My New Car >>>> Lopez's

[Lostkat]

Well, I thought it was about time that I got rid of my trusty steed of 3 years (tired old Mk2 Mondeo) and bought something newer, more reliable, more economical and practical...



... So tonight we went and picked up my new baby from Slough. Goes against just about every single one of my criteria, but I've wanted one for years and I'm absolutely wrapped with it. If I didn't do it now, then I probably never would have. SO chuffed!

First mod? Eagle F1's to aid with grip in the wet until I've learnt to cope with RWD + Turbo all at once. Should be a fun learning experience Suffice to say that Leon drove it home to make sure it was all "working" and got back in one piece.

 

[Lostkat]

Ooh err....very nice.

Still got crappy mats

Mats will be going in the bin

 

[Lostkat]

It cost me £3500, which I was pretty happy with. They can go for anything from £2500 for a pig to over £8k for a modded one.

It's in very good condition. Serviced at Nissan until 3k miles ago and is completely standard. The lady who owned it before me just used it for commuting, so it's not been thrashed.

Carpets are clean, it's just the mats that aren't. Leather is in great condition. I don't think anyone's ever sat on the back seats! It just needs a good clean out, some leather care on the seats and a wash/polish/wax. I have Mon/Tue off next week, so guess what I'll be doing?

Leon MIGHT be allowed the occassional drive on Birthdays and at Christmas if he's been a very good boy

No plans for drifting or any mods at the moment. I just want to learn how to cope with RWD and take it from there. I'm more than happy with it as it is for now. 2L Mondeo to 2L Turbo 200SX is a big enough jump for me!! Seriously considering a lesson on a skid pan to learn how to catch it if the rear gets a bit twitchy in the wet. I've lost count of the amount of threads I've read on SXOC about people stacking their 200SX's within days of buying them.

 

[Lostkat]

Nice motor. £3500 seems a very good deal, whats wrong with it? I was looking at these when I was after a new car last year but it was hard to find a very good condition manual car, so I ended up buying an Octavia vRS. Good luck with it.

Heh, that's exactly what I thought when I saw the advert. I've found lots of decent condition ones, but they've all been auto. After the 100 odd mile run home, Leon can't find anything mechanically wrong with. Cosmetically, it has the start of some bubbling on the rear arch, but you don't notice it unless you're looking for it, and my brother's mate has a bodyshop so I should be able to get it done reasonably cheaply. Other than that... couple of stone chips on the bonnet, which will look better once it's been polished, tax runs out 30th June, and it has shoddy (new, but cheap) tyres on it which need to go in the bin. Fingers crossed it's just a good buy like my Ghia X was at the time.

When I first started out, I was actually looking for a TDCI Focus or Mondeo. Something that would just get me to work and back and never break down. However, having never spent this amount of money on a car before, I wondered why on earth I was spending £4k on a car, when I could buy another old Mondeo which would do the job for <£500. Hell, I could even shell out £200 odd on bits to sort out the Ghia X so it passed its MOT in July. I wanted something with a bit more grunt that I'd enjoy driving and was worth the money, so I started looking at the Accord Type-R because it was something practical, yet interesting which a bit of oomph. Quickly realised that there aren't too many around and £4k won't get me a good condition one, so I had a think about what else I could afford. Suddenly the realisation dawned that I could actually afford a S14a, which I've wanted since forever and all my hopes of economy and practicability flew straight out the window Took about 3 weeks to find this one.

Thanks for all the comments guys, I'm so pleased with it. I even dreamt about it last night, and woke up to check it was still there this morning, lol.

 

[Lostkat]

Thanks for all the comments guys! Have had a proper drive in it tonight, and built a little confidence up in the dry. I was pretty terrified of it stepping out every 10 seconds when I first got it home. It's great though, and obviously Leon loves it.

Exactly! Even with 110k on the clock ( which as people have said is nothin to be alarmed by) these cars go for peanuts, that is brilliant value for money, which is why i enquired about the milage.

Also worth pointing out that it has book stamps up until 3k miles ago at the very same dealer it came from, so it's been looked after by the previous owner.

Anyway, gave it a jet wash tonight followed by a quick wax tonight and took it off for a quick photo shoot.

To whoever said de-tango the front - I will just as soon as I have £70 spare to pay for a pair of indicators!! Bit pricey imo, but it'll be a big improvement. For now though, I'm just happy to be driving it around.

...

 

[Lostkat]

Who said Japanese cars are vile inside? I actually really like it. Very good condition (minging mats removed to show clean carpet below ) and really comfortable to drive. Dead pleased!

 

[Lostkat]

Is it just the pics or is one indicator darker than the other?

Looks nice, hope you enjoy it.

Pics. Sun wasn't overhead so you get those pesky things called shadows You missed the hairline crack on the right indicator though. Disappointed

 

[Lostkat]

It's on the left (of the car)

pwnd

 

[Lostkat]

I think the front end looks awesome This has probably been asked, but any planned mods (Could do them on the sly Lopez )

Nope. It's getting Eagle F1's on the back on Monday and that's about it

It'll stay standard for quite some time. It's extremely quick as it is and I really do need to learn how to handle it properly before I even think about mods etc. As things wear out though, it's likely that they'll be replaced with uprated parts rather than overpriced standard Nissan parts.

 

[Lostkat]

Nice car Miss Lostkat. Had one myself 7 years ago - same colour too

May I suggest some bigger alloys and an Eibach lowering kit? Transforms the look of the car. You could always sell Mr Lopez's car to finance the upgrades, but I'm not sure it would make enough to cover it

lol, they might buy some furry dice for the front, or an air freshener

Leon said you had one exactly the same as this when we were going down to have a look at it. I think I remember the photos that you sent him of it.

I quite like the idea of black anodised alloys with a silver rim and uprated suspension is always a bonus, but I'm not doing anything to it unless it needs it at the moment as the house needs my money more than the car does (boooo!). The suspension is pretty good actually, considering it's an 8 yr old car. Very firm.

One of the guys at work called me a chav on Friday when I took it in for the first time. He didn't have a clue what it was though until I showed it to him. Then he asked "So how does the turbo work then? Do you flick a switch and it comes on?". And this is a guy who used to work for Ford & LandRover, lol

 

[Lostkat]

It's not that quick as standard, in fact I found them quite disapponting. I still bought one though as with stage one mods they do feel properly quick. A performance exhaust makes a massive difference.

Apologies, I should have elaborated. It's very quick compared to a 2L Mondeo, and that's plenty enough for me.

 

[Lostkat]

RWD plus Turbo?? I'll keep an eye out for it in the local ditches

Seriously though, it is a great looking motor. I was looking for one a few months back but couldn't find anything that was right. They were either modded (and I wanted to do that myself) or not very well looked after.

I'm a bit jealous of that one, looks in really good nick.

... I wonder if the engine will fit in a volvo 940?

I didn't want a modded one either, and found that most of the clean looking ones were autos. Very frustrating!

That engine is going absolutely nowhere. Don't think I didn't see you eyeing it up today Leon

Could the back seats fit two of my 6 foot mates in the back? Really interested as im loving the look of htat car.

I can say without a doubt, NO I am 5ft9 and my knees are rammed into the back of the driver seat if I sit in the back.. and that's with it adjusted for me driving. With Leon driving, no-one would get in the back. It may be a 2 + 2, but the back seats are only good for midgets and shopping.

 

[Lostkat]

I'd forgotten to do one Just took one now. It needs a clean though, and you've just reminded me that I need to put some grease on the bonnet catch because it looks a bit dry.

I also debadged the back yesterday. It had a vile "Glyn Hopkin" badge on the opposite side to the 200SX, so I removed it. The paintwork was dull around the 200SX sticker and there was loads of dirt around it that I couldn't budge, so I removed the badge and got rid of all the scum with some G3 compound. Finally, I waxed and it and now you can't tell it even had badges it on the back Looks much better now.

And finally, my insurance certificate has just popped through the door so I'm off to tax it Huraah! (Tax ran out on Saturday, and I hadn't got the insurance docs because of the postal strike).

 

[Lostkat]

That is exactly and i mean exactly how mine looked when i picked it up in liverpool, same stickers and mess on battery, same grime. Few hours later and a tin of gunk and a dozen rags + wd40+few broken knuckles and sore pinkies i had it shinning. Must get a pic or 2 of mine up.

Yeah it does need a bit of a clean. Was quite glad it was dusty when we went to look at it though.. shows any leaks etc. up nicely. Will give it a good degrease when we get back off hols

Oh, and whilst I was rifling through my paperwork I got with it the other day, I discovered that it was bought on 24th December 1999 and had private plates (Nsomething NSX) on it. They're still in the boot! Apparently it was a woman who drove it, but a bloke who was on the V5, so it looks like her husband bought it for her for a Christmas present.... NICE! Can't see Leon doing anything like that for me

 

[Lostkat]

Junctions and roundabouts get taken like a Grandad at the moment. High gear, slooooowly with gritted teeth Getting better though actually.

It's amazing how suddenly everyone on the roads seems to want a race. An Alfa tried his luck today and I just couldn't be bothered, so I slowed right down and let him bomb off in a cloud of diesel smoke. Overtook him later on because he was stuck behind a bus *nelson* HAAA HAAAA *nelson*

Do you have the usual leak down the front of the block if you look down between the fan and the block were the head sits on...slightly offset to the right? Hows your VVT

Oh..Dont buy any tuning bits from the UK WHEN you start to want a little more power. I got £500 worth of bits delivered to me for £280 from Japan/America.
www.nengun.com or google it

My VVT is fine actually. Leon says that you can hear it a bit from cold sometimes, but we just went out in it now and it was fine. Oh and I checked for that leak too... it's there I didn't notice it before. No fresh oil, so it's only seeping out very slightly, but it's there nonetheless.

Thanks for the tip with parts too

 

[Lostkat]

oh golly heck yet another 200SX owner!

Welcome to the club (S13 here)

by the way Lopez, what U driving now?

Why thank you SXOC member too? Leon wants an S13 now, but they seem to have shot up in price recently.

Leon's current "motor" is a garden shed made in Sweden... HA HA HA

Since the rain stopped, I've been experiencing the utter joy of driving it in the dry. I also love the fact that most of the people I work with (mostly blokes) have absolutely no idea what it is and asked me uninformed questions like "so which engine is in it?" and "is it the hatchback or the saloon"

 

[Lostkat]

I'd be tempted to take a claybar to the paint/glass work. Although it's already looking shiney

The paint looks great from a distance, but the bonnet and front bumper could do with a re-spray because of all the stone chips, and the bubbling on the rear arches needs sorting out too. She's a pretty shiney car though

Thank you for easing my boredom today. Had a quick read up on how to use a clay bar, took note of some recommended products, went out and bought a Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit. It came with some Meguiars Cleaner Wax, so I finished it off with that and the car now looks about a hundred times shinier and the paint feels lovely and smooth

Just off out to take some pics!

 

[Lostkat]

Get Leon to buy a Porter Cable. You will get your use out of it with the amount of old sheds he buys

I can't stop stroking the paint when Phil clay bars one of ours!! (He does it cos he doesn't trust me with it!!!)

I didn't find it too bad to do at all. You just have to keep spraying the stuff on to keep it wet, and kneeding the clay until you get a clean bit. Seems to have worked pretty well anyway

Leon's got an industrial polisher thingy, which he bought second hand. Apparently it's the sort that they use in body shops for buffing paint. It looks a bit powerful and mean to use on my baby though!

Pics coming up shortly..

 

[Lostkat]

Drove over to our local nature reserve to take some pics. Unfortunately, I forgot about the gravel carpark, and the car quicky got covered in a layer of dust, hehe. Don't think it's affected the pics though.

Took this when we got home to show just how shiny it is at the moment. Dead pleased with myself!!

Next step?.... Removing the swirl marks. ERK! (they were there before I started, so shhh)

 

[Lostkat]

Fitting an Apexi fliter was my first mod and I did think at the time that the car wanted to rev through a bit quicker. Sort out the exhaust as said and it makes a pretty large difference as the two cats strangles the car and you'll gain a few psi of boost whilst doing so..

I'm following in your footsteps. Just bought an Apexi induction filter from a guy who was breaking an S14. Used, but a damn sight cheaper than what they go for new.

Exhaust will have to wait unfortunately. I need to sort out the bubbling on the arches before winter is upon us, so that's my priority. My brother has a mate who owns a body shop quite close by, so hopefully it won't be too painful. Depending on price, I might get the bonnet/bumper re-sprayed whilst I'm at it.

Thanks Snow-Munki. There are quite a few of them around, but I had trouble finding a standard one. Most of the standard ones are autos.