| I is back, ya hear? Youse thoughts
me gots rid of all me Ali G. euphemisms, but you
is wrong. Check dis, me friend Pat Scialdone tolds
me about dis site, http://www.mackers.com/alig/,
that translates everyfin fo’ ya. Check it!
So why am I so taken back by Ali G. lately? Really
it’s because I’ve had some free time.
My 240sx project build is finally underway as shooting
began at the end of October. I don't really want
to give too much away, as you'll have to tune into
the new season of Sports Car Revolution to see it
all, but what I will do is fill in the parts that
didn't fully make it to the show.
My free time started when I dropped the car off
at Birchmount Auto Collision. They’re such
pro’s over there, that all I had to do, was
sit back, smoke one of dem fattys and wait for the,
“Your car’s done” phone call.
I started this whole thing by making a plan for
the car. My goal is to compete in the Formula D
next season, so I’ve got to make a car that
can cut it. A ground up restoration is definitely
not in order, considering I’m probably going
to crash the ride on the first corner of the first
race, but some resto stuff was really necessary.
Me, Pat and Candido (the SR Crew, as you’ll
see come February…) started off by removing
the interior; seats, carpet, sound deadener, roof
liner, etc. We left the dash in, as we’re
not really doing anything too crazy to it. If we
were molding in some fiberglass, or making a complete
rotisserie restoration, of course we’d remove
everything and then acid dip the frame to eat up
any rust, but for now, a selective stripping process
will do just fine. After the interior, the engine
bay was completely stripped of almost everything
you could think of. The engine wiring harness was
chased back through the firewall, to the ECU, while
the accessories wiring harness was chased back only
to the driver’s side. Again, since the dash
stays, we had no need to chase that huge harness
and 2 fuse boxes through the firewall. Everything
from the fenders to the rebar was removed leaving
a real empty shell. The only thing that stayed in
the engine bay was the Brake Booster.
After removing the cross members, all of the suspension,
gas tank, brakes and lines, the car was ultimately
bare, much to our dismay. I knew the rust situation
was bad on 240’s anyways, and I knew mine
would be exceptionally bad since it was Canadian,
but I was not expecting this. The passenger side
rear frame rail was crushed and cracked in an approximate
36” long horizontal zig zag. The rails did
not look like that last year, when I swapped in
the first SR. That means that in 1 year of only
5 events and maybe 10 practice weekends, the frame
had completely deteriorated. My initial plan was
to get the frame rails welded in the bad spots,
but this was just ridiculous. Mated with a lower
rad support that was rotted, rewelded, and broken
I was afraid that Birchmount would be in for some
nasty surprises.
To my luck, however, Nissan stocks a lot of these
resto parts. The upper and lower rad supports, brand
new, were just over $100.00. They also made a mould
for the frame rails a few years ago and sell the
pair for just over $500.00. That’s not too
bad when you compare other resto parts coming from
the factory. Like I stated earlier, however, I was
not interested in doing a full ground up, so I had
Birchmount focus on the bad stuff.
The cracked and rotted spots of the frame were
cut out, sanded and replaced with dual bonded steel
and welded into place. Joe, the gentleman working
on the car, did a fantastic job making these pieces
from scratch and having them weld in perfectly flush.
As you can see from the photos, this piece is not
a straight, bend free rail. With three different
bends, this portion of the frame rail was probably
the hardest to fabricate, however Joe got his custom
piece to sit completely flush with the rest of the
frame. In about 45 minutes. With masking tape measurement.
Damn, the Birchmount team is good.
After a light underspray, the undercarriage was
complete. The engine bay also had some holes and
light rust which was sanded down and plate welded.
Prepped for paint, the car is still at Birchmount,
but should be back in my possession next week. I
am on the edge of my seat to see this car at the
shop again.
I’ve heard people say that a car is like
an extension of the body. I really felt that description
with this build up. Getting the rust fixed was like
popping a huge zit and having it spray across the
mirror. Seeing the damaged and rusted pieces getting
cut out and stripped away was such a sick, wicked
release. It made me feel like the 240sx had a weight
lifted off her shoulders. Getting this sort of resto
done on your 240 is an absolute necessity, even
if you don’t plan on racing the car. Most
shops would do this kind of work for a couple grand.
I know that’s a killer amount of cash when
an SR only costs about $3000, but really, you’ll
feel so much more confidence behind the wheel.
Tips on restoring
your own 240sx:
- When you’re taking everything apart,
make sure you make envelopes for all of the bolts,
nuts and brackets. For instance, when removing
the front cross member, label the envelope, Front
Cross Member bolts, place the 4 bolts in there
and then seal it to avoid anything falling out.
- Keep an Oxy-Acetylene Torch handy to get those
rusted bolts loose. Taking an entire car apart
is not as easily done in a driveway as some would
think.
- Have your parts ordered before hand. For instance,
Upper rad supports from Nissan are almost always
in stock; however the Lower rad support takes
3 - 6 weeks to arrive. As you find parts that
are rusted and ruined, order them immediately,
and then get back to work.
- Sandblast parts to be reused like the rear
cross member. Although this will not give you
any better performance, it’ll make you feel
a lot better about putting it all back together
again and ensure that connection points are rust
debris free.
- Leave the Brake Booster on. Once it has been
removed, it is very hard to get the same one back
on and have the brakes work the same as they did
off the factory line. As soon as you remove the
Brake Master Cylinder, cover the booster up with
a bag to avoid any debris getting in.
- Lastly, have a welder near by. The front cross
member nuts are exposed (hardly) in the engine
bay. When we tried to remove the bolts with an
air gun, the nuts broke free, forcing us to weld
the nut back into place a couple of times, and
trying the air gun again and again.
- Lastly, lastly; be prepared to order new brake
and fuel hard lines for the entire car. Even with
a Flare Nut Wrench, you will have a hard time
getting the rusted line ends loose.
|
Story: Adam Allen
Photos: Jeff Lorriman
When a car company replaces an outgoing model
that has been acclaimed by critics and public
alike, it had better be good. Mazda seems
to have understood that notion with its introduction
of the Mazda 3 Sport. Successor to the outgoing
Protégé, the new 3 had big shoes
to fill. The Protégé
brought fun to the economy car class. It was
light on its feet and loads of fun in the
twisties. It gave the driver a feeling of
agility and precision. Not only does the new
3 accomplish that, but it makes great strides
in terms of quality and performance as well.
Aesthetically, the 3 is much more striking
than the Protégé. It has a decidedly
European "hot hatch" look to it,
with flowing lines contrasted by sharp creases.
Clear tail lens adorn the rear with attractive
projector beam headlights up front. The car
sits on new 17" wheels and tires, giving
it a
purposeful stance. Panel gaps are commendably
minute, and the overall impression is that
of a tight and cohesive design.
Inside, the changes are equally obvious. Mazda
has certainly raised the bar in term of interior
design for cars of its class. Materials are
rich and expensive looking, and the fit and
finish is staggering. The layout is ergonomic
and driver friendly. One highlight is the
electroluminecent gauges rare to cars in this
class. They look great, and provide good visibility
under all conditions. The 3 comes basically
loaded, and the only options we had on our
tester was leather interior and a sunroof.
The only thing we didn’t ask for was
the automatic with manumatic function. This
option is more for the commuter type; we prefer
to shift our own gears. Our 3 had a slick
shifting 5 speed manual. The leather package
further adds to the look of sophistication
inside.
We were grateful for that. Mazda redesigned
its transmission to have better feel and gear
engagement, and we're pleased to report that
they were successful. Transmission parts have
been treated to a Teflon coating, and this
conspires with the driver to provide serious
enjoyment. Rowing through the gears is a delight.
You wont need to shift that much, however.
Coupled to the
tranny is an all new 2.3 liter 4 cylinder
engine that is quite torquey in nature. The
heart of the 3 puts out a respectable 160
horsepower. Hailing from Mazda's new family
of all aluminum MZR engines, the power plant
is as advanced as the rest of the package.
It employs features like variable valve timing
and electronic throttle control. This engine
is a smoothie from idle to redline, so much
so that it almost masks the feeling of speed.
It feels pretty strong at low revs,
but at 5000 rpm the valve timing engages,
providing and extra rush to the redline. Low
to mid 0-60 times are worthy of praise, and
ensure it's faster than most of its class
rivals.
The 3 exudes so much refinement that you
can almost forget that this is a sporty car.
Almost. You see, tracking flawlessly down
the highway the 3 gives the driver a feeling
of stability and control. Wind and road noise
are hushed, and the 2.3 hums quietly. There
is a definite feeling of solidity
and quality. Exiting on the off ramp, any
notion of being conservative disappears. Hit
the brakes, and the feeling is linear with
great bite. The brakes are strong enough to
hold up well under spirited driving and are
almost fade free. Pitch it into a corner,
and the 3 eagerly responds; 4 wheel independent
suspension tuned for performance allow the
car to handle confidently. Mazda has always
been good at building a chassis enthusiasts
can appreciate. The athletic responses of
the chassis are augmented by electronic power
steering that is scalpel precise. Taken down
a favorite road, the 3 feels more composed
and disciplined that the more playful feeling
Protégé.
The Mazda 3 Sport and Sedan have been a huge
hit. Buyers are picking them up as soon as
they land in showrooms. The mix of all its
virtues adds up to a car that is hard to top
in its class. One question keeps popping into
our minds; when can we expect a Mazdaspeed
version to hit the streets? The 3’s
willing chassis would more than accommodate
a healthy shot of Vitamin HP. As enthusiasts,
were always looking for more power and better
handling. Still, Mazda has given us gear heads
a fine piece to tide us over till then. The
Mazda 3 Sport is the kind of car that sets
new standards in its class and relative bang
for the buck. It would be interesting to see
how the competition is going to respond to
this truly fabulous car.
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What
is 6 x 83 x .987345 + 22 – 5?
We
can care less. Since we are crunching numbers
all day long for our 2005 season, all we can
think about is math. That is why we’re
opening the door to you! Ask all of your automobile,
house and spousal related questions and have
them answered by the real cheese in the industry!
We’ll pick the coolest question of the
month and post it in our next newsletter for
all of you to guess on! Email your questions
to mkent@sportscarrevolution.com.
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