PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

It's been a couple years since I picked this up but..

A buddy of mine sold me his i30 that he had for 6 years or so. He swapped in a VLSD 5-speed, it was s/c for a little, then I helped him do a 3.5l swap about 6 years ago. The car has been through a lot.. stolen, crashed into a few times, etc. so it was a bit past it's prime.

He was getting a new car, unloading it for a decent price, and I needed a car to have my Bonnie down to shave the bay etc. So, I picked it up.

I always kinda liked the car and I know a thing or two about VQs since doing the 3.5 swap so it's cool to have even all beat up.. Racing this car (on a closed course) is the reason I did my 1st cam swap in my 1st 95, waay back.

When I got it:








I fixed up the exterior/interior to make it liveable, pulled the engine to re-seal the timing covers and did headers/2.5" exhaust/coilovers at the same time. I had a set of BBS Super RS wheels that I trashed a barrel on from the Bonnie.. I found a used barrel since you can't buy those particular wheels in the U.S. and threw those on.






In January, I hit a pot hole with a trolley track in it.. it ripped off my lower oil pan along with the oil pump casing/pickup tube. Very freak accident.. a steel cover for construction had moved to uncover the hole. I stopped taking that route home after that.

Since the engine had to come out I decided to do one better and get a newer fwd that came with VQ35HR heads and bigger cams stock. I used an 08 Altima 3.5, 09 Max upper intake and TB (bigger than the Alti's), and 95-01 3.0 timing covers/static timing equipment/oil pans. This also required drilling/setting my own cam timing.. among other things.. but it worked out quite well.. This setup uses a 98 3.0 ecu/harness/sensors to run the hybrid 3.5.

A couple months after this swap I hit another large pot hole on a blind turn which cracked the face of one of my Super RS wheels.. I couldn't get just one wheel new/used so I opted to get something that actually was for sale in the U.S. at some point.. 18" BBS Style 5s (came on BMWs). I bought them from a guy in MN, had them shipped to Cali to be re-drilled, then shipped to me. I swapped the BMW logos for BBS once I figured out the size.

Other mods at this point are Q45 MAF, Cattman headers, rebuilt VLSD 5-speed, homemade 3" SS exhaust y-back, E-manage Ultimate (piggy back), Progress rear stabilizer bar and JIC coilovers.

It managed a 13.6 @ 104 with a weak 2.27 60'. This with a rough tune and the variable intake not hooked up. The VI adds up to 20 ft-lbs to the midrange. Being low 13s capable and 30 mpg highway tells me I picked the right cam timing.


How it's sitting nowish:











It's been a very fun DD and part of the reason I'm going 6-speed in the 95.

Looks great Mike! My buddy has a 12 Altima, 2.5/CVT, but a pretty solid little car nonetheless (thankfully leased).

13.6 is pretty impressive considering what most Bonne SSEis run...

That's impressive indeed! She's come a long way it looks like.

I really enjoy unique cars like this.

looks AMAZING. And the Frankenstein powertrain is just absolute genius!

Love it! Definitely a car that I would drive.

Thanks guys!

I hope to get a low 13 pass in before the end of the season. I didn't really push the 60' as far as I could have with DRs.

Really like it. Definitely a car I would drive as well - I like the nice understated mods you've done to it that gives it a nice cohesive look (plus the 3.5 VQ swap is pretty awesome).

That's awesome!

But I have to ask, how's the Bonne coming along? And what do you think she'll run?

It's coming along. The bulk of the 6-speed swap is complete.
If I'm lucky I'll have it moving under it's own power before the winter.

I like it. The Cefiro script across the back is a nice touch, as a nod to its Japanese market name. These were sold in the UK too, but were called Nissan QX here.

Yeah, it came with damaged 1-pc Cefiro headlights and I came across another set for cheap, so I replaced those. And one of the first times I went over to Japan I saw the Cefiro center garnish.. low and behold I could get one on ebay, so I bit.

If the car was in better shape I would do a Brougham conversion:





I've yet to see one of these over there. I think it may have only been an option in Malaysia and the Philippines.

95naSTA wrote:It's been a couple years since I picked this up but..

A buddy of mine sold me his i30 that he had for 6 years or so. He swapped in a VLSD 5-speed, it was s/c for a little, then I helped him do a 3.5l swap about 6 years ago. The car has been through a lot.. stolen, crashed into a few times, etc. so it was a bit past it's prime.

He was getting a new car, unloading it for a decent price, and I needed a car to have my Bonnie down to shave the bay etc. So, I picked it up.

I always kinda liked the car and I know a thing or two about VQs since doing the 3.5 swap so it's cool to have even all beat up.. Racing this car (on a closed course) is the reason I did my 1st cam swap in my 1st 95, waay back.

I fixed up the exterior/interior to make it liveable, pulled the engine to re-seal the timing covers and did headers/2.5" exhaust/coilovers at the same time. I had a set of BBS Super RS wheels that I trashed a barrel on from the Bonnie.. I found a used barrel since you can't buy those particular wheels in the U.S. and threw those on.

In January, I hit a pot hole with a trolley track in it.. it ripped off my lower oil pan along with the oil pump casing/pickup tube. Very freak accident.. a steel cover for construction had moved to uncover the hole. I stopped taking that route home after that.

Since the engine had to come out I decided to do one better and get a newer fwd that came with VQ35HR heads and bigger cams stock. I used an 08 Altima 3.5, 09 Max upper intake and TB (bigger than the Alti's), and 95-01 3.0 timing covers/static timing equipment/oil pans. This also required drilling/setting my own cam timing.. among other things.. but it worked out quite well.. This setup uses a 98 3.0 ecu/harness/sensors to run the hybrid 3.5.

A couple months after this swap I hit another large pot hole on a blind turn which cracked the face of one of my Super RS wheels.. I couldn't get just one wheel new/used so I opted to get something that actually was for sale in the U.S. at some point.. 18" BBS Style 5s (came on BMWs). I bought them from a guy in MN, had them shipped to Cali to be re-drilled, then shipped to me. I swapped the BMW logos for BBS once I figured out the size.

Other mods at this point are Q45 MAF, Cattman headers, rebuilt VLSD 5-speed, homemade 3" SS exhaust y-back, E-manage Ultimate (piggy back), Progress rear stabilizer bar and JIC coilovers.

It managed a 13.6 @ 104 with a weak 2.27 60'. This with a rough tune and the variable intake not hooked up. The VI adds up to 20 ft-lbs to the midrange. Being low 13s capable and 30 mpg highway tells me I picked the right cam timing.

It's been a very fun DD and part of the reason I'm going 6-speed in the 95.

I'm not much into the Asia products, but I do have to admit you've done a great job on the car. Looks great!

Daily driver for me, that's what I have (had) the '92 SSE for, now replaced by the '05 SE. The '05 is so much easier to get in and out of for the wife and I. I miss driving the old green car, but it's way past time to move on. We've had the car since November 1991. Most people don't even stayed married that long. I hope I can find a good home for the ole green car. Hopefully I can get the water leak fixed and the car cleaned up. - BC

I guess it's a personality trait.. I just need a certain sense of ownership over the car I'm driving.. This car would have been scrap metal if it wasn't for me.. and my current Bonneville.. that I bought for 1/2 KBB because it didn't have an engine.. would no doubt have been in the junkyard.

Driving is time I'll never get back. What better way to spend that time than in something I'm responsible for.

95naSTA wrote:Driving is time I'll never get back. What better way to spend that time than in something I'm responsible for.

And something you love, and are comfortable in. Hence why I got the G8.

00Beast wrote:

95naSTA wrote:Driving is time I'll never get back. What better way to spend that time than in something I'm responsible for.

And something you love, and are comfortable in. Hence why I got the G8.

Not gonna lie, if we're just talking about driving and cruising, I love Penny.

My driver's side doors have had large dents in them since I first bought the car. Someone backed into the PO.. At the end of the summer I found a guy that was parting out a 99 Maxima with the same exterior color code.. It's a pretty rare color and the driver's side doors were in good shape. So I drove up to Massachusetts to go grab the pair with a buddy. I had to swap out all the glass/trim/handles and paint new moldings but it looks much better. No pin stripe yet though.



Before clear:

Maxima moldings:

i30 moldings


Not long after I installed a i30 limited steering wheel I had re-wrapped. This is a pretty rare color and wood grain combo since the Q45s of this vintage were different. It was kind of a test run for Craft Customs since I would like to use them in the future for the Bonneville. Since they did a great job. I'll probably be a return customer.



A couple months back I picked up a new OEM front bumper and my buddy painted it for free:



A little more recently I picked up some G37 OEM take offs for winter wheels and I've been having a blast in the snow.. 5 speed and VLSD pulls this thing around without issue.



And.. I've had a low rpm fuel related misfire (WBO2 verified) that's been slowly but surely been getting worse since September. Heat soaking in traffic seemed to make it worse. It wasn't the front bank so I swapped injectors from front to rear and found the lazy injector.. These were 420cc/min injectors I bought used and had cleaned/flow tested but are no longer made. Just goes to show cleaning won't take care of everything.. The closest available are 440cc and I was able to find a used but cleaned/flowed set for what I paid to have the 1st set cleaned/tested. Another gamble, but I thought I might as well for the price. I threw those in after work today.. outside in 18*.. but it looks like I finally killed the misfire.. and the computer was able to learn 20cc difference no problem.

It's great to see your i30 again! Great progress!

^^Thanks!

The injectors didn't solve the miss. I tried the injectors that came with the '08 Altima engine and jacked up the fuel pressure to get the fuel trims good and got same result.. I bypassed my fuel management piggyback.. same thing, and swapped ECUs.. same.

The stock engine harness has kind of been through hell. (partially tucked at one point, on and off engines a dozen times, several repairs, etc.) I really didn't want to try to splice it open and mess with it.. So, I decided to get another engine harness. The beauty of this is there's no bulkhead connector and there's almost no room to snake the 5 cabin connectors in/out of the firewall hole behind the evap and heater core boxes. The evap is more in the way and the system has to be discharged to remove the box.. It took me 2.5 hours at a yard to pull a 98 Maxima harness in 20* weather.

There was an i30 with the same color interior there too but it was a 99 and they're wired differently. The reason I mention this is because my car has a small crack in the dash on the passenger side. It's been there since my buddy bought the car in 02ish. It would have been cool to pull a good dash and harness from the same car but it wasn't going to work out that way. I went back the next day to get the dash. 30 mins and it was out.

I dove into the engine harness and dash swap at my buddy's shop this morning at 10 and finished up at 6:30. It was complete hell getting the connectors out and back in through the firewall. Coming back in, the evap box has a small shelf that all the connectors got caught on. It sounds simple but with no room.. total PITA. That and the a/c and heater core lines in the bay didn't make it any easier. My hands got worked. The new harness needed 3 new 00+ injector clips soldered in, a coil plug replaced, 2 grounds extended since the UIM is plastic vs. aluminum, and the MAF plug changed to the Q45 style I'm running.

It started right up, seems to run smoother, but I don't think the problem went completely away. It's hard to pick up an intermittent miss that gets worse with heat when it's 20 something out. Either way I'm up a fresh dash and clean harness. Diag-ing from here will be easier.

Crack in the old dash:


New dash:


Dash out:


I didn't snap a pic of the dash in since I was trying to get finished so they could close the shop.

But, I did get a new grill recently:

Looks good Mike! Always interesting to see your projects.

Great looking car. Glad you sorted stuff out.