Hello. Newbie here.

C

CiscoS95

New member
Points
11
Location
Fresno, Ca
Car
03 Sentra GXE
Hi. My names is Francisco. I'm 19, an Army Reserves soldier, and a security guard. I own a non-impressive 2003 Nissan Sentra GXE. I'm fairly new to cars. I know the basics. But not really much. I was wondering if you guys could give me any suggestions regarding upgrades, mods, and other stuff I can do to turn my car into a beast. In regards to exterior looks... not really on my agenda. Going for a "sleeper" kind of look. Any suggestions?
 
Greetings, you can turn any car in to a "beast" but for some cars, to do this will empty your wallet, your bank account and that of your friends and family also :)

You may not like what I have to say here buddy!

After looking up the spec and available engine choices, you really don't have a lot to go on. You may be lucky with an ECU remap but to be honest with you, the gains would be very small. You could also transplant a bigger engine into the car, again, the work involved and the length of time the car would be off the road for thus leaving you to take the bus into work - not worth it in my opinion. Your age will count against you with the insurance companies the moment you mention the word "Modified".

I personally would just use the car as a means of getting you from A to B until such time as you can add a few years to your young self and save up hard for something infinitely easier and more rewarding to tune up. :)
 
Thanks for the insight. I also have an old Chevy. 74 I think. Its just been sitting for years. My uncle left it for me when he passed. Always thought of fixing it. He had pulled out the enige in it and put in a buick engine in there. Dont know what year though...
 
^^ Now that's a lot better |B

If you decide to do that project, please take your time buddy do not rush it. A car like that deserves to be treated with respect :)
 
agree with T9, get the chevy as your project. use the sentra until a time is that you wont have too. parts must be a lot cheaper for the chevy than the Nissan also I would of thought.

also, hi and welcome !!
 
Thanks. And I just went to look at the truck and its actually a ford I searched everywhere for the model but it's missing allot of pieces so I couldn't male the model. The vin is almost completely gone. All I could make out was the ford logo. And based of google searches and comparisons it see. To be a 60's model. Right now it's got a v6 buick engine inside. I'm thinking about putting I'm a new one and taking that one out. Should I put in a rebuilt ford engine or put in something else? Anything you guys recommend. I got a bit over 2k available as of now. The outside isn't pretty and its missing parts like the front grille, lights, and front bumper, etc. I want to get it running first though. Any suggestions?
 
May I as the site admin wish you a very warm welcome to TorqueCars. It is really nice to meet you and I hope you'll be spending some time with us over the months to come.

You'll find us one of the friendliest and most helpful car tuning forums around.

Which engine does your car have?

What plans do you have for your car? What is your budget? Will it be a daily driver or a weekend fun car project? I'm sure we can give you lots of ideas and suggestions if you need any.
 
Unless your exceptionally good with where you buy your car parts from, $2K will not go very far. Factor in a lot of welding and maybe new engine mounts may have to be made and fitted. Then there's the transmission, is the old one any good? will it mate up to the new engine that you hope to put in? is the radiator any good? will you be doing the work yourself or will it have to go to the garage to be done? Do you see where I am going with this buddy?

Your best bet would be to save up a little more money as your going to need it. Do your research properly and find out exactly what truck model you have. You say it currently has a V6 Buick engine inside it, so this at some time worked. It may be cheaper to go the Buick route again but buy an engine complete with transmission that you know to be running. Go to the dismantling yard and see what the guys have there, it may be possible to see the engine running first plus they may even be able to give you some feedback as to what the running gear is like.

Building a car/truck can be very rewarding but can prove to be a huge money pit if you are not aware of the pitfalls.
 
The breakers yards will usually yield some good donor engines. A turbo conversion would yield a pretty large power increase but be well outside of your budget there to do properly.
 
I checked the engine. Its all connected. I hooked it up to a battery and it started and died. I didn't know the vehicle would start. I always assumed it was non-opperational. The propeller shaft is disconnected though and its got a giant cut on it.
 
Well that's something at least. The engine may have died quickly because of old fuel only in the lines, maybe the fuel pump has seized who knows. The fact that it started is a good sign. I would be inclined to check everything out first as the engine might be good but just in need of some tender loving care ;)
 
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