Another S13? Haven’t we already seen enough of those? That might be a question you ask when you see this story, and I can’t blame you for that. With the massive popularity of a car like the Nissan S-chassis comes the very real possibility of over-saturation. Is there anything that hasn’t been done to these cars yet?
It’s a very valid point, and when you have something with a fanbase as large as the S13, it can be hard to find people doing something new and exciting with these cars. However, if you look hard enough you’ll find that such cars do exist and as evidence I present this Nissan 240SX based out of Southern California.
The car is built and owned by Southern California’s Kyle Ranauro and whether you’re talking about the US, Japan or elsewhere, it’s one of the most complete and interesting S13 builds I’ve seen in quite some time.
I spotted the car in October during the Slammed Society show at Formula Drift Irwindale and it immediately won me over with its bold image and more importantly its combination of drift, VIP and even hot rod elements.
While there were plenty of cool machines that came out to Irwindale, choosing Kyle’s S13 as our #FeatureThis award winner was not a difficult choice. Along with a slick trophy, I awarded Kyle with an advance copy of our #JoyOfMachine book and then we dispatched Larry Chen to photograph the car so we could break it down in detail.
Mixing roots
Kyle grew up idolizing American cars and lowriders, and that’s where a lot of the inspiration for this build came from. Later as a middle school student he discovered the 240SX and immediately fell in love with the rear-wheel drive Nissan. Like so many of us, he soon found himself scouring Japanese book stores for Drift Tengoku videos and learning as much about Japanese tuning culture as he could.
Prior to this car, Kyle has owned two other 240SXs – an S14 and an S13 coupe. He’d always wanted to build an S13 hatchback, and when he came across a base car with no sunroof and manual windows he jumped on it. Thus began a five-year process of working on the car on and off in his garage, with the final product being the machine you see here.
If it’s not the car’s outrageous stance or aggressive bodywork that catches your eye first, it might be the hood – which as you can see has more than its fair share of metal louvers spread across it.
“I love louvers”, Kyle says. “I also hate fiberglass hoods. Nothing fits like a metal hood.” There you have it.
And when you open that louvered hood, you won’t find an SR20DET swap or an LSx V8 swap. You won’t find a turbocharged Nissan or Toyota inline six swap either. Kyle has instead stuck with the 240SX’s original KA24DE engine.
But this KA24 has been heavily modified and doesn’t bear much resemblance to the ‘truck motor’ that Nissan decided to put in all of the S13s and S14s exported to North America.
The once modest 2.4 liter workhorse has been fully built, and is now bored .020 over with a decked block and head, JE pistons, Carillo rods, Jim Wolf cams and a whole lot more.
Additional power comes from a Garrett 3071 turbocharger with a Tial 44mm wastegate. The intake manifold is from Xcessive Manufacturing and the turbo manifold is from JGS, while a Greddy intercooler sits up front.
The engine is mated to a rebuilt and reinforced five-speed transmission with an Exedy clutch and power heads to the ground through a NISMO two-way mechanical LSD.
Maximum low
The car’s ridiculously low ride height comes from a set of Parts Shop Max competition coilovers with H&R springs. Larry tells me that it’s by far the lowest car he’s ever photographed, with not a shred of daylight visible beneath it.
Aside from the coilovers, Parts Shop Max also provided the rear toe arms, rear upper camber arms and knuckles. Other chassis and suspension upgrades include Kazama rear track links, Ikeya Formula tie rods, Megan lower control arms and a whole lot more.
Then comes the wheels. They are Schwert SC4s from Work, which probably aren’t the first wheel you think of when it comes to S13s. But that’s what makes them work so well here.
Making them stand out even more is the custom pinstipring that’s been applied to the outer lips of the wheels. It’s just one of the many unique little touches found all over this car.
The wheels measure 18″x 9.5 up front and 19″x10.5 in the rear, and if you can take your eyes off them for a moment, you’ll notice the 300ZX TT brakes lurking behind.
As for the body, the car is running a full kit from VIS along with BN Sports blister fenders – 30mm in the front and 50mm in the rear.
Let’s not forget the Altezza lights out back. It’s not an easy look to pull off, but Kyle’s done it well.
Kustom drift?
Last but not least there’s a BN Sports hatch which gives the car a completely unique profile with its gun slit rear window. I’m sure you’ve noticed the pinstriping as well.
The striping was done by Manny from Manny’s Auto Art and can be seen throughout the car.
You can even see it on things like the front strut towers and on the back of the driver’s seat.
Inside, the car has a six-point Auto Power roll cage, a Bride Zeta III seat and a 330mm Nardi steering wheel.
Kyle also made a one-off cluster using a selection of Autometer ES Series gauges, which look rather cool when lit up.
The spot where the stereo once sat is now occupied by a custom panel to house the car’s Blitz SBC i-D sequential boost controller.
Now that he has the car looking the way he wants it, Kyle is planning to get behind the wheel and work on his driving. Later on he plans to evolve the look into something that he says will be even crazier.
There are certainly those out there who would rather eschew the more popular platforms in favor of a car that’s a little more unique or obscure, but sometimes it’s just as rewarding to take a common car and do something unusual with it.
Along with its bitchin’ style, that’s the thing I love most about Kyle’s 240SX. He’s managed to take the venerable S13 platform and prove it still has plenty of creative life left in it.
Mike Garrett
Instagram: speedhunters_mike
mike@speedhunters.com
Photos by Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com
Kyle Ranauro’s Nissan 240SX
Engine
KA24DE, block/head decked, bored .020 over, custom JE pistons, Carrillo long rod/offset wrist pin set-up, Jim Wolf C78 cams, Jim Wolf cam gears, ported head drilled for 12mm z32 head bolts, block o-ringed, calico coated bearings, Garrett 3071 turbo with .86 AR, Tial 44mm wastegate, Jim Wolf tuned ECU, MSD 6A box with Blaster SS coil, z32 MAF, Apex Power intake, 740cc NISMO injectors, Walbro 550 fuel pump, Tomei fuel pressure regulator, Xcessive manufacturing intake manifold, JGS exhaust manifold, hot pipe and cold pipe, Greddy intercooler, Setrab oil cooler, oil filter relocated, Koyo radiator, Flex -a-Lite 330 fans, Jim Wolf flywheel, SA performance oil pan, down pipe and exhaust made in collaboration with Pro Design
Drivetrain
Built transmission, Exedy Stage II clutch, NISMO two-way LSD
Suspension/Brakes
Parts Shop Max competition coilovers with H&R springs, Parts Shop Max rear toe and rear upper camber arms, Kazama rear track links, Megan rear lower control arms, Parts Shop Max knuckles. Megan front lower control arms with track link. Ikeya Formula tie rods, Tein tie rod ends, Prothane power steering rack bushings, Parts Shop Max rear solid subframe risers, NISMO motor and trans mount, 300zx TT front and rear brakes, braided brake lines, Chase Bays manual brake conversion plate with Wilwood master, Carbing front strut tower brace, Cusco rear strut tower brace
Wheels & Tires
Work Schwert SC4 18″x9.5 with 215/35/18 tires (front) , 19″x10.5 with 225/35/19 tires (rear)
Exterior
BN Sports hatch, BN Sports blister fenders 30mm front, 50mm rear, VIS body kit, stock hood with hand-made louvers, crash bars made in collaboration with Pro Design, Altezza Type X tails , OEM Type X rear lower garnish, pinstriping by Manny’s Auto Art
Interior
Nardi 330 wheel, NRG quick release hub, custom gauge cluster with Autometer ES Series gauges, Bride Zeta III with FG seat rails, Auto Power six-point roll cage, Blitz 15079 SBC i-D sequential boost controller, S14 passenger seat
More S13 stories on Speedhunters
Slammed Society At The House Of Drift