this point, my car funds are getting tight, I’ve just spent around the cost of a new corolla with a warranty that could probably take me 300,000 miles on a 30 year old shitbox but I was committed. I even went as far to sell my other car to save money. Well now I had two engines and a running car I felt good about myself so I told myself to slowly collect SR parts but hell I got a running car so might as well get cool mods. Tax return rolled in and oh boy, 5 lug swap, struts, coilovers so much cool stuff, that I found out very quickly I did NOT need. My headgasket blew, I said whatever I’ll put my SR in it no big deal I got just about everything but I was missing a few gaskets and misc sensors and here’s the kick, you can’t go anywhere to get this shit, no autozone in america or pick yards can save you like my old reliable daily. I was SOL waiting weeks for a part to order from enjuku or ebay just so I could get 4 $20 rubber gaskets or whatnot. I had to start skating to work and bumming rides. It’s taken over a year to get running on my broke ass and in that time I ended up buying a reliable beater (paid off mind you) to get around. That hurt man never been without a car like this and the whole time I felt like my car hated me so much so many leaks that forced me to redo things so many times, old parts failing on stupidist things but I learned a lot, and the forums were my guide along with my owners manual (yeah I’m rich) and I wouldn’t do it differently because of what I learned.
But if I could give advice is if you want a 240, keep it stock, wait and pay high for a clean one instead of cheaping out then crying later. Patience patience patience!!!!! But if you want a 240 like me and say, I don’t want that KA (looking back, I probably would’ve kept the KA, I love my sr but the ka is just as good especially turboed) then buy a clean shell, or non running. Don’t be a dumbass, buy a running car and pull the engine out. If you’re 30 and make good money, fine do what you want but otherwise EXPECT that car to sit on jackstands for 1 year don’t be a dumbass and go into debt on a non running car. But if you are like me 20s and have to skateboard to work then don’t be dumb about it that was so dumb I can’t believe it worked for me lol. And don’t buy dumb mods, don’t buy anything until you get it mechanically right, that is so important cause when you buy that $300 gauge and then don’t have money to maintain the engine then you’re screwing yourself out of potentially 1000s of dollars. Anyways that’s my 2 cents from what this guy would probably call a “clout chaser” 240 owner.
I wish more people were transparent like this instead of hiding the actual struggle of what people really have to deal with when fixing up this car or any older car in general. Sure this guy is being harsh but that's just how the reality of owning one is and more people need to realize that. Thanks for making this video man I appreciate it.
man you are spot on. i bought a 300zx Z32 NA with 83k miles and even then i have spent at least 7k on the rebuild of the engine. with that i have gone very in depth with it to make sure it stays good but even with a quick fix up it is very costly. moral of the story these cars are a piece of work but if you have the mindset and the love for the car then all the power too you cause i’m in the same boat haha
@@TheAquaCat yea that’s why 300zx’s were cheap for so long
@@jaredevers6459 yeah people also just hate working on them because of lack of engine bay room. i don’t find it to be that bad but everyone’s different even with a quick belt change, you have to pull the radiator/rad fan and essentially do a whole coolant flush just to get to the belts.
@@TheAquaCat that sounds like more work than what I would want to do
owning one is an emotional roller coaster
I feel like this applies to any popular car platform right now. I got into miatas right before the bubble and now it is so annoying dealing with most owners. This is important information for everyone who wants to buy a 30 year old car. They're not good dailies unless you don't mind the ride.
A lot of this is definitely universal, social media clout comes for all models
@@CollectorCarFeed Honestly this fits even newer cars like the Nissan 370Z. I sold my E36 BMW to buy one because I wanted a more reliable drift car to get plenty of seat time in, and even still most owners are either divided into two camps. Either old heads who “if you don’t know the answer already, I’m not telling you” or TikTok kids who ask shit like “how much camber can I get in my car if I 2JZ swap it”
It’s mildly frustrating trying to deal with either side
I still have fun in mine but it’s a pos indeed but I love it you have it embrace that side of it and enjoy it
I bought my 1990 Miata as a daily and it went nearly 5 years strong before I had to rebuild the motor. Now my daily is a civic but the Miata would still do the job if need be.
I'm starting to feel better about being interested in more lackluster platforms. Too many people think they're the next speed king. I learned to just enjoy spirited driving in a decently fun to drive ride. Learned my limits early at the cost of a GC8 WRX. Still repenting from that.
I've had four 240's, the latest I've owned for 6 years. While there is definitely truth with these cars breaking down on the regular, these cars are stupid easy to work on compared to other vehicles. Total money pits but I will always own one
Agreed!
Agreed. Three 240's in a 20 year span and I can agree definitely something always seems to need attention or breaking on me.
However, working on my 240sx is very rewarding and I do enjoy the car, but the list of to-do's is never ending. No regrets at the end of the day here, but my experience has always been different depending on the vehicle. My first was PURE stock, and extremely reliable. The others have been modified. The biggest thing I learned is when those added parts are garbage, so is the rest of the car.
Only reason I've ever seen them be unreliable was from the BS done to them by previous owners, mine I bought bone stock and drive for 20k miles with the must intensive "repair" being pads and a caliper. Then I went and turbocharged it and put another 10k miles on it and still barely any issues besides the ones I created lol
How’s working on that rust
@@jaredevers6459 honestly they rust like any car from that era, and just like any other car, avoid the rusty ones
My god, man, you hit the nail ON👏THE👏HEAD👏. This is what’s happened to 80% of the e30, e36, s13/14, and Miata market over the past years. All of these cars used to be dirt cheap, and have HUGE aftermarket support, so everyone bought these with “big plans coming” back in the 20-teens, realized they were way in over their heads, and sold them to the next sucker. They threw away thousands of dollars worth of hard to find interior pieces and panels, just to make it a “TrAcK cAr”, and ripped and tore apart good condition cars to cosplay as race car drivers. Fast forward to today, everyone who had those cars years ago realized everyone ALSO trashed them, because clean cars go for 8x what they bought theirs for in 2009. That bumps up the price of the shitty ones, and now no one can afford them. It’s exactly what happened to old muscle cars in the “Overhaulin” days of the 2000’s.
I have to agree with Thunderhead289 on the dailying classics thing. You want to mod your classic car? Dual chamber master cylinder. Front disc brakes. Overdrive transmission (be it auto or manual). Maybe a bluetooth or aux radio. That's all you need to make a usable daily.
Same thing with Hondas. Old 90s Accords shot up in price like crazy. 10 years ago my Accord was maybe a $2500 car in the really good condition it's in. Now I get offers for $5k+ left and right and it's just shocking. Like who's paying 5-10k for a stock Honda from the 90s💀
There are 2 240sx owners
One that *HAD*
The other that have 6 of them in their backyard to use them like a moldy flesh light
Dude you've hit the nail in the right spot!! been in the scene since 2012
used to browse Zilvia everyday and learned all about the car and the community....
most of these cars are know TRASHED. you gotta do your research buying 240s.
waited 12 years to buy one, she's one of the cleanest cars
I feel old, got my first S13 as a hand me down from my mom in 2000 it was an 89 Fastback auto trans. Had 3 more later. Sold my last one in 2011 for $5k in immaculate condition. Now I’m looking to get another and they are all beat to death for $8k. It’s unbelievable how cancerous these owners have become.
True, and video is absolutely true.. yet I bought a never crashed, heavily uncared for and minimal rust 240sx lol.
Now hear me out, I have another YT channel with about 300k subs and people love seeing content about project cars and getting a 240sx down here (latin america) is hard AF, never the less a clean one, so I got it for 1.2k complete without engine and trans, paperwork in order and got a full Z33 swap (complete drivetrain, brakes, subframe, wiring loom, pedals, steering wheel, ecu, all the accessories, power sterring pump, rack, cooler, lines etc etc all for 2k)
So, buying a POS one is doable *IF* you know what youre doing and prepare accordingly, the knowledge, content and aftermarket for these cars is SO HUGE, well documented and available that it's still possible to buy a shell and do great stuff with em with a huge caveat.
Research, research, research and budget the hell out of the whole project... and have contacts to get you cheap stuff.
@@Hanschepu Yeah for sure. Totally agree. Rolling chassis aren't bad. The $1,000 one 10 seconds in this video would suck as a daily driver but if you were building a little drift/fun car that might be worth checking out.
@@TERRORIZERRRR I'd be genuinely impressed if you could find any of those highly sought after s chassis in anywhere near decent running condition for any less than around 15k. At least in the current car bubble.
What's kind of funny is that there's an older lady in my neighborhood who owns a black 240sx coupe. It looks to be completely stock aside from some aftermarket fog lights. She only takes it outside in the summer and I've seen her driving it around occasionally. I guess that's a pretty rare sight to see in the S-chassis community.
Bought my s13 when I was 17 as non running, THERE WAS NO PISTONS OR RODS IN THE MOTOR. Yes u read that right😂 rebuilt a homebrewed dual cam and drove my car for the first time 7 months later. Everything he said in this vid applied to me. Never did I think it would leave the driveway. It was very frustrating project but learned a whole lot about cars and the car community
I can attest that camo thing belonged in a scrapyard but timmy got her back on da road
Bro, same. Except for the no piston thing lol
Just bought a 180sx and it’s pretty well modded for 12k aud pushing 310 but I’m really happy with my purchase but I have a daily and the 180 is gonna be my pride and joy
That’s why I bought a 180sx when I was in Japan. It was the complete opposite for me, very well taken care of the sr engine wasn’t beat, little to no rust(there’s gonna be some regardless it’s humid in Japan and it’s an old car)
Don't ever come to Canada we put so much salt in the winter that no 240sx are left.
yeah but they are more expensive now if you want good grade
@@stevenramrodd1226 And you have to constantly wash your car xD
@@stevenramrodd1226 I live in mn same over here
180sx's are good but 240sx should go to hell >:(
A 240sx S14 has been my dream car for 23 years. I always wanted to get one stock with an automatic transmission. I would keep it that way. I think the car is just beautiful. I had children and had to put my dream of owning one aside. I did get to drive one for a few minutes. It made me so happy. It was awesome. I was hopeful that I would be able to get one later in life when my children were older. My youngest are teens, but now it's near impossible to buy one even if I could find one. I am a disabled veteran and I became a single father of my children 11 years ago. I also take care of my father. So the dream car is just that, a dream. Other things are more important than cars anyway. The way people ruined these beautiful cars and also drove up prices. It is a shame. I don't think I'll ever own one, but I still admire them. I just hope that there are a few people out there that have a nice 240sx that appreciate and enjoy them.
Same here. I wanted one way back in ‘94. A lot of other “responsibilities” kept coming up, and I just forgot about it. With the advent of social media, etc. and just getting that spark back, I’ve been looking at them and getting my passion back.
It just sucks to hear shit like this. I respect you raising and caring for your family instead of ruining your life on a POS that you MIGHT afford. I hope you get that dream car one day!
I've had my 200sx RS13U (european spec, which comes with the CA18DET) for 14 years. I bought it from an 82 year old man, Mr Price, who stayed in my home town, Cape Town South Africa. He imported it brand new in 1992 from Belgium to South Africa. I bought it from him (I was the second owner from brand new) for R18 000 ($1158) in 2008, it had 78 000km (48 000 miles) Full service history, everything was OEM, including the rims, radio, sunroof bag, full tool kit and jack and some other OEM goodies from Nissan in Belgium.
After 14 years of ownership, she still puts a smile on my face, hearing the turbo and exhaust sound. Looking at her all polished and clean always makes me think what a beautiful car that Japanese made.
My 200sx still is OEM, with a full service history, original radiator, original shocks, original springs (never cut), still stock height, original rims, original midnight blue paint, the only upgrade i ever did to my car, was a stainless steel exhaust and T28/T25 turbo, original exhaust manifold, original injectors. She is making a reliable 158kws and 285nm. The current milage is a very healthy 184 000kms (114 332 miles) still full service history, i change the oil and oil filter every 5000kms (3100 miles).
If you guys would like to see pictures of my car follow me on instagram @200sx_ca18det
As a daily driver of an S13 for the last 25 years, it has been fascinating to watch the evolution of the S-chassis market and culture, especially since TH-cam appeared.
I don't drive a 240, but I did fall into the JDM trap and picked up a B14 SE-R a decade ago. Everything you say in this video is absolutely accurate. I've spent at least the past 5 years alone unfucking things the previous owners have done.
I'm one of the rare story that brought an AE86 as my first car to restored. Managed to do it in 1 year and drove it as a daily up until two years ago. I can definitely agree with so many points on this videos. It is not the best route to take but for those who dedicate so much time and fortitude to stick to it to the end, it is very rewarding. I now know that car in and out and take it out on long 400+ mile trips without a care in the world.
Doubt.
Wtf? You bought a Toyota, not a shit box Nissan.
you still have it. post a video
Alex?
How much did you spend in total?
Not the same car but i lurked for about 6 months looking for my miata. Researched everything I could and narrowed my focus on specifically 2 model years that included the LSD. I found my car at the height of the miata boom and still got a great deal. Treat it as an investment, make sure you really understand what you are purchasing, and what it will require in order to reach your goal with the car. Good luck everyone and stay diligent, i hope to see everyone in the car they like at the meets.
gotta say, the Miata community is attrocious though. exactly what he explained bit worse
Lol a Miata
Enjoyed the video! Spot on analysis of every 80s/90s car group. Everyone gets mad they go up in value, everyone gets mad at the kids that are modding them and making bad decisions, everyone asks the same stupid questions over and over, and everyone rags on cars like sheep without stopping to think about it.
C4 Corvette groups and Thirdgen groups can be the same, but there's a lot of cool people trying to set a good tone for the hobby as well.
Always liked 240s... Had a little old lady that lived next to me growing up that had a white one in she bought new a garage she barely drove. She passed years ago and her husband is still there. I wonder what happened to the car. I almost never saw it out of the garage. That's the one you want to find!
I bought the first 240sx I saw, but thinking about I realized it was more of a right place right time situation picked it up for $2500 mostly stock. The Interior was completely gutted except for the dash runs and drives and ac blows real cold the only problem I ran into was the engine and trany mounts were blown easy fix. This was 2 years ago Covid honestly slowed down the build but it’s giving me time to think should I build one of my dream cars or profit haha.
That's a why not both type situation my guy
Hashtag “soon” my boy haha
Hashtag “soon”, “racecar” gotta go plasti dip my wheels an emblems v.2 on the way “don’t sleep” haha 😆!!!
These are no longer cars you can just get into because you like how they look. They are a full blown love it or leave it experience. I've had 2 so far.
An S13's for life, not just for Christmas
Honestly, this represents my entire purchase. I bought mine a few months ago and started working on it. The SR20DET doesn't have compression on cylinder 3 and the guy who was selling it to me, had 4 other guys come up to him and ask him. "How much does it cost to stance," or "did you ever think of putting 2step on it?"
I would rather have it sitting and working on it then not have it at all. So it takes u 10 years to build it.. big deal
@@SpaceRanger187only problem is that like 92% of project cars will never get finished if they don’t get worked on for 2 years!
To be fair alot of the older car threads are from locked early 2000s forums and usually have an answer like "this was already answered in another thread" and then you click that link and the forums been dead since 2008 lol
also all the pictures are an imageshack placeholder
Become a drifter _before_ you turn your car into a drift car. That's what ChrisFix did on his channel. He went drifting with a mostly stock mustang and made mods as he NEEDED them.
Also when taking on massive projects, your current skill and part supply aren't really as big of an issue as just your force of will. With time you'll learn what you need to learn if you are dedicated and keep at it. The hard part is keeping at it. Will you get burned out almost instantly the moment it dawns on you just how much needs doing? Then you should probably just buy a running and driving car instead.
Let's face it. It's hard to stick with a project all the way through. It's fun to plan and have giant expectations but once the fun part of planning and buying the chassis is over and the hard part shows up, you're probably just gonna give up, aren't you? Make things a bit easier for yourself and buy a car that works.
ChrisFix is based as heck and should be required viewing for new enthusiasts
Your synopsis of the 240 owners is also spot on with lots of JDM kind of cars. Specifically, is300 owners. Your description seems exactly like the is300 people in general
That’s jdm boys in general, it’s why as a g37 owner I don’t appreciate the jdm community.
I loved this video. I grew up loving the silvia brand and knew I'd get one some day. I got one, needed so much work. But because I knew what the common solutions were to pretty common faults all I needed to invest was my time and money, got it road worthy after 2 years of picking it up and only having time off work on Sundays! Cut out all the rust and reshaped plate to fit myself, set the car on fire twice teaching myself how to weld, learned how to strip, clean and paint a car myself, rebuilt the engine and accessories, it's been an awesome trip so far. Next up is an engine and gearbox swap as well as upgrading everything that will help manage the upgrade haha. Awesome vid! Gonna share it around with my mates now!
God this guy is hilarious and every minute was worth the watch. I'm 32 now, and I remember in 2008 when every dumbass was tearing the plastics out to shave off a few pounds lollllllll
I’m 16, and earlier this year i bought a bone stock ‘90 240SX. I am the second owner. I grew up around cars and my dad owns a mechanic shop. As proud as I am with the car in its stock form, I plan to modify it. My biggest priority is preventative maintenance, fixing a few small issues, and bodywork. I also plan to do a simple turbo setup on the single cam down the road. I have done months of very extensive research and planning, and I plan to make it as clean as possible.
I come back to this video and watch it every time I see it. It motivated me to finish my 240sx. This is my 5th and last one. Been an 240sx owner since 2006.
Update: It runs and drive now. Now I can focus on making it pretty!!!
Just discovered your channel and I’ve never laughed so hard! I just got a 240sx about a year ago thankfully I got lucky and got a running one with not so many miles or rust. Keep up the funny videos! Love your content
Hell yeah dude welcome
"I delivered pizza in my 240" Woo woo stock 240 delivery drivers! Ran doordash and grubhub out of mine for 5 years. :D
The typical clapped 240 hustle
100% true. soon as they went up i sold my s13 of 13 years as a shell for 3k, took that money and got a 2JZGTE VVTI back when they were 3k-4k shipped to your door from japan. i tried to teach the younger people, but they all think they know everything, ask you a question, you answer and then they respond with "oh i know." like then why did you even ask?! the s chassis community is kinda terrible now imo. people are so scared to be wrong or not know something these days, it stops them from growing as a person.
I would just like to say this is my new favorite car channel
I totally agree with the keep it stock sentiment. I've been daily driving a r34 gtt for almost 10 years now. I don't drive far, basically to work and back and it's never given me any dramas. I love that car. I do get a lot of questions like what mods etc. When I say stock people almost fall over. No need to mod a daily. I enjoy it for what it is.
hit the nose on a lot of this. I put a lot of work into my hatch over the three years I owned it to finally get it streetable, and realized i probably should’ve saved and bought something clean and running and driving.
I bought my 240 as a gutted interior non running pos as a sort of “passing through” project on my way to another chassis but I kinda fell in love with the design and the overall driving experience. I started my channel as well just to showcase that and although ive spent thousands on getting it where it is (not nearly finished either) I have enjoyed just about every step of the way. It depends on the type of person you are. If you have no experience, start with a honda or something with great oe and aftermarket support with a basic drivetrain setup. If you have had the hands on experience, you have the time, and you have the wallet to back all of that up, get yourself a 240. These cars are a blast, but definitely not for teenagers
I agree with the shell sentiment, they can either be a decent way to build a car or the fattest headache. Only buy a shell if you've build multiple other of the same car and know the quirks of each individual year. I bought a miata shell, it was about the 15th miata I've owned and I only bought it because it was a cool spec that I wanted to restore. Even then, it has been the biggest headache, I've fixed 4 other miatas in the time I've spent on the 1 shell, and I've spent about the same amount of money
I actually felt that Ford thing. I cant find the ones who know. So im becoming the one who knows. I end up working on these here imports right now its a rx7 from the 80s. The rotatory drinks coolant quicker than gas. You seemed like you knew what you were talking about so I kept watching. I wont lie this carries over to the OBS Fords really well. Thank you and God bless.
Honestly, I love this. We need more people calling out the bullshit. Seriously. I still want a 240, specifically a RPS13, like the white one kept showing in the video but not THAT far down modification lane. But only reason why I don’t have a 240 is exactly everything you said. I don’t have the tools like welder nor do I know how to weld, don’t really know how to slap an engine back together, I know the basic shit, I have all the basic shit like ratchtets, impacts, Jack and Jack stands etc. I would make it work but some of these 240’s and their price tag is a little much right now and I don’t see it getting any better anytime soon. I don’t wanna fall into the cheap car fallacy right now because simply I don’t have the required skill set yet, but maybe one day, I do like the idea of a ground up build but that could easily fall into a trap, so probably be better to just start with a running and driving one and call it a day. Thanks for being so honest you guys, maybe we can save a dumb person or 2 from making a terrible life decision, or let them learn from their mistakes lol
He's right about the parts. My advice, when it comes to engine parts on KA's is to look at Nissan's D21 hardbody parts. Private sellers parting out parts sometimes only label them as "truck" parts. I was lucky enough that my mom bought this 240x off someone back in 1995. and it sat for years in the backyard. Luckily Arizona has like no humidity so there's hardly any rust. Its mostly original but I bought replacement carpet and its nice now. I do get a lot of questions about "are you going to engine swap it", but I'm enjoying it as a stock clean car. I try not to sound like a snob, and let the people check it out when their interested. The biggest upgrade imma do tho..... is the stereo, maybe the wheels too, if I can get ahold of some LMGTs, otherwise, its staying original.
Hey hey hey,🤫… we D21 guys have struggles of our own.. parts are becoming ghosts left and right… especially if your a obd2 hardbody like myself.. it’s cold out here between obd1 ka24e and 98 and up ka24de, lol
That stock car will be worth more than a backyard mechanics in 5-10 years. People that are serious about building a car, want the most stock, unmolested car they can get. Keep er stock brother.
literally this. why ruin something that just works. people are obsessed with what other people are doing and don't think about the alternative. stock. yes that's it plain and simple.
@@hooshangmaster Yeah. Definitely keeping it stock. Just the stereo is new. haha
Not necessarily 240 related, but i do feel it applies to my case.
so i've had my first car for a few years now, although driven on the roads only for a year legally due to lack of money license wise back then. Soon 20 and it terrifies me how prices of all cars i've literally dreamed of ever since i was barely able to walk, are getting more and more expensive, so i'm doing my best to save for one.
but then we come to even if i had the money, i lack *actual* experience, sure i can google around and watch tens of hours of informative content, but truth is i will still not have any experience that matters. Which leads me scared on the "what if" i do a mistake, a 15-30k mistake.
I'm trying my best to be the voice of reason for my friends on their dreams, but the truth is i fall into the same pitfalls of dreams.
I just want to own one of my dream cars, eventually, daily it, maybe modify it a tad engine wise because i do want to learn eventually.
So i'm kinda stuck here between the zone of dreams and common sense, all the while being *absolutely fucking broke because of being a Uni student*, so basically, i'm probably an idiot lol.
Hopefully when you graduate you find a good job. Everyone I know with a college degree is unemployed and there are computer science nerds. The only one making decent money doesn't even have w GED and is an autist who self taught themselves 7 different programing languages...
Normal people be out here struggling.
It sounds like old person stuff, but it does get better. I'm in my 30's and when I was your age I never thought I would be able to afford my car and never thought I'd find a nice condition one. Now I see a car I love to bits in my driveway every day. A lot of crappy things about getting older, but some things do get easier 😉
Haha, this was a fun video to watch. I have a 1990 hatch that I've had for 21 years. Its been sitting without an engine for around 10 years now. I got 263,000 brutal miles out of the single cam k . I pulled it for an sr20 swap but getting married and four boys later the car was on the back burner. Now my oldest is 13 so we're getting it ready for him to take over SOON. I have all the interior minus the seats. I just need to replace the front fenders and hood and slap another engine in it and its ready to go for the most part. But having recently been on the parts hunt, I've seen how much has changed in the past decade as far as availability.
Lol. I'm not a 240 guy but a 90s Honda guy and I loved this video. Its like you summoned the spirit of the forum days and channeled it into a video.
Listen I don't own a Nissan but I do own a 66 Pontiac. I just finished a cam install and all the bull S that goes with it and when I got this car 18 months ago I had never even seen a carburetor in person. It's fun to learn and work on stuff but... BUT.. if you have a lot of things you HAVE to do it QUICKLY starts to take the fun out. This guy speaks truth. Make sure you START with a car in working condition because you will quickly lose enjoyment if you can't use and enjoy the car along the way. At least I got to choose my project and it was finished over winter. Don't be the "soon" guy. Be the "now" guy.
The 90s Nissan ownership experience is a lot different now then when s13s we're first starting to get sought after (around 07/08 in my experience) even back then most of them were a bit busted, at a minimum. Had an s13 from 08-2010, sold it and got back into an 90s nis about 3 years ago. Now it seems s-chassis are ALL busted if they've been passed around different owners in the states. And the parts hoarding is, like you said, not optional anymore- it's a requirement. I have an entire room in my house with HCR32 parts. Bumpers, quarter panels, trim pieces, seals, sensors, clips/bolts/screws, lights, hinges, lock mechs, everything. It gets harder each month to source things that were readily available previously.
This isn't even limited to 240's. This is every kid today who was born past 1995 trying to buy his need for speed dream car for a 1$ put in no work, post about it on social media, and get nothing done.
We must be from the same gen. I completely agree with everything you’re saying! Some kids now-a-days don’t know how to appreciate real cars. Social media ruined things IMO.
Not gonna lie this is a great video for anyone to watch. Not even S chassis owners. Hell, I'm not even an S chassis owner. I have owned multiple 4th and 5th gen civics, e90 corollas, first gen imprezas. Know the car before you buy as much as you can, rust eats every old ass car. Know common swaps,what to look for in each generation, know what different gen valve covers look like, know what different engine heads look like. It is not uncommon for people to swap heads on hondas,subarus,etc and build frankenstein motors. I'm currently building my EJ8 it's been in the works for 2 years and I work on it outside since I don't have a garage. Cars can be daunting I'm a technician and have been one for 4 years and having a project is daunting. If you have no experience with any car at all get something you can tinker with,plan your shit out. Tackling shells,or half finished projects aren't worth it. Cheaping out on parts is okay, but know you get what you pay for. I recommend doing what is in your price range for you, and use legitimate good parts or period correct parts. Realize if you want to do a swap or build any car from shell up,bare block up, etc understand it will take time. You will want to stop and give up, let that shit sit save your money, gather your parts, build it and build it correctly. It sucks having shit sit so have a daily to drive don't touch that shit and keep it nice. Projects are projects enjoy them when you want to, keep your damn daily nice. Good luck, and don't break your bank.
I brought a factory 180sx/240sx for $6k from an old guy 155,000kms and that was 2 years ago. Had a CA18DE in it that was only running on 2 cylinders and now is swapped with a RB20DET put on cobra lowering springs and put on 18x10.5 5x114 Work Emotion CR2P Wheels
One of my fav troll moves back in the days of owning a 240 was to ask “what’s the best motor to swap in?” In the 240 Facebook groups…then just sit back and watch people eat themselves.
I’ve been through atleast 5 and I currently own 1 now (not my pfp) in the span of 8-9 years.
I hate money and I enjoy suffering because my 12 year me keeps telling me ‘this is the dopest car ever.’
But your video sums it up my guy! These cars aren’t for the faint of heart and sure as hell aren’t for the “on a budget” build.
You hit the nail right on the head with the build progress. I fell into that trap with a different chassis and eventually lost motivation for it and couldn’t find jack s*** for info on the swap I was trying to do. Luckily, I pulled all my parts worth value off, went out and bought a running and driving SN95, and installed all my drift car parts onto that car, and it was the best decision I have ever made because by the time I finished the other vehicle, I would have been well over $10k into a vehicle that would be worse than my SN95 with harder to source and more expensive parts. I cannot stress this enough. Buy a vehicle that fits your budget and needs the bare minimum to get you seat time in whatever motorsport you want to do because there is genuinely no worse feeling than dropping a stupid amount of money on a vehicle and not even getting to drive it or worse yet, building something like that and immediately destroying it because you have no experience
I also agree with the keep your car stock part. My method for this car is to keep it as simple as possible and only upgrade stuff when something breaks
I have an 89 coupe and I have so much respect for this, people need to hear this
I love the realism and tough love in this video. Gives people a reality check, including me.
You’re absolutely right about the price. I bought one for a grand that was all original and it showed it, and the engine had been torn apart for 8 years. After getting it running and road worthy, I turned to the suspension. I’m now $15000 into it, and when you walk past it, it still looks like it did when I bought it but lowered. But it is a rust free car and I keep it in the garage, so that’s a thing.
Hardest part is every 240 is a project car that has been modified and you're going to have to deal with all the shitty work from multiple owners.
I think the last part is often overlooked: Keep your car as stock as possible. Even a light modification can tank its resale value. And if you really want to mod it, keep the stock parts. Put them back onto your car when it's time to sell it. Seriously.
Dude, this vid popped in my algorithm and I laughed hard on so many facts. As a 42 yr old 240(14) owner, this was a gem. Cheers man.
I’m 16 at the moment and Bought my S13 a couple months ago from my dads friend as my second car after owning a v6 mustang. I got it for 10k and it’s imported. The lack of experience is definitely there, but I like the challenge of it. I’m also doing automotive in high school so that will help me when I pull my motor out next summer!
I can relate 💀 Had my hatch since 2006 and it's been a money pit since then. And purchasing it maybe was one of the worst decisions I have ever made in my life. Back then I hadn't had a smallest idea of how bad it will be owning that thing. But I've also learned a lot on how to work on cars, rebuilding engines and so on. A lot of memories with this car, I don't think I will ever sell it, just a few left in my country. My advice is, if you don't have plenty of money, time and determination - don't buy an s-chassis, it will ruin your life.
I'm a G35 owner, but gawd damn it's so true. I lowered my car on ISR coils like an idiot, changed spring rates 3 times, and it still rides like trash, $1500 I should have just lit on fire. If you buy quality parts up front you SAVE money because you don't need to un-fuck anything.
Buy ONCE, cry ONCE
My first car was an s13 coupe, still have to this day. Daily drove it for 3 years until I decided to get a newer car. The car is all stock only mods are coil overs I did when I first bought the car, super reliable. Everything broke, power steering , cooling, fuel it all gave out lol buuut the car never left me stranded & it was all relatively cheap to fix. Love the car to death would not recommend it to someone though lol 240’a ain’t for the weak
Awesome video btw! Finding parts has gotten extremely hard these past few years shits crazy
Thank God someone said it. Stop buying 240 shells if you don’t have the parts to put it back together. This shit ain’t cheap and it’s not like Lexus and Toyotas where the parts are still out there in abundance, a lot of these parts are hard to find
Just bought a complete stock s13 hatch (besides exaust, needs injectors.) 63k miles on the stock ka, for $8500. I really do appreciate the honesty out of this video!
The fucking interior thing gets me, every skyline/silvia owner from 1995-2010 HAD to strip their interiors and delete the A/C because muh racecar
I want to see this channel go places. Good momentum! Keep going!
Us too, thank you 🙏
I just got my hands on a black 1989 AE92 GT-S with 132K miles, mostly stock except for an aftermarket stereo. Besides the apparent maintenance, it's the best first car and hopefully the only car I'll own for a while! The only thing I'll be adding is a killswitch and a club to get a discount on my insurance lol.
I'm jelly ngl
Got a nice shell back in May 2023, $2500 got a full interior, rolling shell, trans, engine, and wiring harnesses for KA and SR + ECU. She's on the road today (8/20/23) after sitting since 2016 and one hell of a ride.
Dang bro where are you at?? Shells are like 5k starting in the east for us.
Indiana is where I am located and found a steal over in Ohio lol @@yung829
I've never owned a 240SX but I have owned a KA24DE and 5 speed out of one that I built and put in a Datsun 620. 4x 52mm CV carburetors on a custom intake, I bought a Chevy Luv distributor, cut the shaft shorter, made an adapter to fit it in the head, and put the gear off the original distributor on it so it would run carbureted. MSD 7AL-2 ignition, Champion C53VC surface gap plugs, 320/320 custom billet cams, 4340 H beam rods, ported head, 13.5:1 compression pistons, Exedy twin disk clutch. Bought it as a pile of parts and had it making 321HP within 4 months when I was 18 years old. Don't care about looks or interior, was all missing, used a Chevy truck wiring harness I pulled from the junkyard. The metal dashboard frame was there so I made an aluminum plate and mounted all the gauges and switches there. Ended up selling it and the guy I sold it to still drives it now. Don't care for anything made after 1989 or anything with fuel injection that isn't a mechanical injection diesel, or mechanical injection gas engine, ie CIS, SPICA, the old Mercedes system, so I really don't want one of these, too late production for me, but boy does the engine make a great conversion into a carbureted engine. Although if I hadn't gotten the engine free with the truck, I would have gone with one that isn't out of a 240SX. Because you can fit a points distributor in with much less modification than in the 240 version. Plus they are cheaper, and the intake they have can be easily modified to fit a large 2 barrel Holley. Truly though I wouldn't have gone with a Nissan engine at all but with a Chevy Cosworth Vega engine with dual Weber carbs. Love those things. That is my ultimate car to aspire to, the Cosworth Vega.
I love that you kept showing more skids footage. They were the epitome of having no idea what they were getting into hahah.
I miss those mfs like you wouldn't believe
I own a 93 S13 hatch since 2020. Got it for a decent price for what it was. Saved it from being slammed to the ground.($1600) Paint was bad, motor was blown and had some rust on common areas but the interior was intact and it wasn’t falling apart. Got it running within 3 months. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a hard time with the car. It was all worth it seeing it run though it is a money pit😅. Currently I built a KA-T and am doing some more rust repair but luckily I got the experience to do so thanks to my pops😄. Hopefully I can get it running again and looking good doing so. Won’t be easy but I’d Also be lying if I said I wasn’t determined to fix up
The Nissan S13 is hard hitter for me, mainly because it's the car that got me into cars. 4 years ago my brother's friend had a Nissan 200sx S13 with CA18DET engine, and he gave it to us, because he wasn't in the country, and the car needed to get MOT. My brother invited me to change the rear tires for the car. As I stepped outside, the car was sitting there, and I saw that car as a video game car(People who have played Need For Speed Underground 2, know what I'm talking about;)), and I got into the car, and there were three gauges in the middle which I thought was sick. Brother turned on the pop up headlights, which looked really interesting, and car was loud compared to our daily cars. My brother was telling me how the turbo works, and I asked "Does this car even has a turbo?"... So we take a turn and from 1st to 2nd gear does a pull, and I got sucked in to the seat, and also the window was open and the air went straight under my T-Shirt, and at that moment I had butterflies in my stomach and got into cars really fast. Crazy to think how one car can change your life, XD.
Bro you're hilarious! New subscriber man
This has been the most truthful video I’ve seen on schassises. Bro good work on saying what we all have wanted to say for so long.
This is the true truths. The community side of things especially, if there's one thing I'm glad to see in the last 20 years of owning s-chassis, it's that the increasing rarity of them now at least means I meet less 240 owners. 😬
Yeah 20+ owner here as well. Basically watched the Honda idiots in the early 2000's move into the 240sx. All I know is everyday more 240sx's get destroyed and it only raises the value of mine. So there is that...
I just got a 240, 3 yrs ago, thought I could get a lot of information from Facebook groups.....yea, let's just say I'm not in those chats much
@@jskong87 freshalloy seemed to have a good amount on it. Seemed to be more self policing then the other 240sx sites.
@@jskong87 nevermind website no longer exists
I got a mint s12 200sx 90k miles no rust (which is super rare so was excited AF) and went to a 240sx reddit sub to post it, saying s12 coupe looks exactly like “onevia” but square-ish, and oh boy.
Got told ima looser/wannabe who wanted an s13 and couldn’t, that this s12 is a piece of shit compared to mighty s13 and so on.
I was really surprised and never came back to that shithole of 240 high school fans again.
On the other side, s12club are very nice and helpful guys. Guess its the matter of humble, skill motivated old school drivers against raging tiktok users, overfender slapping camber lovers.
Ugh
This saddens me. I used to see these cars every where and all of a sudden they're priceless.
Be ready for this to happen to every obscure car you have ever liked
@@CollectorCarFeed It is just temporary. Not everything is equally desired or ruined by clout. Prices normalize when interest dwindles and enough cars are left.
This video is real, and we all needed this. Thank you. Not enough people understand that even if these cars are nice they are still shitty, and cheap feeling. Way overhyped.
LMAO at using the More Skids clips, love Quentyn and DJ and they built that thing from nothing (and he's rebuilding it currently) they're good examples of the "younger" 240 owners. Great vid overall, and I don't think any of the problems presented are specific to just the 240 but current car culture overall.
Miss those More Skids mfs like you wouldn't believe
Thanks, you probably saved me because i am a kid that wanted to buy a shell e36 and repair it, but after this video i am pretty sure that its not a good idea and i first have to get some experience:D
(Sorry if my english is kinda bad, its not my main language)
"larp as a drifter" I'm gonna use that
Nobody is gonna call you an asshole for this video. You were EXTREMELY real, especially the end of the video. I've had my s13 for 4 years now and i restored it and It's stock body other than oem chuki aero everything else has been preventative maintenance and maybe lowered and rpf1's teehee but its been a charm for me. yeah i've gotta fix stuff here and there but its expected and isnt ruining my life. Just have knowledge to fix the car asap and realize that when you mod a 240sx its inviting future problems so be ready.
I bought my s13 over a decade ago and it was my daily for 9 of those years. It's been an absolutely fantastic car and a lot of fun, but I did let the maintenance get away from me when I hard-parked it & bought a new (safe) car for my daily. I've been fixing it up again, so many little things to replace as is common with a 25+ year old car, but it's been a lot of fun to do. Many for sale are either in a similar state with small issues, or gutted for drifting which won't make a good weekender, but with some effort they are reliable and enjoyable. I'm not sure if I'll keep it but don't regret my purchase for one second.
200sx has been my dream car since i was a child, and it still havent changed... I just want to realize my dream..
I agree with you on almost everything! Only thing I didn’t understand was you saying the community was bad? Maybe it’s where I’m from but almost everyone I’ve met or talked to with a 240 are the absolute most positive people ever, constantly wanting to help work on the car or give you free stuff I absolutely love the community
I really want one and this video really helped. I've been working lots and was thinking of exporting one from Japan. It's a bit extreme for a 22 year old but I have my mind set on doing it right and nothing's gonna stop me.
Hope you get it man, it is life changing when you own and drive the realistic car of your dreams. Had both a Silvia and a 180sx when I was in my 20's and still the best cars I ever owned.
If it's not rotted out don't worry. Plenty aftermarket parts. If done right it's not hard to build a great car around 3k. I fell into a 2000 integra ls. Found a rebuilt motor dirt cheap. New clutch and all the hydronics. New control arms bushings. Sway bar upgrades. 288k miles drives better then new.
100% right and I hate what the car has turned into.
I’ve had two S13’s (in EU so a 200sx but anyway)
The first one was all riced out and a piece of shit but I unpimped it and used it as a street car and some autocrossing. It was a beautiful machine and just found out it’s been hacked to pieces by some drifting idiot.
The second one was completely stock and my daily driver, super reliable and didn’t need anything.
A stock car that is reliable is better than a "fast" car that doesn't run.
I don’t know buying a rx8 could be worse
When this video started I was surprised that Julian from TPB was giving me a car lecture.
When he pulled out the whisky glass I started howling.
Good stuff man, I was a few weeks away from buying a second hand 240 from a police auction
I like your style of presentation.
Pretty much can apply this to anything built before the 2000s , over hyped, rusted, modified by an idiot and incomplete. Know what you’re looking at before you buy and realise that you’ll need to know more than what TH-cam and tictok tells you to build a car. Don’t let the internet trick you into buying trash. Great to see a video giving people a reality check on their next or current purchase.
Good point about early fords, lots of the old dudes just wont let up and get rid of some of the parts I need to finish my stuff, especially 32 guys might be the worst, like really, 2300 for a 32 grill? Bro I'll just run a 28 and call it a day
I've owned several 240s in all conditions with all the popular motors.. it's sad what's become of these cars, but this guy is atleast 94% right.
94%? Those are Heisenberg levels
Profile photo shows your not lying🤣
as an "old grouchy 240 (former) owner" this is the most fucking real video ever; I fucking love it
Def earned a sub bro just kept it real for 12 mins.
This video was even better than I thought, you're actually looking out for these kids and giving tips for the ones you know won't listen to you. This is why I got a NA Miata to learn how to work on cars thought it would be easier.
Was it easier? That's my plan right now. How did it work out?
10:41 golden days of Haggard Garage
Love the ending. Keep it stock and reliable!
I'm not really a 240sx guy (more of an fd or fc rx7 guy). But this really put owning an older car especially an older Japanese car into perspective. Wanna own other cars and gain experience and knowledge before I buy one.
I feel like all Japanese cars that are portrayed in any way in the media have hit this trend as well. To watch someone put a few hundred dollars on cosmetics before replacing their ripped up coolant hoses, fixing leaks, or even as simple as changing a worn transmission mount is such a livid thing to see.