Love_Whiskey
Super S Restorer
(Please bear with me - I am writing this from mobile phone so it may look ugly on a computer)
Hello hello hello, I'm Eddie Storer, and this is my blog for my '94 Super S. (K11, 1.3)
I'm going to try and start from the beginning with my photographs and try to describe every modification in a "DIY guide" style. This should help anyone with questions, although if you have any, feel free to ask. Your thoughts and opinions are welcomed from the viewpoints of engineering and scene points
I purchased the car in approximately May 2014. I bought it after viewing pictures on facebook, with no test drive and no physical inspection. I also bought it in the dark. This breaks a few rules, but so far it hasn't stung me too badly. Here are the pictures I was sent via facebook.
There was also a photo of the front crossmember, which was immaculate, however I have lost that. All in all a fairly clean and honest looker, so I promised to pay when it was delivered. (I did not get my driving licence until I was 22!)
So I paid the man the money, and hopped into my car to go and park it out of the way (off the public highway, I hasten to add...) and first thing I noticed was that A) a headlight was out and B) either the clutch was worn out or not adjusted properly on the cable. Nevermind.
So I parked it up, all running smoothly and forgot about it for a couple of months.
The reason I bought the car was because I already have a 1967 2.5 petrol Land Rover, which is not an economical daily, and I also have a 1972 2.0 petrol Triumph GT6 which is not an economical daily either. So I wanted a nippy hatchback with a reliable, rugged engine and a heater that worked and lights that lit up the road at night. The Micra seemed an obvious choice after I had my ear talked off about how great they were by a friend. (And of course playing Gran Turismo as a kid on playstation and racing Nissan Skylines)
Other things that swayed me to Clan Micra were the fair fuel efficiency, interestingly designed engine (all aluminium alloy, twin cam and chain driven being the main points) low cost and huge spares availability in the scrap yards.
So anyway, I had parked up the car with no intention of driving it until I considered it "complete". So that gave me a luxury of being able to decide just what to do. My background is a diesel engineer with the RAF, so I'm not shy to engines and tuning etc. I was first presented with the dilemma; engine - to swap or not to swap. I considered the usual. GA16 was too heavy and not tuneable enough. SR20 I personally felt was a little overdone. I wanted something crazy. Mad. I hunted about (Still in the Nissan stables) looking at importing an X-Trail and doing a 4x4 SR20VET conversion. Soon, cost added up to over £15,000 so yeah, I had to stop dreaming and get real. A new RB26 direct from Nismo was also considered, but I don't think I've got the ability to mid-mount it like I wanted. And that would have cost around £15k too. So I've made my decision, which is to keep a modest budget and run a N/A high compression, High revs CG13, with as much power as I can manage without too much low end torque sacrifice.
Worth mentioning here I carried out every service and maintenance I could think of when I got the car, Oil, filters (oil, air, fuel), spark plugs, tyre pressures, checked wheel balance and all sorts. Oiled hinges, locks and catches. You name it, I did it. The interior was a bit messy (stains, crumbs, fluff and such) so that was washed, scrubbed, hoovered and cleaned with detergent sprays to lift 20 years of grime from the corners and stuff. Now it all seems brighter and the colours in the weave of the seats stand out better.
So having settled on an engine and a method of tuning, I did a few things. Firstly I went a bit eBay mad and just bought loads of tacky, cheap rubbish. A lot of that did not get fitted. But in the process I was learning about what kind of wheel and suspension options there were, as well as brakes. As far as exterior modifications go, I wanted this to be a subtle yet visibly "not stock" kind of car.
In my first ever copy of Banzai mag that I bought many years ago, there was a skyline GTS-t that I thought had been really tastefully done. Lots of complex work and betterment underneath, without spoiling the comfort of the car by ripping the interior out, or making it too stiff to drive normally. The guy had designed it as a tribute to the legendary Nismo models, the 270R, S-Tune and 400R to name a few. He'd even had custom decals made to name his creation "340S" or something like that (where 340 was the BHP of the car)
I decided this was to be a major influence. I wanted to focus on a factory-level of quality and design to the modifications, whilst still aiming for performance.
So, as aforementioned I bought lots of cheap stuff off eBay. A red alumite "momo" gearknob which seems a little lacking in quality... Probably fake. Generic cheap suede rim, red alumite, 3 spoke, deep dish steering wheel, and a "Sparco" quick release steering wheel boss adapter (this too was cheap, lacking in quality and has a lot of play in it, not ideal in a steering mechanism, probably fake) as well as a short boss for adapting the column splines. I bought a "Carbon fibre Nismo" horn button too, from America. No idea if it's genuine or not. And of course a red Oil Filler cap.
So I like red, red is a theme for this car, with the "o" in Nismo being red, why not? See below for cheap tacky stuff fitted photo;
Also when I purchased the car there was no radio of any description fitted. A good friend of mine provided a "period" (read: old) kenwood unit complete with cassette tape player. That was a simple plug in, however, I would later learn my battery feed was not working and the radio memory did not work as a result.
Around this time I also bought NodSpeed's range of items - front brace, panhard and rear brace. When I bought stuff they didn't yet do DeCats, but I'll probably get one in the future for off-the-road purposes. Only the front has currently been painted (Nissan AJ4, halfords) and given a NodSpeed decal and lacquered. I've fitted it but so far neglected to take a picture. The others await painting and fitment.
I bought myself a preface grille and followed a guide on this forum to cut it out Nismo Style, this is awaiting paint and some mesh. Here it is as it stands...
I also bought a set of SR clocks to fit, though I had to adjust the mileage and removed the airbag lamp. Here's a guide thread I made on the subject;
https://www.micra.org.uk/threads/guide-how-to-change-your-mileage.60955/
So while I had been pottering about doing these few bits, I also learned quite a lot about the car's brakes and suspension and how they work in particular relation to the Micra. A lot of reading suggested that standard brakes with good quality and condition discs/pads such as Mintex or EBC would be more than sufficient for spirited road use, given that this car is without ABS. One thing I absolutely abhorred though was the amount of roll in the standard suspension setup. Andy Gray at Bright Spark Racing (of H701 Micra fame) did me a deal on a set of performance gas adjustable coilovers. Below is a picture of the set (not yet fitted) plus a couple of general pictures of the car in stock glory.
I am now well into the planning/acquiring parts stages. I've bought some tasteful stickers, but not too many. But mainly, I recently had a chat with Matt Humphris at the Humphris Oxford Nissan dealer. He provides and runs a great service for a lot of Micra Rallying enthusiasts. The result was I spent hard dough on a few bits.
A set of forged 1.0 pistons with valve recesses including rings - I went forged because they are lighter and I wanted to be sure of the quality and wear of the item as well as an investment - if I get bored of this build I could boost a 1.0... (picture below this list)
A "Group A" airbox - which I bought mainly for the ram air effect I thought it would offer
An entire engine rebuild kit with all gaskets, seals etc.
A set of four NGK iridium spark plugs - I have read that these work well in boosted applications but to my mind with a high compression NA setup then cylinder conditions would be similar to a low boost engine (more compression, denser and higher temperatures) but we'll see if these plugs are too hot or not.
A set of four Magnecor KV85 (Red cable) HT leads - I use a set on my GT6 and they are great, as well as being red!
Also there was a donor Engine, because I wanted to be able to work on the engine very carefully and slowly and not do a rush job, so it will sit on a stand in my garage for a while. It's just a normal CG13.
While I waited for a few bits to turn up, I also fitted a set of clear side repeaters (the indicators in the front wings) which really blend in better with this being a white car. I also gained an interior fuse box cover, as the car lacked one when I bought it. I changed the header tank after I poked a hole in mine trying to check the level.
So I already have a lot of pieces to be working on. Future plans/ideas include;
Exhaust. Full stainless JanSpeed system, 4-2-1 and a sports Cat. Hoping that will be emissions legal.
Cams. I want a 270 Degree set of cams. Any wilder and I will likely lose low end torque and idle terribly. Seen a set by Piper Cams which sound great but are lots of money.
Valves. Lighten or machine valves for better flow and higher revs. Try to source dual springs.
Nistune ECU daughter board and Map by Fusion Motorsport.
Hello hello hello, I'm Eddie Storer, and this is my blog for my '94 Super S. (K11, 1.3)
I'm going to try and start from the beginning with my photographs and try to describe every modification in a "DIY guide" style. This should help anyone with questions, although if you have any, feel free to ask. Your thoughts and opinions are welcomed from the viewpoints of engineering and scene points
I purchased the car in approximately May 2014. I bought it after viewing pictures on facebook, with no test drive and no physical inspection. I also bought it in the dark. This breaks a few rules, but so far it hasn't stung me too badly. Here are the pictures I was sent via facebook.
There was also a photo of the front crossmember, which was immaculate, however I have lost that. All in all a fairly clean and honest looker, so I promised to pay when it was delivered. (I did not get my driving licence until I was 22!)
So I paid the man the money, and hopped into my car to go and park it out of the way (off the public highway, I hasten to add...) and first thing I noticed was that A) a headlight was out and B) either the clutch was worn out or not adjusted properly on the cable. Nevermind.
So I parked it up, all running smoothly and forgot about it for a couple of months.
The reason I bought the car was because I already have a 1967 2.5 petrol Land Rover, which is not an economical daily, and I also have a 1972 2.0 petrol Triumph GT6 which is not an economical daily either. So I wanted a nippy hatchback with a reliable, rugged engine and a heater that worked and lights that lit up the road at night. The Micra seemed an obvious choice after I had my ear talked off about how great they were by a friend. (And of course playing Gran Turismo as a kid on playstation and racing Nissan Skylines)
Other things that swayed me to Clan Micra were the fair fuel efficiency, interestingly designed engine (all aluminium alloy, twin cam and chain driven being the main points) low cost and huge spares availability in the scrap yards.
So anyway, I had parked up the car with no intention of driving it until I considered it "complete". So that gave me a luxury of being able to decide just what to do. My background is a diesel engineer with the RAF, so I'm not shy to engines and tuning etc. I was first presented with the dilemma; engine - to swap or not to swap. I considered the usual. GA16 was too heavy and not tuneable enough. SR20 I personally felt was a little overdone. I wanted something crazy. Mad. I hunted about (Still in the Nissan stables) looking at importing an X-Trail and doing a 4x4 SR20VET conversion. Soon, cost added up to over £15,000 so yeah, I had to stop dreaming and get real. A new RB26 direct from Nismo was also considered, but I don't think I've got the ability to mid-mount it like I wanted. And that would have cost around £15k too. So I've made my decision, which is to keep a modest budget and run a N/A high compression, High revs CG13, with as much power as I can manage without too much low end torque sacrifice.
Worth mentioning here I carried out every service and maintenance I could think of when I got the car, Oil, filters (oil, air, fuel), spark plugs, tyre pressures, checked wheel balance and all sorts. Oiled hinges, locks and catches. You name it, I did it. The interior was a bit messy (stains, crumbs, fluff and such) so that was washed, scrubbed, hoovered and cleaned with detergent sprays to lift 20 years of grime from the corners and stuff. Now it all seems brighter and the colours in the weave of the seats stand out better.
So having settled on an engine and a method of tuning, I did a few things. Firstly I went a bit eBay mad and just bought loads of tacky, cheap rubbish. A lot of that did not get fitted. But in the process I was learning about what kind of wheel and suspension options there were, as well as brakes. As far as exterior modifications go, I wanted this to be a subtle yet visibly "not stock" kind of car.
In my first ever copy of Banzai mag that I bought many years ago, there was a skyline GTS-t that I thought had been really tastefully done. Lots of complex work and betterment underneath, without spoiling the comfort of the car by ripping the interior out, or making it too stiff to drive normally. The guy had designed it as a tribute to the legendary Nismo models, the 270R, S-Tune and 400R to name a few. He'd even had custom decals made to name his creation "340S" or something like that (where 340 was the BHP of the car)
I decided this was to be a major influence. I wanted to focus on a factory-level of quality and design to the modifications, whilst still aiming for performance.
So, as aforementioned I bought lots of cheap stuff off eBay. A red alumite "momo" gearknob which seems a little lacking in quality... Probably fake. Generic cheap suede rim, red alumite, 3 spoke, deep dish steering wheel, and a "Sparco" quick release steering wheel boss adapter (this too was cheap, lacking in quality and has a lot of play in it, not ideal in a steering mechanism, probably fake) as well as a short boss for adapting the column splines. I bought a "Carbon fibre Nismo" horn button too, from America. No idea if it's genuine or not. And of course a red Oil Filler cap.
So I like red, red is a theme for this car, with the "o" in Nismo being red, why not? See below for cheap tacky stuff fitted photo;
Also when I purchased the car there was no radio of any description fitted. A good friend of mine provided a "period" (read: old) kenwood unit complete with cassette tape player. That was a simple plug in, however, I would later learn my battery feed was not working and the radio memory did not work as a result.
Around this time I also bought NodSpeed's range of items - front brace, panhard and rear brace. When I bought stuff they didn't yet do DeCats, but I'll probably get one in the future for off-the-road purposes. Only the front has currently been painted (Nissan AJ4, halfords) and given a NodSpeed decal and lacquered. I've fitted it but so far neglected to take a picture. The others await painting and fitment.
I bought myself a preface grille and followed a guide on this forum to cut it out Nismo Style, this is awaiting paint and some mesh. Here it is as it stands...
I also bought a set of SR clocks to fit, though I had to adjust the mileage and removed the airbag lamp. Here's a guide thread I made on the subject;
https://www.micra.org.uk/threads/guide-how-to-change-your-mileage.60955/
So while I had been pottering about doing these few bits, I also learned quite a lot about the car's brakes and suspension and how they work in particular relation to the Micra. A lot of reading suggested that standard brakes with good quality and condition discs/pads such as Mintex or EBC would be more than sufficient for spirited road use, given that this car is without ABS. One thing I absolutely abhorred though was the amount of roll in the standard suspension setup. Andy Gray at Bright Spark Racing (of H701 Micra fame) did me a deal on a set of performance gas adjustable coilovers. Below is a picture of the set (not yet fitted) plus a couple of general pictures of the car in stock glory.
I am now well into the planning/acquiring parts stages. I've bought some tasteful stickers, but not too many. But mainly, I recently had a chat with Matt Humphris at the Humphris Oxford Nissan dealer. He provides and runs a great service for a lot of Micra Rallying enthusiasts. The result was I spent hard dough on a few bits.
A set of forged 1.0 pistons with valve recesses including rings - I went forged because they are lighter and I wanted to be sure of the quality and wear of the item as well as an investment - if I get bored of this build I could boost a 1.0... (picture below this list)
A "Group A" airbox - which I bought mainly for the ram air effect I thought it would offer
An entire engine rebuild kit with all gaskets, seals etc.
A set of four NGK iridium spark plugs - I have read that these work well in boosted applications but to my mind with a high compression NA setup then cylinder conditions would be similar to a low boost engine (more compression, denser and higher temperatures) but we'll see if these plugs are too hot or not.
A set of four Magnecor KV85 (Red cable) HT leads - I use a set on my GT6 and they are great, as well as being red!
Also there was a donor Engine, because I wanted to be able to work on the engine very carefully and slowly and not do a rush job, so it will sit on a stand in my garage for a while. It's just a normal CG13.
While I waited for a few bits to turn up, I also fitted a set of clear side repeaters (the indicators in the front wings) which really blend in better with this being a white car. I also gained an interior fuse box cover, as the car lacked one when I bought it. I changed the header tank after I poked a hole in mine trying to check the level.
So I already have a lot of pieces to be working on. Future plans/ideas include;
Exhaust. Full stainless JanSpeed system, 4-2-1 and a sports Cat. Hoping that will be emissions legal.
Cams. I want a 270 Degree set of cams. Any wilder and I will likely lose low end torque and idle terribly. Seen a set by Piper Cams which sound great but are lots of money.
Valves. Lighten or machine valves for better flow and higher revs. Try to source dual springs.
Nistune ECU daughter board and Map by Fusion Motorsport.
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