bigwillyvert

Well I imagine you are all thinking, why the heck would a Canadian buy a convertible? Doesn't it snow there like year round? Does your igloo have a garage? We do get some bad snow storms but here in Southwestern Ontario we also get quite a few good months to enjoy our summer toys. Here is the story on Snow White.

First I think I should start with some of my automotive history. Prior to purchasing my Infiniti I had only owned Honda Accords, 3 of them from 3 different generations. First was a 2004 (7th gen) Sedan, it was a slow auto 4-banger but I put a massive sound system in it and thought I was really cool. After that novelty wore off I was interested in getting something with a bit more get up and go so I traded that for a 2008 (8th gen) Coupe. It was a 6-6 and by the end it was basically full bolt-on and a ton of fun, really surprised the unsuspecting victim. While still owning the 8th gen I was beginning to get a little bored so I picked up a 1994 (5th gen) Accord EX-R coupe. I drove by this car for sale sitting on this guys lawn for over a year before I finally stopped in to check it out, and he said to make him an offer or it was going to the junkyard that Friday. So I bought it for $250 thinking how could I go wrong at that price, but it was beat. I did get it road worthy and drove it as a winter beater for a year but eventually sold it to a buddy who has actually given it the TLC it deserved. By now you are probably wondering how this ties into my Infiniti, but by even purchasing that project car in my mind I knew I was searching for something the 6-6 accord could no longer give me. I needed something new and exciting so I began to mull over what would be on my 'dream list' of attributes from a car.

One, it had to be a manual. I'm not an auto hater, but to me having that engagement and interaction with your car is so much more enjoyable when you are out cruising around. Two, I wanted something unique, something that you don't see often. And Three, I wanted rear wheel drive, my torque steer days were over, I wanted a 'proper' sports car. I had come across a hard top convertible BMW and thought that was actually pretty cool so I began researching other hardtops. I had basically narrowed down my search to three cars: Lexus IS-C 250/350, BMW M3, and the Infiniti G37 convertible. Any hardtop BMW I could find for sale was easily $15K above my price range, so that was out. I had raced a few IS 350's before and they were formidable opponents but then I learned that the 350's are not offered in a manual, only the IS 250's had that option, so that was out. That left me with the G37. When I began my search in early 2017 there were only 4 manual convertibles for sale in the entire province at the time. 1 was a private sale, it was high milage and not well taken care of. The other 3 were all from some shady 3rd party car dealerships, not ideal but that was all I had to work with. I went and checked out all 3 and ended up placing an offer on the best one I found. I low balled him because although it was in pretty good shape, it wasn't worth what he was asking. During the few days we were going back and forth on the phone negotiating the price, I just happened to stumble on a Facebook post where a guy was putting the feelers out on his G37 vert. I immediately messaged him asking if I could come check it out, drove up the next week and looked it over. We had a big dump of snow the day before I went to look at it so the guy didn't want to let me take it out on the road, and I didn't blame him as they were still messy from the snow storm. Regardless, I didn't need a test drive I could tell this car had been babied, everything on it was mint, he had even just had the paint ceramic coated and she was beautiful. The car was tastefully modified and the best part was that his first asking price was actually lower than what I had been trying to negotiate with the shady dealer! I gave him a deposit and we arranged pickup on a later date when the roads were better. So here she is the day I picker her up.
https://www.myg37.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=179648&stc=1&d=1519883 355
https://www.myg37.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=179649&stc=1&d=1519883 355

Here is a list of the current mods that are on the car.

Suspension:
- BC Racing BR type coilovers
- AMS camber arms, front and rear

Engine:
- Stillen headers
- Kinetix high flow cats
- Exoticspeed catback exhaust

Interior:
- GTR start button
- Carsmo *****
- MPC motorsports weighted shift ****
- AMS short shifter
- Blackvue dashcam

Exterior:
- JP Visage front lip
- OEM rear spoiler
- Newtype splitters, front and sides
- Roof and mirrors wrapped in gloss black
- Tinted headlights and tail lights
- PIAA yellow high beams

Wheels and Tires:
- BC Forged HB35 in gloss black, fronts: 20x10" +5 rears: 20x11" +5
- Continental Extremecontact sports tires, front: 235/35/20 rear: 275/30/20
- Iconix R40 black lug nuts

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Nice thread, lets get those pics flipped & pumped up a bit shall we

Any pics in her current state?

Baadnewsburr

iTrader: (3)

Yeah lets some current pics, sounds pretty sweet!

r2dmax

I like everything but the off colored roof and pillars. Looks too much like the Lexus SC for some reason. Looks like a nice pick up though! I'd like to see it in it's current state.

Daddy Fat Sacs

iTrader: (15)

Great pickup and car is def rare! Not many 6mt convertibles at all.

bigwillyvert

Sorry fellas, I had fully intended to add another post with current pictures after posting that first one but my first post had to be approved by a moderator so I couldn't do that right away last night.

So to continue the progress on the build I immediately test fit the BC forged wheels once I got the car. Needless to say the specs were a bit aggressive for the stock body. Here are a few pics of that test fit.


fronts when they had a 255/30/20 tires
rears when they had 305/30/20 tiresSo that obviously wasn't going to work so I bought some smaller tires and ended up with 245/35 fronts and 275/30 rears. But in the mean time I couldn't be caught on the stock wheels and fortunately for me I still had a couple sets of wheels from my Accord, here are a few different looks she went through before I finally got the BC's fitting right.

bigwillyvert

In the meantime I couldn't just ride around on stock wheels, but fortunately I still had a couple sets from my Accord

Enkei GTC-01 20x9.5 +38 and 20x10+30

bigwillyvert

I also rode these for a while, BBS rg-r 19x8.5" +18 19x9.5" +22

the BBS just BARELY cleared the brakes

bigwillyvert

And finally I got the new tires mounted and headed out to the local fender roller to get them dialled in.




Here are the first few pictures with the BC's mounted

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Quite a nice collection of "looks" you've had

Looks like a good job on the fenders and that is one squeaky-tight fender fit, kudos for getting them to work and those wheels are badas$ for sure, thanks for the fresh pics!

Don't think I've seen any wheels as concave as your rears on a G, and the other mods you've done go really well there, hats off!

bigwillyvert

Thanks blnewt! it wasn't easy making them fit but I knew that it would be worth it. Can you make my last post show up on the thread though?

Daddy Fat Sacs

iTrader: (15)

Those BBS def have my vote!

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Not sure which post you're referring to, everything shows up for me

Baadnewsburr

iTrader: (3)

so where are the pictures with the the BC Forged wheels sitting right?

Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

Nice car! I like the BBS wheels the best too, although with some spacers, the OE wheels would look good too, especially with 245/40 275/35s.

I test drove a 6MT 'vert before getting my sedan, to get a feel for the clutch and drivetrain. Certainly a rare combo

Highly recommend adding sway bars and the RJM clutch assembly to your list of future mods.