Blueprints and Plans – this is how I want it all to turn out

Either dark grey or perhaps bright orange with a matt-black bonnet.

Wheels

I’ve always liked these style of wheels.
‘slotmags’

Interior:

Leather interior, black carpets and re-trimmed dash. I’ve even got plans as to the exact type of retro-looking radio I want in there. (It’s going to look like an old 8 track but with iPod support and will be wired up to my big ol’ amp!)

Chrome is good, but I want it to be lightweight, so no external bumpers.

Probably keep the amount of exterior trim to a minimum. I will set the indicators into the front valance; just like they do on mk1 escorts.

Engine:

I really can’t decide on what engine to go with. (I know that’s a long way off yet, but here’s a few options).

Should I go with something small like a 1.6 or less?

Low car tax
Underpowered and slow
No fun and probably not lively enough

Ok, so what about a big engine then... like a v8?

Fun
Lots of extras needed like high pressure oil coolers etc
Expensive to get a good v8
Will probably only do about 12 or 18 miles per gallon
Expensive to insure
Sounds epic

What about diesel?

Economical
Sounds like a tractor

The LPG option

With all that said, then I could always go with a v8 on LPG. At the time of writing this, petrol is £1.35 a litre. Diesel is £1.42 per litre. LPG is 72p per litre. So even if I get 18 miles per gallon, it would be possible to use now and again as it’s more than half as cheap as petrol, and would bring my actual mpg to around 37. Just a thought... and there are a few places around where I live that I could fill it up too.

With all that said, this is what I’ve decided upon:

Manufacturer Nissan
Engine Code/Name SR20DET S13 Redtop
Valvetrain DOHC 2.0L 16 Valve Intercooler Turbo
Displacement 1998cc
Horsepower 205@6000rpm
Torque 203lbs-ft@4000 rpm
Compression 8.5:1
Bore 86mm
Stroke 86mm
Redline 7500rpm
Found in the RWD Nissan Silvia and Nissan 180SX produced in 1991. The engine was also used in the Nissan Avenir in 1995, the Nissan R'nessa in 1997 and the Nissan Liberty in 1999. Out of all the Nissan models produced with the SR20DET, the Silvia was the longest running model to use it. The S14 and S15 use a bigger turbocharger than the S13 models.

Suspension:

I am determined to get rid of the rear leaf springs. Apart from being bloody heavy, they are straight out of the 60’s and make the back end shake, slide and slip under acceleration and braking. So here’s an alternative idea:

It’s the suspension out of a 3-series BMW. (5 point independent linkage) and I get to keep everything rear wheel drive which is essential.