Fuel of Slowtan: 1983 Nissan Sentra Diesel

I've owned and driven some slow cars in my time...so I don't say this lightly...but this next car is slower than a herd of snails on a plate of peanut butter.  The basic gasoline powered Sentra was slow with its 1.6 liter gasoline 4-banger drooling to 60mph in about 14 seconds, but the 1.7 liter CD17 non-turbo diesel was an absolute boat anchor and would have possibly gotten to 60 in less than 18 seconds with a strong tail wind.  But...if my experience owning an '81 Rabbit Diesel taught me anything...it is that slow can be exhilarating -- just try merging on the freeway and tell me your pulse rate doesn't skyrocket like a snail trying to cross the racing surface during the annual Bonneville salt flat speed week.  Find this 1983 Nissan Sentra Diesel offered for $3500 in Cerritos, CA via craigslist.

350 Horsepower: 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R Turbo

The B13 generation Nissan Sentra isn't a particularly memorable car in basic spec, but the factory hod rod SE-R offers an oddly fun package.  The combination of a robust and torquey inline-4, good brakes, light curb weight, and limited slip differential puts the SE-R into the ugly-but-good category of used cars....but you'll never find a stock example that hasn't been thrashed into the ground.  Today's next example has been fitted with a humongous turbocharger...so that's either good or bad depending on how you feel about torque steer or passing state mandated emissions tests.  Find this 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R Turbo offered for $5500 in South Jersey, NJ via craigslist. Tip from Jeff.

RPM's For The Dollar- 1998 Nissan Sentra SR20VE

The B14 Sentra was not exactly the home run that the previous B13 generation was.  The BMW E30 styling cues were replaced with jelly bean curves and worse yet the rear suspension design was dumbed down.  With all that said, the rest of the car was not bad and they can be bought today for pretty much peanuts.  The Nissan SR20VE engine was never officially sold here in the USA.  The VE engine is a even more pumped up version of the potent SR20.  It revs to 9000 rpms, making crazy noise while getting there,  and takes as well to boost as well as the normal SR20.  The VE head flows a tremendous amount of air and has the capability of putting making 300 NA hp.  Today's car has a VE engine swap and a low asking price.  Find this 1998 Nissan Sentra Se for sale in West Orange, NJ for $1,500 via craigslist.

Electric Avenue: 1984 Nissan Sentra EV conversion

These days it's popular to fret about how the inventive spirit of Edison or the Wright brothers has all but disappeared from America.  I submit to you that it hasn't and the coming electric singularity for the automobile provides ample opportunities for guys in sheds.  Find this 1984 Nissan Sentra EV conversion for sale in Port Orchard, WA for $1,000 via craigslist.

Horsefeather: 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R

There are quite a few cars on the DT favorites list that are almost NEVER found in stock/clean/low-mile configuration for just about any price.  The top of the list includes quite a few Japanese cars, including the Honda CRX, Subaru STI, DSM Talon/Eclipse/Laser, Mitsu EVO, but today we've found a real pile of rocking horse pooh -- a stock/nice/clean 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R offered for $4,500 in Cincinnati, OH via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.

Comes With A Spare: 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R

The B13 generation Nissan Sentra isn't a particularly memorable car in basic spec, but the factory hod rod SE-R offers an oddly fun package. The combination of a robust and torquey inline-4, good brakes, light curb weight, and limited slip differential puts the SE-R into the ugly-but-good category of used cars. Find this 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R offered for $5,000 in Richmond, VA via craigslist.

Wagon Style: 1987 Nissan Sentra 4X4

Fans of the Nissan Sentra are properly obsessed with the 2-door coupe SE-R version that is certainly a wolf an ill-tempered possum in sheep's clothing, but did you know that Nissan built a 4-wheel-drive 5-door wagon version? Find this 1987 Nissan Sentra 4X4 offered for $2,800 in Yelm, WA.  Tip from FuelTruck.

Subcompact Car?!? 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R; Former Sport Compact Car Project

Sometimes our internet searches bear fruit, and sometimes our tippers do all the work for us. Take this next example: a former magazine car, owned and built by a friend of DT "back in the day," subsequently changed hands several times - including to the tipper/reader who sent us the ad link. The car in question is a B13 Sentra SE-R, one of the great sport compacts of the '90s and subject of many Sport Compact Car magazine articles written by former Geek-at-Large Dave Coleman, who says: "Subcompact car? Oh, so sad... Front end has been changed since someone hit a deer or something (saw pics of that on Jalopnik a few years ago), but that's the car. Recognize the one-of-one strut tower brace."  Find this 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R for sale in Stratford, CT for $5,300 via craigslist. Tip from Cory.

1k: Hot Mess: 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R B13

The B13 generation Nissan Sentra isn't a particularly memorable car in basic spec, but the factory hod rod SE-R offers an oddly fun package.  The combination of a robust and torquey inline-4, good brakes, light curb weight, and limited slip differential puts the SE-R into the ugly-but-good category of used cars.  Find this 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R B13 offered for $1,000 near Pittsburgh, PA.

7K Rally Good Deal: 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V

By Gianni -- Performance stage rallying is the motorsports world’s soccer.  Big in the rest of the world, but unknown in the U.S.  Rallies in Europe have thousands of spectators lining the stages, often camping out overnight to get a good spot.  In the U.S., organizers are lucky to have more than 100 spectators on a stage.  That’s a shame really, as after you have been to special stage and stood feet away from a rally car with no fencing between you as  it as it spits rocks from its tires, you’ll suddenly find attending track racing events as boring.  Then you will want to try it yourself.  Find this 2003 rally prepared Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V with a Rally America log book and a mountain of spares on Craigslist in Puyallup, WA.  Tip from K2_Mystery Car.

1k: GA16DE Turbo Swap: 1989 Nissan Sentra XE AWD Wagon

The B12 generation Nissan Sentra (1985-1989) was never available in the USA with the sporty SE-R version that was released in the B13 version (1990-1994), but there was an extremely limited edition all-wheel-drive wagon version.  Today's feature gets power from a force-fed version of a later Sentra engine and could be fun.  Find this 1989 Nissan Sentra XE 4WD Wagon here on eBay currently bidding for $710 with 3 days to go.

5k: 37k Original Miles: 1982 Nissan Sentra Wagon

Why is it that the  cleanest original condition classics are almost always the worst combinations in terms of sportiness?  Slushboxes, manual windows, no center console, AM radios, the list goes on.  DT's resident crapbox expert CFlo supposes: Maybe it says something about the car, but I think it says more about the type of person who drives less than 2k miles per year and keeps a car in as-new condition for so long...likely a blue-haired old lady who wants/needs an auto.  Very true....but that doesn't mean the cars aren't interesting to enthusiasts.  Find this 1982 Nissan Sentra Wagon offered for $3,500 in Stockton, CA via craigslist.  Tip from Kaibeezy. 

2k: Smitten and Frostbitten: 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R B13

Surviving 23 years in the North for 218,000 miles isn't supposed to look this good. You have to look closely at this squeaky clean B13 SE-R to see its age. It's all in the interior wear points: worn pedal surfaces, thin driver's side floor mat, and squished seat bolsters - and that's nitpicking. Otherwise, the aftermarket steering wheel and head unit are the only two deviations from a circa-1990 catalog. This will not last long. Find this 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R in Olympia, WA for $2,000 via craigslist. 

1k: It Followed Me Home: 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R

The B13 Sentra SE-R makes a great autocross legend or a loyal, affable commuter companion thanks to the venerable SR20 engine, well-behaving limited-slip differential, and communicative chassis. Looking like a abandoned mutt in search of a background to play in, this Sentra just needs a bath and some cosmetic fixes. With just a little effort and hardly a down payment, it would happily wear cow trails along the fenceline and into the heart of your family's financial overseer. Find this 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R in Richmond, VA for $1,000 via craigslist.

5k: Spec VQ: 2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V, V6-swapped

 Everyone wants to be the sporty yet sensible sedan. This Sentra, with a clandestine V6 from an Infiniti, nails the "sporty" part of the equation. We're not sure how sensible a car with filled motor mounts can be, but the engine came from a luxury sedan so that must count for something. Find this VQ35-swapped 2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V in Lexington, KY for $4,675 via craigslist. Update 6/10/2014; 2:15pm, it looks like this car is already gone.

2k: Stock Up: 1994 Nissan Sentra SE-R

The conclusion to any conversation about the Nissan Sentra SE-R is that it is impossible to find a clean stock example of a B13 SE-R.  Nissan built plenty of the SR20 powered sport compact special editions, but they have been abused, raced, wrecked and it is almost impossible to find a nice example.  Of course, DT regular Kaibeezy did not give up hope and finally found this 1994 Nissan Sentra SE-R for sale in Daly City, CA for $2,500 via craigslist.

5k: Generally Awesome: 1993 Nissan Sentra Gen Lee Tribute

The iconic orange paint with the number 01 on the side is normally reserved for the countless Dodge Chargers that are built as homage to the Dukes of Hazzard, but sometimes a Dukes fan can't afford the high prices demanded for Chargers these days.  Perhaps the Dukes fan only has an old Nissan Sentra sitting around and a few buckets of orange paint....this is what happens.  Find this 1993 Nissan Sentra Gen Lee Tribute for sale in Houston, TX for $4,900 via craigslist.