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My 1990 Nissan Stanza Rebuild Project. Warning HUGE post

Lookin' good! Can't wait to see the finished product.

Looks really good, sometimes I wish I had the tools/time to do things like this.

wish i had the time/money/facilities to do this kinda stuff!

would be really cool to be able to do that

Its like Overhauling TFP style.

Looking forward to more updates.

Why did you need to weld the timing chain cover?

I really like the cleaning and repainting you're doing.

looks like you're doing really good work. thanks for sharing!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mazagmot

Why did you need to weld the timing chain cover?

Well when I first got the got one of the first things to do was take the head/timing chain cover. Little to my knowledge was that I need to take the oil pan off to get to a hidden bolt. So after prying I broke that corner tab off :( but luckily once I get the weld cleaned up the machine shop that is boring out my block says it should work perfectly fine. I still need to run to the nissan dealer to pick up some misc parts....I wish the nissan dealer wasnt' so damn spendy for parts :(

Having to buy from the dealer does suck. They love to gouge out your wallet.

You're going to be able to use your current cylinder sleeves with just an overbore? Sweet deal.

Damn man, good work! I like that you took a lot of pics too. It helps shows the before and after of some of the parts you cleaned up/fixed. Have fun with your project.

Looking good. Can't wait to see the finished product.

awesome so far. hey,try not to spend more than the car is worth!!

Well I cleaned up the weld on the timing cover.
http://www.oldweakandpathetic.com/me...imingcover.JPG

Got my taylor wires today $17 after discount better than $38 for oem ones :)
http://www.oldweakandpathetic.com/me...aylorwires.JPG

Started to paint my timing cover today
http://www.oldweakandpathetic.com/me...overpaint1.JPG
http://www.oldweakandpathetic.com/me...overpaint2.JPG

The inprogress pic of painting my upper intake plenum
http://www.oldweakandpathetic.com/me...takepaint1.JPG
http://www.oldweakandpathetic.com/me...takepaint2.JPG[img]

what are using to mask over the holes? I've never seen lime green masking tape.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mazagmot

what are using to mask over the holes? I've never seen lime green masking tape.

It's a fancy 3m masking tape. Most body shops use it. It seems to stick better and not leave residue on the gasket surfaces.

wow, this is unbelievable stuff...

very interesting thread right here

keep up the good work man.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mazagmot

what are using to mask over the holes? I've never seen lime green masking tape.

Quote:

Originally Posted by merkerguitars

It's a fancy 3m masking tape. Most body shops use it. It seems to stick better and not leave residue on the gasket surfaces.

and doesn't take the paint off with it.

Running total of prices for fixing the car so far ( all prices raised up to the nearest dollar).

Price of car $200

Price of getting head machined, pressure checked and cleaned $88

Thermostat $10

PCV Valve $3

Passenger side tie rod boot $11

Upper radiator hose $10

Heater hose $8

Other heater hose $9

Serpentine belt $17

AC Belt $15

Distributor rotor $7

Water pump $37

Distributor cap $14

Total of $429 so far.

not bad.... but as u say so far!

Thats looking really impressive man, keep the updates coming. Its quite cool to actually see a motor being reduced to component parts.

Well today I started to attempt to clean up my distributor.
So I took it apart and lo and behold I found some oil in it (which means the innersear is going bad. And in the process I ruined a bearing. I found a rebuild kit that has a new bushing, bearing and seal for $50. On the plus side I was able to sandblast and clear coat my alternator housing, which makes it look alot better.

Accidently double posted....mods please delete if not i'll fill in with more pics and progress

Accidently triple posted....mods please delete if not i'll fill in with more pics and progress...stupid internet

sounds like a good day at work. :p

Well today was an alright day...I stopped buy the dealersh...I mean Stealership and checked out the following prices on these parts

Front Subframe Grommets (2)

Rear Subframe Grommets (2)

Distributor Seal and Bearing

Intake Manifold Fittings

Tranny pan gasket

Tranny bellhousing gasket

Prices where the following
Front Subframe Grommets (2) $12 a piece..screw that...too much $$ when a universal grommet will do that I can get $7 for 25 of the bastards

Rear Subframe Grommets (2) $7 a piece...ditto

Distributor Seal and Bearing couldn't get them but found a place that sold bearings and seals, I was able to get the bearing for $7 and the seal for $1.70. The only autoparts soter that carried anything similar was napa and they wanted $50 for the bushing, seal and bearing, :humps: that

Intake Manifold Fittings $10 for one $13 for another

Tranny pan gasket only $8 not to shabby

The Tranny bellhousing gasket was $18...kinda harsh but you gotta do what you gotta do

I'll update my price list of what I have into the car...so far so good..still waiting for my block..they did get it boiled...way better...now they just have to bore it...

This is personally interesting to me as I used to have a '90 Stanza and I quite enjoyed it. Keep up the good work!

Quote:

Originally Posted by merkerguitars

Well with gas prices getting higher and higher I decided to fully rebuild the engine in my 1990 nissan stanza..if

Kudos for deciding to fix rather than replace. You'll end up with a better car, fully paid off, with the only expenses being fuel, maintennance & insurance. Very smart.

soundmotor

I just noticed this thread as I have been away, and have one suggestion. If the timing chain guides are the COMPLETELY plastic kind, replace them with the metal overlayed with plastic ones that were introduced as countermeasures for the originals as the originals would break quite regularly and would cause the timing chain to jump and possibly damage valves and valve guides. Just a heads up, as I see you are going full bore I suspect you will replace them, but I didnt see them on a parts list so I figured I'd mention them.

MYM.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by G5_MYM

Well the stock ones are completey plastic and that was a common problem of timing chain driven nissans of this era. The engine kit I ordered from the machine shop comes with an all metal timing chain/guide set. Friday I was supposed to pick up my shortblock, but I was sick again...this tuesday I should be able to start slamming it together :)

Well good and bad news today...got my block back and it cost about $500 more than I estimated, but I did get more parts in the engine kit than I figured, like a brand new timign cover. The main reason it was more expensive is cause of the timing cover, I had them assemble the short block. But with the good gas mileage I can get and having zero miles and with the body in pretty nice shape. I figure I could always sell the car if worse comes to worse. And it will be pretty reliable so it will be worth the time and money.

after you do all this work I don't think you will want to sell it:D

This thread is awesome! Although I don't understand a lot about how the engine bits fit together, it's been amazing to see the engine broken apart and rebuilt into something so impressive.

I'm really impressed with your work. You've put a lot of dedication, time, and money into this car, and it's going to show when you're finished.

My only question - why a Nissan Stanza? I know you're looking for good gas mileage (something I couldn't care less about), but I was just never crazy about them. If anything, I'd have gone with one of the Nissan 240 series.

Nonetheless, congrats on a truly amazing rebuild!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TM875

Well the reason of it being a Nissan Stanza is it was one of the all of a suddend finds. I was browsing through autotrader and found it for only $200 and I talked to the guy and I figured for $200 plus him sticking $150 in it awhile back for a new radiator I couldnt' really go wrong. I'll admit the car isn't the greatest looking car in the world but hey it will be a nice cheap reliable car. Now I figure it will be a grand total of $1500 I'll have into the car, but I won't have to deal with car payments, have cheap insurance and have peace of mind. A 240 would of been nice but wouldn't of made a good daily driver, since it's rwd it wouldn't of worked out in the Wisconsin winters as well as a fwd car. And since if I want to have a car with balls to the walls performance, thats what my mustang is for.