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So, I agreed I would clean the Micra. It was already quite clean, so I just washed it and cleaned the black trim.



It looks good! There's a few small areas of rust, but my friend is going to paint those areas. It's Nissan "Champagne Metallic".



The model was updated with new appearance in 1988 and the 5-door model was introduced in 1989. I like the side profile of the 5-door, the balance is perfect.



Most of the update is the new front end, with a different grille. The bonnet curves down more and the headlights are taller. There's some other changes too. I think these later models only have 13-inch wheels, but early ones can have 12-inch.



The rear end has very large lights for the rear plate. It's wider on European models, since our plates are wider. I made a mistake previously, it's a GS model. At the time, the GS was the middle specification - at the time the range was the LS, GS, GSX. 1.0 and 1.2 engines available.



It should have these wheel covers, but they're not with the car. I'll see if I can find some.



The interior is in good condition, but the cigarette lighter and radio are missing. The lighter will be easy to replace, but the K10 uses a special size of radio. The new owner isn't interested in music, so I'll see if I can find the same radio.



Here it is with the P10! This K10 was still being made when the P10 was released.

Anyway, I'll finish with the specification list of the 1.2 GS model from the brochure:

DYNAMICS
Four cylinder alloy engine
Five speed gearbox (3AT optional)
Servo assisted brakes
Front disc brakes
Rear drum brakes

EXTERIOR ELECTRIC
Option: Tilt/detachable glass sunroof
Option: Electrically operated sliding canvas roof
Tinted glass
Driver and passenger interior adjustable door mirrors
Dipping rear view mirror
Heated rear window
Locking fuel cap
Two-speed and intermittent wipers
Halogen headlamps
Rear fog lamp
Side repeater lights
Wrap around bumpers
Colour-keyed radiator grille
Option: Metallic paint
Option: Two-tone paint
Aerodynamic wheel covers
155/70 R13 tyres

SEATING
Moquette seat trim
Adjustable head restraints
Double folding split rear seat

COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE
Electronic tune radio
Interior tailgate release
Trip recorder
Quartz clock
Lockable glove box
Cigar lighter
Rear wash/wipe
Three speed heater fan
Front and rear ashtrays

INTERIOR
Front and rear seat belts
Fitted carpets
Hinged luggage area cover
Steering lock
Child proof locks
Centre console

TECHNICAL
Capacity (cc): 1235
Compression ratio: 9.0
Bore and stroke (mm): 71x78
Fuel system: Twin choke carburettor
Max power bhp/DIN rpm: 60/5600
Max torque (DIN) rpm (lbft) 69/3200

DIMENSIONS
Length (mm): 3735
Width (mm): 1560
Height (mm): 1395
Kerb weight (kg): 695/775
Max. towing weight (kg): 600/750
Fuel tank capacity (litres): 40
Min. turning circle (M): 9.8

FUEL CONSUMPTION MILES PER GALLON
Constant 56 mph (90km/h): 62.8
Urban cycle: 42.8
Constant 75mph (120km/h): 46.3

I'll update more about this car soon.

Today, I was at my friend's car paint business when my other friend arrived in his recovery truck. I didn't see it, but I know the engine sound, so I went to open the gate. I was very surprised to see a K10 on the back of his truck! In the UK it's called a Micra, but I'm aware it's known as a March in Japan. They were one of the most popular Japanese cars ever sold in the UK.



I was impressed by the condition, only a few small areas of rust. He opened the door and I immediately asked him "How much do you want?" and he laughed, because he knew I would want to buy it. Luckily, I can't buy it. It's for his son, who saw it on the Internet. He wanted a car to drive to University. Instead of buying a new expensive car, he decided to buy an interesting old car.



The rear door was open slightly in that shot because the door rubber was caught, I closed it. It's a 1989 model with the bigger 1.2 engine, LS specification. I'm impressed that it's a 5-door model, the 3-door is more popular. Low mileage, only 44,000mi (60,000km). It still has the original paint in the glovebox for minor scratches and chips in the paintwork.

I moved it for him from the truck and it seems to drive quite well. It started easily. He told me to do it quickly, since there's oil in the radiator! The seller explained his sister accidentally put oil in the radiator instead of water... If he's telling the truth, it should be OK if we clean out the cooling system with water. However, it could also be that the car has headgasket failure, so oil is going into the cooling system. It's a common fault on the K10 Micra, but easy to fix.

I'll get some better photos tomorrow, since I agreed to clean it...

Since the YRV is mine now, it's going for a service tomorrow. I'll take it to the garage and have the oil and filters changed, new spark plugs, etc. I'll also get a new fan belt fitted (the old one is making a noise from cold).

With my cars, I usually follow a 3000 mi/5000km or 12 month service schedule. I think the service interval on the YRV is 7000mi, but I don't like to leave oil in the engine for a long time. It's probably a habit from driving older cars...

Anyway, I'm using Castrol Edge Full Synthetic 5w30. It's the first time I ever used Full Synthetic! The YRV has a timing chain, so I want to protect it with good oil. I only needed one 4L container, so I'm happy to pay a little bit more.

The oil filter is a K&N HP-1003, my friend uses these K&N filters on his MGB and he recommended them to me. It feels strange to use an American brand filter on a Japanese car, but the quality looks very good.

There's also spark plugs which were inside the glovebox when I got the car, NGK standard type. I'll probably upgrade to Iridium-type next time, but I'll use these first. I also got a new air filter, but it didn't arrive yet - Blitz SUS Power drop-in type.



I was very surprised to see a performance filter for the normally aspirated YRV. It's just the type which replaces the standard air filter, it goes in the normal filter box. They say it will increase performance, but I don't think it would be noticed. Probably a power increase of less than 1ps, haha. But it's a good quality filter and the price was low.

I also remembered I have these wheels...



Black Racing. I got these last year very cheaply from an auction. I didn't have any plans to fit them to any of my cars, actually I was going to sell them for more money. But they're the right PCD size and could fit. It depends on the wheel offset. I'll take a wheel off and see if it fits OK. If I like the look of it, I may change to these wheels.

My friend and I have been rescuing cars again...

Over the years, we have done this a few times. If it's a good or unusual car, we don't like to see it go to the scrapyard.

Here is one example, when we saved a Rover Sterling (800) Coupe: https://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/933700/blog/34507053/

Anyway, we have another friend who drives a car recovery truck. He takes cars away from accidents, moves cars for people, but sometimes people call him to take away cars they don't need. Usually the cars are broken, sometimes they may just be old.

In this case, he told us he had a Volkswagen Polo with some rust. From the year, it would be a Polo "6N" chassis, 3rd generation model. It had been with a family for many years, not driven on the road for a long time. The Polo isn't very unusual, but we went to look. We were surprised to see it had a canvas roof! It's called an "Open Air" which means it has an electric folding canvas roof.



It must be a rare model, because I didn't even know they made one with a canvas roof. The Polo battery was dead, but we started it using jump leads and my 156. It started quite easily and the roof worked perfectly!



The interior is quite nice. I was surprised to see how clean it is, it didn't even smell of mould. I expect any type of convertible roof car to smell of mould inside if it hasn't been driven for years, due to water condensation (and any holes in the roof).



The CD Player doesn't work, but that's no problem. Everything else is OK.



The engine is 1.4L, I think it's 8-valve, about 60ps. It has quite good power, but it's not really fast. It runs well, though.



I don't know why the wheels have been painted black. With the silver wheel caps, it looks like an American police car. We took it to our usual garage to change the front tyres. The original ones were completely destroyed, the sidewall had gone rotten and split completely open. This photos is after we changed them. We don't plan to completely repair the car, but we wanted it on four tyres so it could be easily moved around.



While we were at the garage, our mechanic showed us his new car. It's a Celica GT-Four ST185! I was surprised to see it, usually he has German cars.



I really like this car! This one is an import from Japan, because of the different back panel size. The European model has a wider back panel between the tail lights to fit wider European plates. It was on the ramp because he was treating the underside to protect it from rust. You can see my friend's red Chrysler 180 in the distance.

Anyway, we will see if we can find this Polo a new owner.

So, the other day I showed you my friend's M201G YRV. My friend said I could buy it from him for a good price... so I bought it!

It's easy to drive, with a sensible 1.3L engine. I'll be using it for local journeys and driving to the office. With the money I save on petrol, I can spend more money on the rest of my cars. However, I enjoy driving it and I like the appearance anyway.

First I'll make any repairs it needs to the bodywork, then I may upgrade a few parts on it.