For two years right at the inception of the Infiniti brand, the automaker’s lineup featured an M30 coupe and convertible. Sharing a body with the JDM Nissan Leopard, under the hood lay the VG30 engine from the delightful Nissan 300ZX.
This one’s clean enough to warrant a Picture Time, but not rare enough for Rare Rides duty. Check out this maroon rectangle.
Convertible versions started out as coupes. The drop tops were built at the port of entry on North American shores, as there was no Nissan Leopard convertible in Japan.
The M30 was available only between 1990 and 1992 before being dropped without a replacement.
Indeed, the next convertible offered by Infiniti would arrive a full 17 years later with the introduction of the G37 cabriolet in 2009.
This example is for sale on eBay right now and, apart from a few interior quibbles, is in excellent condition.
Ask is $7,000, and there are lots more pictures on the ad. Have a look — you don’t see these very often in this sort of condition.
[Images via seller]
I would think its rare enough. I would love a coupe. I remember driving one back in the day, and the weird feeling of the back of the car dropping a few inches when placed in reverse. Seems like someone here told me why this happened, but i can’t recall more than that.
This (in coupe form), along with the curvy J30, would be prime candidates for an unorthodox manual trans conversion. Seems like I found that it had been done the last time I Googled it.
I was told via internal Slack chat voting that it’s just not rare enough. And I don’t want to upset FreedMike with another non-rare thing like the EXP.
I take full credit for this!
(Seriously, I think this is a good approach, and if I didn’t care about the site, I wouldn’t say anything.)
And that is one fine looking old car.
Manual swap is super easy if you have a nonturbo Z31 to grab parts from.
I’ve seen them around, wrecked or not running, for not much money. A future project when I can afford such.
I see a lot of J30s with transmission issues. Mine had issues with it’s trans as well, I only owned it for a short time but I liked the car.
If you really like the J30, I’d wait another year or three and import one of the JDM V8s.
Ha, my V-6 was already a handful on rain-slick roads. Very easy to get sideways in, no matter if you intended to or not.
But, a V-8 would be fun…for dry pavement lol.
The V8 is more or less a super-swoopy Y32 Cima.
Or you could get this one, which is already a (swapped) manual:
http://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/NISSAN/LEOPARD_J.FERRIE/700040157530160709002/index.html
Very nice!
The Leopard was a competitor to the 2nd-gen Toyota Soarer, but didn’t sell nearly as well so Nisssan left it to rot. The Leopard was well past its sell-by date by the time the Infiniti version rolled off the boat.
$7,000 is pretty close to just getting a JDM survivor with a DOHC turbo engine instead of the 150hp mill here. It wouldn’t be a convertible, though.
Good point. $7k seems a little wild. I found a decent example in Florida not long ago, it was under $3500.
Here it is:
https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/d/1992-infinity-m30-convertable/6331889280.html
There were a couple more besides this one.
That one in Fla. looks kind of rough to me, to be honest.
Seven grand is a bit high, but look at the condition and mileage on this car. It’s exceptional.
I don’t see a $5,000 difference. The Florida one needs maybe another couple grand to have it as presentable as the one featured, if that much, and you’d still be in it well below $7k. No, it won’t be as low mileage, but its not like 117k on a 1992 is exceptionally high. At least it was driven somewhat, and not allowed to sit and rot.
I can’t imagine there being much of a market for replacements on this model, so “making it presentable” might not be an option.
Point taken, seven seems high, but I’d say six would be fair. The one Corey posted is a creampuff.
Love that interior… nice and blocky, very 80s-ish. Is just so straight forward with clear, well placed, large buttons – no over styled curves or silly touchscreens.
The tacked-on wood panel with visible screws is a bit jarring.
Aaaaaah, the dying days of plood. Thanks, ASC!
Might be real wood.
Dealers used to apply genuine wood panel appliques back in the day. A lot of Q45s, in particular, had this done.
Radio placement looks rather inconveniently low.
True the radio should be higher. It’s position should have been swapped with the ash try / lighter.
Where you see tacked on wood with visible screws I see honesty and simplicity. If a panel cracked it could be easily replaced or fixed. Try that in a modern car. You would spend 10 hours in labor to replace a 50 cent piece of plastic. Then after reassemble it would never line up perfectly and likely squeak / rattle.
I wonder if that piece could be flipped upside down, and the ash trey inserted right side up, to correct that flaw?
Most panels pop in with clips, as I’m sure the stock ones did before these were installed by the aftermarket outfitter (ASC, as was mentioned?).
Actually, to remove the trim in most modern cars, you just need a trim removal tool and a reasonably-dextrous touch. The pieces snap in and snap out.
“I *TOLD* you they made an Infiniti convertible!”
Probably this car’s only moment of fame, however brief it was.
No cover for the top when it’s down?
I recall seeing these when new. A “luxury” convertible introduced in 1990 shouldn’t have had a plastic rear window, regardless of whether it was turned into a convertible after shipment. I know there was no need for the car to be a serious effort, it was just a placeholder – but this was disappointing all the same.
I’d love this car as a weekend cruiser…
This and the 1st gen M have been favorites of the 90s for me. I’ve driven a J30 , which was really the 1st true 4DSC for Nissan.
Theres a Matt Farah test drive in an LS swapped J30 on youtube, but that has no appeal to me. Give a VG swap and 5mt.
Engine bay pic is very interesting. It looks like it uses the same shortened intake plenum that’s used on VG30E-powered 87-88 S12s. I didn’t know any other model used that.