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Harlen's Black SR 'Kacey'

Harlen

Harlen

Dr. Zoidberg
Site Supporter
WOOP WOOP I'VE FINALLY GOT ONE!

I'm back in action. I used to have a red Micra Shape (http://www.micra.org.uk/threads/my-little-red-k11.38280/) but I had a bit of an accident and it kind of killed my confidence so I stupidly got rid of it. It's now in the very safe hands of Mov and chilling with an SR20! So after seeing all the crazy off the wall stuff he did with it, I decided it was time for another one!

Que, the black SR. 73000 miles and in fantastic condition. Bodywork is solid. No rust, just a couple of scratches here and there. Gave it a little polish after I picked it up today and grabbed some snaps for ya'll! A little boring right now but I have pretty big plans which should be set in motion next week ;)

But yeah priority right now is to get it lowered and fit the new wheels. Oh and I absolutely need a smaller steering wheel. I'm only a little bloke at 5"7 and it feels pretty weird having such a massive steering wheel on a tiny little car.

Also, the clutch and accelerator pedals are very very hard, anyone have any little tips and tricks for making them loosen up? It was only used now and then so I think the cables might be fudged?

Pics. Sorry about the naff quality but it was freezing and I couldn't be bothered to get the DSLR out.

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The rear looks wicked on the SRs. With a cameo from my old man.

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Sofa king clean!

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The Rotas I bought in the week.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome chaps ;) And R-REG, if you mean the pictures, it was starting to get dark and my iPhone camera is pretty turdy.

Anyway! Currently trying to decide between a Personal Grinta or Nardi Deep-Corn steering wheel, watching a few old school recaro seats on eBay, and I've sent a message to Mr Humphris about his lowering springs and panhard rods. No messing about, let's get this thing sorted!
 
60mm springs and panhard rod ordered! Woop woop, dead excited.

Something pretty awesome happened today aswell. Driving to my girlfriends and I thought I'd give the car a bit of welly to clear the system out. Suddenly I hear a massive bang at 5,000rpm in second gear, slow the car down and pull into my girlfriends drive who was luckily just up the road from where the bang happened. Check the rear of the car and I'm trailing a massive line of backbox insulation. Check the backbox and yep, giant hole sitting there smiling at me. Ripped the insulation off the backbox, thought 'not to worry, I'm planning on changing it soon anyway'.

Anyway got back in the car a few hours later and started driving home. The car obviously sounds pretty damn cool now so I'm having a bit of a giggle that the car has made itself an aftermarket sounding exhaust. The revs feel seriously free though, like i've fitted a pair of camshafts or a new air intake. I give it a bit more gas and the car is noticeably faster, feels like I've gained a good 30bhp out of nowhere. The car revs so much more freely and and gets through the rpms so quick now! Completely different car. I think that where the car had been sitting for a while something had managed to get up there and the good blast of revs had blown it out through the backbox!

Fantastic news. I feel like my little CG13 is alive and well again!
 
Good stuff Harlen, if the power gain felt that good, I'd say the wadding was blocking the exhaust when you first drove it. Are you and your old man stripping it and fitting a roll cage like the last one?
 
Guy said:
Good stuff Harlen, if the power gain felt that good, I'd say the wadding was blocking the exhaust when you first drove it. Are you and your old man stripping it and fitting a roll cage like the last one?
Click to expand...

Yeah there was definitely some serious blockage going on. Putting your foot down in 2nd used to be lots of noise and not much power, now you can really feel the power and weight shift. Totally nuts haha!

And no, not yet anyway. When I had the red K11 I was working full time so could afford a few extravagant mods, but I'm hoping to get a little part time job and go back to college soon so everything's got to be a bit more social for insurance purposes. Doesn't mean it won't be track worthy though! :)
 
Good man Eliot! It's a quality feeling getting back into a Micra :)

Took the car to my dad's place today to get the cv boot done. The front end is still making a bit of a knocking sound under heavy steering so I'll have a proper look this weekend when we're getting the springs done. Got a good look at the exhaust too...

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Yep, that's definitely a hole alright! :eek: Got an old RX7 3" exhaust and silencer in the shed I'll weld on this weekend too then!

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And this is what 2 days worth of salt on the great British roads does to your bodywork. Dying to give it a ruddy good cleaning but I know it'll end up exactly the same tomorrow. Ah well.
 
Made a couple of changes this weekend ;) Props to Matt Humphris for the excellent service and parts!

Car is now on 15x7 et40 Rota Slipstreams (195/45/15 tyres) with 60mm lowering springs. Also running a whiteline panhard rod and a new exhaust. I'll let the pictures do the talking!

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Right after all the work.

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No more holes. :D

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Car is filthy from all the salt and crap on the roads at the moment but as soon as it's polished up and pretty I'll get some proper shots with my Nikon! Absolutely chuffed with the outcome. Haven't really driven it hard yet but the ride is better than anything I've ever driven - and that's without proper fast road shocks.

Next up is a steering wheel as I hate the standard one with a burning passion. Then some Nismo parts. Thinking of doing a full Nismo replica as per this:

 
Ah sorry, should've probably mentioned I'm keeping the slipstreams on it - I'll be getting all the Nismo aero parts hopefully though.
 
mov said:
Oh! just seen this thread, looks amazing pal. Keep up the good work

and btw im rocking a SR20DET now lol ;)
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Thanks a lot man!

And I did notice. Your car is looking completely mental, in all the good ways :D
 
skymera said:
Love those wheels!

Do they do them in 13's?
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'Fraid not pal only 15s upward. Your car's looking so pimp by the way, haha.

Little update, due to funds (I'm enrolling in college soon and shall be very poor :D) this project shall be getting a bit more budget oriented and hopefully a bit more interesting because of that. It all starts tomorrow, gonna have a run around the local scrappies in search for a Laguna splitter!
 
Not too much exciting happening - This month I'm skint (paying for my Reading festival ticket in a couple of weeks :D) so I'll be splashing out payday hopefully!

Anyway, fitted my Kenwood head unit, fed up of having no radio. Also fitted my Vibe 6x9s to the parcel shelf, taking a leaf out of a few peoples books and using the original SR speaker holds to create a stealth shelf of sorts.

Old and new :D Now I see why the standard speaker quality is, well... ****.

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Went to Santa Pod RWYB today!

Had stupidly good fun as usual. My best time was 17.89 which is 1.4 seconds faster than my old red 1.0l! So chuffed with it especially as this one is pretty much standard.

Couple of snaps

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When I got in I found that my Flyeyes kit had showed up. Couldn't contain my excitement so despite it being freezing cold and 6 o clock I fitted them. I've done both the fogs but could only get a picture of one as it started raining when i finished the second. But it's a nice comparison!

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Lights Off

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Lights On

Anyone thinking about getting this, they're well worth the money. They come with a scalpel, squigee and a really nicely done instruction booklet too. On top of the really good presentation they're also bloody easy to fit.
 
Scouse boy said:
OMG I love this car man, reminds me of my old SR. Im feeling the need to find a black micra :)
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Thanks for the compliment dude :D

Grass is always greener on the other side though, I've got a bit of a soft spot for the red and blue ones :)

OH i forgot to mention! I ran into a chap up Santa Pod running his SR20DE+T red facelift Micra and we had a race :D He was rocking mid 14 seconds all day. It was a pretty much stock (to look at) red facelift with white multispoke wheels. If you see this, was a pleasure meeting you and seeing a proper nuts Micra in the flesh :D
 
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The rear is really getting to me. It sits way to high for my liking.

Buying some extended studs and 20mm spacers for the rear on payday and cutting the springs hopefully. The front is PERFECT but the rear looks so pants to me. Wish I'd opted for 80mm Matt Humphris springs. But I'm way too poor to justify paying another £100 on rear springs :p

Oh and I'm thinking of painting the wheels white.

Sorry for the sort of non-update, I'm just throwing ideas around in my head and having to vent my little annoyances with it. Hopefully it'll all be sorted when I actually have some money.
 
karlj said:
Mines the same 50mm all round but the rear sits higher than the front either need 60mm or 80mm at the rear
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Yep! I thought so, I imagine it was a design feature on the Micra to have it slightly higher at the back to account for luggage and passengers. Or I'm overthinking it way too much!

Anyway, I've just had a big old brainstorm and I have a plan of action for the next week and bit! Hazzah!

  • Update insurance and log book, changing all paper work to make the car a 2 seater.
  • Completely strip the rear. Seats, carpet, roof lining, radio, 6x9s everything is coming out.
  • Fit extended bolts on the rear hubs and space the rear 20mm
  • Cut a coil off the rear to bring it down slightly more (I'm not paying £100 for new MPH rear springs just for 20mm difference!)
  • Buy and fit a 330mm steering wheel (finally)
This should all be sorted not this weekend but the weekend after. So it's all hap-happening. Can't wait!
Oh and thanks Douglyedds! I'm gonna do the above and see what I think, fab up a few Photoshops. I'm in 2 minds about the black/black colours, half the people I talk to reckon they should be white, the other half all love it how it is. Even I have no idea. Haha.
 
Does registering the car as a 2seater classify it as a "sports car" on insurance?

I was unsure on my Fiesta so just left it..
 
skymera said:
Does registering the car as a 2seater classify it as a "sports car" on insurance?

I was unsure on my Fiesta so just left it..
Click to expand...

It depends on insurer to insurer - most places will classify removal of trim as 'interior changes' which covers and changes to the interior. So you could change the seats and steering wheel at the same time. I used to be with Elephant when I had my 106 and that's how they classed it. It also didn't bump it up much at all despite that being my first year of insurance.

I've also heard that some places will give you a rebate on insurance as they see it as less people = less distractions.

I've never really heard of any insurers classing the car as 'sports' based on only having 2 seats though. It's still a Micra, just because the rear bench is out doesn't turn it into an MX5 or a Boxter, haha.
 
Look what just came in the mail :D :D

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Gotta say I'm totally hooked with Flickr now too! I had a bit of an experiment with the photos I took, I'm still very new to photography but I'm well chuffed with how these came out. Now it's a bit brighter in the evenings I think I'll get my arse up to the meets more often now.
 
No fancy pictures this time, but look what I just picked up :D

It's well skinny too. Hopefully it'll hold my shapely buttocks in place when I'm driving a bit spiritedly.

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'Tis all hap-happening! Been running the car like this for a couple of weeks now. NOTHING compares to a stripped out car! I don't care how impractical it is, it's just so much fun.

I'm pretty happy with how the car is at the moment. Still just looking out for bits and bobs at the scrappies!

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I love the hell out of this car. :D
 
Looking ace mate, we gonna see you at all this year - Japfest or JAE :)?
 

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