I am thinking about building an ITS 240 sx. Is there a model year that is better than the other years. I work at a Nissan dealership and want to keep an eye out if one is traded in or is run at auction.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
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I am thinking about building an ITS 240 sx. Is there a model year that is better than the other years. I work at a Nissan dealership and want to keep an eye out if one is traded in or is run at auction.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
If you are seriously considering a 240sx for ITS (and can afford to) save yourself a lot of trouble and money and contact Chris Newberry and purchase his 95 240sx. Well prepared and developed car. Fresh off of an impressive SARRC victory at Lowes Motor Speedway, as well as, the fastest lap and a 3rd in the ECR. You will spend twice the money and countless hours to build and develop a car that is not as fast as this one. Trust me! I'm doing that as we speak!! I don't know his asking price but I know he is aggressively wanting to sell the car.
If you are determined to do it the hard way here is my two cents:
91-93 gets to use the better cams
Brakes are the same for all years
Wheel sizes are the same
Weight is the same
Tranny ratios the same
Bore and stroke and valve size are the same
Compression ratio is the same
95-98 has a larger wheel base
Based solely on this info, the 91-93 looks to be the best choice on paper.
Other things that may change this (AGAIN THIS IS NOW MY OPINION AND IS NOT BASED ON FACTUAL DATA)
Aerodynamics - The 95-98 LOOKS to be more aero clean.
Cars tend to be a little nose heavy and the 95-98 does not have the pop headlight system as does the 91-93.
Some claim that it is difficult to get the 95-98 cars to minimun weight. We were 20lbs to the good at Lowes with very little fuel. Chris was even closer I believe. (Could be why they beat us?!) Others have written off the car as not competitive. Not true. Again as with all cars some are better at certain tracks. It's not an overdog, but the potential is there! Our car set from 06/2004 to 06/2006 on jack stands in my garage and the drivers sat on the couch. We change the fluids (in the car and drivers), added new belts and tow hooks went to Lowes and qualified 3rd overall against very good ITS competition. During the 1 1/2 hr ECR we were passed by Chris' 240sx and 1 SRF (due to driver error) and maintained contact with the leaders ( 2 sec gen RX7's and an E36 BMW)
Either way both cars are easy and a blast to drive! Contact David Spillman. He is a Z car pilot that shared a seat with Chris at Lowes. We had one of the best races that I can remember during our session in the ECR. When he stepped out of the car he was all smiles!!
Thats my 2 cents.
Others???
We run a 1991 204sx in CFR out of Daytona, the car was built in 97 and was probably one of the first 240sx to race in SCCA. It has had numerous top 5 finishes over the years, with a best of 2nd at Sebring Oct 04, and 3rd at Daytona Sept. 05 (2.19 best lap). Best lap at Sebring short is 1.20 flat, about 1.5 seconds off really competing for a win there against the best BMW's and 7's.
The motor is 3 1/2 years old, and has been bulletproof. (built by Mike Covello, former service mgr. at Daytona Nissan now of Crane cams.
The car is a bit tired and will get a refurb over the winter, we may run at Sebring labor day weekend however.
Murphy is giving you good advice with regards to Chris Newberry's car. Fast, developed car, at what I'm sure would be a fair price.
"Bosco" Logsdon
David M, Rob22......Thanks again for the compliments on my car. I hate to be in a position to sell our car but we are experiencing a major illness in our family and racing is at the bottom of the ladder right now. As many of you may know the medical bills can pile up so the 240sx and all of the spares are for sale. I hope to race at Road Atlanta, our home track, as a final race and tribute to my late father in law, Rodney Williams. The car is definately ready for the track and capable of winning. I will be advertising it at the the track and then more aggressively on the internet, etc... after the ECR/SARRC race at Road Atlanta July 22/23. I am asking between 15K and 17K depending on what spares are sold with the car but the price is somewhat flexible. Like Rob22 pointed out, we have done a ton of development on this car and it would cost you more than double to repeat it, not to mention the sweat, blood and beers. If any of you need anything I am willing to part with it if I have it, just e-mail me or call me with what you are looking for. I have been in some form of racing for about 14 years and this is very difficult for us to step away but hopefully we can return someday in the near future. Chris 404-314-5042 or e-mail - its240sx <at> yahoo <dot> com
Let me add one more endorsement of this car, and Chris. I'm fairly new to racing in the SEDiv, but I have seen this car up close and personal many times (in the paddock only!) and have been behind it many times on track. If I wasn't sunk so deep in my car, I would seriously consider buying this one. If you want a 240sx, I don't think you can do any better (no offense to the Murphys, as their car is clean, well prepped and fast as well). If you want a top flight ITS car, it may not be "the" car to have but it is DAMN close, and very cool to boot.
A black/green 240sx memory: The very best ITS race I have seen ( I was out with brake trouble, imagine that) was Chris, Kent Thompson (RX7) and Steve Stubbs (325is from BimmerWorld) at CMP in August of 2004. Nose to tail the entire race, swapping positions. Stubbs and Thompson went door to door at the line, but Chris had the fast lap.
You buy this car, and learn to drive like Chris, and that could be you.....
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this yet, but have you considered an ITA 240SX? While a very, very well prepared & driven ITS 240 can run at or very near the front (as Chris has demonstrated), a very well prepared & driven ITA 240 can (and often does) win against any of the top ITA cars (well, except maybe the Me-otter, but that's another discussion). Just thought I'd toss that out there.Quote:
I am thinking about building an ITS 240 sx. Is there a model year that is better than the other years. I work at a Nissan dealership and want to keep an eye out if one is traded in or is run at auction.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. [/b]