Hirstのブログ一覧

There's been some ice on the roads lately. I need to be more careful than most people because I'm regularly driving late night when the temperature is coolest. At least if the roads are quiet, you can take more time.



Even though it looks like snow, that's mostly ice, except on the path. This photo is from a few weeks ago, but a friend who lives to the north says there's some snow there again so I'll probably get some tonight.

For some reason, if there's snow I usually seem to be driving a car which isn't very good at winter driving. A few years ago we had a terrible winter and at the time I was driving this Laurel taxi imported from Okayama. With heavy weight and extremely low power (1.8 CA18-LPG engine with only 76ps) it was difficult. But my Galant was broken...



Even though I like driving that car, I'm glad I'm not driving it at the moment.

I've been busy during the Christmas and New Year break with my cars. My office is closed, so I've had a lot of time. Unfortunately, the weather has been quite bad so I couldn't get much done.

Anyway, today I fitted a radio to the Primera P11. It's just an old JVC CD Player. I got it from a friend who didn't need it. Probably older than the car, I think.

Usually if I get a car without a radio, I try to fit the original manufacturer "OEM" type. You know they will always fit into the car and connect to the original cables. I don't listen to a lot of loud music, so the standard system is fine for me. Even if it's a cassette deck, that's no problem.

However, the P11 radio uses a security system connected to the code on the ECU. I could get an old radio easily, but I'd need to get the code changed by Nissan or a car radio shop. I didn't want to have to take it anywhere, so I just fitted something else instead.

I'm not an expert at fitting car radios, but here's what I do. If you want to try it yourself, it might help.



Usually the aftermarket radios are fitted into a "cage". You put this into the radio slot and then bend the metal pins inside to secure it into the car dashboard. On some cars it's different, you may need to secure it with a bracket. But this one I just put the cage in.



You need to convert the original cables to fit the radio. You can make the wires yourself, but it's very cheap to buy the parts from the Internet now. In my case I needed two sets of cables, this one changes the wiring from Nissan type to standard ISO connection.



For this radio I also needed the cables to connect from a JVC-Victor radio to ISO connection. So it goes Standard Cables -> ISO Cable -> JVC Cable -> JVC Radio.



There's a separate cable for the antenna. Usually I find this goes straight into the radio, but sometimes you need an adaptor. In this case I needed to change it from ISO type to DIN type. At that point you can test the radio and see if it works. If it does, then you can just slide it into the cage until it clicks into place. With your radio you should get one final piece of plastic trim to put around the radio, this should just click into place.

If you're fitting a complicated radio or you have things like volume controls on the steering wheel, CD changer, there's more to do, but if you have a car from the 1990s usually it's fairly easy.

Here's some more photos from my phone taken through 2014.



This Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II was at the supermarket. These are usually used for wedding cars.



I saw this Daihatsu Naked in the countryside, we never got this model! It could have been a private import or possibly an evaluation model imported by Daihatsu UK (they would often import models in small numbers to test - we also got a few Storia X4s).



This is an unusual model, a Quantum 2+2 Convertible. These are a British-made "kit car" based on the Ford Fiesta XR2, so they're FF with 1.6 engine. The chassis is GRP, so it's very lightweight. It looks a bit like the later type Lotus Elan.



Ford Escort XR3i Cabriolet. The XR3i was the normal sports model with a 1.6 injection engine. The condition was excellent and it was driven by an old man! When I was growing up, I would see these everywhere. They were part of the "boy racer" craze we had in the 80s and 90s, where young men would race around the streets in cars, usually sports models of normal hatchbacks.



This basic Audi 80 was in great condition. It's at the same supermarket I saw the Rolls-Royce. It's such a big parking area, I usually see something worth looking at.

The title picture is December 2014 from my calendar, a Datsun 240L (Laurel C231). When I see interesting cars, I usually try to take a photo. Unfortunately I don't always have my camera with me, so I usually use my phone. I thought I'd transfer all the photos I took this year.



I saw this Jaguar Mark 2 at some kind of village event. These were popular with thieves in the 60s and 70s, because they were fast and tough (also, easy to steal). There's an old TV drama here called "The Sweeney" which featured many car chases with these Jaguars. Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFeJAe4f9g0



This Volvo Amazon was at the same event. I've driven one of these, but only around a parking area. The Station Wagon type is quite rare.



Rover "P6" series, 2200 TC (Twin Carburettor). These were popular as police cars. There was a 3500 V8 version too.



I went to look at this P10 Primera after somebody told me about it. I had the chance to buy it, but there was a few reasons I didn't want to get it. It's the 2.0 SRi, which looks similar to the sports model but only has the standard engine (about 120ps).



I was driving somewhere and saw a car meet so I went to take a look. I was surprised to see this later-type Celeste!

I've got some more photos, I'll upload them over the next few days.

I wasn't expecting snow, but I got snow...

It looks nice, but it's not the best to drive in. The 156 has wide summer tyres and a heavy front end. There's no law here about having winter tyres. I'd like some, but the weather can be variable. Last year we only had one day of very light snow and I'm not always sure what car I'll be using. I don't live far from work, so a car isn't very essential for me anyway. I could walk if I needed to.

Tomorrow I was going to install a new interior light in the P11 Primera (the one inside is broken), but if it's still snowing I think I'll do it another day. For now, I'll just stay inside and have a drink.



Usually I get my parents a few bottles of alcohol for Christmas, but when I was in the shop they had Midori liqueur on sale. I've never had it before, so I bought it. It's great!