newbie here, got some ?s re buying a used 240
 

Hi folks, I'm in the market for a 240SX. I'm sorry if some of my questions have been answered thoroughly in the forums before, but I haven't had much time to go through each forum because of school. Anyway, I'm new to the 240 scene. I'm a miata fanatic, I put together a custom TD04HL-15G kit for my miata for fun, and to learn of course, and man that car is fast and handles like a go kart. I do all of my own mechanic work, I find it hard to find a good, trusted mechanic, plus I don't like spending a ton of money on something I can do myself. The only problem is, that car's in HI, and I'm attending school in Los Angeles (USC), and I'm looking to buy a 240SX. My question is, when is mileage on an engine just too much? For a miata, it was uncommon for those engines to start being boosted at 100k miles (it's a GTX engine). Those engines were solid when run NA. Also, how big is the local 240SX club? I was a big member of the miata club in Hawaii, tech days are awesome, and having friends at AutoX is great. Any suggestions on what to look for when buying a used 240 will be extremely helpful. I'm thinking of just sticking to a KA24DE for now unless I can get a SR20DET swap for cheap. The thing is, reliability is a big factor, even though this car will only be a weekend warrior. With my miata, I could diagnose/fix almost anything on it without having to worry. Thanks everyone,

Dane

welcome... you can get by with a KA24DE - especially for daily driving, and it will do decent at the tracks. As for mileage, most 240sx's (s13) are around the 100k+ range, and S14's in the 70k+... the stock KA is pretty reliable provided that it has been maintained decently... there's a few around the 190k mark still running strong (i.e. mine, and it's an S14)... just look around for a good price because most 240sx's for sale nowadays (especially in CA) are overpriced, taking advantage of the whole drifting trend

welcome

Welcome to the forums. :wave:

Another question, I couldn't find the answer in the FAQ section. Since I'm buying a used car, I want to do some basic checks on it first. When testing the intake manifold vacuum with a gauge, what is the proper range? I know for my 1.6l miata it's ~20 in Hg but I'm not sure about the 2.4l KA24 engine. Thanks again.