NeX's March Cabriolet Blog

[NeX]

Right, i have been pestered into getting this up on the net so here goes.

I picked myself up a neat little March Cabriolet over in wales for £1000.

for those of you who don't know much about the March Cabriolet here are some facts:
It was only sold in Japan so any in the UK are imports making them rare and a pain to insure.
they were first produced in 1997, and were all facelifts except some obscure models that looked like an Sr and were left hand drive, i belive this was the taiwan model.
only came in 3 colours, red green and silver. tho the taiwan one was white and they also did a jag version.

they had all the extras:
Power steering
Alloy wheels
Air con....why?!?
passenger and driver air bags
seat belt tentioners
1.3 engine
ABS
Vented front disks
electric mirrors
4 electric windows
central locking
March G style bucket seats, but with a seat lifter wheel on the drivers seat
March Cabriolet sill protectors
March Cabriolet mats
March Cabriolet shaped key
Unique rear lights
power arial
double din head unit with CD player (As far as i know its the only micra to come with a factory CD player)
seat belt alarm
key in lock alarm
Blue face dials with tacho
lockable glove box
arm rest and cup holders

tho there are some strange things they left out:
no Nats system even tho it is post 1997
no boot release catch, probably because it is convertible, if the car is left with the roof down the boot is still secure.
central locking only works from the drivers door, (no motor in the drivers door)
high up washer bottle even tho there is space for a normal one
indicators are on the other side (a jap thing)
no single wipe option on the wipers

OK here is how i picked my car up

 

[joesouthgate]

Good stuff (Y) Get some pics up with the LED rear lights and new alloys

 

[NeX]

Good stuff (Y) Get some pics up with the LED rear lights and new alloys

hehe working on it mate, i have a backlog to get through lol

 

[MicraFish]

Agreed!
Glad it's finally gracing our screens now though!

 

[Paul Smith]

Looks good what are your plans if any?

Let me know if you need different dials i know a guy that makes brilliant ones. lol

 

[NeX]

ok so i had just got my new car and i was very happy with it, but there (as with any 11 year old car) some problems:

first of all those alloys had to go, i don't like them they look silly,
the door had dropped down meaning the roof leaked, so i fitted new door hindges
the offside number plate light is intermitent
rear number plate needs replacing
i think the clutch is on the way out and the engine is very slow
offside tail light is cracked
offside wing has been repainted but is not perfect
car has many scratches and dings and rust specks
boot lifter don't seem to be working
arm rest wobbly and the hindge is damaged
some clips missing
ugly fog light had to go, also poorly wired in.
KPH dial has been replaced with a black MPH one
windscreen seems to have been replaced leaving a rear view mirror mount in the glass even tho the mirror is mounted to the roll beam


apart from all that it was in good shape, here she is with some of my other micras:

 

[joesouthgate]

I think you need a blog for the LX now, and update the GX blog lol

 

[NeX]

Agreed!
Glad it's finally gracing our screens now though!

hehe well its your fault i started the blog lol

Looks good what are your plans if any?

Let me know if you need different dials i know a guy that makes brilliant ones. lol

thanks mate, i am still not sure what i am doing with it, before i had it i had the idea of all black with cream interior and maybe a turbo 1.4 engine but now the march-ness is growing on me, so i may just restore it

lol! well i am working on these dials but the japs had to go and do things differently lol, its making it akward lol

 

[Robert]

Awesome!!

Mine came with a factory CD player?

 

[NeX]

I think you need a blog for the LX now, and update the GX blog lol

lol all in good time the Lx hasn't really had anything done to it, and the Gx isn't even in the blog section lol

Awesome!!

Mine came with a factory CD player?

oh really? must be a top model facelift thing

 

[joesouthgate]

well move it to the blog section then the LX has had a bit done to it!

 

[MicraFish]

Mwhahaha! What can I say, I'm persistent. :upside:

 

[joesouthgate]

I reckon it needs march g# bumpers personally

 

[Scouse boy]

Liking it alot mate, got some decent Micra's there mate...

 

[joesouthgate]

My car is probably parked about 2 metres out of that picture lol

 

[NeX]

Right so repaires were underway, i had the wing and the headlight off and the bumper just to change the door locks. me and MM went to the scrappy and i got some green hindges which i sprayed red and fitted, now the door closes perfectly

next i wanted to sort the rear view mirror so i took of the stock one (simmilar to a nissan sunny) and fitted a uk one. i was annoyed at how the jap one made everything look closer.

i also fitted a nice new leather steering wheel from a primera,

fixed the wobbly arm rest (screws were loose) and fixed the hindge too, so now its all nice and tight. i also took the seats out to try and air out the damp floor where it had been leaking which is a bit pointless with this weather.

changed the wheels for the alloys i used to have on the Gx and changed the rear lights to some LED ones i had lying around.

i have started work on doing a little rewiring to clear up the mess made by the foglight wiring, also fixed the rusty hole left by the foglight wire going through the boot floor.

oh and i changed the handbrake to a black uk one and whilst doing that i found the original cig lighter which had gone missing and some japanese money too also fitted a black gear stick gator and gear knob. i noticed that the march ones are alot lighter for some reason.

and one last thing i bought a mini model of my cab of ebay

 

[NeX]

well move it to the blog section then the LX has had a bit done to it!

lol i am not a moderator i will do them but i want them a little more finished first

Mwhahaha! What can I say, I'm persistent. :upside:

lol yea i will give you that

I reckon it needs march g# bumpers personally

i think it will have but we will see so many bumpers so little money

Liking it alot mate, got some decent Micra's there mate...

thanks mate you should see the cars that arn't in the pics

 

[danimicra8]

awesome i am soooooooooooooooo jealous i luffs them.

 

[NeX]

My car is probably parked about 2 metres out of that picture lol

we have to do a group photo some time

awesome i am soooooooooooooooo jealous i luffs them.

hehe thanks you can have a ride in it some time how about that?

 

[joesouthgate]

lol i am not a moderator i will do them but i want them a little more finished first

Don't have to be mate, click thread tools at the top, you can move it yourself.

And yes we need to do a group photo!

 

[NeX]

Don't have to be mate, click thread tools at the top, you can move it yourself.

And yes we need to do a group photo!

oh really? cool i will dig it out at some point when i have some more pics to add

i wonder if we can get the rally car in there too some how...

 

[joesouthgate]

I dug it out for you lol Yer we will take all the cars up by it and try not to get shot at/shouted at by the gun club lol

 

[NeX]

I dug it out for you lol Yer we will take all the cars up by it and try not to get shot at/shouted at by the gun club lol

yea thanks ¬_¬ lol

yea or fall off that little hill with the weight of all the micras lol

 

[capnmchl]

Those alloys look much better now. The old ones looked ridiculously small.

Ohh, and I'm constantly amazed at Nissan's capability to use the ugliest fabrics for upholstery, and this car follows that trend.

Looks good though. I want an arm rest/center console bit in my car

 

[NeX]

Those alloys look much better now. The old ones looked ridiculously small.

Ohh, and I'm constantly amazed at Nissan's capability to use the ugliest fabrics for upholstery, and this car follows that trend.

Looks good though. I want an arm rest/center console bit in my car

thanks, yea they were soo small and nasty,

lol well i like this fabric over alot of others i have seen, as far as i can make out it is a road map of tokyo which is pretty cool

hehe yea the arm rest is awesome, i keep noticing it and i love it

 

[MicraFish]

Yay more pikkatures! It's looking fantastic man - once I get mine we'll get a group shot of all yours, MM's and Mine in there
Love that little model too!

 

[NeX]

Yay more pikkatures! It's looking fantastic man - once I get mine we'll get a group shot of all yours, MM's and Mine in there
Love that little model too!

hehe yea that will be so cool you have to get a model too

 

[MicraFish]

I hope they do turquoise ones!

 

[NeX]

I hope they do turquoise ones!

i haven't seen one but i bet it can be painted mine was badly painted i may have to touch it up a bit lol

 

[Bash1989]

lol noooooooooooooooooooooooo that cabriolet looks lush lol i want one! hehe

 

[NeX]

lol noooooooooooooooooooooooo that cabriolet looks lush lol i want one! hehe

hehe thanks mate i have wanted one for soooo long, i am so pleased i have one now, i have been driving everywhere with the top down lol, its so cold but i love it!

 

[mullet]

im loving the key protector on the boot thats rad
really nice looking car too well sexy
looks quite spacious in the back?

 

[Robert]

Prefacelift it!

I don't suppose the lights you took off are for sale?

 

[squarepants]

i want it...nuff said

 

[richie]

i agree with robert, pre-facelift it!!

 

[pjg1979]

Excellent Blog here Nex, love the Cabriolet's.

I reckon you should invest in a lower Boot Spoiler I've seen them on ebay and I'm also sure there someone on MSC who imports that had a lower boot spoiler.

What sort of boot space do you have in the back? couldn't see a picture.

Also another idea is get some Micra Tropical (Or whatever ones are reddish) seats front and rear to match the exterior colour.

Anyway great car (Y)(Y)(Y)(Y)

 

[richie]

colour options...........
sorry, i was bored.

 

[squarepants]

Also another idea is get some Micra Tropical (Or whatever ones are reddish) seats front and rear to match the exterior colour.

you carnt as the micra and march seats are diffrent, the march ones dont have winders on the side, they have handles that you lift up (like civic etc) also the rear seats wont fit a presumme and the march seats are alot comfier than micra ones

 

[pjg1979]

you carnt as the micra and march seats are diffrent, the march ones dont have winders on the side, they have handles that you lift up (like civic etc) also the rear seats wont fit a presumme and the march seats are alot comfier than micra ones

How about ripping the covers off, maybe.

 

[NeX]

im loving the key protector on the boot thats rad
really nice looking car too well sexy
looks quite spacious in the back?

yea i love that little logo tho its comming off cos the boot is being smoothed, but it will still get used.

it is very spacious, seats 2 in the back with slightly more boot space than the normal k11 too

Prefacelift it!

I don't suppose the lights you took off are for sale?

WAAAAAAAAAAAAY ahead of you there mate

the lights might be for sale but one is cracked which why its not on the car

i want it...nuff said

get one they are all over ebay

i agree with robert, pre-facelift it!!

this is my goal, with the march G bumpers
BTW if anyone has SR alloys like the one in the pic, i am interested

Excellent Blog here Nex, love the Cabriolet's.

I reckon you should invest in a lower Boot Spoiler I've seen them on ebay and I'm also sure there someone on MSC who imports that had a lower boot spoiler.

What sort of boot space do you have in the back? couldn't see a picture.

Also another idea is get some Micra Tropical (Or whatever ones are reddish) seats front and rear to match the exterior colour.

Anyway great car (Y)(Y)(Y)(Y)

thanks mate,

yea i am thinking about a spoiler, but i want it to look stock and not foul on the hood either, just something small and subtle, i have a stock skyline spoiler i am gonna play with, and maybe chop up a normal k11 one.

its a really good boot, same as the normal micra, obviously without the height, but there is a bit at the back too as there is a trap door behind the back seats, i will take some pics later.

i am thinking of retrimming the whole interior in either cream or red leather, and then black flock the rest of the trim

colour options...........
sorry, i was bored.

haha cool i like the purple and the green

i was thinking either pure gloss black everything, as in black wheels, black lights, tinted windows etc, not a single bit of color, even a black number plate.

or maybe a satin red, like the matte red, but slightly shinier, or maybe just candy apple red

you carnt as the micra and march seats are diffrent, the march ones dont have winders on the side, they have handles that you lift up (like civic etc) also the rear seats wont fit a presumme and the march seats are alot comfier than micra ones

yea the seats in the march are unique to the cabs, and the rear seats have a trap door in them, not even the door cards would fit as the side pockets are more low profile....

How about ripping the covers off, maybe.

i don't think they would fit, the spounges are bigger. and the drivers bottom seat is a seperate part that can be lifted up to give the driver a higher seating position. the covers would have to be modifided alot

 

[Broony]

Nex i may have those alloys up for sale as im sticking some 14" steelies on son so i can get the GTIR calipers on.

 

[NeX]

Nex i may have those alloys up for sale as im sticking some 14" steelies on son so i can get the GTIR calipers on.

the Sr ones?

arn't they 14"? i am gonna try and squeeze some skyline calipers under my 15s lol so maybe i won't be able to have them....

 

[squarepants]

si four spokes are 13's dont know about sr four spokes tho...presumme there 13's aswell.

 

[joesouthgate]

yer sr alloys are 13s same as Super s alloys.

 

[NeX]

yer sr alloys are 13s same as Super s alloys.

omg tiny!

i may have to leave it then, depending on if i can get the skyline calipers on there 14" disk brakes lol

 

[Optispart]

QUALITY, love the model haha is that my bumper all wrapped up in the car
lmao, looks really nice anyway mate

 

[squarepants]

nex wouldnt skyline calipers be over kill? i wouldve thought 180sx (iirc some had 4stud same as almera) would be surfice? pulsar ones can lock the wheels up never mind skyline ones that stop 10000kg over 800kgs...as soon as you tap them barkes you will be out the window lol

saying that i find the standard micra brakes fine lol, just need uparted vented and grovved discs for a tad extra bite and to vent the heat.

 

[joesouthgate]

nex wouldnt skyline calipers be over kill? i wouldve thought 180sx (iirc some had 4stud same as almera) would be surfice? pulsar ones can lock the wheels up never mind skyline ones that stop 10000kg over 800kgs...as soon as you tap them barkes you will be out the window lol

saying that i find the standard micra brakes fine lol, just need uparted vented and grovved discs for a tad extra bite and to vent the heat.

blimey didn't know skylines weighed 10800 kg! I see why they need to be so powerful now lol

 

[squarepants]

lol you know what i mean there alot hevier than a micra!

all iam trying to say is a micra doesnt need big barkes unless your using it on track but thats manily for venting heat purposes... a skyline needs them for a purpose as there front end heavy... a micra doesnt, imo GTIR cailpers are awsome, anything more would be overkill tbh.

 

[joesouthgate]

yer but he has a free set of skyline calipers so i think hes just seeing if it will work.