Post by Bilbo on Aug 24, 2020 23:55:17 GMT
Right, so the 5 is in resto mode right now. Still being driven occasionally, but welding is now done, and paint prep will be starting soon.
I decided it would be a good idea to get a "daily". The concept of owning 2 cars always seemed a bit alien to me, but as my insurance is now a lot cheaper, it actually didn't seem much of a stretch to have 2.
So I present to you the mighty 89,000 mile, 1 litre, 59hp, 5 months of MOT, Ā£350 Nissan Micra K11!
Honestly, I absolutely love it. Flat out absolutely everywhere, it's so quiet no one even looks, and still returns 39mpg despite being pinned constantly haha. Managed 109 out of it down a long steep hill, not bad! It's great, and there's already talk in the group chat about engine swaps and ITBs, though that can be on hold until the 5 is painted and sorted a bit more! I will be sticking my Wat reps on it though, and getting an adjustable Panhard rod so I can lower it. I've also got an OMP bucket seat to go in that I got off a mate for Ā£20, and will be getting the exact same steering wheel I have in the 5 from another mate for Ā£20 also. I've also fitted the enclosed "carbon" intake I had on the 5, and will be doing the Randall Cowl style setup on it for big intake noise. It seems no one in the Micra scene ever does that, it'll blow their minds!
Anyway yeah, good daily, handbrake needs adjusting as it isn't as good at handy Bs as it should be!
So, rust. Yes, wow. "Have it done in a day I reckon easy", this was a message I put in our group chat before my mate started. After looking in the inspection panel on passenger side it didn't look all that bad, so I was optimistic. I bought the smaller repair panels, and then the full wing panels too so we had enough metal (we didn't).
So anyway he started cutting
Erm, not great
Yeah, really not great
Other side was the same
Both sides of the lip were gone
Pulled the arch liners back and he started prodding (this was the same on both sides, but this side went even higher
Anyway yeah, so basically the outside wasn't even bad, a few blemishes, some discolouration, nothing mad. No issues on MOT, the bad parts of the arch were fully hidden by arch liner so nothing a tester could even see to poke at. The previous owner before my mate had the sills done. My mate doing the welding even said how the external repair was done well, properly welded, no outer bodge visible apart from a little too much filler over the good metal in places, but overall a solid professional repair. The issue was, they didn't touch the inside. They just plated over everything, and left it to get worse. Hence the absolute mess in the photos above!
It took 4 days, over 2 weekends, partly due to the added complexity, partly due to rain (of course).
I've seen mk1s with far less rust broken for parts, but we didn't even consider the option, I'm never giving up on this car, so it was getting fixed and he cracked on like a legend. A fair few cardboard templates were cut, many holes were drilled for spot/plug welds, and many pieces of metal were cut to shape, as well as the panels I provided. Here are the happy photos:
Not the finished article, but this gives you an idea of the distance it had spread:
And the arches, all cleaned up with new metal, seam sealed, and protected:
As some of the welding was going to be very close to the actual floorpan of the car, he requested that I lift the carpet for it, in case it caught fire, as we didn't have his extinguisher with us. I was like "ah really? Ballache!" as it meant taking my driver seat off the side mount rails, which is just an annoying job haha. Anyway, bloody glad I did as the floor did briefly catch fire via the OE seam sealer on the floorpan, and in the exact spot it did, I had found 2 lighters hidden under my seat. Imagine that, car would be a pile of ash now, it would have fully gone up!
So anyway, I have a daily now, and the carpet was pulled up for this job, and I was like hmmmm. YEET. Out came the carpet:
Literally all of it, and the sound deadening. The we had an idea, I had several cans of part used paint left, the red I did my wheels with. You can see where this is going:
Now I know it's a bit garish, but honestly with the black seats back in, it looks really cool, especially with the black Roadster mats. Anyway yeah, we'll be stripping more weight out here and there when we can, my mate who did the welding also does a load of race car prep, including lightening, so that'll come into play here. He does a lot of K11 weight reduction actually, hmmm there's an idea!
Anyway yeah, sills are partly cavity waxed, need to finish this but the bloody nozzle straw yeeted itself off of the can and went into the sill, never to be seen again haha. They're primed for temporary protection, and will be sanded back and fillered a bit to get them nice and smoothed out ready for paint. Need 2 front wings, and a new rear bumper, and then it's paint prep time!
All in all, big job and truly shocked at how bad it was, but it's done now and it's onwards and upwards
I decided it would be a good idea to get a "daily". The concept of owning 2 cars always seemed a bit alien to me, but as my insurance is now a lot cheaper, it actually didn't seem much of a stretch to have 2.
So I present to you the mighty 89,000 mile, 1 litre, 59hp, 5 months of MOT, Ā£350 Nissan Micra K11!
Honestly, I absolutely love it. Flat out absolutely everywhere, it's so quiet no one even looks, and still returns 39mpg despite being pinned constantly haha. Managed 109 out of it down a long steep hill, not bad! It's great, and there's already talk in the group chat about engine swaps and ITBs, though that can be on hold until the 5 is painted and sorted a bit more! I will be sticking my Wat reps on it though, and getting an adjustable Panhard rod so I can lower it. I've also got an OMP bucket seat to go in that I got off a mate for Ā£20, and will be getting the exact same steering wheel I have in the 5 from another mate for Ā£20 also. I've also fitted the enclosed "carbon" intake I had on the 5, and will be doing the Randall Cowl style setup on it for big intake noise. It seems no one in the Micra scene ever does that, it'll blow their minds!
Anyway yeah, good daily, handbrake needs adjusting as it isn't as good at handy Bs as it should be!
So, rust. Yes, wow. "Have it done in a day I reckon easy", this was a message I put in our group chat before my mate started. After looking in the inspection panel on passenger side it didn't look all that bad, so I was optimistic. I bought the smaller repair panels, and then the full wing panels too so we had enough metal (we didn't).
So anyway he started cutting
Erm, not great
Yeah, really not great
Other side was the same
Both sides of the lip were gone
Pulled the arch liners back and he started prodding (this was the same on both sides, but this side went even higher
Anyway yeah, so basically the outside wasn't even bad, a few blemishes, some discolouration, nothing mad. No issues on MOT, the bad parts of the arch were fully hidden by arch liner so nothing a tester could even see to poke at. The previous owner before my mate had the sills done. My mate doing the welding even said how the external repair was done well, properly welded, no outer bodge visible apart from a little too much filler over the good metal in places, but overall a solid professional repair. The issue was, they didn't touch the inside. They just plated over everything, and left it to get worse. Hence the absolute mess in the photos above!
It took 4 days, over 2 weekends, partly due to the added complexity, partly due to rain (of course).
I've seen mk1s with far less rust broken for parts, but we didn't even consider the option, I'm never giving up on this car, so it was getting fixed and he cracked on like a legend. A fair few cardboard templates were cut, many holes were drilled for spot/plug welds, and many pieces of metal were cut to shape, as well as the panels I provided. Here are the happy photos:
Not the finished article, but this gives you an idea of the distance it had spread:
And the arches, all cleaned up with new metal, seam sealed, and protected:
As some of the welding was going to be very close to the actual floorpan of the car, he requested that I lift the carpet for it, in case it caught fire, as we didn't have his extinguisher with us. I was like "ah really? Ballache!" as it meant taking my driver seat off the side mount rails, which is just an annoying job haha. Anyway, bloody glad I did as the floor did briefly catch fire via the OE seam sealer on the floorpan, and in the exact spot it did, I had found 2 lighters hidden under my seat. Imagine that, car would be a pile of ash now, it would have fully gone up!
So anyway, I have a daily now, and the carpet was pulled up for this job, and I was like hmmmm. YEET. Out came the carpet:
Literally all of it, and the sound deadening. The we had an idea, I had several cans of part used paint left, the red I did my wheels with. You can see where this is going:
Now I know it's a bit garish, but honestly with the black seats back in, it looks really cool, especially with the black Roadster mats. Anyway yeah, we'll be stripping more weight out here and there when we can, my mate who did the welding also does a load of race car prep, including lightening, so that'll come into play here. He does a lot of K11 weight reduction actually, hmmm there's an idea!
Anyway yeah, sills are partly cavity waxed, need to finish this but the bloody nozzle straw yeeted itself off of the can and went into the sill, never to be seen again haha. They're primed for temporary protection, and will be sanded back and fillered a bit to get them nice and smoothed out ready for paint. Need 2 front wings, and a new rear bumper, and then it's paint prep time!
All in all, big job and truly shocked at how bad it was, but it's done now and it's onwards and upwards
lol
)
le sigh