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What we did over the holidays 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R • Jan 5, 2005

This past weekend we replaced the valve cover gasket. The gasket kit was purchased from the Autozone for about $33 and took about an hour to install. While the valve cover was off, we cleaned it out with lacquer thinner and then repainted it. We couldn’t find a silver that looked correct for the original finish, so some Rustoleum “Safety Red” was used from their Industrial line of rattle-can paints. The new gasket sealed up the leaks quite well.

We’ve also been surfing the net for good deals. Based upon recommendations from the SR20Forum, we purchased an intake ($43 with shipping) and a front strut tower bar ($36 with shipping) from vendors on Ebay. The word on the street is that these work fine and are a legitimate good deal. We also purchased a Luk clutch disk and pressure plate from a fellow SR20Forum member for $60. Normally retailing for $209, this clutch was installed for 1000 miles before the guy’s engine had unrelated headgasket problems. Good deal for us.

We also weighed our SE-R in “autocross” trim with 1/4 tank of gas, no spare tire or tools and no floor mats

  • Total Weight = 2436
  • LF: 766 RF: 842
  • LR: 431 RR: 396

With our editor’s fireplug frame in the driver’s seat:

  • LF: 862 RF: 866
  • LR: 536 RR: 406

Here’s a look at what we’ve spent so far.

  • $1500 car purchase
  • $252 plane ticket to pick SE-R up
  • $7 door hinges from junkyard
  • $33 valve cover gasket
  • $69 tune-up items, wiper blades, Haynes manual (it’s good for swatting flies), light bulbs
  • $99 Active Tuning rear strut tie bar
  • $36 Ebay-sourced front strut tower bar
  • $43 Ebay-sourced warm-air intake
  • $60 Nearly new Luk clutch
  • $516 Team Dynamics Pro Race 1 15x7 wheels

Total Spent: $2615

We’ve also got some new Falken Azenis tires on the way. We think those are going to be around 70-80 bucks a piece. Great tires for the money! 

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