My latest purchase. A car that I remember from my early years of driving (late 1980's!). A car that I remember thinking looked like a really comfy cruiser. Yes, even in my late teens I was admiring big comfy auto barges! Says quite a lot about me I guess. Not all good. I also remember admiring the smart distinctive smoked rear lights.
1994 Nissan Maxima (J30)
3 litre V6 Auto
70,000 miles
Yes, this bit of Japanese built comfort, barely north of truly bland, is right up my street.
Collecting it, in a nutshell, involved some of Newcastle Airport's finest coffee beans...
some propellers...
some 'above the gloom' sunshine....
a bigger than you'd imagine wheel....
Exeter Airport...
the ubiquitous first fill-up pic...
hazards on at the pump as the battery was goosed and needed a jump (no pic), the first random stranger to approach the car to say "How long you had it?.....I used to have one of these...best car I ever had!" (again, no pic), then a 365 miles and 6 hour drive back home without stopping, most of it purring along with the cruise control on at 70mph/2200rpm. Quite a day. Enjoyable day. If anyone is remotely interested in a bit more padding to this road trip, here's the link...
retrorides.proboards.com/thread/185574/quite-good-bruces-couch-potato?page=1&scrollTo=2159346
So, it's home. And I love it.
First pre-wash pics...
Electric rear wing mounted ariel...
which works....
Not sure if this is an old dealer sticker, or relatively new. I'll look them up at some point.....
Oooh, active speakers...
There was no history with the car except for half a dozen previous MOT's, which backs up the mileage, as does the online DVLA MOT checker...
The MOT from 2002 shows it had done 57,508 miles in it's first 8 years....
so it's only done 1,000 miles a year in every one of the last 13 years! It was owned by an old chap who must have just took it round the corner to the shops once a week or something!
I sourced this manual from the USA...
First wash....
wheel arches are unbelievably solid and clean...
The body was rough as sandpaper, and needed a clay. I mean, REALLY NEEDED A CLAY...
I'm looking forward to getting some shiny shiny product on it. Looks like this colour should shine up nicely, judging from how well it looks already with just a quick wash and clay.
Two things that need addressing soon. Headlight wiper is stuck half way up...
and the bonnet lifters are tired to the point of being comatose...
It's got a bit of a noisy fan belt when cold too.
One thing already sorted. Even after a 365 mile drive on Monday, the car wouldn't start on Tuesday, so I replaced this old duffer....
for this new one yesterday....
Matt, who I bought the car from, had already bought the timing belt/tensioner and filters, which are currently in the boot (or should I say trunk with this car!! LOL)....
Got to say again, I really love this car. It's Japanese built, comfortable, quite pokey, surprisingly decent on the juice (on a run anyway), and pretty retro looking. I really can't remember the last time I saw one. Not surprising really, as there are literally only a cheeky handful of these still registered on the roads.
So. Future plans. I'd like to keep it standard. But I'd LOVE to modify it. So there we have it. I'm going to go slightly 'improve' it
Things to do:
Remove towbar
Wheels
Lowers
USDM front grille
USDM front corners (they have the orange DRL's)
Lightly tint the rear windows
Front spotlights
These cars were really popular in the States, and I love the look of some of them over there....
I'd like to source some deeper bumpers and sideskirts in time.
I've already sorted some 17" wheels, and I should have them on in the next couple of weeks once they are delivered. I've got some pretty much brand new Falken tyres to go on them from the original wheels on my 530d.....
I hope to get the interior cleaned up and hoovered tomorrow, and give the seats a clean/feed.
Here's a couple of pics next to it's smaller relation...
I've already signed up on the biggest Maxima forum, which is not surprisingly based in the USA. I already have these bits winging their way across the pond....
USDM front corners with orange DRL's
and the bottom two of these grilles. Choice is good....
When the 3rd Gen was launched by Nissan, it was marketed as the 'Four Door Sports Car' (yeah, I know!!), and they got factory decals to let everyone know. There is still a US supplier of these stickers, which came in three different styles. I've got a pair of the bottom style on their way, which will go in the rear quarterlights as they did when launched....
So there we have it. Something different. Something old. Seems like we have a couple of things in common!
1994 Nissan Maxima (J30)
3 litre V6 Auto
70,000 miles
Yes, this bit of Japanese built comfort, barely north of truly bland, is right up my street.
Collecting it, in a nutshell, involved some of Newcastle Airport's finest coffee beans...
some propellers...
some 'above the gloom' sunshine....
a bigger than you'd imagine wheel....
Exeter Airport...
the ubiquitous first fill-up pic...
hazards on at the pump as the battery was goosed and needed a jump (no pic), the first random stranger to approach the car to say "How long you had it?.....I used to have one of these...best car I ever had!" (again, no pic), then a 365 miles and 6 hour drive back home without stopping, most of it purring along with the cruise control on at 70mph/2200rpm. Quite a day. Enjoyable day. If anyone is remotely interested in a bit more padding to this road trip, here's the link...
retrorides.proboards.com/thread/185574/quite-good-bruces-couch-potato?page=1&scrollTo=2159346
So, it's home. And I love it.
First pre-wash pics...
Electric rear wing mounted ariel...
which works....
Not sure if this is an old dealer sticker, or relatively new. I'll look them up at some point.....
Oooh, active speakers...
There was no history with the car except for half a dozen previous MOT's, which backs up the mileage, as does the online DVLA MOT checker...
The MOT from 2002 shows it had done 57,508 miles in it's first 8 years....
so it's only done 1,000 miles a year in every one of the last 13 years! It was owned by an old chap who must have just took it round the corner to the shops once a week or something!
I sourced this manual from the USA...
First wash....
wheel arches are unbelievably solid and clean...
The body was rough as sandpaper, and needed a clay. I mean, REALLY NEEDED A CLAY...
I'm looking forward to getting some shiny shiny product on it. Looks like this colour should shine up nicely, judging from how well it looks already with just a quick wash and clay.
Two things that need addressing soon. Headlight wiper is stuck half way up...
and the bonnet lifters are tired to the point of being comatose...
It's got a bit of a noisy fan belt when cold too.
One thing already sorted. Even after a 365 mile drive on Monday, the car wouldn't start on Tuesday, so I replaced this old duffer....
for this new one yesterday....
Matt, who I bought the car from, had already bought the timing belt/tensioner and filters, which are currently in the boot (or should I say trunk with this car!! LOL)....
Got to say again, I really love this car. It's Japanese built, comfortable, quite pokey, surprisingly decent on the juice (on a run anyway), and pretty retro looking. I really can't remember the last time I saw one. Not surprising really, as there are literally only a cheeky handful of these still registered on the roads.
So. Future plans. I'd like to keep it standard. But I'd LOVE to modify it. So there we have it. I'm going to go slightly 'improve' it
Things to do:
Remove towbar
Wheels
Lowers
USDM front grille
USDM front corners (they have the orange DRL's)
Lightly tint the rear windows
Front spotlights
These cars were really popular in the States, and I love the look of some of them over there....
I'd like to source some deeper bumpers and sideskirts in time.
I've already sorted some 17" wheels, and I should have them on in the next couple of weeks once they are delivered. I've got some pretty much brand new Falken tyres to go on them from the original wheels on my 530d.....
I hope to get the interior cleaned up and hoovered tomorrow, and give the seats a clean/feed.
Here's a couple of pics next to it's smaller relation...
I've already signed up on the biggest Maxima forum, which is not surprisingly based in the USA. I already have these bits winging their way across the pond....
USDM front corners with orange DRL's
and the bottom two of these grilles. Choice is good....
When the 3rd Gen was launched by Nissan, it was marketed as the 'Four Door Sports Car' (yeah, I know!!), and they got factory decals to let everyone know. There is still a US supplier of these stickers, which came in three different styles. I've got a pair of the bottom style on their way, which will go in the rear quarterlights as they did when launched....
So there we have it. Something different. Something old. Seems like we have a couple of things in common!
