I actually have somewhat of a history with my 82 oil burner. Back in high school I saw it for sale on Craigslist not running for $1000, but it sold quick. The seller mentioned “stroker crank” in the description and I just assumed the worst happened after it was sold. Like the majority of LD28 Maximas, the crank was probably removed, and the car was hauled to the pick and pull for its final parking space…
Fast forward a few years later, in 2022, I learned the car survived intact, and the owner was a friend of a friend. I was looking for a pre smog car for a while (yes! in California you still have to smog ANY gas car made after 75!), and always wanted a 910 Maxima after being fascinated by the record player voice warning system. Made an offer and she was finally mine! A 82 Diesel 3 speed car with only 100k miles on the odo! The grey cloth interior was replaced with brown leather from an 84 “deluxe” model, and the dash board was painted (surprisingly nicely) black. She ran and drove, but with A LOT of issues. The glow plugs did not work, she was severely underpowered even for a diesel, and she smoked liked crazy under any sort of load. Took me a lot of time and research on this forum to finally get her running reliably. Now she starts up with one click of the starter, smoke has been reduced significantly, and gives me a solid 26 MPG even with a lead foot. Only issue I’m having currently is an intermittent IP leak from the distributor O ring, but it’s not enough to warrant pulling the engine out to reseal it. ($750-$900 quoted). She has 125k miles now, and I drive her EVERYDAY. Love it!
I have everything to manual swap it including the extremely rare diesel flywheel, but the 3 speed still shifts perfectly (If it ain't broke don't fix it!)
Took her on a trip to Apple Valley Speedway last month without a hiccup! I hope to keep this car going for many years to come, and I’m super thankful this forum is still up!
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