[Belgium] S12 - Engine inside :)

So let me give you guys a little introduction;

I'm from Belgium and 24 years old (or do I say young). I've been a Japanese car fan since I was about 14 years old and I've always been crazy about the AE86 (don't shoot me). About 6 months ago I had the opportunity to buy an original Nissan Silvia S12 (CA18ET engine) from my best friend. So that's exactly what I did :)

This car will get a full restoration and later on also a new engine (CA18DET is already sitting in my garage).

So now the pics (or it didn't happen):



Step 1: cleaning the car






Step 2: buying an engine


and putting it on an engine stand


and removing all the tubing etc.


The car is now sitting in a garage me and my nephew are hiring:


The car in the back (Mercedes 170s) we'll also be restoring :)

nice car to start with just wondering what you had to pay for it

@Thx, Has quite some rust though. My friend bought it for around €1500 ~ €2000 (equals 1100 ~ 1500$), the price I paid for it was a real bargain so not really representative for its current value :P

So today I removed the front fender flares, the passenger side is damn rotten and ready for the junk jard. The other side was in pretty good condition! :)



Underneath is a pretty solid body except for the underside, that has some holes and will need to be cut and welded. Don't worry about the fenders though, I've got a solution ready which I'll be picking up this week at one of the local JDM shops.

do you think you could take a picture of the turbo decal on the door and but a tape measue above it so we can tell the size of it i really like it

I'll do that this wednesday and post it here :)

Salut XortioN
Jolie projet, un swap CA18DET ( Je suis entrain de faire le mien...)
Tu devrais trouver pas mal de pièce sur le forum France

Nice project with a CA18DET swapp (I'm swapping mine...)
You should find a lot of parts from the France forum

Ed

So you are getting a Grand Prix repro kit from the tuner shop in Belgium?

Where are you from in Belgium? I am from Eindhoven (Netherlands) just a little part from the Belgium border.

@Fhu, Thanks for the forum. I'm already a member there since a couple of weeks but haven't introduced my project there yet. But I'll do that one of these days! :)
Good to know that you're also swapping a CA18DET in your S12 (which looks very nice by the way, like the rims!).

@sunny1600, I'm indeed getting a repro Grand Prix kit :)

oooooooh, gp kit and det swap. subscribed!

So I've picked up the body kit today but wasn't able to test fit it yet because a couple of bolts holding the front bumper are stuck (aka rotten :D):





@cutter67, My nephew wasn't there so it was kinda hard to take some decent pictures while holding a tape measure against it. So i'll try to do that this weekend when we're both working on our cars.
I can tell you the sizes i've measured:

TURBO letters are 5cm high and 15cm wide.
The banner behind 'Turbo' is 9cm high. But as I said, i'll try to take some decent pictures this weekend.

i dont think guys from europe should be able to post on here.....he ran down to his local speed shop and picked up a GP kit....i think they just post on the site just to tease us  :yes:

but great build going on cant wait to see how the kit fits

^ +1
i dont even want to know what the shipping would be to get that gp kit here....

We found that
http://www.avb-sports.be/nissan/180sx-200sx-240sx/1984-1988/bodycomponents/bodykits/22427

Fhu i have tried contacting them exchanged emails at first they gave me the price and i emailed back how did ythey want payment and when could they ship no response been a month. that is why i contacted you i was hoping i could pay someone to get me one and ship it for me

Oh my God that Grand Prix kit!  This is so tits!  It looks phenominal.  Really cool,  will this be the first kitted Grand Prix S12?

cutter67 on 02:25:04 PM / 21-Nov-12Fhu i have tried contacting them exchanged emails at first they gave me the price and i emailed back how did ythey want payment and when could they ship no response been a month.

I've bought other stuff there before for my previous car (Honda Prelude) and always received answers. But as everyone already said, the problem is shipping costs.
He ships them from Poland to Belgium (at least that's what he told me) and that's why shipping to you guys would probably just make the kit too expensive :(

Reason why I made the decision is because he could lower the shipping costs for me since he also had to ship other stuff from that same guy (or girl?).

Jeremy A on 05:25:35 PM / 21-Nov-12Oh my God that Grand Prix kit!  This is so tits!  It looks phenominal.  Really cool,  will this be the first kitted Grand Prix S12?

So what did we do today:

- Removed the spoiler (cause it's a spunge!)



- And cleaned it



- Then I removed the air intake



- And cleaned it



- And gave it a respray



- Then I removed the front bumper, and one of the headlights, also removed battery, coolant reservoir and window-clean reservoir:
Removing the bumper was a real pain in the ass and took me 3 hours because off all the rusted bolts :o

Very cool build!  I'm definitely keeping an eye on this.  I think I like the "injection" pinstriping just under the hatch lip more than the turbo sticker.

I want those tail lights! Why did we get the ones that Nissan found in the utility parts bins? Euro cars always had the best shit!

silverton on 06:36:12 PM / 24-Nov-12Very cool build!  I'm definitely keeping an eye on this.  I think I like the "injection" pinstriping just under the hatch lip more than the turbo sticker.

VG30DETT on 12:13:54 AM / 25-Nov-12I want those tail lights! Why did we get the ones that Nissan found in the utility parts bins? Euro cars always had the best shit!

Lol I don't know why somone hasn't come up with a parts exchange site between europe and the states it's obvious they have stuff we want and we have stuff they want....

Ontopic: Nice find and I love the decal down the sides it's awesome keep up the good work...

Indeed, the only reason I can think about is maybe because they wouldn't have a lot of profit unless they find a way to lower shipping costs :)

Yesterday i was able to remove the passanger-side front light and also the hood



This gave me the opportunity to do a quick testfit of the sideskirt and front fender. Fits quitte good, yet it will require some trimming and modifications to fit perfect. I'm also thinking of modifying the wheel arches on the inside so that I can fit a wide wheel underneath (I really like wide JDM style wheels):

I just sent that company a message about full price of the gp kit including shipping to the states. I hope they get back to me.  Very cool s12 by the way. can't wait to see more progress.

well a buddy of mine was one of the first with that kit long time ago.....he wasnt pleased with the fitment. So did they get better? The Production Company in Poland even try to scam him^^ one of the reasons why iam staying away from this.

I wish they would make normal fender Replacements to safe some weight

fitment is far from perfect, will need some trimming, cutting and other adjustments. Passenger side is the baddest, the other side is pretty good (as far as I can see for now).

So what did I do this week:

I cut down the rusted bolts that were stuck so I could finally test fit the other side:







Stripped the engine bay even further



Started stripping the rear end



And the interior also:





Also grinded the wheel wells to have a better view on the rust





And finally I had 1 minute of silence for my 2 friends that were burried underneath my rear light :p

This one's gonna be interesting, international funk

Update:

Out goes the engine :D

I like the look of the CA18et ...........well thats the only good thing about haha

Yes, i share your opinion about the CA18ET :P

I'm now cleaning the CA18DET on the outside and then I'm gonna remove the oil-panel so that I can take a look at the crankshaft  :yes:

See you next year Carole at our Eindhoven meet. Two widebody S12's next to each other.Looking forward to it :)

Lets hope I'll make it :P

At this very moment I'm cleaning the CA18DET, but I'm still wondering whether or not I'm gonna open this engine. It would be a shame to open an engine that might be in good condition (althought I don't know its' history). On the other hand he's sitting on an engine stand, so this would be the right moment to change some internals if I want to.

What I consider doing:
- New head gasket
- New head bolts (ARP)
- New main and piston bearings. Although I'm afraid of maybe break the crankcase because of the adhesive effect the gasket might have (this happens from time to time).

What do you guys think?







The engine bay also requires some attention :) :)

Continued the cleaning proces of the engine bay :)

Do a compression test! This will tell you if the entire engine needs to come apart or not. If not, then at the very least I'd pop off the head and check out the pistons and cylinder bore, and take off the oil pan to inspect the bearings for any side to side or excessive forward to back play.

Some things that should be done on ANY motor swap are: Headgasket/bolts, water pump/thermostat, all of the gaskets, and maybe the oil pump depending on the condition.
Do it while you have the engine out! Nothing sucks more than having to park your car just after you got it running.

Good luck man :)

CA18DET, GP wide body kit... I can't wait to see how this turns out! :thumbsup:

Thx! I also can't wait, lol :D

After 3 weeks of too cold weather, temperatures finally went above 0 degrees. So today I could finally continue my project:

Almost done removing all the bits out of the engine bay:



And also started removing the crossmembers and suspension.



I've set the respray of the engine bay deadline to april. Let's see if I can make it :)

Nice Work So far...

want to see more on how the kit looks and bolts on, stoked!

@sideways_s12, thanks. But still a long road ahead!  :angel:

@pakii-afa, Maybe I'll fit it tomorrow. Fitment on the driver side is pretty good, on the passenger side i'll have to cut and adjust a little bit  :thinking:

So what did I do to my S12 this week:

Out with the crossmembers
Out with the interior
Out with the cables and other bits left in the engine bay

Almost ready with my preparations to sandblast the engine bay and get rid of the annoying rust!  :devilsidesmile:

it does suck that the fitment is bad, for the price id expect little issues, not fitment issues. but then again, it is a replica.

True that! But as you said, it's still a mold taken from another GP so mistakes are likely to happen.

So what did I do this weekend:

I removed the gas tank


Painted the brake booster


Also did a road trip of 400km for some parts, but well worth the drive!
- ACL bearings
- Refurbished T28 turbo
- HKS filter
- APEXI S13 intercooler
- S13 engine dampers (not in the pics)

Where did you find your t28

@Sideways, from a friendly Dutch guy trough sxoc.nl forum :)

So what happened the past few days/weeks:

- Bought a welder


- Started my epic journey of weight reduction


- Gave my front subframe a second chance in life


You dirty boy!


And there he was, so fresh and so clean




Made the s12 look badass for a few seconds


Released 4 prisoners from their cage, at least for some days


Enjoyed some Japanese art


Ready for honing!


CA18DET plans:
- New seals
- New oil pump
- New water pump
- New gaskets
- New main & big end bearings (ACL duraglide)
- New head bolts
- New piston rings and oil scraper
- Hone pistons
- Flatten head

And then ofcourse put everything back together :)

How did I missed that thread before? Cool build. It's going to be a very nice car once everything is put together!

Nice work on the subframe! Keep up the good work

I was reading on niclub.com you should get the arp rod bolts as well....

@DjayS12, thx. Looking forward to putting everything back together  :tongue2:

@Burritomannn, thx

@sideways_s12, thanks for the tip. Do they really make a big difference? I was wondering how these rod bolts are mounted inside the pistons, are they pressed? Or how do you remove/replace them?

Does anyone have any experience with ACL bearings? I have read some horror storries on the internet of wasted crank shafts after putting in ACL bearings. It would have something to do with the fact that ACL only makes them in one size whereas normally they work with color codes to create the right amount of play? Just want to make sure I don't put crap in my engine. On the other hand I always tought ACL was THE brand for quality bearings like ARP is THE brand for bolts. (fyi I was planning on using the Duraglide ACL big ends & main bearings and measuring play with plastigauge).

Salut !

Chouette projet ! Je vais faire pratiquement la même chose avec la S12 que je viens d'acheter (sauf le kit grand prix)

Si tu as toujours ton spoiler de coffre, ont peut le mouler en polyester, je sais ou on peut se fournir tout ce qu'il faut. Car sur la mienne, l'ancien proprio l'a viré à cause de la flotte aussi  :\ .... et j'aimerais en ravoir un.

Je suis ce topic avec intérêt car il me sera surement utile pour mon swap.   :tongue2: Tu es de quel coin ? Moi je suis dans la région de Liège.

Courage et continue comme ça  :yes:

Hey

Nice project, I'm about to do the same thing on the s12 I just bought (apart from the grand prix bodykit)
If you still have your rear wing, we can maybe mould it out and make one in polyester, I know where to get everything necessary. On mine, the ex-owner took it off because of the water as well  :\ and I'd like to have one back.

I'll follow this thread with interest as it will probably be useful for my swap  :tongue2: Which part are you from ? I live near to Liège

Courage and keep up the good work  :yes: