2002 1.4 Sport+ 5dr conversion project

Hello!
I've been in these forums for quite some time but I haven't really had any reason to post anything, I've had a black 1999 1.3 5dr in completely stock condition (one on my profile pic) in great condition, for about 20 months now, been very happy with it, until about a week ago, when I got hit in the back, badly, at a red light by a brand new Mercedes GLC 350, by a guy who said he had "put the car in some auto braking mode" but it didn't stop or something. So now while I'm waiting for the insurance to cover most of my car's price (cuz it's pretty much totaled, looks like the whole body is slightly bent, both right doors can't open), I went on to search for some other Micras, and I saw a really good listing for a RHD one (I live in a LHD country) and I thought I'd have a look at it at least because the price of it was very good.

So I went today and got a good look at the car, it's got a GB registration atm, it's imported from the UK, and it's in really great condition, 71k miles on it, red color, 2002 1.4 Sport+ stock, with its original wheels and everything. The clear-coat's been chipped a in some places on the roof, it's been sitting in the sun for a while it seems, but all else (apart from a few other small paint chips and slight paint discoloration) is great. Seats, wheel, handling, engine, everything is great, it was really worth the money, so I thought I'd be able to convert it to LHD somehow with parts from my old Micra (was gonna throw most parts away anyway, if they couldn't sell quick).

So that's basically what I'll be posting here in some days, maybe a week or so, as soon as the insurance writes my old car off, I think it'll be an interesting experience, I hope I'll be able to make the change difficult to notice after everything's done, got quite a lot to swap I think. The main deal is that the current dash is black(ish) as it's the Sport+ version, with the doors and the wheel, but I'll need to change the top of the doors (because of the window switches), as well as the whole dash, so I hope it'll still look OK.
I'll post some pictures of the car in the next days.

Just one more thing to add, drove it on the way home today, about 100km's and I am so impressed with the way it handles, it completely blew me away, didn't think the difference would be so great, it's got a different suspension I think, has red springs, as well as red front calipers and rear drums, suspension looks slightly raised and drives noticeably stiffer and more stable. Also the difference the CGA3DE makes is very noticeable (may also be because the TPS on my old micra doesn't work), engine is slightly louder and punchier as well.
 
Last edited:
First pic from today night, the bonnet's been repainted because of some rust, you can see the difference on the side, with discoloration from the sun
20190117_192843.jpg
 
Okay a few more pictures I took today, the weather these days has been absolutely awful.
I found some info on the documents and it has been first registered in 01.01.2002, the last year for these beasts.

I'm guessing that these Sport+ variants are kind of rare? Because I searched for them online and only found about a few pics, and only one single video of a left hand drive one, so I just wanted to share one in case anyone has any questions or interest into their differences, because they indeed have a few. Or just to get more material of them out there on the web.


2.jpg



The bonnet has been changed and repainted it seems, the grills are from a pre-face 1999-2000 k11 so it doesn't match, but I'll change it anyways because of rust underneath it. We swapped out the headlights with my old crashed 1999 k11, because the originals were beaming towards the oncoming traffic. Will buy some second hand facelift ones tho as soon as I can.


3.jpg



The paint on it has discoloured from sitting in the sun, tho all the rubber seals are really great.


4.jpg



5.jpg



The paint on the roof's in pretty bad condition, the clearcoat's chipped off a loooot, and there's just a little bit of slight rust forming where the paint has chipper around the plastic railings on it. The sunroof's in great shape, already tested it in sort of heavy rain, and it doesn't leak, all 4 draining tubes under it work well.


6.jpg



Interior is pretty much original, apart from the gear shift knob, but I've got a leather one from my other Micra so that's okay, and this one's pretty good too. Interesting how these seats feel harder and more supportive, than the normal Micra ones, the difference is not substantial but it's still very noticeable. That's the first original armrest I've seen in a Micra (at least that's what the owner claimed, but it does look authentic, the colors match and it bolts straight on to the floor behind the handbrake perfectly. It's only somewhat in the way when you're putting on seatbelts, but otherwise feels very comfortable and stable (the leather on it is actually soft, there's some amount of foam under it).
Only the middle console cover is silver instead of black as in the picture, because I swapped this one straight over with the radio from my old car.
I personally think that the dash on it looks great, in person looks a lot better than in this picture, it's significantly darker than the normal one, and I really hope one day I can buy an original LHD one from another Sport+, because I think the normal light gray I've got will kind of spoil the color matching inside. That's the only thing actually which makes me want to keep the wheel on the right side.


7.jpg



You can recline the armrest upwards so it's not in the way. Back seats also feel significantly sturdier than the ones in my old k11. Everything else's pretty much the same, the colours look really cool imo, the cabin has these darker gray colours all around, and they really stand out comparing to the other Micras.


8.jpg



So about the significant differences I've found so far between my Sport+ and my normal 1999 Micra 1.3:
-Rims
-Back springs and drum brakes painted red.
-Full red-dark interior + steering wheel.
-Suspension feels quite a lot sturdier and stiffer, it's a lot, lot more stable in the corners, corners really well, I don't know if it's original but it looks like it is.
-Steering feels a lot sharper and direct than my old Micra, just a whole lot of fun to drive (probably only because of facelift, and my old one being more used).

A few more differences in just the overall facelift model probably:
-Brakes are a lot quicker to grab, stops with less force on them.
-The locks sound a lot different when you lock the car, locks a lot louder and quicker, sounds like the mechanisms are completely different.
-I think I heard something about the clutch being different, like the pre-face models having a mechanical, and this one maybe using a pump? But I'm really not sure about it and it feels pretty much the same, only the spring having a little bit different stiffness.

So...

I've seen lots of Micras here on the forum, very different from one another, people doing all sorts of modifications to theirs, and honestly all of them look incredibly good and unique, they inspire me and I wish one day I could build a car like that (maybe this year my graduation and starting to work will change things).

But I've thought about it for a long time, and right now I just like all the things done to this car from the Nissan factory, being all retro and "original", and for now at least, I'll try to keep it that way. I'm really into renewing it and making it feel as fresh and new as possible, changing all the bits and pieces in it, cleaning and renewing every little part of it, and putting it on display at the JapFest in my country in the summer this year. I'm thinking about getting it resprayed with its original colour at a professional workshop. Maybe even getting a somewhat better colour on it, so it stands out, a stronger shade of red, or a better quality paint.

With that restoration the LHD light gray dash will maybe look bad on it, not fit the rest of the interior, but maybe I could work it out with some spray cans.

Sorry for the long post, my first time posting anything similar anywhere, would any of you find interest in following the conversion and cleanup/renewal of the parts of my Micra, is this of any value for anyone?
 
Last edited:
After I've taken a better look at it, it's not stock (which is pretty obvious actually), it's taken off an old A-Class Mercedes it seems. There's a Merc logo on it and some writings, couldn't get a good angle so I took a few more pictures of it, here you go!

By the way, it's just a little squeezed between the seats when you pull it upwards, but still moves easily and feels stable. Has a few adjustable heights and quite a bit of storage inside. It's surprisingly comfortable and doesn't get in the way of the handbrake, gearshift or seatbelts (once you've already put them).

You should be able to find one at a scrapyard pretty easily, I'm not sure how it's bolted on tho, looks like you may have to drill it into the floor.

1.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg
7.jpg
6.jpg
4.jpg
8.jpg
 
Top