[Zxjunkie]

Okay guys. I do a bit of picking and scrapping, and happened upon an 89 Stanza for 50 bucks. I figured what the heck, get it, scrap it, make a few hundred. But then I looked at the car with my eyes, and fell in love (for some reason) the chinsy aero effects on the hood, the trunk, and so on. It's a 2.0 5 speed, and looks straight out of Japan minus the steering wheel on the left. The minuses are that it has been sitting 10 years, 4 of the 8(NAPS-X????) spark plugs are out, so I'm going to assume the engine was done 10 years ago. Brake and clutch pedals just fall to the floor. But parts are cheaper than dirt. No problem there. My issue is finding out compatible years to pull parts from, especially an engine. I'd rather put the CA20E back in it, because I've had a lot of issues with the KA24E in the nissan pickups. I know the 90-92 stanzas had ka24e. I also need a passenger fender. I plan on painting it, and cleaning up the already clean interior, and capping the dash. Any suggestions? I will post pics later to show you guys what I'm working with. Thanks for reading!

 

[rogoman]

IMO, I would install a KA24E instead of a CA20E. Only 4 spark plugs instead of 8 on a CA20E. The KAs are plentiful while the CAs are getting harder to find. You should also be able to install a KA24DE from an older Altima; lots of high perf accessories available. You can even go further by installing an SR20DE where there are many turbo kits available; a very popular engine for the performance minded folks.

 

[Zxjunkie]

Not so interested in speed, I just want simple reliability. The original engine made it to 254xxx. I think the dual spark thing is kinda cool, 4 more spark plugs won't break the bank. (My jag V12 however... lol) I like how weird and Japanese it is. I found an 87 stanza engine for sale on ebay for like 400 bucks delivered. Assuming the 87/89 engines aren't that different

 

[smj999smj]

You won't love the car so much if you ever have to put a starter in one; it's almost easier to pull the transmission out of it to replace the starter than to not do it! Anyway, the CA20E came in both 4-plug and 8-plug versions, the latter being the "NAPS-X" emission system, which was slightly different than the better known "NAPS-Z" system. The "CA" stands for "Clean Air"....the "20" for 2.0L...and the "E" for electronic, multi-port fuel injection. On the T12 Stanzas, they all had 8-plug heads to my knowledge. They had mechanical lifters and a timing belt. The Nissan remanufactured long block was P/N 1010B-07F00RE and is discontinued. It was used in 09/83-11/85 Stanza, the 03/85-09/89 Stanza Wagon (M10) and the 10/83-02/86 200SX in the US and Canada. Overseas, it was used in the Pintara, the Gazelle and the Bluebird. Make sure you replace the timing belt/water pump/front engine seals before you install the replacement engine. I'm not sure if the KA engine will bolt to the CA transmission or not, if that's a consideration. I think the CA engine is more reliable, however, they were just a pain to work on. Also, make sure you stick with genuine Nissan distributor caps and rotors and NGK wires and plugs on these engines. Aftermarket caps for the 8-pluggers tended to burn through and cause cross-firing on these engines...or, at least it did "back in the day."

 

[Zxjunkie]

I can see what you mean about the starter... because I can barely see the thing. Debating whether to rebuild the existing engine or source a new one. Both cost about the same. Assuming the trans (5 speed) is probably just fine. Also assuming that these cars aren't worth very much and this would be mainly a labor of love, and not one of profit. I plan on doing the drivetrain work along with the paint/body work myself. Only thing I pay for is the parts. Any other weird quirks these things have? I appreciate the info you guys have given.

 

[smj999smj]

I believe customer pay, labor guide time to replace the starter was around 7.0 hours...and like 4.6 hours under warranty rate, IIRC? If you are going to have the engine apart, I would see if you can get a genuine Nissan reman starter and replace it while it's easy to get at. There weren't too many "quirks" that I remember about them, other than #4 cylinder spark plugs always seemed to be really tight coming out and you had to be really careful putting them in so as to not cross-thread them. I already mentioned to stick with genuine Nissan distributor caps. Finding some of the parts for it will be the real challenge as they weren't made in high numbers and there aren't many left on the road or to be found in the junk yards.

 

[Zxjunkie]

Right. I'll have the engine/trans out anyways for a rebuild/replacement. I've built countless 240z/280zx and I always stick with oem (NGK/Hitachi/Hanshin) whenever possible. You are right about finding parts... not expensive in the least but not easy. There is one on ebay as a part out.. may be using that for a lot of the interior/body stuff. I also had a question, mostly to appease the wife. I usually don't build something unless it makes money at the end. What is the approximate value of an outdated, unwanted, underpowered Stanza in an area ruled strictly by pickup trucks and large SUVs? (OK,TX)

 

[smj999smj]

If it was in really good shape and it was several years ago, I'd say no more than $700. Lately, that answer is getting harder to determine as we are starting to see the prices rise on older, Asian vehicles. Just do a search on Ebay for Datsun cars and trucks and you'll see what I mean. Of course, the 240/260/280Z cars and early Datsun 510's are pricing through the roof! The 280ZX and early 300ZX prices are now starting to rise. But, those are sports cars, or, at least, "sporty" cars. The other coupes, sedans and trucks are not quite in that ballpark, but clean and, most important, no and low rust examples of Datsuns are selling for several thousand dollars. I don't know how much a really nice T12 Stanza would fetch online because I don't really see them all that often (which could be either a good thing because they are rare or a bad thing because they are not desired). They may increase in value as the years go by if the current trends continue, but, we don't really know if they will. Just because something is "rare" and/or "old" doesn't always mean it's "valuable." I would certainly think that you'd have a better chance of getting higher return on Ebay or an online site due to the nationwide exposure than locally, where you say that the area is ruled by trucks and SUVs. And you probably already know that in restoration projects, it's often hard to get your money back unless it is one of those highly coveted vehicles, i.e. Muscle cars, early Z cars, etc.