Nissan 240SX Ten years later, the search for the perfect S-body began

For Eduardo “Lalo” Moreno, there was little chance of finding a car other than an S chassis, as his brother and a group of his friends had grown up owning and modifying their own 240SX. Their enthusiasm for Nissan’s affordable rear-wheel-drive sports icon faded in the 1990s, and before you knew it, Lalo was a regular on the forum long before he was old enough to drive a car.

Digital inspiration

There he discovered a masterpiece in a 240SX coupe owned by Toby Broadfield, who is highly respected in the Nissan community. “At that moment I knew that fate had chosen my first car,” he recalls fondly. “I can’t deny that I was inspired to copy his designs, which is why my car was white with a Silvia front end.” As Lalo drooled over the photos he found online, he realized that Broadfield had implemented every little detail that makes it real. His own cars.

In 2012, a 1993 240sx with just 83,000 miles became Lalo’s first car and became his reliable daily driver, but it quickly became the starting point for him to dive into building the car from scratch as a hands-on mentor. “I did most of the work myself in the backyard, with the help of my brother and friends,” he says. “I personally spent countless hours working on it, from restoring small parts, building a turbo kit, assembling the suspension, and even doing body work on the entire car. A lot of blood, sweat and beer!”

Body work by Lalo prepared the car for the white paint it would later receive from GM. In addition to the clean look, Silvia’s brick-style headlights and optional GTR grille replace the original pop-up look. The Stage 21 hood provides a ventilated center section to allow heat to escape but stay low, while a Berman front bumper and custom diffuser accentuate the front end’s appearance. D-Max front fenders provide more wheel and tire clearance and add three scallops in front of the doors.

Less is more

OEM Silvia side skirts lower the coupe profile, and newly acquired lower body lines match the Bomex rear trim. East Bear side mirrors streamline the silhouette and maintain a clean, sleek look, and instead of a massive wing hanging out the back, there’s a 326Power DLUX aero spoiler on top of the trunk lid with dedicated LED taillights below.

The Parts Shop’s Max springs are equipped with Swift springs, which improve the car’s handling and allow Lalo to choose the ride height. He also backed it with Japanese tuner suspension arms and various components to adjust the suspension wheel, camber, toe and traction. Cusco shock tower bars and AutoPower anti-roll bars on top help strengthen the 30-year-old chassis.

Behind the bronze 17×9.5-inch SSR Type C RS wheels are Cadillac CTS-V callipers up front with two-piece rotors, and dual Z32 callipers added at the rear. The exterior and visual performance updates are enough to maintain a timeless look that’s not trend-driven, but it stands out from the crowd and we took noticeForever/Evo studio meeting in the 90s Although there were dozens of other S-structures at the site, this one attracted us.

Building units

The Japanese looks and Silvia front end would be enough to convince most people that an SR20DET is hiding under the hood, but Lalo chose to keep the KA24DE. With the help of my friend Jeremy, the 2.4L engine was stripped and rebuilt with Wiseco pistons, Eagle connecting rods, and ARP fasteners. Some light port work on the top end accompanied the BC 264 and its complete valvetrain upgrade.

Along with the long block improvements, a custom turbo manifold was created and supports a Garrett GRX3076R with a TiAL waste gate. A larger, fully stocked Xcessive intake manifold and Hypertune throttle body were installed, and custom charging channels were created to connect to the vibrant intercooler. Flex fuel is now on the menu, a Walbro 450lph pump and ID2000 injectors were installed, and spark was improved by converting the K20 coil plug with a billet adapter plate.

All of this is neatly organized in the center of the engine compartment, with tubular fenders taking up all the external space. The homemade KA recipe was a success, achieving 600 hp under the management of the AEM ECU.

Lalo went to great lengths to restore the interior paneling, carpeting, trim and more, with the interior designed to withstand thirty years of sunlight and daily wear and tear. Aftermarket modifications include a set of functional seats with Bride’s Zeta II fixed backrests for the driver and a more precise adjustable seat for the co-driver, plus AEM instruments, a classic Nardi steering wheel, and a JSP shift knob.

The long road never ends

It’s been a long journey for Lalo and his 240SX, and he’s not only learned a lot from it, but had a lot of fun along the way. “After spending nearly a decade building this machine, it’s time to enjoy it,” he told us. “Once I’ve installed some new parts, I’ll be out on the track with my friends to fully appreciate what I’ve built. As we all know, building a car is never finished. I definitely will, and I will find out soon. There’s one more thing To fix it.”