200sx found, what's it worth?
Discussion
Posted this in general but you chaps probably know a bit more about these things.
Found a 200sx potential track car. It's a J plate with 100k miles. Engine is strong, gearbox is strong, turbo feels and sounds ok and boosts ok, clutch is very light. Brakes are shot, abs light is on, tyres are fubar'd. Front shocks feel gone to me. Bodywork is solid with no rust on sills but some bubbling on sills, paint is crapolla. Interior is smelly and shot. It has 2 months mot and tax and is up for 695 and open to offers.
The intention is to strip the interior and put a single seat in (maybe 2) and trailer it to tracks.
What's it worth?
Thanks,
Mark
Found a 200sx potential track car. It's a J plate with 100k miles. Engine is strong, gearbox is strong, turbo feels and sounds ok and boosts ok, clutch is very light. Brakes are shot, abs light is on, tyres are fubar'd. Front shocks feel gone to me. Bodywork is solid with no rust on sills but some bubbling on sills, paint is crapolla. Interior is smelly and shot. It has 2 months mot and tax and is up for 695 and open to offers.
The intention is to strip the interior and put a single seat in (maybe 2) and trailer it to tracks.
What's it worth?
Thanks,
Mark
£400/£500 sounds better - I have a colleague who bought an S13 on about the same reg from a little old lady for £700 and it was in alot better condition than yours sounds. They are pretty solid cars though so you shouldn't have much problem with it. My opinion is that whatever sounds reasonable to you, or whatever you're prepared to pay, probably is the right amount.
dern said:
Posted this in general but you chaps probably know a bit more about these things.
Found a 200sx potential track car. It's a J plate with 100k miles. Engine is strong, gearbox is strong, turbo feels and sounds ok and boosts ok, clutch is very light. Brakes are shot, abs light is on, tyres are fubar'd. Front shocks feel gone to me. Bodywork is solid with no rust on sills but some bubbling on sills, paint is crapolla. Interior is smelly and shot. It has 2 months mot and tax and is up for 695 and open to offers.
The intention is to strip the interior and put a single seat in (maybe 2) and trailer it to tracks.
What's it worth?
Thanks,
Mark
Found a 200sx potential track car. It's a J plate with 100k miles. Engine is strong, gearbox is strong, turbo feels and sounds ok and boosts ok, clutch is very light. Brakes are shot, abs light is on, tyres are fubar'd. Front shocks feel gone to me. Bodywork is solid with no rust on sills but some bubbling on sills, paint is crapolla. Interior is smelly and shot. It has 2 months mot and tax and is up for 695 and open to offers.
The intention is to strip the interior and put a single seat in (maybe 2) and trailer it to tracks.
What's it worth?
Thanks,
Mark
Clutches are light, but you soon get used to it. Only thing to watch engine wise (assuming its the standard CA18DET) is the big end bearings have a habit of going. Some go at 60k, others way over 120k, and no real warning. Just check decent amount of good clean oil and you have to gamble really.
Gearboxes are good and tough, and IIRC capable of 400bhp, so with stock power you'd be doing well to break one.
Turbo's again, no real way of telling if they're good or not. But if they boost well, and hold boost well with no smoke or noise then you're ok. Plus they are easily upgraded to later model T28's for less than £200 (mine was £160 plus gaskets)
Rust is the biggest problem on S13's (j plate 200SX's). Check front suspension turrets for rot/repairs. Chassis rails and particularly where they meet the bulkhead. Rear arches and bootlids rot far too easily aswell.
Interior. As its a track car rip it out and bin it. Getting subframes for bucket seats can be costly, so bear that in mind. Base mount seats mean if you have a helmet on and you're over 5ft8in, your head may touch the roof
If you're handy with a MIG then knocking your own subframes up from the stock seats is a good plan. Alternatley, get side mount seats and frames, but these cost more. ABS light on. IIRC it means your pads need changing. Or check fuses. I have 2 spare ABS pumps, both in good working ordxer which you are more than welcome to try for the cost of postage, or as a track car you might just bin the whole system.
J reg would mean its on the change over from Pre facelift to facelift. Main differences are front bumper is more rounded on the FL's and they have an LSD and bigger front brakes. Nissan 300ZX Alloy 4pots can be used to upgrade, but you will need bigger lower offset wheels to accomodate.
Suspension. Pretty wallowly as stock. Apex springs and KYB dampers are a good upgrade and can be bought 2nd hand for as little as £100 a set. A full range of coilovers are available too from places like Driftworks and Apex performance. Again, as a track car its well worth the money.
now, money. They're a tricky one to call. £695 with only 2months t&t is a bit optimistic, but if someone is looking for a running road legal cheap drift project they'll pay it. But on the open market, I'd say wade in with an offer of £400-£450 and go from there. If there isn't any welding required, and the eninge is quite and smooth, then paying £600 for it is a good deal. As I said above, brakes & suspension will eb changed anyway, so dont let that put you off, but use it as a bartering tool.
Hope this has helped, and good luck. You'll never look back
(I'm on my 6th S13 now, and have loved nearly all of them 
)Also, a bit on the faclift changeover.
Happened around H/J reg. J reg will almost certianly have the rounded bumper, but may not have bigger brakes and LSD.
A good rule of thumb is if it has headlight washers, it has LSD & bigger brakes. TBH, the brakes aren't that much bigger, and if you're planning on tracking it I would lose them no matter what.
A very good upgrade is to change to later model (S14) hubs. this means you get 4pot brakes on the fron, and 5stud hubs instead of 4. This allows a much wider choice of wheels to sit over brake, in better offsets etc. Basically, you ahve to hunt like a bugger to find a decent wheel in the right width & offset for 4x114.3 PCD
If you do keep the 4stud hubs, dont buy wheels from anywhere like Halfords/Demon Tweeks etc. UK based suppliers dont keep any decent wheels for 4x114.3. You'll have to buy imported 2nd hand wheels as they are the only ones that will fit right (without silly wide spacers etc)
5stud hubs can be bought for around £200-£250, and if you can get them all from the same car, you can nab discs & calipers aswell.
If you're not handy with spanners, get on SXOC and find someone local you is and willing to lend a hand. You'll be surprised how many there are. Also, within a week, you will be handy with spanners
I'm gonna stop rabbiting on now before I bore you out of your decision, but any more questions just ask
Happened around H/J reg. J reg will almost certianly have the rounded bumper, but may not have bigger brakes and LSD.
A good rule of thumb is if it has headlight washers, it has LSD & bigger brakes. TBH, the brakes aren't that much bigger, and if you're planning on tracking it I would lose them no matter what.
A very good upgrade is to change to later model (S14) hubs. this means you get 4pot brakes on the fron, and 5stud hubs instead of 4. This allows a much wider choice of wheels to sit over brake, in better offsets etc. Basically, you ahve to hunt like a bugger to find a decent wheel in the right width & offset for 4x114.3 PCD
If you do keep the 4stud hubs, dont buy wheels from anywhere like Halfords/Demon Tweeks etc. UK based suppliers dont keep any decent wheels for 4x114.3. You'll have to buy imported 2nd hand wheels as they are the only ones that will fit right (without silly wide spacers etc)
5stud hubs can be bought for around £200-£250, and if you can get them all from the same car, you can nab discs & calipers aswell.
If you're not handy with spanners, get on SXOC and find someone local you is and willing to lend a hand. You'll be surprised how many there are. Also, within a week, you will be handy with spanners
I'm gonna stop rabbiting on now before I bore you out of your decision, but any more questions just ask
Hi mate www.sxoc.com in the 'For Sale' section might be a good place to start looking, and you will find LOADS of advice, although turbo_tastic has offered some very good advice already.
turbo-tastic said:
How did you get on???
Err, I added it all up and got quite enthusiastic and then realised that amount would probably take me quite a long way to completing the locost and what I actually needed was not another project or money but time to complete the one I had. Then I got all confused and have done nothing about it 
I've got a couple of months off soon and will attack the locost project with renewed vigour, clear the books and can then think of another project after that.
Thanks for the advice though.
Regards,
Mark
(I wonder if it's still there...)
Edited by dern on Wednesday 21st March 17:25
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