Patriotic Micra Blog

Paul Smith

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Hi

I have been on the forum for quite some time now and decided now is a good time to start my blog.

Here is a little history on the patriot. She started out as a 1 litre LX that had been sitting in a puddle when I first bought her about 10 years ago so needed new brakes all round and new front crossmember. Apart from the Union Jack on the bonnet she went many years with no modifications, then about 5 years ago i got the modding itch and began. As always I started off small with simple mods like a sound system, induction under car neons, spinny hubcaps, aftermarket steering wheel, lowered and induction kit.

She was broken in to and the sterio system was nicked and someone (believe it or not) stole the spinny hub caps which actually did me a favour. lol.

I decided I would go more extreme I decided the alloy wheels were need so purchased them on here from an old member ben and they are still on her today. I then went for a turbo charged engine making my 1 litre a very satisfying 116BHP which was awesome especially after the intercooler was fitted. However I got to carried away with the boost controller and managed to blow a piston ring and crack a piston. So i got in touch with Matt Humphries and we decided on a new engine.

The New engine will be and currently is a 1348cc automatic block with manual gearbox. So i delivered the car to Matt and believe me she just got there it pretty much died as she got in Matts work shop. Whilst in with matt she had a new uprated clutch, port polished gas flowed head, high lift cam, Lower ratio box. I also supplied a body kit i had sitting in my garage awaiting the right time ( this was Now ).

She came out looking amazing and it was a definite pimp my ride moment. lol. with a loud powerflow exhaust she looked and went amazingly well. This is how she stayed for quite some time before getting the itch again, and having a shiny set of 42mm jenvey throttlebodies made. So back to Matts again for the throttle bodies to fit with an omex 600 ecu and new coil packs fitted, after a whole day on a rolling road and messing she produced 128.9 BHP which was incredible with 105 lbs of torque. She ran beautifully scaring alot of bigger cars as well as being easy to drive and live with.

After some time she developed some issues this was mainly down to a lack attention by me as I bought a house and had my son and job changes that sort of thing. She then developed judder at low revs that i tried to live with but it was obvious she was starting to die. So home to a very worrying compression test (knowing in the back of my mind what the issue was but trying to deny it) showing everyones favourite job a blown head gasket and bent valve. So off the head went to be cleaned new valve and skimmed. The company doing this then disappeared for 5 weeks before reappearing with my head which was a worrying time ( apparently had gone on holiday). So with all new parts the head went on and she ran smooth and subtle once again. To be honest she felt the smoothest she had ever felt. But a couple of months later developed and puff of smoke so after a short time of this and another compression test low and behold another head gasket which finally failed in all its glory on the A6 on my way back from wales 40 miles from home.

So the recovery bought her home where she has been sitting for about 4 months. I used a 205 gti for this time i had laying around until that died. Which has given me a big itch i am destined to scratch and the thought of blogging her every change this time round.

I have removed her head, this is in scotland currently having a stage 3 modification by hiflo heads and in the mean time i am tidying her up, and will update you of all the odds and sods done. I recently rubbed down the inner rear arches and undersealed them which was a job worth doing. I have new rear hubs just in case the old bearings are getting tired and new front 100 nx calipers to fit but wann paint these first.

Yesterday I thought i'd take the back bumper off and and clean up the rear plate as these get a lot of surface rust which i thought would be good but although i found surface rust i also found rott in the rear ducts so have rubbed the surface rust down cut all the rott out minus some surface rust that has run into the bottom of the rear arch this will require a proper body shop. The rot was aweful though i tapped it and my finger went through. I have treated all areas with Kurust, undercoated and sprayed with stone chip paint. This week i will also get the new rear hubs fitted.

I will get some pics as i go along i had been taking them on my iphone but the last update crashed it loosing the photos so i have now learnt from this but will post new pics up.

Thanks

Paul .
 

r-reg-sr

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Site Supporter
it seems to have been a long march so far
white lx?,,,,,,i think my sr started shaking and quivering at the distance of 5 miles away from the k11's matt has :grinning:
 
Very interesting read, shame about the rust but hopefully you will crack the case on that!

Also enjoying them mad 1.0 turbo figures, 116 is beaut, although i would have thought you could push the 1.35 :p a tad further but then again at the Rated HP now (Is that at wheels) And the light weight of the micra, that is rediculous, either way micra is such a great car, with a little ego, it is an ultimate sleeper haha!

Oh and dude

(If i knew where it was)!

THIS THREAD IS WORTHLESS WITHOUT PICS
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

Site Supporter
Hi

The power was at the fly wheel i think and will hopefully reach the 135bhp but maybe more. The rust is a pain in the bum but will sort it the rear panel is now done so the front bumper will be off tomorrow to see the front crossmember and what surprises lay within. But worst case i'll weld a new one in if it needs it.

I will take some new pics tomorrow and up load them

Thanks
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

Site Supporter
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All the pics are there i think
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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The Hot Chocolate was well deserved.

Today should see the hubs back together, and the underneath (rear half) wire brushed back and painted in a stone chip rather than underseal but this should be better protecion than nothing. It will be treated with Kurust first as well where required.
 
nice mate, paul smith is a proper british name so you suit the union jack flag,

rear drums painted black = win, painted red = fail. thats just my opinion though mate.

alot of engine work, hope it holds out this time dude. (Y)
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Well I do like my name and your right a proper british name. lol.
The Union Flag is absolutely awesome

I did contemplate black rear drums and was going to do them black as I thought the red would look chavvy and abit over the top but then i thought i'd see how they look at the minute i kind of like them but i'll see how i feel after a couple of days.

More work done today new hubs fitted and new rear bearings greased and fitted. I treated underneath up to the fuel tank and paint that black which looks all neat and tidy. Took the rear dampers out as i'm playing with suspension ideas. removed the front headlights and will go and remove the front bumper tonight.

Also on another note went and got a new tyre on my motorbike so that took some of my time taking that wheel off lol
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Another productive night last night, i fitted the motorbike wheel with new tyre.

The micra I refitted the bilstein rear dampers and went from gmax springs back to 35mm apex springs i have as these were a far nicer ride height. I don't have any apex springs to use on the front but if anyone does have any then i'm willing to swap the 60mm drop ones i have for them. I fitted the rear bumper back on and rear wheels but then lost the light. I'll try and get some pics up to day to show the ride height.
 

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
awesome work paul, i remember when your car was at Matt's getting the firewall hammered down so the throttle bodies would fit! are my gauges still in it?
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Hi

With regards the throttle bodies vs turbo. There is no out and out winner. This is what I found.
Turbo - Was really good fun could play with boost, making the dump valve noise, and being young and having something a little special. However when zooming around always had a feeling of cheating in the back of my mind.

The Jenveys - You don't get the boost power as they are far more refined than a turbo but do make an awesome noise when opeing her up and the speciality of not many others about. Without a sense of cheating but I do mis the dump valve noise.

So in my opinion there isn't really a better or worse it completely depends on what sort of power delivery you are after. What you want is the jenveys with the turbo :grinning:

I am looking to have a play with a supercharger with the throttlebodies soon I think so i can compare all 3.

With regards the firewall at Matts yep that was required for the throttlebodies position and room as was removing the brake servo to allow the 1st body to fit. So I am going to have the joys of tinkering when the head is back at freeing some space up and fitting the servo back on as I miss having brakes. lol

The dials are still there and working proudly. Although the blue ones were sold with the 2 litre turbo.
 

Seb_

Give me some frogs.
Site Supporter
Hi Paul,
very nice modded micra. I like the flag, do you have other external picture of the whole car where we can see the flag?
Cheers
Seb
 

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
glad the dials are still serving you well, i had forgotten about the blue ones as well, but they are out there somewhere!

keep up the great work, the SC will be something different too
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Sorry for the lack of updates my boy has chicken pox so i have been looking after him but should be flying again in a day or two. I haven't forgotten about the pics but will get them up. I fitted a new drivers door changing the lock, handle and wing mirror over as mine was kicked in by a member of staff at work. (which was nice). i got to remove the bump strip from this door and polish the car up so it all matches. I get my head back this week so am on the look out for a decent head gasket. Will get some pics of that up as well when its back.

When i go super charged i will have had all the variations to compare. But after that if i feel i still want more i may consider a turbo as well but this would be a while away yet. Lets see how she goes prior the supercharger first lol
 

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
did they kick your car in deliberately? do you know who it is? get some cash out of them
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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yep they did do it deliberately, the cameras on the car park are dummy cameras so i can check who it was unfortunately although i'd love to find the person. They didn't like decisions i made in my own office - stupid really. :glare:
 
what a bell end! i hope you find out who it was mate. for doing a thing like that they can be prosecuted for criminal damage and fired for gross misconduct. its not nice being out of work in this day and age so lets see how many k11's he can kick in the jsa cue ! grr
 

k11_whore

Steve :)
slightly off topic, i want to fit a turbo to my k11 1.0s will i need any other mods for it to cope with it e.g engine cooling etc
 

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
yep they did do it deliberately, the cameras on the car park are dummy cameras so i can check who it was unfortunately although i'd love to find the person. They didn't like decisions i made in my own office - stupid really. :glare:

wtf, seriously, track them down, ask people see if anyone saw anything, get them fired and then take them to court. i hate the way that people think they can be so aggressive to coworkers, for a start they shouldn't be such a ##### and actually say what they didn't like to your face rather than damaging your car to make a point, and secondly no one should have to put up with threats, or damage to personal property when they go to work. going to work is bad enough, and people have to make stressful and difficult situations and it doesn't help but they have to also deal with childish coworkers.

find the guy, make an example of him
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Hi

It would be me doing the firing but I have got no way of knowing who this person is/was within the 150 staff working here. It is one of those things but a real pain in the .......

Back to the blog . lol

So far this week I have removed the inner wing liner, front bumper and suspension. I have treated the front crossmember after a rub down which is in ok condition and will be spraying it over the weekend making it look nice and i will be rubbing back and spraying under the car and the inner wings (treating if required). I am in the process of buying a new spoiler from a super S (the full rear window spoiler) and have order a head gasket set which i will collect later today. The head gasket is going to a local company to see how much they will make me a solid copper gasket for if i'm not happy i'll fit the standard one again and hope it'll last. I think I know the problem with the last gasket so this time hopefully I'll be ready. Talking to a few companies they all seem to think the power i'm running, the gasket should be more than comfortable with. Only time will tell.
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Here are some updated pics :

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A few jobs done, i fitted apex rear springs and removed the gmax ones as the apex have given it a tidier ride height the Gmax were to rigid. I am in the process of rubbing the under neath of the car back ready to be undersealed. I replaced the dented door with one from a scrappy and am in the process of removing the bump strip but need to get some sticky stuff remover and have rubbed back and treated the front cross member and sprayed that.

I need to paint my new 100nx calipers as my old ones have seized on 1 side and refit the front anti roll barand paint the inner front arches as well as finish the other started jobs will probably aim to get these jobs done over the next week.

So a slow couple of weeks but still going.
 

SuluR

Buy & Sell Member
Woa that looks amazing! got to say the red is really grabbing my attention recently. Loving the bodykit. Awesome keep up the good work (Y)

SuluR
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Ok another update, finally my head will be ready by thursday which is nice.

I have cleaned and painted the sills, inner arches, removed the janspeed manifold, and found something very interesting as the pics will show. I have also removed the alternator :laugh:

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and whats this, ive stripped and given a light rebuild too, but seems good

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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Should be a giggle lol, still lots of jobs to do though here is a quick list:

Paint and fit new calipers (100nx)
Clean wheels fit new tyres,
Re fit front suspension,
finish taking the sticky stuff from the door strip off,
refit inner door card and speaker,
re fit head with uprated head gasket, (once head is back)
refit the throttle bodies maybe with some light porting,
measure up and fit a brake servo,
Fit new air box to the bodies,
Line and mount the super toy. LOL :grinning:
Clean engine bay and paint a few other bits.

Not in any real order but all on the list must be done.
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Carbs......... Carbs........... How insulting they are individual 42mm jenvey throttlebodies

lol :doh:

if u pm me what you have I'll happily discuss and help if I can
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

Site Supporter
Thanks for the Pics they are a big help.

I fitted the charger last night along with the alternator. I have had to turn the alternator 180 degrees which still sit it higher than the base of the sump and allow the pully to remain in line. I then modified the bracket holding this and mounted the supercharger above the alternator this meant a bit of angle grinding on the bracket and parts of the charger so they would slot together. She seemed sturdy and although she will have to come apart again for some slight moding and tidying up it means I can make a bracket to support the upper weight of the charger.

Also over the weekend put the drivers door interior together, painted my new calipers although these need another coat, and cleaned my engine bay which now looks alot tidier. I have to make a new list of jobs to work through as there is still lots to do, many jobs being delayed by the head and head gasket that I am still waiting on.

I have pics and will post them up at the next oppotunity.
 

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
Paul can you sort your computer so i don't keep getting spam from your email address about shoes! lol
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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I would like to apologise to anyone that is getting spam from my email I have lots of spam repelent on my pc but it still gets sent I got an IT company to look into this for me and it turns out the spam is coming from a company that has attached my email as part of there address so it shows it's from me. I have contacted the company to make them aware but they already are. They no longer use there address so are not interested in helping and said it's my problem and not to call them. So not to sure where to go from there.
I am trying to sort it but I apologise to anyone that gets any rubbish email from me.

Sorry

paul
 

NeX

You're after my robot bee
Club Member
so is it a problem with your pc, or did someone steal your address book? if its a problem with your PC i can fix it :)
 

Shaun

***StaGGeRed***
just create a new e-mail and go round changing your email for important things such as FB,Twitter, bank, msc etc... i do mine nearly every year!
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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I'm pretty certain its not a PC problem as I have had it rebuilt (software) twice in the last 3 months to just in case this is the issue, I will try changing my password as suggested but if not i'll have to get rid of that email address and get a new one i think.
 

Low Rider

Poindexter
Founding Member
Moderator
Club Member
Hi

Sorry for the delay as far as I can see they are parallel bodies.

Opps, missed your reply. I was in the UK last weekend sorting some things out. We run taperbore throttles, 48mm inlets which taper to the required 42mm of the inlet manifold, so I expect yours will be the same.
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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I'm back again, its been a short time since the last update as i was waiting on parts to arrive and although there are still lots of jobs to do they all required the extra parts to do a good job.

Firstly thanks for all the help with the spam issue that now seems resolved which is nice :grinning:

The head gasket turned up with the head bolts last week and it looked really nice and shiney and new, the head turned up monday but was missing the buckets and shims but they arrived wednesday, the cams were also missing but they are on route. I decided to line the parts up yesterday but discovered the head gasket set is similar but not right. It fits beautifully around the chain and the pistons but does not have any gasket around the outer holes so i will need to return this monday which was a pain.

So I decided to look and doing some porting myself. So i clamped an old manifold gasket to the throttle bodies and ground out the excess metal from there hopefully giving a mildly better air flow. I am also very pleased with the work done to the head she is looking very good indeed.



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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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I have ordered a gasket set from matt today so will definitely have the correct parts this time, don't know why I didn't call him first. So thanks again matt saving the day :)
 
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Paul Smith

Paul Smith

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Ok some may say its been almost 2 months since my last update, others may say its been forever. There all wrong in my mind its been about a day lol fwn

Ok the last couple of months quite a lot has been accomplished I have fitted my new exhaust, refitted the head, including a re shim and cams, throttlebodies, radiator, front bumper, head lights, grille manifold rebuilt the front suspension with new suspension bearings, fitted and bled new brakes, and new Kumho KH31 tyres. finally I turned the key ..........................
 
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