Thread: Restoring/Upgrading a 99 SE-L in Summer 2023! Advice? Parts?

After basically 15++ years of sitting in a driveway without moving, my old Nissan is now finally inspected, registered and legal. Was a long road with more to go, but finally cleared various fuel issues and a clutch issue, got new battery, new tires, and it’s running great.

There are still some mechanical, maintenance and cosmetic issues to deal with as the car sat under the hot sun for years and years without moving (paint, A/C, etc). It is at a shop getting evaluated, but i think i am past the point of no return and will keep going. If i didn’t have a long history with the car, i definitely wouldn’t invest any of this money and effort. That being said, it should be a cool, semi-rare second car to drive around.

Goal is to get it to a good overall running/looking semi daily drivable condition, with light reasonable mods to add some fun. Car is basically stock.

Need parts/advice:

-The car needs a new suspension. I have a set of intrax springs i never installed, but considering I’ve read these are not good for any setup, and buying KYB AGX would be 400-500 more, i am wondering if there isn’t a better way for a reasonable cost. Something tells me the $500 coilovers on eBay arent a great idea, so maybe the godspeed’s for $675 are an option? Anyone have any budget friendly ideas, or better yet, some hyperco or road magnet springs or something else leftover to get rid of? Not much availability these days.

-I want a CAI. Injen seems to be the only thing readily available off the shelf these days. $317 seems steep though. Any other options?

May consider upgrading the cam (91 intake cam or JWT?) down the road or sooner if i find a deal. I have a header (hotshot copy from eBay), which i never installed. Aside from the suspension, may wait on the other upgrades until all the basic running/maintenance stuff is done.

I could be wrong, but i feel like i may be one of the only people doing something like this to a B14 in 2023. That is part of the appeal.

Any info or comments on current and reasonably priced B14 parts/upgrades availability is greatly appreciated. Need or could use a lot of random things i did not mention. Also interested to about anyone else actively maintaining and upgrading their B14. Thanks!

Do it. We really need to start restoring these things

If it were me, I’d focus on the body. That’s where parts are getting rare. Mechanical parts will be around for awhile. Get it in good running order, make sure you got good door seals, trim, clips, and other random stuff. It sounds silly, but that’s the hard to get stuff. Soon it won’t be available. At that point, what good is a beautiful powerful engine if the body is shot around it? Just like a tin can Honda.

As far as suspension, get a set of Fortune Auto 500s, if you can swing it. Everything else is either limited availability or just out of date. Other options are Feal and TDMI coilovers

For CAI, Injen is good, but honestly a simple WAI is fine.

Different header options out there. eBay is fine as long as it fits. Otherwise, you’re looking at $$$ if you want any quality at all.

Hi again. I tried replying to this thread for weeks and the site seemed broken so gave up. Trying again 10 months later.

Bottom line, i have basically been daily driving this car, and it has been running awesome. Almost unbelievable. Even had the confidence to take it on a few trips 100 miles away.

Hiccups- Alternator went out (since replaced), and there is hesitation when very low on fuel (maybe a complication from when they installed the new gas tank). The a/c doesnt work, and that is by far the biggest drivability issue with the car. Has a leak somewhere, and the best way forward seems to be to invest in a whole replacement a/c system. Has many other smaller issues, but it’s very drivable and fun. Mechanic is recommending I do a timing belt replacement as first priority, so thinking about that.

Mods- Installed a header, and it’s been great. Purchased the Injen CAI but not installed yet. Still looking for deals on other parts. Biggest target is the suspension. Maybe do some cams, but otherwise focus on basic maintenance, body and other cosmetic stuff.

If anyone is parting out a B14, be very interested to pick up some stuff.

Much different driving experience than these other new cars on the road. This is a great car.

nice work on getting it running! love seeing old nissans on the road.

cool project! love seeing old nissans getting some love.

The project has been fun. I drive the car almost daily. I live in a fairly large city in the USA and have only seen a handful of B14s over the last year, none were SR20 models. Still working on maintenance/restoration stuff. For fun, the car now has headers (hotshot copy?) and an Injen CAI. Runs and sounds wonderful. It still needs a lot of work though and it sometimes seems difficult to confidently buy parts that fit the car. For example, bought a fuel sending unit advertised for a 2.0 that turned out to actually be for the 1.6. Still looking for one that seems reputable and will fit. My car VIN number doesn’t seem to be in the database at any Nissan service department anymore. More fundamental to all of this is the fact I am not very mechanically inclined and have nobody knowledgable around to advise me. All of this slowing things down more than i would like. Not giving up yet though.