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Throughout the years, someone would post something that throws everything off of what we know.

So this first happened when members Emtee and Regulatorocks posted their cars and showed this:





Brewster240 (Mikey) said that was the universal sign for fog light.

Emtee said

If I have my headlights on and flip it, it lights up, but I don't have foglights, unless they're built in to the regular headlights. Can't tell what it does.

Both Emtee and Regulatorocks never followed up on it though.

To see people from different areas have this switch was interesting to say the least. Emtee was from Utah and Regulatorocks was from San Francisco.

My interest sparked again about it when I saw it in another car in the East Coast.

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Another OG M30 found?

Regulatorocks owned a Blue grey storm M30 and said he had this switch too. Here is a picture of his car:



If you see on the lower bumper grill, there is a circle. This is a bracket. This picture was from 2007. It was one of the cleanest M30s. He was in the bay area, but never met up or followed up with anyone.

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I was told that a blue grey storm was in a pick n pull and after I got off work, I had 30 minutes to check it out before they closed. I was hoping the bumpers would be good, but they were trashed.

Anyways, I looked in the M30 and saw this:



 

After removing the center console (in which you have to pop the switch out to get to the screw/bolt) shows how it is mounted.



 

I was intrigued. I followed the wires to upfront where I saw the bracket that is in the picture. I remembered this because when I was rebuilding the forums, I was refreshing on many of the threads and this was one of them I had rebuilt.

I went to the front bumper and saw the bracket, as seen in Regularocks' photo.

I removed the headlights and examined them to see if they were special in anyways. Nope.

I found the wires and it lead to the bumper's lower grill.









I found this Bosch housing and the bracket looked exactly like the picture of Regulatorocks' M30.

I examined further to see if there was another bracket or light on the opposite side and there wasn't.

As I was pulling as much stuff as I could off the M30, I decided to take the light switch. The switch looks exactly like the picture with the activation light next to the fog light symbol.

What has always interested me was the mounting of the switch. It fits perfectly (and looks exactly like the other pictures I've seen) and isn't cheap material, it is metal.

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If you didn't know, Bosch made fog lights. The only other car I've see with fog lights was C4nitriousboi (Ricky).



 

A quick google search of Bosch LE 1478 a and b lead to this.



 

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Let me throw a bit more info. When Ricky and I went to the Infiniti dealership, we asked for the list of what options were available for the M30. He gave us a print out and I posted those here:

http://www.f31club.com/2017/02/02/official-dealership-options-for-the-infiniti-m30/

 

What I haven't posted was bits and pieces from a rare Infiniti parts catalog. I saved images of what was available in 2005. In one of the pages that was shown, they show pictures of the Infiniti Battery warmer, but then there is this bit:

d. Fog lights: Improves visibility during adverse driving conditions. Available for M30 coupe and G20 only.

The excerpt didn't have a picture of the fog lights for the M30. I did however, searched to see if the G20 was comparable.

The fog lights came on the the G20t, t for Touring.

[caption id="attachment_11173" align="aligncenter" width="640"] credit: Nissan Road Racing forums[/caption]

Didn't look anything like the Bosch ones.

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Conclusion: To finally see the switch and make out the fog light brand/model was interesting. Since there have been 3 documented cases with this switch, I wonder if it was a kit that Bosch offered or a 3rd party install. The metal mounting plate wasn't some cheap universal piece. It seemed like it was meant for that part of the M30.

Also, if I do believe this is Regulatorocks' M30, it would confirm another one down. The condition of the car was pretty terrible. When comparing to the original photo, that is a huge change, but then again, it is 11yrs since that photo was taken.

A car phone is definitely an outdated piece of technology. At the time of the early 90s, there were no cell phones.. or they were not common as they are today (2017).

Infiniti offered the Car phone in the Q45 and M30 for $900!!!  A few years back, I saw on in a Q45 in the Junkyard and didn't care because it's irrelevant today... But I regretted passing it up the more I started to think about it.

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When I visited Carshop Friend in 2016, I saw this:



 

This is a genuine phone that was in the Grand Selection or at least in the Nissan leopards (possibly in a Zenki). I didn't realize it until I seen a few more at the Nissan leopard meetings I attended.

 

So I started to think that if I ever see an Infiniti phone, I'd get it for the looks rather than the functionality as long as the price justified the item.

I began to lose hope because I didn't see any. When I started to look at CL's M30s, I noticed a few did have a phone!



 

 

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A couple weeks ago, I decided to hit the junkyard to get a fender for my Previa. I decided to walk the yard and saw a Q45. I looked inside and I couldn't believe it!

It was clean. Not only that, it was mounted in the armrest when you opened it up.

Also, unlike the phone above, this has INFINITI on it!!!



 

I was thinking the price of it would be $10-15, knowing that some junkyards try their best to get money out of you. This lady was nice and realized this was not a highly sought item (easy to down play the item).

$2.36 everything!

 

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_9954" align="aligncenter" width="640"] base[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_9955" align="aligncenter" width="640"] car phone base with mounting platform.[/caption]

 



 



 



 



 



 

I was simply amazed at this piece. While it will not be functional, I do like the looks and it is era correct and GENUINE INFINITI!!!!

 
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Out of pure interest, I started to look online about carphones. There are some awesome articles written on TTAC and a few other blog sites.

When I searched, I didn't find anything on 1990 Infiniti's and carphones.

So I decided to look at carphones to try and find what kind of phone this is. I came upon a page doing a review on Motorola phones on youtube, the channel is called Brickcellphones, but here is the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzaclYEPJ9E

I started to look closely at the phones and it looked exactly like the Motorola Micro TAC. While the design is pretty spot on, the flip down part didn't have Motorola. Infact, when I looked all over the phone, I didn't see anything related to Motorola.

In that video, I guess I got intrigued with the LED display and I wondered what this phone would be if I could charge it. I went to my car real quick and got the phone.

 

Upon taking out the battery, I started to inspect it more. On the back, I saw the model number: 999Q5SD008

I decided to quickly pop that in google and infinitiparts had it!

 



 

$1623.25!!!!!!!!!!

LOL. Insane!

 

Here is another:



 

$1530.60 with No battery!!!!

 

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Still, I had no distinct markings of who made it besides the "Compact Communicator".

The only thing I see is "MFG in USA for NMC in USA". I suspect that is Motorola, but nothing with NMC came up on Google. Maybe it was Motorola's old name. I found the FCC ID and I typed it in and found it to be Motorola!

Okay, so that is solved.

No I just gotta find a charger!

It is always hard to do things and make sure it intersects with F31club in some shape, way or form. This was going to be my first time in Paris (France), Brussels (Belgium) and Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Iwan who owns an M30 convertible (and all around Nissan guy) lives in the Netherlands and we planned to meet up before I went to Amsterdam. I didn't make it to Amsterdam and so the significance of making this trip intersect with F31s didn't go 100%.

I also wanted to imagine how an F31 would be in Paris. If I lived in Paris and I had my M30... I would be taking pictures in front of these iconic spots. The Japanese brothers pay tribute to Abunai Deka by taking pictures of their Leopards and M30s in iconic spots from the show.

I thought about how I could do this and I remember people taking pictures of their stuff animals at cool spots during a vacation or traveling (just google stuffed animals travel the world). I figured if they can do that with a stuffed animal, why not with a toy car? My biggest scale leopard is 1/43. I decided to go with the Zenki Gold Leopard because it is a famous color.

Focusing proved to be difficult as my phone couldn't always find a balance between a small scale car and real size background. While some shots were cool, others were either blurred between near or far field. My goal was to have the car look natural and realistic. Some pictures are meant to be weird and abstract.

I know it can be photoshopped, but I wanted to have authenticity to some degree. Leopard spotted in these locations:

• Hotel De Ville


• Seine (along the river)


• The Louvre


• Eiffel Tower


• Notre Dame de Paris


• Arc de Triomphe


• Avenue des Champs-Elysees


• Palace of Versailles


• Sacre Coeur


• Pantheon


• Pont Alexandre III bridge


• Jardin du Luxembourg


• Trocadero


• Pont Neuf

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Let's begin! Paris can be overwhelming, there is too much to see and do! Everything looks amazing. My interests are always the architecture, street art, history, historical art, city skylines, lights (Paris is the city of lights), food, experiences, public transportation, cars (no tuned car seen, but Peugeot, Reanault, Dacia, Citroen, SEAT)... pretty much Paris was eye candy.

First night, we stayed in the 4th arrondissement of Paris (arrondissements are subdivided municipalities within Paris, total of 20).

After some authentic French food and crepe, we walked around Rue de Rivoli and came upon Tour Saint-Jacques.

(The tower is what is left of a 16th century Church that was destroyed in the French Revolution. Gothic design!)



I tried to take a picture of the Leopard, that is when I realized it wasn't gonna be as easy as I thought.

Just a couple blocks away is Hotel de Ville. It is actually City Hall of Paris. Very gorgeous at night!





 

 





 

While it was a chilly night, it was beautiful and so we decided to walk around along the Seine (an important river and waterway within Paris).

The Seine offered a gorgeous backdrop with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. We headed towards that direction.





 

The Louvre is famous for a reason. If you are into museums, the Louvre is the biggest museum in the world. It is massive and houses so much history. I went here multiple times on this trip, but during our first night, I enjoyed it from the outside due to the Pyrimads in the Cour Napoléon.









 

I can't explain the inside, there is just way too much to see and they say that even a week isn't enough to see everything in the Louvre. So I focused on seeing Greco-Roman art and sculptures, paintings of Christianity, Islamic art and of course the famous stuff. Mona Lisa and Winged Victory of Samothrace or Winged Nike to be precise.

It is me being silly.

Mona Lisa is surrounded like no other. People are taking selfies and will stay at the front for a long time. I didn't need to be directly in front, but I wanted to see it with my own eyes and I pulled the leopard out and snapped a shot.



 

Winged Victory of Samothrace or Winged Nike is a sculpture that is celebrated all over the world. It is a sculpture of the Greek goddess of Victory, Nike! (I love mythology). Another cool and interesting thing about Winged Nike is that this is a Hellenistic marble statue and one of the few remaining Hellenistic statues around. Many are Roman copies.

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What is Paris without the Eiffel Tower? It is one of the most famous, visited landmarks and recognized all around the world!

It is a great place to visit and its beauty is majestic. Pictures can't capture its essence. I actually felt these pictures did a great job of making the leopard look realistic.

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Notre Dame de Paris a famous cathedral. The stories of the Hunchback of Notre Dame helped bring notice to its deteriorating condition and so it was restored. Finest French Gothic design and like many old cathedrals, stained glass and even gargoyles on top!

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Arc de Triomphe is also one of those famous spots. While it is touristy (tons of people), it is also an amazing building, piece of art and historic significance. It is massive and going to the top is well worth it. The circle around it is also famous in many movies.

The Arc de Triomphe is at the end of Champ-Elysees. The famous avenue.



 

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Avenue des Champs-élysées is that famous and busy avenue in Paris. This is the spot where some people go cruising. Mostly know for shopping because all the major brands are on this street.



 

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Palace of Versailles is a good 45 minute train ride outside of Paris. It's huge, well, it is a Royal Palace. The gardens however, were just as awesome and free.

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The Pantheon (in Paris) was a church, but is now a mausoleum (tomb) for prominent French citizens. Very neoclassicism styled structure obviously modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. This is an amazing place if you are into Philosophy as some enlightenment thinkers are buried here.

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A famous Roman Catholic cathedral in Paris is Basilica du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre, or simply Sacre-Coeur. While I did grow up Roman Catholic, I am not practicing. I go to religious buildings, temples, shrines to learn the history and art. I also go to these places being respectful of the people, culture and environment.



 

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There are 37 bridges in Paris. They all offer great views and photo ops.

One of the most ornate and decorated bridges is Pont Alexander III.

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Jardin du Luxembourg is one of the biggest and well knowing open spots in Paris. It is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.

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River Seine from Pont Marie, another bridge that crosses.

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Trocadero is one of those spots that you can take a great picture of the Eiffel Tower when there is no crowds (early morning or late night).

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Pont Neuf is the oldest of the bridges that crosses the Seine. This part of Pont Neuf is the location for "love locks".

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This last picture was totally unexpected. I visited Renault's shop/restaurant to check out their Lego F1 racer. Upon going inside, I there was Infinit logos everywhere! There were life size legos people and both had Infiniti logo on their shirts.



 

Made sense!

 

One of the most common problems that plagues the M30 is the interior. Often times, the first visuals can make or break the purchase of the car.

Many M30s have ripped seats. There is basic wear and tear, but some M30s, the years of heat and sun exposure just takes a toll on the back seats...

So finding one with good seats isn't common, but some M30 convertibles do have well maintained seats.

My coupe didn't. But last year, I talked to someone at an upholstery class and she said she wouldn't mind doing my seats. I got a spare set from the junkyard and gave it to her to see what she could do.

Since then, I've been kinda keeping them in my storage. I've been waiting to clean out the interior of the M30 and recently I just had this motivation to get things done.

I had to take take off the frame and rails and put them onto the new seat.

 

this is the passenger side seat.



So on the left side, 1 screw holds the plastic cover. take that off to expose the seat belt bolt and another bolt that holds the rail to the side.





12 mm takes off this bolt that holds the sliding rail.



 

The seat belt is 14mm. 

 

On the opposite side, 2 screws for the plastic cover, small screw for handle.



at each end of the sliding rail is 14mm bolts.

BECAREFUL as there is tension them and one slide can sling shot!



 

The only thing cable that needed to be disconnected was this one. I took off the c clamp and the screw that that attached to the wire.



 

BECAREFUL. This is the side that sling shots.


 

After that, I moved everything and reattached all the components.



the seat is complete.

The driver's seat.. that is a bit more complex.

While the seat is out, it is time to clean the interior.

The M30 is rarely in good condition. Some of the most common issues across both coupe and vert (even though it seems people with verts do take care of them better) are the broken passenger side vent, warped dash and the common wear and tear seats.

A few months back, I had a friend that was taking an upholstery class. I asked her to do my seats for a good price and she did. I unfortunately didn't get the back seats to her as she isn't in the class anymore.

Anyways, M30 seats are mostly in bad condition. Typical wear and tear, but years of neglect also plays a huge role as well. Some people don't care as they could customize some mounts and put in a different seat (but very few have done this). Most people put a seat cover and call it a day.

While I did think of getting different seats and all, I didn't have time or welding stuff to make my own brackets. So I decided to stick with the M30 original seats.

The driver seat is electronic and at least from my experience, the right side will always have a bolt obstructed (rail/frame to seat itself). So I kept the seat in the car so I can plug it in and use the switch to move it.

I started by unbolting the seat from the floor. You'll have to remove the plastic covers for the back bolts.





Then the fronts.



 

Found change and cleaned under there!

I then focused on removing all the plastic trim of the seat.

 

Started with the front, 2 screws.



 

Then the left side, which is also 2 screws, plus the plastic lever.





 

Note: be careful because the seat position switch is connected.





 

Then to the the right side. The screw is actually what holds the plastic piece in place. The bolt you see is for the seat belt itself.

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Now that the plastic covers are removed, There are a few bolts that hold things in place and together.

Going back to the left side, I took out the cable from the seat switch (held by a tiny c clamp) and a bolt that held a bracket that held the cable. (in picture they are removed already).



 

The went back to the right side. I removed 2 bolts and the seat belt bolt. This held the support to the rail too.



 

Seat belt portion has to be removed too.



 

Now the only thing left is 4 bolts. Thess are at each end of the rails and underneath. The left side is clear, but the right side, one of the bolts is always going to be obstructed on either end.

 

Back bolt is visible.



 

The front however isn't.



 

I did this in the car so I could plug in the seat position switch can be used. Which you will need to get the seat off the rails/frame.



 

After that, it is free.



 

Reverse steps.



 

Done.!