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MOB Micra Progress Blog

Hey! I'm new to the forum but have been following it for a while since I bought my Micra and decided I would put up a blog about everything I have done so far and try to update it regularly about what I am doing in the future! I refer to my Micra as MOB because it's on the end of my number plate and it just sort of stuck haha.
My plan with it has always been to try and make it look better and be more enjoyable to drive whilst also keeping it as stock as possible (to an extent obviously).

So this is what it looked like when I got her (these are the photos the seller had on the ad):

Nissan Micra S Blue Back.jpeg
Nissan Micra S Blue Front.jpeg
Nissan Micra S Blue Interior.jpeg
Nissan Micra S Blue Side.jpeg
Nissan Micra S Blue.jpeg


As you can see she wasn't in the best condition! But for £400 I couldn't really complain haha The main thing I wanted to sort out straight away was the rusty steelies as they looked pretty ridiculous especially as it only had one wheel trim on!
It was also covered in various scrapes and dents which you can't see too well in the photos (mainly on the front wings) which I tried to touch up as a quick fix with a touch up kit I found in the glovebox.
I bought a set of wheel trims to cover the nasty looking steel wheels but thought that I would actually spend some time refurbishing them as I quite like what a lot of people have done with their steels.

Here is what they looked like after a LOT of sanding:
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After priming:
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And after a few coats of Nissan Blade Silver!
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Much better! I also bought some of the Micra centre caps and some chrome trim rings however I forgot to take a photo of these on the finished wheels.
Took a few photos about a month later whilst working at a local festival where you can sort of see the finished wheels:
My Micra Front.jpg
My Micra Back.jpg

Not sure why the photo of the back is so small but they were taken on my crappy phone camera anyway.
Other little things I did were put some new door speakers in which a friend gave me for £10 or something and change the dashboard lights which blew to some colourful LED ones but I don't have photos of either of these so I will add them later.

My car hasn't been running properly for a few weeks now due to a cylinder 1 misfire which I haven't had much time to fix due to uni and work but I should be getting that sorted today! However whilst it hasn't been running I decided to spray the dodgy grey trim around the bumpers matte black mainly because I was bored and hadn't done much to it in a while.
I tested the paint on the little cheek bits of the bumper first:
Trim Before Refurb.jpg

And then masked the rest of the bumper up:
Trim Masking.jpg

And sprayed the rest of it:
Trim After Refub.jpg

Much better I think!
Anyway I think that is just about everything up to date. Apologies about the length of this post, I just thought it would be best to get everything up to date and then update from now on.
Cheers!
 
Hi mate u got a nice project for the price what year and spec is she? Please keep us updated with pics if poss and thanks for sharing! :)
Andy B-)
 
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BlueMOB
New fuel injector came at the weekend which I thought would sort the misfire but after a few tests I found out it was the first ignition coil all along :( Have ordered a new one which should come this week but I am starting to really miss driving it!
IMG_20151128_121302.jpg
 
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BlueMOB
Bought one on Ebay for £10, might have been able to get one cheaper from a scrappies but I have no way of getting there unfortunately haha
 
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BlueMOB
Aaaaaand she's fixed! New coilpack finally came today so I swapped it for the faulty one and now it runs great! I'm not sure if it's because I haven't driven it in ages or because I replaced some dodgy parts in the engine and gave it a much needed service but it seems to be quite a bit quicker now too which is always nice :D
 
Will do mate, if it was running on only 3 cylinders that's like chucking 1/4 of the engine capacity out the window, You may find changing the spark plugs will help a lot, cause if one was not sparking quite as often it could have become all gunked up with crap ;)
 
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BlueMOB
Yeah I mean it feels a bit quicker than before the misfire but I think it's because it was running on such ancient oil etc haha previous owner clearly didn't take very good care of it haha
 
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BlueMOB
Anyone on here ever painted trim rings a different colour? I really like how my wheels look since I refurbed a them a while back but the rings have now got the odd chip from stones and one of them got a little bit scraped when I had to get out the way of a bus on a narrow street :(
Asking as I found a couple of photos of people running black steel wheels with white trims and I think it looks pretty sweet! Just can't figure out if it would suit my car.

This is what I am talking about:
White Trim Rings XB.jpg


Need to get some decent photos on my good camera at some point this week rather than just using my phone Haha
 
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BlueMOB
The roads around that area are no place for a car that slammed ;) Would be tempted to drop it a bit to get rid of the arch gap though and make it handle better maybe using the Alto springs with Corsa shocks method. Would have to wait until my insurance runs out anyway as my current provider are really really strict and don't allow any mods which is why everything I have done so far has been keeping it pretty stock!
 
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BlueMOB
Have had this steering wheel lying around for some time now, someone decided to leave half a stripped Renault 5 Raider outside the garages behind our house so I took the wheel off it seeing as it was about to be taken by the council anyway! Might buy a boss kit at some point when I have a bit of cash and swap it with the stock wheel! I did take the Renault boss off the car too but I'm assuming there is no way it will fit haha
IMG_20151210_222245.jpg
 
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It's a really solid wheel too, can't bend it at all haha Pretty chuffed that I got it for free too! And I don't think I have ever seen a Micra with an old Renault wheel on either ;)
 
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BlueMOB
Haven't posted in a while but have got a few plans lined up for 2016!

Gonna have a look around at a scrap yard soon for some K10 rear plate lights so I can get a Jap spec plate on as I've always liked the way the K10 lights look on a K11. Might also see if I can find a wrap around spoiler too although I'm not as bothered about that at the moment!
Insurance runs out in a couple of months too so I'm thinking that's a good excuse to get my new steering wheel on and maybe get the car a little lower before I switch insurers ;) Also gonna order a couple of subtle stickers and maybe one of those Japanese subway handles that hang from the rear bumper as I really like the way they look.

Will try to get some more photos soon to keep the blog going! :D
 
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BlueMOB
Haven't done much recently due to the weather and being back at uni but did find time the other day to refurb the new steering wheel which is now looking a lot better!
Before:
SDC13357.JPG

Sanded and masked:
SDC13363.JPG

Primed:

SDC13365.JPG

And Finished! (Not the best photo but I will get a better one when I finally get it on the car):
SDC13373.JPG
 
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BlueMOB
Wow haven't posted on here in ages! Got a pretty big update to post though...
Got a bit bored of how the Micra looked recently and seeing as I don't have a lot of spare money for mods and the paintwork is already really ****ed, I decided to start ratting it and here is the progress so far!

The first thing I did was sand as much paint off the fuel flap and drivers side wing as I could so they would rust:
13059551_1298017590213198_889844396_n.jpg
13014812_1298017676879856_1176178470_n.jpg
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Sprayed with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and salt which started to rust it instantly! I'm not sure whether to remove more of the galvanising to make it rust completely or leave it half rusted, half bare metal.
I also noticed a while ago that the drivers side door has been replaced with a green one and painted blue to match the car so I sanded parts of it back to green to give a patina effect:
13059902_1298017663546524_37305432_n.jpg

And last of all I painted the passenger side door in poundland primer which I actually really like the colour of! If I ever get bored of the rat look I think I will paint the whole car in this with matte black trims and roof:
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Gonna add some chalkboard paint the passenger side wing and maybe spray the roof purple when I get the chance... And I'm desperate for a roof rack!
 
Is that a stripped out rear I see? I'm liking the progress, I quite like Rat effects, was going to do mine like it till the insurance buggered that idea
 
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BlueMOB
Nah just the back seats folded down which is pretty much how I always have it haha, really want to strip it out and convert it in to a van but need my back seats unfortunately :(
 
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BlueMOB
Few more progress photos! Bit of pink paint on the rear bumper and the rust is coming along nicely now! Also bought a fake Bonsai tree and cut a hole in my parcel shelf for it and added a few stickers I had kicking around ;)
IMG_0022.jpg

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Got one of these from Japan too that I need to attach at some point:
IMG_0028.jpg
 
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