This one is Nelson's baby. This project has a long and somewhat checkered past, but each time that this car has gone through another evolution it has become even better. This is the project to watch if you are a fan of fast imports and big, turbocharged horsepower.
| This Nissan started out life as a lowly 240 SX with a 155 horespower KA24DE four cylinder engine. It was driven around on the streets for some unknown length of time before it fell into the hands of a drifting team in Southern California. They swapped an SR20DET four cylinder engine into the Nissan and converted the car to full drift specifications, complete with TEIN coilovers. The Nissan was campaigned on the drift circuit until an unfortunate fire brought its' drifting career to an abrupt halt. The drift team pulled the SR20DET engine out of the car and put it up for sale on eBay, where it was discovered by Nelson. |
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Nelson was spending a little time trolling the vast sea of junk that is eBay Motors when he happened upon the listing for the Nissan. Most people would have seen a car that had clearly been on fire - a car that didn't even have an engine and had absolutely no possibility of being driven - and went on to the next listing. Nelson saw the potential of the vehicle, and decided to put in a bid. He ended up winning the auction and drove to California with some friends to pick up his new baby. When he got there he had to push the car on to the trailer so that he could transport it back to its' new home in Utah. Sadly, pushing the Nissan was to become an activity that Nelson would have plenty of practice at!
| With the Nissan safely back in Utah it was time to decide which engine was going to go in the empty engine bay. Another SR20DET red top engine from the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) Nissan S14 would have been an obvious choice, but Nelson was looking for a little more power. Also, just about every modified 240SX on the road has an SR20DET swap in it and Nelson has never been the kind of guy to follow what the crowd is doing. He wanted something unique and powerful. The RB26DETT engine from the JDM Nissan Skyline is a legendary engine, with the bonus of being rare and having the capability to produce extreme horsepower. It was decided - the Nissan's new motor would be an RB26DETT from a JDM Nissan Skyline. |
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| Acquiring an RB26DETT engine to go in the Nissan was no small task, but finally the engine arrived from Japan. Shoving a straight six engine in the place that a four cylinder originally resided wasn't as hard as you would initially expect due to the Nissan S14's large engine bay. This was not a straightforward engine swap by any means, but it had been done before and the knowledge on how to overcome the most common snags was readily available. Wiring was also easier than anticipated, as the two harnesses were simply laid over each other and unnecessary portions removed. Soon enough it was finished and the Nissan was back on the road once again, this time sporting one of the most legendary engines of all time under the hood. The Nissan was fast, and a simple adjustment to the boost controller allowed for the kind of power that can and did send the car sideways on the freeway. |
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| With the new RB26DETT engine installed in the Nissan and most of the tuning finished, all that was left was a little fine tuning and a lot of fun driving. Unfortunately, Nelson chose to leave the Nissan unlocked in the parking lot while he went next door to watch a movie. Somtime during the course of the movie an unknown person opened the unlocked door and stole the computer out of the Nissan. This presented a serious problem, as the computer for the RB26DETT is not easy to come by. Some frustration was evidenced at this point; however, that frustration quickly turned into a desire for even more power. At this point it was decided that the wisest course would be to remove the RB26DETT from the car and replace it with a 6.0 liter V8 Chevrolet LS motor. The 6.0 would provide the additional power that Nelson was looking for, as well as add to the unique nature of the car. With that decided, the RB26DETT was removed from the Nissan and, after a short stint on eBay, crated up and sent off to its' new owner. |
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