FREE fiat x1/9 carcass with title - Detriot

So then, now that we have made the VQ decision for you, on to naming. Fiatsan or Fiatsun?

MaX1/9

Fiatsan Fiaxima X3/5

That TL is sweet, and NSX/1/9, or TSX1/9 just work. 

As far as Nissan names, I'm at a loss, but there is definitely more bang for the buck compared to Honda/Acura options.

K24s hang around 160 Ft/lbs/200hp

QR25s are 180 ft/lbs, 175hp

VQ35s are up to 245ish ft lbs/230 hp

J35s are near 250/250

Cheap hp and manual trans Asking $700

I bet you could buy this for less than $500.  A complete running driving donor will save you big $$ on all the little nickel and dime items for challenge budget.

It sure is Rusty.

In reply to Indy-Guy :

That is indeed wickedawesome, but I am still hung up on posi. You are speaking my language with price. $500 donors are my speed. 

All the input is vastly appreciated, guys.

Eh, Posi isn't critical in the intended application.  Steve Hoelscher never had one in his DSP winning x-1/9.  Just lots of tire and careful shock and spring selection (no sway bars).

In reply to Indy-Guy :

cheap... but it says 258k miles.  Does it really make sense to spend so much time and effort to install a drivetrain with at least 1 foot and probably a lot more already in the grave?  Maybe worth hunting for something with body/chassis damage but way less miles?

I would test drive the Maxima donor first, mine had 200k on it when I sold it.  Ran like new and did not leak or burn a drop of oil between 5k changes, and somehow the oil still looked clean.  If I remember correctly the chain guides or lifters were just starting to tick on startup for a few seconds.  

mke said:

In reply to Indy-Guy :

cheap... but it says 258k miles.  Does it really make sense to spend so much time and effort to install a drivetrain with at least 1 foot and probably a lot more already in the grave?  Maybe worth hunting for something with body/chassis damage but way less miles?

The difference is "challenge car budget", most of us would probably look for a lower mileage donor for a street car, but for the challenge, cheap is #1 and performance potential is #2 (or perhaps reverse the order) but emphasis is on cheap so you have more budget for where you do need to spend some $$$. Watching this with interest, already found an X1/9 for my next project 

mke said:

In reply to Indy-Guy :

cheap... but it says 258k miles.  Does it really make sense to spend so much time and effort to install a drivetrain with at least 1 foot and probably a lot more already in the grave?  Maybe worth hunting for something with body/chassis damage but way less miles?

Think of it this way:  You'll have it up and running/driving with that drivetrain and if/when you blow it up you can take your time rebuilding/improving it after having done all of the hard work to get it installed and connected.  KISS and avoid perfectionism.

I get wanting it cheap but with 258k miles and massive rust/corrosion everwhere you can see it might not be cheap, it might be money pissed away.  Just sayin.

mke said:

I get wanting it cheap but with 258k miles and massive rust/corrosion everwhere you can see it might not be cheap, it might be money pissed away.  Just sayin.

For a drivetrain donor, the rusty bits make it that much better since you don't really care about the rest of the carcass.

The rusty body makes it less likely that you'll recoup much, except perhaps interior bits.

Finally, keep this is in mind:  The Challenge is October, its now nearly March.  Getting bogged down in perfectionism will kill the project's timeline.

looks like the 2001 AE maximas had an LSD. Car-part.com is listing one for $300 CAD in canada, maybe one of our canadian friends can grab it for you?

For clarity, this is, at best a 2020 Challenge offering. I've got a house to restore ahead of it in the endless project cycle.

As far as a moniker goes, If Nissan power happens, the best I could come up was a Bertonissan X1/9.

mke said:

In reply to Indy-Guy :

cheap... but it says 258k miles.  Does it really make sense to spend so much time and effort to install a drivetrain with at least 1 foot and probably a lot more already in the grave?  Maybe worth hunting for something with body/chassis damage but way less miles?

Edit.  I agree with this sentiment. 

News: The (Edit: First) donor has arrived.

What we have here is a gray 2002 Nissan Altima. 2.5 Litre 4cyl 5 speed with about 200K miles. 

$500, clean title, and a blown head gasket according to the seller. He had a hard time moving this one along (he buys and sells almost exclusively '02 through '12 Altimas), because this one was a stick shift. He (Charlie) was asking $600, but I shrewdly talked him down to five bills. I may have overpaid.

Windshield is thrashed.

Charlie and my definitions of "immaculate" differ slightly. None the less, I thought it was worth the price.

Broken door handles.

Light contact along the driver's side.

And various bumps and bruises.

It wouldn't start, but cranked okay, and sucked air at the intake,

so, maybe the claim of a junk head gasket is legit. Either way, I just bought a bucket of bolts that I should be able to get down to a $250 budget hit and has a crap load of parts I'll need. 175 hp/175 torque approximately. 

Obligatory picture of donor next to recipient:

So yeah, I gave the thing a pretty thorough washing.

It really doesn't look that much better, but hopefully, I can recoup some cash.

I've been researching this engine, and it does have a deserved reputation. Pre-Cats come apart and lunch rings, Head gaskets let go. Alternators run too hot being in proximity to the exhaust manifold. They are really new school with everything bolted to everything else (Alternator bolts to water pump housing, 2 piece oil pan bolts to block, timing cover, bellhousing, etc). They are thrashy, and often the suggestion is to ditch them when trouble arises. Sounds like the perfect engine for an Italian car, right?

   The good news is they made millions of Altimae, so the pull-a-parts should be full of them. Now that they're on my radar, the girlfriend and I have been playing an updated version of Slug Bug with them.

   They're everywhere. Just like cockroaches.

In reply to wheelsmithy :

Glad you settled on a donor. One step closer to completion. Does it have the limited slip diff you wanted?

In reply to Indy-Guy :

Nope, but I'm seeing the 6 speed from SE-R Spec-vs for two and a half bills. 

My budget feels pretty tight these days. We'll see if LSD is in the future or not.

This is my engine hoist. There are many like it, but this is my own.

$142.00 at the Harbor Freight. At 48 years old, and hundreds of engine swaps, this is the first I've ever owned. I bought it to celebrate the successful return of a $200 poo pump that simply would not work in our reservoir.

It's a small thing, but I got the two cars tucked away. The Fiat went into stall #1 via furniture dolly and PVC, the Altima in a much less elegant way.

I bridged the clutch interlock with a bobby pin, pulled the coils and plugs, and hooked the truck's huge battery up. This allowed me to put it in gear, and clutch out, use the starter to inch the thing into stall #2. Looks like a good enough place to start pulling it apart.

wheelsmithy said:

This is my engine hoist. There are many like it, but this is my own.

NICE!  I got a very similar red one when a borrowed one failed on a road trip to collect a milling machine....and I was kind of amazed at the number of things I used it for since.  They are wonderful tools. 

Some musings:

I have for sure had some moments of doubting my wisdom in donor choices. These engines are widely hated. The pre-cat is problem #1. It will go away. Head gaskets, Crank Position Sensors and such come close behind. I knew they had low redlines, but 6200 RPM!!!??? They are loud, thrashy, mostly unreliable, have the single worst rod angle in the known automotive world, and did I mention, I HATE Altimas?

   So, is there a silver lining? Maybe.

Considering these, and the SE-R blow up at very low mileage, parts, specifically transmissions, are plentiful and cheap. I have been craving a torquey ride for a while. My brother and I put a 2bbl 351 Windsor in his 67 Mustang in high school, and it was wicked. Maybe this will be a similar feel. Torque is fun. Easy to drive, too. I love an underdog, and, surely, being a large pump, I can make this engine work. 

Finally, I gain inspiration from a website where people dive into Alfa Romeo GTVs, custom V-12 Ferraris, AMG resurrections, and Ford powered, miata framed Volvo body swaps. Somehow, this seems like a mountain for me to climb.

cheap and plentiful is a great thing for a donor. Congrats on the progress. 

All you need is a welder and no fear of failure. 

After that, its fairly straightforward.