Hi, I mainly stay in the U13 import specific regions, however today my cousin purchased a corsair for 400 bucks, roadworthy and with 6 months rego - not too shabby, i reckon.
Of course the first things that sprang to mind were upgrade options, but I have no idea about these cars, even though there has always been an interest since the days when I saw the superhatches being shipped to Japan, badged as 'Nissan Aussies' - My father worked at the Nissan factory in Westall.
Anyway, introductions aside, there's a lot of info in this forum to go through to find certain info, so I hope it is not inappropriate that I start a new thread under this topic - there's only so much active searching one can do...
So... the first curiosity relates to engine mounts. My first few cars were VW Passats and it didn't take too long to find out that all liquid-cooled inline fours (spanning a number of decades) made by vw shared the same engine mount layouts and were hence easy swaps, provided that sufficient bay space was available. I have no idea about nissans, in this regard.
It would be interesting to know what engine swaps a U12 fan would consider if a Corsair landed on their lap. Or is this CA20/Auto/Corsair combo doomed from the start? I've gathered that bolting the top half of the CA18DET is possible, yet a bit of a hassle, with people recommending to go straight for an SR20XXX swap instead. Not sure how the engine mounts line-up in this situation either. I'm also guessing that there is probably provision for a KA24 (mount-wise), given that these cars were released with this engine too. These are the three main options that spring to mind, however any other ideas also will be greatly appreciated.
Secondly, I was wondering how interchangeable the Corsair and Pintara panels are. For instance, how hard would it be to get a Corsair to look more like a TRX? The difference in design at the front of the car is quite noticeable and I guess making the Corsair look identical to a TRX would involve replacing the indicators and fenders at the very least. If this operation, applied to the whole vehicle, became very expensive, I'd probably examine just going for the TRX body kit while retaining the car's 'Corsair-ness'. Still, I have no idea whether this 'easier way around' exposes one to a number of other headaches.
So, a performing engine and a bit of an external makeover are the main interests here, however it would be great to know of any other 'tried n true' enhancements that have proven to be quite simple yet effective, for instance in the handling department - something that would assist in harnessing and utilising the extra ponies of the new engine arrangements.
There is no dollar figure for the budget; the 'hotting up' (if deemed worth it) will be performed in baby steps. The engine side of things will probably cause the most downtime, and the main guidelines for this is that there is as little custom fabrication as possible, with direct bolt-in swaps being the ideal... however, a bunch of extra hp for a tiny bit of extra mucking around might be a worthwhile compromise.
If the 'getting it to look like a TRX' bit proves troublesome, this too will be canned in favour of a corsair sleeper, with the 'cosmetic' budget being re-allocated into the 'brakes and suspension' account. Value is more important than outright 'cream of the crop'-ness in all aspects of this project; after all, we are dealing with a $400/CA20/Auto/Corsair here.
In short, I would love to know what other forum members would do in this situation. Just run the car into the ground? or invest a certain amount into the fun side of things? If the latter, how much would you draw the line at, budget-wise and what areas would you focus on? Personally, I'm into sleepers, however it's not my car or budget! I'm just the devil's advocate and vicarious 'hotter-upperer'.
Cheers in anticipation