14/15 year old wants to start a 240sx project!?!?!?!?!

[neverrain]

I bought my 240 when I was 18, young, and careless. I learned how to drive stick by driving it off the lot and to my house. I'm almost 28 now. In ten years I have been through 3 engines, 3 damn flip up headlights, numerous hoses, belts, 2 exhausts, lots of rotors, but only 2 clutches surprisingly. Never been in 1 accident though. Needless to say, after 10 years, i'm finally making enough money to maintain it properly and put money back into it and it is still expensive. I've put up with all the shit from friends, girlfriends, and such telling me that the car is a piece and I should just buy a new car. I have ignored them all this time because I love the damn car more than most of them.

If you really want to do it and have the means, do it. No one here is going to talk you out of it. Just remember, you are very young, possibly naive, and likely dreaming of something much more than what you will have the means to complete. Every single person here has told you how expensive these things are. Most have probably put 10x what the value of their car is back into, some even more. You only live once. Make the right decision. School and 16-21 are very important years of your life. Wait that out before making your decision. You will have much more knowledge after that. If you still want it after, do it.

[NISMO_tuner]

i agree with wat most members said. if ur only 15 and want to get into an expensive hobby like this then i suggest u start saving up. it is very costly, especially for somebody your age. i've been into cars since my freshman year at high school and i managed to save up to get my first car in my sophmore year. it was a MK3 Supra Turbo. and i loved being one of the only kids in school to own a car and be able to drive. but i also regret that because i ran into so many problems. i thought i knew about cars, but i didnt know anything. all i knew when i was younger is that an intake and exhaust will make your car go faster. as i got older i started going on forums and doing research. thats when i really got to know about cars and how to make wiser choices. I'm 18 now and two years ago i wouldn't know anything about an engine, but after learning from my many mistakes and doing extensive research, I know how to rebuild motors, do auto to manual swaps, and just about anything there is to know about cars.

to make things short, do your research, save up money, wait till you get your license, and buy yourself a car that you can drive and enjoy working on slowly. a project car isn't usually for a daily, and it cost tons of money so think hard about wat u are really doin before you do something you regret. nobody can tell you wat to do, these are just our opinions and experiences. im sure most of the members here has asked themself the same question that you are asking.

[Bigsyke]

Im pretty sure I would be driving a variant of lambo by now if I didnt get into modding/building cars.

Gone through about 8 exhausts,
12 intakes,
8 sets of wheels,
change my oil with amsoil on 3 cars every 3 months,
change the coolant on 3 cars with honda type II coolant every season,
changed everybolt on 2 cars with stainless or grade 10.9,
changed every possible gasket on 3 cars;
bla bla bla

id say $60k spent easy since I was 18, im 24 now. I was kicked out at 17, then a gracious stripper took me in. I worked tons of different jobs, then I landed a good company which paid me up the ass.

Now im having a blasty blast!

[MrSackles]

think about your future everything else can come in the future...

[S14Cuhh]

i js turned 16 when i bought my first s13..and i have no regrets...yet


educate urself well on it, and wait until you can drive to getta car. dont 'jump the gun'..i wish i wouldve looked at my car thoroughly before i was OK with its price.

goodluck to you

[S14Cuhh]

Originally Posted by Bigsyke

Im pretty sure I would be driving a variant of lambo by now if I didnt get into modding/building cars.

Gone through about 8 exhausts,
12 intakes,
8 sets of wheels,
change my oil with amsoil on 3 cars every 3 months,
change the coolant on 3 cars with honda type II coolant every season,
changed everybolt on 2 cars with stainless or grade 10.9,
changed every possible gasket on 3 cars;
bla bla bla

id say $60k spent easy since I was 18, im 24 now. I was kicked out at 17, then a gracious stripper took me in. I worked tons of different jobs, then I landed a good company which paid me up the ass.

Now im having a blasty blast!

do you regret your choice of getting into 240s and whatnot? cause for most its a choice of what gets you from point A to point B..but for most on zilvia its a sort of lifestyle

[Bigsyke]

Originally Posted by S14Cuhh

do you regret your choice of getting into 240s and whatnot? cause for most its a choice of what gets you from point A to point B..but for most on zilvia its a sort of lifestyle

Well I wish I never wasted money on honda/acura's.

If I could go back in time, id get/save for an s14;

Learn how to drive, keep it stock untill I could ensure anything I touch is easily replenished with a replacement.

I would take my sweet time with any replacement. Not do double projects. Not sway from one upgrade to the next durring upgrades untill im 100% satisfied its factory OE Quality if not better, bitch

Change out a bolt? soak that slut in pbblaster for hours.

Study the FSM so I can give a sermon on wiring in 6 different languages

[Teambadrun]

I say get into it.

Start drifting once the car is ready and you are eligible to drift.


Althou you will waste allot of money

[soreballz]

14/15? You should be concentrating on building a sick BMX bike, not a car. lol

Fly Tierra with a bunch of Animal and Shadow Conspiracy parts, perhaps? lol

[SR240DET]

what will the purpose of this car be? I mean why build one? If you going to do any racing, drifting, or whatever then you need to get to know your car, and upgrade the parts you need as your driving skills improve.

If your just going to build one just because, then your going to ask your self when you get older why you wasted your time.

[turbo_dreams]

If cars are all you think about day and night and you work hard to get whered you want, do it. i got my First s13 on aug 10th, 2005, after working all summer and saving $800, was 2 days before my 16th bday. I'm 18 now and am on my 5th or 6th s13 which is a mid 13 sec ka-t that i worked all senior year to build+boost, and i don't regret it one bit, this winter im trying to save 4k for body/paint, and im sure it'll be worth every penny, because that's how much i love her. Pardon me while i go get intamete w/ my chucki.

[Ricks15]

Focus on fuckin school instead!!! Not on fucken 240SX project cars.

[Teddy]

I got my first S13 when I was 15, and since then I've had 5 cars, 4 of them were S13s. I'm now 17.

[ayuaddict]

i got my first S13 when i was 15.

im pretty content with my life.

[mikethebiker]

Originally Posted by soreballz

14/15? You should be concentrating on building a sick BMX bike, not a car. lol

Fly Tierra with a bunch of Animal and Shadow Conspiracy parts, perhaps? lol

i got my first fit frame when i was thirteen
I now have the sickest ass bmx bike i could ever want, and it is definitely worth more than my S13, and has done a lot more for me than this gay ass car i like.

build a bike dude
ps animal is gay, odyssey is a lot better

[mikethebiker]

oh yeah, get off the internet. get into the sun. go kiss girls and sled in the snow, eat all moms food and get into fights in middle school. jump your bike and scrape up your knees, play video games and stay up past midnight. make friends and blow stuff up, play with legos and fucking DO stuff.
i would seriously give anything to be 13 again. kids these days

[ILoveMyRHS13]

It's not easy. My suggestion, at this age, spend your money on other fun things, like going out with friends and socializing. I'm 17 and I'd much rather put money into having fun than into my 240 right now. It's not just because I don't want to, it's the fact that I don't have a whole lot of money, so I don't want it all going to my car.

[Antihero983]

lol @ people saying it's not a hobby for people his age...

When do you think alot of our predecessors got into cars, like the old hot rodders and whatnot? Exactly.

Fuck Chip Foose was designing shit for cars at like 9 years old.

If you have the passion, go for it. But remember, like any hobby or passion, it won't always go smoothly and you have to keep your wits about you.

And besides, if you start now, you can take all the time in the world to get the car exactly how YOU want it to be.

I say go for it kid, I'm sure you'll do fine.

[lilredstiffy]

God this thread is a sea of regrets. Some of you guys need to find hobbies you actually LIKE.

I'd say get whatever car you want/can afford. Its your life. A 240sx is a really fun car, but keep in mind most will not be in great shape these days. They are getting old. So expect dumb things to break or need to be replaced.


The only feeling I have from being a little older-
If I had a son I would make sure he drove a real piece of shit from age 15-18ish. Teenagers make real crap decisions and do not need anything that has more than 100whp and less than 4 wheels. Getting a sporty car, the odds are very likely it will be totalled / tickets will be collected. You can always get a car when you 'grow up' and have way more cash flow and sense.

[BustedS13]

Originally Posted by 1994Boy

I want to keep it NA just because I dont want something I cant handle.

it sounds like you're actually on the right path.

don't drift. learn to drive. leave the car completely stock. do not rice it out, you will look stupid. good luck

[neverrain]

Originally Posted by lilredstiffy

God this thread is a sea of regrets. Some of you guys need to find hobbies you actually LIKE.

I'm more concerned with how many people here are saying they have gone through 3+ in 2-5 years. WTF. Do you guys fail at driving? How did you crash so many of these things?

[FaLKoN240]

Originally Posted by neverrain

I'm more concerned with how many people here are saying they have gone through 3+ in 2-5 years. WTF. Do you guys fail at driving? How did you crash so many of these things?

I sold my first one because the chassis was tired and looked like it. (Lots of first accidents in that POS. Learned a lot though)

Second one I bought was a rusted out POS. I don't even count that car really.

Third car was my favorite, pride and joy black on black. Some asshole hit it while it was parked after racing GoKarts at my work.

I swapped all the parts out of that one and put them into my red car over the course of 6 months (Lost motivation)

Forth car, red car in my sig. KA-T now, its cool, but the S Chassis scene has diminished to such a shit hole in California I don't really want to be apart of it anymore.

[crzycav86]

if you have any big plans for your future, drifting will ruin your life.

interpret that however you want, and i think a lot of people here will agree.

[LA_phantom_240]

Originally Posted by racepar1

Cars are not a hobby for a 14 or 15 year old kid. The amount of time, money, and dedication it takes to build a car that is worth building is astronomical. If you want a 240, save up and buy one for your first car, but don't plan on building it right away. Just get some shocks, springs, wheels, and tires. Any aspirations you have towards taking the car farther than that should not be taken seriously at your age. In all likelyhood you will wreck your first car anyways, so I wouldn't be very eager to dump a bunch of money into it untill you know how to drive it. Take it slow man, don't just jump right into it. Get a clean car to start with and slowly work your way up from there.

Gasp! No "COILOVERS OR BAN!!" wisdom, like others give?

lol just messin with ya.

Like Racepar1 said, you can get a 240 and it will be fine and dandy but if you're in the mindset that you're going to build a badass daily driver... I have to say you're wrong. My first car was an S13 LE, lowered it on springs, got the basic mods. Ended up jumping time and I gave up on it a year after because I was just too young to make the kind of money to make anything of the car, being in school and all...

So far I've owned 4 240's, only one of which being an s14. I would say the S14 is a better car to start with than the S13, solely because of your age and the car's age. There are less problems with the S14 than the S13, but I think its just an age thing.... Give it a couple years and S14s will be shitting out on a regular basis. The 240sx is a great car to start with as long as you take your time and buy one which has been taken care of halfway decently so you don't have gremlin after gremlin like I'm having lol. The KA is a hard motor to kill as long as you keep up on maintenance.

[LA_phantom_240]

Originally Posted by BustedS13

it sounds like you're actually on the right path.

don't drift. learn to drive. leave the car completely stock. do not rice it out, you will look stupid. good luck

Meh... I say get rid of the 4x4 gap, get decent wheels... and you're golden.

[BustedS13]

Originally Posted by LA_phantom_240

Meh... I say get rid of the 4x4 gap, get decent wheels... and you're golden.

i feel a 16 year old shouldn't really be concerning himself with rimzzz... much less a 14/15 year old -_-

[LA_phantom_240]

Originally Posted by BustedS13

i feel a 16 year old shouldn't really be concerning himself with rimzzz... much less a 14/15 year old -_-

I agree... but for the sake of the 240 community, massive spacers are needed at the very least.

[BustedS13]

Originally Posted by LA_phantom_240

I agree... but for the sake of the 240 community, massive spacers are needed at the very least.

we should start a paypal fund. get him some sparkle paint and some toys for his tow hook.

[S14DB]

Originally Posted by lilredstiffy

God this thread is a sea of regrets. Some of you guys need to find hobbies you actually LIKE.

I'd say get whatever car you want/can afford. Its your life. A 240sx is a really fun car, but keep in mind most will not be in great shape these days. They are getting old. So expect dumb things to break or need to be replaced.


The only feeling I have from being a little older-
If I had a son I would make sure he drove a real piece of shit from age 15-18ish. Teenagers make real crap decisions and do not need anything that has more than 100whp and less than 4 wheels. Getting a sporty car, the odds are very likely it will be totaled / tickets will be collected. You can always get a car when you 'grow up' and have way more cash flow and sense.

I could not agree more with these points. Even more that I don't have to type them out.

[Edgar]

I see join dates, I see comments and this reminds me why I barely come and read anything on Zilvia.