Suprareal's Proper Silvia Conversion Build

[Suprareal]

This thread will Showcase progress photos of my 2nd current S13 build.
93' 240sx converted to a "true" Silvia, meaning RHD, Front end swap, and SR.
And will include tips on how to successfully convert for people who might need the help.
This build is Visual oriented VS my track hatch build found here : http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=487054

Current as of 2/1/20




Let’s start this off
When I first bought the car as a shell for 200$. With no real intentions of what I’d do with it.



Started the Firewall swap first. I did this the most "legit" way you can possibly do a firewall swap. I say this because there's no real way to be completely proper about this.
Every single spot weld was drilled out and welded back up. This includes the JDM wiper/cowl section that people often dont bother doing while swapping.
If you choose to include the cowl in your swap you will loose your original stamped vin number so make sure you keep the old firewall piece if you plan to make in legal.







Make sure to seam seal your welds and creases making sure they wont leak. I through on some paint for rust.
Keep in mind the e brake bracket will need to be removed and retrofitted if you did not have the JDM one like me. I was able to cut the old one up and use it with the USDM handle.






Here is a mockup making sure everything still fits good



For wiring I am using the JDM body harness from a RPS13 so I needed to rip some wires out that i would not be using and connect to my tail light harness. This can vary from what car your clip was cut from and what shell you are converting.
If you plan to keep the auto seat belts you will have to wire them in yourself as the JDM s13 never came with them but a airbag instead. As for me i ditched the auto belts for s14 belts.



Since this is a visual build i did a tuck and threw all the wiring under the dash. The vent housings are not compromised by this, everything still sits where it should. The fuse boxes sit in the glove box via a tab welded to the dash bar. The glovebox has to be cut in order for it to close as you can see.





I welded 2 bolts to the dash bar to connect my grounds to.




I cant finish the wire tuck completely until i have the motor in place so i can cut to fit the engine harness so I started on the tubs. This is my second time doing tubs and was done in less than 3 days work by myself with essentially just a angle grinder and welder. If this is your first time don't be scared to jump on this project. I used 1 10'' trailer fender cut in half with sheets of 16GA scrap. Cardboard templates are all you need to get started.



If this is your first time doing this or new to welding... take the time to make all your ends sit as flush as possible in order to get the best weld.
If your OCD like me you can level out your car on jack stands so you are able to keep your tubs level and identical on both sides.






You can run small tacks around all of the seams and it will probably be strong enough but my preference is to run short beads around. Unlike my tubs in my Hatch these will be seam sealed for a cleaner look.







If your tubbing your going to end up stitching the towers, again I don't like the looks of small tacks running around so i did small beads again.
I decided to plate off the front of the frame wells as well as they will later be used for bash bar supports.