Rad VIP Project: 1991 Nissan President – Sold?

March 18, 2021 Update – We just confirmed the listing for this “Classifind” expired, so with no replacement found we’re assuming this ride “Sold?” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call Rudy directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

A big part of the rad movement is the cars that make up the VIP scene, a school of modification theory that centers around big-body Japanese sedans. Vehicles are typically luxury models more oriented towards cruising, and usually slammed to the asphalt via airbag suspensions. The seller of this unusual 1991 Nissan President listed in February 2021 on Craigslist in Norfolk, Virginia had similar plans before deciding VIP wasn’t his style and has listed the distant relative to Infiniti’s Q45 with an asking price of $5,000. There’s obviously no price guide with the Japanese-market President listed, so we looked up the Q45 in the NADA Price Guide to confirm the seller’s price seems fair if we give him a slight bump for rarity alone – a top-shelf Q45 is valued at $4,625. This President does have some issues so one would assume there’s room to negotiate a sale.

The VIP scene is sometimes looked at disdainfully, as the intention was clearly to push good tastes to the extreme – extreme camber, that is. Suspensions are maxed out to achieve the ultimate low, and wheels are often anything but demure. Still, the tuning style breathed new life into land barges that otherwise didn’t typically wade into enthusiast waters, and given the priority was on comfort and style rather than outright performance, you could finally be part of a “scene” that didn’t necessarily involve racking up speeding violations (and let’s face it, the cars are always too low to go very fast.) This Nissan President is a kingpin of the VIP scene, as a quick Google search will show you endless photos of examples that have been upgraded with widebody kits, coil-over suspensions, two-piece wheels, and billet grilles.

The seller of this rare-in-the-USA President received the car as part of a trade deal, thinking he wanted to explore the VIP scene with a proper long-wheelbase sedan. However, he’s more firmly in the camp of drivers who prefer speed over style, so he’s decided the car is not for him. It does have some flaws, all of which seem to stem from neglect – and given the previous owner didn’t want to restore or otherwise preserve this Japanese market import, this Nissan flagship hasn’t found a happy home since arriving stateside. The active suspension has been removed instead of being fixed, and the seller notes the removal led to some sloppy hose routing that caused the power steering to become “…wonky.” The blower motor doesn’t work, and the driver’s-side rear wheel well was damaged by the previous owner (who also managed to crush the hood latch.) Overall, cars like these don’t turn up every day – and while this example needs some love, it’s definitely worthy of a revival. Good luck with the purchase if you choose to take this President home.

Here’s the seller’s description:

“Up for sale is my 1991 Nissan President, distant brothers with America’s Infiniti Q45 (G50). I got this car in a trade, in hopes I’d want to get into the VIP scene, but truth be told I like cars I can thrash in. With a little TLC this 19ft luxury vehicle could be the talk of the town. Now to the details:

-212k KM (131k miles)
-don’t know if the TV works but I’ll throw in an iPad you can put in replacement of it
-radio’s out but I have it, just haven’t gotten around to re-installing
-all lights work, climate control works & backseat controls work
-I have a brand new in box chandelier for the backseat
-brand new VIP cup holders
-brand new VIP liquor cabinet
-Have all original center caps
-active suspension has been deleted (ready for s-chassis conversion)
And I have more VIP parts & a spare fender in my attic.

The Negatives –
-driver side (RH) rear fender well was swiped by previous owner, slight work for someone with body work experience
-interior could use a nice detail
-hood latch was crushed by previous owner, a new one can be cut off a Q45 & welded back on for full function, in the mean time it’s hood is held on by hood latches
-blower motor doesn’t spin anymore, I took it out and took it apart and cleaned the hell out of it but it still doesn’t work, I have part numbers & links to a new one & pretty much any parts you need for this car
-steering is a bit wonky cause previous owner didn’t re-route active suspension lines back into the power steering pump, simple fix I just don’t wanna work on this thing.

Yes the car runs & shifts fine, it was drove all the way to me from South Carolina if that gives you an idea

I have basically all the parts to convert the suspension to s14 (s chassis), all arms have new bushing s and ball joints, new wheel bearings for the hubs, spindles have been sand blasted and re painted & have stock s14 suspension converted for this chassis.”

Do you have a Nissan President story you’d like to share?  Comment below and let us know!