Project: NO MORE RICE

I picked up my 1987 200sx with a vg30 today. It cost me 800 after tags and everything.
My plans for this car are simple; restore its glory with by fixing up everything and try to find a whole new interior to replace what's missing.
Here's my to do list for the first week
1. Replace the sway bar bushings
2. Tie rods
3. Ball joints
4. Alignment
5. Tune up of the engine
6. Replace that sad excuse for an exhaust
7. New trunk lock cylinder
8. Attach the passenger door panel XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
9. Remove that damn stripe on the body. XXXXXXXXXXXX

If anyone has any ideas for an exhaust (there's just a glass pack where the cat should be and nothing else) I would greatly appreciate them.

Here's what it looks like now.

Good luck! and welcome

we can always use another se welcome

Did some research all day and figured it won't be expensive to fix the front end. Found a possible way of fixing this exhaust. I may do that first because the sound is absolutely killing me . It's a lot louder than my jeep. Idk if I should just take it to a muffler shop or try to do it myself.

Wats wrong with ur front end?

night_s12 on 12:23:27 AM / 27-Jan-13Wats wrong with ur front end?

Also check your LCA bushings

Damn that car needs some work...

sideways_s12 on 11:41:49 PM / 27-Jan-13Damn that car needs some work...

Your thermostat may be getting stuck open. Can't hurt to replace it. I got one cheap that has a fail safe for in Tue case of overheating it locks open.

That's what mine did with a bad 'stat, FMAO  when it got cold!

The parts are piling up. Just need time to put them in. I got a failsafe thermostat for 10 from my autozone buddy and my cat back exhaust will be here thursday. Im trying to figure out the passenger door panel. I can't get it around the shroud that goes around the open handle. Needless to say bitching at it isn't the answer. Any tips?

Take a flat head screw driver and pop the outter ring off of the handle. Make sure not to get it too far back there you just wanna pop the outter ring off

It's becoming less rice like. I took off the stripe and picked up a set of z32 rims offf my buddy. I'm going to get new used yires tomorrow morning to hopefully fit 225/50s on the front with spacers. I bought 8mm spacers today but I need to get 10mm ones soon or I may try 215/50s up front with 8mm spacer. I also got the passenger door panel on.

U decide if your gonna paint it? Color?

Color is the last of my worries. It'll be painted in the summer but i don't have a clue what color I want.
Post Merge

Nothing amazing today. Just got brand new front tires to make my z wheels fit. Exhaust comes in tomorrow now. Here's a picture. I know you all like pictures.

Bkhaos on 03:18:04 PM / 26-Jan-13I picked up my 1987 200sx with a vg30 today. It cost me 800 after tags and everything.
My plans for this car are simple; restore its glory with by fixing up everything and try to find a whole new interior to replace what's missing.
Here's my to do list for the first week
1. Replace the sway bar bushings
2. Tie rods
3. Ball joints
4. Alignment
5. Tune up of the engine
6. Replace that sad excuse for an exhaust
7. New trunk lock cylinder
8. Attach the passenger door panel
9. Remove that damn stripe on the body.
10. Locate a real transmission and get rid of the slushbox.

If I can find a transmission from an s12 but one from a 300zx could work right?

For a 5 speed swap yeah but I think you need front half s13. Driveshaft and the rest of the manual s12 stuff

Your deceased s12 was beautiful, nice work on the new project... coming along!

project is coming along its starting to look more and more like an s12 lol

Turns out I'm now getting a custom made exhaust since some one "lost" the mid pipe that was on its way in. Hopefully that could be made very soon. Tomorrow though ill be changing the stat and upper and lower rad hoses. Maybe then I'll have heat! Gonna give it an oil change too. Once all of this is done it's on to suspension.

I changed my thermostat last night which was easy enough, except now my car overheated. Pulled the new stat and tested it. Fucking autozone sold me a bad thermostat since this one wouldn't open. FAILsafe my ass. After cooling down and having dinner it started snowing so my girlfriends parents let me borrow their Altima until I come back Thursday to finish my car. And today as I was leaving class what happens? Some asshole backs into me. This is the first accident I've ever been in and of course it happens in my girlfriends car. Insurance company says its 100% his fault though. I'll have pictures of the s12 progress up tomorrow when I do some more work to it.

That blows mad shit bro

I have heat! The new thermostat from napa actually works. I tested the failsafe one in BOILING water and it still didn't open. Let the s12 run for 20 mins to make sure it wasn't tricking me and all is good.
NOTE TO SELF: make sure you put enough coolant in.

Old stat

Right on man sounds good

Sadly getting defective parts is way too common these days. When companies outsource everything to the cheapest bidder in 3rd world countries with little to no quality control that is what happens. Good to hear the non-defective themostat solved your issue though haha.

Not too much to update. I did however take my s12 on a 60 mile trip to bloomsburg on Thursday and then back home the next day. I have no problems at all. Hopefully I can get my exhaust soon though lol. Deadline for engine work is may as scca comes around May 5th and I'm gonna enter in it. I'll keep updates coming, hopefully I'll take a wrench to it this week.

The girlfriends altima is in the garage for reparis. 3500 in damage. So glad it's 100% the other guys fault.

Do work man! I'm diving in my shit tomorrow. She's. Getting new plugs. Hopefully new vac lines, fuel filter and some tinkering with the idle (she likes to be fiddled with if you catch my drift lol)
Post Merge

Lol no worries man

Just a small update here. I got sick of the worn steering wheel and decided to make a fix until I buy a momo. I used hockey tape to wrap it and add volume to the worn spots. Here's the before and after

I'm about to.do that to mine too

its good for grip too :)

Which will help since I have no power steering lol

Hello again everyone. I know it's been a while but dericing the s12 is a pain. Since my last post I've only really done some interior cleaning, engine cleaning(like the maf, tb, oil change that almost completely fixed my oil leak somehow?) added harnesses for both seats (yes flame me for not running an actual bar) found out I have a broken speedo cable and the biggest update is that this is currently being installed. It's a full custom cat back system that is going on. Hopefully this will help with what I believe to be causing me to be sluggish especially up hill in 3rd gear. No back pressure?

nice choice.

I got the same muffler it sounds great....but mines 3 inch so its a little loud

Everything went smooth with my exhaust getting put on :) 2 1/4 in  from the cat back. Next step is a hi flow cat cause its a little too quiet for my liking with the stock cat on. I went through a full tank of gas and then some just driving it around and running lots of lucas injector cleaner through it. I've never felt this s12 pull me into my seat so hard before. Next on my list is running new hoses, getting rear tires for my z wheels, an open filter fabbed into the wheel well (I still gotta draw up some stuff).

Here's some pictures: Happy Bernie and my zero fuck given muffler. I know a lot of you won't like it but I love how it's in your face and it sure as hell beats having nothing.

Looks Good but I would of tucked the muffler back a bit more so that the only thing sticking out is the tip (hehe That's what she said ) Keep up the good work...

I expected to see it nice and hidden underneath and the tip poking out just a bit. I must admit I was pissed at first but every time I look at it I love it. Plus I'm not def anymore lol

lol all that matters is that it works for you! lol

I overheated yestereday in the city. The e fan wasn't kicking on. I knew it never did though. I spliced in a fuse and a switch into the cab and bam nice working e fan in the city. Now I ran into the problem of hard acceleration up hill causing me to overheat. Not much but just enough that I can see the little dot in the center. Looks like new hoses and and cleaning the outside of the radiator should help this.

Cleaned the throttle body and the radiator out. No more overheating at all even when it's been getting warm out. For the past maybe 3 days when I hit sharp right turns pretty fast my e brake light pops on and turns off when I straighten out. Also had a bit of a problem tonight after pushing it really hard when me and my buddy (83 celica gt) were racing a few mountain roads. I think some power steering fluid leaked onto my header, it was smoking underneath. It felt a little weird driving home. Maybe just paranoia though. I really wish I had to ability to pull the engine and just reseal everything on it. I'm gonna try to little by little replace everything in that engine. Any info on the problems would be really appreciated.

Sounds stupid but with the brake warning light check your brake fluid. Might slosh around wen u take that hard of a turn tripping the sensor and when u straighten out it levels back out. Sounds stupid but you never know.

Damn that didn't even cross my mind. Maybe that's what leaked onto my exhaust but then again I didn't notice a smell/smoke until hard accell high rpm. I'll check it in the morning though.

Yeah man its so simple that it doesn't cross peoples mind. I have a leaky caliper and that's how I know when to add fluid

Night beat me to it lol I was going to say check your brake fluid. The wife's dsm is like that when the fuid gets low the light comes on...

Today is a good day! found a parts car in a junkyard. I'm grabbing all the interior and everything for a manual swap  :cry2:.

can anyone confirm this working before I buy it?
http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_385&products_id=2986

this is what will probably be up for sale
Center console
Cluster Hood
Side Skirts
End caps
Front Lip

If anyone needs any SE parts let me know as I can have the guy pull more stuff as needed.