This is my first post on this board. Actually I had a different username but by switching e-mails and all I'm now 'new'. Actually I've been on the org off and on since 2001. Okay, now that that is out of the way..... My first car was a '92 SE 5spd that I loved more than anything. It was destroyed in an accident with 63K miles on it and I have had a fond place in my heart for it ever since. Okay since than I have owned an '02 6spd and now have a company car. I'm now in a position in life to where I could rebuild/restore the pinnacle 3rg gen VE. Okay here is my dillema. Lets start with a cash budget of $10,000.00. Now I assume for $4500.00 to $5000.00 I could find a VE in mint condition (cosmetically) and if not exactly perfect, it would be after purchase and touch up (paint, carpet, leather, etc). That leaves $5K. I've read a little about JDM low mileage engines and trannys. If I were to purchase one of those and than do a limited rebuild of it (whatever was needed or wasn't ABSOLUTELY perfect) what all do that involve. I know I would want a port and polish, maybe some optimizing of the manifolds and exhaust (also Y-pipe obviously) and a JWT ECU. Okay, obviously I need some detailed directions of just how much would be involved in rebuilding the worlds ultimate most perfect VE. Can it be done for around $10K (including the purchase of the car itself)? Would it be better to use a USDM motor and do a 100% bottom up rebuild and same with the tranny or order a JDM low mileage engine and just tweak it?

Now I know we're all 3rd gen nuts just by being on this board but I've always wanted my VE back and now I can finally do it. Am I totally nuts? (dont answer that) Would a 100% perfect like the day it left the factory VE 5spd be feasible for $10K or would that money be better say put as a down payment on a low to mid $30K car (such as TL or something in that price range). Obviously this would be a project fueled by sentimental emotion and possibly blinded by rose colored glasses but I want to know the feasibility of it. Thanks for all your help.

 

It would probably be possible to get the "perfect" VE on the road for $10K with the JDM engine provided that you are willing and able to do some of the work yourself and that you don't run into any problems with the car itself. Good luck with your project and keep us posted on the details.
WELCOME BACK on the .Org BTW!!!!

 

Just buy one in good shape and do every imaginable bolt on.

Personally I'd rather rebuild my engine before going JDM.

 

Um forgive me. You have a 02 max 6-sp with 260 ish hp and a company car? Now you want to mess with an old VE with 190hp? You will never get even up to the stock 3.5VQ's power without boost.

Honestly. If I were you, I'd find another fun car project. Preferably rwd and maybe a convertible. Something like a 240sx or a Porsche 356 Speedster replica with a Subaru wrx engine.

 

No, no......I had an '02 6spd (on two year lease...recently turned back in) so now I have a company car and no car of my own. Yeah, those other cars would be fun, but this is, as I mentioned, an emotionally charged/fueled project over my 'first love'. Does that make sense?

What would be the advantages/disadvantages of a JDM vs USDM engine. As for what I've read, they are the same.

 

The engines are the same.

I will sell mine if you make me a good offer. My car has a hesitation problem but if you get that fixed its a real good car, it has 92k miles on it and runs strong and the hesitation is only once in a while. Plus I have most of the bolt ons already. Check out pics at www.cardomain.com/id/dsta92se

 

if it were me doing this, i'd take the rest of the money and put it into having someone make a turbo setup for you. a boosted ve would be extremely powerful and real fun to drive.

 

If you want the car to 'look perfect', just buy a Lexus or Mercedes from a fanatical owner. Maximas are meant to be driven.

 

Yeah, but like I said, its the whole rekindeling the affair with my first love.

 

Heck, I'll sell you mine too. I want a 240sx. Check out the pics at my link below.

 

i already have the perfect VE, it just needs to be revived

 

D-sta, wow....you have a nice 3rd gen VE. Actually exactly what I'm looking for. Hmmm....low miles too. What condition is the carpet/leather/paint in? Looks like you have the original OEM mats too, what shape are they in? I do wonder about the hesitation, do you know what the cause is? I had a friend that had a '93 VE auto and he had something similar. Every once in a while, from a standing stop if you would punch it the car would start like it was in 4th gear. 0-60 of like 18 seconds. Other times the car would shoot forward with no hesitation. After several trips to the dealer they with no solution they called the Nissan tech line and Nissan said there was a TSB on it dealing with the harness for the ECU that would short out or something. They quoted around $1K to fix it. Yeah, right.

Okay lets assume that I find a super nice one such as D-sta's with reasonable miles on a USDM motor. What is a rough estimate on a total 100% rebuild with OEM or better parts and things such as port and polish as well to eek every little bit out of the engine? Oh yeah, I'm hoping the VTC's work fine or else that is an item to replace (around $2K I think, right?).

 

Number 1 question, are you going to do your own work, or what all are you willing to do yourself?

Labor is probably going to be the most restrictive thing in the project.

(oh yeah, *shakes fist at Diego*)

 

It sounds like someone else would do the work for him.

That said, it will probably cost you about $20,000 for a "perfect" ve. This includes boost, suspension, and external upgrades.

 

what part of st louis do you live

you could stop by sometime and check out my 92 VE 5spd to get some ideas and it runns flawlessly except for no 1st gear although looks are another issue

 

This is going to be waaaay more than $10K if you are going to have someone else do all the work. You might just want to use the money for a down payment on a newer car or buy a 5sp VE to race.

 

I am still in the process of getting that hesitation fixed. Hopefully soon it will be fixed, it has to go back to the shop for some more things to be done. The carpet, leather and paint are in great condition. My driver's side seat ripped but N34JZ gave me his spare seat and I fixed it just using his bottom part cushion so the seat is still the original power seat. Yes I have the orginal floor mats and they are actually in the trunk because I don't want to mess them up but I have rubber canon mats from mats.com that are in place for them. The paint is good, the car gets waxed twice every season. Well if interested my e-mail is bastoculo@aol.com

 

Interesting there would be 2 ways that I'd go given that amount. First thing I'd do would be the suspension, new urethane bushings, SFCs, All Blemhco suspension [/plug], koni struts + coilovers. After the handling is all good then do the polyurethane motor/tranny mounts. Figure a good $3k is spent so that leaves $7k to build a kick *** motor. Now if its a daily driver type car, I'd buy another engine for $700-1300, get the cams reground, do all the bolt ons.

So thats another $2k so there is $5k left, now what you do is buy a direct port nitrous kit, something like the NXL from nitrous express or NOszle from N.O.S. Add a progressive n2o controller and the total should be around $1000-2000, so only $3k is left. Finally you go out buy the lightest 15in wheels that can fit some 24in slicks and buy a decent clutch. Tune the progressive n2o to give around 30-50hp in 1st, 60-80hp in 2nd, 100-150hp in 3rd and 4th. This should allow the car to run mid-high 12s @ 105-110mph and low-mid 14s @ 95-98mph NA.

 

Buy a VE on good condition cosmetically and physically... don't even think about starting with a POS and fixing it back up.. I've had more problems with just piddly worn-out stuff on mine than I ever would have if I bought one in better shape initially..

After that, go to my website and buy one of everything for the 3rd gen. www.mattblehm.com It'll handle like it's on rails. by that point, I'll hopefully have the turbo stuff done as well.

 

Yeah, thats what I'm looking for....a diamond in the rough. The engine rebuild may not be necessary but I'd like to start from scratch with it. To answer some of your questions, a few friends at a shop would do the work for me. As I live in a townhouse doing the work myself isn't an option.

 

WOAH! Matt you are coming up with a bolt on Turbo Kit for the VE? Why am I always the last one to know about all of these info?

 

do the mechanical work yourself, just buy a VE with a straight frame and good wiring. bone stock, high miles..whatever. if you're looking to drop alot of money on it, do it from the ground up. i completely understand your emotional/sentimental attachment. i've been patiently waiting for over a year now for mine to be finished and even though i'll say its finished it'll still need body work and more stuff i think up when i'm working on it.
seems like you're pretty financially situated, why dont you get a 4th gen daily driver and a VE project? i'm not sure of the stipulations of your company car but thats what i'd do if i could.
anyway, good luck with it, make sure to post progress pics if you do it, or IM me and i can help you out with some 1-off mods.

 

Get a VG daily driver (unless you can find a VE cheap) and a VE project car (if you need to take that route).

I can agree with Matt though, I bought mine in so-so condition and have had to do a fair ammount of work on it. Actually a majority of the work I would have done anyway so it doesn't really matter but still.

 

The daily driver isn't a problem. My demo (I'm the GSM at a Toyota dealership) gets me wherever I need to go. So with that said, I wont mind (much) to have the car inoperative (for say an engine rebuild) for a few weeks or so at a time.

 

i would also suggest replacing the whole engine wiring harness

i think that can cause alot of the wierd problems people are having plus they ussually have all the rubber boots tore so there not water resitant anymore. i think i might replace mine in the next year but i have to see how much it is

 

Been there done that (well almost). It's not worth it. There are better cars to play with.

 

Here you go, good shape and it comes with the best color scheme in my opinion. I have the black on black leather but I like the black with tan leather more. If this guy would go down on price this would be an awesome car.
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...r=&cardist=259

 

the price is an awesome price if it is rustfree... rust free maximas go for $3000-$3500 in the northeast

 

DUDE THATS CHEAP....for a 94...only106k...wow i am drooling

 

i got 300+ hp out of a 2.8 liter 6 banger {well it is now a 3.1} without head work.

the ve can do it, be daily driven and reliable? probably not.

 

I've been looking at a few cars on the internet. The nicest ones are in the 60-90K price range. I've been in touch with a retired Nissan tech that has quoted me a price of a 100% ground up engine rebuild (VTCs included if necessary). I'm gettting all the details in line, the hard part is just finding the perfect canidate car. My goal is to start with the car around July 4th.

 

What was the price he quoted you?

 

Around $2000.00 for a total rebuild including VTC replacement, not merely rebuild.

 

Check out this guy's VE 5spd 4-sale. Its $2800 obo. Definetly in your price range plus it has mods, and well see the rest for yourself....

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=300815

Just look into why it has a salvaged/theft title... Also, browse through the classifieds because I've seen some nice VE 5spd's goin' cheap...

Good luck

P.S.

This guy had 1 for sale a while back...

http://www.cardomain.com/id/nizzan

His user name is NicZ

 

Jeez, give me $8500 for mine and have a blast. Its got most of the bolt-ons you can get, and its only got 67K.

Koni/Eibach/S&T sways/F&R Strut tower/BFGoodrich KDW's/PR CAI/Fidanza/ACT/UDP, etc. All done in the last year. It doesn't see winter, it get stored. The paint still shines like new and the interior is 8.8/10. I love the car, but anything is for sale...

 

Todamax, do you have any VTC issues? What # owner are you on the car and what about maintenance records? Any pics?

 

Frontleft
Right side
Miles, but right now its 67,015.

Second owner. VTC's are not in good shape, I have the repair kits ordered. They should be here next week.

 

Aside from VTC issues, the VE seems pretty bulletproof if cared for properly.

 

yeah, I call shenanigans on this whole post. The VE is one of Nissan's worst... A blast to play with but a pain to diag with wierd quircky problems.