I've been searching around for a nice sc3 but have had no luck, either mileage was too high or pricy. I have a chance to buy a pristine 97 240sx with under 100k for about $5k. No rust, no mods!! I've always liked how 240's look with the s15 front ends, but im feeling that the quality and drivability won't be as nice as an sc3. Just wanted to know your opinions...

 

thats a good price where are you getting it from?

 

If you are damned, you will buy it. Then again if you don't buy it, you'll be damned. So, should you buy it?

 

jump on it!!! 5K for a 97 240?? that's good price!!! it is a 5-spd, right??
auto 240 is just plain boring, but 5 spd is a differnet story!!

 

Thats a good deal. If its clean title and 5 speed I'll buy it for that price if you dont want it. lol DO NOT CHANGE THAT FRONT END. If you want to do an S15 conversion buy a 95-95. Dont buy a kouki and waste its front end, I repeat, DO NOT DO THIS! Drivability is not an issue nor is quality IMO, especially for the type of car it is. It is hard to compare to an SC300 though as they aren't really all that comparable. The S14 is fun to drive though.

 

I wouldn't change the front end because it's too much money into body work. Anyways I love the look of stock 97's with the factory aero kit. Unfortunately the car is auto. Looks like a nice car for 5k though

 

Nope, its OBDII stay away.

And the ride, well obviously it wont be as .... smooth as an SC300, but it will be sportier, and slightly harsher, but at same time slightly more feedback. This car will be the opposite of the SC300 of wehre it feels strong, itll feel strong from the get go, but fall flat on its face at more then highway speeds, where its the opposite with the SC300.

I couldnt decide so I got both, although an older variant. Before this 2, I had an S14, which I loved, but then again it was my true first car.

 

My S13 doesnt fall flat on its face

IMO getting a 240sx and keeping it stock = dumb

As for OBD2; there are plenty of ways around that now: Bikirom, and OBDI swap just to name a few.

 

5k is an awesome price, keep the stock front, its too nice too change

 

You will fail immediately when people notice a car that SHOULD be obdII is not at least here locally you would.

 

Fail what? SMOG? OBDII vs OBDI only matters if he's intending to mod the car heavily IMO. For most basic mods, most people preform, I dont think there will be a huge difference between either... The car is auto to begin with so if he swapped to a manual tranny in which case the car would "fail," BAR ref anyway. I have seen very very few modded auto S Chassis cars, my guess would be that if he really wanted to mod this car, a manual tranny swap would be the first mod.

 

I'm thinking about getting a s14 for a daily driver now. But I want one that already has the sr20 or rb20/25. Shoot I might just buy a stock one and drop the 2jz-gte in it, you can do that with a 97-98 model.
97 100k for 5k, jump on it, if nothing else you can turn around a sell it for probley a 2k profit.
Richard

 

Come on, no one buys this carsand not mod them! If you leave them stock then they truly are secretaries cars!

 

being in CA u should know better than anyone the perils of smog.

the basic motor swap law is this:

its legal if:
-engine is same year or NEWER than the car its going into.
-if its OBDII car then it needs an OBDII motor.
-Only Legal if it was available in the US and approved for 50state use (EPA, etc) (this is why u cant LEGALLY run an SR or RB motor in the state of CA).
-All standard emissions equipment that came on the motor must be on the motor after the swap.

not legal if:
-motor was never sold in the states (^see above)
-basically u ignore the points stated above.


transmissions, wheels, tires, suspension, all that doesnt mean anything in getting the car smogged and registered. u can easily swap a 5spd into it from anything (skyline GT-T for example) and not worry about it because that kind of a part doesnt have to go thru emissions and the like.

 

Right I agree with all of that and know all of that as well. BUT I still dont follow your OBDI vs OBDII argument. If he swaps the motors, its illegal either way, it doesnt matter. If he is going to heavily mod the car, then being OBDI vs OBDII also becomes a moot point as that will probably be the least of the worries. If he swaps an SR or RB then it really wont matter as either way he goes it'll be illegal. What mods could he possibly perform that would be SMOG legal AND be really effected by being OBDI vs OBDII?

Transmission, at least in the state of CA, cannot be changed if you ever need to see the bar/state referee. If you car is supposed to have a 5 speed, when you go to see them, it had better be a 5 speed. Having that said, the tranny, as you said, has no effect on being able to SMOG the car.

BTW the motors has the be from a car the same year or newer and in the same class.