Hey readers, check out this article from Super Street about how to set up a drift car. It features commentary from my guy, Bryan Rogers!
Help us find our beloved car hauler! It has one loose ramp and two compartments up front with a winch. Plate #4KY3472
My fellow kitties and I would appreciate any help!
With Tobias’ looks taken care of for the most part [there’s always stuff I hope to do some day (aero, new paint, bigger wheels, etc.)] it was time to take suspension more seriously. I had been doing a little research and talking to Bryan about what Tobias needed versus what we wanted. The steering wheel started shaking really bad as I was getting on the freeway everyday and I tried getting my wheels rebalanced to no avail so Bryan figured it was a suspension issue so it became more of a priority. As I was saving up for Tobias stuff, Christmas rolled around and put a small dent in my budget. Thankfully, Bryan came through with a series of Tobias themed Christmas presents!
My present consisted of super angle knuckle kit from DriftKnuckles.com and tie rods from Parts Shop Max and tie rod ends.
And lucky for me, I got free install by Bryan because he loves me and I love Tobias.
Here’s a few shots of the finished install.
I swear to you these pictures do not do justice to the angle I have when I flip a bitch out on the street! It’s the best thing ever! I can pull into any parking space or parallel park anywhere! Thanks to my love Bryan Rogers for making my other love Tobias even better!
Here is a pic of my other two loves, my fellow kitties:
The only thing missing to complete Tobias’ look was wheels! So thankfully, Bryan was able to lend me some wheels since I was pretty broke after buying all the little stuff he needed initially.
There are 15 inch BBS RS. 15s are small but they fit pretty well considering he is stock body. I think he looks really nice! Definitely a thousand times better than the day we brought him home!
Here’s a picture of the progress so far, before and after!
After I got new carpet, clean dash and painted my back seats black to match the last thing I needed was door panels. I still don’t know why Nissan decided the best colored cars needed green interior but who knows. Tobias’ had ripped up green door panels so I started looking for cleaner black ones. All the ones I found were going for outrageous prices so when I found clean green ones I researched how to paint vinyl interior. It seemed easy enough so I picked them up for $50.
Then we set about cleaning and painting them.
Bunny helped.
Finished product!
And here’s the link to video I used in case you’re fed up with your ugly colored interior too.
Restoring vinyl interior
After Bryan got Tobias mechanically sorted out, it was my turn to start the things in the car that I was able to do. I stripped interior of the s14 parts car to get a black dash and most of the black plastics. For whatever reason, Nissan decided back in 1995 that it would be really great if the green 240s had green interior. I really disagree. So then I had to strip the blue pieces out of Tobias and put the black pieces in. Here is a pic Bryan secretly took of me while I was working.
That same weekend, I washed, clay barred, and waxed Tobias to a like-new shine!
After the motor was sorted, Bryan worked on the suspension. When we bought the car, it felt like everything in the car was loose. At every stop, it seemed like the car wasn’t even bolted to the frame.
Bryan installed some Nismo tension rods to replace the old ones that were pretty blown out.
I also got a great deal on some coil overs for Tobias that I couldn’t pass up so Bryan took care of the install.
Today is the anniversary of my Nana’s birthday. She would have been 91 if she were alive. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her or talk about what she would have said or thought. I’m lucky in so many ways that I got to spend so much quality time with her when I was growing up.
Lately I’ve been thinking about how she used to tell me, “It’s easier on your back to push a pencil instead of a broom.” So with that, I stayed in school. I finished college even after she passed away and I almost had a mental break down. I finished like she wanted.
Now I work retail. The only line of work I could find after graduation and the only type I can find now that the economy is reportedly “picking up.” As a retail manager I’m responsible for every aspect of the store, no matter how minute it may seem. During a busy rush yesterday I was reminded of my Nana’s words while I swept up a disgusting mess from the floor of the restroom. I won’t get into the details but there are things that people do in bathrooms that should never be seen by another’s eyes and yet people leave their mess so openly on the floor rather than in the trash or flushing it down the toilet.
Nowadays, it seems like a college degree doesn’t set you apart from many people. Just about everyone my age has one and many are working menial jobs like me. It reminds me just how important this blog is to exploring other aspects of life. It’s like Peter said in Office Space, “I may never be happy at my job but I think that if I could be with you that I could be happy with my life.” Everyone hates their job so it’s up to me to find something else in my life that can make it meaningful and worth while. That’s why I’m so lucky to have Bryan, my baby kitties, my wonderful family and my new (to me) Nissan 240sx.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. Here’s a picture of my brother, me and my Nana on my 19th birthday before it all went south.
I have lots to update on the s14 project!
First of all, I named the car Tobias as in Fünke so from now on he will probably be known in this blog as Tobias. Second, we had to get the car to the shop in Ontario so Bryan attempted to drive him the 40ish miles from our place in LA. On the bright side he made it about halfway with water spewing out constantly until he finally gave up.
So finally, they arrive at the shop and get to work. I have Bryan and Animal Auto including Andrew, Nolan, and Koji to thank for the speedy turn around on the blown motor. Thankfully, they had a motor available and it only took them a weekend to pull the bad motor and get the new motor running again. They replaced all the consumable items like hoses and liquids.
Here’s a pic of the new motor going in.
And here is a pic of the new running, driving Tobias.
Later, Andrew took the motor apart to see what was what. Here’s what he found.
In my never ending quest to be cool, I made an impulse decision to buy an S14. For those of my readers who aren’t constantly preoccupied by the drift scene, that’s a 1995 Nissan 240sx. I have wanted a 14 for quite some time now. Bryan and I were sitting around talking about how we really need to start saving money and that’s when I found it: A clean looking 14 for sale on craigslist for a seemingly low price.
That set us off on yet another one of our adventures. We went to meet the guy at 12. We arrived at 11:50 and I texted him. No answer. We also walk around and do not see the car. At 12 I called. No answer. I saw at 12:04 he has read the original text. Still no response. That pissed me off. We hypothesized that maybe he is coming on his lunch hour to meet us and he’s driving up. I started to get mad and start blowing his phone up with 5-6 calls in a row. At 12:30 we drive off to Vons to cool off and possibly grab a drink. I texted him saying that if he isn’t coming he’d better let me know. As we pull in the parking lot I finally received a text saying he was on his way. So we headed back to the apartment building and again do not see the car. Finally, this kid walks up from across the street and starts looking around. This must be him. (WTF?!) Then he tells us we have to J-Walk back across the street. Then down the block, turned down another street then down another street. (WTF?! WTF?!) FINALLY, we saw the car! Then Bryan gets to work. We started it and took it on an amazing test drive complete with strange suspension noises. But it does seem to be running strong despite the oil that seems to be spilled all over the engine bay. Bryan also found some other things going on with it that weren’t in the ad. Cha$CHing! (The check engine light was on and he goes yeah it’s been on since I got it. Seriously?!)
So after haggling with the guy for a few minutes we gave him $550 under asking price and left with 2 new subwoofers.
We made it as far as the freeway. I followed Bryan onto the freeway and off onto the nearest exit. As soon as the car got hot it was done. Yes, he had a huge coolant leak and possibly a blown head gasket. We sat on the side of the road for a while so Bryan could decide if it was fixable or if we could limp it home. Ultimately the hole in the coolant hose was too big. So we had to call a tow truck and get him towed home. But all in all, a successful day!
Here is with older brother, Datsun 510.
Here is the car picture from the Craigslist ad.
Musings of a Fellow Kitty 