Boost leak

Now, as you all know, I drive my S14 finally on the road :)

And I don't regret anything :D

So far I put a good few miles on the clock and within 8 days I got pulled by the Guards once.
Not too bad, I thought it would be worse.

I've earned many funny and interested looks + racing invites.

Let me tell you one thing....if a "race car" doesn't want to race you, it doesn't mean the driver doesn't want to race.
Maybe the driver tries to save a few quid on the daily trip to work or....something is wrong with the car and a race wouldn't help much.

In my case it would have been both cases but more the 2nd one.


But not to worry!
I started to notice a slight difference while trying to speed up and go into high revs.
I quickly discovered that there must be a boost leak somewhere and then the funniest thing happened.

Today I went for NCT to check and see what is left to do.
Since I studied the NCT manual a good few times, I knew what she would fail on, since I havent had enough time to fix it all (focusing headlights, reverse light not working, wheel alignment, emissions, and small stuff).

The funny thing is, that the elderly NCT mechanic, didn't fail me on the boot lock (which is cable tied down as its broken) and the 2 front tyres who have no E mark on. All 4 tyres are as good as new though.

Anyway. In the end she only failed on what I was expecting, so no bad surprises or anything.
I also have most of the stuff almost sorted and just need to order a few things to finish her and make her ready for NCT.

But coming back to the boost leak.
Funnily enough, when I wanted to drive the car after the NCT test, she suddenly would not idle and put out lots of dark smoke.
I was horrified as I had to go to work right afterwards. and was nicely dressed for it and all.

Thank god I got my cute little "emergency" tool box the week before with all the essentials in it in case of the case.

I was able to improve the leak a little, and was able to see why i had it at all.
The silicon pipe-connection thing between the turbo outlet (not sure if its called like that) and the pipe was melting besides the manifold.
Therefore it started to blow up around the edges and caused the leak.

At home (after I made it to work and safely back home) I took everything off and was able to properly fix it and put it back on.
Now she runs and idles smooth like a baby again :)

I somehow really like when stuff doesn't fully work, makes me look into it more and creates a better understanding for the car.

Yaaaay.

She is back!!!!!!!

Today I'm finally having a bit of time to actually sit down and write a little bit.
Where do I begin?

I pretty much kept this updated, so as you know i first had the problem that she wasn't running. My internet research brought me to the topic : Coilovers and wiring but in the end it was only a small issue which i got sorted with Barts help (JDM Garage).
The wires and plug going into the CAS sensor were not in a good condition so we quick-fixed it but i will get that stuff replaced.

She was running…., I serviced her and she ran smooooooth as a baby. The oil that came out was surprisingly alright, which makes me belief the engine is in a good overall condition. I will get a compression test done as well to see what the story is.

A few days, before she was supposed to be out, i checked the lights and bulbs. as it was the easiest thing to do, i thought i do that at the end and assumed all was working, but how wrong I was haha.

the only lights working were headlights, break lights and front indicators.
That kinda put pressure onto me as i wanted her out and no way i drive without tail lights in the dark.
and to have working indicators would be nice too :D

after talking to a few people and going through my 800+ manual (which by now i know pretty well ha) I came to the conclusion it must be the wires or fuses again.

Honestly, electronics wreck my head!!! that's something i don't like to do at all.
I then ended up checking all the fuses, even replacing some (in case they were blown but it wasn't visible).
following all the wires in the car and searching for all the earth/grounding wires.

it was such a pain, because nothing of that helped solving the problem. But at least i know now a lot more about my car, and that is my goal. Knowing EVERY single bolt and just EVERYTHING of my beloved S14 :)

The whole "lights-not-working" thing seriously frustrated me. The first time since i own this car…i was close to just cry haha

Anyway.

Bart came to the rescue again and just as i thought…it was something simple and stupid.

Problem fixed so!

The reverse lights are still not working but i will solve that soon due NCT coming up.


Right,so Thursday (that's when i got my tax disc) came up and what was left to do was the seats and carpet.

The carpet is a different story now as I customize my own carpet.
Since it turned out to be way more difficult to put the seat rails on the Sparco Seats, we left it and I took off the rail from my own Recaro seat (that was in the S13 now) and put back on my own Recaro s14 rail to fit it back into Nessy.

That took us until 1 o clock in the morning, but it was done and I decided: fuck it,why not driving her home now and see what happens.
I had my tax disc already and insurance is sorted, NCT booked so the only thing now left was the test drive.

The test drive went all well (took it very handy), besides the pulling to the left. im not too worried about it, wheel alignment will be done shortly!

Around 2am my other half and myself left the unit and funnily enough we met guards who pulled up besides us at the roundabout.
not suspicious at all  to find 2 modified and race-car-ish cars around that time on the road. hahahaha

all was fine though and i made it home without a problem.

Friday evening i joined a few buddies to come down to barts garage for a dyno run.
I didn't want to get a dyno done in the first placed but quickly changed my mind about it.

After sorting another small issue, she was ready to go.

I was a bit disappointed by the results but was told it could be, that the dyno itself wasn't set up properly.
It made 225 HP, i was expecting at least around 235.
Anyway, nothing broke and i got great advise and help again, so all is well now.

In the beginning when i started driving her on the road, i was a bit wary and afraid something could break as she was parked up for a while but since the dyno run im more confident about her and she simply feels great.

ive noticed a small issue tho, but i will get to that another time. it doesn't affect the daily driving but i must look into it.


So the next thing(s) to do:

Prepare her for NCT
Get rails for the seats sorted
finish interior, even tho this will be some kind of "long term project"
get new coil packs (somehow i just want new ones haha)

and

ENJOYING THE RIDE
:D

Bodykit sprayed!

The weekend was very productive and besides the fact that Nessy is not running yet, I am very happy

After weeks and weeks trying to find a painter or get decent prices on getting the bodykit sprayed, I decided to do it on my own.
Our buddy who is renting the unit with us is into spraying and currently building a spray-boot.
Even though the boot is not ready yet, I got the paint and everything else and with help and a bit of advice I started to spray the bodykit on my own.
Note to myself: DONT FORGET THE MASK. Man was I high after the primer was on. haha

Besides the preparation (I wasnt too much into details as I was just sick of the filler haha and it will be only a temporary solution anyway), it turned out pretty well.

Especially if you consider the conditions (no heater, big shed, cheap spray gun).
So the bodykit is finished

Tomorrow I will have up a fella (whos known here :P) who will come and have a look at Nessy to check out what the spark-issue is.
I did lots of research in the meantime and got a good few tips (thanks to everyone at this stage!!), but I don't have time to experiment, so I need it properly done....QUICK haha

Only 6 days left until Nessy is back on the road!!!


Whats left to do:
If I don't look at "NCT" stuff that I have to get done also, it is only the interior now (and of course get her running).
Putting in seats, harness, dashboard and carpet.

The preparation for NCT is another story but I decided I take care of it later.....

TLC for brake calipers and wheels :)

Due a slight change of plans for the weekend, I had more time on my hands and decided to spend my free hours in the unit.

Something that bothered me always since I have the 14 are those ugly looking (pink) brake calipers.
Even though I am a girl, I hate pink. Especially on cars haha.

What I finally managed to do, was to respray the calipers! YaaaaaY.
Might even post a tutorial again :)

Since the wheel was off to while spraying each caliper, I decided to give them a good wash and a bit of TLC too.

Even though it looks very nice in the "after" picture, but the wheels definitely need to be  and resprayed at some point. I got them with lots of marks, but it never bothered me so far.

Anyway, that's today's pictures :)

new goodies!

I haven't posted much lately, but I can assure you that a lot is going on.

My S14 will be on the road in 4 weeks, and as you can imagine, I cant wait!!

I got more goodies for her to make her running aaaaaaall smoth and healthy.

There was no mechanically issue since I owe her (besides replacing the starter), and to make sure it continues that way, I got a bit off stuff to freshen up the engine.

The only thing missing in the picture is the air filter.

As you can see I got oil, an oil filter, engine flush, spark plugs and also an upgraded gasket (from Nissan directly) to make sure all sits tight and works fine.

Keep an eye out, more updates will follow shortly :)

Superdrift aftermath

 Just a quick update on whats going on lately here :)

The last week or so was focused on getting our new missile car (S13 200sx) ready for a practice day.
We heard a bit of negative talking about the CA 1.8 engine but thankfully none of that was true and the car performed extremely well.
The only modification engine-wise is an air-filter :D
She sits on coilovers now, is fully stripped and pulls so easily.
The new hydro handbreak we got, wasn't fitted, but the standard handbrake was surprisingly good anyway.

Denis and myself shared the car throughout the day, so I got about 5-10 laps every 2nd hour to practice.
I found it a bit difficult after we played around with the PSI in the back tyres but with the help of Alan (maaaaaassssive thanks to him!) we adjusted the camber and toe arms + the right PSI for the car and its set up.
Would have taken us way longer without his help and knowledge!

Anyway, speaking of only myself, I found my own performance very poor most of the time and was very disappointed. I wasnt out on the track for over a year now and felt like I forgot everything :O

 But luckily there was an open pit session on later that day, which meant that everybody could go out on track and drive as long we wanted to.

The fact that I was out on track for an full hour (and barely any spectators left) helped me a lot and with every lap, I managed to improve a lot.
I also got a very good feeling for the car now, im happy :)

The car is in good nick (besides a few lil damages) and the next track day is already planned!!!

there will be waaaaay more drift-updates now! :)

S13 200sx Doorcard removal- Tutorial

I always find it cool, if people show other people how they work on their cars and document their steps with lots of pictures.
I'm personally more of a "graphic-oriented" guy, so for me that really helps.

Taking off the doorcard of the S13 wasn't a big deal, as I'm somehow the one who is good with taking off doorcards in the unit haha.

But I thought I might also create a tutorial for people who have no idea yet. Because everybody has to start somewhere!

Hope this helps someone :)

Doorcard removal:

(note this is a left-hand drive car)

This is the doorcard before I took it off. In the top right corner you can see already a screw which I took off first.

After I took off the first screw, I started to gently (but firmly) take off the plastic border around the door handle.
Looks like that:

 

The next screw is a hidden one :) Have a look at the picture.

With a flat headed screw driver you can gently take off the plastic cover over the screw (cover placed left ) and take this screw off as well.

 And thats all with the screws! How easy!

You can now start to pull off the doorcard. You can be a bit forceful but try do to it with a bit of feeling as well.

I started to grab the corner, where I took off the first screw and started pulling off the doorcard from one corner to the other.

There is some plastic-clips inside who hold the doorcard in place (and make the pulling such a hassle). 

 

Be careful before you fully take the doorcard away (after it came off), because the electrical windows are connected to some wires (of course). Looks like that: 

And that's the door without the doorcard! :)

If you look at the passenger side door, you can find this fella:

Simply unscrew it try to take it off. But it is actually tricky! You will see why in the next picture!

So in order to take that handle off, twist it around until you can snap it out of the attachment.


The passenger side doorcard is besides the handle, the exact same procedure :)

Hope this helps!