[Belgium] S12 - Engine inside :)

I love how truly international our forum is... more than any other forum Ive ever seen for cars! :thumbsup:

ARP anything improves engine stability.

I love your sense of humor... I look forward to more!

Yeah the guys on the site say if you wasn't to make any kind of real power that they are needed. that info prompted me to tell my mechanic last minute to get them....

@Arro, true! To be honest I registered here because I thought this was THE S12 forum  :yay!:

@Sideways_s12, Arro, Also the head stud kit or only the rod bolts? :P

Meanwhile in Belgium:

Out with the rusted crap





And in with the new metal





Same story on the passenger side





Done



Mhmmm it might have been a liiiiiitle bit crusty



Give the metal some protection





And last but certainly not least, give the engine bay some luuuuuuuvvvvvv





And yes this is one bad ass party tent spray booth ... like a baws  :evillaugh:

I know my build is taking longer than expected .. but I just can't get it over my heart to let a rusty plate stay. It has to be perfect :P

very good work man! i am digging the wide body!

Nice job, quality build always take longer than expected. Take your time and make sure everything is up to your standard!

@86forever, thx! :)

@Djays12, I just can't stand it when something is left untouched and not perfect  :angel:

This wednesdey I finally did the last steps in prepping the engine bay and did the respray  (Toyota - Ivory White/New White 041 - facelift AE86 color). I knew painting an engine bay wasn't easy but MYYYY GODDD i took ages (3-4 hours of painting). But the result is well worth the effort.

How she sits at this moment:


I also made some random before-after pictures which sure do give an idea of the work/prep that has been put in. She was such a dirty girl nobody would want to stick anything in, but now it's probably cleaner than clean dish :D

























Next up:
- Suspension + brakes (S13 swap)
- Engine swap (CA18DET)

haven't been in here in awhile nice progress and to answer your question get the headstuds and rod bolts if you haven't done so already!

Thx for the tip sideways_S12  :yay!:

Small update:

- new brake lines (made them by hand :D)
- cleaned and resprayed some parts (brake booster, whiper engine, ..)
- Installed sub frame (I resprayed half a year ago)



Next up (I hope to finish this by the end of 2013):

- Rebuild brakes (looking for repair kit)
- Rebuild suspension (original S12 probably since the original S13 springs are too wide and the yearly check does not allow tuned springs)
- Build up engine

i thought the ca18det was a full counted weight crank not just half like the ka24(d)e ?

@pakii-afa, uuuuhm is that a good or a bad thing? :D

Time for some update:
- Treathed the wheel wells with some anti-stonechip
- Revised my brakes and gave them some new paint
- New ball joints and outer tie rods
- Repainted the whole suspension + various other bits
- Rebuild the complete suspension (change parts where needed)

Brakes are BLUEEEEEEEEE    :yes:



Well helllooooo there  :angel:



Suspension drivers side, before



As it sits now



Same story on the passenger side (that's the annoying thing about suspension, you have to do everything twice ...   :grumpy: )



After



Enjoyed some coffee to keep me warm (although I can't complain about the temperature for this time of the year)



The complete front view, before



After



Finally after 1 year of hard work, her 4 legs touched the floor again.   :angel:



Next up: Engine rebuild

yea it kind of is, its bad for harmonics at certain rpms.. ka24 usually explodes if you hang around 7200-7300 because it has very bad crank balance at around there. i just thought nissan would have put in a fcw crank for a fairly expensive and technologically developed motor of that time..

@pakii-afa, I see! Thanks for that info, I had no idea! Strange indeed!  :yes:

So what has happened the past weeks

- Retape the S12 harness (lots of degrease and tape work   :straight: )
- Mount the S12 harness
- mounting various bits

Some pics before/after

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%201.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%202.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%203.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%204.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%205.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%206.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%207.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%208.JPG)

Rebuild engine:
- new sealings
- new bearings (ACL race)
- cleaning oil pump
- cleaning pistons since I'm using the OEM ones
- new piston rings
- mounting revised head
- mounting inlet
and some other various bits

Some detail pics of the mid engine & head

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%209.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%2010.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%2012.JPG)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%2013.JPG)

As the engine is sitting atm:

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%2011.JPG)
(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%2014.JPG)

Found a perfect set of blue S2000 seats

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%2016.JPG)

The color is really spot-on, couldn't suit better with the S12 blue!

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/S12/rebuild/foto%2017.JPG)

i actually assumed the the ca18det was fcw crank since it offered so many new technologies back then, i guess not. i like how the car is coming along, i reall want to see the widebody grand prix kit installed :D

keep up the good work :yes:

@pakii-afa, I will continue body works soon.  :yay!:

@s12rich, thx! :)

Some other small update
Cleaned the alternator and painted it with a little brush (awww yeahhh  :wideeyed:  )

Front done vs back not done
(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/19%20jan%2014/foto%201.jpg)

Finished
(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/19%20jan%2014/foto%202.jpg)

Installed the water pump, timing belt, etc ... and painted the front in black combined with a polished angle sensor
(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/19%20jan%2014/foto%203.jpg)

As the engine sits atm
(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/19%20jan%2014/foto%204.jpg)

didn't realize this was an 18det build lol Nice work!

LoL, yeah the CA18DET is the perfect solution to give the S12 some more power and to have a lot more after market parts :D

The engine is yelling: 'pleaaaase put me in the engine bay'

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/sfeer%201.jpg)

GP Body kit does need some adjustmens in order for it to fit good, but overall I'm happy with the fitment of the first panel:

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/sfeer%202.jpg)

Really great work!

When will you work on fitting the seats in?  I'd like to see that as I would like to completely replace the seats but modding the pan/rails will cone up

Thx! :)

I think the seats will be one of the last things I'll do. In Belgium you are not allowed to change the seats unless you use the original rails. Since that's probably not going to be an option, I'll have to adapt the S2000 rails without changing the pan to make them fit because I'll have to put in the original ones every year for technical check up :)

Time for an update:

Continued adapting the GP kit in orde to make it all fit, will require some more adjustments

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%201.jpg)

It seems like a wide wheel will be needed :D

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%202.jpg)

Eating some JDM food while cleaning the garage!

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/noodles.jpg)

Valve cover also needed some attention, my god what a mess!

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%203.jpg)

Seeing this made me wonder how it's possible that an engine with this much dirt still ran, seems like it's not a waste of time cleaning this out.

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%204.jpg)

After clean up it got a good sand blast and powder coat.

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%205.jpg)

Which made the engine look even more like ... well an engine
(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%206.jpg)

Close up of the wrinkle effect

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%207.jpg)

Disassembled the front lights

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%208.jpg)

And powder coated the frame in high gloss black (actually used for Harley bikes, bling bling :D )

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%209.jpg)

Next I attacked the rust on the window frame

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2010.jpg)

Which went without a hassle, will be getting some putty to flatten it all

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2011.jpg)

Subframe had to go in orde to give me some room for the next rust job

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2012.jpg)

We have a lift off!

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2013.jpg)

It seems like the previous owner has already touched this part of the car too.. unfortunately!

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2014.jpg)

As it seems he had juist welded another plate on top of the original rust hole, which has made it all worse over time. People like this should just not touch a car :(

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2015.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2016.jpg)

Better get rid of all the rust ..

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2017.jpg)

.. so I can start from a clean base! :)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2018.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/1%20maart%2014/foto%2019.jpg)

Has been a good month progress-wise, then again I try to work on it 3-4 times a week (sometimes even until 1-2 o' clock at night).
Since my girlfriend has to work this week and I took a week of I hope I can make some extra progress! :D

(http://pearlsinvinegar.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/aw-yeah-4943_preview.png)

Also collected some spare S12 parts (from several owners/cars):

- Spare blue interior (everything starting from the back seat with panels included)
- Spare rear lights
- 5 front indicators, mine are broken :D
- new engine to open front light
- rear subframe with diff, brakes and suspension .. you never know :P
- Front grill
- Front suspension with brakes included, I'll be using these to create my own coil-overs :)
- some other various bits and pieces

So actually I got like half an S12 in spare parts, that'll keep mine alive! Gooooood :D

This is such a cool project. You're making some nice progress.

Thank you very much!  :yay!:

Did some epic hours previous 2 days, with this as a result:

Fixed part 1

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/3%20maart%2014/foto%203.jpg)

Closed it so the interior looks good again

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/3%20maart%2014/foto%204.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/3%20maart%2014/foto%205.jpg)

Better than what it used to look like :)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/3%20maart%2014/foto%206.jpg)

Closed the rear of the sill, added some sealer and paint (don't mind the color, just needs some paint so it doesn't start rusting soon)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4%20maart%2014/foto%201.jpg)

In goes the exterior part of the sill

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4%20maart%2014/foto%202.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4%20maart%2014/foto%203.jpg)

Do I really have to do it all over again on the other side :( :( :(

Wow you're doing great work!! Good luck!

This is pretty epic!  Awesome job bro!

Thanks burritomannn & 8SixS12  :yes: :yes:

I've still been very busy in the last few months:

Removed all the rusty pieces from my wheel arche and addapted a Mazda 323 wheel arch to fit in.

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/wielboog/foto%203.jpg)

Created new inner wheel arch, welded it in and painted it all (except for the places I had to weld the outer arch onto)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/wielboog/foto%204.jpg)

In goes the outer wheel arch

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/wielboog/foto%205.jpg)

Current temporary look (will be finishing this when passenger side is also done)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/wielboog/foto%206.jpg)

What the subframe looked like

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%201.jpg)

Taking everything apart. As you can see there is a lot of rust, yet the bushings are in very good condition (wasn't expecting that)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%202.jpg)

Grinding until you drop dead. Maybe a shiny polished subframe would look cool, but nahhhhhh

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%203.jpg)

Give it a good epoxy primer

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%204.jpg)

Then let it all shine (sprayed with industrial 2K paint)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%205.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%207.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%208.jpg)

Since I was expecting some rust I cut away an old 'repair'.

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%209.jpg)

.. A big gift waited for me inside. What a nice repair *ahum*

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%2010.jpg)

The inside/underside wasn't really any better

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%2011.jpg)

So I started to cut away but decided to let some reference points in so I still know where my new plates should end. After welding in the first parts, I removed all the other rusty plates and replaced them by new metal.

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%2012.jpg)

Current look of the repair, still needs some finishing touches but first I want to weld in the wheel arch (I don't like double work)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%2013.jpg)

Seeing from the inside of the car

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%2014.jpg)

And from underneeth

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%2015.jpg)

So now I can start working on this brand new side :D

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%2016.jpg)

Also was able to source some parts (not really easy tough):

Already arrived
- New wheel bearings + dust caps
- New rubbers for suspension

Incoming
- Parking brake cable
- Flex cables

Plans for coming month
- Finishing up welding (wheel arch etc.) on passenger side
- Make underside of the car tidy (grinding away rust + give it some anti-rust chemical stuff)
- New paint + protection on underside
- Assemble subframe + mount
- Brakes

If this is done, the car can finally get back on its 4 wheels and I can go on with the next stuff (engine + GP kit).

That's the only thing I worry about when i get to the UK when I find one hopefully it will be as close as possible to a rust free shell....

I think I just might have bought one of the worst s12's around there :P
But I got it from my best friend for a very very good price, then again maybe I had better spent a bit more for a more rust-free one. Would have saved me a lot of time (thus money) in the end  :tongue2:

My best friend bought this S12 about 5 years ago and it was put on grass for 3 years .. That + bad rust repairs resulted in a lot of rust  :cry2:

But I'm in it too far now, I have to finish this no matter what.  :rip:  :yay!:

XortioN on 03:42:39 AM / 06-Jul-14But I'm in it too far now, I have to finish this no matter what.  :rip:  :yay!:

Yeah I totally understand once you're this deep in it's hard to turn back ...

Thanks!

To all car owners, please don't overspray your subframe with anti-stoneship stuff! It's really hard to get it all of and hides/causes a lot of rust :D
Just some pics to show what I'm upto. I've had 2 weeks of working on my car every morning until night :)

Subframe before - after (still waiting for some parts though)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%201.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%202.jpg)

Close-up so you can really see the difference

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%203.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%204.jpg)

Cleaning the underbody (scraping of all dirt and anti-stonechip stuff and grinding down all the rust spots to bare metal, providing it with some rust neutralizer and paint)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%205.jpg)

Welding in the last wheel arch, what a work to make it all fit (again Mazda 323 wheel arch since I could not find a better one), obviously the rear is not finished yet.

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%206.jpg)

Last few days I finished my rear passenger wheel arch, so now it's just only some small rust repairs that I have to do (about 6 days of work I guess). Unfortunately I wont be able to work on it the next 2 weeks  :(

Finished the back of the fender/wheel arch and closed it all up on the inside

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%207.jpg)

Next grinded down all the weld spots and gave it some temporary epoxy primer

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%208.jpg)

Took a picture to compare to how it used to be 2 weeks ago, very happy with the result! :D

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/4juli14/foto%2011.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%209.jpg)

And took a panorama of the inside of the wheel arch

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/werken%20juli%202014/foto%2010.jpg)

the wheel arch looks a bit wider than the stock s12, i like it! lol

Yes they are a bit wider, about 2.5-3 inch (7-8cm) which is perfect for the GP kit :angel:

Since it has been a while since my last post and I have been very busy restoring the S12, I thought the time was right to give a new update.

I have been fixing the last rust issues (only 3 small spots on the top of the car left).
What started as a smal puncture soon turned out to be more than I expected:
(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%201.jpg)

But since I rather do it all the way at this point, I removed it all
(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%202.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%203.jpg)

Same goes for this

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%204.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%205.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%206.jpg)

And also for the rusty spot I found on my chassis

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%207.jpg)

Replacing it all the way and providing it with a breather hole to prevent water from getting stuck inside

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%208.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%209.jpg)

After paint, it looks brand new

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/pre/foto%2010.jpg)

Talking about paint, I grinded down the underbody of the car putting anti-rust, epoxy-primer and fresh paint on the spots that needed it.

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/foto%201.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/foto%202.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/foto%203.jpg)

Then it was time to mount the fresh subframe which gave me the opportunity to make a nice before-after picture once again

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/foto%204.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/foto%205.jpg)

Finally a chapter that has been finished: the underbody is completely fresh/looking new  :japan:

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/foto%206.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/26-10/foto%207.jpg)

Next up: assembling the rest of engine (turbo, coolant lines, vacuum lines, fuel rail, ...) and making the puzzle fit. Hopefully I will be dropping in the engine in 2 weeks.

wow this is like the next best build lol
keep it up looks great!

what differential are you using, i noticed it has an lsd fin cover

Thx! :)

I'm using the stock S12 differential (EU spec?), but I think it's an open diff (it will be something to be adressed after the build is finished, got to know what to do every winter right?)  :yay!:

After a few weeks of hard work on the engine/tranny, it's finally in!

Some information that might be interesting for other S12 owners getting the CA18DET engine:

I used 300ZX engine mounts which are more rigid (less vibration/engine movement) combined with te S13 engine brackets on the S12 CA18ET subframe. I am using the stock S12 transmission combined with a CA18DET clutch + bearing (90-... not the pre 90!!!). Engine does sit a bit higher which makes the engine rub agains the hood, so I will probably be using hood spacers and search for a GP hood :)

Brake lines are kinda close to the exhaust and I had to remove the original heath-shield because the exhaust was stuck against it, I will be making a custom heath shield to resolve this issue.

I used S13 steering pump but used the return line of the S12 steering pump, which made it easier to fit the return line.

Setup:
- CA18DET
- CA18ET gearbox
- 300ZX engine mounts + s13 engine brackets
- T28 turbo
- XS power exhaust manifold

What I also did:
- Give the drive shaft some fresh pain
- New clutch
- New brake lines to the rear
- New gasoline-lines
- And ofcourse a lot of engine stuff :)

To the point, pictures:

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/15-11/foto%201.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/15-11/foto%202.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/15-11/foto%203.jpg)

Been awhile since an update hows it coming?

Thanks for asking! I had to move the car out of my garage, so I wasn't able to work on it from december - march.

But since then I have been working a lot on the S12. I finally got (almost) everything mounted engine-wise and finished my wiring. I also got the engine running for the first time, which was a glorious moment (started from the first time and ran so smooth):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBjTqBF4-bc

I finished the intake using a K&N kit, Volvo intercooler and some custom piping. In between the volvo intercooler I managed to fit an aftermarket Toyota AE86 twin core radiator with 2x 12" electrical fans and some custom brackets to make it all stay in place. I also did some other various stuff like restoring gasoline tank, new walbro pump, new fuel lines, oil catch tank, retaped interior cabling, ... And fixed the last bit of rust underneath the trunk lid.

I have made a before/after comparisson:

(http://www.xcustoms.be/varia/s12/29%20juni%2015/voor.jpg)

(http://www.xcustoms.be/varia/s12/29%20juni%2015/na.jpg)

A month ago I finally found an MK2 front (bonnet, grille, sidelights, front lip, ..) and some other parts which I had been looking for for the past 2 years. I drove to the UK to pick it up, happy man  :yay!:

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/6%20aug%2015/foto%202.jpg)

The reason why I was looking for this bonnet is because it gives more room for the CA18DET (combined with 300zx mounts) and the MK2 front looks much cleaner in my opinion and will really make the GP kit stand out much more.

Comparison in space under the bonnet (white is mk1, red is mk2)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/6%20aug%2015/foto%203.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/6%20aug%2015/foto%204.jpg)

I also painted the rear interior (everything that will be visible behind the floor fabric) 2 weeks ago and I am now preparing everything to mount the GP kit and get him ready for paint (he will be going in in november and will be painted with molded GP kit in januari).

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/sep%2015/interior1.jpg)

(http://xcustoms.be/varia/s12/sep%2015/interior2.jpg)

It may not seem like a lot has been done, but since I'm doing everything on my own .. believe me there has been a lot done.

Your project is most impressive! It is great to see such dedication to this old car, and the effort you make shows. The start video of the engine sounded very good.

That is one clean, beautiful engine bay. Please come to America and do mine!!

Definitly looking good!

And I was discouraged? This build is first rate!  Gives me the confidence to carry on!  Any progress?

Yes, this build is beyond normal fix it up. You are doing an awesome restoration!

I have been thoroughly demoralized by this build thread. Bravo!

Remember, folks: all that's keeping you from having an awesome resto like this is the fact that you're too broke to afford it!

SchizophrenicMC on 10:03:46 AM / 09-Oct-15Remember, folks: all that's keeping you from having an awesome resto like this is the fact that you're too broke to afford it!

rednucleus on 11:54:19 AM / 09-Oct-15Nope -alot more than just funds. There's alot of skill involved here that some of us shade tree mechanics do not possess. Unless I hire out all the work but isn't that cheating??

weitrhino on 06:56:33 PM / 09-Oct-15
Your car won't consider it cheating.

That is some awesome work you have done, keep it up!

rednucleus on 11:54:19 AM / 09-Oct-15Nope -alot more than just funds. There's alot of skill involved here that some of us shade tree mechanics do not possess. Unless I hire out all the work but isn't that cheating??