The Pulsar Project



Welcome to Freebird's Pulsar Project. On this page, I'm going to document the resurrection of a 1989 Nissan Pulsar NX, with a 1.6 liter 12-valve motor(GA16i), and a 5-speed manual transmission. I bought this vehicle in December, 1999, to play around with. It needs a motor, and not much more, but we're gonna see what happens with it. I have a new digital camera, and this seems like the perfect way to mess around with the car and the camera. So keep checking back, as I'll be posting events as they develop. Click here for my expected completion date. Thanks for dropping by!

P.S. If you're guessing at the tune, it's "Drive" by The Cars. God, I miss the 80's!

If the song is not playing, just Refresh. It'll do it.

If you'd like to go to my Homepage, then it's here:www.geocities.com/Nashville/8795 

This is me, by the way.

Here's a few more pics of the Pulsar, from different angles.

UPDATES:

January 16, 2000:

A buddy of mine ended up at my house looking for a transmission for his '87 Pulsar, but the one out of my parts car wouldn't work. The flip side to this is that during his search for a tranny, he had found a motor for my '89, and told me where to get it. Gonna check on it soon.

February 11, 2000:

Without a lot of money for my project yet, I found myself frustrated on my first real day off in a long time. So I did what I could. Pulsar got cleaned, vacuumed, and I figured out things I didn't know about it yet, such as how to store the T-tops, how to pop the hatch from inside the car. Apparently, it's the same handle as the gas door handle, but you pull up to open the hatchback, and push down to open the gas door. The gas icon was still on the handle, but the hatch icon had worn off, that's why it wasn't obvious. Remember, I know nothing about Pulsars, and I'm learning on this one. Also, I forgot to mention, the Pulsar will start up and run, but it smokes real bad, and there's oil in the water, and water in the oil, but it is driveable now. Today was so nice, and I'm gonna have to put a new motor in it anyway, that I took the T-tops out, and took her out for a spin. Except for the expected obvious power loss, and the smoke on startup, and a little smoke while driving, from the bad valves, and need of a lower end, it was a great drive. Couldn't go too far, though, cause I didn't know if it would make it back. I expect to be putting a motor in it soon.

February 28, 2000:

Went and checked on the motor that my buddy found for me. It was the wrong motor. Oh well, no problem, I found some engines online that I'm gonna check out soon.

March 7, 2000:

Finally decided on and ordered an engine from ASAP Motors in Houston, TX. Price was $495 plus shipping, which will be about $60-$80. Engine has 50k miles on it, and ASAP is giving me a 6-month warranty on it. A mechanic my family has used before said he'll put the engine in for about $300, so it looks like I won't have to get my hands greasy on this particular fix. Motor will be here Thursday, which is the day after tomorrow. More info then.

March 13, 2000:

Motor came in today, late due to a mix-up at ASAP Motors. I was able to get the motor shipped to me a lot cheaper, too, thanks to the hotshot delivery company that my Dad works for. Shipping totalled $18.75. God Bless America. I'll be delivering the motor in the next few days to the man who's putting it in for me. I also plan to post some pics of the motor here on the page. Gonna be using a different mechanic, one that I've known personally for years. Also, I have some motorcycle parts that he needs, so we may work out some sort of trade.

March 17, 2000:

Finally got a chance to take the car over to Gilbert's for him to put the motor in it. My brother Clay and I loaded the motor into the back of the car, after loading the car onto the trailer. Two days later, the 19th, My Dad and I rode over to Gilbert's and delivered the car. I told Gilbert not to be in too big a hurry to put the engine in, but I was only being polite. I want it in as fast as possible.

March 31, 2000:

I picked up the Pulsar today, after two gruelling weeks of, "Is it ready yet, is it ready yet?" I collected it at 7:30pm, and Gilbert charged me a grand total of $190.00 to put it in. Being the gentleman I am, I gladly tipped him to an even $200.00. This also included installation of a clutch. After the motor was out, Gilbert could plainly see the car needed a new clutch, so we did it while we were in there. No biggie. Car ran great, with only a brake pad noise to make me worry. It was raining, so no T-tops. I celebrated with a meal at the casino with Mom, while Dad slotted away my inheritance. Car ran great all the way home.

April 12, 2000:

I put a new set of tires on the Pulsar for $175.00. 13-inch wheels are cheaper to dress than my full-size truck's. Car still running great. I've noticed little idiosyncracies about the car, but hey, it's 11 or 12 years old. The most amusing quirk I noticed the night I picked it up, which is that when the motor isn't running, and the key is in the ignition, and the door is open, the bell will ring signifying an open door, and the oil light flashes in sync with the ringing of the bell. The weather's been super nice, and I've had several days, and some nights, of T-topless driving. Too cool. I've got a few more little things to fix on her, but they're very little things, and I'll list them as I repair them.

April 14, 2000:

I put new brakes on the car. Gonna get shocks and struts next, God willing.

April 21, 2000:

I calculated my fuel mileage at just a little over 27 mpg. You know, I've been thinking, and I just want to say that I really am thankful for the good luck I've had with this project. Usually my luck is terrible. Even in everyday life, things just go wrong for me all of the time. Especially with women and vehicles. Like my old man says, if it has tits or tires, you're gonna have problems with it. If you don't believe I have horrible luck with women, just check out this clip I have of my life the other day at the Dairy Queen. This is the way my life usually goes. This clip is best displayed with Windows Media Player, and you'll get the full effect if you let it start to load, then pause it, wait for it to get fully loaded, then play it. It's about 950-something K, so don't do it if you're in a terrible hurry, but it's worth doing if you're not.

LINKS:

I found a great Geocities Pulsar Page by someone named Sucra, and you can go to it with this link. It's a great source of information. Sucra scanned in a whole Pulsar owner's manual, and also has specifications and pics, among other things.

Also, a good place to buy Nissan parts is at AUTOGATOR

I got my motor from here ASAP Motors. Check 'em out. Ask for Marc.

If you have any suggestions for this project, technical or otherwise, all are appreciated.<

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