My Build Story...The 12welve gets some Luv! (Project High Response)

8SixS12 · 01:03:43 AM / 27-Oct-12

Well, this crazy ride all started with my love affair with the Mitsubishi Starion. I was partial to the 86 - 89 models. I knew I wanted a turbo car and I liked the idea of the wide body with OEM staggered wheels. I searched for a whole year and couldnt find a diamond star that wasn't rusted out or SEVERELY over priced. At the time though, I was a line tech at a certain crapy ass Nissan dealership with very little work and a lot of time on my hands. It was one of those days when it cost me more to show up to work than the hours I was turning I got in a older pathfinder that had a problem that my consult could'nt help me with so I had to go upstairs in the storage room to find the SM. While looking around in all the dust and spider webs I ran across the SM for the '87 200sx! I thought to myself "hey my buddy from my old neighborhood had one of those" . He was sick alot and I think he had Sickle Cell. His Mom bought him a brand new '88 SE! I remember when he first got it. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. I mean come on, what else back then had smokin ass body kit like the SE? Okay maybe the SHiro Special Z but the 12 was different...unique even. We went everywhere in that thing! Can you imagine a couple of 18 year olds rollin' around Queens NY in a spankin' new SE! So I started to do some research and found Club-S12. I could'nt stop lurking in here! Then I thought man this would be a cool car to have. A guy that worked in the bay next to me had a 240 with a SR swap. What a cocky SB! I said there's no way I'm gonna get a s13. Everybody was on the 240/SR swap bandwagon and I'm just not one of those guys who likes to do what everyone else is doing. So the hunt for a s12 was in high gear. I searched the net and local adds for 6 months and all I could find was rustbuckets and shitboxes! Here we go again! I was about to give in and started looking at fox body Mustangs!!! Yup, that was until I realized why I don't get along with too many muscle car guys. I won't elaberate on that as I work with them all day long and besides, not ALL of them are bad guys. Anyway, I took a break on looking for a car for a while. Then I was messing around on ebay motors and there it was! The cleanest 12 I had seen thus far! She had all the options I wanted AND it was a turbo car!!!!!! I bought my 12 in January of '09 and the rest.....well, the rest I plan on posting it all right here with lots of pics in the coming weeks updating whenever I can so stay tuned! I can already tell it's gonna be a sick ride! I say that figuratively and literally! 8Six out...for now.

Johnny_boi · 01:27:45 AM / 27-Oct-12

Pics please

8SixS12 · 06:50:24 PM / 30-Oct-12

Let's get it started. First here's a look at the car. Here she is right after she rolled off the transporter from Cali.

I know it's blury, but this was pre-iphone so the quality on my old celli was poor to say the least.
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After her first bath.....And no, I did not use Armor all on the tires. That stuff is terrible.
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First Engine bay pic...notice the mis-matched plug wires.

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P Bucket isn't cooperating with me right now so I'll have to post more pics later.

turbo-s12 · 11:48:41 PM / 30-Oct-12

nice car looks pretty clean

silverton · 01:21:36 AM / 31-Oct-12

Very nice find! Good luck with her.

8SixS12 · 05:47:54 PM / 31-Oct-12

Now you know what the car looks like, now it's time to let you in on my plans. Initially, the plan was to swap in a KA24DE but that's just blasphemy! After all this twelve is an original turbo car so it's gotta have a hair dryer hung on the engine. So I started researching KA-Ts. After about a year of research, gathering parts and lot's of planning that idea went straight out the window when I saw an add on craigslist for a SR20DET that supposedly had a spun bearing. So I contacted the guy and traveled across town to check it out with little expectation. (you'll see why in a bit) I finally make it to this guys friend's house who also had an eclipse project car in the same garage where the engine was sitting on an old tire. I said to myself "what a colossal waste of time this is gonna be". So I took a look at it anyway since I traveled all this way. So I ask if I can take off the valve cover....not bad. Looks like a motor to me. Then we flip the motor on it's side so I can take off the lower oil pan and inside was a goey milky mess. A blown head gasket perhaps? I turned the motor and it spun okay with no interference. I didn't know for sure so I tell the guy never mind, not interested. I told him, for $600 it wasn't worth my time or money. As I started to get back in my truck, the guys says "wait make me an offer" so I said the first thing that came to mind and offered him $300. He took it! And before he could change his mind it was strapped on the back of lil' man ready to go home. (that's a nickname my brother in law gave my 94' Toyota P/U)

This is what it looked like when I got it home....damn what the hell is up with that color scheme man?
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It was pretty beat and missing a lot of odds and ends but the bones were good....couldn't beat it for 300 funtickets! I figured even if it was toast on the inside I could part it out and recoup my funds.
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Quote from: turbo-s12 on 11:48:41 PM / 30-Oct-12
nice car looks pretty clean

Thanks!
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Quote from: silverton on 01:21:36 AM / 31-Oct-12
Very nice find! Good luck with her.

'preciate it!

sideways_s12 · 10:23:39 PM / 31-Oct-12

nice clean as fuck!

turbo-s12 · 11:30:16 PM / 31-Oct-12

looks like reds car....sr will be a nice addition

rednucleus · 12:42:08 AM / 01-Nov-12

Quote from: turbo-s12 on 11:30:16 PM / 31-Oct-12
looks like reds car....sr will be a nice addition

lol didn't notice that - must be cuz it's a turbo and has real paint on the hood!

8SixS12 · 08:57:35 AM / 01-Nov-12

Thanks guys but there's not much real paint left on my hood. It's pretty much faded as a mofo.

Arro · 10:26:19 AM / 01-Nov-12

I'm liking the green n' blue theme on the engine.

8SixS12 · 03:23:52 PM / 01-Nov-12

Haha What's up Arro? Sorry bro but the green n blue is long gone. I just couldn't stand it anymore.

8SixS12 · 12:15:37 PM / 03-Nov-12

Let's back track a little: The 12 was driven for two years on the CA18ET and I have to say it's not a terrible motor. The turbo lasted about 8 months so I swapped it out for a ebay unit I got off a guy for like $70. I almost lasted long enough to pass emissions but, the oil inlet line I had rigged up had fallen on the manifold and spewed oil all over the dyno. I decided to stop being cheap and bought a brand new s15BB turbo when I was working at Nissan. It worked great but was obviously too much turbo fo the 18ET.

Note the size differences: S15BB on the left compared to the ebay t25 on the right

The only other major problems I had with it was the alternator and starter which are wear items. There was an oil leak I had tracked to the oil pan so I replaced the gasket. So no leaks for about three months and then another one started. It ended up being the front seal and I just wasn't tring to deal with it. Soon after that I just got tired of putting "band-aids " on it. I left the 12 alone and started researching the KA24DE-T. You already know the how that ended up.
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So back to the present....

This thing was dirty as hell! I started ripping off accessories and what not. I took the motor to the local coin spot for a pressure wash.

Before:

After:

I ran short on time so I could'nt really scrub it like I wanted to. I just wanted to get the major grit off the motor before I tore it down.

Here it is once I got it on the engine stand

Jeremy A · 07:38:31 PM / 03-Nov-12

Quote from: 8SixS12 on 12:15:37 PM / 03-Nov-12
I almost lasted long enough to pass emissions but, the oil inlet line I had rigged up had fallen on the manifold and spewed oil all over the dyno.

Dude, thats pretty funny.

How much horsepower did your ca18et have with the ebay turbo? Nice SR too.

8SixS12 · 08:37:14 AM / 06-Nov-12

Quote from: Jeremy A on 07:38:31 PM / 03-Nov-12
Dude, thats pretty funny.

How much horsepower did your ca18et have with the ebay turbo? Nice SR too.

I wouldn't know I was at the emissions test station. The eBay turbo was in need of a rebuild so it would'nt have lasted anyway.
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I forgot to mention the lower intake was white. Still not understanding the color combination.

8SixS12 · 02:59:00 PM / 07-Nov-12

First, off comes the valve cover....

Doesn't look too bad...

The first thing I noticed is that someone has definately been in this motor before and they did a half-assed job putting it back together.

Next I removed the cams and loose valvetrain parts noting their positions in the head and I got this cool little storage container from Lowes that allowed me to stand the lifters straight up so no unwanted air gets in them. I'm still gonna bleed them before they go back in regardless.

8SixS12 · 05:06:02 PM / 10-Nov-12

Now let's get the head off and see what's really going on on here:

I think this thing has the wrong head gasket! Some of the bolt holes don't even line up.

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...And a little detonation in cylinders 1 and 3:

I was a little worried about the chips at the top of the cylinder walls but I guess the machine shop will let me know the good or bad news. Looks like it's gonna need to be bored .20 over to me though. If any more than that I will start over with a different block.

Johnny_boi · 01:16:26 PM / 11-Nov-12

nice work

8SixS12 · 02:02:36 PM / 11-Nov-12

ThX Johnny.

8SixS12 · 11:00:37 AM / 13-Nov-12

Okay back to inspection...Let's flip this bitch over and see what she's got!

Damn this guy had a thing for RTV! The shit is all over the place. Definitely getting rid of that pan. That ish is toast!

Wow that doesn't look good...But no worries. The S13 pick up is getting chucked too. Getting one from a S14 instead.

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Okay, now with the lower oil pan baffle removed and the upper pan off I can't see any shrapnel. I busted the rod bolts loose and took out the pistons so I could inspect the bearings.

I could see this thing spinning a bearing with all the milk in this motor...

Now it was time to get the crank out and get it to the machine shop...

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Update...here's the motor after I picked it up from the machine shop!

OEM valvetrain was still in great shape so no adamantium valves and retainers this time Wolverine! This won't be a high reving engine anyways so just needed new guides and a valve job...better than new!