So I found this ad the other day. Been trying to go check it out but the guy is pretty busy.
http://www.ksl.com/auto/listing/2502221?ad_cid=6
Am I correct to assume these cars are becoming somewhat rare, and that this dudes price (considering everything in the ad is legit) is really low? I always loved the idea of these SE-R cars. Kind of like Honda's Type R and Si lines. Seems like this would make a great winter daily.
I would like to buy it specifically for that purpose. Then, when winter is over, me and a buddy have been meaning to build a fun car for rallycross and other similar events. We would completely gut the interior, replace all windows with lightweight lexan, add some race seats, and just go full budget racecar.
Are these becoming rare enough that this would be a bad idea? Better maybe to keep everything OEM and wait for it to appreciate? (an old FWD Nissan...is it really going to appreciate? Hmm...)
What do you guys think? Is the N/A SR20 pretty reliable?
Man, that's painfully mint. If you don't buy it, it will go down in history as one of the greatest tragedies of the modern era.
These RUST. BADLY. That is why most of them are gone. PLEASE don't use it as a winter beater...
They are already appreciating quickly, they are like a modern 510. You could triple your investment very quickly, maybe more from the BAT crowd, if it's as clean as it appears.
Find one that is already beat up if you want to gut it and build a race car, lord knows there are already plenty of crappy ones out there.
Yeah, they're now rare birds. In fact, I wonder if mine is still out there. I'd say it should be preserved.
It'll appreciate.
I appreciate it right now.
pointofdeparture wrote:
Find one that is already beat up if you want to gut it and build a race car, lord knows there are already plenty of crappy ones out there.
There are a number of B13 Sentras around here, but there are hardly ANY SE-Rs out here. We could always use a standard Sentra, true, but the SE-R comes pre-loaded with a substantial number of improvements, not the least of which is a bigger and better engine.
In reply to Desmond:
Therein lies the problem. SE-Rs are incredibly rare BECAUSE most of them were gutted and turned into race cars, with the street driven ones typically rusting away. Around here it's easy to find one prepped for Improved Touring, for example, but a stock driver in that kind of shape is damn near impossible to find.
I just don't get why someone would beat up and strip one of the few nice, original ones left, I guess. Like I said, that would be a $3k+ car anywhere outside of the southwest these days. I mean, crap, you have GRM staff here in this thread telling you it should be preserved!
I would look for a 200SX SE-R if you want a FWD SR20 rally cross car, they are far more common and less valuable.
No yeah, I think I see now. Don't think I would go racecar with this one. BUT I would definitely winter drive it. I'll get some undercarriage spray and take it to the wash regularly if I do, but this thing would probably be the better choice for a winter car out of my other two cars, an NB Miata and a lowered Nissan 240sx with a welded diff and a turbocharger. I imagine others killing me in the Miata, and I imagine getting my self killed in the 240 :P
I disagree with the 'save it' crowd. Its your money and your car, do what you want.
"Invenstment"-wise, you may be better off saving it, sure, but unless that is what you want to do with your cars then whatever.
Its not the last clean SE-R, and if it was, someone would be buying it and not enjoying it on the street/track anyway.
The SE-R is an awful car with a great engine. Mine was fun, but I wasn't sad to see it go.
Did these make good rally cars? I remember reading an experience of a guy that complained they were bad enough for a track car because of limited jounce.
I'd say just buy the damn thing. That is a steal with a capital S!
Trackmouse wrote:
Did these make good rally cars? I remember reading an experience of a guy that complained they were bad enough for a track car because of limited jounce.
That has a lot to do with people wanting to lower them as much as possible. At stock ride height they're fine.
pimpm3
Dork
11/10/15 7:26 p.m.
I have owned seven or eight of these over years, so I am pretty familiar with the platform.
They are great cars, they hold up well for what they are. The motors are great and last a long time with regular oil changes. My track car has 280k miles on it and the engine was in perfect running order when I swapped it for a SR20VE VVL engine.
They do rust pretty badly. Between that and ricer kids poorly modifying them they are becoming harder to find. That one you linked seems like a steal. With that mileage a decent example should be at least three times that price.
Lack of suspension travel has been mentioned before. It is easily rectified with camber plates and or shortened struts.
I actually pulled out my b13 SE-R today to get it ready for the Florida state autocross championships this weekend. Here she is today after a quick wash in all her 280k mile glory...
I checked it out. Turns out the chassis has about 200k miles on it. The engine has been swapped. Its an SR20 out of an Infinity apparently. A good deal of the interior is missing. The gearbox felt pretty vague, but the engine pulled decent and clutch was solid. He is in the process of swapping to the B14 power steering apparently, so the car didnt have any power steering.
Had a sunroof (too bad). The body is not as clean as it looks in the pictures. But it IS an SE-R chassis, although the shocks felt like they were pretty worn.
I dunno, so at this point its already halfway to racecar. But for $1000, it might not be a bad deal...
That 1,000$ car with another 1,000$ of sweat equity will spin heads in corners, and turn heads in the pits.
