anyone know a little about 240sx?

  • Thread starter Thread starter SpartanG
  • 22 comments
  • 1,252 views
S

SpartanG

Messages
318
United States
NRV, Virginia
Messages
Woo_Boost
So in my area, there's a 240sx shell going for 900. According to the seller, everything else is in perfect condition. There are no pictures but he says ask for em and he'll send. Not that it matters, pictures are useless anyway. 5 speed, assume trans and clutch is fine.

So my question: what's a fair price for this? How much should it cost to have the old engine removed (if it's there), and a new one dropped in? This is definitely not a DIY job lol. Obviously it depends what motor i want put in, i'm not looking to do anything crazy here. Just want something I can tool around with. It's probable that just buying a working car would be cheaper, but I just wanna get an idea.

A semi-local shop I found will do it probably for around 3k. But this price includes a full tune involving a few other things that I wouldn't want, I'll get myself over there at some point and see if I can talk a different price. Maybe if I could find my own engine... ?

Thanks a bunch for any help :) chances are, I'd dig myself into a huge money pit by trying this, but... who knows.
 
Last edited:
I would suggest doing it yourself if you have the tools, space, and are mechanically inclined.
$900 for everything but engine, the ad(not hard to find) says engine is not there, it seems very very cheap. As long as the body is as good as the guy says it is and as long as the shop does it right and gives you a warranty, why not?
 
eSZee
I would suggest doing it yourself if you have the tools, space, and are mechanically inclined.
$900 for everything but engine, the ad(not hard to find) says engine is not there, it seems very very cheap. As long as the body is as good as the guy says it is and as long as the shop does it right and gives you a warranty, why not?
Click to expand...

I dunno, swapping an engine myself seems like one hell of a job. I've never done any serious work on a car like this, but my dad has, maybe I could get him to help out. After 5 seconds of google I already found some good web sources and books, maybe this could work.

I'll consider doing it myself, it would be a lot more fun. But chances are I'd muck it up some way or another.
 
$900 for a shell is a lot of money.


Drift tax bro.

Yeah though, it's probably never going to run right. 240s don't like to work properly.
 
Only thing missing from the car is the engine. Not sure why the ad says "everything but the motor, nice shell".
 
eSZee
Only thing missing from the car is the engine. Not sure why the ad says "everything but the motor, nice shell".
Click to expand...

Here's what I'm looking at. And yeah I guess i used incorrect terminology there.

Perfect Balance
$900 for a shell is a lot of money.


Drift tax bro.

Yeah though, it's probably never going to run right. 240s don't like to work properly.
Click to expand...

bleh i figured... I'll have to put some serious research into this before i even take the first step.
 
You have to wonder why there isn't a motor in it currently...

Also things like tires and bushings and stuff like that, just kind of assume that you have to change them.
 
Can you say chassis flex? I bet this poor car has some flex issues or another underlying problem. This car was also most likely thrashed by some youngster trying to do "a tyte drift yo". Also, do not believe what the seller says about the trans or rearend. Assume they are bad. Those alone in good shape sell for around $900.

Offer him $500 and not a penny more. There are plenty of RWD cars for sale these days for little money. And they wont have the Fast n furious tax on them.
 
Florida cars rarely rust if washed regularly. The humidity and salt content in the air is not enough to accelerate the rusting process. Why do you think southern cars are sought after more than northern cars?
 
Thanks for the replies. Perhaps this wouldn't be such a good idea. Too many variables that could stick me with a junk car. I'll ask for pictures and if they seem good, i'll think about going out and seeing the car. If things get serious, I'll find someone professional to check out the car.



Are these common 240 rust spots? \/
S13's rust in:

A pillar
Strut tower area
Driver side and passenger side wheel well
Frame rail where downpipe would be on both sides.
floor pan
rocker panels near the rear wheels

IMO, rocker panels are usually the worst.

The area above the muffler too.
Click to expand...

If so, I will check these places. In the meantime, anyone have any ideas for other fun, cheap project cars? Ive considered a Miata, but i'm over 6 feet tall so that may or may not be a problem. How bout an e36 bmw? prefer rwd manual.
 
Contacted the guy, said someone bought it a couple days ago for 1k. There were quite a few people who wanted this car apparently.

Back to square one. Finding one of these even close to stock is hard. I found one for 1200 that has "some rust", bad paint, cracked dash, and leaking rad... i don't know if a cracked dash is a huge deal but it doesn't bother me. Neither does paint. Radiator leak could be found, maybe just a hose or something. Don't like the rice exhaust on it though. Have a look.
 
Leonidae@MFT
Florida car and no rust? I'd love to see that..
Click to expand...

Hi, I'm from Florida, the only rusty cars down here are 20+ years old and came from up north. Just thought you should know 👍


Kinda against common sense with the salt air, but it really doesn't do anything to the vehicles because it rains so much anyway it gets washed off. There's old beat up jeeps on the island that aren't rusting yet, and they're CJ5s and older
 
What would be the specific term to use if I want a mechanic to check out the car and say if it is in good/bad condition? "mechanical verification"? I'm going to that local shop that does sr20 swaps and other 240 shenanigans to see if they do this kind of stuff. Is that the term?
 
There's no term, unless you mean "inspection".

You can just tell them what's going on and what you want them to do. Keep in mind though a shop that specializes in 240s might tell you it's a pile of junk if they want to pick the car up themselves or something.
 
Perfect Balance
There's no term, unless you mean "inspection".

You can just tell them what's going on and what you want them to do. Keep in mind though a shop that specializes in 240s might tell you it's a pile of junk if they want to pick the car up themselves or something.
Click to expand...

Hmm... I guess that is possible, if its really in great shape. And I guess that would work, although I don't want like a state inspection. Just for them to look it over for any serious problems.

Now I've found a blue hatch that needs a new bottom end... He says 2200 but to make him an offer. How hard would it be to replace the bottom end on a ka24de? Are these the parts I need? Maybe I should be asking these at a more focused 240 forum :) damn this car is driving me crazy.
 
Don't bother asking if anybody knows anything about 240s. Nobody really does. They just throw some parts together, cast a magic spell, and about 20% of the time it works great. The other 80%, well, we don't talk about the other 80%.
 

Latest Posts

Back