soccerpimp

I am searching for a ~90 240sx to build up, and found a few with blown engines but decent bodies... I want to build it from the ground up as a little project car, strip it down, do some body work, simple body kit, rims, and an engine swap (eventually ill do the suspension, I want it to be fast in a line, handle well, and look nice... budget porsche lol)... I'm on a massive budget, and wanted to know the avg. cost vs. benefit (power, potential, ease of swap etc...) of going with an SR or an RB (and which RB), I know cars pretty well, but I had just planned on doing an SR swap and using a front clip to swap it all over, but an I6 sounds very .. tempting... let me know what you guys think - I'm looking to do it on a budget of 5,000-6000 for the engine swap (i'll be doing all the work with my father, and a friend who's a mechanic) - thanks!

KerosineK

5k- 6k for the engine alone? Well, in that case, I'd suggest an RB25. A local guy made 420whp witha some 650cc injectors, a t3/t04e turbo, and a tune.

soccerpimp

well i figure if i'm gonna do it, i'll do it right, the engine is the biggest pain, so i want to get one that either leaves me with cash to beef up the internals, or one i dont have to do that with... for an RB25 do you have to do alot of extra work to put it in? i know sr and rb20's are almost perfect swaps... but the 25?? is it a pain? I say 5-6.. but i was hoping to spend about 3 on the engine and 1-2 on basic mods... perhaps less... the less the engine costs me the better, as long as it'll support ~400 on stock internals i'll be happy...
edit: it didnt come out sounding how i mean it, i mean it can make whatever power now, aslong as i wont have to pull it and rebuild it when the power goes up in that range so she wont blow...

theman631

Just my opinion, but I say sr20det and it is for the following reasons:
Easy to do, with lots of people who have done it and diagnosed everything that could have gone wrong.
$2k for engine tranny ecu and everything
Can take 350-400 horsepower stock internals
Aftermarket parts are everywhere
If you don't have the shell yet, I would recommend the 91-93 so you have the right gauge cluster and the power steering lines are already lined up. If the cost is the same as the 89 90's. The sr20det can be in the 11's quarter mile easy with what you are willing to invest.

Good luck and either engine would be sweet.

motegineon

ur not gona hit 11's with 6 grand and if the car is drag get the rb

theman631

If you use your money wisely then 11's are possible if you know how to drive. I don't know how you can say that they aren't. If I had a shell and $4500 I could get the low to mid 12's. Whatever. Everyone has their own opinion.

soccerpimp

I have a 5.0... if i wanted to drag i'd keep that... i just found an autocross club here (never knew... racing with turns isn't popular here, its a small town) - and there is about to be a drag strip here soon, i wanted a car that could handle both decently well, I figured a light RWD platform with a larger engine, small turbo(s), and a decent suspension setup it would be able to handle and still run a decent time in the 1/4 (with some different tires and higher boost of course) - i want it to be an all around car, fast, sexy, handles like a dream, etc... Its a long term project but i wanted to get the engine out of the way first... while i have the connections i do with a shop and engine hoist... the target HP is your usual 350-400rwhp, for the end build, maybe higher depending on my traction issues... but i have time to upgrade it, right now i just want the right building blocks... start with the right stuff so i dont have to change it out later...

KerosineK

If autocross is your goal, stick with either the KA, SR, CA, or (my favorite) LSx/LTx. so as to keep the weight balance gods happy.

The LS1 and LT1's weigh LESS than a KA (Ithink around 50 lbs. less), and can be built to 600 hp easily. I suggest you save up a little more money and swap in a LS1 into a chassis. 300 hp stock with more torque than you will ever get out of a different engine swap.

soccerpimp

I don't wish to spend the money it'd take to swap to an LS1, I have no idea what'd be involved in that, and if i was going to i'd prolly start with an rx7... - im mostly interested in more simple swaps... i wish to keep it balanced... for autoX and drag... i know its a hard bargain - I thought i could try though - would an RB weigh that much more? even the 2.0 litre? I assumed the weight balance wouldnt be thrown too far off because the engines aren't too far off in size... I refuse to keep the KA.... Its not worth keeping to me.. its a truck motor... - I want the car to be fast and handle well... I dont wanna spend all my money on the engine, wanted to invest plenty into suspension as well... so no ls1 unless its a simple install and they go down in price.... oye.. i dunno

motegineon

prove it, and i said 11's not low 12's..

and to the poster my car run's low 12's and i have stock internals and a stock s14 turbo..around 300hp...im pretty maxed out on my setup but to me its plenty fast enough 1/4 mile wise (not that i ever go to the track anyways)...but i promise u you dont want a 400hp autox 240..i run low boost while im out killin cones and its sometimes to much, not saying if i had better tires i wouldnt do a little better...but ur talking about another 150hp more than that... autox isnt about power, most of your times are gona come from a good suspension/brake/ and tire setup along with a moderate power range..

autox and drag are just so different that ur gona have to pick one to lean towards..i suggest using ur 5.0 for straights and making the 240 strictly autox/drift

soccerpimp

Well i realized it'd be impossible (read: expensive) to make it excell at both, autoX isn't my main goal, just something i'd like to get into since i have the chance, and drag racing isn't a huge thing to me but i like a car with some get-up and go... I just figured with the right engine and turbo combo - a 2 stage tune one with low boost and one with high boost, the engine could do ~300hp for autoX and ~400hp for straight line...??? Basically my goal for this car was to build a car on a budget that would perform like an exotic (albeit on a much different level)... handle well, accel quick, and look good while doing it... so if i wanna go out to the stip i can slap on some DR's and go.. or slap on some stickies and run the cone course... without having 2 cars.. (im selling the 5.0 to help pay for the project....)... keep ideas coming im listening, thinking... debating.. etc..

tight240

Not to sound like a d*ck, but you told us like 4 times what you are looking for i'm pretty sure we get the point. Truefully, you can get what your looking for in any of the engines that were named here, SR,RB 20,25,26, LS1, LT1 ( i really dont like ls1, lt1 idea). There are aftermarket support to get you where you want to be but it's all in your personality. Some people got the SR because they want the availability and they didnt to much care about being unique (like the B16 swap in a Honda). Alot of people get the RB20 because of it's uniquness, and are willing to search and scratch for parts. Some people got the RB25 because they dont see the point in getting a RB20, and it has more aftermarket support then the RB20. And then you have the people that get the RB26 to be top dog, and become a supra killer (i like that idea). So if your lazy, and you dont like searching for parts, get an SR20. But you cant expect none of us on here to make up your mind for ya, only you can do that. And SEARCH for information on any of the swaps before performing them, because if you dont alot of people are going to call you a dumb noob and they are going to point you to the SEARCH button anyway. Figure i would give you a heads up. Matter of fact i'm pretty sure somebody will reply to this thread and consider it worthless, and how much of a waste of a time it is, so just do yourself and everybody else a favor and just do some research. Like i said just giving you a heads up.

soccerpimp

Umm well, as for what i wanted... it seemed that most people posted specific to one end of the spectrum... like "for drag racing do this... " or "for auto X do this" so i was trying to reiterate my intentions, i dont expect anyone to make up my mind for me, purely to input their opinions - the opinions of people with more experience than myself would aid in my final conclusion toward the decision. I know to use the search, this topic was nothing like what I found searching, so i made one myself. I just wanted to see what others in my situation with more experience than myself would do, albeit my decision is still mine, I like to talk to people who have actually done it before I count it out/in... thank you.

motegineon

200-300hp is good power for autoX

300-400 is good for drag..therefore i would have one setting for around 250hp (mybe higher depending on how curvy/tight the auoX course is) and one for around 350hp for drag (good for low 12's high 11's depending on your wheel/tire setup)

tight240

Well when i was deciding on which engine i wanted, i went with the one i had the better deal was. I wanted an RB20 from the jump, but it was hard to find somebody local that could get it. So i made a decision on the SR20 and i was going to get it, and then i came across a guy that was on the forum (**********) and he was selling the RB20 front clip for $1400 and he lived in Virginia. I was going to go to Virginia to get my SR so y not go get the RB? so i did. But at the same time, your situation is diffrent because you have the money to spare, i really wanted to get a RB25. I would say stick with the KA, but you have a SOHC, i know the DOHC makes some good power pretty easy. Especially when you throw the Cummins Diesel turbo on them, people are getting like 340hp on like 14lbs. Takes a while to spool up, but thats pretty good numbers.