If you're a gearhead, there's the one pinnacle, DIY, garage-sprawling project that you're the most proud of. It probably started off small-intake, springs, or exhaust with a basic Craftsmen tool set-but over time it might have progressed to a full-on audio build, bolt-on turbo, or front-mount intercooler kit. For a while, those three were the most extensive amount of work I've done at home, until the purchase of my S13.
Owning a handful of modified cars in SoCal, my '91 240SX LE hatch was supposed to be the beater car I could drive and park without worry from cops or would-be thieves. I got it for a really good deal (I towed it away from the previous owner for two cell phones and $130 in cash) and, more importantly, it was completely bone-stock-just how I wanted it. But after driving it for 40K miles, the odometer and original motor now reading 240K miles, the engine started to go. Bad. The way I looked at it, I had three options: Sell it to someone for a loss (one cell phone and $30 cash?), purchase another KA24DE, or go SR20DET.
The first option was out of the question-why sell what can be fixed? The second made sense, but the price of a clean KA was about $400 without any added benefit. It's another truck motor, albeit with fewer miles. The SR, on the other hand, was turbocharged from the JDM factory, making more power and torque, and consequently, more fun. But the added entertainment came at a significant cost. For a Red-top SR, I'd be forking out five times that of a KA. Decisions, decisions. Thanks to Stephen Rhim at G-Dimension in Industry, CA, my multiple-choice conundrum was solved. Stephen had heard I was in the market for a motor and managed to track down a complete S13 blacktop SR20DET changeover for less than two grand-a complete bargain. My number two pencil had just filled in bubble "C".
But where to perform the swap? At the time, G-Dimension was backlogged for weeks with work. There was always taking it to another shop, but I'd have to drop way more in labor than the car was worth (the two cell phones weren't that nice). That's when Stephen had a bright idea. Why not use the parents' garage? Commandeer it for a weekend when they were gone for one of their golf trips and do all of the work before they got home. Sort of like a house party, but with zero chicks and a whole lot of tools. Steve Chung, another buddy of mine, was down. He was looking to buy an S-chassis as well and wanted to learn how to do the wiring.
With the team assembled and the folks gone to Palm Springs, we got to work on a Friday evening, starting the disassembly process while enjoying a few beers. Late Saturday morning we really got cracking, pulling the KA24 out by mid-afternoon and stuffing the new SR20 and transmission in by evening. With my parents coming back Sunday around noon, we had 12 hours, at best, to wire up everything, get the car running, clean up the garage, and dispose of the old iron block. And after all three of us busted an agonizing all-nighter, we managed to do exactly that, even dropping off the old motor to another friend who was planning on building a spare KA for his turbocharged S14.
As proud of this shared achievement as I am, it pales in comparison to what Joe Haven did to his S13 Silvia out of his garage. Considered "old" by some, and pigeon-holed as a "drift platform" by others, Joe's two-toned, hella-flush, gangster-looking S13 proves how timeless the chassis is. It's inspiring to know that for something I picked up for some cellies and a bit of cash, with a whole lot of hard work and buckets of elbow grease, I could end up with something that resembles this. Potentially. All-nighters, here I come?
Editor
Carter jung
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