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Wee Mighty!

EnterScott

EnterScott

Hi all, not been on the forum long but I might aswell start getting known some how!

Today I bought myself my first car, a 1999 Nissan Micra 'Inspiration'. 1.0L and 16v of raw, sheer power!
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It has a few patches of rust but can be easily smoothed over, nothing major. It has 66k on the clock and it runs smooth as and for £630 I can't complain!

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I will always call it a 'Grannys car' but I really dont care, if I modify it tastefully then I'm sure I can make it look half decent, plus the insurance wont rape me too much and neither will petrol money!

Plan:
- New Alloys
- Get the 'Inspiration' stickers off it and de-bumbstrip it
- Drop it on its arse, looking like a mini monster truck just now!

Not sure what else, the plan is for now is just to make it more my own haha :p

Will keep the updates going of Wee Mighty!
 
Great colour, always wished I'd ordered my first K11 in this colour :).
 
I did, it was a silver 2001 Micra S. No idea why I ordered it in silver as I prefer the blue, both the metallic and that weird flat blue they did.
 
Well not much of an update but I bought some matte black paint to spray the grille black and was going to get stuck into it today but I opened up the bonnet to see how to get the grille off and the nuts that are holding it on look like they would crumble if I attempted to loosen them off! Gutted! So, like I said its not quite an update but could anyone tell me if I could just spray the grille while its still on the car as long as I taped round the edges up or am I being a bit of a spoon in thinking that? :O Thanks to anyone who helps me out!
 
I would attempt to un-bolt the grilles... Even if you do that you still have to remove the chrome front from the black unit...

It's quite fiddly with the grilles off, so imagine it might be a bit of a headache with them still in the car but still possible I'd say!? The chrome bits clip into the black bit, get a flat headed screw driver and from the back carefully release all the clips while gently pulling from the front... That make sense?

Where you at anyhoo?
 
odd_ball said:
I would attempt to un-bolt the grilles... Even if you do that you still have to remove the chrome front from the black unit...

It's quite fiddly with the grilles off, so imagine it might be a bit of a headache with them still in the car but still possible I'd say!? The chrome bits clip into the black bit, get a flat headed screw driver and from the back carefully release all the clips while gently pulling from the front... That make sense?

Where you at anyhoo?
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I didnt know know the chrome was detachable, Yeah I know what you mean, thats all that would need sprayed anyways, cheers!

and situated on the West of Scotland man! :)
 
Some more of advice needed and apoligies if it has been answered before but if I bought the likes of these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-...arParts_SM&hash=item4cf41ee125#ht_3824wt_1271

would they fit on to the Micra fine?
Sorry for the novice questions but I need to find out somehow haha :p

The only difference I've made to the car is I have took the hubcaps off as they looked horrible haha , I bought some some primer and spray paint to give the steelies a quick tidy but haven't got round to doing it yet!



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them springs wont work fella, they are for a corsa. if its lowering springs your after then you will have to get micra specific ones.
 
hoopdub said:
them springs wont work fella, they are for a corsa. if its lowering springs your after then you will have to get micra specific ones.
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Right no problem, I was just curious because I know you can modify corsa coilies to fit a micra but I was unsure if it was the same or not with just lowering springs, cheers!
Think I'll go for the 40mm Micra specific springs then! can't find any thatll go lower than that haha
 
paint your steels white, lower 35-40mm all micra springs regardless if there 50mm dont look anylower than the rest lol. and a nice front splitter on there aswell ;) nice and simple.
 
EnterScott said:
Right no problem, I was just curious because I know you can modify corsa coilies to fit a micra but I was unsure if it was the same or not with just lowering springs, cheers!
Think I'll go for the 40mm Micra specific springs then! can't find any thatll go lower than that haha
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you can get 50, 60, and 80 springs off matt humphris
 
squarepants said:
paint your steels white, lower 35-40mm all micra springs regardless if there 50mm dont look anylower than the rest lol. and a nice front splitter on there aswell ;) nice and simple.
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if there isn't much difference between 35 and 40 mm then I think i'll drop it 35 , they may not look different but the price of the springs sure are! haha how would I get around getting a splitter that will fit it? :p
 
EnterScott said:
cheers man! I really like the look of the polo and cupra splitters! :D
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Indeed! The cupra splitter definitely looks the best imo! Polo and Laguna are a close second, and I had the choice between the two but went down the laguna route on mine :)
I've got some rover 400 skirts for it too but hesitant to put those on as I don't really know how I'm going to mount them, ideally I really want to avoid drilling up into the sils but I doubt ill manage to avoid it!
Also got a pair of primera gt skirts sitting outside in the yard, but I dont like how they look on the car so wont be having those on mine at least :p
 
Update on the wee beast!
I finally got a full day off work so I got round to de-bumpstripping and de-badging the car, also sprayed my grille too!

Next up is ordering these..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-Mic...ht_1420wt_1037


The tools of the trade! :p
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The back de-badged!
Before
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After
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The sides de-bumstripped and the hot wheels looking badges off!
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Dad decided put some badass looking stripes on the front! haha
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Looks a lot better than the chrome in my opinion! (ignore that creepy looking fellow sitting in the car!)
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Also, got a wee sticker for it! ha
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Apologies about the pictures not being to good but an update is an update! haha

Leave some opinions folks!
 
odd_ball said:
Looking good... Get those steelies painted! :p
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Cheers! Yeah, I meant to add that to the post that'll be next on the list, along with ordering some springs, ive got the primer and paint just need some time now, I reckon getting them scrubbed up would make a massive difference to the car! :p
 
Makes a massive difference mate! Take a look at my blog, THE BLUE DEMON, you'd be surprised how much of a different car it make it look!
 
odd_ball said:
Makes a massive difference mate! Take a look at my blog, THE BLUE DEMON, you'd be surprised how much of a different car it make it look!
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Your steelies look top notch! I've got a can of matte black paint that was used for the grille , I was thinking about just using that for the wheels too, you think I should just use that or go and buy a gloss black? :eek:
 
EnterScott said:
Your steelies look top notch! I've got a can of matte black paint that was used for the grille , I was thinking about just using that for the wheels too, you think I should just use that or go and buy a gloss black? :eek:
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It's entirely up to you mate, depends what look you're going for? I personally prefer gloss as they look all new & shiney then, but then matt looks good too, it's all down to personal preference...

Could always split the difference & go satin? One thing I will say... You're gonna need to buy more paint anyway... 2 big cans should roughly give you enough for 3 good coats on the 4 wheels...
 
odd_ball said:
It's entirely up to you mate, depends what look you're going for? I personally prefer gloss as they look all new & shiney then, but then matt looks good too, it's all down to personal preference...

Could always split the difference & go satin? One thing I will say... You're gonna need to buy more paint anyway... 2 big cans should roughly give you enough for 3 good coats on the 4 wheels...
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Fair enough mate, I reckon the matte would give it a bit more of a stealthy look haha :p cheers, its cheap enough to get a few more cans anyway :)
 
EnterScott said:
Fair enough mate, I reckon the matte would give it a bit more of a stealthy look haha :p cheers, its cheap enough to get a few more cans anyway :)
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Spray cans aways come in handy anyway, if you buy too much you'll find somewhere else to use them... Like the head-light reflectors maybe?... ;)
 
EnterScott said:
I was thinking about that actually, was looking at a guide on how to do it today, it's a good shout! ;)
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It's simple enough really and realy effective... All you need is a spare day when you don't need the car, an oven.... and an arsenal of sware words... :p

I'm guessing this will be the guide you've looked at, by davey1991:
http://www.micra.org.uk/threads/daveys-guide-to-black-chrome-headlights.44131/#post-456520

Just take all the bulbs etc out, pop in oven for a few mins & seperate. You can either mask off the indicator section or just paint that black too, as davey has since and I did too. No need either to mask of main beam reflector, as the whole chrome surround and indicator bit slide out sideways witha bit of persuasion... they're tougher then you think so don't be afraid of this bit...

Couple of suggestions though from my recent experience...

  • Don't be afraid of leaving them in the oven too long, longer they're in (within reason) the easier it is to remove glass (just keep an eye on them, couple of minutes tops). I didn't do mine long enough and the glue was like stringy cheese... very messy...
  • When prying the glass from the backs, try not to put bends and stuff in the back as they're a pain to seal...
  • Try to keep as much of the original glue on the light as poss... I scrapped it all off the glass and cleaned it, this isn't a problem.
  • When it comes to sealing them back again, put glass back on, put back in oven to heat the glue again. Press them together as hard as poss to re-seal, maybe even clamp them till they set. Then just put tiny bead of seal into the remaing gap...
The last one is the most important I'd say... wish I'd done it but learnt from my mistake. I used sealer on top of the original, hard glue and it took ages to dry inside the light and I did have fogging problems...

I did cheat a bit though and bought a second set for painting just to be safe, but only as I work nights so needed to defo have lights on thecar... but if you've got a whole free day and you don't need the car, theres no reason why you can't do it!... Hope that helps!? :)
 
odd_ball said:
It's simple enough really and realy effective... All you need is a spare day when you don't need the car, an oven.... and an arsenal of sware words... :p

I'm guessing this will be the guide you've looked at, by davey1991:
http://www.micra.org.uk/threads/daveys-guide-to-black-chrome-headlights.44131/#post-456520

Just take all the bulbs etc out, pop in oven for a few mins & seperate. You can either mask off the indicator section or just paint that black too, as davey has since and I did too. No need either to mask of main beam reflector, as the whole chrome surround and indicator bit slide out sideways witha bit of persuasion... they're tougher then you think so don't be afraid of this bit...

Couple of suggestions though from my recent experience...

  • Don't be afraid of leaving them in the oven too long, longer they're in (within reason) the easier it is to remove glass (just keep an eye on them, couple of minutes tops). I didn't do mine long enough and the glue was like stringy cheese... very messy...
  • When prying the glass from the backs, try not to put bends and stuff in the back as they're a pain to seal...
  • Try to keep as much of the original glue on the light as poss... I scrapped it all off the glass and cleaned it, this isn't a problem.
  • When it comes to sealing them back again, put glass back on, put back in oven to heat the glue again. Press them together as hard as poss to re-seal, maybe even clamp them till they set. Then just put tiny bead of seal into the remaing gap...
The last one is the most important I'd say... wish I'd done it but learnt from my mistake. I used sealer on top of the original, hard glue and it took ages to dry inside the light and I did have fogging problems...


I did cheat a bit though and bought a second set for painting just to be safe, but only as I work nights so needed to defo have lights on thecar... but if you've got a whole free day and you don't need the car, theres no reason why you can't do it!... Hope that helps!? :)
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I've got a large arsenal of swear words under my belt anyway so I'm sorted! :p

It was actually this one that I read..
http://micra.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=guides&action=display&thread=11

But I gave davey1991's a read and his guide seems to give better results!

Thanks alot for the advice man! It is a definite once the steelies have had some TLC (thats priority haha ;))

Also, this is totally off the topic of headlights but I saw on your thread you were wanting to lower your car 40mm and that's what I'm wanting to go down by but I'm paranoid about spending the money on the springs and it really doesnt make it look any different! haha Anychance you could show us a picture of your car with the 40mm springs on please? would be much appreciated! :D
 
Haven't done it yet... One thing to consider though is wheel size. If you plan at some point to put bigger wheels on then depending on wheel/tyre combo this effectively raises the car back up a little...

To memory, Lee is running 35 or 40 drop IIRC & his looks pretty sweet & I've seen it in the flesh! Check his blog, Lee's micra dot its called, little purple pre facelift beast!
 
odd_ball said:
Haven't done it yet... One thing to consider though is wheel size. If you plan at some point to put bigger wheels on then depending on wheel/tyre combo this effectively raises the car back up a little...

To memory, Lee is running 35 or 40 drop IIRC & his looks pretty sweet & I've seen it in the flesh! Check his blog, Lee's micra dot its called, little purple pre facelift beast!
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That is a nice little car he's got! He is sitting on 14's (i think) so if keep my 13 inch steelies and dropping it 40mm will that make my car look lower? and also what do yo mean by 'IIRC'?
sorry for the silly questions but if I don't ask I'll never know! :p
 
Make it look lower than your own car as is now? Or lower than his car?
I've lowered mine by 35mm and im running 13's, and it definitely looks lower than standard, but its only realllllllly noticeable if you know its lowered and stood next to a stock height micra, as 35 isnt the biggest drop by any means (although that could just be me getting use to how low it is now, and wanting it to be lower lol). It does however handle so much better with it being lowered :p

Also IIRC = if i remember correctly :)
 
CraigIC said:
Make it look lower than your own car as is now? Or lower than his car?
I've lowered mine by 35mm and im running 13's, and it definitely looks lower than standard, but its only realllllllly noticeable if you know its lowered and stood next to a stock height micra, as 35 isnt the biggest drop by any means (although that could just be me getting use to how low it is now, and wanting it to be lower lol). It does however handle so much better with it being lowered :p

Also IIRC = if i remember correctly :)
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Lower than his car because he has 14's and I have 13's and both on 40mm springs so maybe his would be a bit higher from the ground? :p (again apologies if it is a retarded question :p)
Yeah I know what you mean man, I just really need some springs it's sitting like a monster truck just now haha!
 
Well, I passed my driving test on Monday and I finally got to take it out a proper drive, I love the wee thing! haha

Not much will be getting bought for it this month because of insurance and tax raping me of my money! :(
But, On my days off I'll do some cheap and cheerful mods like like getting round to refurb the steelies and tinting the lights (maybe)
Anyone give me any other cheap little mods that you reckon would look good? :p

Once I get paid I think a stereo and springs will be first and foremost! Get it sitting pretty haha :p
 
EnterScott said:
Well, I passed my driving test on Monday and I finally got to take it out a proper drive, I love the wee thing! haha

Not much will be getting bought for it this month because of insurance and tax raping me of my money! :(
But, On my days off I'll do some cheap and cheerful mods like like getting round to refurb the steelies and tinting the lights (maybe)
Anyone give me any other cheap little mods that you reckon would look good? :p

Once I get paid I think a stereo and springs will be first and foremost! Get it sitting pretty haha :p
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Congratulations mate, well done! Was it your first test? I did mine in my own micra, was cool!

Er, cheap mods maybe bit more spraying, colour code the black bits on the bumpers & door handles?
Paint bits of interior? Just enjoy driving it & the freedom! Maybe go a scrappy, see what you can find, a splitter maybe, or some people replace the black plastic handle on the boot to a colour-coded pre-facelift one...

Oh, and could always use the time for a service... Oil, filters etc... Thats pretty important!

As said, well done mate... Now you can drive her you'll fall in love with her all over again!.. This is were you really learn to drive! :)
 
Those bbs are 5x120 pcd matey, no good for your micra. best bet it to check ebay for the ones that came on early E21 bmws, they are 6x13" with a low offset and come in 4x100

congrats on passing your test, added another chapter your life log book of govenment ass rapings :D
 

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