Owner: (Wifes car) Fabian, the modder, Living in VA-
Year; 1989 PAO, (Was automatic) Now 5 speed SR20DE
Date purchased: March 2022
Color: Was Aqua Grey, now a BMW Tuerkis Gruen
Mileage; Approx 153,000 km.
Mods; Kenwood speakers front and rear, 10"sub in trunk wheel well. New Rear window shocks. Factory radio with bluetooth, Custom power windows, power locks, Custom RPM gauge, New Front seat belts, Custom 3-point rear seat belts. Custom front Brake upgrade from 93 NX2000, TA Technix GFVW02VA coilovers, SR20DE motor swap (Custom EVERYTHING) headers, 2.5" exhaust, lightened pulley kit, welded transmission axle strengthening, Figaro fuel tank, NX2000 fuel hat with Nissan Primera hard fuel lines, Nissan Pao manual 3 pedal.
Hello everyone, I bought my wife the PAO just about two years ago.We are a big Nissan owner family. Currently have 6 Nissans. She loves the car and since day 1 she had a vision of keeping it looking original but with up to date tech and amenities. The car came with a digital radio and it was an eyesore. So we went on the hunt for an original radio and that's where I came across JAUCE.com. I have bought so many parts from this Japanese auction site.
The manual windows got old fast when you are cruising by yourself. Knowing that the Figaro is a sister car to the PAO I thought about the size of things. Essentially should should fit in certain places. I looked at the door panel metal skin, I compared the figaro motor and arms. Thought it looks similar to the Pao. So I started buying parts. With some mods I was able to install the Figaro power window arms into the Pao and we now have power windows run by independent Roll down handle switches. custom power window switch in the ashtray.
Custom RPM gauge made out of an old Japanese kitchen timer. Bought an antique look 2 1/16th AutoMeter Gauge. Almost $200 bucks for the gauge to then cut it up in half and make it fit into this tiny egg shape housing.
The lack of power is a hand to deal with with Virginia hill roads. The flow of traffic is dangerous when going so slow. When I first looked at the engine bay. Many things stuck out to me that reminded me the Sentras. I thought, I think an SR20 fits in here. So I started researching, taking measurements and more measurements, and more. I thought, oh 4 speed auto / 150hp. It will be insane.
So I went looking for a donor car. I found a (RHD 96 Nissan Primera in CT which had a cable driven auto tranny) I thought this is the donor. Car was very clean, no rust nothing wrong with it and I was going to strip to nothing. Well, I pulled the motor from both cars and we test fitted it into the PAO, It fit, not only did it fit but the front and rear motor mounts lined up. Then came the left side wheel, the transmission was 2" further out than the frame rail. The tire wouldnt turn all the way. I thought this isnt going to happen. We needed to keep it auto. Then the idea of converting to manual came about. She entertained the idea, more speed but I have to learn to drive stick. OK! So now I have two cars in pieces and I have to find EVERYTHING for a manual. But do I go PAO for Primera/ Sentra/ NX2000 /G20 or PAO parts? Well I found a rotten out 93 NX2000 5 speed from JGYcustoms. This became the donor for the parts. The motor from the Primera I kept, Roller rocker SR20 make more power than standard SR20. ( getting greedy) From the NX I took everything. Mounting the motor was the easy part Custom driver side mount. Used the stock auto mount bracket with stock auto mount just modified to fit. For the rear mount it needed to be extended and the bracket on the motor needed to be moved over with spacers.
A/C has to stay so everything is very tight. Ultras Slim 2x 10" Fans from MIshimoto, A honda civic radiator, 9 modified.Up to date today I have one more mount to finish and I can connect everything and fire it up. I will create a full thread of the build.
