Thread: B14 SE-L - Are there many of these still alive?

Hello. Just starting to re-vamp my 99 SE-L that has been sitting unused for many years....

Was hoping to be able to find a lot of used parts to get cheap but that doesn’t appear to be the case.... Cant seem to find many used performance parts and debating if whether buying a lot of new expensive parts on such car is worth it (especially since it needs some other cosmetic and maintenance type fixes as well). That being said, i love the idea of driving an old (relatively) small, simple, and lightweight Nissan with a manual transmission that is seeming to get rarer and rarer as the years pass. Car is basically stock and am just looking to do basic suspension and other light mods (bolt ons) to enjoy it as a weekend driver. If it didnt have those factory bronze wheels, body skirts, and that rear carbon fiber looking strip i probably would have given up on it..... Besides the fact it is a pleasure to drive, those little exterior features give it a certain charm that makes me not want to give up on it.

For the record, I really like the car.

I guess what i am indirectly asking for opinions on is whether the car is worth fixing/modifying or not. Realize this is highly subjective, but would like to know what some enthusiasts think that are familiar with this specific car. From a financial standpoint, spending 2-3k more on a car that is basically worthless on paper is not a good idea. But there are other factors in play (nostalgia, rarity, cost of equivalent fun....). The car sat for a looong time before recently being brought back to life. There may be some other problems lurking due to it sitting, but there are other parts that benefitted from being locked in time. Some of the paint has failed. The engine runs great and has low mileage for the year. Interior is great. Needs tires, suspension (springs/struts), and brakes. Would like to add CAI, header, cams, and some other suspension mods to that. Assuming you could technically afford to invest in the car, but could also afford to jump into something newer (and better?).... what would you do?

(Note: If anyone has parts lying around, might be interested. Tried to find some hyperco or road magnet springs, but doesnt look like that is going to happen.).

There aren’t many SE-Ls out there at all. I haven’t seen one in years. My brother ran one to well over 300,000 miles with only minor issues, and he somewhat neglected it. A lot of parts from the 200SX SE-R are interchangeable but those are probably almost as rare.

As far as whether or not to dump money into it, it’s really up to you. The only Sentra I think that will attain value is the B13 SE-R, as proved by numerous auctions over the last two years. B14s will never be valuable, but you may not care about that if you never plan to sell it. With many of the 90s Japanese cars going up in value, I think the B14 is a pretty good bang for buck.

I rarely see any B14’s on the road anymore where i am at. Not sure what kind of indication this is...but when going to buy parts at autozone their system says that only 6% of the Sentra’s of that year have the 2.0 engine. Not sure if that reflects original sales, or cars on the road in their database currently. I do acknowledge it will probably never be “valuable”. What may make it worthwhile in my case is the fact that i already own the car, know its history, and have already invested some money to get the engine running..... Can’t see myself selling it unless the engine goes...which seems highly unlikely. So i guess my way forward is to get it going again, hopefully in the most logical/economical way possible while keeping/adding fun into the mix.

Parts hunting for new or used.....

Hyperco Gen2 springs.
Road Magnet springs.
Motivational Rear Strut Mounts
CAI
91 intake or S3 cam
Front strut tower bar
Sway bars
....etc

Also going to go junkyard hunting for sunroof cover, sun visors, weatherstripping, etc.....

Feels like a thread that was more relevant 10 years ago, but kind of fun to do now.....

INJEN COLD AIR INTAKE FOR 97-99 SENTRA 200SX 2.0 RD1964P | eBay

You do not need an additional front sway bar on a B14 besides stock. Rear bar only needed.

JWT still sells SR20 camshafts.

Thanks. I’ve thought about the Injen CAI. $280 sounds kind of steep. However, if it works well, and there are no other used or cheaper options (that are just as good) i might go for it. Also thinking about the cams, although thats lower on the list. Wondering if a 91 intake cam might be enough for what i need considering the price difference.

I have this spare front strut tower bar. I used it on my B13, but it seems like it would fit B14 as well.

Cool. A strut tower bar is lower on my list of priorities, but if its guaranteed to fit and the price is right, i might be interested. Not sure if there are varying levels of qualities on those things, but i was thinking to pick up a cheap eBay one later on.....

Follow vvlicious_b14 on instagram. He has a SE-L he's modified pretty nice and may have some parts