Having recently had another baby, it became clear that the 3-door Micra was a bit too small for two kids and a pushchair in the boot, so I started looking for something a bit more practical. Luckily I woke up one morning, checked my phone and noticed an ad for a Primera P11 GT Saloon on the MSC Facebook group page of all places. After seeing the photo, I was set on buying it, and the price of £600 was very reasonable too. A few days later, I took the train up to Leicester with a mate and the deal was done, plus I got £50 off because one of the rear doors wouldn’t open – more on that later. The drive home was amazing, so much power compared to the Micra and it was fairly comfortable… and loud.
The car already had a few mods done to it, some I’ll be keeping, some I’ll be taking off:
- Almera N16 OEM 6″ alloys – keeping those
- Toyosports 4 branch manifold – keeping that
- Aftermarket backbox (can’t remember the make) – will be removing that as it’s too loud for family use
- Lowered 50mm on the front and 40mm at the back – will raise the front 10mm to clear speedbumps
- Megane front splitter – not sure about that yet, I kind of like it
I’ve been driving it around for a few weeks so I can get familiar with it and work out what other bits need doing. Once I have my workspace sorted, I’ll SORN the Primera and get started. It will be a slow project, as dictated by available time and money, but hopefully fairly thorough. The list I’ve compiled is below:
Bodywork/Exterior
- Locate and repair rush patches on floorpan and sills, weld up any holes where possible.
- Full underbody and arch underseal.
- Check interior floorpan for rust, repair as necessary.
- Exterior rust patches – grind back and repaint.
- Remove and refit spoiler, ensure any gaps are sealed.
- Powercoat wheels.
- Fill in small dents.
- Yellow tint fogs.
- Tidy up exhaust opening on rear bumper.
- Fix rear bumper fitment.
- Respray.
Suspension
- Remove suspension components (beams, links etc). Refurbish where possible and replace worn or broken components.
- Replace and/or uprate bushes.
- Uprated shocks.
- Check condition of springs, and replace if necessary.
Engine/Drivetrain/Brakes
- New stainless exhaust system.
- Air-con delete.
- Refit stock SR20 airbox.
- Engine bay clean.
- Paint cam cover.
- New clutch.
- Figure out why it’s losing oil.
- Adjust handbrake.
Interior
Replace drivers seatbelt.- Fix nearside rear door.
- Treat leather interior, replace torn parts where necessary.
- Replace boot sill plastic and floor carpet.
- Fix creaking front seats.
- New gear knob.
- New boot seal.
Electrics
- Fix flickering offside map light.
- Replace dashboard lamps.
Fit tail clusters (with clear indicator lenses).- Dash camera install (front and back).
Replace boot lid wiring loom.
Audio/ICE
- Fit head unit.
- Upgrade stock speakers.
- Install OEM style slim subwoofer.