Swapping 14a running gear into a 13

[mcleansc]

Unfortunately (and despite a whack of welding work) the shell on my S14a is just beyond repair. I was just going to break it and buy a BMW. But I do love the S-Bodies and love S13's. Mechanically the car is awesome so I'd like to re-shell.

How difficult is it to transplant an SR into a UK S13? Gearbox as well? Is it difficult to swap hubs? If I decide to do this I'll be getting a cheap daily so time doesn't really bother me. I'm aware there will probably be threads already about this so apologise for my laziness but I'm currently running about mad looking at cars. Cheers

[watson]

I'm doing this right now on my S13, good news is theres a pretty comprehensive guide if you search SR20 S13 conversion by John Bennett I think his name is. The guide covers all of the required wiring harness modifications required to run the SR, depending on which model your SR came from. Good news also is that the SR fits straight onto the standard S13 engine mounts, as does the gearbox and prop shaft fit with no issues.

I'm yet to go at the hub swap, as far as I'm aware the rears are a straight swap as in the S14 hub fits to the S13 knuckle, brakes are a pretty straight forward fit... theres also a guide on that if you look in S13 Tech. The downside to your plan for me is finding an S13 shell which is in a better condition than your 14 for a decent price. Mine was sold to me stating it had little rust and actually had some pretty serious MOT failure-type rust hidden behind bodge jobs!

Hope this is of some help and good luck!

[mcleansc]

I'm doing this right now on my S13, good news is theres a pretty comprehensive guide if you search SR20 S13 conversion by John Bennett I think his name is. The guide covers all of the required wiring harness modifications required to run the SR, depending on which model your SR came from. Good news also is that the SR fits straight onto the standard S13 engine mounts, as does the gearbox and prop shaft fit with no issues.

I'm yet to go at the hub swap, as far as I'm aware the rears are a straight swap as in the S14 hub fits to the S13 knuckle, brakes are a pretty straight forward fit... theres also a guide on that if you look in S13 Tech. The downside to your plan for me is finding an S13 shell which is in a better condition than your 14 for a decent price. Mine was sold to me stating it had little rust and actually had some pretty serious MOT failure-type rust hidden behind bodge jobs!

Hope this is of some help and good luck!

Cheers mate things have been hectic so will give that a search. Good to know it's quite easy, I had a feeling the blacktop SR would fit ok given the redtops in the 180sx.

Now I've got a minute I'll look into the tech. Ha, I think any 14 or 13 would be in better condition than mines! I've seen one on here but it's a project car, not a shell. Hopefully I can sort something out with the seller.

[Chriscooke]

Hub swap is pretty much bolt on from what I've been lead to believe and as for the conversion I'm sure it drops straight in and people even sell conversion harnesses iirc.

[mcleansc]

Hub swap is pretty much bolt on from what I've been lead to believe and as for the conversion I'm sure it drops straight in and people even sell conversion harnesses iirc.

Excellent. I'm going to start stripping the 14a tomorrow, I may still just re-shell it straight into another 14a but if I can get a rust free (lol) S13 then I'd love to drop my running gear into that. Always loved the S13s.

[watson]

The only 'awkward' part with swapping an S14a SR into an S13 is the whole NATS thing, which personally I've never read up on much as it doesn't affect my s14 engine

If I remember rightly though, you can delete NATS through some sort of ECU re-programming I believe. The wiring shouldn't be much of a challenge either since its a minimum of 10 wires need shifting around to re-pin some connectors. As far as clean S13 bodies go, I'd spend £1000 max, I couldn't believe the hidden rust on mine... Especially since plenty of people told me it was a clean shell

[Kieran_E1]

getting rid of nats is a piece of piss

[watson]

Like I said, don't know much about it You can still keep it though, just means messing around with keys and whatnot...

[mcleansc]

Like I said, don't know much about it You can still keep it though, just means messing around with keys and whatnot...

Cheers for the comments mate but looks like I'm going down the re-shelling into another 14a route, play is safe ha