92 K10 Super S Restoration

[porkpie700]

In 2009 I left Leeds for Bristol to pick up a 1992 Super S (K10). Even back then, a Super S was a rare find.
The car wasn’t without issues; it had failed an MOT on several items, had the wrong front bumper, a damaged passenger side door, shabby paint, oversized wheels, and a gearbox with a tendency to pop out of first gear.

I did the work needed to get the Super S through an MOT and it served as a daily driver until 2013, when I decided to restore it. Initially, I aimed to have the work completed within three years but, as the saying goes, life got in the way. The car sat in storage until July 2024 when a window of opportunity opened—I could do the project, but it had to be finished within one year instead of the planned three… I managed, with only weeks to spare.
Who am I? Well, I have been absent from the forum for many years, but have a history with the Micra K10 that spans back to 2003. I have owned several K10’s and have restored three; 1.2 GSX Automatic, 1.2 GS Canvass Top, and now a 1.2 Super S. Over the years, three had to be scrapped, and the rest (except for the Super S) were sold-on to new owners.

Due to the soaring prices of classic cars, and ongoing health issues, I knew the Super S would likely be my last project, so I decided to go all-out and give it my very best.
Aside from showing the restoration, I aim to share a few tips and how-to’s along the way. The methods shown are of my own personal preference and are by no means the only way to do things. If you have an alternative approach to any task shown here, please post it separately, in a new thread, where it can be found more easily.

Let’s get started!

 

[porkpie700]

Bodywork:

You never know what surprises may be hidden behind paint and trims until the shell is stripped. Luckily this K10 had a good shell and only a small amount of welding was required. The sills were straightforward and, in K10 terms, not bad at all.

The front scuttle (panel below the windscreen) was trickier to work with, as was the rear wheel arch.

One of the more time-consuming jobs was the replacement of a rotten section INSIDE the car. A box-section below the windscreen supplies the heater with air and channels away rainwater. These are prone to collecting dirt and rotting through; resulting in a wet carpet. Water flows around a collared duct (that allows air to be drawn from above the waterline) and exits behind the wings. The collared section is often the culprit.

When fabricating replacement sections, I often use cardboard to create a template—it’s easier to work with than steel and can save a lot of time.
Though it’s not shown in the pictures, the rotten section was cut out prior to welding-in the new piece. For a repair that lasts, always cut out rotten metal rather than welding over it. Where this isn’t possible or practical, clean away any flakey material and use an effective rust-killer on the affected area. For extra protection, weld-through zinc-rich sprays can also be used.

Of course, if you don't want to go this extreme, you can always just leave a towel under it (yes I did that on a previous car).

 

[porkpie700]

Wings:

Since Super S models are fitted with wheel arch extensions, their wings differ slightly from standard models. Obtaining standard wings for a K10 is already difficult; searching for Super S wings is like hunting for hens’ teeth, rocking-horse poop—whatever analogy floats your boat.
Sometimes you have to make your own parts; take what you can get and modify…
Using the original wing, I made a template to help position the mounting tabs I would have to fabricate and add to a replacement (standard) wing. That’s right, more cardboard!

Super S wings have a small squared hole to house a screw plug. A self-tapping screw fitted with a nylon washer screws into the plug, anchoring the arch extension to the wing. To reproduce this feature in the correct location on the standard wing, I made a template with masking tape on the original wing, and transferred it to the standard wing. After marking the centre of the square, the wing was drilled and the hole shaped with a square file.

With the metalwork complete, both wings were prepped for longevity. The whole inner surface and lower outer sections were primed with zinc primer, painted, clear-coated, and then coated with a paintable anti-gravel compound similar to that used to protect modern vehicles. The wings will then be painted inside and out, and their inner surfaces coated with Waxoyl for additional protection.

This many layers of protection may seem excessive, but preserving this car is an absolute priority.
On to the next job…

 

[porkpie700]

Paint:
Since I lack the facilities to paint a car (even one as small as a Micra), I reluctantly turned the job over to a body-shop and shifted my focus to other work.

The car was painted and collected in pieces, starting with the shell. Working in this way allowed me to keep moving forward—receiving the finished parts in the order in which they were needed.

 

[porkpie700]

Rear Hatch:
Fitting the rear hatch/boot lid is a straightforward job and can be done solo if there’s no one around to help you.

Feeding the wiring through the hatch, however, can be quite tedious.
To make the task easier, use a suitable hose to feed lengths of string through the wiring runs. Attach each string to a connector on the wiring harness and label both ends for easy reference (the connectors must be pulled through in order of length, from longest to shortest). Carefully pull each connector through the hatch and then remove the strings.

The rear lights are new-old-stock, purchased from my local Nissan dealership several years ago. As they are designed to be both bonded and bolted into place, this job can easily become messy. Wear gloves and be patient when applying sealer to the light unit—I used Tiger Seal, but there are other products available that work just as well.

 

[porkpie700]

Doors and Hinge Bushing Replacement:

If you own a K10 long enough, the doors will eventually sag. Steel pins and brass bushings wear over time (use grease or a suitable spray lubricant to extend their service life). Replacement bushings and pins are still available (at time of writing) and can be replaced with basic tools.
Water can get trapped between the hinges and their mounting points on the body. If you go through the effort of removing the doors, it’s worth dealing with any rust you find there.

For the home mechanic; you don’t need a press to install new bushings. I prefer to draw-in the bushings with a length of threaded bar, washers and nuts—it’s an easy procedure and there’s little chance of damaging the bushings.

If you’re working alone, aligning the door to the body, holding it in place and then tightening the hinge bolts can be challenging. I use a thick towel, folded lengthways, and placed along the doorstep, to space the door upwards. It also keeps the door level and the shut-lines consistent. Bear-in-mind that, even with new bushings and pins, the hinges will still have some play—you’ll need to set the door slightly higher, by an amount equal to the play, to compensate.

 

[porkpie700]

Engine Block:

While I waited for the body-shop to do their work on the remaining parts, I made a start on the engine. Admittedly, some of the work I did was purely to suit my own preferences and is not required for a typical rebuild. To keep this section from becoming an essay, not every step I took will be covered here—so if something isn’t covered, be assured it was done.

Strip-down and inspection revealed that some of the bearing shells had corroded from eleven years of standing. Shards of metal debris had collected on top of the bearing cap, though there was no obvious sign of any damage that could have produced them.

Flash removal.
The casting process in the 1980’s was largely hit-and-miss. Some castings were very good, some very poor—this one, like most, was somewhere in-between. Before moving on I spent a few hours cleaning up the worst of the flashing left behind by the mold.
This step is not necessary; I did it purely for my own preference. After three decades, if any of these bits of flashing were going to break-off and cause damage, I’m sure they would have done so long ago.

Cleaning the deck is typically done in a machine shop but can also be done by hand. I use an aluminium spirit level with a machined flat edge, 1000 and 1200 grit wet-and-dry sandpaper, and WD40. Remove the locating dowels (for the cylinder head) and work smoothly back and forth in a crosshatch pattern along the length of the deck, taking care to keep the spirit level flat (avoid rocking as you change direction). This block took about half-an-hour, working steadily (and cleaning often).

The cylinders had no shortage of glaze, the original crosshatch was quite worn and there was some light scoring, caused by carbon buildup between the piston rings and the ring-lands.

I’m not going to explain how to hone—it’s best to watch a video and actually see it. If you’re new to honing, Uncle Tony’s Garage has a great tutorial video on YouTube.
The cylinder walls were remarkably straight and showed only a few low spots on the middle cylinders—these were easily worked out and the bores were well within tolerance for a standard set of rings.

Last step; a deep clean—particularly of the oil gallery and passageways—followed by a few healthy coats VHT Aluminium Silver.

 

[porkpie700]

Pistons:

This particular car was purchased new in Brighton, and spent most of its early life as a town and city runaround in the south. The pistons were pretty much as I’d expect for a K10 that had, according to the service history, averaged 8,000 miles between oil changes at bi-yearly intervals. That may be commonplace with modern, clean-burning engines, but for the rich-running cars of the 1980’s it’s a recipe for carbon buildup.

Carbon behind the rings...

A buildup of carbon in the ring-lands (ring grooves) and on the backs of the rings had caused poor sealing. A compression test prior to removal showed that cylinder pressure was as low as 107psi—well-below the acceptable minimum of 164psi.
A wire-wheel and small drill were used to remove the thickest deposits. To clean the areas inaccessible to the wire-wheel, the pistons were soaked in petrol for 48 hours and cleaned with a small paintbrush.

The next step is sometimes missed, and if missed, can lead to oil-consumption.
The drain holes in the groove of the oil control ring must be cleared of debris. Use a small drill bit and rotate by hand to loosen and draw out trapped carbon. This is particularly important for the drain holes positioned above the gudgeon pins, as they provide lubrication between the piston head and the gudgeon pin. You may be surprised by how much carbon can accumulate in these passages alone.

[above; carbon piled beside a 13mm hex nut]

Fitting new rings is fairly straightforward, either with an installation tool or by hand. If you’re tempted to oil them, don’t! They are lubricated by the film of oil on the cylinder walls (and the ring compressor tool on fitting). Keep those rings and their ring-lands clean! Any oil trapped behind the compression rings will burn and create… carbon!

And finally, adding new bearing shells before fitting the pistons into their assigned cylinders. If you’re doing this yourself for the first time; do not lubricate the backs of the bearing shells or the connecting rods—doing so can cause the bearing shells to move or spin, potentially destroying the crank pin or connecting rod. Only lubricate the side that contacts the crank.

 

[porkpie700]

Engine Block: Finishing Touches

The cranks are usually strong and durable in MA engines. This one only required a good cleaning. Break cleaner and compressed air work well on the oil passageways—just be sure to wear a face shield, or at least eye protection. Check for cracks or pitting, and avoid using rags that shed material (it can obstruct oil passageways).

The bearing caps are cast into a single piece which is then bolted to its designated block and line-bored. This makes them block-specific, meaning that they are not interchangeable (without machining). They are made from cast aluminium and contain drainage holes to allow engine oil to return to the sump.
The drain holes can suffer from thick burrs, sludge accumulation and flashing, reducing oil flow. I used a die-grinder to remove the burrs, cleaned it with petrol, and then fitted the bearing shells (again, don’t put any lubricants between the bearing shells and their seats).

The corresponding shells were then fitted to the block, along with new thrust washers, and the crank lowered into place.

Yes, mould and fungus CAN grow in oil (and is pretty nasty to clean).

I wanted to avoid using non-original bolts on the sump, but sometimes you have to compromise when the original parts are beyond repair.
On to the next job!

 

[porkpie700]

Cylinder Head

Completely stripped, the cylinder head received careful grinding to the oil and water passageways—removing casting defects and obstructions to improve flow. This is another of example an additional step that is not required for most rebuilds. Almost all MAs worked their entire lives with these “factory defects” and were perfectly fine. This, again, is personal preference.
The mating surface was also machined for flatness and then finished using the same method I used on the deck.

Port work: another optional step. On a normal—non-electronic—carbureted engine I don’t typically bother porting the heads. My cars never see race-use. My go-to upgrade for an MA12 is to fit an MA10 carburetor; they are jetted (believe it or not) to deliver more fuel than any of the three MA12 carb variants. MA12’s with automatic transmissions also provide better fueling and make a noticeable improvement in low-end torque.
The computer-controlled electronic carburetor of the Super S is by far the leanest, which makes porting an attractive option. If you decide to have this work done, or to do it yourself, it’s important that you do not polish the ports—doing so will reduce the fuels’ ability to tumble and properly mix with the air as it travels through the port. Polishing is used to best effect on engines with direct fuel injection. FOR ROAD USE; I find that a 320 grit finish works well—any smoother and low-end torque can suffer (based on my own experience—take it for what it’s worth).

Next came valve selection and cleaning. I typically place the valve stem into a drill chuck and spin it at a moderate speed while applying a small wire brush to the carbon deposits. Finish with a toothbrush and WD40 (or brake cleaner).
Why did I say “valve selection”? Because manufacturing tolerances were much broader in the 1980’s, there can be a surprising level of inconsistency in valve, spring, and cam lobe height. If you have multiple sets, it’s a good idea to measure and group them into sets of similar size.
Tip: If you need to replace a bad valve—MA10 and MA12 valves are interchangeable.

New valve guides were fitted and honed to size. As the valve seats had to be re-cut relative to the new guides, I took the opportunity to convert them into three-angle seats. The Super S actually has several horsepower LESS than a standard—non-electronic carb’d—1.2 model. Small changes like this can help regain a few of those missing ponies.

One more pass with 1200 grit.

Mask and paint.

The rocker shaft was pitted and scored, so a good spare was substituted along with matching set of rocker arms. The oil intake holes on rocker shafts are often out of alignment with the corresponding holes on the head; this can be resolved by enlarging the intake holes (and only the intake holes) on the rocker shaft ends (not the head, and not the feed-holes to the rocker arms). This improves oil-flow, particularly when the engine is cold.

After grinding-in (lapping) the valves, I selected a cam with the highest lobes (they wear down with age) and began assembly.

And yes, it took many gallons of tea to keep MY motor running.

 

[porkpie700]

Compressors, Cats & Tall Blocks:
When K10’s were new (and Duran Duran ruled the charts) power steering was a costly option that most buyers ignored. The standard K10 weighed less than three-quarters of a ton, ran on skinny tires, and boasted a large steering wheel that made for very easy turning… when moving—parking was another matter, but not too bad for the time.
The Super S by comparison, with its trimmings and emissions hardware, is a bit on the chubby side. Spec’d with wider tires from the factory and sporting a smaller steering wheel, a Super S is quite different from the nimble 1L base models. Add to this the fact that I am old, fat, and have been spoiled by modern electronic power steering for far too long… darn it, I’m going to add a little luxury!

Time to mock-up the hardware.

This system came from my old Figaro and has been transplanted into three successive (non-cat) K10’s over the years—but never a Super S. The Figaro uses a primary catalytic converter that is smaller and positioned differently than that of a catalyzed K10. As a result of the larger and lower cat, the front support bracket for the A/C compressor cannot reach its anchor point.

To remedy this, a little modification is required.

The compressor side of the front support bracket also requires a spacer to maintain its relative position to the compressor. The taller block of the MA12 (compared to the 1L) also necessitates an additional spacer for the upper support bracket. Both spacers were fabricated from a spare floating brake caliper tube.

Job done.

 

[porkpie700]

Transmission & Drive Shafts

Storage tip: Insert drive shaft inboard-ends into the differential, fill the gearbox completely with oil, and then insert the speedometer cable drive unit to seal it.

Out with the old transaxle and in with the new!

The drive shafts had seen better days...

Stripping, inspecting and rebuilding drive shafts is always messy, but well worth the effort on classic cars (for which replacement parts can be scarce, or of poor quality).

The starter motor and flywheel were also tidied up a little bit.

There are also other little brackets and mounts to go along with the transmission side of things, which were also taken care of at this time—you’ll see them later, as a complete assembly.

 

[porkpie700]

HVAC

I’ve never had a K10 with a bad heater. That said; this unit had sat in storage for over a decade! The core was in wonderful condition inside and out, and all the unit required was a good clean and fresh grease on the mechanisms.

The fresh/recalculate air duct had aged less gracefully; the foam had turned to dust and the air flap had seen better days…

Nothing that a little time and effort couldn’t cure!

On to the next job!

 

[porkpie700]

Body: Electric & Interior

Refitting a 33-year-old vinyl roof lining was an absolute cow of a job—requiring bulldog clips, a heat-gun and a boatload of patience…
The roof insulation was replaced with fresh, thicker material that should last the life of the car.

I moved on to fitting the main wiring harness—and this is where taking pictures of where things go BEFORE you remove them really helps.

Before proceeding, I went ahead and had a new windscreen fitted. Finding a new screen wasn’t a problem, but nobody seemed able to acquire a new window seal. I turned to a supplier in Japan and managed to procure one; it was genuine Nissan, and ended up costing as much as the windscreen itself. On the bight-side, I was finally able to start adding interior.

Before I could fit the dashboard, its wiring harness needed some light surgery. When I bought the car it had a pair of blown Pioneer 6x9’s in the back and what I think was an old Alpine head unit. It sounded awful, and when I saw the state of the wiring behind it, I just left it alone. I often wondered why anyone would go through the trouble of splicing-in an ISO plug instead of simply using an adapter.

The mess that was once a simple stock radio plug… It had to go!

In future, this stock connector can simply plug into a K10 to ISO adapter to accommodate any aftermarket stereos. Now just to re-wrap the rest of it and away we go!

 

[porkpie700]

Engine Install Prep: 1

Before installing the engine, there were some jobs that are much easier to do with no engine or transmission in the way; the brake servo and front brake lines, and—because of limited space between the car’s left side and the garage wall—the left wishbone. I also wanted to replace the bearing in the idler pulley as a precaution.
The servo was a matter of inspecting the units I had kept from previous vehicles and selecting the best based on condition and vacuum testing. I opted not to rebuild the master cylinder, as I find many of the aftermarket kits to be of poor quality. The vacuum hose was also tested and thoroughly cleaned.

The wishbones (lower-control arms) were brand new units, however, in an effort to stave-off corrosion I repainted them using a zinc-rich primer and finished them with a 2K clear-coat.

Yes, I know... A clothes-horse is meant for clothes. A lot of parts were painted in the winter months, and so many of them hung in front of the fire (though it's not lit here) to prevent the damp air from clouding the paint.

One of the wonderful aspects of pre-90’s cars (yes, there are exceptions – calm down) is that many of their parts can be rebuilt. In this case instead of replacing an entire assembly, you need only replace a bearing. This job is typically done with a hydraulic press but can also be done using the ‘drawing’ method you see here. On the side on which the bearing will exit, use a socket with a diameter greater than the hole. On the opposite side, use a socket slightly smaller than the hole and run a suitably sized threaded bar (or bolt) through them and fit a nut and washer at each end. Now wind-in the nut(s) to draw-out the bearing.
Tip: Use heat to expand the area around the bearing.

This pulley is made from cast-iron, which is prone to rust, so I added a few layers of protection—zinc and VHT paint.

The new bearing was drawn-in—and the job completed.

 

[porkpie700]

Engine Install Prep: 2

Power-steering models used a shorter, beefier steering column—and mine needed the same attention to detail as the rest of the car before it could be fitted.

Like P-Diddy says: You can never have too much lube...

No folks, it’s not obsessive compulsive disorder. Why go through all the effort of doing everything else, and then fit a scruffy steering column? And a rusty one at that…
The colour mismatch in the engine bay is an area that had some corrosion (missed by the body shop). The area will be coated in black Waxoyl when all the other work is complete, and I don’t have to wrench under there anymore.
Several other minor jobs (not shown here) were completed, and then…

...we were ready.

 

[porkpie700]

Engine Installation:

Driving to the end of the street on an old mobility scooter—with an engine strapped into the seat and a transmission sitting on the floorboard—raised a few eyebrows, but I wasn’t going to risk throwing my back out for the sake of looking macho.
Fitting a clutch on a K10 is about as easy as it gets, and despite having a clutch centralizing tool, for K10s I still use an old ratchet handle and simply eyeball it—God I miss those days!
Everything went together well, though I had to work slowly to avoid damaging the plethora of painted surfaces.

One of the problems with putting a project on-hold for many years is that things can go missing or get thrown out accidentally; the original air box was one of them. An auto-breaker in Germany shipped over a replacement and, after replacing the 3-decade-old vacuum lines, I was able to continue.

Getting this far was a milestone, but there was a lot of work still to come…

 

[porkpie700]

Gear Linkage

On the transmission side of things, the gear linkage was in dire need of attention. Since they hang underneath the car, the gear linkage gets hit with dirt, water and road salt. They corrode and often become stiff or imprecise with time. Fortunately they are simple devices and can be serviced without special tools.

Stripping and cleaning the bushings on the selector shaft is just a case of removing the split-pin and washer locking them in place, though severe corrosion may necessitate drilling out the split-pin. The fulcrum is comprised of a nylon ball and 2-piece spring-loaded socket. The socket halves unbolt, and the whole assembly can be cleaned, re-greased and assembled in 20 minutes.

New mounts are still available (at time of writing) and well worth replacing if the old ones are perished.

Fit the linkage and have an assistant move the shifter through the gears as you adjust the stop-plate from underneath. When you’re happy with how it moves, apply a generous coat of grease to the linkage for protection.

 

[porkpie700]

Brakes

As was the case on several occasions throughout this restoration, I made use of the parts I had kept from my Figaro; making possible a conversion to vented disc brakes.
If you are a K10 owner, and are interested in making this upgrade on your own car, all you really need are Figaro brake calipers, discs and pads.
Are vented disc hubs different from standard hubs?
Yes; the back-plate lip sweeps backward, away from the disc (standards sweep forward, over the disc).
I used Figaro hubs because I had them, but you can simply remove the back-plates on your standard hubs without adversely affecting brake function. Back-plates (on front discs) are no longer used on typical modern cars, though there will always be exceptions.

The rear brakes required much more work, including replacement of the factory original wheel bearings. Thinking about replacing your rear wheel bearings? A very powerful impact gun is required to remove the retaining nut. I used a Milwaukee impact gun intended for HGVs! On the flip side of that, a torque wrench capable of tightening to as much as 188 lb ft (maximum) is required.

 

[porkpie700]

Forming new brake pipes was made much easier by this fantastic mini-pipe bender—allowing me to replicate the factory pipes more accurately than a standard swing-style bender. This tool also forms fuel pipes—as you’ll soon see.

The entire length of pipe from front to rear had to be replaced—from the bulkhead to the rear brake cylinders. If you have need to do the same with your car, work methodically and never rush—one mistake can ruin an entire section.

 

[porkpie700]

Replacing Rotten Fuel Pipes

Much like the original brake lines, the fuel lines were rotten—incapable of delivering fuel to and from the engine without creating a serious fire hazard.
I didn’t come this far to let my car turn into a fireball…

There’s no magic to forming fuel pipes. It’s a tedious job that requires lots of working room and careful marking and comparison against the original pipes. The mini-pipe bender was crucial here.

At their ends, fuel pipes incorporate a bead that works with the hose clamp to secure the attached rubber hose in place. For this purpose a beading tool was required. A friend in the United States made me aware of this handheld version from a company in Orange County California, who kindly shipped one to me, along with a handwritten note from the company owner. The tool worked well and cleaned up the ends with a drill and countersink, and some 1000 grit sandpaper for a burr-free finish.

(Drill shavings visible inside pipe end—the pipes were all cleaned thoroughly before fitting).

If you thought that snapping these pipes into 33-year-old hardened plastic clips would prove to be a royal pain in the neck… you would be right. After referring to my prior-taken photographs I was able to recreate the factory pipe-spaghetti envisioned by the Nissan engineers who once sat at their drafting boards with a pencil in once hand and a cigarette in the other.

On to the next job!

 

[porkpie700]

Exhaust System

Before anyone asks why I didn’t de-cat the car, throw away the muffler, the emission control devices, and fit a deafening straight pipe… Firstly, and most importantly, that’s illegal—my car was registered after the date at which catalytic converters became mandatory in the United Kingdom. I also don’t care for loud exhausts—I did all that when I was a youngster—these days I like my cars quiet and stealthy. And while it may not be a popular opinion among many car enthusiasts, the tiny gain in performance isn’t worth the price we ultimately pay. That’s my opinion—you’re entitled to yours. I’m not here to preach. We’re not here to argue and cuss at each other—so let’s keep this thread positive.

Okay, with that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get back on track!
As is often the case with obtaining parts for a car of this age, support isn’t great, and the aftermarket can be hit-and-miss. I ordered and returned THREE “K10” catalytic converters because they were shorter than the factory unit (which was unsalvageable due to severe corrosion). So I measured a type approved K11 cat—which uses the same flange size and configuration—and found it to be much closer to what the Super S required.

Although closer, the K11 cat still fell short. To remedy this I ordered additional flanges and extended it.

K10 Micras require the use of crush-tubes within their exhaust mountings; the steel tubes supplied with most new mounts have a tendency to corrode around the bolt, ruining the bolt and causing the mount to twist and tear when the bolt is loosened for adjustment or removal.
Years ago I began cutting my own crush-tubes from stainless steel; once cut, they can be reused whenever mounts are replaced.

Thank chuff that's out of the way!
The decal is new old stock - and after 30 years in the wrapper, it went on fine.

 

[porkpie700]

Wheels, Tires and the MOT
Wheel choices can be somewhat limited for older cars. You find a style you like, only to discover that it doesn’t come in a compatible size or stud pattern. And do I really want to invite thieves, or entice boy-racers to tailgate and weave back and forth in a desperate effort to bait me into racing? As Dirty Dutch Mantell would say: “Not no—but HELL NO!”
So I figured I would shoot for the stock “survivor” look and keep rolling on factory steel.

I am well aware that the half-covers were intended for LX models, and the SLX/Super S correct wheel trims are out there… but for what they are I cannot justify the expense of shipping them from overseas when I can recondition a full set of steel wheels for the same price.
The interior may need a good clean, but she’s good enough for an MOT attempt.
I opted for the scenic route…

She passed!
Other than a few small jobs here and there – refitting small bits of trim etcetera… that’s all folks!

 

[Micra Paul]

Wheels, Tires and the MOT
Wheel choices can be somewhat limited for older cars. You find a style you like, only to discover that it doesn’t come in a compatible size or stud pattern. And do I really want to invite thieves, or entice boy-racers to tailgate and weave back and forth in a desperate effort to bait me into racing? As Dirty Dutch Mantell would say: “Not no—but HELL NO!”
So I figured I would shoot for the stock “survivor” look and keep rolling on factory steel.

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I am well aware that the half-covers were intended for LX models, and the SLX/Super S correct wheel trims are out there… but for what they are I cannot justify the expense of shipping them from overseas when I can recondition a full set of steel wheels for the same price.
The interior may need a good clean, but she’s good enough for an MOT attempt.
I opted for the scenic route…

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She passed!
Other than a few small jobs here and there – refitting small bits of trim etcetera… that’s all folks!

Wow!

A shed load of blood, toil & treasure expended?

I feel tired just spending half an hour reading thru & thinking about it all.

Now it looks too good to use as a runabout & appears to be for classic shows to show off your photo documented good work?

Good luck.