A Nissan 240SX Built to Fly Through the Desert

The Nissan That Defied Its Destiny

When you were a teenager in high school, you may have gotten caught up in watching drifting videos on the Internet. One Japanese dream car in particular, the Nissan 240SX, seemed to be everywhere. They are typically low to the ground, can’t go over speed bumps, and are meant to get sideways on a back road in the hills. Big wheels and thin tires defined the 240SX, which Jake O’Donnel knows about all too well. Jake has a blue 1995 Nissan 240SX that defies what every person has ever thought about the Japanese-manufactured creation. His vision was to turn his car into an American prerunner fan’s wet dream.

Over the five years of this project being built, Jake’s 240SX has gone through a few versions and has been featured by a few influential social media accounts, including posts from Terra Crew and The Hoonigans. This rig was created to handle the big whoops at speed and is definitely not low to the ground. Although it can get sideways, it does so on top of totally different conditions other than nicely paved roads.

During the morning time, Jake is an HVAC contractor living his life in Lancaster, California—the high desert and holy grail of off-roading in Southern California. Jake is a man of creativity and pure drive for creating something that is unbelievable to anyone who appreciates both regular automotive and off-road communities. Up front is a custom front end molded on with a Nissan S15 front clip and hood attached to custom-molded 240SX and McNeil Ford Ranger flares that give this rig a crazy cool yet menacing look. Protecting the front end is a custom tube bumper that Jake fabbed up in the garage. Sitting pretty on top of that bumper is a set of Baja Designs pods. Up on the rack, Jake is also rocking a set of Baja Designs linkable XLs to really give some far shine when blazing through the desert at night!

Shooting this missile through the desert and rough terrain, Jake is rocking one hell of a party under the hood. He has a short block Millennium Motorsports 6.0L paired with a Precision 76/81 turbo to really push this thing into another light-year of power. With CP pistons, Eagle connecting rods, Comp camshafts, AFR heads, a Summit Racing high ram intake, CX Racing headers, and a one-off exhaust system, this rig creates such a nice tone when it’s running wide open through the whoops and blazing around the dirt boundaries. Connected to this powerhouse is another machine itself, a Mike’s Transmission Turbo 400 with a billet torque converter and billet manual valve body, along with a Winters reverse pattern shifter. Keeping this rig cool is a dual set of 14-inch Derale coolers, and transferring power and making the gear turn is a Camburg 4-inch housing with 40-spline axles and 2.5-inch billet hubs with a 5×5.5-inch hub. Wilwood is a company you can depend on, which is why Jake chose to run its brakes on all four corners, along with a Jamar dual reservoir with a CNC pedal and dual Wilwood master cylinders to keep that pressure going when he needs to slow this rocketship down.

Let’s talk about something that keeps this rig structural and safe—the cage! This one-off frame was built in Jake’s garage and started as 2×3 rectangle tubing caged through the 240SX unibody to keep that stiffness and prevent any frame flexing. Stancing this rig at 92 inches wide and 114 inches long is, in my opinion, the perfect wheelbase to party. In the front is a set of custom I-beams by Wide Open Customz strapped at 24 inches of travel and a rear custom 4-link strapped at 26 inches with a 48-inch trailing arm. Allowing all that suspension travel is a front-to-rear shock package from Fox with 2.5×14-inch coilovers and 4.4×16-inch 5-tube bypass shocks. With this setup, Jake will have zero issues with even the biggest and baddest whoops there are to be thrown at this beauty!

Guiding this cyborg build is a Saginaw steering box and Power Steering Solution stabilizer, which really connect the control behind the wheel with the direction of this rig. Keeping that steering directional and traction transferred to the ground is a set of Predator New Mutant X-RT tires in a 37×12.5R17 size. Wrapped in those premier tires is a set of 17×9 KMC Grenade Crawl wheels, making this vehicle not just a good-looking build but also a functional option for this 240SX’s use.

Keeping Jake strapped for takeoff is a set of NRG Prisma Halo bucket seats paired with an NRG steering wheel and harnesses to keep that JDM feel with the NRG story. Further interior additions include a custom aluminum paneled dash, center console, and Rugged Radios communications matched with its Air Pumper right between the seats.

Have you seen this build in person? If not, let me tell you about some of the events this beast has visited recently—starting with Terra Crew’s Speed Metal event, Off-Road Expo, Hot Wheels Legends Tour, King of the Hammers, and the Sand Sports Super Show! This build has come with many ups and downs, learning curves, and difficulties. As Jake said, “It’s like trying to fit 15 pounds of crap into a 1-pound bag.” From an extremely tight engine space, getting everything necessary to fit, and cutting the floor to mount the seats lower to clear Jake’s 6’4” posture, it has been an adventure. Nonetheless, this vehicle is the only one like it, and it’s the only thing that will be created that will match this level of craziness and creativity.

Jake hopes to inspire and see more people create more things out of nothing, think outside the box, and build something that not only turns heads but also becomes the talk of the event. Taking this rig out to Barstow and letting Jake loose to show me how they party in the high desert is a trip I cannot wait to make again! From whoop chasing, jump flying, berm blowing, and golden hour fun, this trip was nothing short of amazing. We thank Jake for allowing us to feature this legendary build, and we are excited to see what else he comes up with in the future. We are hearing of another crazy build currently being worked on in his garage, but only time will tell when we are able to get that rig in front of the lens. Until then, keep your tread off the pavement.