http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u...y%20car/d-day/

today I picked up the "solution to all my problems". basically everything I need to work with on my car can be taken from that car.

this is where i found the car: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=549815

89 Nissan Rustima SE 5spd with 240k miles but a good tranny and clutch. some stuff doesn't work (windows, a/c, etc) but it has a sunroof which if at all possible i want on my car. Blue interior, tweed seats, leather wheel, etc etc. I'm taking the suspension for my car and the tranny too. HUGE exhaust leak.. ie, broken ypipe. Whatever, I'll start swapping stuff this evening, but nothing huge. Mainly interior items and maybe tails/centerpiece.

 

Nice grab, have fun

 

Have you gotten any estimates on cutting up your car and installing the moonroof?

I would think that's a fairly expensive job. If you do, try to get some kind of leak guarantee. I doubt they would do it, but I would try.

Back in the old days, when people used to get pop-up sunroofs from the aftermarket, they have a tendency to leak after a few years.

 

the sentra had a leaky pop up
this legacy has a regular power with no leaks so far.

 

oh yeah. i forgot to say the price tag. $350

 

it's a pipe dream really. i may do it someday, may never do it. depends what would ultimately be involved in the process.

heh

 

:EEK:

that's 7x what I paid for my old VE5 (back when cars weren't worth $500 just for scrap )

 

That's a little more than half of what I paid for a parts VG a few months back. Got the money's worth though.

 

Hey you guys are forgetting that the car is in good running order. yes some luxuries dont work but he got it cheap and thats what matters. Brian is just simply talented at finding cheap stuff but then again.... I'm not gonna say anything. He takes his time and knows where to look.

Are you planning on using the same clutch and all that or gonna toss in something nice?

 

Nice!
I'm jealous!

 

Nice find! I also recently got a nice parts car for the same amount, only mine is a '94 VE auto with 173K mi. I'm still not decided whether to fix it (mostly suspension and some body stuff) or part it out and use some parts for my '89 GXE.

Anyway, good luck with your swap/build/project!

Also, when I called around up in DC a few years ago, I think a moonroof/sunroof install with some sort of warranty was going for around $350. Maybe if you sell parts off the car you don't need you could make that amount of cash to finance the install.

Keep us posted

-Mrkanda

 

heh yeah. I drove with my brother in my passenger seat in my 90GXE out to get it, and he drove my 90 back and I drove the 89. it was about an hour ride back home, plus he wanted a little "stick practice" so we drive it around the block for a half hour or so, and then went and got lunch, and drove back, then i took my friend out in it when he got off work and took it around the block again. it actually rides BETTER than my 90, and several things on this parts car are in BETTER condition. Tires, for one. Motor is smooth and strong, though it needs a tuneup and a new-to-it ypipe. the only REAL problems are:

• rust
• more rust
• even more rust
• driver window does not work due to switch malfunction
• driver side rear door opens but is a PITA to close
• key cylinder on passenger door does not accept the key that operates the rest of the car
• hood struts failed (but not as badly as my GXE's)
• one iffy rear caliper, and worn rear rotors
• the gearshift pattern has rubbed off the shift ****...
• a/c doesn't work properly
• ***** on the climate control for temperature and fan speed are absent
• some cracks in windshield
• spoiler mounting points somewhat... rotted
• no visors
• interior-color trim piece that fits under the sunroof glass is in the trunk, not in the cabin
• there are two quarters in the back seat which I have neglected to put in my pocket
• battery has a bit of corrosion
• BROKEN ypipe causing effectively 30% muffling capacity TOPS
• engine bay is a little dirty
• seats have a few stains on them
• one cluster bulb (fuel/temp) is burned out
• sunroof controls work when and ONLY when they feel like it
• fog lights are missing
• reverse lights are nonfunctional for some reason (multimeter tomorrow)

i'm nitpicking mostly. if i have that much to nitpick about and nothing to say "OH crap this is broken" about... I won't say i'm in horrible shape for $350. tranny shifts fine, clutch needs to be bled a little b/c i have never driven a stick where the pedal HAS to be welded to the floor in order to shift gears (usually just 80% to shift will do), but other than that, and it being an eyesore... it's not a bad car. i'd DD it if i felt like registering and insuring the thing.

 

your clutch problem is probably a bad slave or master cylinder. Those are common problems, not really that expensive.

I should have mentioned that it was a nice find for that price. It goes to show how durable those VG engines are. It sounds like the car was really neglected and it still runs and drives good.

 

yeah, hopefully it's something simple like that. I kept missing 3rd at first b/c i couldn't get it to shift, then i realized the pedal had another half inch to go and it shifted then.

neglected, i suppose. it spent most of its life in Minnesota, fwiw.

 

My VG donor had 2 bad injectors and it ran OK. It had 220K on it. Similar shape but I doubt it had that much rust.

Congrads on getting it home in one piece.

It makes a 5 speed swap so much easier with a whole car. Im sure you'll have plenty of fun prepping the suspension to put on your 90.

~Alex

 

dunno yet. dunno when i'll do the swap. maybe next week. maybe next month. i need a job again before i start farking around with buying more parts. i have enough to scrape by for a week or three while i look for a job but otherwise i can't afford much more than gas.

i could just go ahead and toss it in this week while i'm waiting to hear from somewhere i applied... but i want to make sure the clutch hydraulics are OK first. in which case i'd use the current clutch and everything.. and install a new clutch when the current one starts slipping.. but i can't afford a clutch kit right now.

 

ya dude no doubt. i'll have to borrow some coilspring compressors tho, so i can put them around some fresh struts, then embark on the bushing swaps. tho sadly that is financially about a month away, plus i want GOOD brakes on all corners, so that's another what, 150-200 for a brembo/hawkHPS combo all around. plus the strut insulator mount thingies, PLUS a clutch. I'm overall maybe $1000 away from getting it paint-worthy.

 

We have the same steering wheel cover (B-day gift), Interior, and spoiler problems. Let me know what your approach to the spoiler problem. Now do your LED project on the car.

 

heh i'm not doing shyte with that spoiler. I'm installing a JY spoiler on my GXE tho.. because the GXE is my baby.. the SE is just for parts. As for the LED thing (shhhhhh it's a secret remember) but yes this parts car will definitely allow me to do what i need to do in order to make the LED thing work out properly. I took the steering wheel cover off and tossed it in the backseat. the dash is also in the passenger seat right now. I wasted no time tearing this thing apart. I'm actually taking the leather wheel and cleaning it up a bit as the leather is mostly in better condition than the one currently in my GXE (taken from a VE tho.. still have the stock boomerang-style wheel as well, tho not on any cars). I'm taking all the taillights and centerpiece from the parts car also, when it stops raining. and the wheels/tires. and I WOULD take the fogs if they hadn't been absent when i got the car.

i'll keep part-swap pics in here:
http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u...%20and%20mods/

 

sorry forgot to tell you that the clutch needs to be bled, and the moon roof will stick if you close it where it should be but if you leave it up just a bit it works most of the time and if its not working just give it a hit right under the switch and that usually works. as for the reverse lights i'm not sure but check the switch on the tranny maybe.

one kinda big thing i forgot to tell you is: it has this issue that if you park in R with the engine running and then shut it off it sometimes will stay running all you have to do is tap the shifter so that its not all the way down and it will shut off. i have no idea what that is about its one of the strangest things i have ever seen

other then that; thats why the ad said parts car with good tranny

i hope it all works out for you

 

I got my slave cylinder replaced by midas for 93$, if you can do it yourself the part is only 35$

it works well though

 

hey there! made it to Albequerque alright? don't tell me you can get on the ORG with your phone! Yeah if I had a friend to help i'd go out and bleed it right now. maybe my grandpa whill step on the pedal for me..

also, the reverse shutoff issue never happened to me but it appears there must be a short to where the car's ignition signal actually runs THROUGH the reverse circuit... or something. Kinda like Kentucky Fried Wire that The ColombianMax formerly known as BlooToof had going on in his i'M aLL wIRED uP thread

 

yep made it, got here at 11:30p last night and no i can't get on the org with this phone, it just tells me the page is to big. the shutoff thing only does it if the shifter is all the way down to the point that if you tried to back it up with the key off the shifter moves enough for it to shut off.

when you go to do your swap you might want to rebuild the slave cylinder, the parts should be less the $20 and it easy. and maybe get a master cylinder (take the old one in for core) you should be able to find a reman. reasonable. i think i paid like $30 for one in my 87 but that was years ago or you might be able to find a rebuild kit for that too. just to be on the safe side, cuz new parts are nicer then parts that are old.

i only had that car for a little over 2 years and i was poor so it didn't get many new parts
and it was a good car to me.

 

i tested it today in reverse and SURE ENOUGH it kept running. slapped the shifter and it shut off. bled the clutch using a 1x4 to hold the pedal down while i broke the bleeder bolt loose. feels a little better? seems the catch point is a little higher now. i just drove it out to the culdsesac to swap the wheels over to my gxe without hauling wheels from one side of the yard to the other. also removed the rear trim panel so i can set that up to go on my GXE (the SE panel on there right now is about to fall off.. it's literally taped on.) w/ the chrome trim instead of black, and the chrome emblem off a 98 GLE. it's a DAMN good thing i got this parts car, if even just for the tires, because, well... this is what i was rolling on until today (inside of front drv side tire) and this is the tire that replaced it. see a difference? the end result.

also, thankfully this thing is in FAR better shape so it's gonna be good to go tomorrow i think.

 

Dang, what size lift do you have under that thing? JK LOL

My springs are definitely sagging. While I am rolling on 17s, they are the same diameter as stock and I do not have near the wheel gap as you. It is for certain, I got to get me some B&G's and Tok blues.

 

i know right? it's just stock springs with Monroe in front (came w/ car when i bought it 18k miles ago) and OEM (original probably) out back. it sits randomly. makes no sense. sometimes it sits low, sometimes it sits like a 4x4. buuuuut i got summore work to do on it today, if the weather is any good. spoiler install, rear fascia work. At which point my "SXE appearance package" will essentially be complete, minus foglights

 

+1! That is such a sweet looking drop. We's all steelingz waynez drop skillz

 

my wheel gap looked good when i sat on the hood... on the side i was looking at... free 1.5" drop. haha.

 

And that thing handles like a slot car! I know, cause I have driven it.
But the ride is still very comfortable too. Best of both worlds.

 

Two weeks ago I got similar 'problem to all solutions', great gray rotten -BUT- with a real nonsticky tranny [with a RpRoblem]. Cant figure a solution to this: how can you get the snow off?

 

the snow? huh? a shovel, i assume?

 

snow comes off with hot car.

 

made my first profit parting the car out today. front driver-side window regulator cable section only. motor was toast. swapped motor over from the broken regulator on the recipient car. made $60 for parts and labor, PLUS her dad loaned me some tools to use for my spoiler installation tomorrow (technically later today as it's 3:30am EST), PLUS a tub of Permatex OrangeSomething hand cleaner. plus $150 worth of good rubber, a gauge and clock swap... the car has almost paid for itself already. and i haven't laid a finger on the tranny OR the suspension. word.

 

Well, the more I showell, the more I get. Better sit down and watch the rust if it gets hot.

 

get a can of hairspray and a lighter. poor man's blowtorch. Wiking 1. Snow 0.

 

sounds like what i should do...just find the same model pretty much and get the parts off of it...like a crashed one or something that nobody will buy or drive...lmao...

 

aaaaaaand the time has come. for the swap. my a/t died tonight. i was ascending this ramp at about 35-40mph at the apex of the corner, and picked up the throttle to speed up to 50 to merge from I-440E to US1/401N ramp onto the main lanes, and she let go. engine shot to 4000RPM and was making the sound paper makes when you stick it in the blades of a running fan. TC shredded itself. no gears at all, in any position of the shifter. just a whirring sound, and a few loose nuts-n-bolts sound rattling around when i rev the engine "in gear".

so... the swap is going to happen a bit early. which sucks because i was going to refill the tranny mounts with poly... but they have to be used as they are now. so if someone has some VG 5spd tranny mounts that they would like to trade with me, so i can fill yours and send you back mine... that'd be splendid. i can do the motor mounts... that's not a problem b/c i have 2 vg engines and i can support the parts car's engine with a jack while i refill the mounts w/ poly.

well there you have it. this parts car is slowly becoming a godsend.

 

I am afraid my curls will get burned straight?

A/T sucked air?

 

dunno about air... but it sucked the life out of itself. i was rounding the curve at 35-40mph and i picked the throttle up, the TC exploded or something. no fluid leaks. but it no worky no more. keep in mind the M/T swap was PLANNED anyways... just wanted to do it in march or april.. not february.

 

Oh boy. Why play with a treadmill paddles and stick if hydraulics cando the work?

Phasta did just this error, then wrote some howTo -pages... check the lost swede on CarDomain.