My project/build

[SinisterSntra91]

If you are a first time reader, before you continue reading, know that I never finished this project, I opted for a different chassis due to lack of interest, a new link to the new build will be posted.

Well I posted the start of my project a little while ago, it wasnt enough of a start for the moderators, so Ill try this again, here goes:

I picked up this S14 not to long ago, she was used and abused, but now its time for her to be restored. I got her off a guy on ebay, drove all the way to florida to pick her up and drug her ass back to ohio via my frontier. This is how she looked when I got her:




And here are some shots of the interior:



Im not a fan of the stock Zenki front end, so roaming ebay one day I found this, S15 Full metal and urethane (Just say no to fiberglass) Yeah I know boo but its what I like:

Silver housing projectors, from what I have heard they are rare...





I didnt plan on getting the conversion so soon but a deal just happend to pop up so I bought it up.

Well as you all know S15 fenders are not just a bolt on application, well they are but they arent, they line up with every bolt hole except for one the problem is where they meet the doors, it is slightly different, but different enough to where the ends have to be cut off each fender, swapped and welded back together. For those of you who want to know what is all involved in getting the real metal S15 fenders to fit, I took some pics and I will describe as best as I can.
First remove the S14 fenders from the car:

Then get your S15 fenders:

If you examine the fenders you will see that almost every bolt hole is the same as the S14 fender except for one. But this one bolt hole can be used you just have to drill a hole and run a bolt threw it.
Lower bolt hole comparrison:

Upper bolt hole comparrison:

One would think these fenders should bolt right on, but they dont. There is a slight difference in the shape of the doors and how high the fender goes up the A-pillar on the S15. Also the hood is wider on a S15, so if you bolt the S15 hood on with the S14 fenders the hood will overlap the fenders near the front. So the method to make these fit is either cut and weld, which will give you better durability and fit, or buy fiberglass conversion fenders which often dont fit right and crack from stress. Since I have had enough of fiberglass I paid the extra money for the metal OEM fenders. So here is my method on how I made the metal conversion happened. Using the points, (it comes to an actual point) where both fenders meet the A pillar and the lower bolt holes as reference points, I took masking tape and strung it from point to bolt holes in order to cut a straight line on a curved surface. I left about a half inch more than I needed on each section, so they will overlap. So the S14 fender is taped up like so:

Repeat the same process on the S15 fenders:

Now if you look at both fenders near the bottom you will notice the S14 fender curves in more radically than the S15 fender. So what I did is cut the S15 fender right above the lower body line. So the S15 fender will look like this once taped up and ready to cut:

Now using a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade cut both fenders along the tape edge, once finished they will look like so:

You can throw whats left of the S15 fender away, put whats left of the S14 fender to the side. Make sure the S15 hood is mounted to your vehicle, this will help in making sure the fenders properly line up with the body lines. Bolt both sections of the S15 fender and S14 fender to the car. Unfortunately my camera battery died at this point so all I can do is describe from this point. 3 out of 4 bolt holes on the S15 fender should line up on the dog house, the only one that does not lines up with a bolt hole that does not exist. Bolt the S14 fenders as it normally bolts up. The fenders should overlap eachother if they are cut right. Now this is where you need welding skills or someone who has welding skills. Paying attention to where the fenders line up with the car start from the top and tack weld the fenders together working your way down. Once you get to the point where you need the lower section of the S14 fender to complete the fender, Grab whats left of the S14 fender and hold it up to the fender on the car. Mark the fender on both sides. Using the masking tape, stretch a piece from point to point and cut. Make sure you leave enough to overlap on all sides again. Making sure you pay attention to the body lines once more. Take that section weld it up. Now remove the fender from the car, should look like this:

Here are some pics I have of the passenger side being done:
My buddy Mike working his magic:

Checking the welds:

The end result and how it looks on the car:




Take it to a good body man and have him smooth out the welds and fade in the sections and your good to go. My body lines did not line up which I am ok with, I hate body lines they will get shaved off my car. With a little more cutting and welding you can get the body lines to line up, so you can retain them. Do not I repeat DO NOT cut the fenders at the wheel arches and expect them to line up, S15 fenders are wider. You can cut the section off the fenders that go around the lights and swap them using the same welding method, But I opted for the wider S15 fenders, as I plan for wide body rear and I wanted to retain the turn signal lamps.
All I have to do now is cut out my S14 core support and weld in a S15 one. You can modify your existing S14 core support and finish the conversion after you rewire the headlights, but mine is bent all to hell on top and I want a cleaner factory look, so stay tuned for that install.
Hope that helps anyone who is pondering this conversion.

Got my fenders back from my grandpa and boy am I pleased/excited with the results, he added a high strength glue to them before he smoothed them out so they are extra sturdy. Fitment is awesome, here are some pics of the test fit:






Hmm some greddy goodness to compliment the front:

S15 Gracer Urethane lip, no fiberglass for this car, here is the test fit:

Flawless fitment And thats just sitting on the bumper, no screws!

Looks like this when painted:

Factory S15 fog lights, chyeah!

The power plant to be installed:

This is a motor out of a 05 Infiniti G35X, it had 28k on the od. I scored this off ebay for $400, yeah $400. But here is the catch it was damaged. The pictures werent real clear on the listing. So I took a chance, rolled the dice and came out on top. Turns out everything that was damaged is replaceable. And IF I were to purchase all the parts from the stealership it will run me $900 worse case scenario. I say worse case because I am not sure if this is the 300 hp motor, parts for that motor are more expensive. With the money I save it gives me a chance to build it a bit.
The good shots:


The bad:


The money shot in its transporter to the shop:

All in all the crank turns just fine it seems to have great compression, it just took a good licking to the outer components. I am happy, it was what I was wanting it to be.
Got the car to my shop and me and my brother started taking what will eventually be the beast apart. Here is some pics of the distruction:



My brother and I removing the body harness:

The biatch removed:

The result with the super low steering column: