The popularity of the Infiniti G35 has grown quite a bit in the last couple of years. Back when they were first introduced in 2003, the G35 was considered to be the luxury-sport chassis of the Infiniti family and since it carried the Infiniti branding, it wasn’t exactly an affordable car for the 25-under crowd. Nearly a decade later, they have become more affordable as used vehicles and we see more modified G35s at events all over the country. The coupe model V35 chassis has developed a good following amongst enthusiasts because of its versatility; since it was a luxury-sports coupe, you can either build it into something sporty or just slam it on some aggressively-sized wheels for a more “VIP” appeal. Meanwhile, lurking in the coupe’s shadow is its 4-door counterpart. Mechanically, they are essentially the same vehicle, but of course, sedans get a bad rep for having an extra pair, and for whatever reason, enthusiasts have adopted the idea that it isn’t “cool” to build a chassis with more than two-doors. An ignorant person who loves to generalize would respond with, “Because sedans are family cars”.
The reality is that the G35 with two extra doors is meant to be a family car—but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t a capable, modifiable platform. The 4-door G35 hasn’t been forgotten because no one has been able to create a lasting benchmark example of how to build one. The two sedans you see gracing these pages before you, built by Chris Ortez and Marcus Cooke, may possibly be the finest examples of how to build a G35 to date—no matter how many doors it came with. Both of them originally wanted G35 coupes but ended-up with sedans because they both have a wife and two kids. The two coincidentally purchased their Gs in 2007 and started their builds at the same time as well, long before they knew each other.
Chris Ortez’s 2003 Infiniti G35
“I was a Honda guy for most of my life,” Chris explains, “I built two in the past and never even touched a Nissan chassis before I purchased my G35. I was a family man and was blessed with the opportunity to raise two wonderful kids, so I felt it was time for a bigger, roomier car. I aimed to build a car that wasn’t so common and after some research, I fell in love with the G35 sedan. The six-speed manual in Ivory Pearl took a month to locate but it was exactly what I wanted.”
Starting out as most of us do with just a drop and wheels, other aesthetic modifications followed but he soon realized that aftermarket support for this chassis was lacking. He knew he wanted rare Japanese aftermarket parts mixed with OEM JDM Nissan 350GT components; it was just a matter of being able to afford these parts while supporting his family. “I didn’t do everything at once, I just collected parts slowly over time. Everything that I couldn’t get, I just figured out how to modify or create on my own. Nissans were foreign territory for me but once I began working on my G, I learned that cars were fundamentally the same. I learned to not be afraid to take things apart and figured out how to put them back together,” Chris says.
As you may have noticed, the two G35-owners have a fondness for Japanese ARC products. Chris owns almost every ARC product ever made for the V35 chassis as well as a few parts that are meant for other makes and models that he modified to work on his build. One fine example would be a sparkplug wire cover made for an S2000 that Chris altered; the badging on the cover was removed and mounted on an ARC strut bar, while the cover itself was used as an air-diversion plate for his ARC oil cooler. It is that level of ingenuity that makes his G35 noteworthy. Everything under the hood has seen customization in one form or another; the OEM intake plenum, throttle body, and timing covers have all been polished, the valve covers recoated a contrasting ruby red tone and the subframe, normally unseen, has also been paint-matched to Ivory Pearl. Every bolt in the bay (all 420-plus) has been swapped for better looking stainless hex bolts. The bulky engine wiring harness has been relocated and tucked away, freeing more space for onlookers to gander at the plethora of treats from Abbey Road Company.
The interior of this G35 follows one central theme, much like his engine bay. His rear seats, door panels, shift boot and rear deck have all been rewrapped in Bride gradation fabric to match his Bride Stradia II seats. Since this G is Chris’ everyday beater, his son rides in it often so he had a baby-seat redone in Bride fabric to seamlessly blend with his rear seats. Exterior mods appear to be minimal, but only to the untrained-eye. A NISMO front bumper has been installed but with INGS+1 carbon-fiber ducts massaged in along with a ‘05-06 specific OEM front lip. An opening in the center of the front fascia reveals an oil cooler and custom air diversion plate. ARC winglets have been installed for an extra bit of flare. To the rear of his G are a set of rare JDM taillights, EDM rear fog and a paint-matched Hikkatadori carbon-fiber trunk.
Admittedly, one of Chris’ favorite additions to his build is something that required no special alterations on his part: a complete Endless brake upgrade. The signature blue hue of the brakes clash with the rest of his car, which has a white/black/red color scheme, but when you have brakes as baller as his, you want them to be seen and recognized.
Occupation Business management/customer service
Engine 3.5L Nissan VQ35DE; SxExCx polished intake plenum, throttle body and VTC; GReddy Evo2 exhaust; welded and chromed coolant pipes; polished Forged Racing slim fans; Earl’s stainless steel-braided radiator hoses and hose clamps; custom-painted Ruby Red valve covers, alternator, tensioner pulley and dipstick; ARC intake elbow, Air Induction Box, modified Evo 9 titanium exhaust manifold cover (polished and heat-treated), modified S13 oil cooler, oil filter relocation kit, 36mm aluminum Super Micro Conditioner Series radiator, oil cap, radiator cap and radiator cooling plate (polished and burnt); custom-painted Ivory Pearl core support; stainless steel hex bolts; custom wire-tuck
Footwork & Chassis TEIN Cruising Master Comfort Sport coilovers w/EDFC; Stillen 1 3/8-inch front sway bar and 7/8-inch rear sway bar; Whiteline endlinks; ARC titanium front strut bar (polished and heat-treated); SPC adjustable camber arms, rear camber arms and toe bolts
Brakes Endless 6-pot front brake calipers, Racing Compound W007 front brake pads, 4-pot rear brake calipers and Racing Compound W007 rear brake pads; Swivel Racing brake lines w/SUS 304 stainless steel fittings; Motul 8068HL RBF 600 brake fluids
Wheels & Tires 19x9.5" front, 19x10.5" rear +22 Volk Racing CE28N Time Attack wheels; 225/35R19 front, 255/BSR19 rear Falken Fk452 tires; Project KICS R40 Racing lug nuts; NISMO extended wheel studs
Exterior NISMO front bumper w/INGS+1 carbon-fiber air ducts and side skirts; OEM ‘05-06 sedan front lip; gloss black painted roof; Hikkatadori carbon-fiber trunk; pinched-flat and flared front fenders, 5mm pulled rear fenders; BAUSauto custom quad-projector retrofitted headlights (TSX-R w/ZKW-R clear lens, blue machine gun shrouds, custom yellow foglight projector lenses w/yellow demon eye, 2.5-in clear lens installed in turn signal); 8000K HIDs; JDM Nissan ‘05-06 taillights, power-folding mirrors, clear side markers and window visors; custom OEM grille with emblem-delete; OEM EDM rear foglight; ARC winglets
Interior Bride Stradia II Carbon Alumide Monocoque seats and Type RO seat rails; custom wrapped rear seats, door panels, shift boot, rear deck, and baby car seat in Bride gradation fabric; Tommy Kaira Hebi Bebi shift knob; black suede w/red stitched center console; JDM Nissan 6MT instrument cluster; chromed seat rail bolts and door strikers; Alpine INA-W900BT head unit, ERE-G180 11-band equalizer; Focal 165KRX2 K2 6.5-in front speakers, Polyglass 130 CVX 5.25 rear speakers; 12-in JL Audio W7 subwoofer, 450/4V2 amplifier, 1000/1V2 amplifier
Thanks You First, I want to start by thanking my wonderful wife, Isabel Ortez, my two kids: Emely Marie and Christopher Joseph for their understanding and support throughout this build, I love you guys; Randy Riggs, Dave Rikimaru, Zack Tscharanyan, Sean Chase, Marty Huynh, Shane Rosas, Mikey Silva, and Marcus Cooke; Howard at Techno Square, Kaleidoscope Polishing, Earl’s Store 1, Danh Vo at More Japan, Eric at BAUSauto, and Ricardo Flores at CH Customs; Team RareJDM: it’s a pleasure to be teammates and friends with such a great group of guys; R-Rydes Team and all of the homies on G35driver, you all know who you are