200sx SE-R Money pit big turbo build

I'm not much for long drawn out stories so I'll let the pics with some additional info where needed do the talking. 

The car is a 1997 200sx SE-R, end goal is an easy 500hp with the ability to turn up to 650ish. 

Quick rundown

SR20VE

JE Ultra Series pistons 9:1 stock bore

Nissan SR20VET head gasket

ARP 625+ aged 4B11 headstuds

GTIR pulsar main bolts and girdle

Eagle Rods

2006 Spec V 6 speed conversion with mounts by Dr Fab 

Supertech Springs Ti Retainers

Radium Fuel Rail/regulator/dampener

Xcessive intake manifold

Bosch 2200CC injectors

Gspec conversion flywheel/Clutchmasters FX500

All AN lines throughout

Dorsey Racing Development custom 321 sidewinder V band Manifold with 2 pc downpipe, 38mm Tial, added scavenger fitting for catch can 

6262 Turbo V band 

Koyo oil cooler with Aeroflow thermostatic filter housing and ptfe hoses

5 lug conversion/Fortune Auto 510 coilovers, bracing through out. 

Z33 Brembo conversion

Honestly alot to list. I'll start with some pics

I'll get it a bit more organized tomorrow

Nice fab work!

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

And photos!

Holy Torque steer - but it will be fast in a straight line.

I love these cars. One if the few cool Nissans that I love but haven't owned. Can't wait to see some pulls. Good luck! 

Love me some fwd Nissan!

In reply to mdshaw :

I've actually never really fought torque steer. The Spec V helical is also a really nice piece for higher hp cars, and it weighs about 2275 with me in it 

This will be a track car meant for places like button willow and whatnot. Alot of suspension, 6 point, foam filled chassis etc. 

In reply to MaxC :

Waiting on the harness to get built, so far he's saying a 4 month lead time lol. I don't have the free time to make one up myself

Also random but I have a love affair with titanium. I hand burnt every bolt, hours and hours into it ha. 

This is the Taarks hall sensor kit, this will be replacing the CAS which replaced the original distributor. This will allow a much cleaner signal at High RPMs, is maintainance free and pairs will with the K20 ignition coils.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Nice fab work!

Hes a guy I met years ago at a SE-R meetup. 

When we first started talking is when he originally was just getting started in welding up manifolds and stuff. 

and now that he's got about five-six years under his belt the quality of his work is outstanding. He's pricey but I'm willing to pay money for quality and he stands behind his work 100%

It's a pretty cheap platform/group and most guys would rather run some cheap ebay rwd manifold that forces them to cut up the radiator support, run a tiny honda half radiator and hacked up coolant hoses. This whole setup in 321 with the extras like the downpipe and scavaging setup is about 10x what those cost lol. 

The six speed will require a switch to Hydro clutch and from linkage to cable shifter. To accomplish this I'm using a billet shifter meant for Honda K series. 

The biggest issue is the fact that the pivot for the reverse gear goes in the opposite direction of this Nissan transmission so I have to make that work which isn't that much work just some misc brackets and relocating.

This was my homebrew hot tank setup. A steel can from Home Despot, some high temp RTV and a propane camping stove. I was quoted 250 bucks for a shop to do it and this came out to a whopping 30 bucks. Came out EXCELLENT. 

This was my quick solution to rotating the coil packs so that the plugs didn't face towards the valley walls. This is a hard to get P12 20V valve cover and the guys that do this coil conversion usually just hack it by grinding the bumps inside down to fit the plugs. That's half assed even if their is a cover over it

Carpet was completely shot, call to Rockauto for ACC carpet with mass backing

Tossed in some sound deadening while I was in there. It may be brutally fast but it will still keep a full interior, modest audio setup and HVAC minus the AC, oil cooler is too big and has to sit where the condenser was.

I'm also cutting out the power steering as well, I have always preferred that tbh. 

Sent all the engine bearings, rings, crank, pistons and wrist pins off to get WPC treated. My friend Mike Kojima has first hand experience using this to massively prolong the life of his teams race cars. For the modest price it can't hurt. I ended up also sending the cams, rockers and shims off as well. 

Installing the Supertech Springs and retainers. 

Setting top ring gap

Valve train before WPC treatment. If you notice the cams are similar to Honda Vtec/i-vtec with dual lobes on a rocker setup. These are factory 20V cams which give the most power over the powerband. 

Shot of the ultra series pistons before WPC. I went with these as they have a new forging style that aligns the grain better. They have a great write-up on their site.

On a side note do not EVER order from Horsepower Direct. I placed an order for these and they blocked me on every social media outlet, wouldn't respond to emails or phone calls after a 900+ dollar order. They finally refunded me after months of fighting the credit card company after I had a bunch of people blow up their social media. They made a ton of excuses about everything/billionaire elites meanwhile RCAGarage got me these custom order pistons in about a week and overnighted on their dime. 

Here are the much much thicker wrist pins

Here are the Fortune Auto 510s, custom rates 12k rear 10k front. Sounds counter intuitive however with a rear beam setup the fastest cars use higher rear rates to help the car rotate and fight understeer. 

Unfortunately for my wallet the guy that I ordered these through said that they will now offer the upgrade for them to convert these into Pro two ways with remote reservoirs spherical bearings in the rear and now they have a offering for hydraulic perches from hyperco. 

I haven't even driven a mile on them yet 

Cool project.  I had a '91 SE-R through most of the '90's.  Gave it a mild tuner treatment back in the day with intake, header, catback Borla, performance ECU, and big heavy TSW wheels.  Didn't go as far as suspension upgrades.  There wasn't a whole lot of support for the SR20DE back then (before the turbo became known), since everyone was modding Civics and Integras.  Stillen (Steve Millen) was the main Nissan tuner back then.

I, too, have an obsession with titanium.  If you want to take your suspension to the next level, contact this outfit to see if they have what you need.  I have no affiliation with them.  I do have their Ti spring on my KTM 560 SMR (supermotard).

In reply to Nader :

Nice! I'm currently thinking of grabbing a B13 as well but it would inevitably turn into a project I'm sure. 

I've been into B series since I was 11-12, was on SER.net and the mailing list and I'm only 32. I've owned other cars but I've always had at least one at any given time.

With my career change it's given me the financial means to finally do the build I've always dreamed of, budget is not really a constraint at this point but I do look for (bang for the buck) items. 

I miss the late 90s early 2000 tuning scene to be honest.  every time I think of it I just get a little bit nostalgic thinking of the shows and events that really got me into this in the first place. 

I'll take a look at the link, I still need to send the coils back to Fortune Auto but I'm waiting on the okay from the man that got them to agree to even offer it

Dang, I haven't thought about the SER.net in decades.  And internet webrings, for that matter, where I got most of my SE-R info back in the mid-'90's.

What are your thoughts on the rear suspension change from the B13 to B14?  Isn't the beam axle a downgrade from the prior multilink?

In reply to Nader :I

Iove that you remember .net. 

I still remember how primitive and a pain in the ass the mailing list was. Brb messaging 300 other people for one reply lmao

If you do the proper work the rear beam outperforms the B13 independent rear but it takes some money. 

First thing is to bend the rear beam to 0 toe, there's a shop in socal that does it. Bushings and a proper sway help alot. I chose the Whiteline since it's the only one that attaches to the chassis the others all just bolt to the trailing arms. 

I'll eventually be taking the car to a shop to have a rear panhard setup made up to get rid of the stock Scott Russell link back there. T

There'sa shop in GA that already makes one but that's a long trip when I can find a competent local shop here in the bay

Just love this picture

All this and a Mike Kojima connection too! This is the greatest FWD Nissan build i've seen since the Sport Compact Car days.  Simply awesome parts and fabrication, and i'm stealing the hot-tank idea.. 

Watching because big power fwd cars are the best.