First Maxima Project [Edited]
First Maxima Project [Edited]
So here we go. I've always wanted a second Maxima as a project because I have some spare time before I leave for automotive school October 18th.
The story line:
For about 4 years I've always wanted a Maxima (I'm 19 now) and ever since my friends older brother got one when I was 15, I knew that I wanted to have one also. I ended up buying a 2000 Maxima SE, and have been driving it since I got my license.
But after owning a 5th gen, I thought it was time to explore a little more. And 4 years later, I found myself buying the same Maxima that was my friend's older brother's. It had been sitting in the driveway for about 2 years now because he bought an 03 Acura TL, and it was just sitting there all by it's lonesome. I decided enough was enough, and I knew the family well, so I then offered to buy the Maxima from them.
It's a 1997 Max (Autotragic) and much to my surprise, it only has 81,000 miles on it. Which is going to be GREAT when I sell it because of the low mileage. (unless I end up liking it more than my 5th gen at 169k)
Unfortunately, living in New England, and the car sitting there for 2 years, rust has taken it's toll on it. Most of it is surface rust though, and it's surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be. (not driven on the highway too much)
Alot of crap had built up on the engine, and there were dead leaves, spider webs, and handfuls of battery corrosion. But after taking a shop vac and getting the majority of it out, I slipped in a new battery and it started to turn over. After a few adjustments in the engine and giving it some gas while trying to start it, it fired right up! Maxi's ftw. After all the exhaust smoke had cleared I decided to take it for a test run. As soon as I pulled it back to get out of the driveway and shifted into drive it stalled. I restarted it, drove forward fine, and then when I came to a stop it stalled again. I could avoid stalling out by shifting into neutral, so my assumption is that it was probably the IACV. After cleaning all the black junk off of the IACV and adjusting it, the stalling had stopped. Hopefully it remains that way (fingers crossed)
But to get to the point of the "good and bad section"
--The Bad--
The two passenger side doors have to be replaced, and the wheel well needs to be hammered back out and fixed (all body damage, thank god there was no structural)
The brakes sound like they either need to be rebuilt, or replaced. They're running hard right now, and a noise comes from the car when you drive, and when you apply the brakes the noise becomes louder. Sounds like a metal on metal kinda screechy sound.
Significant paint chips, flaking, some dings around the car. So I'll be replacing both bumpers, and have the car completely painted.
Also the speakers sound pretty terrible, and the head unit turns on most of the time, but sometimes it does not turn on. Completely replacing everything audio-wise
The Good--
It's not all too bad though. I did get the car to stop stalling for now, and it is driveable.
As I stated previously the car only has 81,000 miles on it. A rare find for a 97 Max, and if I end up selling it, it will hold it's value through the low mileage.
All the lights are in working condition, not cracked or anything. And there were new tires on the car as well.
I'll also be keeping and update list, letting you know when I'm doing all the repairs, and what I'm replacing and when.
Here we go though, the parts list:
2 new passenger side doors
Clear bumper lights
4 new Kenwood shallow mount 160W speakers
Kenwood KDC-MP242 Head unit
Wires and adapters
Front and Rear bumpers
Probably not going to spend under a grand like a planned on doing, but it's whatever.
And now this thread won't be worthless because I'll add pictures.
All primed up!
A little before and after action.
Before (gross)
And now
After(Not gross)
Bolts were not all the way in. Had them in temp just to get a picture and see what it looked like.
Ripping everything apart
(:
New Head Unit/Speakers installed
More pictures to come.
Also leave some feedback, let me know if my ideas of making money on this are realistic, what I should possibly add, what I should possibly subtract. Thanks-Spence'
The story line:
For about 4 years I've always wanted a Maxima (I'm 19 now) and ever since my friends older brother got one when I was 15, I knew that I wanted to have one also. I ended up buying a 2000 Maxima SE, and have been driving it since I got my license.
But after owning a 5th gen, I thought it was time to explore a little more. And 4 years later, I found myself buying the same Maxima that was my friend's older brother's. It had been sitting in the driveway for about 2 years now because he bought an 03 Acura TL, and it was just sitting there all by it's lonesome. I decided enough was enough, and I knew the family well, so I then offered to buy the Maxima from them.
It's a 1997 Max (Autotragic) and much to my surprise, it only has 81,000 miles on it. Which is going to be GREAT when I sell it because of the low mileage. (unless I end up liking it more than my 5th gen at 169k)
Unfortunately, living in New England, and the car sitting there for 2 years, rust has taken it's toll on it. Most of it is surface rust though, and it's surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be. (not driven on the highway too much)
Alot of crap had built up on the engine, and there were dead leaves, spider webs, and handfuls of battery corrosion. But after taking a shop vac and getting the majority of it out, I slipped in a new battery and it started to turn over. After a few adjustments in the engine and giving it some gas while trying to start it, it fired right up! Maxi's ftw. After all the exhaust smoke had cleared I decided to take it for a test run. As soon as I pulled it back to get out of the driveway and shifted into drive it stalled. I restarted it, drove forward fine, and then when I came to a stop it stalled again. I could avoid stalling out by shifting into neutral, so my assumption is that it was probably the IACV. After cleaning all the black junk off of the IACV and adjusting it, the stalling had stopped. Hopefully it remains that way (fingers crossed)
But to get to the point of the "good and bad section"
--The Bad--
The two passenger side doors have to be replaced, and the wheel well needs to be hammered back out and fixed (all body damage, thank god there was no structural)
The brakes sound like they either need to be rebuilt, or replaced. They're running hard right now, and a noise comes from the car when you drive, and when you apply the brakes the noise becomes louder. Sounds like a metal on metal kinda screechy sound.
Significant paint chips, flaking, some dings around the car. So I'll be replacing both bumpers, and have the car completely painted.
Also the speakers sound pretty terrible, and the head unit turns on most of the time, but sometimes it does not turn on. Completely replacing everything audio-wise
The Good--
It's not all too bad though. I did get the car to stop stalling for now, and it is driveable.
As I stated previously the car only has 81,000 miles on it. A rare find for a 97 Max, and if I end up selling it, it will hold it's value through the low mileage.
All the lights are in working condition, not cracked or anything. And there were new tires on the car as well.
I'll also be keeping and update list, letting you know when I'm doing all the repairs, and what I'm replacing and when.
Here we go though, the parts list:
2 new passenger side doors
Clear bumper lights
4 new Kenwood shallow mount 160W speakers
Kenwood KDC-MP242 Head unit
Wires and adapters
Front and Rear bumpers
Probably not going to spend under a grand like a planned on doing, but it's whatever.
And now this thread won't be worthless because I'll add pictures.
All primed up!A little before and after action.
Before (gross)And now
After(Not gross)Bolts were not all the way in. Had them in temp just to get a picture and see what it looked like.
Ripping everything apart(:New Head Unit/Speakers installed
More pictures to come.
Also leave some feedback, let me know if my ideas of making money on this are realistic, what I should possibly add, what I should possibly subtract. Thanks-Spence'
Last edited by Spence; Nov 6, 2010 at 04:08 PM.
Im going to give you a heads up for something to check for,very common on most all 4th and 5th gen, check the lower radiator support for rot.....mainly in the center where the engine mount crossmember bolts to the support.... aaside from that looking good...
Newbie - Just Registered
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1
Dude, after 2 years of having my 95 getting all rusty I also started working on it.
Right now I have all the interiors removed as in you pics, I`m also going for the basics, clean all the dirt, reinstalling all the sound, making it look nice and pretty.
Hope we can share some ideas and progress to keep it up.
By the way that paint job with the blue screws looks sick, a great plus. Hope I can do the same but I lack of painting experience.
Right now I have all the interiors removed as in you pics, I`m also going for the basics, clean all the dirt, reinstalling all the sound, making it look nice and pretty.
Hope we can share some ideas and progress to keep it up.
By the way that paint job with the blue screws looks sick, a great plus. Hope I can do the same but I lack of painting experience.
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 21
From: Corvallis, OR
Looks great!
Nice work, I really like the attention to detail! I just bought a 99 SE and plan on going through everything with a fine tooth comb as well. What paint are you using on the bolts? I have heard of heat and corrosion resistant paint but is there a product that is resistant to friction/stripping that would be ideal for hardware?
i personally think 4 generation maxima's are too cheap to make money by this kind of project, ( unless you got her cheap, paint yourself etc) IMAO after all this job i'd done i would keep car 
i wonder how will you take care of dents and bumper? do you take off old paint from bumper then prime or just fills chips and scratches with bondo?
my maxi need paint job, willing to do myself, but no garage, no much tools....
ps. picture with white doors looks kinda cool :P maxi police car
i wonder how will you take care of dents and bumper? do you take off old paint from bumper then prime or just fills chips and scratches with bondo?
my maxi need paint job, willing to do myself, but no garage, no much tools....
ps. picture with white doors looks kinda cool :P maxi police car
great job man, for me that would have been an excellent parts car lol, but def. keep it after this much work being out into specially by yourself, and what type of black paint are you using?
"gl dude, great to see you restoring a maxi :]"
- Thanks dude, I can't wait til I'm done with it
"Im going to give you a heads up for something to check for,very common on most all 4th and 5th gen, check the lower radiator support for rot.....mainly in the center where the engine mount crossmember bolts to the support.... aaside from that looking good..."
-I'll definitely check that out tomorrow morning. Thanks for the heads up.
"Dude, after 2 years of having my 95 getting all rusty I also started working on it.
Right now I have all the interiors removed as in you pics, I`m also going for the basics, clean all the dirt, reinstalling all the sound, making it look nice and pretty.
Hope we can share some ideas and progress to keep it up.
By the way that paint job with the blue screws looks sick, a great plus. Hope I can do the same but I lack of painting experience."
-Yeah, I'm definitely down for giving some ideas/getting some also. It's a lot more fun than I thought doing these cars. Unfortunately with Nissan every engine repair is mostly tight corners, and a pain in the *** to fix. But other than that, it's a good time.
"Nice work, I really like the attention to detail! I just bought a 99 SE and plan on going through everything with a fine tooth comb as well. What paint are you using on the bolts? I have heard of heat and corrosion resistant paint but is there a product that is resistant to friction/stripping that would be ideal for hardware?"
-Ah, the infamous question about the bolts. Time to be answered. At first when I tried bolts I used just a regular spray with a clear coat. They looked cool, but once I put them on and took the socket wrench to them the paint started to rip off because of the pressure of the turning(Naturally) Give them just a light quick sanding (nothing in depth) then use a few layers of primer. (2-3) I then used 2 base coats and then baked it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Sprayed on about another 3 coats and then went crazy with the clear coats then baked for another 10 minutes. For the bolts that aren't going to be in the engine bay (won't be getting as high temps as heat) I'm just using a regular spray (krylon blue spray paint from home depot) and will be using a heat/corrosion resistant paint for any bolts or whatever in the engine bay. And as far as products for friction/stripping for the hardware, I'm not too sure of. The first time I wanted to put my bolts on and not strip them I just put a paper towel in the head of my socket
fabric would be more ideal though. I'll look into seeing if there's any products for it though, and I'll let you know.
"i personally think 4 generation maxima's are too cheap to make money by this kind of project, ( unless you got her cheap, paint yourself etc) IMAO after all this job i'd done i would keep car
i wonder how will you take care of dents and bumper? do you take off old paint from bumper then prime or just fills chips and scratches with bondo?
my maxi need paint job, willing to do myself, but no garage, no much tools....
ps. picture with white doors looks kinda cool :P maxi police car "
"Well I did get her fairly cheap, and expecting to put roughly another grand into her. I'm sure if it's completely mint I should have no problem getting 3000 for it. KBB is 5800 for it, but I'll worry about prices when it's time to sell. Even with selling it for 3k though I"ll end up making money off of it. But as for the dents/bumper, I've just replaced the bumpers both completely. But essentially if I were to take the time on the old bumpers, just sand the hell out of it (by sander, not by hand) and then layers of primer tend to get rid of most of the imperfections, so by the time you're done priming you have a smooth surface. Depending on the size of what you're dealing with though. If you have a larger imperfection sometimes bondo is the way to go. It's tricky using it on fiberglass however, so watch out with that. Usually the trouble for most people is not having tools and/or a garage to work on it. But if you can go without your car for a few weeks, my opinion would be to call up your local vocational school and have them paint it. They only charge for parts (I.E paint, primer, etc.) and not for labor. Usually they do a good job. And if they mess it up, just bring it back, complain, and then usually one of the teachers will personally do it and it'll turn up fine (Trust me, I previously went to the vocational school a few years ago :P) And it's funny you said maxi police car, one of my friends who drove by saw that I had a black and white car and also thought it was a police car lmao.
"great job man, for me that would have been an excellent parts car lol, but def. keep it after this much work being out into specially by yourself, and what type of black paint are you using?"
If I end up liking it more than my 5th gen, then I just might keep it lol. But as for the black paint that I'm using it's just a flat black, nothing fancy, but at the same time looks good. Can't forget the clear coats though, it's what holds it all together.
- Thanks dude, I can't wait til I'm done with it
"Im going to give you a heads up for something to check for,very common on most all 4th and 5th gen, check the lower radiator support for rot.....mainly in the center where the engine mount crossmember bolts to the support.... aaside from that looking good..."
-I'll definitely check that out tomorrow morning. Thanks for the heads up.
"Dude, after 2 years of having my 95 getting all rusty I also started working on it.
Right now I have all the interiors removed as in you pics, I`m also going for the basics, clean all the dirt, reinstalling all the sound, making it look nice and pretty.
Hope we can share some ideas and progress to keep it up.
By the way that paint job with the blue screws looks sick, a great plus. Hope I can do the same but I lack of painting experience."
-Yeah, I'm definitely down for giving some ideas/getting some also. It's a lot more fun than I thought doing these cars. Unfortunately with Nissan every engine repair is mostly tight corners, and a pain in the *** to fix. But other than that, it's a good time.
"Nice work, I really like the attention to detail! I just bought a 99 SE and plan on going through everything with a fine tooth comb as well. What paint are you using on the bolts? I have heard of heat and corrosion resistant paint but is there a product that is resistant to friction/stripping that would be ideal for hardware?"
-Ah, the infamous question about the bolts. Time to be answered. At first when I tried bolts I used just a regular spray with a clear coat. They looked cool, but once I put them on and took the socket wrench to them the paint started to rip off because of the pressure of the turning(Naturally) Give them just a light quick sanding (nothing in depth) then use a few layers of primer. (2-3) I then used 2 base coats and then baked it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Sprayed on about another 3 coats and then went crazy with the clear coats then baked for another 10 minutes. For the bolts that aren't going to be in the engine bay (won't be getting as high temps as heat) I'm just using a regular spray (krylon blue spray paint from home depot) and will be using a heat/corrosion resistant paint for any bolts or whatever in the engine bay. And as far as products for friction/stripping for the hardware, I'm not too sure of. The first time I wanted to put my bolts on and not strip them I just put a paper towel in the head of my socket
fabric would be more ideal though. I'll look into seeing if there's any products for it though, and I'll let you know."i personally think 4 generation maxima's are too cheap to make money by this kind of project, ( unless you got her cheap, paint yourself etc) IMAO after all this job i'd done i would keep car
i wonder how will you take care of dents and bumper? do you take off old paint from bumper then prime or just fills chips and scratches with bondo?
my maxi need paint job, willing to do myself, but no garage, no much tools....
ps. picture with white doors looks kinda cool :P maxi police car "
"Well I did get her fairly cheap, and expecting to put roughly another grand into her. I'm sure if it's completely mint I should have no problem getting 3000 for it. KBB is 5800 for it, but I'll worry about prices when it's time to sell. Even with selling it for 3k though I"ll end up making money off of it. But as for the dents/bumper, I've just replaced the bumpers both completely. But essentially if I were to take the time on the old bumpers, just sand the hell out of it (by sander, not by hand) and then layers of primer tend to get rid of most of the imperfections, so by the time you're done priming you have a smooth surface. Depending on the size of what you're dealing with though. If you have a larger imperfection sometimes bondo is the way to go. It's tricky using it on fiberglass however, so watch out with that. Usually the trouble for most people is not having tools and/or a garage to work on it. But if you can go without your car for a few weeks, my opinion would be to call up your local vocational school and have them paint it. They only charge for parts (I.E paint, primer, etc.) and not for labor. Usually they do a good job. And if they mess it up, just bring it back, complain, and then usually one of the teachers will personally do it and it'll turn up fine (Trust me, I previously went to the vocational school a few years ago :P) And it's funny you said maxi police car, one of my friends who drove by saw that I had a black and white car and also thought it was a police car lmao.
"great job man, for me that would have been an excellent parts car lol, but def. keep it after this much work being out into specially by yourself, and what type of black paint are you using?"
If I end up liking it more than my 5th gen, then I just might keep it lol. But as for the black paint that I'm using it's just a flat black, nothing fancy, but at the same time looks good. Can't forget the clear coats though, it's what holds it all together.
Ha, I totally would make it a 400hp car and keep it if it was a standard. But I'm not looking to make a ton of money off of it. About a grand at the most.
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 81
From: S.L. UT.
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 81
From: S.L. UT.
From what I've been told go out and buy a new OEM (and only OEM) replacement part for it. The aftermarket ones are very well known for rusting out in a year or two, so dont waiste the money on that.
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 84
From: albany ny
awesome to see someone else bringing a 4th gen back to its glory mine was smacked up nasty when i got it too but parts are just too cheap to not do it and with great help like the guys here on the forum finding info and parts is no problem
How much you will make off it depends on sooo many variables, such as mileage, trim, overall condition (which you are obviously working on) and potential buyers and most importantly is how much you paid and plan to invest in this project. In my neck of the woods a clean 4th gen "all stock, lower miles and good overall condition" is only worth in the neighborhood of $2500+ or -. Just do some research locally in your area to find out what most people are willing to pay. Its a good starting point so you can really take into consideration how much cash you want to drop into her before seller her off. My 0.02....
Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 284
From: Long Island , New York
damn i just started my overhaul on my 99 SE-L im redoing the whole car though but i have todo bodywork on the whole car and **** , its seen better days , im glad there is more people out there restoring maximas
Oh I know how you feel man. New England is killing us lmao. And there's also a high population of sucky drivers up here as well, so that doesn't help us with dents and such. Let's just say **** it and plate our maxi's with titanium steel alloy and never have to worry about rust or dents again
Oh I know how you feel man. New England is killing us lmao. And there's also a high population of sucky drivers up here as well, so that doesn't help us with dents and such. Let's just say **** it and plate our maxi's with titanium steel alloy and never have to worry about rust or dents again
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