First car - First thread

[Connor]

Hey there,
I've been browsing the forum for a couple of months now and I finally bought a micra (from this forum) last month. Managed to get a 1987 1.0 SGL auto for £100 which isn't so bad, I knew they were cheap but not that cheap!

As it's winter and dark by the time I come home from work I haven't spent too much time with it apart from the odd weekend, so I thought I'd just start a thread for when I get money/parts for it and keep it updated as I go

I'm either planning on buying my friends K11 1.3 engine + gear box and getting it fitted by friends (I've read it's pretty much a straight swap), getting Polo 6N coil-overs and slamming it and some lovely 12-13" deep dish wheels...or...part/exchanging for a manual or even cleaning it up (it's in pretty good condition, just a few rust spots here and there) and selling it to get a manual. What do you guys think is the better option?

Anyway, here are some pictures of it:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t9/conz-123/IMAG0041.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t9/conz-123/IMAG0034.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t9/conz-123/IMAG0031.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t9/conz-123/IMAG0040.jpg
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t9/conz-123/IMAG0032.jpg

Thanks for looking!

 

[YZ K10]

Looks good bud! (Y)

 

[karlj]

I'm either planning on buying my friends K11 1.3 engine + 1.0 gear box and getting it fitted by friends (I've read it's pretty much a straight swap), getting Polo 6N coil-overs and slamming it and some lovely 13" deep dish wheels

/\...thats what I would do.../\ (Y)

 

[Connor]

/\...thats what I would do.../\ (Y)

Yeah I'm leaning towards the whole engine swap idea, just wanted to know which one would be less cost-effective I would still sell it if I had a 100% concrete chance of getting a 1.2+ manual pre-facelift haha

 

[karlj]

Talk to machi San and sr20bud about the cg swap

 

[gtsnissanb]

Yeah I'm leaning towards the whole engine swap idea, just wanted to know which one would be less cost-effective I would still sell it if I had a 100% concrete chance of getting a 1.2+ manual pre-facelift haha

I've a ma12 1200cc engine you can buy I stripped it to prep for a turbo but changed my plans, just wants a water pump head gasket and cambelt very easy to put back together I did a how to in the k10 section

 

[Connor]

I've a ma12 1200cc engine you can buy I stripped it to prep for a turbo but changed my plans, just wants a water pump head gasket and cambelt very easy to put back together I did a how to in the k10 section

Thanks for the offer but if I do go ahead with this I'm going to buy my friends, cheaper and closer to home. But thanks again!

 

[porkpie700]

The most cost effective and easiest option is to sell the car and get one that's already what you want. Saves time, money and stress, easy. Oh and by the way, nissan didn't make a 1.2 prefacelift, the ma12 only became an option when the facelift was launched in 1989.

 

[Connor]

The most cost effective and easiest option is to sell the car and get one that's already what you want. Saves time, money and stress, easy.

I'm keeping all options open for the time being, just while I save money and know what I'm doing.

Oh and by the way, nissan didn't make a 1.2 prefacelift, the ma12 only became an option when the facelift was launched in 1989

Really? I really do want to keep the pre-facelift look but a bigger engine, hmm all things to consider! Thanks a lot for the info (Y)

 

[gtsnissanb]

Thanks for the offer but if I do go ahead with this I'm going to buy my friends ma11, cheaper and closer to home. But thanks again!

What's a ma11? They never made one?
Fitting a cg13 won't save money at all as it's not a straight swap, need to make engine mounts sort out fuel injection or carb tune it accordingly custom distributor
The MA12 is the cheap and easy option as it's a straight swap

 

[Connor]

What's a ma11? They never made one?
Fitting a cg13 won't save money at all as it's not a straight swap, need to make engine mounts sort out fuel injection or carb tune it accordingly custom distributor
The MA12 is the cheap and easy option as it's a straight swap

Sorry, meant cg13 but put ma11? Time for bed I think haha, How much would you consider selling it for?
I would also need gearbox etc. as it's an auto..

 

[gtsnissanb]

Bout 50 quid don't have a spare box sold it a while back
And I have a new cambelt and water pump that I'll include for a bit more

 

[Valman]

What's a ma11? They never made one?
Fitting a cg13 won't save money at all as it's not a straight swap, need to make engine mounts sort out fuel injection or carb tune it accordingly custom distributor
The MA12 is the cheap and easy option as it's a straight swap

engine mounts would take an hour max to make, rip the loom out of the k11 as its a pre NATS one, job done. oh and find a live feed for the ecu

 

[gtsnissanb]

engine mounts would take an hour max to make, rip the loom out of the k11 as its a pre NATS one, job done. oh and find a live feed for the ecu

That simple
But the point is what? It's still not cheaper or easier which is what I said! Why you needed to quote me to say that I don't know
Oh and an hour max yeah maybe if
A. You've done it before
B. You can weld
C. Have a welder and materials to make the mounts
Lol
I'm guessing you've done it before and just forgot to tell us all?
I have done it before, and it certainly didn't take and hour and I had both full cars here, I'm sure sr20bud who is also very good at his stuff and is in the process of doing this would agree it takes longer than an hour! I'm also fitting a different engine all together in my k10 that hasn't been done before afaik! Not everyone on here is clueless mate quite allot of us are fully qualified and experienced mechanics, so don't try be so condescending mate were all here to help and be friends

 

[porkpie700]

At the end of the day, weather it's your 1st time or your 10th, it's still a big job. And it's one of those jobs that we've all seen many people try, get so far and then loose interest or run out of money and end up scrapping the car. Anything that requires making custom parts or modding existing ones is time consuming.
Ultimately i think the key thing to think about when considering any kinda big project is that you need to have the budget for it. Every time i see a thread that says something like; "i wanna do an engine conversion, slam it, change the front end to prefacelift, fit alloys... oh and i don't have any money." The first thing i think is, good luck bro lol.

But you know, fitting another motor is only half the work, you also need to get it running right, reliably, reasonably efficiently, smooth enough to pass mots and just generally be considered road worthy. That means (to do it right) rolling road set up.
That's why it's best to choose something that's already as close as possible to what you want, to start with and only have to tweak it a little to get it the rest of the way. So in your case, i'd reccomend buying a facelift 1.2 manual and simply retro fitting a prefacelift front end, get it sprayed up and tadaa, magic. Prefacelift panels can be bought brand new, as can headlights, bumpers and grilles.
However if you're in the lucky position where money is no object then the world is a playground dude, do what's best for your needs and your circumstances, and you won't go far wrong.
(Y)

 

[Valman]

####ing hell, someones touchy on here. in reply to your questions;
A: yes
B: yes
C: yes

connor i guess you could buy a rot free 1.2 manual and switch the panels over?

 

[Connor]

I was just about to comment something along those lines haha, buying a manual and just having a weekend of swapping bits over. Seems like the most likely thing to do...Depends how much it'll cost (Yes Porkpie, I do have money) I'm not looking for BBS's, just some banded steels or something dishy idk

 

[gtsnissanb]

####ing hell, someones touchy on here. in reply to your questions;
A: yes
B: yes
C: yes

connor i guess you could buy a rot free 1.2 manual and switch the panels over?

Touchy no,
hate it when people give inaccurate advice yes
As said by porkpie it's been discussed 1000s of times
If it only took an hour we'd all do it! I'm trying really hard not to be condescending here but where is your cg powered k10?

 

[Valman]

who said i have a cg powered k10 lol? wasnt really innacurate advice - i know connor well so he knew what i meant,
now you got paid, guess we can keep an eye out for a tidy manual conz

 

[Connor]

Yeah I'll have a little scout around on teh webz tomorrow or something

 

[sr20bud]

yeah im still in the process of doing it. the only reason i still am doing it is because i have no electric down my garage and i have been really busy one thing after another lol. its very nearly done and me or kev could do you a guide although there is a lot of info in out blogs mate. it is an easy conversion if you ask me what makes the tricky bits is knowing what to use ( what mounts to use, what gearbox to use, what shafts to use, ect ect) and i found that without a bit of help from the guy's on here about what fits what i wouldn't of bothered. im used to conversions where the engine is ment for the car like peugeots ect the easy stuff. lol. what gets people is going in to it blind and not knowing you can use stuff from other cars. so the projects get dumped cause a lot of people don't have welders or can weld ect. depending on how i find mine when its finished i may go for an sr20 swap next. oh and the wiring for the cg swap is easier than wiring a domestic plug :grinning:

 

[Connor]

Ahh fair enough man, if you have the time could you do a guide or something? I've read through your blog a couple of times and quite interested to see it when it's finished If I still have this car by the time I'm 21 then I'll put (or at least try ) an sr20 in, they're savage in k10's haha! But yeah any updates/info about the cg13 let me know, should be doing this in 2-3 weeks if Val and I can get the tools/equipment needed