I had an '85 200sx with 4cy turbo and 5 speed manual. It was a fun little car.
MaxC, maybe this person’s real name, maybe a clever alias, explains how this 1988 Nissan 200SX V6 project came to start:
Back in 2009 my friend was invited by another friend to race an MR2 at a new series called "Chumpcar" in a 24 hour race at Portland International Raceway. I have always been a die hard car guy. When my friend told me what he was going to do, having no money, I decided to volunteer. My brother and I volunteered for the race and worked probably 16 hours of it, and I was ruined for life. I have always loved cars, and racing to me is the absolute pinnacle of my car interests.
But then, of course, life got in the way: marriage, kids, work, etc. You know, the usual.
Fast forward to modern times, and MaxC wants to go racing:
I really wanted to have a running/driving car to start with, and focus on the actual race car building things (roll cage, etc). Z31's seemed to be in my budget and plentiful, running with 5 speeds and titles. I found one that I wanted to look at, and added an s12 200sx V6 to the list as it is very similar to the z31 but combined with a bit of S-chassis nostalgia. Never made it to see the Z31, because I came home with this bad boy after the first look. $1000, SE V6, 5 speed, clean title, so many small problems its not even funny. Fun fact: this car was produced 87-88 and received FIA homologation for competition in the WRC, and is the last RWD rally car to win a WRC Stage (Ivory Coast 1988). Bonus '84 turbo hood! Its actually a very rare car, so why not cut it up and make it a race car?
How does this one get on track? Check out the build thread for the details.
I had an '85 200sx with 4cy turbo and 5 speed manual. It was a fun little car.
drock25too said:I had an '85 200sx with 4cy turbo and 5 speed manual. It was a fun little car.
I had an '85 200sx with 4cy N.A. and 5 speed manual. It was a fun little car although down on horsepower.
I remember Dad raced the previous gen 200SX in ITB at Portland and Seattle. Upgraded the rear brakes to discs from a later model 200SX. The L20B was a pretty impressive motor, even if the styling of that gen was, um, interesting to say the least.
Always wanted to put one fo the Z-car inline 6'es in that chassis with the Datsun Racing bubble flares.
I digress though.
I love that someone is paying attention to these cars, they are pretty neat even if they are overshadowed by the Z-car and the later Silvia.
My brother had one, too, while in college: white over blue.
It really is a PNW style car. We have all the weird and neglected Japanese cars.
Those things are pretty close to extinct in my area of the country. The only time ive seen one in the past 5 years or so was at a Radwood show.
Stefan (Forum Supporter) said:I remember Dad raced the previous gen 200SX in ITB at Portland and Seattle. Upgraded the rear brakes to discs from a later model 200SX. The L20B was a pretty impressive motor, even if the styling of that gen was, um, interesting to say the least.
Always wanted to put one fo the Z-car inline 6'es in that chassis with the Datsun Racing bubble flares.
I digress though.
I love that someone is paying attention to these cars, they are pretty neat even if they are overshadowed by the Z-car and the later Silvia.
That's awesome! I'd say that's an even more rare car than this one! What a cool memory.
What a pleasant surprise! This is my car!
I've put two years of work into this thing, late at night after the kids go to bed. So definitely haven't done it for the recognition! I am honored though that GRM chose to feature this car. It's a lesser known car, and its really cool to see that the "grassroots" (literal and figurative) car fans still have love for it! Thanks for the replies everyone.
David S. Wallens said:My brother had one, too, while in college: white over blue.
Mine was white over blue, too.
I loved that car.
In reply to MaxC :
Cool car and thanks for sharing with the rest of the class.
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