First off, this forum seems like three steps forward, and two back, but I'm sure I'll hate it less once it proves its usefulness *cough* STICKY THE FAQ *cough* /rant

Okay, so last week I managed a pretty good deal on a car - it had to be automatic, since my wife is just learning to drive, and it had to have good visibility. Sooo... I am now the proud owner of a 1987 Nissan Maxima. A definite improvement in terms of performance over my last few rides, but it's a little thirstier, and it exhibits the plusses and minuses of Nissan parts bin engineering.

The VG30E seems to be in very good condition - same engine as the 300ZX of the year, only turned sideways to power the front rather than rear tyres. Easy to find replacement parts, but a real *** to replace the oil filter (taking over an hour for an oil change seems kinda ridiculous). I'm trying to decide what should be my first modification to it (well, besides a good, new set of A/S tyres). Any suggestions, wild or otherwise?  

Alright Simkin! You finally got a new car! People I know with Maximas all love that car.

You're right about the tires... what a huge difference a decent set makes.  My current set are Toyo Proxes 4s... an affordable V-rated tire IMO...

I asked around to find where the local club racers and exotic car owners would go to get their tires balanced and paid again to get it done right.  Best decision ever.  Your average tire shop just won't.

My Milano is an '87 as well.  With that year, the suspension bits are at the end of their useful life. I put in "sport" tuned shocks (Koni Yellows), replaced worn bushings with poly, replaced tie-rod ends, replaced all wheel bearings and had the steering tightened.

I'm betting your Maxima would benefit from a similar treatment.  That crisp feel on the road gives you real confidence whether you're driving is "spirited" at the moment or not.  

Where did you source the bushings and other miscellaneous suspension bits from? I'll give the suspension a closer scrutiny than I had up until this point, and see if I can't scrounge up enough for a bit of a change there.

For tyres, I was looking towards Kumho Ecsta ASX (yah, it rains and snows here on occasion), at about 48$ a piece - TireRack.com doesn't seem to stock Toyos - I'm currently on some off brand 195/60 R15s that came with the car when I bought it, but they're looking pretty tired.  

Yeah I think this new forum style will take some getting used to. I did like the simplicity of the old one.

Congrats on the new ... whip? Is that what they call 'em these days? Maxima, very cool. Good shape? How many miles? As you probably know the Spirit is toasted, traded on a newer car (back was to the wall, I had to, and needed to in truth).

So where are you right now anyway? Australia, right?  

Congrats on the Max.  Is it auto or stick?  

Well, we're still in Canada for the moment. Hopefully my wife will get her citizenship soon and then we'll have no problems residing in either this country or Oz.

The car, unfortunately, is auto, but it had to be, since this way she gets to focus on learning the rules of the road first, and, well, she doesn't multitask so well.

Oh, it looks pretty much like this: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/706085 including colour and optional wheel size (a whopping 15" diameter).

I'm going to raid some boneyards on the weekend to see if I can't scrounge a FSTB from a 95-97 Altima an the throttle body off of a 91 Stanza on the cheap...  

I can picture an old school thing going on here.  I used to own an Altima about that year or so.  

So I suppose the VG30ET won't fit? And if it will it won't work with the FWD tranny?  

well if he really wanted to pour in money, he could alter the driven wheels.  

Well, I've already started on my first performance upgrade - I went to the junkyard on Saturday and pulled the TB off of a '90 Stanza. The TB from the KA24E in the 90+ Stanza is a direct match for the throttle body in the VG30E in my car, with the difference in diameter (intake collector side) being about 8mm. There were a few unforseen issues to be resolved before completing the installation, so it's been put on hold until I can stand to be without a set of wheels for a day or two - basically, I have to reroute (and reduce the diameter of) some hoses, and to bore out the intake manifold to realize the benefit of a larger TB.

Still, for $100 and a bit of elbow grease, I think it's worth it. Maybe I'll do the timing belt at the same time  

Not bad at all.  

You mentioned "Oz".  Do you mean Kansas?  

A tad further south than that. My wife's actually from the east coast of Australia, thus Oz. Truth be told, I haven't really travelled anywhere in the states, beyond Seattle; even my wife's seen more of the US than I have :/