MotorTrend

1993 Nissan 240SX (S13) - Mix & Match

The conception and birth of a JDM mutt
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No anime series in history has inspired generations of JDM car fanatics quite likeInitial D. If you are unfamiliar with the title, we'd strongly suggest checking it out ASAP in order to retain cool points. That said, it was this very manga series that originally inspired the unique Nissan S13 you see here, a vehicle many in Japan would refer to as a Sileighty, although we prefer to call it simply badass.

Anthony Do originally bought this '93 240SX in 2016, after an episode ofInitial Dillustrated that blending an S15 Silvia with a S13 180SX returned staggeringly slick results. Tearing into the project immediately, Anthony never once gave in to the notion of enjoying it stock. It was around this time that he took the easy route and picked up some "S13.5" conversion fenders. But alas, bolt-on aero solutions don't always line up quite like an OEM product, and before long the Nissan owner realized his headlights were about as off-kilter as Steve Buscemi's disturbing character inCon Air.

So, Anthony ordered another set of conversion fenders, which upon installation fit OK but prevented the doors from opening and closing. It was the classic, "give up or get creative" kind of moment for the Houston local, and let's just say Anthony has never been one to fold under pressure. Tired of spending good money only to receive shitty fitment issues in return, he did a highly unusual thing by importing a set of OEM S15 flares. After waiting three months for them to arrive, he proceeded to have them hacked into pieces. They were meticulously grafted to his OEM S13 fenders in order to guarantee the headlights and doors fit snugly without causing any form of functional hindrance. Next, he tinkered with things like fitting the S15 hood, hinges, and headlights, then modifying the headlight brackets to accommodate the newer lenses. Following that, it was on to the next major obstacle: combining Rocket Bunny kits from the S13 and S15, then preventing the entire project from looking like a giant pile of poo.

Collision Motor Specialist Inc. (CMS Auto) was enlisted for the major task at hand and the crew did a damn near perfect job in the end. However, it wasn't without its hurdles. Executing a project like this requires some serious patience, and, in Anthony's case, this meant waiting even longer for the two body kits to arrive from Japan. Making things worse was the untimely arrival of Hurricane Harvey in late summer of 2017, which hit Houston especially hard. This destructive deluge set Anthony and CMS Auto back several months, turning the homebuilt SEMA-grade Nissan into just another incomplete, shelved project car collecting dust.

As the flooding from the hurricane dwindled, the Rocket Bunny components were carefully installed. Anthony's very own S13.5 conversion was nearing completion. Some modifications to the radiator support were in order, as to not interfere with the S15-spec Rocket Bunny bumper. In regard to the rear, less custom work was required, however, Anthony outfitted 180SX Type X taillights to retain some of that Sileighty vibe, as well as installed a chassis-mounted wing.

How about Anthony's decision to go with a Toyota 2JZ-GTE motor instead of the traditional SR20 or even RB26 approach? He tells us his familiarity with the 2JZ was the primary reason, as his last major build was a 700hp Lexus IS300 with a similar engine swap. Taking everything he learned from that project and applying it to this build made things go much smoother. One interesting side note is that Anthony snagged his single-turbo Supra engine from a local Houston drift car, which he says was totaled during competition.

The bay was tubbed and shaved for extra show points and Anthony's 2J was revving happily in record time as the build neared completion. Save for the body work and the Ford Avalanche Gray paint, he completed all the customization by himself or with the help of his close friend, Marc Trevino. The two even went as far as creating a wiring harness from scratch, which supposedly took a tedious eternity to complete.

All told, homemade wiring harness and all, the entire process spanned two years. Pretty impressive in our book, considering the amount of labor completed in Anthony's home garage. Maybe there will be anotherInitial Dinstallment at some point and we can see what else Anthony splices together. We get the feeling that no matter what form it may take or where it comes from, it's going to be badass.

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