Riggle's Minty Fresh 1990 240SX (pics)

Figured I might as well make an official spot to whore the car out at.

At little history on the car. I bought it from the original owner for the last 19 years (her name was Ruth, she was 62 years old!) who took meticulous care of the car. She had records for every single thing done the the car for the last 19 years, including the original window sticker. She even stored it in winter under a car cover because it was RWD and would kick out on her in the snow/rain. So as luck would have the car has never seen snow and has only seen rain on a few occasions making it absolutely clean as hell. Its one of those cars where its a pleasure to take out the 20 year old bolts that are still zinc plated/galvanized because they have seen no corrosive elements.

Truth be told I didn't even want a 240SX this old, I was looking for an S14 since they are newer and usually in better shape but as soon as I met the owner and checked out the car for myself I sprinted to the bank to get the cash since there were a few more appointments that day. It was also kind of funny that they were interviewing the buyers since they didn't want some punk kid to get the car and ruin it, so after showing them that I was a tech and would be able to care for it properly they agreed to sell it to me. After discussing the notchy 2nd gear (I was being overly particular, but come on, this is haggling) and a few other items the price went from 3500 to 2800 in order to figure in the new cost of a transmission and labor involved (+ other Misc items).

I talked to LKQ about a trans and J30 diff assembly (gotta have SOME kind of LSD) on the drive home and got them to deliver it to my bay at work that following week for $300. So I ended up getting a mint, one owner S13 with a new (60k) trans and new (45k) J30 LSD for a total of $3100...that is unbelievable if you have tried, its impossible nearly. I was looking for a decent car/price for almost a year and never found one. Thank you craigslist, best invention ever. I found a ton of clean cars, but nearly all were modded somehow and I just HAVE to have something nobody has touched that I know for a fact is OEM.

Here are a few pics the day I got it:

The only cosmetic issue on the car, in this pic notice L-R fender well is dented. The owner hit a raccoon or something and it went up into wheel well denting it.








































I dont have any info like this posted anywhere else and figured this would be a good "home spot" to document the progression of the car.

Yay! Did you ever decide on what engine you were use?

You knooooow, a good buff job and that paint would be flawless, just sayin'!

Here is how it looks today after a good wash/wax. The car needs to be gone over with a clay bar and a buffer, but it cleaned up really easy overall.







1st Event - Dells Raceway with MSCC - Chris had a camera and was taking pics of every car, so I just got lucky someone was taking pics for my 1st event. Lucked out hardcore, otherwise there would have been no photos of the S13/myself getting our feet wet.









Random shot by Conrath at another MSCC event. I dont have any of the SCCA or WAI events since I didnt bring a camera but mad props to Conner catching a decent shot of the car and posting it.



Edit: Found one from SCCA at Miller Park




I went to my first event last year towards the end of the autocross season and got absolutely hooked. I went with all season Michelins the first event and just couldn't stand the lack of grip so I ordered some tires I could put on my stock rims and still be classed in stock street tire class locally. I ended up settling for a set of Kuhmo XS in 205/50/15, far from ideal but cheap (only $80 each) and super sticky. These will at least give me the start I need for an uncompetitive stock classed car with some new/sticky rubber allowing me to learn the cars key weaknesses along with my weaknesses the first 4 events.

First weakness is grip on the pavement, I could use a 305/30/18 Hoosier A6, but since I just bought these tires I am going to just chug through them and focus on other areas that need attention. I think everyone feels as though they could use more grip no matter what the level/chassis/driver but something wider would be very beneficial right off the bat and would increase all areas on the car.

Second weakness would be body roll/flex. The bushings in the entire vehicle are 20 years old and slaloming the car through a road course is about the last thing they need. I felt like the dampeners are definitely shot, sway bar bushings coming apart and all control arm bushings sloppy and tired. I felt like the whole car was just mushy overall and need to do something about this first and foremost.

Third weakness would be power. I have the KA24E single slammer in this beast. All 100-110 hp making it to the ground is barely enough to get this thing out of its own way. It bogs down in 2nd when I take tight sections of the course and lose RPM's. If it just had a solid 200 hp this would not be an issue, but it doesn't and getting 200 hp N/A from a KA24E is retarded, not to mention expensive. So at the very least I would have to swap in a KA24DE and then build it for an N/A setup. Again a very expensive endeavor not to mention not very cost effective in terms of total power potential. This of course means an engine swap of some kind in the future (this includes going KA-T, as I still don't have superior DE and would need to swap that in too ). I am leaning towards a few different options, but right now dont have the cash to embark on such a quest and I just want to drive the car stock for awhile and appreciate its 90's quirkyness.

Since the 1st and 3rd weakness are out of the question at the moment all I am going to be able to do is work on my driving skill (which will help the most, hands down) and look into replacing all the bushings and worn out suspension pieces. I can do this little by little this winter and should have a well sorted stack of parts ready for the next autocross season.

xCONWRATHx wrote:

Yay! Did you ever decide on what engine you were use?

You knooooow, a good buff job and that paint would be flawless, just sayin'!

Ha, I was constructing that post when you posted that. Great minds think alike, no doubt.

Car looks really clean! There aren't so many of them out there like this anymore.

I think I saw your car once at the Kwik Trip in Juneau. I remember noting how super nice and clean it was. Great find.

I had 4 S13's before all the FWD. Nice, keep it clean.