My S14.5 Build Thread

[NismoNut]

Right guys, think its time for my Build thread.

Il start at the beginning back in December i suppose.

I had been trying to get my hands on a RWD for awhile and after i drove Sideways Simons S14a i decided that i needed a S-Body in my life.

After countless nights searching through various wedsites and AutoTraders i found one that suited my budget, this 95 S14.5.....






Went to view it and it turned out that it belonged to a mate of CillianS14a off here.

It was fairly rough in places but with the spec it had and the money it was goin for i couldnt leave i behind me.

SPEC:
Gunmetal Grey
Full Uras bodykit
S15 front
Full custom recaro interior
17x9 bronze Genuine Work CR Kai Emotions
Chargespeed vented wings
Vented fibre glass bonnet
Carbon GT wing
S14a Rear lights
Momo dished wheel
Nismo Gear knob
Drift handrake button
Apexi Power FC + Commander
2 way diff
Apexi N1 drift coilovers
Only T25 turbo ( Previous owner had got screwed when he thought he was buying a T28)
Greddy Profec B
JE Forged Pistons
XS Power FMIC
Z32 AFM
Nismo 555cc injectors
Koyo Rad
ACT Paddle clutch
HKS Metal head gasket
Apex Subframe Locking collars
Drilled Discs




So with a SR20 under me i set off as happy as a pig in sh!t !

Next day i decided to change the diff oil, diff was very noisey even for a 2 Way Diff (believe its a Kazz), used Redline 80w140 diff oil, this quitened the diff a good bit.



The front coilovers had been raised up at some point but never lowered again so after alot of wire brushing and WD40 we got her sitting alot lower - big thanks to Sideways Simon again for his help.

The car had a slight miss in it so i changed the spark plugs for NGK Iridium plugs.

this stopped the miss but the car still wasnt running correctly and after failing to solve it ourseleves i brought it to Gareth Burke - local S-Body genius - he made some adjustments to the Power Fc. this made a massive difference with alot more power than before.

I then changed the oil for Silkolene 15W50 oil and a genuine nissan filter.

I then removed the huge NISM0 sunstrip as it made it almost impossible to see out of the windscreen.

I then had to taxed the car for three months , E173 , nice kick in the stones coming up to Xmas!

After 2 weeks of no music in the car i was goin daft - im a terrible singer!! - so i fitted a Sony Headunit.

Enjoyed the car over Xmas and got a little carried one nite...resulting in this......

oooopppss!
So i had to fit 2 new rear tyres.

[NismoNut]

Im a bit of a perfectionist( maybe more than a bit) when it comes to my cars and after a month of driving the car i was getting sick of the tatty bodywork and the other problems such as the rusty battery tray, the white(ish) engine bay , tiny turbo and other bits and bobs.

So i decided i was goin to take it off the road.

The poor weather didnt suit her and i was driving up and down to galway everyday which was nearly 100 mile round trip so it made sense to tske her off the road.

[NismoNut]

At the start i was clear wht i wanted to do, strip her back to nothing and do everything i wanted. the car wasnt goin to return to the road until it was perfect

[NismoNut]

So first up it was time to remove the engine and gearbox












Engine and Gearbox out, not the nicest engine u ever seen

[Sideways Simon]

it looks a sorry state in them pics, seems like years since i seen it looking like that!!!

[NismoNut]

Almost a year at this stage!!

[NismoNut]

Next step was to repair the battery tray. the car had received a light tip to the front at sum point, nothing major really, broken headlamp and bumper but the battery had cracked and leaked the acid into the battery tray eating away at the metal.

So i gave the car to the lad that agreed to repair the battery tray and respray the car.

He had the car for at least 6 weeks in which time all he did was cut out the old battery tray, and weld in a new section - 2 days work at the most - and pull bits off the car, side skirts were cut off at the door section and fibreglass wings had been pulled off crcking them all!!
Great!! wasted 6 weeks and alot of money buying supplies for him!!!

So after a bit of hassle i managed to get the car back from him

[NismoNut]

While the car had been away at that other fool i started to try to gather sum parts i needed.

Turbo gaskets had started to blow a bit especially the elbow to downpipe, so i bought a new set on ebay, took a bit of searchin to find proper steel ones but eventually got these...


Next up was to find an upgrade for that puny T25 turbo, sourched a good condition T28R from a lad who was upgrading to a GT2871R for his drift car....



Had alot more pics but i seemed to have lost them

[Lou_Lou]

Since my rear bumper hasn't sold I need to find me a front bumper like that! They really suit the 15 front IMO

[NismoNut]

In the mean time a mate of mine had got a 97 S14a Silvia , he needed new diff oil so we took a trip to Drive N Style in Roscommon, only went to buy 2 litres of oil and ended up cominh home with these beauties...............

JapSpeed 4 Branch Manifold


JapSpeed Stainless Steel Elbow

[NismoNut]

Since my rear bumper hasn't sold I need to find me a front bumper like that! They really suit the 15 front IMO

Y a its nice altrite, its a URAS item , nice and simple. would be nicer tho if it had a larger opening for the intercooler

[NismoNut]

After the dissapointment of the car being returned to me in an unholy mess i decided if the car was ever gona get done i was gona have to start putting in some long nites.

So i bought materials for the bodywork - fibreglass filler, body fillers, sandpaper, thinners and the like.
I had planned on doin alot of the prep work myself and then snding it to the bodyshop.
I had done a good bit of filling and prep work before , nothing to preety so i practiced on old bumpers and wings and stuff that i had lying around.


Once i was happy that my work was decent enuf i tackled the kit.

LHF ChargeSpeed vented wing



You can see the cars previous colour scheme - originally white, then blue, then white again, then gunmetal grey and next...........??????

URAS side skirt,

[NismoNut]

Got new braided turbo lines ........

[NismoNut]

With the engine out, i couldnt resist from cleaning!!!(i love cleaning !!!!))))

First up, rocker cover.
Stripped back to bare metal, one coat of heat primer followed by the basecoat of red heat paint...






First coat of red paint



Missing two other pics of the red

Top coat of laquer

[NismoNut]

Right, front subframe was looking a bit manky so after a major powerwashing and paint stripping i got to painting it.

It wont really be seen that much but i wanted to freshen it up , plus it reduces the risk of any rust developing.




Also painted the front anti roll bar and did the steering rack in silver

[NismoNut]

As was said before the battery tray had been damaged but had been repaired, bad section cut out and a new section welded in.

So i decided to smooth out the rest of tray because i intend on relocating the battery to the boot.

More filler!!!! Great stuff!


There was a few minor spots of surface rust starting to appear in the engine bay so out came the sandpaper and wire brush again.

[NismoNut]

I then sanded the rest of the engine bay and primed it , only done it in aerosol cans for now until it got sprayed properly.

[NismoNut]

My new water pump arrived from america, only took 4 days to arrive, very impressed!

[NismoNut]

New thermostat.

[NismoNut]

With the engine on the stand i got out the drill with wire brush head and cleaned it back to bare metal.


Strip down the inlet manifold and gave it a good cleaning, removed all the gunk that was inside the plenum and runners, one of the disadvantages of not having an oil catch can.