• Please only use these forums for blogs, they are not a discussion forum

NeX's Micra Gx Blog

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
Hi all, this is a post dedicated to my car. this is because I have done lots of mods that I just haven't got round to posting so i thought I'd do them all at once ;)

all comments welcome, any bad comments could you please make constuctive rather than insulting :) always up for some self improvement :D

First of all is my car getting its first face lift. I changed the bonnet, grill and front bumper. this is mid modding in a horrible little garage lol,
PreFacelift.jpg

Then here it is all finnished, with ripspeed mesh... I feel so dirty :)
ashly.jpg

Next to go in was my home made induction kit. it's made from a bit of ford induction piping and some air con piping...
Breathe.jpg

At this point i was really getting into modding. this is my first car and i have big plans for it :) which I sketched out,
Wickedart.jpg

After that I installed some Rice, or Barry if you like ;)
barry.jpg

I modded the headlights, washer lights and fog lights so that they can be either red, white or blue... depending on my mood :)
Rice.jpg

This one was taken by a mate with a long exposure. it looks like there is a red filter on the camera but its because i replaced EVERY light with a red one.
NoFliter.jpg

Then i did the sound system. i wanted to keep my boot free so i went for a subtle install. there is also two amps under the front seats :)
install.jpg

At night:
Nightstall.jpg

I also installed a computer behind the amp, this is sill going in at the mo,
Computer.jpg

Then THE BIG DASH INSTALL!! this took three days in work's loading bay, they weren't happy...
the dash:
Dash.jpg

My working enviroment :)
WorkArea.jpg

the car in the loading bay:
top.jpg

the horror!! the HORROR!! (this makes me feel sick!)
nothing.jpg

The PC behind the rear light:
PC.jpg

The switches being wired. they do things like the amps, lights, windows, pc, PS2 etc...
switches.jpg

And finally day three, 7:00 the dash is in!! the wires on top are where the screen for the computer is going.
center.jpg

More Dash:
right.jpg

I know what your thinking... What is that on the steering wheel???
screenCovered.jpg

Why it's screen two of five!!!!
Screen.jpg

Then I started planning facelift 2. here is my Photochop prediction...
photochop.jpg

And today i finally picked up the finnished bumpers :D:D:D
bumper.jpg

And the back:
Rear.jpg

and the grill :)
grill.jpg

I also had a go at fixing my Black headlights to make them UK legal. but i have yet to get them checked by the nissan garage... fingers crossed :)
HeadLight.jpg

After pulling my headlights apart and painting them black, i got a bit trigger happy so i did the fog lights as well :p also I installed LEDs down the sides for indicators and i will turn the origanal indicators into side lights.
fog.jpg

I also got hold of a light weight, jap spec cam cover. Thats waiting to go on the car...
cam.jpg

And last of all the only pic i can find of my dynamic rims. belive it or not but they are the same size as my old rims (15") and the tires are 1" smaller in profile :suspect:
Blackwheels.jpg


Anyway, thats everything soooo far. thanks for reading, or at least looking at the pics :p looking forward to your comments :D

NeX
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
Titch said:
Looking good man!! Never realised you'd put much into it!

Will be good with New ECU and TB also :)


:D thanks mate,

yea it's gonna be good :D that's all part of my big engine mod... i've been holding off performance mods because of the insurance but i can't hold on any longer lol.

i'm reconditioning the whole engine and turbo-ing it :)

but i'm doing the suspention, brakes and bracing first ;)
 

detox

euro member!!
so u do have ur bumper wooooooooooooow they are even better than i throut and i thourt they were going to be nice. bet they start a trend
 

Arnold

www.alanarnold.co.uk
Moderator
Site Supporter
Titch said:
Looking good man!! Never realised you'd put much into it!

Ditto!! Ive only ever seen the work thats gone on the outside but never really checked out the rest. Will have to have a proper butchers when i next see you
 

mean micra

www.mightymicra.co.uk
beauty Nex...

im not into everything you done but alot of it i like... whats the red colour code for your interior...

best thing is rocker cover...NICE...

i like the fact you dedicated to your car and spend time...as i neglect mine...:(
 

detox

euro member!!
so now every1 is seeing all the work he has bin going throwe well done mate it has paid off

i have pm u!
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
D4R73N said:
Good stuff mate, i'll be asking you for some help in the future with a couple things, that alright?

Thanks mate :D always willing to help a fellow micra fan ;)

Arnold said:
Ditto!! Ive only ever seen the work thats gone on the outside but never really checked out the rest. Will have to have a proper butchers when i next see you

Look forward to it mate, hopefully the bumpers will be on and the computer up and running :)

mean micra said:
beauty Nex...

im not into everything you done but alot of it i like... whats the red colour code for your interior...

best thing is rocker cover...NICE...

i like the fact you dedicated to your car and spend time...as i neglect mine...

Thanks mate :)

just out of interest what don't you like? i know alot of ppl don't like the black bonnet or the scoop. the black bonnet will be carbon but that is the mould. i had to put it on because of a little bump :)

ooh yea my car is my 24/7 lol when i was installing the dash i was working 6:00 in the morning to 12:00 at night!!! i wanted all the wiring to be perfect so i wouldn't have to take the dash out again...

paddymarsden said:
thats gorgeous

thanks mate, glad you like it :)
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
Moschops said:
You've put a lot of work into that, nice one!

What's the score with the PC?

yep, most people say too much work lol, i even work on it in my lunch breaks haha

the pc is a mini ITX epia board.

1.3 Ghz Via processor
512 ram
120 Gb Sata hard disk

7" touch screen in the dash :)

it has a relay board hooked up to it that control things like the amps and lights etc it will also monitor the engine. i've written a program to run it all and it's looking swish :) it even changes the background image when you turn the headlights on ;)

there is also a keyring that tells the PC to lock the doors when its out of range and a rear view web cam, wireless internet, GPS, DVD etc... it does loads of stuff :)
 

Arnold

www.alanarnold.co.uk
Moderator
Site Supporter
NeX said:
yep, most people say too much work lol, i even work on it in my lunch breaks haha

the pc is a mini ITX epia board.

1.3 Ghz Via processor
512 ram
120 Gb Sata hard disk

7" touch screen in the dash :)

it has a relay board hooked up to it that control things like the amps and lights etc it will also monitor the engine. i've written a program to run it all and it's looking swish :) it even changes the background image when you turn the headlights on ;)

there is also a keyring that tells the PC to lock the doors when its out of range and a rear view web cam, wireless internet, GPS, DVD etc... it does loads of stuff :)

Sounds very impressive mate! would love to see that fully working. Good luck with it
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
Arnold said:
Sounds very impressive mate! would love to see that fully working. Good luck with it

Thanks :) All i need to do is make a fiberglass house for the screen and mess with the software a bit and it should all work :)

i've even converted most of my music collection to music videos so that i can watch them on the pc :) not while driving obviously ;)
 

DAVEJUPP01

Ex. Club Member
hey mate your car is sweet. just one thing i'd love to know are they origional plastic bumpers? so did you mod them and was it hard as id love my bumpers grill like that. obviously slightly different(cant all be the same otherwise that just copying) i wish i had space and time somewhere to be able to do that stuff it soooo cool.
 

goldstar0011

Ex. Club Member
For **** sake man, firstly, thats a lot of work and you've kept it quiet, it's looking really nice, secondly, aaarrrgghhh, that what am wanting to do to a superS bumper, so I ain't copied you if/when I do it!
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
Tom Ace said:
hey mate your car is sweet. just one thing i'd love to know are they origional plastic bumpers? so did you mod them and was it hard as id love my bumpers grill like that. obviously slightly different(cant all be the same otherwise that just copying) i wish i had space and time somewhere to be able to do that stuff it soooo cool.

:D glad you like it. what do you mean about the bumpers? all the bumpers you see in the pics are standard ones that have been modded with fiberglass bridging or plastic welding. the super-s one was stupidly hard, the most difficult thing was getting the curve to look stock. lol i wish i had the space too, i don't even have a drive way!! i borrowed my dad's little garage and the loading bay at work and all the cutting and filling was done on the kitchen table!! my family don't like my hobby hahaha
 

mean micra

www.mightymicra.co.uk
NeX said:
just out of interest what don't you like? i know alot of ppl don't like the black bonnet or the scoop. the black bonnet will be carbon but that is the mould. i had to put it on because of a little bump :)

oh nothing really Nex... just neons i dont like, but those led's in the fogs i think are genius...the bonnet is ace i want it..lol when you selling it after the mould???
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
mean micra said:
oh nothing really Nex... just neons i dont like, but those led's in the fogs i think are genius...the bonnet is ace i want it..lol when you selling it after the mould???

that's fair enough. if you check the names of the pics they are called rice and barry lol, the neons were my first mod and i'm a bit of a fan of painting with light...

:) thanks i thought the LEDs were quite a trick mod... they came into existance because i wanted to change the colour of the headlights so i used the side lights but the MoT didn't like it so i moved the side lights to where the indicators are and then the indicators went down next to the fogs :) they use two £4.00 Super bright LEDs that put out 1 watt of power!! then three standard ones in the middle.

Well i probably will sell it after i take the mold as long as the mould goes ok. it's kinda ####ing me off because i used easy sand filler and its starting to crack... I think pink princess was interested in it too :) but once i take a mould i could make an few carbon ones or sell the moulds to someone who can make moulds :) but then its not so unique...
 

DAVEJUPP01

Ex. Club Member
oh ok then well i just wasnt sure as they look so cool well my other problem is HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO PLASTIC WELDING i not heard of that b4 i dont think.

so wot tools would i require then to mod my bumpers please explain thanks

my micra would look cool as ur's2 as it NISSAN FLAME RED (best colour eva)
cheers
 
bumper.jpg


Hey was that originally a super-s bumper with the HUGE UK numberplate thing stuck in the middle?

Need to get something similar done to my front bumper. Didn't know what it'd turn out like but if it looks like that..might be the way to go.

I'm assuming you got a plastic welder guy to modify it and fix it up etc..
--

never mind just read a previous post..yes that would be my concern getting the curve to look standard where the big rectangle for the plate pops out...what'd that cost you roughly?

Might be easier for me to get a japspec one..much smaller plate area and doesnt take up so much room.

my prob..its blocking airflow to intercooler..

http://aa.wh3rd.net/images/photoalbum/685.jpg
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
Tom Ace said:
oh ok then well i just wasnt sure as they look so cool well my other problem is HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO PLASTIC WELDING i not heard of that b4 i dont think.

so wot tools would i require then to mod my bumpers please explain thanks

my micra would look cool as ur's2 as it NISSAN FLAME RED (best colour eva)
cheers

To plastic weld you need a thing like a hot glue gun only it has plastic in it, then you melt the old plastic and blend it with the new bit. all you need is a plastic welder but i'm not too sure where you get them from...

my micra is actually cinnibar red, its a pearlecent/metalic red Very nice :)

evade said:
Hey was that originally a super-s bumper with the HUGE UK numberplate thing stuck in the middle?

Need to get something similar done to my front bumper. Didn't know what it'd turn out like but if it looks like that..might be the way to go.

I'm assuming you got a plastic welder guy to modify it and fix it up etc..
--

never mind just read a previous post..yes that would be my concern getting the curve to look standard where the big rectangle for the plate pops out...what'd that cost you roughly?

Might be easier for me to get a japspec one..much smaller plate area and doesnt take up so much room.

my prob..its blocking airflow to intercooler..

http://aa.wh3rd.net/images/photoalbum/685.jpg

Yea it was the UK one. it would probably have been easier with the jap ones but as you can imagine they are like gold dust :)

i saw your car on cisco's site, it inspired me sooo much :) that intercooler is eactly how i want mine, which is why i cut the number plate riser out. then i was going to paint the intercooler black for stelthness ;)

the whole lot was £590, but that is modding the grill, fixing the rear bumper and i ordered enough paint for the whole car because i'm smoothing the roof, handles and boot too, so now i have spare paint :)

i think if you could get a jap spec one then it shouldn't be too hard, but i had to use a donor bumper because they have to be the same type of plastic. luckly i had an old super s bumper lying around when i tried to do the same thing only with fiberglass and it went all wrong :(

Love your car Evade, i want your cooler! was it custom or is that the toyota MR2 one?
 
cool, thanks for the info..

that one is a custom made one (formally cisco's) which is why it fits so nicely. the MR2 one was much smaller than that.

so they had to use the donor bumper for the plastic used to fill the gap?

pretty cool, they did a top job by the looks of it.

thanks for the comments..glad my cars inspiring to someone lol.

im also going to spray the cooler black..im gonna leave it as it is for a little first though
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
evade said:
cool, thanks for the info..

that one is a custom made one (formally cisco's) which is why it fits so nicely. the MR2 one was much smaller than that.

so they had to use the donor bumper for the plastic used to fill the gap?

pretty cool, they did a top job by the looks of it.

thanks for the comments..glad my cars inspiring to someone lol.

im also going to spray the cooler black..im gonna leave it as it is for a little first though

no probs mate,
i thought it might be custom because it is sooo perfect :)
yea they cut out the riser and used the bottom lip of the old one, then fiberglassed over the gap.

i was sooo impressed when i first saw it, can't see the join anywhere.

:) mini blue monster,

yea the only thing i was thinking about spraying it black is that it may absorb heat or reflect it, i can't remember which it its :)

babyboom said:
wow, thats looking fantastic, well done, im sure your pleased with it after all the hard work you've done

Thanks :)
you'd think i'd be happy but i'm a bit of a perfectionist and i won't be happy till its all done, and there is sooo much to do lol,
 

scottish-sr

Ex. Club Member
That is some great work you have done to your car mate, will inspire alot of people Im sure. I like your home made induction kit, is there a filter in that aswell??

The only things Im not to keen on are the scooby vent and the red dash (to much red for my liking,lol) The mesh at the front I would make it black so it matches in with the bonnet nice.

Keep it up.
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
scottish-sr said:
That is some great work you have done to your car mate, will inspire alot of people Im sure. I like your home made induction kit, is there a filter in that aswell??

The only things Im not to keen on are the scooby vent and the red dash (to much red for my liking,lol) The mesh at the front I would make it black so it matches in with the bonnet nice.

Keep it up.

Thanks mate :)

the red thing in the induction kit has a cone filter inside :)

yea, the vent was going to be for a top mounted intercooler but now i think i will make it into a feed for an oil cooler.

lol the dash did come out more red than i expected, i did a little sketch on a postit to decide what should be red and what should be black and after i'd masked it all of there seemed to be more red... i think i'll go for black door cards to balance it out...

i'm sticking to my Red and Black only theame :) i might even get covers on the wheel nuts and spray my exhaust black etc :D soo much to do!
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
goldstar0011 said:
gotta ask though, where's the reg plate going?

haha well I'm planning to put it on the dash behind the gauge pod, if the police stop my then i'll claim it fell of :)

else its going right at the bottom...
 
NeX said:
yea the only thing i was thinking about spraying it black is that it may absorb heat or reflect it, i can't remember which it its :)

meh just do it..it might make some sort of TINY difference but at the end of the day..you arent going to notice it.

plus it always cold in the UK already anyway ahha

btw i will be in london leaving melbourne 31st of may. travelling through europe and gotta be back by the 7th of july. might have to see some of the UK micra's
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
evade said:
meh just do it..it might make some sort of TINY difference but at the end of the day..you arent going to notice it.

plus it always cold in the UK already anyway ahha

btw i will be in london leaving melbourne 31st of may. travelling through europe and gotta be back by the 7th of july. might have to see some of the UK micra's

lol yea, almost cold enough not to need a cooler hahaha

:D you been to london before? its a great place :) shame you can't bring the car with you :)

we might have to do a special meet ;) then you can see the bumper in real life :D
 

Davey C

Ex. Club Member
Club Member
stunning nex, you should have made this post earlier, stuff like this that inspires all of us lazy sods to get our arse's into gear and fix all those little annoying jobs. right next on the list...money lol

seriously, i love your car and you can tell you have put tonnes of effort in and it shows, very well done.
 

goldstar0011

Ex. Club Member
Very true Davey, like the bumper, I've been meaning to start work on my spare SuperS one which have had for ages!
Dusk has got me motivated again so thats good, only just finished my grille which I started last summer!

Can't wait to see the car all together Nex
 

James

Chairman
NeX said:
lol yea, almost cold enough not to need a cooler hahaha

:D you been to london before? its a great place :) shame you can't bring the car with you :)

we might have to do a special meet ;) then you can see the bumper in real life :D
Yes, I extend that invitation to any Australian Micra owners, I would happily make a special meet if any of them were in London - I'm only about 30 mins from London! :)
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
Davey C said:
stunning nex, you should have made this post earlier, stuff like this that inspires all of us lazy sods to get our arse's into gear and fix all those little annoying jobs. right next on the list...money lol

seriously, i love your car and you can tell you have put tonnes of effort in and it shows, very well done.

:D:D thanks mate, my car is my life at the mo and 100% of my time, money and effort go into it :) didn't even have time to make this post until now lol,

i'm soo glad people apprechiate *spell the work, it makes it all worth while...

and inspiration is exactly what i wanted, rather than people slaging my car cos its a micra i want them to be inspired :D

goldstar0011 said:
Very true Davey, like the bumper, I've been meaning to start work on my spare SuperS one which have had for ages!
Dusk has got me motivated again so thats good, only just finished my grille which I started last summer!

Can't wait to see the car all together Nex

hopefully the front end should be done this weekend so i will get pics up ASAP :)

James said:
Yes, I extend that invitation to any Australian Micra owners, I would happily make a special meet if any of them were in London - I'm only about 30 mins from London!

good man James, i'm up for an international meet down london town :)

Evade, see if you can drag Cisco down here too lol :)
 

James

Chairman
NeX said:
good man James, i'm up for an international meet down london town :)

Evade, see if you can drag Cisco down here too lol :)
In FACT, you should all come up for JAE [Japanese Auto Extravaganza] in July!! Best car show of the year in the UK, absolutely great fun and usually very sunny! :D
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
James said:
In FACT, you should all come up for JAE [Japanese Auto Extravaganza] in July!! Best car show of the year in the UK, absolutely great fun and usually very sunny! :D

OH YEA that would be soo cool, and we should get that other micra group to come, in germany isn't it?

full on Global JAE micra show!! nothing could stop me going to that :D
 

micra man

Golf GTi Turbo
Great stuff mate!!! Didn't realise you had done so much to your car, and can't believe you kept it all quiet hehe. :) Looks fab though, love the computer, how much did it cost if you don't mind me asking?? Been looking to put one in mine for a while just aint got enough knowledge really. A write-up on it would be interesting. Loving the idea of it controlling the lights too!!! Very impressed bud, keep it up. The cars looking great. :D
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
micra man said:
Great stuff mate!!! Didn't realise you had done so much to your car, and can't believe you kept it all quiet hehe. :) Looks fab though, love the computer, how much did it cost if you don't mind me asking?? Been looking to put one in mine for a while just aint got enough knowledge really. A write-up on it would be interesting. Loving the idea of it controlling the lights too!!! Very impressed bud, keep it up. The cars looking great. :D

Thanks, yep all secret ;) and some other mods still to come... for example the micra trailer still to do :D

the pc cost about 600 but the screen on its own was 200 so not that much.

it all came from www.Linitx.com and help came form www.mp3car.com

yea all the lights are wired in to a relay board which came from maplin. i can get it to flash the lights in different patterns :)

I will try to write up some sort of guide when its all finnished. but the thing about car PCs is that they totally depend on what you want it to do and how much space you are willing to loose...

:)
 

Haylz

Ex. Club Member
Love the car NeX, you've obviously put lots and lots of time and effort into that and no doubt blood sweat and tears :laugh:

Keep up the good work mate, can't wait to see the finished product. :love:
 
You know what i think NEX i spent about an hour standing round corsham in the cold telling you!

Never realised this amount of hard work went into it! keep it up man! :)
 
OP
OP
NeX

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
Haylz said:
Love the car NeX, you've obviously put lots and lots of time and effort into that and no doubt blood sweat and tears :laugh:

Keep up the good work mate, can't wait to see the finished product. :love:

thanks Haylz, many a cut hand and swear word gone into that car :)

Stuart said:
You know what i think NEX i spent about an hour standing round corsham in the cold telling you!

Never realised this amount of hard work went into it! keep it up man!

Thanks Stu, :) yep shame it's always dark in corsham lol,

I'm goning to the scrappy this weekend to get the primera GT seats :D but just the top bit cos i use my hand bake too much ;)
 
Top