I'm writing about 240s...Straighten me out!

[VQuick]

Hey guys, I've been working on a racing story for some time now. I just wrote a part that involves 240s, and I wanted to see what you thought. If I got anything incorrect, please let me know. I really want to be accurate, a bit technical, a bit educational, but especially enjoyable. This isn't one of the races, so I'll understand if you think it's a little boring.

Thanks in advance, and I hope you like reading it.

Chapter 23: The Customer is Always Wrong

Kenneth was enjoying his brief tenure as manager of Pioneer Motorsports. He noticed that stock was piling up, and decided to have a ‘cleaning out sale’ Many items had been sold at near wholesale prices. A turbo kit for a Honda Civic was priced at $1200 rather than the usual $1600. Instead of $150 for a stiffening strut tower bar, the price was cut by two thirds to just $50. The sale had been a runaway success; dozens of new customers were attracted by the low prices. Kenneth apologized for not having a mechanic on hand to install parts, but the patrons didn’t care. With such great deals, they didn’t mind installing parts on their own. Several even promised to return wirh friends who would spend even more.

Everything was going well until a certain customer arrived. A Mercedes Benz 190E 2.5 Evolution II parked in front of the shop. Amber was the first to notice. “Hey, we have someone coming.”

Kenneth saw the Mercedes. It was black and pretty aggressive looking, like a German touring car. The door opened, revealing a young, well-dressed Indian man. “Hey, this guy is dressed nice. He probably has some money. Be friendly, alright?”

Amber rolled her eyes. “I should be telling you that.”

The young man walked in. “So this is Pioneer, huh?” He looked around. “I didn’t expect such a fast car to come out of a small place like this,” he muttered.

“Hi, I’m Amber. What can we help you with?”

“The name’s Ajay. I’m looking for Scott. He told me to come by and talk to him about having a car built.”

Kenneth decided to step in. “Well, Scott’s out of town right now. Just got married. He should be back next week.”

“Well, I wanted to talk to him about a 240SX. He was going to tune one for me.”

“Okay. You’ve got a lot of options when it comes to that car.” Kenneth wasn’t kidding. There were at least three different body configurations for the US market, with two different engines. Using Japanese market parts, the possibilities were almost endless; there were two additional body styles and two more engines that could be used. “What are you looking to get out of the car?”

“Well, I want something fast, like Scott’s car.”

“Okay.” Describing Scott’s 240SX as ‘fast’ was something of an understatement. “I’m gonna need some specifics so we know what to do. Which do you want the most? Handling power, or just comfort?”

Ajay began to think. Scott’s car seemed to strong in all those areas. Why couldn’t he have the same? “I want them all. Wasn’t Scott’s car like that?”

Kenneth was getting frustrated. Couldn’t this guy make up his mind? “You know, Scott’s car is in the back. You can look at it and point out what you like.”

“Alright. That’ll work.” Ajay followed Kenneth into the garage, where Scott’s 240SX was sitting. “It still looks good.”

Kenneth was curious. “When did you see it before?”

“I raced him a while ago.”

Interesting, Kenneth thought. “Were you driving the Benz outside?”

“Hmmph. I wouldn’t have stood a chance in my 190E. I used my Brabus SV12 with almost six hundred and fifty horsepower, and still lost!”

Ah, so this was the guy. Kenneth remembered when Scott was trying to figure out a strategy for that race. He had switched to a large single turbo unit. Kenneth figured that with his lighter car, Scott would have won just using the twin turbo setup. He must have kicked Ajay’s skinny butt into the next week with the big single. This guy sounded a little bitter about it, too. Kenneth figured he should drop the subject. “So, what do you think of the car?”

Ajay looked over the car that had handily beaten him. It was incredible that such a cheap car could be so fast. He figured the entire cost of the car, with parts and labor, was less than just the hand built twin turbo V12 engine in his Brabus. “Hmm. How much do you want for it?”

“Huh?” Did Ajay want to buy Scott’s car?

“I decided I want this one. How much?”

“I can’t sell it. It belongs to Scott.”

Ajay sighed. “Fine. Just call him and see what he’ll take for it.”

“He’s out of state on his honeymoon. Even if I could get in touch with him, he still might not sell it to you.” It sure seemed like Scott had plans for the 240SX. Kenneth couldn’t just sell it without permission.

Ajay threw his hands up. “Well, how can I get a car?”

“There’s two ways. Get one on your own, and bring it to us. For a little extra, we’ll find one for you. There’s hundreds of these cars in town. There’s bound to be one you like.”

Ajay called down a bit. “I guess I’ll let you guys get one.”

Finally. Now they would be getting somewhere. “What model do you want? There’s a few different types, and you can also mix and match some of the styles and parts.” Kenneth grabbed a catalog and showed a page to Ajay. “Okay, this is the RMS13 240SX hatchback. Down here is the MS13 240SX coupe. If you don’t like the flip up headlights, the Japanese versions had regular ones. We can get that for you.”

“Yeah. I like the coupe better. What does Scott have?”

“His is the S14 model. Midway through that model, there was a minor change, mostly just a different front end. Scott’s is the revised one, the MCS14. There’s an S15 too, but it was never sold in the States. Some people like to mix the front ends of these cars. Scott’s wife Jenny used to have a hatchback with an S15 front end.”

Ajay started thinking. “I like the old coupe best.”

Kenneth nodded. “Good choice. It’s probably the lightest of all, and it’s
stiffer than the hatchback. There’s a few engine options, too.”

“What does Scott have?”

Oh, boy. Was this guy obsessed with Scott, or what? “He’s got a 2.6 liter straight six called the RB26. It’s from the Nissan Skyline GT-R. I think Scott’s engine came from the last generation, the R34. Anyway, the RB can make a lot of power, more than most people need. On the downside, it’s heavier and longer than the other engines most people use. If you want a really balanced car, there’s better choices.”

“Better than what Scott has? Like what?”

“There’s three main engines that the S-chassis cars used from the factory. In the US, we only got the KA24. A lot of people knock it, but it’s a tough motor with good torque. If you add a turbo, it can be really good. Scott’s wife used to have one. In Japan, there was the CA18. It’s got an iron block like the KA, so it’s tough too. The CA was available with a turbo, and loves to rev. The most popular engine is its replacement, the SR20. It’s got the most tuning support, and is a good compromise between the other two. Scott got one for Jenny to replace her KA.”

Ajay was curious. “How did she like it? Was the SR20 better than the KA24?”

Kenneth shrugged. “I think it’s a tie. Jenny put a turbo on the KA all by herself, so there was some sentimental value there. Scott got her the SR, and she liked being able to tinker with it more. She’s a mechanic, by the way.”

Ajay nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. Is her car here?”

Kenneth grunted. “No. It got stolen awhile back. The cops never found it.” Or the guy who was responsible for carjacking Jenny and putting her life in danger. But I’ll get him, he thought.

“Oh. That’s too bad. I think I know what I want now. I’ll try the old S13 coupe with a CA18 engine. Can you add the Japanese front to it?”

“Yeah, we can do that.” To Kenneth, it sounded like Ajay was ordering at a fast food joint. Did he want fries too?

“How much will all that cost me?”

“It isn’t all that much, really. We haven’t talked about extras like suspension work, wheels and tires or any power mods yet. For a coupe with the front end change and a pretty much stock CA…” Kenneth paused to think. “How does nine grand sound?”

“You want nine thousand for that?”

Kenneth shrugged, misunderstanding Ajay’s reaction. “I think it’s a fair price, especially if we go get a car for you. This is just a ballpark figure. If we can find a really cheap car, it’ll be less.”

“Well, if that’s all you want for it, go ahead and do it for me.”

“Okay. I’ll order the engine and body parts today. Scott’s wife is our mechanic, so we’ll have to wait for her to get back before the work can start.”

“Hmm.” A grin crept across Ajay’s face. “What if you could have it all done by next week?”

“We can’t. There isn’t a mechanic to do the work.” Not to mention they would have to locate and buy a car first, Kenneth didn’t add.

“Well, you price is so low for the car. I’ll add another ten thousand if
you can get it done on time. I thought I’d have to pay at least twenty thousand for this car.”

“Okay, we’ll do it.” Kenneth couldn’t refuse an offer like that. It nearly tripled the amount of potential profit.

“Cool. I’ll check back in a few days.” Ajay began to walk to the exit. “I’ll see you guys soon.”

Kenneth walked this new, generous customer to the door. “Great. Thanks for coming in.” He actually smiled for Ajay, and he didn’t do that for just anyone. As soon as the 190E pulled away, his usual scowl returned. Now there was work to do. “Amber, start checking the classifieds. The newspaper, Internet auctions, and local Internet car forums. Check ‘em all.”

“Huh? What for?”

“We need an ’89 to ’94 Nissan 240SX coupe, fast. Find one as cheap as possible. I don’t care if it runs.”

Amber raised an eyebrow. “Hold on, what’s the big rush?”

“Ajay wants a 240SX with a CA swap and Japanese model bodywork. He’ll pay an extra ten grand if it’s don next week.”

“Wow!” Then her expression darkened. “We don’t have anyone to do the work, though. Jenny won’t be back in time.”

“We’ll get someone. For that kind of money, I’ll take anybody.” Kenneth started going through his list of contacts, hoping they would have some connections. He finally ran across Dante’s number, and decided to check with him.

***

Dante was at the Infiniti dealer with his new purchase, a Diamond Graphite G35 Coupe. He was about to leave when his cell phone rang. The number was from the shop. What did they want? “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Kenneth. Quick question for you: Do you know any mechanics good enough to do an engine swap? We’ve got a customer, and he wants this done before Jenny gets back.”

Dante grinned. “Yeah, I know somebody who might be up for this. I’ll get back to you soon, alright?”

“Good. Thanks, Dante. Later.”

“Bye.” Dante drove to the service department and walked to a certain messy service bay. “Hey Julie.”

The energetic brunette smiled. “Hey! I thought you were leaving.”

“Well, I got a call from a friend. How’d you like to do a little work on the side?”

Don't worry. This isn't the only attention 240s get. This excerpt is actually from my third story, which mostly focuses on European cars. My main character Scott, drives his 240SX in the beginning of this story, and a lot more in the second story.

[Importboom]

i liked it, honestly i couldnt stop reading it. I say damn good story i would like to read all of your others if your interested in sharing them

[nissanfanatic]

Nice nice....

Like always, I think it should be a lil more technical.haha But that is a good story for the general audience. Great jorb and I respect you for putting in the time to write it.

[VQuick]

Originally Posted by Importboom

i liked it, honestly i couldnt stop reading it. I say damn good story i would like to read all of your others if your interested in sharing them

Wow, that wasn't even a race. Hopefully you'll love them!

I have a thread in the Initial D forum about it, and there's a lot more info there. I started this almost three years ago, and I'm still not quite finished. The thread will show you how far I've come since October 2002.

I've got two stories that are pretty much finished. I've been working on this third one for a long time, and it's pretty long. I also have a fourth planned that takes place a couple years later, as well a spinoff story about some other characters.

I can email what I have to anyone who is interested.

[VQuick]

Originally Posted by nissanfanatic

Nice nice....

Like always, I think it should be a lil more technical.haha But that is a good story for the general audience. Great jorb and I respect you for putting in the time to write it.

Wow, I was worried about being too technical. I geek out on this kind of stuff, and tend to lose people in conversations. Maybe I can turn things up a notch. I get into driving technique during my races, too.

As a test, I let a 16yr old girl read my first story. She didn't really know anything about cars, but was interested in learning. She was able to understand everything, and managed to learn some things.

[Hit_N_Run-player]

wow, i liked it also. Thats cool your write, how long have you been doing this? I found a typo in there but the story is really interesting, share more if you got em.

[nissanfanatic]

I geek out on this kind of stuff, and tend to lose people in conversations

hahahahaha me too. G33k F0 Lif3!!!111 lol jk

[XeVeNskyLiNE]

Yea geek for real. But its cool that you've made it so the non-car genuis can udnerstand, sort of like the Initial D manga's. One thing though I'm suprised no one else has said. So Ajay picked the CA18, obviously it seems like he doesnt know anything about it. My question is, how're are you gonna put the story together when the CA won't match up at all compared to the RB26? Is Ajay gonna get pissed off once he learns it wont put our near as much power and try to start a fight or somethin? Or is there some kinda style race later on that'll give Ajay a better advantage? (touge!) lol, i'm a sucka for these kinda car stories

[ZedEx]

I just stumbled across this... Wow, I seriously couldn't stop reading. I want more man, you need to get this book done, and published

-Wes

[nissanfanatic]

Actually the CA18 is designed very well. Its somewhat KA meets SR but with less displacement.

I would drop the RB26 swap for a serious SR or KA setup tho to keep it more down to earth for "Scott".

[orestes]

lol that was excellent but i think there might have been a couple missing commas and also, to make it more realistic, i got the impression the energetic brunette was supposed to be hot and i can only wish that hot brunettes worked on nissans lol. and i agree with xevenskyline that the CA would probably lose no matter what to a RB like Scott's. unless the car gets a carbon fiber body or something. but overall it was cool.

[VQuick]

Well, about the CA...

In other parts of the story, I had shown the KA-T installed in the hatch driven by Scott's girlfriend/wife Jenny. She got an SR and an S15 front conversion later on.

Scott's kouki S14 had the stock KA for a while, and he didn't race with it. Then he upgraded to an RB, which a friend had 'sitting around.'

I even had another character with a zenki S14 that had an LT1 in it. There was a guy who used to live around the corner from me with that setup, and I thought it'd be interesting to include.

So I had most of the engine combos for the 240SX with the exception of the CA. I think it's a good motor, and I tried to figure out a way to still include it. This chapter was how I did it.

For those of you that read my stories, you'll see that I go out of my way just to include a certain car or something. I've almost started to think of my stories as an encyclopedia, a 'Gran Turismo book' of sorts.

As for Ajay, he's pretty much done for. He already raced Scott with his best car, and lost. Now he realizes he doesn't need a megabuck car to go fast. He just wants a fun, cheap car to drive around now, and save his two MBs for other times. Scott offered to help him out, and that's why he came to the shop.

[AWDSR20]

RMS13???? its RPS13....


i like the story dude... needs more VISUAL description of the places. Like the shop, i mean, i didn't know where it was how did it look like, i know that it has a lot of parts for cars, but u cold have painted a pix of the place.

TIME, u didn't mention time at all, try to do so, it helps.


BTW, i like ur story, and don't get mad at me, I’m just being honest.

[AWDSR20]

could...cold LOL!

[orestes]

i thought rms13 was usdm and rps13 was jdm.??