Just bought an S12. Already rocking one Nissan.

Well, I bought a 1986 S12 with the CA18et here in Kansas.  It is going to be my daily to save driving my R31 too much.

Here is the project:


and here is my 31.


Anyways, I came to this forum because I need to rebuild the S12 motor (previous owner dismantled it to build it to "high horsepower" but bought a Z instead..  I am majorly torn between rebuilding the motor and just putting a KA into it. I want to go one of those two paths to keep the costs down.  I have questions, and I will start by saying that I am new to this motor and any advice or corrections will be appreciated.
 
For CA rebuild:
I found out a lot of good info, but I need to know several things.  Will the CA18DE pistons have clearance issues in the CA18et?  I found a set for very cheap, and I would use the rods/pins/ &pistons as a set.  I do not plan on turning the boost up past 7psi in the future, and during the rebuild I plan to leave the boost at factory settings.  Would the engine run with the higher compression? (Basically a stock CA18et with CA18DE pistons, will there be some fuel problem that I am not thinking about.)   Also are all CA18 rings and rod-to-crank bearings the same? As in, can I use the ca18et rebulid kit rings and bearings on the CA18DE parts?

KA rebuild:
Buy and install with minimal auxilaries.  What can I leave off?

Welcome!   The car looks pretty good from that photo.  As for the motor,  hmmmmm,  would you be able to source a KA relatively easily?

And, please,  some more pics of that R31 would be DOPE.

If you can source a ka for cheap swap it you should be able to find a ka for around 2-500 dollars which will be cheaper than rebuilding the ca. This is coming from a guy who is in love with the 18et. Lol welcome and the car looks pretty clean from what i can tell. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a pm since im pretty much the only one on the forum that likes the ca haha...

Don't forget cajun1guy - he's driven the tutbo forever including a rebuild job

Before I say anything false/dangerous, just gonna state that I'm a fellow noob myself, with that being said, take what I say with a grain of salt.

I think you'll find that the majority of the people on this forum don't like the 18et (with a few exceptions of course) In fact, I expect Redneck will be around any second now to tell you all about how bad it is [insert Sideways S12's 18et vs Redneck's 18det debate here] But anyways, from what I've read so far, the 18et has very long/thin rods and tends to have a habit of putting them through the block if you overboost, hence what happened to my red/black hatch... I myself am going with the CA18DET but I think you'll find that the KA is a nice popular, easy/cheap option for you for now. Also, there's not a huge aftermarket for the 18ET either. If you want to build it, it will probably be alot of custom work, which usually entails lots of $$.

Other than that, welcome!

Brandon G on 02:46:38 AM / 06-Mar-13Before I say anything false/dangerous, just gonna state that I'm a fellow noob myself, with that being said, take what I say with a grain of salt. I think you'll find that the majority of the people on this forum don't like the 18et (with a few exceptions of course) In fact, I expect Redneck will be around any second now to tell you all about how bad it is [insert Sideways S12's 18et vs Redneck's 18det debate here]

Welcome! And ya the cost to build a et is more money than reward IMO...But looks like you have a clean start

Redneck on 09:56:12 PM / 06-Mar-13Yeah I saw this thread yesterday but refrained from commenting because I didn't wanna go into the ca18et debate for the millionth time.

More R31 pictures: 

This was when I was still in Okinawa:

Maroon8 on 09:32:45 PM / 07-Mar-13More R31 pictures: 

This was when I was still in Okinawa:

Hey if you plan on swapping to a ka.can i get your harness and ecu?

Yeah man, we can work something out.  I was told that it either had an ecu or wiring issue that needed trouble-shot.  I'll get you more details if we come to that cross-roads.

Cool thanks bro btw your r31 is sooooo sexy

OMG i just busted a nut looking at your R31... wowzers