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1990 Infiniti Q45 – Owned by: Andy Sola (Ozzie)
HISTORY:
I have a thing for rare cars. I always want to stand out from the crowd, and own something unique.
A highly modified TA-22 Toyota Celica, Ford Laser with turbo engine swap (done by myself and Father-in-law) and 12 second ¼ mile Starion were among the previous rides in my ownership. The rarer, the better! I first spotted the Infiniti at an import dealer, while I was there to check out a car for a friend interstate (A Suzuki Alto Works RS-R). I originally had no intention of buying another car. I had my Starion, and was quite happy with it. When said friend came to visit, and check out the RS-R for himself, he said we should take the Infiniti for a test drive. I didn’t have any money on me for fuel, so he offered to put some in. So off we went……
Once out of earshot of the dealer, with a bit more fuel on board, I nailed the gas to the floor…. And instantly fell in love with the V8 howl that Infiniti had to offer. (This is the part where I blame my friend ENTIRELY for making me buy the Q) Within a week, the Starion was up for sale. In two more weeks, the Q45 became mine.
The Q45 is quite a rare car here in Australia (around 100 registered country wide), and attracts attention from many people with even a slight interest in cars. (If only I had a dime for every time I got asked “What kind of car is that?”…… I would have a lot of dimes!) It came with a hole where the Bose stereo belonged, and a couple of dings/ paint chips here and there, but still commanded attention where-ever it went.
A lot of that has now been fixed, with Kevlar re-enforcing of the front bar, touch up paint followed with cut and polish, and a DVD player coupled to three in-car monitors. (One in the front, two in the rear)
I replaced the Y33 wheels originally on the car, with a set of 18” Apec LDR’s recently. A Jeff Williams strut brace tightened up the front end, making the steering more responsive, with a more positive feel. And of course, my favorite mod, removal of the rear suitcase muffler (Was an Impul item, but still made the car too quiet), and replaced with straight thru pipes, finished off with twin 3” chrome tips.
It’s now looking more like the way I want it. Some 20% endurance metallic window tinting, HID headlight conversion, bodywork/complete respray in the same colour, shift kit, upgraded torque converter, and the possibility of adding a turbo are on the cards for the future.
A big thanks goes at the end of my spiel to the folks frequenting the Q45 forum on NICO, and to Elwesso (Wes) and Mr. Dockers himself (Jesda) for making Q45.org. Without their help and knowledge, my car would probably be rotting in the rain right now.
INTERIOR MODS:
Recaro A8 front seats (with re-trimmed backing and build-outs for rear monitors)
Replaced all window switch bulbs, rear armrest radio/climate control display, and front climate control buttons with LED’s
Clarion DVD/MP3 head unit and 7” front monitor replacing stock head unit
All interior door, floor, trunk and map lights replaced with white LED’s
Impul 280km/h speedometer
EXTERIOR MODS:
AR Admiration front bar
Impul side skirts and rear bar
Apec LDR 18” wheels
Jeff Williams strut brace to suit active suspension
White LED parking lights, reverse lights, rear plate lights
Colour coded door handles (All chrome was painted when I first got the car)
Custom plates
ENGINE MODS:
Impul ECU (raised redline, removed speed cut, more aggressive tune)
Blitz air filter
Removed rear “suitcase” muffler and replaced with straight thru pipes.
Upgraded timing chain guides