Hehe...from Cali, shipping would suck.

From the looks of it that engine is beat,,my first one looked just like that,, then it spun a rod bearing a week later..good that your rebuilding it. My second one was very clean inside, day and night difference.

Also I wouldnt consider finding a giken clutch a good thing ;)

Both very good points, and ones that I took into account when deciding the rebuild the motor. It also didn't help that it had a MDM (Malaysian Domestic Market)-dorifto paint job. The chassis was obviously a different color than the rattlecan "highlights."

Update: I now have my SPL pro aluminum subframe bushings in place, and the subframe has been sandblasted. It currently awaits painting, then will be installed sometime within the next couple of weeks. After this goes on, I will begin reassembling the whole rear suspension, including the AGX's with Tein S-Techs (better rates than the Eibach's, if you're wondering). I also have to do the front struts at the same time, and the car should be sitting on the ground in its final stance within the next few weeks.

As soon as the boring has been done, the block, pistons, rods, main caps, etc. will be assembled and dropped off to me. I would like to be present at the shortblock's reassembly for the hands-on experience. So far, I've only taken stuff apart! :) After the shortblock is assembled, I will start putting it back together, including the upper and lower (new GReddy) oil pans, water pump, front cover, etc. until the longblock is ready to go.

After this the Exedy clutch / TODA flywheel will be installed, tranny reinstalled, and everything put back in the engine bay. We are currently working on the wiring harness (in addition to cleaning up the interior wiring considerably), and will rough-fit the harness after the engine is installed. We will probably test start the motor before cleaning up the harness to its final stage though. I would like to make sure all the connections are good, then use a heat-resistant covering where possible.

I will continue to make posts as I have updates...in the meantime please check out my articles (http://www.mysportscar.com/features/project240/index.htm) and let me know what you think about the content, etc. Thanks in advance!

After a little bit of formatting work (I wish we could paste Excel spreadsheets in the posts) and good recordkeeping, here is our price breakdown thus far:

Item ----------------------------------- Category ----- Price
Chassis --------------------------------- chassis ------ $1,200.00
RPS13 Front Clip ------------------------ engine ------- $2,100.00
SR gasket kit --------------------------- engine ------- $299.00
block cleaning & tolerancing ------------- engine ------- $70.00
CP pistons ------------------------------ engine ------- $490.00
OEM main bearings ---------------------- engine ------- $75.00
OEM rod bearings ----------------------- engine ------- $45.00
ARP head bolts -------------------------- engine ------- $115.00
ARP main bolts -------------------------- engine ------- $99.00
ARP rod bolts --------------------------- engine ------- $55.00
OEM oil pump / front cover --------------- engine -------- $249.99
OEM water pump ------------------------ engine -------- $159.99
Nismo thermostat ------------------------ engine -------- $69.99
SR20DE timing chain, tensioner & guides -- engine -------- $212.38
used oil strainer ------------------------- engine -------- $15.00
Greddy oil pan --------------------------- engine -------- $270.00
rubber heater hoses and clamps ---------- engine -------- $35.00
Toda Flywheel --------------------------- clutch -------- $440.00
Exedy ceramic 3-puck sprung ------------- clutch -------- $425.00
Nismo motor mounts ---------------------- drivetrain ---- $176.55
JGY urethane mission mount -------------- drivetrain ---- $59.00
rear RPS13 subframe --------------------- suspension ---- $150.00
SPL pro aluminum subframe bushings ------ suspension ---- $180.00
KYB AGX struts (4) ----------------------- suspension ---- $430.00
Tein S-Tech springs ---------------------- suspension ---- $145.00
KYB strut boots (4) ---------------------- suspension ---- $48.00
front and rear rotors --------------------- brakes -------- $112.00
Odyssey PC680 battery ------------------- electrical ---- $85.95
Odyssey SAE battery terminals ------------ electrical ---- $12.77

Total "chassis" = $1,200.00
Total "engine" = $4,360.35
Total "clutch" = $865.00
Total "drivetrain" = $235.55
Total "suspension" = $953.00
Total "brakes" = $112.00
Total "electrical" = $98.72
Grand Total = $7,824.62

Notes:
1) The above prices do not include shipping.
2) The above prices are what anyone would pay, and do not always accurately reflect what we've paid.
3) The list does not include tools, degreaser, rubber gloves, or any other misc. costs.
4) Beadblasting and powdercoating were free for us because of hook-ups; I would consider this a unique postion.
5) Thus far, the only service we've paid for is block cleaning and tolerancing. We have done everything else ourselves.

The website co-owner finally published some new (sorta) content last night, and I wanted to let ya’ll know it was up:
Part 9 (Day 13) (http://www.mysportscar.com/features/project240/part9.htm)
Part 10 (Day 14) (http://www.mysportscar.com/features/project240/part10.htm)

You can also check out the Project Index (http://www.mysportscar.com/features/project240/index.htm) for earlier articles.

A friend from FA came down from Greensboro on Friday (11/5) to help with the wiring, and all the extraneous stuff was cut out. He left things such that they can be finished up easily after the engine is installed. The blower motor is setup so all I have to do is wire a rocker switch into the positive wire and run another to a ground. This’ll let me just hit a rocker switch to turn the fan on full-blast for defrost on the track. :biggthump

The underhood harness and the requisite fuse panels were relocated to underneath the dash after the useless stuff was cut out, including one of the fuse panels. The bay looks much cleaner now, and will look even better after some unnecessary brackets are cut out. I have thought about re-blasting the bay to remove the seam sealer since it has no structural value, because the bracket and battery tray cutting will screw up the ghetto-fab paint joerb I have anyways. Plus, it’ll give me an excuse to do a better joerb painting the engine bay, then clearcoat it.

The shortblock should be back by this Saturday, complete with CP Pistons, ARP rod, main, and head bolts, and GTi-R rod and main bearings. Once it’s back, we’ll start putting it back together, and hopefully get it assembled and installed by mid-January. If I had any vacation time left, it’d get in a lot sooner, but these things just take time for my busy ass.

Sweet thanks man. Interesting to follow along :D

Sweet thanks man. Interesting to follow along :D
Well, here's another one for you: Part 11 (http://www.mysportscar.com/features/project240/part11.htm).

I figured out a way to publish them myself without having to wait on the site co-owner to do it for me. But ultimately I rely on him to link the articles to the main page. Enjoy!

Man that is looking awesome, YOU love that bead blaster don you.

Man that is looking awesome, YOU love that bead blaster don you.
Yes I do actually. My dad has a glass bead cabinet blaster that comes in very handy for stripping parts, and a standalone model that uses sand. The latter of the two is what I've used for the engine bay, and it comes in extremely handy. I was playing around with the idea of getting the wheel wells coated with bedliner one day, and the sandblaster would make quick work of removing all the old chit. :biggthump

Now all I have to do is invest a little $$ in a paint gun, and I'll never have to pay to refinish anything! :cool:

I can't wait to see what it will look like when you are finished. How is the engine build coming along?

Now all I have to do is invest a little $$ in a paint gun, and I'll never have to pay to refinish anything! :cool:

My little $20 detail gun works perfect for this kind of stuff.

I can't wait to see what it will look like when you are finished. How is the engine build coming along?
Me neither...things are slow, but coming along nicely.

Robin Barnett has the shortblock right now, and should get it back to me within the next few weeks. He's waiting on some parts right now. Once I get it back, I'll start reassembling it, but I'm unsure what to do about the head right now. At a minimum, I need to have it cleaned before I put it back together. But if I'm going to have it apart anyways, I might as well do the valve seals. With most of the rest of the project though, I have a hard time drawing the line between what needs to be done and what I should "go ahead and do" since things are apart. At this rate though, I'll never get done. :( It'd really help if I could find some good-condition OEM redtop cams, because mine have some scuffing and potential flat-spotting on them.

Czech this out:
http://www.mysportscar.com/andy/FA/valvecover.jpg

Oh dear... is that powdercoated or painted? I just did my spare in satin black paint, need to install it.

Lookin good

SWEET, Love the Yellow

WOW dude yall definitely know what youre doin, im sure the car will turn out great. what are your turbo plans? what size you gonna upgrade to? good luck man.

p.s. i bought a nissan work shirt from a factory too! hahaha

Hot!!!