This is purely a concept, so no bashing PLEASE!

Now, the situation.

Picked up a 93 Maxima with following damage:
Gearbox and brakes gone
Engine mounts, suspension, CV Joints on their way out.

I'd stab in the dark about $5000 to fix.

NOW

My understanding is, Nissan Cefiro (up to 94) has a very similar chassis to the Maxima (21mm longer wheelbase, 10mm shorter in width) and the 94 SE model became FWD and sold under the Maxima name in some regions.
The Maxima uses a 3.0 V6, the Cefiro uses an 2.0 I6 w/ Turbo

So the parts, in THEORY would fit nicely, with some stretching, welding, etc.
Not perfectly, but nicely with some work.

SO,
If I went down the road and bought that Cefiro wrapped around a tree by a wannabe drifter, which has intact driveline and engine bay (hit dead-smack centre on the passenger side doors, engine was thrashed dead, then sold to auto wrecker) and began transplanting parts over to this Maxima, I would effectively revive a Maxima back to good, and it would be making smoke out of it's booty end.

That Cefiro, tops, would cost, I dunno....$2000 maybe?
I expect that not EVERY part from the Cefiro will be useable and atleast SOME welding and engineering will be needed, and getting the goverment to agree this concept is roadworthy would be the biggest challenge of all.

I don't rely on this Maxima for transport, and I have the cash, and assistance at my fingertips, Im just at a 50/50 standstill as to weather or not to be another guy to start a RWD Maxima project, and with some luck, be the only one to finish it.

Once complete, I could use the turbo from the Cefiro on my 3.0 V6, or drop in a biiger engine, depending on the outcome, a small V8 may be an option, but I wont go there just yet.

Past all of that, with an open mind
What do you guys think?

 

well you might have a considerable amount of trouble pinning the rear suspension in place... just depends where the arms are supposed to link onto and such. Remember, just because you can find a place to attach them isn't good enough. Think about your theta angles (trigonometry), and how that will affect your camber as the suspension moves up and down. The parallel links on the maxima are 'longest' when dead parallel to the ground. as they swing down, the ends pull in. so the more it is compressed the more neg camber it's gonna have.

up front worry about the tranny tunnelling you'll have to do... possible relocation of the ECU, climate control components, and assorted harnesses and structuers down there. Possible relocation of PS rack, OR swapping for a conventional idler-arm system from RWD. gonna need a custom fuel tank, or a z31 tank or maybe the cefiro tank.

also think about engine support. the oldsmobile has a big beefy crossmember, from which the lower control arms mount as well. It's all integrated. Is the cefiro tranny still there? What about using a z31 powertrain? You may or may not need a custom driveshaft.

also the maxima does not have $5000 of damage. a few hours at the junkyard and you can get another tranny for it. $2000 will easily get you on eibachs, konis, new motor mounts, new strut mounts, fully re-bushing'd and new axles.

 

Yeah, I figured suspension will be a b***h of a task to do.
Tunnelling already exsists.
Fuel tank is on the opposite side on the Cefiro's, but the Cefiro's should fit, but Im thinking of converting to LPG and having the tank for that in the back, so that may not be a problem, dunno.
ECU, Climate control, etc should be ok, from what Ive gathered theyre in roughly the same spots as the Maxima's, somehow, but I've yet to confirm alot of these things.

How would you suggest going about reaching the rear differential?
Custome drive-shaft? modified crossmember? gearbox? Theres alot of different ways to do it I guess, dunno which one will be best though.
Cefiro may have auto gearbox, in which case I'll chase down a manul gearbox from another vehicle, Im not too flash about Nissan's old auto's.

Thanks for the input and not flaming like others have done in posts of the same topic

 

well being that you already have access to a kinda-similar RWD nissan to begin with you already have a legitimate starting point. unlike other people that just come flying out of the gate with engine types and turbos galore.

 

would be a very cool project and a long one at that. How is the firewall different between the two?

 

As far as I know, it isnt.
I was presuming that they were the exact same chassis, hence why the Maxima has a tunnel for driveshaft when its FWD, but the Cefiro chassis is actually longer, so yeah, I dunno.
They appear to be identical vehicles, bar some minute differences.

 

They are completely different chassis.
they share nothing beyond some basic appearances.

 

i just wandered in here because of the interesting title. admittedly, i know very little about the 3g platform but i believe automart is correct. the maxima is a j30 chassis and the cefiro is an a31. doesn't sound much simpler than fiting any other rwd suspension/engine other than the similar dimensions.

 

Aside from scientific curiosity, I cannot believe no one has said nothing about the bottom line. I mean we are talking 2-5K (if you include YOUR time) into the equation. Your time is WORTH money! For that kind of money you could buy a much newer car or one in far better condition that the two you are talking about. Monetarily speaking, this whole experiment does not make a lot of sense.

 

j30 max doesn't rly have a driveshaft tunnel..... that's an exhaust pipe/shift rod/ebrake cable tunnel. even my mom's camry has a hump on the floorboard between the back seat floorboards

 

money doesn't mean as much to some. i personally don't care that i've dumped 5 figures into my build. i'm building it the way i want and i'm sure the op feels the same.

really you have to talk 6 figure new cars before we get into anything i wouldn't spend $10k+ building, and thats just because they have everything. actually, i'd probably still spend it.

not ******* your opinion, but different strokes for different folks.

 

Why not find a Cefiro in good condition and import it with all the legit paperwork!!! Then mod it with you say a larger displacement 3.0L V6 Turbo/w the ecu & wiring harness and call it the day! RWD 300zx turbo> RWD Celio see the similarities?...Oh yeah one more thing! Your maxima project replacing Xmission,brakes,f/r struts, cv axles, and motor mts....I'll say $1000-$2000 and it's a done deal if you keep that mind open and spend your hard earned dollars wisely....

 

Cefiro are all over the place in Aussie land. he doesn't have to import anything.

 

To paraphrase my reply to a similiar question-

Off the top of my head you will need...

Fabricate new front suspension, the current one will not work for a RWD car.
Fabricate a subframe to mount the engine to, as well as support the new front suspension
Steering, You will also need to fabricate a new steering rack, as the current position will prevent any rwd engine setup from being installed
Provide enough clearance to mount the new engine
Find some way to route the exhaust, since the exhaust tunnel will be filled with a driveshaft
Fabricate a new rear suspension
Fabricate a rear subframe to hold and support a rear differential
Have custom axle shafts made, unless you can find a diff/axle/hub setup that will fit correctly under the rear of the max, and work with your custom suspension
Chassis bracing - The maxima was not designed to handle the torque on the rear of the chassis, you will need to brace as required to prevent the rear from tearing itself apart
New driveshaft - You will have to determine the proper length and pinion angle, you will need to have the rear diff or axle housing offset properly, as well as the engine, otherwise your driveshaft will vibrate and/or tear itself out or the U-joints will fail prematurely. Driveshaft will have to be custom made.
Wiring, must find a way to integrate the V6 turbo wiring into the car, your also going to have to find a way of reading a new speedo and tach signal
Transmission - You will need to find a transmission that will fit in the tunnel space, which was never designed to hold a transmission. You will also need to align everything so that the shifter will come out at the proper point, unless you plan on going automatic, which will be an even larger transmission, along with additional wiring. You will also need to find a way of supporting the rear of the transmission, as nothing under the car is provided, other than the thin sheetmetal of the floor.
You will need new brakes in all 4 corners to go with your new hubs/outer ends.

With lots of time, and LOTS of money, anything is possible.

 

One thing about having a entire custom drivetrain etc is when something breaks. No replacement parts available. Gonna have to custom fab something again.

 

300zx Turbo, yeah
but what is a Celio exactly?
Even looks like a long way off spelling error of CeFiro...

I can see your point though,
Drop a 3.0 V6 and Maxima interior into the Ceffy and connect up the turbs and ECU and work from them, WAY quicker, and probably what I'll do. Still, it would be nice to post a YouTube link of a Maxima doing a RWD Burnout and quote all the people who say it was "impossible"....

 

http://forums.maxima.org/3rd-generat...e-posting.html

 

Who in this thread said it was "impossible"? No one so far that i see.

I suggest you get to working on this to hush all these imaginary naysayers instead of just yapping about doing it.

talk is cheap.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/3rd-generat...e-posting.html

 

pearl/hectic:

please refrain from posting crap that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the subject.

 

I think his implication of impossible is from those who have said in old threads maybe it's those who mention all the work, he may consider that as them saying it is impossible

 

It's a typing error...I meant Cefiro! Oh yeah if they're all over the place in Australia ...they'll still need paperwork to import; Aussieland isn't Texas. My point was to get that Cefiro and upgrade it with the rwd 300ZX Twin Turbo motor/trans or ealier 300ZX turbo/trans, either way the parts are readily available and cheaper. Plus your displacement is increased giving you more to pound with!!!!

 

the amount of time and engineering to make a maxima into a cefiro ??/.... Might as well buy a cefiro. The cefiro is more related to the Skyline,Silvia and Z cars. Totally different chassis and body layout. What your thinking of is like making a Nissan Maxima GT-R...lol That wold be cool huh ?... anyway.. engineering standpoint.. it`s like building a NASCAR.

 

Still not sure how the Cefiro is closer to R33/S13/Z31, theyre all 2 door cars (I know they come in 4 door, but theyre just as hard to find), they look similar from the exterior, but I'm sure if the Cefiro was closer to those vehicles, Nissan wouldnt have merged the name into the Maxima series?

Just quickly chase down these numbers
Wheelbase x Width
S13 Silvia - 2475mm x 1690mm
R33 Skyline - 2720mm x 1778mm
Z31 300ZX - 2320mm x 1725mm

A31 Cefiro - 2670mm x 1705mm
J30 Maxima - 2649mm x 1760mm

So, granted, easier to trim down a Skyline driftshaft than make a one 50mm longer than a Cefiro. Still condifent it can be done, I'll start this project as soon as I find a Cefiro suitable to work with.

 

*sigh*... ok ok ok ... If you look underneath all these cars and then look under a J30 Maxima .. you`ll see what I`m talking about. Just because the car has the same name does not necessarily make it some kind of descendant . Example..The Nissan BLUEBIRD....It is one of the longest-running nameplates from a Japanese automaker. It even spawned the S130 Fairlady Z/280ZX, which in turn spanwed the Maxima (originally 910 Bluebird/S130 Fairlady Z based), and the 160J/710/Violet/Auster line, which eventually got spun off into its own line, becoming the Stanza, and later the Primera/Infinti G20 line.

 

Niccos89, I am always for people doing crazy stuff (like this) to their cars. however, I think gamera's point is that our cars are an FF layout, and were never designed with any sort of FR layout to be made.
compare:
a) rear "axle" layout on a cefiro to a 3rd gen.
while I am not sure exactly what rear axle is used for a cefiro, but the fact remains that it would take a lot of work to put an axle there, properly.
b) drive shaft/exhaust tunnel. there is not much room in the tunnel for a normal 3rd gen exhaust, much less adding an additional 2-3" diam. drive shaft.

also, chassis is not necessarily similar, based on wheelbase.
i have seen pickups with similar dimensions, but they don't have even a remote chance of being similar to a maxima chassis.
once again, this is not to discourage you, but to give some considerations to a FR conversion, in general.