The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Looking at a car
Guys I'm wanting to get into the Lemons race at Houston in Sept. What do yall think of a 81 rwd sentra? I've been looking all over the place found this car and talked the guy down from 4 hundred to 3 hundred. He sounded pretty desperate I think I can get him to lower if I buy this weekend. Anyways long story short, is that vehicle common in Houston? Would it hurt my chances of getting in?
I thought the Sentra began in 1982 as a FWD car???
I've been looking at so many cars I confused myself, 1982 Datsun/Maxima. Also, do teams drive automatics? I would think 95% would be standards?
Ah yes, that makes more sense. Yes, the '82 Maxima is a great car for Lemons. The judges love them and you should be able to get accepted with little trouble. Do it! BTW, a manual swap shouldn't be too tough. S30 manuals are easy to come by. I'm not sure if Maximas and Z's share pedals, but you should be able to make something work.
Does it have the "Talking Lady"? Nissan used a mini record player with a woman's voice to alert you about seat belts and open doors. Very cool "technology".
Just talked to the guy again, I'm buying the car tomorrow. It has power everything so I guess it has the talking lady which is awesome! Reason he's selling so cheap is that it has a knocking engine. It has a good automatic he says but I think it would be good to sell that and change out for a standard...do yall agree?
A knocking L series is not a great thing.
The Maxima has a L24 with dished pistons where the 240Z had flat tops pistons.
I bought an 84 Maxima a while back and plan to turn it into a LeMon in the future.
FYI, I am in Houston as well.
The automatic does not have much value. I threw away several the other day that came in a parts lot I bought.
If I am correct, the automatics are only 3 speeds so a 5 speed would give you better gearing options which will be nice at MSR.
I plan to do a 5 speed swap on the Maxima I have. A 280ZX or early Z trans will bolt up. I don't know about the pedals though, I am hoping ZX pedals work.
I have bought several complete 280ZXs for $150 each now. Great source for drivetrain parts.
I wasn't planning to run the Maxima until next year but I may have to step up the plan a bit. I want it as a 510 alternative.
I picked up the car yesterday. I ended up talking the guy down to 200 bucks. We'll be looking for a 280z to steal parts, eng/trans to make the maxima 5 speed. Our teams previous knowledge has been mostly fox body mustangs and camaros so we have a bit of a learning curve to overcome with this build. Do any of the 280zx's come carbureted? Would yall suggest trying to go carbed or stick with fuel injection? I'm looking at ease of repair and reliability.
Also do you think that the 1982 Maxima is an unique choice which would help us get accepted into the race? I think it represents a good Lemons car, we'll definitely be keeping the hood ornament on! It has the talking lady and it works, she kept telling me yesterday that my door was open when I was loading the car, it's pretty funny.
Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I think the last carb Z cars were the 260's. Email Troy he's got some Z skillz. And I think Jeff has too.
Switching from EFI to carbs does clean up a lot of stuff under the hood. Zs were carburated until 1974 but those sucked! You would want the SU's.
Finds a good carb set-up for not a lot of money can happen but they are typically pricey. I try to buy complete cars for under $200. The heroic fix guys bought a whole car cheap for their motor. Both their motors had SU set ups and the ones on the donor car looked pretty good inside when I helped them out.
For my Maxima plans, I was going to try and keep the factory EFI. There are a couple of weak links though, the distributor and the air flow meter.
Regarding choosing a first gen Maxima, Judge Phil would like to see one.
Email me if you have more questions.
the mid 80's maximas had Z engines.....I think the sedans even were independent rear suspension....
However I think an early 80's diesel station wagon is more appropriate for Lemons!! You can probably drive all day on 1 tank!!
I've owned and wrenched on both EfI and carbed Datsuns. I prefer the EFI version. The early EFI cars (75-78?) do not have feedback, so adjusting up the fuel pressure makes more fuel happen, no backtalk from the pesky O2 sensors.
GOOD ANSWER!!!!!! And if you know what you're doing you can adjust the airflow meter to run richer. You know the EPA made for clean air...........
GOOD ANSWER!!!!!! And if you know what you're doing you can adjust the airflow meter to run richer. You know the EPA made for clean air...........
Every one I've ever seen runs too rich, you gain power by leaning them out. Just sayin'
I took some pictures of the car yesterday and would like to post them on here. How do I do that? Should I post them in the pictures/vids section?
I took some pictures of the car yesterday and would like to post them on here. How do I do that? Should I post them in the pictures/vids section?
Register at photobucket or similar hosting site and post them there. Once you do that, you can copy and paste the IMG link they give you for each picture.
Seeing that a lot of our knowledge is with small block ford/chevy, would it be frowned upon if we were to put a v8 in our maxima? I was just thinking because we have a lot of spares in case we break down.
Seeing that a lot of our knowledge is with small block ford/chevy, would it be frowned upon if we were to put a v8 in our maxima? I was just thinking because we have a lot of spares in case we break down.
On the contrary, it would be smiled upon greatly.
We're looking at buying an early 80's 280zx for engine/trans and parts. Any recommendations on years or things to look for to swap into the Maxima?
we've found z parts to be more difficult to come by than first thought. I think we'll be adding some cubic inches to this 4 door sedan. :-)
Bah! Z parts are easy to come by. Just go to Troy's house and steal them. 
Guys I'm wanting to get into the Lemons race at Houston in Sept. What do yall think of a 81 rwd sentra? I've been looking all over the place found this car and talked the guy down from 4 hundred to 3 hundred. He sounded pretty desperate I think I can get him to lower if I buy this weekend. Anyways long story short, is that vehicle common in Houston? Would it hurt my chances of getting in?
Wikipedia: Sentra started in 1982. FWD, E14 engine, low Hp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_sentra
That error was addressed long ago....
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Looking at a car