1993 K11 Nissan Micra Super-iSh

[markbognor]

I'ts MOT time tomorow, so In preparation I thought that I should do something about the pair of font tyres that are tying to do an impression of Kojak. Juggling tyres and wheels has resulted in a combination of rims in use - I had a pair of Wolfrace Slots which were bare so fitting the one unmounted tyre I had to one of them, and then only removing one tyre from it's existing rim (5" steel) and fitting it to the other bare slot was a faster way to do it than removing the two scrap tyres from two of the Weller 8 Spokes.

Which do you like Slots or Spokes?



As it turned out the tyre juggling was a waste of time! I jacked it up at home to fit the best of the other tyres to the O/S front, and put the sensible back box on. Thought to myself, I'll just give that a bit of a tap and the sill opened up Oh well I'll still put it in and see what else it fails on.

[Deleted]

slots rule!!!

[Deleted]

Spokes for me, but only by the narrowest of margins.

[jrevillug]

Slots for me. But them I'm biased towards slots as a rule.

[markbognor]

The MOT went as thought, a refusal for issue of an MOT certificate was printed.

Front Brake pads low - Replacements bought (Disks were advisoried too so they are getting replaced as well)
OS Number plate light - Replacement bought before the MOT
Exhaust Substantially louder than original - No surprise there then - stocker to go on before re-test.
Corrosion within the prescribed area OS outer sill - Looked something like this:



With a little tickle with the flap wheel,



And then some attention from the slitting disk,



Hmmm, seems some more is required,



Then I took the children home for tea. I went back to my folks and got the inner repair panel cut and shaped, but ran out of light before I could get it welded.
This is the first time I've done anything like this so am pretty much making it up as I go along - wish me luck and any comments on my technique gratefully recieved!

[mashedpot8er]

Good luck on the welding. I was told about using masking tape over the hole here on RR by cobblers, Then rubbing a mucky finger over it to highlight the edges to get the shape of the patch sorted. Works brilliantly.

I think I saw you a month or so ago, getting onto the A3 about 09:00 going north. Can't be that many red micras with a big white window top sticker driving about.



Edit: prefer the slots

[jrevillug]

Looks pretty good to me. It'd be worth having a go at getting that top cut line a bit straighter - generally speaking, larger squarer patches with neat straight edges are easier to make and fit.

Personally, I'd be tempted to knock the spot welds out and pull that length of the flange off - could be some grot in that seam, and it'll be easier to join the repair to the vertical edge than welding into an internal corner.

Finally, if you do re-make the flange, be aware that repair sections must be seam-welded all the way round for the MOT - despite the fact that plug welding in the right places would be quicker, just as safe, and more original. However, if it's neatly ground back, painted and seam sealed, who's to say where the welds are?

[hairnet]

evilrug volunteers

[markbognor]

Had a bit of time pretending to do body work this afternoon, I pulled off some of the flange and cleaned that up, that was so thin I had to weld some new metal in, then got stuck in with the first patch. It's not pretty, in fact it's a bit sh*t. I caught the edge of the outer bodywork with the flap wheel twice so that's now all out of shape, Rather than properly fit a patch to the hole and but weld, I might just overlap a patch over the top, It's not like the car is concourse. I might have to re-evaluate my opinion of side skirts!

[projectquartz]

Thats a great fist effort, don't be ashamed of that. I suggest a small overlap if your inexperienced of say 5/10mm. If you slit each corner and tap down the overlap edges it will allmost be flush anyway. You done the important bit by cutting the rust out and grind the sill edge back through the rust and old spot welds. If you attempt the butt weld only clean the old metal with one pass with the grinder or better still a sander as to not thin the metal. One last thing mot testers wanna see a continuous weld now unless its a invisible job. Hope that helps Charlie.

[projectquartz]

That reminds me gotta do some welding on a micra at the weekend, same place as yours I imagine, they all go there, even though there very solid as a whole.

[stealthstylz]

Looks great so far. If you don't want to butt weld overlap it from the inside. Should be room to get the repair patch in through the hole.

[MELV]

This tread is inspiring. So much so that I've found out that insurance for a 1.3 is only about £140 for the year. Hmmmmm.......

[markbognor]

Cheers Melv.

I got a bit more done tonight, making the patch went far better than I expected - It fitted! I decided to go with the overlapping the outside of the panel - I know its not pretty but I just wanted to crack on with getting it done. The sides and top are welded quite neatly, but then the rain started and I had to pack up. No pic, my phone was flat. Fingers crossed for finishing tomorrow and MOT on Friday. Looking forward now to a proper celebration for loosing my bodywork cherry.

[mylittletony]

good luck dude, this car is deservedly a source of inspiration for many.

[markbognor]

As of tonight, the sill looks like this:



Stock exhaust is back on, and the number plate light is fixed. Just the disks and pads on the front and I'm good to go. Wont be friday now unfortunately, I didn't get as much time as I hoped this afternoon.

[Deleted]

For a first foray into this sort of repair work, that's a thoroughly respectable looking job.

[projectquartz]

Very tidy, welldone that man!

[markbognor]

Another years ticket has been gained!



But I'm still two slots down on a set. Pair wanted! 7's or 8's in a four stud PCD.

[dollydrifter]

well done and a tidy bit of welding i was gonna take my dads k11 to the scrap man in the morning but after reading your thread I'm thinking i should keep it and have a play with it