Restoring Mikey "The Beast" Micra

[Calum]

About a year an a half ago me and my girlfriend were given a 1997 Micra K11 1.0 5dr Shape (AJ4) known as "Mikey" by her dad. It was a complete mess; it was covered in dents, painted different colours, entire body panels were faded to a matte finish, the engine was running rough (despite having covered only 66,000 miles), it drank fuel like there was no tomorrow (25mpg average), it had four different brands of tyre (all near to their legal limit), a stereo that did not work, and I am almost certain that it had not been washed or vacuumed, ever! It was generally just neglected..

Before being given this Micra I was one of the many who mocked people that drove them, laughing at them and saying "I would never drive a Micra!". Chances are, if I had not been given one for free I never would have bought one and would not be on this forum right now posting this blog.

As soon as I started driving it I caught the Micra bug. Considering it was only a 1.0 it was pretty nippy off of the line and handled pretty well (considering it looked like it was on stilts). Needless to say, I started fixing it up on the first day that I had it. I actually forgot to take initial pictures (probably because I never thought that I would change it that much) which means the first pics that I will upload are after I had already done the following:

- Washed it (sounds a lot easier than it actually was - it reminded me of cleaning a dirty roasting tray) and took about 5 buckets of soapy water to get everything off.

- Full T-cut and wax using AutoGlym Super Resin Polish

- Quick Vacuum inside and dashboard cleaned

- Topped coolant up (the reservoir was completely empty and the rad took about 1.0 of coolant)

- Replaced the fuel filter

To be honest I did all of the above and thought that was the most I would ever do until I could afford to buy something better (s15 etc.). The Pics that follow is what actually happened; I hope you all enjoy!

First thing I did was to respray the patches of dark red / purple paint that had been used to cover up poorly applied body filler.

First I sanded it down with some wet and dry (attempting to smooth the body filler as best I could)

Followed by a several costs of primer (note to self, never again shall I use Gaffer tape for masking, what a pain to take of cleanly!)

Next up was the petrol filler cap, which annoyingly had been painted over despite having absolutely no damage.

after smoothing and several coats of primer

Smoothed the bonnet (which had the same poor application of filler and dark red paint applied)

Followed again by several coats of primer

Then, after curing, I painted the rear section and filler cap in Halfords AJ4 paint followed by a coat of Halfords Lacquer (I shall never be using this again - Hycote is of far superior quality, especially the Lacquer).

Then I decided to take the grill off to straighten the bumper (as it recessed under the grill quite dramatically) probably as a result of it being driven into something or reversed into. I also managed to level the headlamps, which were all wonky. I also properly T-cut the top the bumper as well.

Next up I resprayed the bonnet (at this point I decided just to buy a new bonnet, as the current one was developing rust around the washer jets).

 

[Calum]

Alas, the bent bumper could not be fixed, next up on my list of things to do was refurbish the wheels trims, which in my opinion suit the car really well. One of them was broken beyond repair so after a quick search on ebay I got a decent second hand one for £5. They seem quite scarce.

Also decided to give the steels a quick spray to cover up most of the corrosion, and also because I had just had to fork out £150 for some Continental Eco Contact 3 tyres (which have lasted brilliantly - over 11,000 miles covered to date and only about half worn).

resprayed in matte black

Next up it was time to tackle the interior. I decided to take the seats out and vacuum the car thoroughly. This meant parking it at the front of my house where the extension cable can reach, time for some epic parking skills!

This pic doesn't really capture just how dirty it was.

I also resprayed the handbrake surround as it was heavily discoloured, along with all of the other interior trim.

I was surprised at how clean the interior came up, I then decided to put the seats back in after beating 14 years worth of dust out of them and removing a strange yellow powder (cushion fragments?) from around the rails and frame and give the car a polish as the sun was out (a rare occasion in Swansea).

I decided something had to be done about the grill, originally I thought that it was just very dirty but after browsing the internet (and coming across the MSC community!) I found that the grill is originally black and it was not dirty at all, just faded!

Decided to take the grill off, T-cut and respray in matte black

I couldn't believe just how fresh it looked afterwards (this moment is probably the point where I realised just how potential there was if I put enough effort in).

 

[Calum]

I then decided to change the gasket on the rocker cover as it was leaking oil, so i ordered some stainless steel allen head bolts off of ebay for £4 and a new gasket for £5.

It turned out that I couldn't remove 2 of the bolts at the back as the heads had been previously stripped and wouldn't budge.

I decided the engine could probably do with a steam clean at this point

I decided to take the Throttle Body off and attempt the famous resoldering guide to improve the rough idle and fuel consumption.

I thought the butterfly could do with a bit of a clean

decided to take the cover off the MAF circuit and give the board a resolder (note to self - always mark the position of the Throttle position sensor prior to removal) - without a multimeter its a pain to set up properly.

I sealed it back up with Granville Black silicone Sealant, then decided to de-clog the valve on the Air Idle Control Valve (AICV), I had no idea but this would cause me no end of grief later on.

After putting it all back together I decided to stick it back on the car and see if it ran any smoother! The engine looked much better after the steam clean, especially around the injector rail.

This is where the problems began. After replacing the TB, I started the car up and to my horror it was idling at about 2500rpm. No matter how much I adjusted the TPS and Air Bypass Valve (ABV) I could not get it below 2000rpm and was running super rich. I was due to drive to London next day where my girlfriends dad was waiting to see "how nicely I had adjusted the car to make it run more efficiently". The pressure was on!

After stripping it apart again early the next morning when it was light enough to work I found the problem. The AICV had obviously been taken off in the past and put back on without cleaning. This had created a seal made of dirt, when I cleaned it this dirt was no longer present, and therefore the was no seal.

Notice the rubber o-ring missing at the bottom of the AICV pipe, I popped down the local motorcycle shop and they gave me loads of old o-rings free of charge. Fitted one and replaced the TB, problem solved! I think I have never been more relieved, I genuinely thought I had destroyed the car haha.

Next I decided the car could do with a new Air filter, the choice was between a K&N panel or a Pipercross Panel. After reading a few reviews online I decided to go for the Pipercross one as many have said it produces a deeper induction note.

 

[Calum]

Old vs New

Also needed a Tachometer to set the idle properly, unfortunately I was on a limited budget and had to buy this monstrosity!

Wasn't really a fan of the chrome but it seemed the cheapest on ebay at the time.

I then picked up some Bosch Super 4's (later I also tried some NGK iridums, but the Super 4 seemed to work better in my opinion, the engine ran quieter and started with less fuss using the Super 4's.) I also saw EBBdudes blog and decided to leave them in.

Found a bonnet on ebay for £50 delivered, it arrived a few days later..

After a T-cut and a Polish

Took the old bonnet off to put the new one on, engine looks far better after the steam clean.

Then stuck the new bonnet on

I was shocked at the transformation, it made the car look far better than before, best £50 I have ever spent!

 

[Calum]

Unfortunately there is some bubbling on the NS front wing, the panel is severely dented around the arch so not worth a respray, guess I'll have to keep my eyes open for one on ebay.

Decided to polish the car up a bit to go with it's new bonnet.

The rear wing could do with respraying again, but I won't do this until I can repair the poor filling attempt.

A picture of the engine bay after tidying it up a bit

Got some new Mats for the interior and fitted a Sony head unit. Finally I can listen to music!

Polished it again!

Then I decided to invest in a Haynes manual. To be honest I have hardly used it to date. I get more, and more detailed information on MSC lol. It's still useful for torque settings etc. though.

I decided to repaint the rocker cover in red. So I ordered a new Oil filler cap from Japan to go on it. It's an Arospeed one, so not a genuine Nismo, but at £14 it's got a pricey feel to it. I would definitely recommend them!

 

[Calum]

Got the rocker cover off after chiseling the bolts with a hammer and flathead screwdriver. Then I found out that the Gasket I ordered was the wrong shape, so sent it back and got a replacement which fitted.

I then de-burred it with a wire brush drill attachment

Primed it (after each coat of primer / paint I rubbed the paint off the lettering with a mechanics hand wipe - a technique which worked quite well)

Then used some heat resistant paint I got off ebay, it has a lacquer finish already in it.

I think it came out quite well!

It totally transforms the look of the engine bay and the filler cap is a nice after touch.

Then I polished the car again!

After seeing several pics of peoples cars (mainly on here) with no bumper strips I decided to try the same. To remove them I used hot water to melt the glue and peel them off very slowly. Followed by Autoglym tar and insect remover. I tried Halfords own brand but it was useless.

Mikey then went into have its' MOT done. Not good, rear brakes are totally shot, cylinders have leaked quite badly and new cables are needed, £140 later and the car is fixed and MOT certified..

 

[Calum]

I installed some 1.5 watt single LED lights, they are the brightest that I have seen and give the whitest colour temperature.

I faced no end of ridicule about the Nismo sticker on the back, mainly because the O is red and it reads NISM from a distance haha. I still haven't removed it!

Got some new plates to go on Mikey. I used myshowplates, they are quite good quality and relatively cheap.

I decided to invest in a new TB as the fuel consumption was getting worse and the car would randomly cut out whilst driving. I decided the second problem might be caused by the distributor, but I thought I would replace the TB first as I had been wanting to do it for a long time and hoped it would cure the issue.

It cost £88 new and came with a gasket and a strange extra fitting on the throttle cable pulley area, which I assume is for an automatic. I removed this as it wasn't needed.

I stuck this on the car and spent about 2 days adjusting it using a multimeter on the TPS and adjusting the ABV until the idle was smooth. The old TPS sensor was not within the recommended resistance band so it was probably faulty as well as the MAF sensor. I couldn't get the idle low enough without choking the engine, so I took it on and off several times to adjust all of the stops for the throttle cam and wax state etc. and after many hours spent swearing and bruised knuckles I got it up and running perfectly!

The upside of all this is I can now take a TB off a car and refit it in the dark with no light, and the fuel economy and idle seems much better! On the downside the car cuts out whilst driving and won't always restart straight away, it needs prompting with some gas pedal to get it running. Guess I will have to order a new / good condition dizzy!

This is where everything went wrong.

Late one evening me and my girlfriend took a drive to the top of the hill near our house to meet our friends for a meal. When we came out the car wouldn't start, it turned over a few times and caught then cut out, tried again, same thing happened. The car then would just turn over and make no attempt to catch.

Luckily I live at the bottom of the hill and not at the top so we pushed it down the hill and parked it at the bottom of my road (the rest is uphill so we left it there).

After much research and attempts to fix the car using numerous methods including purchasing some Nissan Datascan software and wiring harness (in an attempt to clear the fault from the dashboard as it was showing fault codes 141 and 142) I decided that it was the NATS that had kicked in. I faced either two choices, replace the entire NATS system in the car or get a modded pre-Nats ECU from Ed at Fusion. I decided to go for the ECU, as this was not only cheaper but also far easier than swapping everything NATS related over from another micra. Ed was great and sorted me out with a ECU in a couple of days.

I went out, all excited in the morning to fit the ECU and some idiot had reversed into Mikey and cracked the front OS corner of the bumper (in an awkward place where it would be difficult to patch up), there were quite a few fractures in it. Unfortunately no CCTV in the area and nobody saw what happened, needless to say this was the last time I ever left my car parked off of the driveway.

Stuck the ECU in an engine fired first time (albeit with some coaxing) and I drove the car straight to the safety of the driveway. The dash lamp was still flashing however, this was solved by connecting the Datascan software and resetting the ECU fault codes. Thanks Ed! You saved Mikey!

This mod also highlighted one other benefit, the car no longer randomly cuts out whilst driving, guess it was a precursor to the NATS system going haywire... No need for a new dizzy after all!

My next issue to tackle was replacing the bumper, I found the bargain of the century on ebay, a BRAND NEW super S bumper (unpainted) collected for £15!

Lets get it painted! Used Red Hycote bodyshop primer to see how it works

Hycote AJ4 double acrylic paint applied

Hycote bodyshop lacquer applied

Now I just needed to find some driving lights (they seem to be super rare, but grabbed some off an ebay auction for £12 delivered, another bargain!)

After using some Halfords rubbing compound to smooth the lacquer and some colour restorer and Autoglym the bumper is ready to go on, not a bad finish considering I used rattle cans..

The two bumpers, if you look at the left hand side of the old bumper you can just about see the cracks..

Time to get the bumper on!

Oh great, this is where I found out that the brackets are different and too big to fit into the new bumper, after 2 hours of using a junior hacksaw and a hammer I modified them into L brackets which not only fitted perfectly, but made the bumper straight!

I then wired up the lamps using a Ring Fog Lamp Wiring Kit I got from Halfords for around £12, I linked this up to a switch on the dashboard..

I can't believe how much the bumper changes the look of the car, it looks really sporty!

I also treated the car to some Bosch Plus 90 H4 bulbs bought off ebay for £20 (not £50 like Halfords charge). they look quite nice with the LED sidelights!

I have also replaced the wing recently with one off ebay for £12 delivered. Much much better than the last with no bubbling and only some tiny dents neat the front.

I had big plans for Mikey from this point, I wanted to stick some Rota Grid V's on it and lower it and maybe find a wrap around spolier (which also seem quite rare). However, I really couldn't justify spending a large sum of money on the car, especially considering that it would never be perfect without having all of the small dents repaired and a respray.

This is when I found my dream Micra for sale on ebay by Shaf, one of the other members on here. It was a 1993 Micra Super S in AJ4 (my favourite colour) I went to view it and I was blown away, it was in absolutely stunning condition (both inside and out) and had a few nice touches such as rare middle spoiler, a nice drop (not too low) and some immaculate Lenso BSX wheels with new rubber on them. All the belts had just been replaced, it had been recently undersealed (Waxoyl). I am sure this car had been extremely well cared for throughout its life! It was also being sold with a set of decent winter alloys and it had a Toad Cat 1 alarm fitted which is always useful. It also has a middle de-cat which gives it a nice note (not too loud) and it pops nicely if revved in the right way.

I was tempted by his other car for sale (a K10 Super S in red) also immaculate and another lovely car, but I had my heart set on the K11 since the moment I saw the advert and I know them inside out by now. Needless to say I walked away with the keys and the drive back to London (a 190 mile journey) was awesome! The car ran as flawlessly as it looks! Pics of Mikey Mk2 as he is now known by my girlfriend will be up shortly, for now here is a sneak peak!

Mikey Mk1 will now be handed over fully to my girlfriend so she can start to build her own no claims bonus (she will be on MSC as well soon I am sure!). This insurance for the Super S is actually cheaper than my 1.0, probably because of the age..

I still have another week to drive Mikey Mk1, and I will miss it terribly, but I cannot wait to start driving the Super S! I am sure I will keep it in the condition I found it!

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and hopefully there will be more to come, albeit with a different car!

 

[Sdperkins]

Looking good

 

[MicrAde]

Good work mate Love the Super S

 

[Seb_]

Awesome topic!

 

[h701micra]

Its ace to see someone put so much care and attention into restoring "mikey" into its former glory. Well done

 

[shaf]

WOW!!

 

[MicraPRO]

Following this thread... Good work!

 

[Calum]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys Hopefully will have some pics up of Mikey Mk1 once he's fully finished (colour coded etc) then I can start on Mikey Mk2. I have big plans for him

 

[MicraPRO]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys Hopefully will have some pics up of Mikey Mk1 once he's fully finished (colour coded etc) then I can start on Mikey Mk2. I have big plans for him

See you and Mikey Mk2 at JAE?

 

[Calum]

See you and Mikey Mk2 at JAE?

Hopefully It's at the start of September right? My girlfriend wants to bring Mikey Mk1 to JAE as well. She wants do some work on Mikey Mk1 before she brings it though, still planning on dropping it 50mm or so and sticking some alloys on it. Might use the winter alloys Shaf gave me with the Super S and stick some Proxes on them (during the winter the Mk1 will go back on steels and I will use the winter alloys). It should look much better after that, hopefully we will do it over the summer.

Definitely planning on bringing the Super S to JAE though

 

[MicraPRO]

Hopefully It's at the start of September right? My girlfriend wants to bring Mikey Mk1 to JAE as well. She wants do some work on Mikey Mk1 before she brings it though, still planning on dropping it 50mm or so and sticking some alloys on it. Might use the winter alloys Shaf gave me with the Super S and stick some Proxes on them (during the winter the Mk1 will go back on steels and I will use the winter alloys). It should look much better after that, hopefully we will do it over the summer.

Definitely planning on bringing the Super S to JAE though

September the 12th to the 15th off the top of my head its going to be my first JAE too... Apparently its the biggest event in the MSC calender

 

[Clodo]

I actually love your super s, slightly jealous
I was so tempted by it myself!
Glad it's gone to a good home
Will be following this
Chloe
X

 

[shaf]

I'm still getting calls asking if i've still got the K11 super s for sale. lol.

But i'm chuffed that its gone to a good gome, and no doubt it'll get treated right

 

[Calum]

September the 12th to the 15th off the top of my head its going to be my first JAE too... Apparently its the biggest event in the MSC calender

It looks like a definite go to event if you are into Japanese cars I can't wait, it looks to be awesome!

 

[Calum]

I actually love your super s, slightly jealous
I was so tempted by it myself!
Glad it's gone to a good home
Will be following this
Chloe
X

Thanks, I can't wait to start driving it (and polishing it ). I hope my girlfriend doesn't find your thread on here, otherwise I will have to deck Mikey Mk1 out in leopard skin, I am sure of it haha. I like what you have done with your K11, it looks awesome! It's so nice to find other people that care about these cars too

 

[Calum]

I'm still getting calls asking if i've still got the K11 super s for sale. lol.

But i'm chuffed that its gone to a good gome, and no doubt it'll get treated right

I thought it might attract a lot of interest.. That's why I got in early and snapped it up

 

[Sabreena]

Yes Mikey The Beast will be mine in a week! Already have some plans for this (maybe some 15" tyres rather then lowering it)! So excited! Calum totally deserves Mikey Mk2!

 

[Shamalam]

I dunno what's left to say man, absolutely incredible set of blog posts. Cannot wait to see some more pics of Mikey v2 too. Bravo resurrecting Mikey though...

Sir, take a bow. You deserve it.

 

[mazza]

Great blog mate....good luck with the plans and at least mk1 has gone to a good home...

sent using the send button. .....

 

[RyanEllis]

this not up for sale on ebay a week or 2 ago....looks brilliant man was considering even selling mine to get it

 

[MaxK11C]

Loving this blog, best I've seen in a while. I love your enthusiasm. I look forward to seeing more .

 

[Calum]

this not up for sale on ebay a week or 2 ago....looks brilliant man was considering even selling mine to get it

The Super S was, from another member on here, its a lovely car

 

[giblets46]

Fantastic work on the car there, similar to the state my gf's car is in, already looking better, but shocked that the grill was supposed to have a black bit in, thought it looked quite good all red tbh, especially after a good polish!

 

[Calum]

Fantastic work on the car there, similar to the state my gf's car is in, already looking better, but shocked that the grill was supposed to have a black bit in, thought it looked quite good all red tbh, especially after a good polish!

Thanks Originally I painted it black to go with the wing mirrors, bumpers, door handles etc. but now that I am colour coding everything I will probably respray the grill in red as well.

 

[SK193]

Two really nice cars, they both look very clean I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with Mikey mk2. Are you from London or Swansea btw? If you're from Swansea then that's not far from me

 

[Calum]

Two really nice cars, they both look very clean I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with Mikey mk2. Are you from London or Swansea btw? If you're from Swansea then that's not far from me

Thanks I go to University in Swansea but I live in London. I am just about to move back to London because University has finished now, where abouts in South Wales are you if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Calum]

Hey everyone, just been clearing through old stuff before I move out of my house in Swansea to go back to London; I have a red bonnet (the one shown in the early posts in this thread) and a red bumper (the one that got cracked) going spare.

The bonnet is in relatively good nick (bit of dodgy filler work on the front that I resprayed) and the bumper is in fine condition apart from the fractures on the front OS.

If anyone wants them they are free to collect before Wednesday, message me if you are interested. I am reluctant to throw them away but they are too big to take with me and I am unlikely to ever use them...

 

[Calum]

Just some updates on Mikey Mk1; finally got round to colour coding the boot grab handle and repairing / respraying the bumper to get rid of the black strip and all of the cracks and scrapes it has picked up in its lifetime. Looks far better imo

Not too bad considering it came out of a rattle can, Hycote is pretty awesome! Still have the wing mirrors and door handles to do before all of the colour coding is complete...

 

[Dougyledds]

Such inspiration mate! Love blogs like these, cant beat the detail keep it up

 

[SK193]

Thanks I go to University in Swansea but I live in London. I am just about to move back to London because University has finished now, where abouts in South Wales are you if you don't mind me asking?

I'm from Port Talbot, was just wondering if the super s would be driving around this area to have a look at it

 

[Calum]

I'm from Port Talbot, was just wondering if the super s would be driving around this area to have a look at it

Hopefully I will be coming back with the Super S in August to continue at Uni. Would be great to meet up with a fellow Micra enthusiast if and when I am back

I never thought I would like the K11 in silver, but yours works really well, especially with the black Rota's

 

[SK193]

Hopefully I will be coming back with the Super S in August to continue at Uni. Would be great to meet up with a fellow Micra enthusiast if and when I am back

I never thought I would like the K11 in silver, but yours works really well, especially with the black Rota's

Yeah that would be good, it would be nice to see the super s in person Thanks, it only looks silver in pictures but it's like a greeny/pale blue silver pearl, it's an unusual colour, and my wheels are gunmetal but look darker in most of the pictures

 

[Calum]

Yeah that would be good, it would be nice to see the super s in person Thanks, it only looks silver in pictures but it's like a greeny/pale blue silver pearl, it's an unusual colour, and my wheels are gunmetal but look darker in most of the pictures

No worries, I'll let you know if I am ever back in town I've just started a thread about the Super S (as I am now keeping this one open for any work I do on Mikey Mk1) you should check it out!

 

[skymera]

Whats the "Nism" sticker about?

 

[Calum]

Whats the "Nism" sticker about?

You must have missed the post underneath

I faced no end of ridicule about the Nismo sticker on the back, mainly because the O is red and it reads NISM from a distance haha. I still haven't removed it!

Needless to say as soon as my girlfriend received the car it was promptly removed