Online classified advertisement portals can sure come in handy. I’m proud to announce that, after about 2 months of trying to look for a decent specimen for a project car, I finally found one. It’s a 1992 Nissan Sentra B13 ECCS. Unfortunately, it’s the sedan and not the coupe version that sports the fantastic SR20DE engine. But hey, who needs that much power while negotiating city streets anyway?

I have to admit, it’s totally off with my intentions of getting either a Toyota or a Mitsu. I’m not really a big fan of Nissan cars but if it came from the same people who came up with the Skyline, then they must know a thing or two about cars. I got me the luxury trim line

Probably the best thing of all is that I went underbudget with this one as I got it way below my spending budget. At least I have some left over to have a few of the quirks fixed and for the expenses of having the car transfered to my name.

Now for the quirks. There are a few reasons why I got it a bit cheap:

No stereo. But since I was prepared to get a new stereo for any car that I’m getting anyway. The car has already got ready speakers so all I need is to purchase a stereo. Oh wait. Now how about just purchasing a DVD system? Hmm….

Carpeting might need to be re-done. Though I think a good shampooing and interior detailing will do the job.

Paint scratches. Nothing too deep that bare metal shows. Still, I might have to have it repainted but not this soon. I think it’s highly impractical to have it repainted just when the cold months are nigh.

Decals. I have to admit that the previous owner tried to make the car a rice rocket. Ugh. It’s got stickers of Sparco and 5Zigen strapped on the two front doors.

While there are quirks, there are also a few perks to boot:

No rusting. The first rule of buying a project car. There’s one very minor oxidized part but nothing a good buffing can’t handle.

15-inch rims and low profile tires. It immediately adds not only handling to the car but the monetary value too. They’re almost brand new.

I don’t know if this should be a perk but it’s on lowering springs (at least the front). Sure, a lower of center of gravity gives you better handling but hey, why leave out the rest.

The last too items, I’m not quite too sure if they’re align to my initial goals of coming up with a great a city sedan since they immediately give you a rougher ride and it sure is whenever I drive over road ruts.

So what to do next? I need to draft a plan.