Blog: Nissan Micra Stage Rally Car

[MikeJones]

Hi All,

I currently own a 1.3 Nissan Micra Road Rally car (can be seen here: http://www.micra.org.uk/threads/1-3-micra-road-rally-car.56529/), but a friend passed me onto a for sale advert of a F1000/Rally First Stage Micra which looked very clean and quite a decent price for what it was.

Always being a bit skeptical that photos make a car look a lot better than it is, I contacted the seller who was a real nice guy and took the risk of travelling 200 miles each way to go look at the car.

Cut the long story short, I bought it

It's currently a F1000/Rally First 1.0 Facelift Nissan Micra.

The Spec List is as follows:

• Fully Standard 1.0 Engine with Green induction kit and custom made exhaust
• Adjustable Suspension on the front with Bilstein shocks on the back and 1" Spacer
• All brake and fuel lines run inside the car with an adjustable bias valve fitted.
• Mintex Competition pads
• Full weld-in cage
• MSA Spec 2.25 Litre fire plummed in and hand held fire extinguishers
• Surcon 5-point harnesses
• Magnum Bucket Seats on adjustable seat rails
• Odyssey Race battery (fitted behind drivers seat for better weight distribution)
• Aluminium Sump guard with Fibreglass tank guard
• Flocked Dash
• Rear carbon fibre Drivers and navigators footrests
• Real carbon fibre doorcards front and rear

The car was logbooked in 2010 and has done 2 Forest rallies and 3 single venues. It has done 1,500 miles on the clock since it was logbooked, but the whole car has only done under 9,000 miles since brand new!


The plan was to Road Rally this one and sell the Silver Micra, but it might be a shame to see this go down the lanes.

It's a great starting car so I can build into something more.

To-Do List on it:

1.4 engine - Bought - Not fitted
Cams - Not bought
Janspeed Exhaust Manifold - Fitted
Vortex Exhaust - Bought - Not fitted
Paddle clutch - Bought - Not fitted
Fit BC Sportline Suspension all-around - Fitted
Quickshift type gear stick - Not bought
Strut brace - Currently respraying
Adjustable Panhad Rod - Not bought
Perspex windows - Not bought
Replace mudflaps - Bought - Half done

Here are a few pictures of it:

 

[h701micra]

An extra job
* Fit battery in passenger side boot area for better weight distribution

Good to see another rally car about

 

[MicrAde]

Love it....want it

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 4

 

[mas12555]

Awesome build but would be nice to see a harness bar in there just for your safety.

 

[karlj]

but would be nice to see a harness bar in there just for your safety.

Why? The harnesses are anchored in the right places

 

[h701micra]

Why? The harnesses are anchored in the right places

Correct but they're out of the 20 degree "preferred" area

 

[mas12555]

What H701 said.

 

[karlj]

Correct but they're out of the 20 degree "preferred" area

But for a rally first car it'll be logbooked won't it? So the people who check to make sure it's safe will be happy with the position of them

 

[h701micra]

But for a rally first car it'll be logbooked won't it? So the people who check to make sure it's safe will be happy with the position of them

That's why I said you're correct but they are still out of the 20deg "preferred" area

 

[h701micra]

 

[karlj]

This is what I've been going by

 

[h701micra]

Ahh I see its not exactly wrong. But the msa/fia change the rules more often than their knickers they get in a twist

 

[MikeJones]

Thanks for the comments. I would personally like a harness bar in there myself too, to be honest. But got a few other thing planned to do at the moment - and wont be rallying it until next year anyway. It's going to be a slow build, finishing off what was started by the previous owners.

100% certain it will be a tarmac car now too, so 1.4 class. This means i'd be free to change more things but need to decide whether to get a real nice spec 1.0 or start off with a 1.3 or even a 1.4 if I can find one.

 

[h701micra]

To be cost effective stick with the 1.0 class... upgrade all other parts. Then move into the 1.4 class once you've got the car set up
Just my opinion how I'd do it

 

[MikeJones]

After a long hard think, i've decided to get a 1.4 for it and go from there. I am in no rush to rally it, even if it took 18 months to 2 years.

Spent a bit of time looking through some blogs of other Micra Rally/Sprint cars and really like the idea of a 1.4 on carbs, bit of work done to the engine etc and a 5.1 box. It would then be quite competitive with the right driver.

First things first though, need to find a 1.4 engine..

 

[Skinner_87]

After a long hard think, i've decided to get a 1.4 for it and go from there. I am in no rush to rally it, even if it took 18 months to 2 years.

Spent a bit of time looking through some blogs of other Micra Rally/Sprint cars and really like the idea of a 1.4 on carbs, bit of work done to the engine etc and a 5.1 box. It would then be quite competitive with the right driver.

First things first though, need to find a 1.4 engine..

Hi Mike

There's a fella on eBay selling a brand new 5.1 CWP for about £350 if you like il dig out his seller name as its not listed?

Also for a 1.4 if you get stuck give Matt Humphris a shout that's where I got mine

 

[MikeJones]

Ah, yes, if you could please, Skinner And I forgot about Matt, lol. I've bought lots of things from him for the other Micra, hes a real nice chap. I will phone him tomorrow!

 

[Skinner_87]

Extinguishersfast is the eBay sellers name mate rally's a micra

Very nice car you've for for there fella, impressive cage!

 

[MikeJones]

Thank you very much

Yes, it's a rather well prepared cage. I bet it weighs quite a bit, but can never put weight over safety!

By the way, your blog was the one I was reading when I decided I wanted carbs. Reading your specs etc and listening to a couple of videos made me very happy indeed

 

[Skinner_87]

I was chuffed with the difference they made mate

Though I recon I should have gone for 600cc carbs over 900cc with the diameter being a bit smaller / suitable

 

[Rally-mad-harry]

I have a set of 600 CBR carbs here with throttle position sensor I'm looking to sell.

BTW that is a lovely car that, saw it out on a few rallies in 2012, minter

Regards Harry

 

[MikeJones]

Hi Harry, how much are you looking for them? Have the jets already been drilled etc, or still as they were originally?

What events did you see it on? I know very little about the history of the car, so everything you know will help me gather information on it etc

 

[Rally-mad-harry]

Hi Mike!,

Nice to talk,

Please see some photos of your car shot by Paul Hanley at F1000 Club, Cant think of anymore events this car did, unless it possibly started the Cambrian is 2012 too

http://www.formula1000.co.uk/site/index.php/club/galleries/2011-plains-rally-forest

http://www.formula1000.co.uk/site/index.php/club/galleries/2011-cambrian-rally-forest

Not sure how much the carbs go for really, they are a really tidy set and had no work down to them in the way of jetting etc., bought them off a friend who was going to use them on a yaris then I planned to use them on my micra, and have ended up using a different ECU system that is to run the standard inlet manifold instead, so looking to sell.

Give us a text or a call 07531 966 426 if you want to know anymore.
Cheers Harry

 

[MikeJones]

Thank you very much Harry, your help lead me to find the original owner and builder of the car. I still havent spoken to him personally, but himself and the other guy who built it seemed just as keen to find out where it was themselves!

A couple more pictures of it, meeting up with a friend in Road Rally spec 1.3 Micra.

 

[MikeJones]

Couple of small updates:

Recently bought a CGA3 (1.4) engine and some Bike Carbs with thanks to Rally-mad-harry!

 

[MikeJones]

Few more small updates, been on a buying spree and bought some more parts for the build.

Firstly, 2 pairs of brand new TRS WRC Harnesses:-

2 Brand new Quinton Hazel lower Arms:-

A Janspeed Manifold, with thanks to Paul Skinner (Skinner_87):-

A Vortex Exhaust:-

Helix Paddle clutch kit and thurst bearing:-

 

[MikeJones]

Can't believe how long it has been since the last time I came on here!

Since December, I received the new Bimarco Wrap-around bucket seats, done a few other bits and pieces (eg polycarb, vortex system, janspeed manifold etc) and finally made it legal to rally once again. I attended a day course at Higgings Rally School to finally get my rally licence and in April, the car done its first rally in over 18 months and my first rally ever.

The rally took place at Talbenny Airfield in Haverfordwest where we finished 39th overall and 5th in the 1.4 class and had a fantastic day.

6 weeks after, we then done Dale Stages at Dale Airfield, again in Haverfordwest where this time we had our own 1.0 class and finished 35th overall and beating the 3 other 1.0 Micras out to finish 1st in class! This was recently shown on the TV Show called "Special Stage" on Motors TV with a couple of clips of us, an added bonus to yet another fantastic day of rallying!

We have another 5 rallies left to do this year, but a new engine and gearbox is currently being built (with a few added extras ) to compete with the boys in the 1.4 class. Our next one is on Epynt, the Harry Flatters rally, on 27th July 2014!

A few pictures from last few months:

 

[Nissan_hut]

Where can I find a Janspeed like that, and for what kind of money?

 

[R A L L Y]

Hi. are you runing the micra as a 1.0 or 1.4. ta dave

I currently own a 1.3 Nissan Micra Road Rally car (can be seen here: http://www.micra.org.uk/threads/1-3-micra-road-rally-car.56529/), but a friend passed me onto a for sale advert of a F1000/Rally First Stage Micra which looked very clean and quite a decent price for what it was.

Always being a bit skeptical that photos make a car look a lot better than it is, I contacted the seller who was a real nice guy and took the risk of travelling 200 miles each way to go look at the car.

Cut the long story short, I bought it

It's currently a F1000/Rally First 1.0 Facelift Nissan Micra.

The Spec List is as follows:

• Fully Standard 1.0 Engine with Green induction kit and custom made exhaust
• Adjustable Suspension on the front with Bilstein shocks on the back and 1" Spacer
• All brake and fuel lines run inside the car with an adjustable bias valve fitted.
• Mintex Competition pads
• Full weld-in cage
• MSA Spec 2.25 Litre fire plummed in and hand held fire extinguishers
• Surcon 5-point harnesses
• Magnum Bucket Seats on adjustable seat rails
• Odyssey Race battery (fitted behind drivers seat for better weight distribution)
• Aluminium Sump guard with Fibreglass tank guard
• Flocked Dash
• Rear carbon fibre Drivers and navigators footrests
• Real carbon fibre doorcards front and rear

The car was logbooked in 2010 and has done 2 Forest rallies and 3 single venues. It has done 1,500 miles on the clock since it was logbooked, but the whole car has only done under 9,000 miles since brand new!


The plan was to Road Rally this one and sell the Silver Micra, but it might be a shame to see this go down the lanes.

It's a great starting car so I can build into something more.

To-Do List on it:

1.4 engine - Bought - Not fitted
Cams - Not bought
Janspeed Exhaust Manifold - Fitted
Vortex Exhaust - Bought - Not fitted
Paddle clutch - Bought - Not fitted
Fit BC Sportline Suspension all-around - Fitted
Quickshift type gear stick - Not bought
Strut brace - Currently respraying
Adjustable Panhad Rod - Not bought
Perspex windows - Not bought
Replace mudflaps - Bought - Half done

Here are a few pictures of it:

 

[MikeJones]

How quick time goes?! 2 years since its last update, some very big steps forward and very big steps backwards too... but lets get this updated in order starting from a week before Harry Flatters 2014.

Preparing for Epynt, a week before we took the car to Pembrey Race circuit to make sure all was okay with the car. After a great day and lots of fun, disaster struck when a braided brake flexi burst and we hit a banking quite hard with the N/S Front wheel.. a bit of bad luck, but if it had burst the week after, im sure more damage would have been caused..

 

[MikeJones]

Running upto the week of Epynt, a new set of suspension was fitted, ride height dropped, camber adjusted, a full set of new braided brake hoses and a N/S front Lower arm and she was ready! First time up on epynt, down on power (being a 1.0 coilpack fully standard)!) But great fun competing with another similarly specced Micra. Cant remember the results but we finished without a single glitch!

 

[MikeJones]

After finishing Epynt, a power upgrade was needed before the Mewla Rally 4 weeks later...

1348cc engine, group A Janspeed manifold, a set of Be-spoke cams and a brand new GSXR bodies from Japan (if I remember correctly) malgimated with a DTA ECU was the next thing to be done..

Gearbox wise, a 5.1 CWP was fitted into a 1998-2000 1LTR box and a Gripper LSD.. Lovely!

All went to plan until the week of the rally. Firstly a few gremlins followed by engine trouble the night before the rally.. end of sport and very unhappy!

Engine was soon sorted, so decided to pop back to Pembrey for a Motorkhana weekend. Car run faultlessly all weekend (minus a fault code appearing due to a Crankshaft sensor errer), very decent power snd fantastic gearbox and LSD setup. Even came away with a "Yahoo" Award for being the most entertaining car to watch! Very pleased!

 

[MikeJones]

The peak soon came and it was downhill from there (literally..).

A week later, intead of towing the car to work, I thought id drive it. Only needed a spanner check... when bang.. the gearbox gave up the ghost 120 miles from a new build... stripped the box to find a bearing was under too much stress or had siezed.. lots of money down the drain.. managed to save the LSD and sent it away for cleaning and to change the plating on it slightly, everything else was basically scrap metal.

Thinking where to go from here, a few phone calls later and we managed to source a Dog Box from Humpris of Oxford... so a nice drive to Sunny Oxford in October 2014 was in order!

 

[MikeJones]

Fitted the dogbox middle of October 2014, a little few changes here and there and finished it on a late friday evening. Called it the night and went home. Collected the car on saturday and took it for its first run in about 2 months.. but clearly my bad luck hadnt ended.. 30-ish miles later, the car looked like this:-

 

[MikeJones]

My first roll, my first proper accident. No injuries which was the main thing

First thing first, had a MSA scruitineer come check the car to make sure no damage was caused to the cage. All okay.. got in contact with a body specialist who made her look like new again! A positive from all this was that the car needed a re-spray anyway - so atleast that got done! Went for a Volvo blue in the end, slightly brighter than the previous colour with a very nice shine

 

[MikeJones]

After losing lots of intrest in the car, 21 months before the car finally got back onto the road. Looks as good as new.

Took it to Pembrey 2 weeks ago for the weekend, done about 30 miles competitively no issues and now awaiting to see what to do with it next...

 

[MikeJones]

Most recent pictues... mudflaps, door sqaures and a couple of bits and pieces to fit tomorrow then a Rolling Road session in the next couple of weeks

 

[Huggy444]

Glad to see this back up and running! Its an ace colour... Hopefully your luck has changed and all is good now

 

[Stonie]

This is great, something i've been thinking of doing with mine, more so to get it out of the garage more often than just a monthly visit to the local Oval track. Any ideas or pointers in the right direction? Cheers

 

[MikeJones]

Glad to see this back up and running! Its an ace colour... Hopefully your luck has changed and all is good now

Thsnk you very much Hoping the luck will too!

 

[MikeJones]

A few weeks have passed.. but still small progress have been made.

It went to Moselys Rolling Road for a full setup resulting in 131bhp, gaining 16bhp from its original map..A figure I was very pleased with! A noticable change in power delivery and power!

The car is now awaiting a new exhaust system as the current one has become a bit too loud! A common issue with Vortex Exhausts. Having a custom made exhaust to keep it nice and tight to the body

 

[MikeJones]

Some photos from the mapping...

 

[Huggy444]

Do you mine giving a brief breakdown of what's been done engine wise?
(or not if you're secretive )

 

[MikeJones]

Do you mine giving a brief breakdown of what's been done engine wise?
(or not if you're secretive )

Started life as a 1348cc coilpack engine. A set of Bespoke AutoSprint cams were fitted along with GSXR bodies and a Boggs Brothers manifold. Its then managed by a DTA s40 ECU. No head work, no skimmed head even. Ample power with such little cost.

 

[Huggy444]

As you say that's some impressive power for relatively little engine work!
Nice and easy to swap the setup over if the engine gives up the ghost as well