Ahhh! Finally a engine hoist. YAY!!!! Should I pull the motor at 11.30PM? Well, I would if I had some beer, but since I don't, I will leave it for tomorrow. I also have picked up another quick side job. It will get me about 100bux for it, and it should be done by the weekend!!
The best part is that I finally got some time and stopped in to the tougefactory.com store. The owner is really kewl, he knows George, and the kid with white Silvia is working for him!!!!! His prices are good too, especially on the SR20DET motors. Considering how much the shipping would be on most of the parts, I might as well buy them from him. I also got answers to a lot of little questions that I had, which is always nice. He told me the the Spec* clutches aren't the recommended ones for Sr20det swap, but he had no problems with Exedy clutches, so I am going to go that route instead (just got to update the shopping list). So today was pretty productive day. Hope tomorrow to have the engine out and the hood off.

Finally made a list of the part that I will need to get the SR20DET running. I put several entries for certain pieces, as I am not sure exactly which one I will go with. Looking at the prices and having the list there will help me decide. I looked at only 3 shops for these prices. So if you know a better deal on a part, let me know. Email me But I probably will be giving the HeavyThrottle a call next week to order a Walbro Fuel pump and APEX'i Power Intake. The only thing I would need thats not on the list is the boost and oil gauges, but they are really available anywhere, so I don't need to worry about them just yet.

Tonight was pretty fun. Made some money and while cruising around I met up with George, the guy that let me drive his SR20 powered 240sx. It was few years back, and I know that he crashed it, but I was sure glad to see him with another one. Its still SR-powered, and it turns out that we got some common friends. Too bad the cops were in high force, so we had to split. But I got some pretty good info from him, and will be seeing him at the cruise nights.

Also today I have been driving at "spirited" speeds on the new Nitto 450 tires. They feel different than the Khumo and Dunlop GT Qualifiers that I had before. I am not sure exactly what it is about them though. While doing over 40MPH over the limit and braking, they almost screeched. That made me worry, because neither of the previous tires did that. They also feel funny in the turns, but I can't put my finger on what it is exactly, but I am not as sure of myself on the onramps anymore. Although at over 110mph, they do feel more stable than the other two. Go figure. I will play with them some more, testing the on the parking lots in the area.

Also made a page of links for all the Silvia SirWarrior SilEighty Project dealers and info, etc.

Just came back from HIN Chicago. And to be honest, I was very disappointed with the whole event. I did expect Hondas to be all over the place, but it seems that HIN has gone down hill. Spinners?? Escalades??? WTF!!! I did only see 2 S13's and 3 or 4 S14s. The Signal auto S13 with the S15 face was nice, as was the Pacific Rim's Daijiro Yoshihara's Silvia. Drifter cars, made with purpose. Too bad they didn't open the hood. I would love to have a peek there. But there was a nice S14 that was RHD. I am not too much into the RHD thing, but it did look good. But its not worth it IHMO. It had SR20DET swapped in, so it had my seal of approval, hehehe. The owner did all the work himself, which is always nice to see. Besides that, I don't think there was too much going on. Will write a little more on this tomorrow. Got to get some sleep.

P.S. I had a lot more fun driving down to McCormick and back than I did there. I was racing along some 2 C5 vettes on the way back, and one crazy guy in a raised S10. He's a frigging maniac in traffic............. just like me. :D

P.P.S. Drift Day Chicago is on September 26th 2004. NOPI might not happen if I can just go there. Joliet is a lot closer than Atlanta. Check out Drift day for more info.

Since I was watching a few car modding shows, I have gotten an idea on how to customize my trunk. And today for the whole day I have been thinking about nothing else but that. I think that the idea will work out quite nice, but I still got some research to do. Its also not a top priority, but just something that I am excited about. Maybe this weekend I will go out and measure all the stuff and see if I can come up with a rough sketch of the idea. Time is scarce lately as the work/car/side jobs just gobble up any free time I have.

Its been about 2 months since I decided to get this project up and going and only about 2 weeks since I got the car, and so far, its been mostly positive experience for me. A lot of the people that I have met and talked to about doing the SR swap were very encouraging and willing to help out with my questions. I am slowly building up the funds, but with the way this is going, I don't think I will meet the NOPI deadline, not with CarPC still to be built. So the CarPC will wait till the Xmas time. Its nothing really hard, just a lot of labor and some basic parts. But I do need every dollar I can save to get this project going.

When I started this project, I was originally looking for a coupe rather than a fastback, so it was project Silvia, but now that I got myself a chassis, this isn't going to be a Silvia, its a SilEighty. Also the name of this project is going to be Sir_Warrior. I will update all the links later, as now I got to go see if I can make some extra cash somewhere!

I still want the Silvia conversion done, but thats really a cosmetic thing, I will look out for a good deal on them, but I don't think I will be getting it this year. The FMIC will be the last thing on the list, well before going into cosmetic stuff, like paint. I will also keep an eye out for a interior pieces, but I have feeling that I have no problems with it being stripped for some time. All I need to get a hold of is some nice door panels. Seats will be addressed too, after the car is up and running.

Today has been a depressing day as most of the SR funds went to pay for things wrong with the civic. But I did get a good deal on a SMIC (Side Mount Intercooler) and the cold pipe from a guy that was local. I also found out that there are quite a few 240 meets in the area, but probably due to my work schedule I won't be able to attend them. Also showing up in the civic will make me seem like a poser, and I don't want to be telling people "But I really DO have a 240 at home!" all the time :D The SMIC will keep me occupied for a week or so as I take off the fender and make it fit in the wheel well, mounting it, etc. By than, I will have another check, and the mood is going to be a lot more upbeat than this week. I did walk into some unexpected money though, and a promise of a quick computer fix-up job. That will help pay the bills and not take away from the SR funds.

Also, I will want to get the KA engine out sometime soon. It will keep me occupied, and maybe part it out on Ebay or something, that would add some $$ to the SR fund. Just a matter of getting the cherry picker over here and working out some room with 4 cars and 2 boats in the driveway. UGH!!

The motor is in the civic, so I finally have something to drive again. My boss is nice enough to give me some extra overtime, so I was putting extra hours in the evenings since Friday. Its going to be a pain for a while but it will get my bank account a little extra boost that it needed after the motor replacement. I just hope for no more rain...... and puddles..... engines are expensive

Pics of the car before I washed it.
Today I blew up the motor in the civic :( Seems that cold air intake and water don't mix too well. It got hydro locked and threw a rod through the side of the block :( There goes big part of SR funds to get another motor swapped in. I was considering putting in the KA into the 240 till I get the SR funds, but than I would have a civic that would be worthless and rotting away. Also the KA would be dumped eventually for the SR, so that plan was quickly abandoned. Civic motors are cheap, so I will replace it, save up for the SR, and do everything right the first time.

After washing the car down, I decided to take look at the electrical system. Lucky for me, everything worked. Lights work fine, headlights motors are good, even the starter relay clicks, even the silly open door, oil pressure and brake check lights work. That puts me at ease as far as the electrical system is concerned.

I know that I will I need the following parts.

• Clutch


• 3" Stainless Steel Exhaust


• 3" Stainless Steel SR Downpipe


• Blow-off Valve


• Wallbro High Flow Fuel Pump


• Oil Pressure Gauge


• Radiator Upgrade


• High Flow Catalytic Converter

After a little digging I found out that I need few more parts.

• Hot Pipe


• Intake filter kit with MAF adapter

So we continue to add more parts onto the list. Hopefully, within few weeks, I will get the motor, than I will start knocking out the GET list into Already Have list.

I didn't get around to laying out the interior pieces like I planned, but that isn't a real priority. I did take the rest of the parts out of it tho. Also while looking at the owners manual, I came across a receipt for tires and alignment and oil change. That all in itself isn't very exciting, but the fact that it was done somewhere in Kansas, explains why the car is so clean and rust free. Another good piece of news is that it was driven by some lady. Oh yeah! This is definitely my day! Just to prove it, the exhaust guys called me and told me that the exhaust came in and if I would like to renew my order. So there goes a little of the SR budget to get my current ride going. It should be here in about a week. All I need now is my boss call me and tell me I got a raise.

Today the car got finally dropped off. So of course, I removed all the interior pieces form the inside. It looks really good, no rust or any funky junk hiding in the corners. I will go through it tomorrow to figure out if I got all the pieces, which one go where and to see if there are any broken ones. I did notice that the person who took the car apart wasn't the brightest one as far as the car interior goes, because they didn't even remove the little clip that holds the window crank. So to take it of they broke it. The clip was still on the gear when I looked at it. But that's really to be expected. Today the car got finally dropped off. So of course, I removed all the interior pieces form the inside. It looks really good, no rust or any funky junk hiding in the corners. I will go through it to figure out if I got all the pieces, which one go where and to see if there are any broken ones. I did notice that the person who took the car apart wasn't the brightest one as far as the car interior goes, because they didn't even remove the little clip that holds the window crank. So to take it of they broke it. The clip was still on the gear when I looked at it. But that's really to be expected. I also found that the automatic seat belts were removed, but that won't be a real issue as they will be replaced by a harness that attaches to the roll cage. I do expect to find more things wrong as I go through it tomorrow. I will post some pics, too. I am very excited about how this is coming along. The cheap price really puts me way ahead of schedule on the motor swap. Now I got to look around the web to see what sensors do I need for the SR20DET motor.

Finally something promising. I have found a 92 fastback with blown motor. This might be exactly what I needed. I am not worried about getting it towed, as I do have a friend with a tow truck, and if he can't do it himself, I can borrow his 2nd one. Listing says that its gutted, so I am not expecting too much, but I hope that there is some remains of the interior. I will give the guy a call tomorrow and maybe meet him to take a look at the car. The price is good and if I get it, its going to put me ahead by a grand in the motor funds, which is great news. I just hope the body is in good condition. I really would hate to have to fix rusted rocker panels. I am not really worried about the interior tho, as that would be a easy thing to get a hold of. I cross my fingers and hope for the best!