Mikester's Fun-mobile~

[Mikester]

Hey everbody. My name is Mike; I've been trolling here for a few yrs... and decided to post my last few yrs work. If any of y'all were in Okinawa between 2005 & 2008, and into cars; you may remember my old 180SX that I built up from fairly stock form:




^^That's not me lol... She was a friend of mine who wanted to pose with it for a swimsuit calendar.

ANYWAY... When it came time for me to leave, I packed up just about everything from the FMIC to the tailpipe & brought it back to the states and sold the body.

My dream has been to reicarnate that car in LHD form; so in 2009, I flew down to Dallas for a nice, rust-free car to bring up to St Louis and get to work on.

Here it is (was lol):




First order of business was to rip apart the interior and redo it. So I tore it all out, cleaned and/or repainted everything; then added sound deadener.











Then put it all back together nice & clean with:


- R33 seats
- Kouki 180SX rear seat
- New [to me] dash
- New OEM speaker grills & shift boot
- New Essex carpet
- Nismo floor mats
- New headliner w/fixtures & visors dyed to match the darker shade of grey
- New power window switches
- hydrographic carbon map light
- New Canadian-spec A & lower B pillar side panels
- 180SX seat belts & upper B-pillar panels
- LED dome
- 180SX cluster
- 180SX digital climate control
- Painted glove box door (graphite)
- carbon scuff plates
- Razo carbon pedals
- Momo wheel
- Kenwood Excelon deck w/Pyle Red label speakers, 320w amp & Kicker Impusle 15" sub
- carbon C-pillar bar
- Cusco carbon rear tower brace
- GT Spec trunk cross brace

Looks & smells lie a whole new car in there lol!














- There are still a few things left to do to the interior, but it's SO much nicer than it was... and there were a lot of other things I did to it as well, but I am trying to keep the narrative short.

In between some the above work, I did a 1yr stint in Afghanitraz. While there, I bought a whole bunch more stuff for it on top of what I brought home from Okinawa. When I got back 8 months ago, I did some other prep work & started on the rear underbody portion of the build...


- Completely redid fuel tank (cleaned, undercoated/repainted)
- Summit -6AN braided fuel lines
- Walbro 255 h.p. pump
- Deleted evap system
- Undercoated entire underside & rear fenderwells with Herculiner
- Had rear member, sway bar, spindles, lateral supports & LCA's powder coated
- Moog ball joints
- Energy urethane subframe bushings
- RS-R urethane main bushings
- R32 GT-R rear brake/5-lug swap
- 300ZX (2+2) ebrake cables / extension brackets
- Ray's Volk Racing GT-C wheels 17 x 9 +13 / Nitto 555R 275/40/ZR17 drag radials
- HKS Hipermax Performer coils
- Drift-Spec RUCA/toe control rods
- GT-Spec lower tie brace
- 180SX VLSD
- Driveshaft Shop Alum driveshaft






















Then I got started on the front underbody prep









Aside from all of that, I did a bunch of other prep-type stuff done while waiting for the front stuff to get back from powder coat... Like the tranny lol!


- CA18DET tranny w/SR bell housing
- Cusco baffled center plate
- HKS return springs
- Nismo pivot ball
- C's short shift
- Circuit Sports urethane mount





Sent the manifold to Jet-Hot- very happy with the turnout=)




Looks damn near new- I beat the piss out of it in Okinawa for 2+yrs.


FReddy intake... Got it free:





Sent it to St Louis Plating for polish:




Cleaned 20 yrs worth of shit out from behind the old tails & garnishes... Slapped the new setup in




Continued front prep
















^^Had the rear cut up to the body line & pinch-welded in prep for overfenders.




DIF/Tokico Z32 MC



Now that it finally had brakes again; and good ones at that, it was time to to drive it...



Felt like a whole new, yet underpowered car!!! LOVE the URA's tails~

Picked up the motor from the builder (Adrenaline Motorsports, St Peters, MO)


Very happy with their work~






Typical machine work (hone, tank, deck, polish crank, line bore etc), all new [OEM] bearings, thrust washers, gaskets yadda yadda...

PLUS some other stuff:

- Wiseco 86.5mm forged pistons (9.0:1)
- Eagle rods (kit comes with ARP HW)
- ARP main studs
- ARP head studs
- BC valve springs/retainers
- Tomei solid lifters
- Tomei 260* solid-type Procams
- Powder coated crank pulley & bracketing
- Billet blue CAS cover
- Nismo ratchet-style oil cap
- Tomei Super oil block
- Tomei oil pan






^^Mmmm sexy~

It was time to my buddy's shop to toss the KA, start building up the SR and get the engine bay ready for paint... so I got some stuff ready for it.















Pulled in and went to town:







Bay is ready to stage the engine in to cut the holes for the piping:

[Mikester]

LOL too many pics- Had to break this up into 2 posts

Just about done building up the longblock. It's been a lot of fun so far. The biggest challenge at the moment is finding time to go to the shop to press on... Between me & the guy w/the shop; our time is pretty limited. Here are the highlights:

Freshly unwrapped after fresh rebuild:







This car is being built to keep for the next 20-30 yrs and for fun (not just the track); so I can't live without A/C. CodyAce compressor adapter was just what the doctor ordered Fit was perfect and the workmanship is second to none. Ended up painting it black later to blend in & keep it from rusting.



Didn't have an S14 water neck handy; so I got this to delete the coolant return behind the block/head...



Moving right along...













Motor is pretty much together... Just waiting on a couple more odds/ends to finish up the new intake mani setup. Also contemplating fabbing up a support bracket for it.







Staged it in to measure out where we're gonna cut the holes for the piping. First time my SR has been in an engine bay since Feb-Mar 2008. Even tho it has to come right back out to finish the prep/paint; I am BEYOND excited~



Hoping to have the bay painted & motor in & tuned in the next 2-3 wks... but if it takes longer, I don't care. Since I plan to keep the car forever, my focus is on quality, not on time

Thanks for checking this out. Any/all feedback, tips tricks & advice welcome!

--Mike

[Hoffman5982]

Very nice. I'm interested to see what kind of power you make with the m8270

[STL240SXDRIFT]

AWESOME! So many killer parts. Love to see this type of built in STL. Can't wait to see this thing around town.

[rednissan180]

lookin awesome man, what brand undercoating did you use?

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by Hoffman5982

Very nice. I'm interested to see what kind of power you make with the m8270

Thank you~

Me too! My last turbine ran out of breath about the 380rwhp mark; so I am keeping it for a spare I am hoping for 400 - 420 at the wheels with this one & the supporting mods I chose. I will be happy [for now] with anything 400 or above~

Will post the numbers when I get them... Hopefully in the next 3-4wks.

Originally Posted by STL240SXDRIFT

AWESOME! So many killer parts. Love to see this type of built in STL. Can't wait to see this thing around town.

Thanks dude! I will be bringing it to Midnight Madnesses out at Gateway next season, and hopefully by spring/summer it will be out & about frequently on the nice days.

Originally Posted by rednissan180

lookin awesome man, what brand undercoating did you use?

Thank you very much!!!

I used Herculiner brush-on truck bedliner. $30 a can, but worth it since I am building this car to last as long as possible.

[future]

This is a dope ass build

[Bmxer300zx]

this build has no attention to detail....
wait i kidd, i kidd
lol dope project man def sparing no expense

[jr_ss]

Looks pretty damn good sir. I cringed when I saw that you cut the rear fenders though, that always disappoints me.

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by future

This is a dope ass build

Originally Posted by Bmxer300zx

this build has no attention to detail....
wait i kidd, i kidd
lol dope project man def sparing no expense

Thank you guys! I am trying to do it right... or at least as "right" as possible. I feel very lucky because the guy I am working with to get it ready for run-up/tune works as a fabricator for a race car company here in the metro area- Without his expertise, this portion of the build wouldn't be nearly as far along as it is; nor would I have ever had the cajones to to DIY the paint prep in the bay to this level.

Originally Posted by jr_ss

Looks pretty damn good sir. I cringed when I saw that you cut the rear fenders though, that always disappoints me.

Thank you very much- I have been trolling your build for ideas; and I very much appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge/experience with me. Please feel free to interject if you see something that I could do smarter or better... or if you have any ideas whatsoever, good sir~

BTW, I am not a huge fan of cutting the rear fenders either; but there are only 'so many' things a guy can do to fit 275's in the rear with a +13 offset wheel and decent ride height. Once the overfenders go on, it will look pretty good methinks.

Will update again when the bay is prepped & primed...

**Again, I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I welcome any/all feedback, critiques etc.

Thanks everyone for the kind words so far

[dreamin240sx]

fucking looks sick as fuck!!!

[ForeignMuscle]

I hate it Mikester!!

Just kiddin' bud. Glad you decided to show it to the Zilvians. I'm ready to see this ride tearing up the streets.

(This is Ketchup from 240sxf btw)

[stylo1]

Mike, Its insane how precise you are with everything. Respect sir.

[Draggin A$$]

Looking good Mike!

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by dreamin240sx

fucking looks sick as fuck!!!

Fuckin thanks! I'm fucking stoked as fuck!

Originally Posted by ForeignMuscle

I hate it Mikester!!

Just kiddin' bud. Glad you decided to show it to the Zilvians. I'm ready to see this ride tearing up the streets.

(This is Ketchup from 240sxf btw)

Yo whats up dude!!! Thanks- I can't wait either~ Will definitely be contacting you or 4x4le & trolling your builds for advice here & there!

Originally Posted by stylo1

Mike, Its insane how precise you are with everything. Respect sir.

Thanks Steven- You will get to drive it next year as long as you promise to keep the fronts & rears on the same line

Originally Posted by Draggin A$$

Looking good Mike!

Domo!

Well, the BAMF helping me with this got the holes cut for the IC piping- everything came out GREAT- of course I FAILED by not taking any pics of his awesome work... it looked really good with the motor staged in and the piping all connected.

Aside from that, used a heat gun & angle grinder to adapt the USDM S13 pillar pod to the Canadian A-pillar. Came out pretty good:



Going back to work on it some more Tuesday evening. Thanks again everyone!

[Mikester]

More minor progress last night. Installed S14 throttle pulley, fitting for the brake booster behind the intake, sensors on oil block & gauges in the pod. My time has been limited... nose in books- got a great chance of getting promoted this time around.










^^ That pic didn't look blurry on my phone lol. Been so long since I packed them, I didn't realize the Defis are 60mm, not 52... Had to grind a bit on the pod to get them to fit... and of course finding an LHD pillar pod for 60's is next to impossible; so it all worked out.

Andy did some fiberglass work in the wheel well/engine bay where he removed a bracket that is no longer needed- of course I FAILED to take a pic (facepalm).

The last bit of hose to finish out the under-intake coolant setup should be here in a couple days... The motor should be ready for drop-in & the the bay prep/prime will begin on Tuesday.

It's going slow... but at least it's going lol- which is all that matters. I start a 2 week reprieve from work this weekend; but I need to spend the majority of my time studying... 10 days after I test, my little ones get here for Christmas- nothing to do with the car, but I am nonetheless STOKED

[andrew600]

woooooooh!!!!!!!! looking good mike.

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by andrew600

woooooooh!!!!!!!! looking good mike.

Thanks Andy! Definitely excited seeing it come together little by little.

[future]

What does the BMC stopper thing do?

[ghoti]

Originally Posted by future

What does the BMC stopper thing do?

Might be the same use as Miatas. Gives a better brake feel by decreasing firewall flex when pressing the brake pedal

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by ghoti

Gives a better brake feel by decreasing firewall flex when pressing the brake pedal

^^Yup.

Plugged throttle body coolant ports with 5/16" vacuum caps, high temp RTV & clamps.




Engine bay holes are cut, seam sealer in.



Andy fabbed us up a dolly so we can get everything else outta there for primer/paint. Works like a champ! I am very lucky to have that kid's skills handy~




Hoping to at least have the bay primed by the end opf the weekend...

[PG BOOSTED]

clean. what bodykit are you going to run? type X will look good i think.

[Driftwurks]

It looks like you put a lot of planning and thought into this build and it shows. I like what i've seen thus far.

[tricky_ab]

I can't wait to see what that turbo can do. FINALLY someone who actually owns one can comment on it

Build is looking good so far!

[PG BOOSTED]

Originally Posted by tricky_ab

I can't wait to see what that turbo can do. FINALLY someone who actually owns one can comment on it

agreed. i heard its suppose to spool strong and quick. cant wait to see the numbers on it.

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by PG BOOSTED

clean. what bodykit are you going to run? type X will look good i think.

Meh, after 6yrs of living in Japan, I've seen way too much Type-X aero... but it does look vbery classy. I am however, going to run a Type-X spoiler. As far as the kit goes, I'd like to keep it to myself for now... but it will be here in a few more weeks- I will post a pic of the mock-up

Should have the widebody, kit & paint done by Apr/May... I hope at least... Right now just trying to concentrate on getting the prep done and the motor in & tuned.

Originally Posted by Driftwurks

It looks like you put a lot of planning and thought into this build and it shows. I like what i've seen thus far.

Thank you very much=) Been waiting to do this since March 2008... so at this point I am trying my very best for quality vs. throwing it together in a hurry. It feels really good to be making progress; even if it's slow.

Originally Posted by tricky_ab

I can't wait to see what that turbo can do. FINALLY someone who actually owns one can comment on it

Build is looking good so far!

Thank you!

Me niether I hope it will perform similar to what Tomei posted. Not running SR22, but with the 260's & other stuff, it should be close.

Originally Posted by PG BOOSTED

agreed. i heard its suppose to spool strong and quick. cant wait to see the numbers on it.

Boostin IX runs the M7960. He's making something like 349rwhp and says the spool is amazing... His tuner said with the 8270 I can expect 400-420... which is all I want... But I'll take less in the name of a fatter power band. I will definitely post the sheet as soon as I get it. I was a little hesitant at first when I read the "ARMS boost creep" thread; but hearing Boostin's first-hand experience made me feel much better about the purchase.

Thanks everyone~

[drscooper]

wow this build is great! great parts cant wait to see more done! subed forsure

[TallguyBoost]

Absolutely excellent work. You're building a brand new car! Keep up the good work and the documentation.

[Mikester]

Originally Posted by drscooper

wow this build is great! great parts cant wait to see more done! subed forsure

Originally Posted by TallguyBoost

Absolutely excellent work. You're building a brand new car! Keep up the good work and the documentation.

Thank you; I really appreciate it guys~

Today's progress-

- motor is finished & ready to go in. No need for pics; looks the same... just fitted the last couple coolant lines under the intake.

- dropped power brace, front member etc... tomorrow or Tuesday gonna start cleaning/moving pieces onto the member I had powder coated:






- Started cleaning/scuffing it for primer:



- Finished up the undercoat in the tranny tunnel & under the new plates. Herculiner is a MESS to work with for this application, but it's durable as hell; and even stood up when the new metal was being welded in right next to it!




AND here is how she currently sits; awaiting final cleanup, acetone & primer:

[Mikester]

So last night we filled in some seams & stuff, taped off the majority of the holes & riveted in an extra firewall grommet.










Other than that, cleaned all the dust out of the bay. Hope to get a coat of primer on it tomorrow evening.