Casoni30

Hey guys,

I was looking to buy a Maxima for the longest time, but found a great deal on an i30 with 130k miles. Shes pretty beat up and needs a good bit of loving, but as far as drivetrain and radio is concerned (), she is GTG.

I want to get intimate with this car, so I figured before I pop my cherry I had better join up, share and learn.

Anyways, here are some pictures.







First order of business? Wax, and headlights! The passenger side is cracked, and I am pretty sure it is toast on the inside, not just the outside as you can see. If you know anyone who has one in decent shape (I can recover it as long as it isn't cracked), let me know. If I can't find one then I will probably get a set of ANZOS and retrofit them with Morimotos.

Comments, suggestions, criticism, all welcome! Looking forward to an enjoyable and lengthy stay here. Peace!

Cason

VincentXero86

Nice, Im really good at planning for cars if you need help with that.
A question to start us off, is it an auto or manual (standard, Stick shift)

Casoni30

Thanks!

She is auto. I came from 240's to this, so needless to say my first major idea is swapping it to 5-6 speed. Has this been done? How tough is it?

MaxMike93

Welcome to the site! I was kinda in the same boat when I got mine last year. I believe that only a 5-speed is possible to the VQ30 engine (VQ35 5.5G Maxima's could have came with a 6-speed; not sure on anyone swapping a manual into a 2000-2001 I30). I commute so I'd rather drive an automatic, especially since the one in the I30 is so responsive and smooth I have no issues. One thing I did on mine that I love are LED taillights. They were direct replacements where you replace the entire taillight, and IMO the color is nicer and the LEDs look great. And if you get them, chrome bulbs for the turn signals give it a nice clean look. I have some pictures of mine over in the Members Rides section of the sitte

VincentXero86

How much money do you plan on spending on the car?

VincentXero86

Idk how much money you have but i've been doing some reasearch and I found out that the newer i30s dont come with manual transmision.
Depending on how much money and experience you have you may be able to get a similar transmision and put it in there somehow.

D I R T Y I 3 0

The A33 gen I30, yours, was not offered in a manual trim in North America

Joeker82

iTrader: (2)

Nice color! Looks like mine when I got it!

Casoni30

Thanks for the replies guys. That's a bummer about the transmission! Oh well, it's my daily so it's not a big deal.

As far as money goes, I am going to have to take it slow and easy. I don't have very much income right now (fancy that!). I really just want to get it looking for inside and out in stock form, and then I will start to plan mods.

Casoni30

Anybody have any luck taking the lens off the headlights and refinishing them on the inside? I think theoretically it would be easy (think retrofit). So far, there have been no cheap options to get them clear otherwise. I have refinished the outside, but, as I figured, the insides of both need help as well.

mayur914

iTrader: (7)

Unless you are painting the inside the headlights then there really isn't much refinishing to do since all the chrome on the inside of the headlights doesn't get messed up unless there is some kind of leak.

Casoni30

Well its the inside of the actual lens itself. It is cracked, and Im either going to try and find a new lens (probably not gonna happen!), or try some epoxy to simply stop the leak, and then sand and clear the inside. I was just wondering if anyone has done it and what they used as finish. I assume just some polishing compound and plastiX?

On another note, I am probably going to remove the airbox and just do a short intake/filter setup/thingy. Is it just as simple as removing all ram air components including the airbox, and fitting a cone high flow filter? Thanks

PS: Im really tired right now so pardon me if I sound like an idiot.

pahanorlando

iTrader: (5)

I would'nt put intake on those cars man. I'd keep infiniti as quiet as possible.

dna59

I have refinished my headlight the way you are talking about. you can check out my build thread in the member's ride section. You can't get ride of the actual cracks in the plastic itself though.

Casoni30

Nice ride!

Well, the compressor is on its way out (atleast the clutch is). I see a compressor on ebay that I will probably grab. It has a 90 day warranty. 115 bucks? I think so! It would cost 90 for parts alone to rebuild the clutch. I have a hookup for evac/recharge so I think I am going to drive it like it is until the compressor gets here, and then change it out. Should be fine, the compressor clutch stopped smoking finally .