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Danish Micra with no name

Ulrich C

Ulrich C

Time to introduce myself and my car. Been around for a month or so, but haven’t had the time to do anything but look around this nice forum.

I’m 36 years old, lives in Denmark. This is my 5th Micra K11. The first 1.3 LX served my little family through 4½ years and 230.000 km’s. It had 425.000 or so on the clock when I sold it. We loved that car.
Since then we have had 3 other 1.0 K11’s. They were okay, but I have always missed the power of the 1.3. But still we love them. We’ve had some other crappy cars in between, but keep coming back.

So, about 1 month ago I found this 1993 1.3 LX. Looked to be in decent shape for the year, however very very very dirty. A thick layer of dust on everything , and smelling of smoke. :suspect:
After a good cleaning – even the seats and carpets were washed, she looks pretty much OK. And smells nice again!
I have about 42 km’s each way to work, so the Micra gets a lot of kilometers.
I’ve changed the oil and filters for a good 5W40, and the engine runs smooth and nice again. Quick and pretty responsive. :p
So, here she is. Never seen one in that color before, but I like it a lot.
DSC_0098.jpg

Future plans includes:
Weld some new metal around rear shock mount (rusted).
N15 airbox (waiting for me already, will pick up next month).
Fix up the primered areas on the bootlid, and both rear arches.
Color code the rear bumper.
Remove side ”bumpers”.
40 mm lowering springs and adjustable panhard. Hopefully around springtime.
6x14” Almera steel rims with 165/60R14. Had that on the first K11 also. Should be around april.
Cat back 2” system at some point.

The best part is that my wife approves of all these changes. It’s our only car, so, I’m happy.

You have a great forum here, so many Micra enthusiasts, and a friendly environment. Nice!

Cheers
 
Loved your introduction! True K11 enthusiast in there! Welcome to the club ! (Y)
 
OK. Have almost a whole day at home by myself today. The weather is fantastic, and the Micra deserves some attention.

The back door has had some rust repaired bedly by the previous owner. And last week my wife ripped the "moustace" off, when opening the back door. All 4 brackets broken off...
DSC_0248.jpg


So I've found a guy nearby who's breaking a silver Micra 1994, with apparently no significant rust, and a good looking moustace over the licence plate. I can pick that up for 250 danish kroner (around 20 pounds), which I think will be okay. The lighter silver color should also be quite easy to paint over (compared to a red or blue), which is something I will do around springtime.

I've had very few bulbs working in my instruments. So picked up a handful of fresh 1,2W bulbs, and took it apart. Very simple - 5 screws, 2 minutes.
Took the opportunity to clean behind the glass, and all looks like new - well almost - again. (Y)
DSC_0247.jpg


Next was the mess under the dashboard. Previous owner had mounted a horrible set of blue neon lights, and really really ####ty LED pedals... Wires all over, and the pedals were really horrible, with long screws coming out on the backside etc... :suspect:
Took it all out...
DSC_0245.jpg

And looks much better now. :)
DSC_0246.jpg


Gave the interior a quick clean...
DSC_0249.jpg

...and went outside.

The idle has been having some issues. It would take 10-20 seconds to calm down, which just is really annoying. Took Pollyp's advise and removed and cleaned the Idle Adjust Valve. Simple job. Airbox off. Remove plug from IAV. Unscrew the 2 screws on the IAV. Loose 1 of the 2 screws. Clean IAV. Put back in with only 1 screw. Airbox on. Start engine. No problems. :p

So now I'll go the the local scrapyard, and see if I can find a set of pedal rubbers. Otherwise, I'll go and buy a sweets set of Sparco pedals at the local T.Hansen (Autoparts etc.) Link

Thanks for looking! (Y)

Ulrich
 
20£ for the mustache? That's a rip off, mate :glare:

Should cost you around 5£, but if he sticks with the price, do not pay anything over 10£... Deal with him!:p
 
Same kind of price here in the scrapyards, and most of them dont want to deal on the price ! Not easy to find scraped K11 and they know it. :(
 
No worries! The price is for a complete backdoor w/o rust and with an intact 'stache. ;-)

But thanks for your concern. Got brand new pedal rubbers for free at the scrappies today! From a Mitsubishi Space Wagon, but they fit perfectly.

But, in general prices in Denmark are quite high comperad to the UK. Mainly because of our 25% VAT...

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Welcome! My Super S is in the same color -very unique and looks business. Good starting point to clean everything - I also used to have few micras, current one is 4th or 5th :) Good that you took all that crap out...
 
Hi Muniek, and thanks.

I think it's a very nice color too. Not that many like that in Denmark at least. Hoping to get her all nice and tidy. Since the rear bumper has been replaced by an all black, I'm considering replacing the front bumper with a black as well. Could look nice and clean. Just lowered and some 13" or 14" wide steel rims or deep alloys. :p We'll see what funds allow over the next 6 months. A bit skint at the moment to say the least... :glare:

Do you have a picture of yours?
 
A few things going on today:

Washed. Changed left side headlight bulb. Checked speedo cable.... Broken. Will see if I can get one from the same car I'm getting the "new" back door from. Duct taped rear moustache. Fell off during wash. Removed and cleaned washer nozzles (or whatever they're called). One broke during removal. Glued and fixed.

And now for the exciting part: I unplugged the lambda sensor. Car now seems to have stopped going up and down on idle, and has seemingly also stopped hopping and bouncing when driving slowly. Will see how it works on a longer drive tomorrow. If this has entirely solved the ####ty idle situation, and the bouncing, and maybe even better the fuel consumption due to more normal idle levels etc... Well then I'm a happy camper! Will just get a new sensor before next MOT (next year). We'll see how it works out. (Y)

Sold my old 15" alloys with way too large tires. Got a decent price + 4 half used 155/65R14 Continentals. Could look quite allright on a set of 6x14" Almera N15 steel rims. A bit of stretch FTW. Got a quote from a couple of breakers. Cheapest was 650 danish kroner for 4 steelies of an Almera.. That's around £80. A bit steep I think... :suspect:
 
After disconnecting the lambda sensor last night, I was wondering how the car would behave on a longer drive.

This morning I drove the 45 km's to work (28 miles) in temperatures just below zero degrees celcius. The idle is steady, calms down within a few secs. The annoying bouncing when driving in a queue (on/off throttle) is totally gone. The car pulls away smoothly and with good power.

SO pleased this morning. Will just buy a new sensor when funds allow. :laugh:

Have a nice day everyone!
 
Finally got to go to the scrapyard this morning. Was hoping to find a new speedo cable,as the old is broken. OEM costs the equivalent of £75 at a Nissan dealer...

So off I went, found 2 K11's at the place (they were supposed to have 4). First one had already had the cable removed, and the 2nd one was so smashed at the front, that I couldn't get to the cable. Tried, but gave up after cutting and removing stuff, just to find the gearbox so far under the car that it would be impossible with hand tools.

Well, so much for that... One of the Micras was a red Super S, imported from Germany. Took out the instruments, which had a rev counter on black background, a decent Super S three spoke steering wheel and the rear number plate light/moustache. Got a decent price due to a crack in the glass on the instruments (can just swap for my existing glass). Also got a quote for an Almera airbox (cheap at £12), but didn't bring enough cash. Will be back at some point, as the Super S also had a nice rear shelf with built in original speakers and a rear spoiler thet could be used.

So, despite not getting what I came for, I'm pretty happy. Just need to tidy things up a bit, and get them on the car, and I'll get a few pictures up.

Cheers, Ulrich.

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Yeah...

Previous owner did a crap job on the boot. Had hoped to get a nice rust free boot of a silver Micra last month. But couldn't get to the place during its opening hours. And now it's gone. :(
Think I'm attempting to restore this one when the weather gets a bit better. Should be allright with a bit of prepping and quality primer/paint. Looks terrible now...
I'm going for a color coded rear bumper as well, at the same time. To match the front bumper.

Danish roads are really really bad for the cars in the winter. So much salt, it just eats the cars in no time.
 
Allright... Been a while since my last post.
I sold the grey rusty 1,3 LX in march. Too much rust and all kinds of problems. :-(

Went through a Peugeot 106 and a nice little Renault Clio 1,4 S over the summer. Eventually sold the Clio, and got us another Micra K11. :-D
This time I found a nice little 1,0 LX from 1994. It looked a bit sad, really dirty, hole in drivers seat, rattly back box, and a broken door handle. But it cost me only 4500 kr, which is around £500. 1 year MOT. Yay! Micra again!

After a quick wash, inside and out, cleaning of the seats. My wife stitched the front seat up nicely, and now it looks pretty nice.
Paintwork is excellent for the year. Only a little of the clear coat coming of the back door. Otherwise really pretty, and bog standard.
So, we're happy again. The car drives every day, starts like it was paid to do it after a new set of 'plugs.

Pictures coming this weekend.

I have plans of buying another - newer K11. Have had access to company Toledo the past ½ year, but we need two cars in the household. So a great excuse to buy another K11. :)
Looking at a sweet red 1.3 GX from 1998, Would look nice on lowered springs and wide 13" black rims. ;-)

Thanks for looking.

Ulrich
 
Considering another attempt of building a raised suspension Micra. Bigger mud/snow tyres, 3-4 cm higher suspension.
Does anybody have any idea which springs could do that for me? Maybe somebody tried fitting springs from another type of car, just to find out that the suspesion was raised?
It's going to be as cheap as possible, so no coil-overs or expensive solutions please. :)
 
micra_zps9d1c615a.jpg


As she stands now. Really dirty from all the salt on the danish roads at the moment.
The car gets driven over 100 miles every day at the moment. Always a pleasure! ;)

Better get her shampoo'd over the weekend. Also needs to get the door locks working properly again. The salt and low temperatures has made them a bit ... ahem.. difficult to open. Better fix it before I break the key.
 
Grr! Should've listened to myself...

Yesterday, while on the freeway (it that the correct english term, or the american way?), the car didn't want to respond properly to the gas. Kept stalling and so on. Felt almost exactly like one of my older Micra's defective TB (that had the usual need for a re-soldering). After 5-10 minutes, the problem disappeared, and all was good.

We've had snow and freezing temperatures for the last 3 weeks in Denmark, but last night the temperatures rose, and the snow started melting. I let the car stay outside for the night, instead of putting it in the garage, but all the melting snow and water caused some serious condensation overnight.

So, when I tried to start her up this morning, nothing happened. I ended up spending 40 minutes with my wifes hairdryer in the dark. I couldn't get to the third screw on the distributor cap, so had to loosen the other two screws, and remove the ignition cords one at a time, and blow hot air through the distributor that way. Who the hell decided that two clips wasn't good enough to keep a dizzy cap in place anymore???? I'd like a word with that man! o_O

Anyway, at last, the little red car started, and has been running fine since. Tonight she will be tucked in the garage, with a blanket over the engine I think.

I need to figure out a way to remove that cap, without first getting rid of the battery and fuse box. Any good ideas? Couldn't get to it with a small ratchet or a regular short screwdriver.

And, last but not least, I think we end up letting go of our little car. Our dog (7 months old golden retriever) is getting quite big... So the car is fully loaded, when we all go together. 2 adults, one 5 year old boy and the dog.
So I'll have to give up on the Micra, although we all love to drive it. Swap it for something a bit bigger (Golf size, but not a Golf!). Maybe an old Sunny or Almera, although they're quite hard to come by in Denmark now.
But... It will definitely not be my last K11. As soon as finances allow two cars, I'll have another one (or maybe a K10, that could be fun).

Thanks for reading. ;)

Ulrich
 
Startproblems again this morning. Even though the car had spent the night in the barn. :-(

Trying new plugs. Ordered these from my local mechanic. BERU UXF79.
beru_zps418e6abc.jpg

Wonder if they're any good...?

Also going to clean the distributor cap inside, and spray the whole lot with some electro protect stuff, to keep condensation at bay.

Fingers crossed it's not playing up again tomorrow.
 
Car running as it should now. New plugs installed - noproblems. A few days later the problem occured again. After wiping down moist ignition parts, getting it all dry and nice, the car started again.
When I got back from work, I sprayed the distributor cover and surrounding electrical parts with a thin wax based corrosion protector spray. That has apparently kept the moist at bay! :D

And great news! We'll be keeping the Micra, and get another one as well. We've decided that it will be better having two small cars, as opposed to one larger. So we'l have to live with the limited space in a Micra, but we both love them to bits, so it's all good. The next addition should be with us within the next week or so. Hoping for a late pre-facelift, or early facelift. Prefarrably a 1.3 (only downside is that I've promised my wife the newest, since she's the one doing the most driving at the moment - so she will get the fast, luxurious car).

I'll keep this blog updated as soon as we have another Micra in the driveway! :cool:
 
OK. These are the plans in the very near future:

Facelift (new) Micra:
Clean interior (done)
Air filter change (done)
Thermostat change (done)
New coolant liquid (done)
Oil and filter change (bought 5W/40 synthetic + filter)
New spark plugs (found Bosch Super 4's for about £3,5 each, so gonna try them. Will be here monday)
14" alloys with 185/60 tires. Bought a set for less than £40. (done)

Old Micra (red one):
Oil and filter change (bought 5W/40 synthetic + filter)
Clean interior (done)
Get new exterior door handle at breakers (saturday) and replace broken one

The new car drives absolutely fabulous! Even though it's the same engine as the old one, and they're almost the same mileage, the new one just picks up really well. There's less midrange hesitation, and just sounds freer and healthier.
I hope that I can somehow get the old one running just nearly as nice.

Thanks for reading.

Ulrich

EDIT: Just scored myself a hardly used set of 175/50R15 Uniroyals for around £90 (for 4 tires).
Will put them on a set of silver 6x15" Renault Laguna steel rims for the red Micra next month. :)
 
Hmm... not too happy now. Went to the garage to change the thermostat. Broke the clip for the lower radiator hose. And the shop gave me the wrong thermostat... too small! Bloody #@*{!
depu7yty.jpg

3e6u9uqa.jpg


On a more positive note, I picked up the 14" alloys for less than £40. They look decent, especially considering the price. They'll be fitted next week when I get the spigot rings and new nuts (for the wheels...) ;)

vamyzaze.jpg


Luckily, the shop is open tomorrow, so I should have the new car running again before monday.

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Disappointed... after fitting the 185/60R14 wheels, the car feels really slow and heavy. I guess the weight of the 14" alloys must be so much more than standard steelies. Extra unsprung weight... no good...

Will have to come up with something else. Smaller tires, or some other rims.

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Oh geez.. what a morning...

Getting ready to go to work, I jumped in the new MIcra. Wouldn't start... bummer! Dead battery. I think it's collapsed overnight.

Alright. Got in the old Micra, promised my wife that I'd go home in my lunch break to fit a new battery. Drove our son to kindergarden, and on my way to work, suddenly the car blew the belt for the generator...on the motorway of course...
So, with still 25 km's to work, and the battery light on, I crossed my fingers, and made it to work on time. Phew!

The Micra is now at the mechanic across the street from work, getting a new belt fitted in a hurry. A new battery is waiting for me at a shop nearby. Hopefully, I'll make it home on my lunch break and fit the battery to the new Micra, so my wife won't be stuck at home for the rest of the day.

What a morning...:eek:
 
Wow that really is unfortunate. Just bad luck I guess.. it'll be better tomorrow :D. Have a good day.
.. at least you've got two, eh? :p.
 
MaxK11C said:
Wow that really is unfortunate. Just bad luck I guess.. it'll be better tomorrow :D. Have a good day.
.. at least you've got two, eh? :p.
Click to expand...

Haha.. Yes, two defective cars... Great!

Kidding aside, they'll be fine in a few hours time. No biggie. Just a bit stressfull this morning. o_O

Cheers
 
Belt changed on old car.

Oil + filter changed on new car.
Pollen filter removed.
Distributor points cleaned.
Bosch Super 4 plugs fitted.

Looks like it has never been changed...
typevuby.jpg


That's it for tonight.

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Red Micra sold last night. Getting company car next week, so we only need one.

Bit sad though. Was nice having two Micras... ;(
 
About time for a change...

udy3e3ej.jpg


Just came home after a trip to Torbole in Northern Italy.
2 adults, 1 kid (6 y.o.) and our big golden retriever + tent etc.
Little car managed the Alps in style, no probs with the long climbs or anything. Even managed better fuel economy than usual! Between 18 and 20 km/l, depending on terrain. Very pleased. :)

Cheers.

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