Thank you for stopping in. This is an ongoing (now 4 year) project. Like many others, I do not have the open checkbook to do everything that I would like at one shot. So, again like many others, I have been slowly evolving my car into something unique and completely individual. Some may appreciate what I have done, while many I know will not. Please keep your comments tasteful and respectful. If don't like my tastes, I respect your feelings but please keep your opinions to yourself. Please take the time to vote. 

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About me

I have always been a car guy. I grew up with a father who was into drag racing. It was the classic muscle that always got my heart pumping. I started with a 1970 Torino 500. I built the 302 and got her up to 12.86qtr @ 114mph.

I then got a 1963 Chevrolet Impala coupe. I restored her and put her in car shows.

For years I lived in different places for work, and working on cars had to take a back seat to working in general.

In 1990, I purchased a new Nissan Hardbody pickup. I drove her for 208,000, very abused, miles. I moved across country three times with that truck and she took a real beating...but never gave me a hint of trouble. Never burned oil, never broke down. Heck, my first real maintenance was a new clutch at 175,000 miles! Outside of the routine repairs (brakes, tires, oil, wipers) everything else was original. I traded her in, dents, rust, and all, for a new Chrysler Sebring in 2002. When I lost my job to downsizing in late 2003, I lost that car. Now Chrysler made a nice car but it lacked the connection I got when I had a Nissan. Even with all of the wear and tear on the truck, it was still hard to get rid of her.

I needed a car, something inexpensive, reliable, and with a bit of that special something that we all feel when we love our cars. With the history I had with my pickup the first thing I looked for was an early 90's Nissan.

About my baby

So...I bought my 1990 Maxima SE in May, 2004. She had 253,000 miles, most of them highway. She was in great shape and obviously well maintained. Being in Texas, no snow, no rust damage. The only thing that did not work was the power antenna. The Bose system was replaced with an Alpine head unit and Polk Audio speakers. So at a price of $1500.00 how could I say no?

I love the R34 Skylines (who doesn't?) but since I can't afford one I started thinking...What if Nissan extended the GT-R performance option to other cars in the line up? Could I change the looks of a Maxima a little, improving the handling and performance enough to respect the Skyline, and still look like Nissan may have intended it to be that way? That is the idea behind this car.

Now we start the work

First you gotta fix what doesn't work. So I quickly replaced the antenna with a used one and tinted the windows,(as dark as TX law allows). Then I lowered the stance with Sprint lowering springs (1.8") and KYB GR2 struts. And then added Kumhos on Exel speed rims. That really improved the ride. A little stiffer but not too bad.
After a night of enjoying the improved handling, I made the stupid mistake of truly abusing a high milage engine. At 135mph+ the cylinder head developed a very small crack above the exhaust manifold. She still ran very well but had a coolant leak that turned the engine white and required weekly addition of new coolant. (oops!) I still drove her for about 6 more months.

In February, 2005 I moved back to Wisconsin. Since I had the time, I dug into the engine. I found a used VG30E from a n/a 300zx in Japan for cheap. So I bought it, did a little internal engine work, worked my intake and installed the new plant.

I added some other goodies as well. Unorthodox Racing underdrive pulley, Nology Hot Wires and plugs, Nismo carbon fiber cone style filter, Nismo pro ground wire kit, 1.3 bar radiator cap (to keep it cooler), and a complete new exhaust from Warpspeed Performance, y-pipe to tip. I went with the 2.5" exhaust with a Magnaflow cat and muffler.

I figured I would do some custom work while I wasn't running. So I painted some interior parts white and put in a carbon fiber dash cluster. I tried those cheap carbon fiber overlays on the dash first and hated the look. I think the white looks incredible. I like the carbon fiber and chrome pistol-grip shifter too.
I also figured since I had it all out I should change the trans as well. So I installed a new trans too. And new half shafts from Raxles. They are more expensive than stock replacements, but worth it. I also added an Addco .875" rear anti-roll bar and urethane bushings on the front anti-roll bar from Energy suspension. I also got a Megan Racing front strut bar. Damn! this supsension is tight now! It corners like crazy but she is very stiff so daily driving can be rough. But some things are worth the sacrifice. I painted the anti-roll bars both a reflective stop sign paint red.
I redid some of the outside too. In front I cut out the center of the grill, screened it (ala Skyline), got two Skyline GTR emblems from Japan, and did the BMW E36 conversion, with Wade headlight covers grafted in to make them look more vehicle correct.


Then I removed the "Nissan" and the "Maxima" from the back and put the second GTR badge there in the proper location.

I repainted the bottom of the car where Nissan had the dark gray. I started with a gunmetal and then did a 1" red stripe on top of that in the same reflective red stop sign paint as the anti-roll bars. I topped that with a .25" blue pin stripe.

About those brakes. A cars gotta stop right? So...Brembos! I got some Brembo cross-drilled and slotted rotors, some Satisfied carbon/ceramic pads, and some Goodridge braided stainless lines. She definitely stops now!

I have recently installed a cold air induction from Warpspeed Performance. And I have added to the suspension with some Ingalls front camber adjustments, a heavy 1 1/4" Suspension Techniques front sway bar, and parts from Matt Blehm at Blehmco, including his stage 2 front suspension tie bar, rear strut tower bar, and complete rear suspension components. If you have a Maxima and are looking for help I highly recommend Matt. I have also added a carbon fiber hood from Fiber Images. I purchased it thru AEI Performance. If you are working on any car, AEI gives the best customer service you could hope for.

I have also taken some parts from my winter car, a '92 Maxima. I got the car for $500. It has a lot of miles, 234,000, and the motor and trans are worn out. This car was a real nice car at one point. Whoever owned it first optioned it out with everything, SE, leather, heated mirrors, I think they checked every option box. Too bad it hasn't been maintained over the years. I needed a fan assembly for my 90, so $500 was a steal. Nissan wants over $500 for a fan assembly alone. I also got a cup holder and some other small parts, like strut tower covers and small clips that are annoying to have to buy. It seemed like such a waste to send her off to scrap.

My next purchases look to be sub-frame connectors, seats, and then get the interior upholstered to match the new seats.

Page 1: just the beginning. pics and intro
Page 2: partial list of mods
Page 3: updates. pics and comments
Page 4: small show for charity
Page 5: small gathering of Exotics...and a Maxima?
Page 6: invited to a personal collection