Project #2...Nissan Figaro

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Geeez rtbcomp thats some mad wiring indeed...that would drive me insane I think....I'm stressing over 1 wire being out of place!

Sure enough it is indeed a retro fitted fog light which reuses one of the reverse lights with a red bulb in it. The fog light is activated by this retro fitted piece of poop.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

All this is very....quirky, I like quirky.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Yea thats one word for it....I saw it there when I bought the car and thought it was part of an alarm system or something. Personally I'd have gone for something a bit more in keeping with the rest of the retro dash.

If you like quirky you'll like they way it beeps when you put it into reverse....like a milk wagon...I mean literally beeps while you're reversing!

 

[Robotstar5]

I rewired my Landrover like that. Completely non-standard colours and wiring scheme. Ostensibly to foil thieves, but I couldn't afford new wire so I used a load of stripped harnesses. The guy who bought it messed me about over the sale so I forgot to provide him with the wiring diagram

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rtbcomp/sets/72157594226870015

I like the clothes peg cable clips

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I'm still trying to work out what on earth this guy was thinking. I've spent hours sanding and as far as I can tell it's just a regular quarter panel underneath. There is a small dent by the front of the arch but this car is made of tin foil so it could have been straightened by hand. I think he literally welded the patch at the top of the arch wrong and then decided to skim the whole quarter panel 5mm thick (minimum depth!). I'm almost hoping to find some crash damage to justify all this sanding!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Slightly dented but nothing major...I think that patch at the top of the arch is where it all went a bit wrong. If you look it seems to be 3mm-4mm proud which has meant the whole panel needed to be brought up to that level. I reckon the spots everywhere might be a spot puller used to pull the dent out. But it would have taken about 10 minutes to remove the panel and rear seat so why even do it from the outside!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

When I bought the car I noticed a crack above the number plate holder....yep you've guessed it...it's filler time! Well I guess there was some left at the bottom of the gallon bucket...shame to let it go off. This guy was in serious need of a panel hammer and dolly!

You can see where the panel has rusted...this has cracked the filler and let water in which has caused more rust and more cracking. It's just such a shame because the paint job over the top was actually not too bad. It was the same at the bottom of the rear quarter....there was a small crack which again was caused by rust behind the filler.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

^^ Do you reckon [or can prove] these 'repairs' were inflicted in the UK by a 'professional', or is it possible they were done in Japan?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

What would be the benefit of proving anything either way? Not like there's any comeback unless it was done less than a few months ago.

I've seen plenty of specialist restoration jobs done in exactly the same fashion (mainly vw, mainly campers...) and the only people who ever care are the ones who get there next.

The people who pay thousands for the work only care that it looks shiny and goes through an MOT or two - I'd be very surprised if any are owned for more than 3-5 years following the work. Then they're sold at a premium due to restoration, and 2 owners later all the horrors are revealed.

Let's face it, even if you do prove anything it'll only be a waste of time and effort - the restorers will say it's how these things are done, their customers will line up to show how shiny their vehicles are and everyone else will shrug and go back to their crisps.

I wasn't suggesting 'comeback', just a feeling for where these abortions were being released into the wild.

 

[gaz_moose]

common to wire the right side reverse light as a fog on jap imports, the switch has to also light up when activated or another visual indication.
it seems to be a common misconception that jap imports are 'rust free' but ive seen quite a few rotters come over on the boat full of filler and fresh paint.

im always wary of cars that have been 'done up' to sell.

these figaros are based on the micra so it wouldn't surprise me if a micra radiator support fits. on the K11 micra they are prone to rust and pattern replacements are about £20. welding up the holes in the front/top seems a logical idea.

don't think I would brace the door frames when chopping bits out the floor. think I would just keep the doors closed.

 

[Rob85]

Looks to me like the previous restorer got his skills by watching the hack n pack shop on YouTube. Seriously look it up and watch how that guy does his welding and panel repairs. I do sigh a bit when I see some of the restoration work on YouTube and they talk about doing their "skim" coat of body filler... I mean come on put it where you need it, you're not reskimming the walls of a house!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

pdg...I tent to agree totally. As it happens I think I know exactly who was responsible as their advert appears in the paperwork....the car even came with their key ring and their name on the number plates too!

The car was well cared for and I was able to speak with the guy who has been doing the routine maintenance. Funny but exactly as you said...first owner was very happy (having paid around £6k for the car)....second owner was happy until he had the bump on the front. After the bump he got a guy in to assess what it would take to get the car back up to scratch....during this assessment some of the horrors emerged. Owner 2 unfortunately got a rough deal indeed....it was his first car so he had no idea. I then bought it as a project for less than the sum of the parts...I figured I couldn't lose as I could just part it out if necessary.

Have to say I wasn't expecting this kind of horror job....pointless going back to the original restorer....that would have probably worked for the first owner I think. After the car changed hands I think there is a degree of plausible deniability (the car might have been worked on by someone else....etc etc). It is pretty horrific work....but the car was cheap as chips and I bought it because I wanted a project.

I'm very very glad I didn't buy a full restored one...I would have been very annoyed if I found this rubbish on a £6k restoration!

 

[rtbcomp]

At least with all that weight off it'll go faster.

I like the clothes peg cable clips

I was using a clothes line to work out where the cable loom should go, so it seemed logical to use clothes pegs to hold it in place.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Cheers gaz...I was thinking of either just shutting the door or maybe doing a brace across the inside so I can still close the door. Prefer to have it closed to keep the mess and dust out.

Good idea on the micra radiator....I hadn't thought of that. The radiator has an ATF cooler in the bottom but I can work around that I think. I would prefer an alloy radiator if possible so don't have to come back to this again.

Managed to borrow my builders Festool sander and vacuum....geez they make nice stuff. There is literally no dust generated at all.....ok maybe a little....but not much! Just ordered P40 pads for it....time to get serious .

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Yea it's funny how that goes...some people just don't care and view the MOT as a gold standard....I view it as a minimum safety requirement for the next 12 months!....after I stuck a screw driver in the first crack I knew it had to all come off. I much prefer to see old cars with a few dents than full of slap dash filler.

Here is the remains from today....at least some of it is coming off in chunks!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Hi pdg....not got that far with it yet to be honest. I was planning to put it on my ramps and have a good poke about to see if it's a house of horrors underneath too! It does have a sweet running engine and gearbox + I've come across receipts for a steering rack and some other bits and bobs too.

My main worry would be parting this one out and ending up with something much worse....at least with this one there is metal under the filler (so far). If I can clean the snot off both the rear quarters + the under side is reasonable then I'll probably go for it....if not I may get in touch with a figaro breaker to see whether I can trade it (plus a little cash) for something a bit better. All the panels upto and including the doors are good on this one....it also has the clarion stereo upgrade which I think was around £500 too + the interior is good (some I saw were just wrecks inside!)

If the rear quarters are forked I think that will probably force my hand....I can easily get rear arches but I just don't fancy a major rear end rebuild + having to sort the front end and also the sills too!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Been a bit busy with other stuff today so only managed a few hours on the Figaro. Did some more filler removing....abandoned the sander and went at it with hammer and chisel which worked alot better. It looks like someone botched the arch repair and then just covered the whole lot in filler. The black Sharpie line indicates the beginning of the fibreglass...it's too hard for the chisel but I think it may sand back to reveal mostly steel except for the arch lip!! I've decided to leave the quarters for the moment. Arch repair panels are available for the figaro so all of this looks fixable to me....the panels come with some descent meat on them too so I think all the fibreglass can just be cut out and replaced with steel.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

The problem with removing all that filler is that now the door gaps are forked. Ahhh I see.... looks like he moved the door closer bracket too!!....we'll only an idiot would skim a door in 3mm of filler I guess...at least he's not that stupid! Fortunately the driver side is actually spot on with the gaps :-).

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Here you can see where he rounded off the door catch bottom screw....there is some built in side to side adjustment in the original design!!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Next job was getting the rear in the air... Looks like someone painted a few bits to make it look nice...that exhaust is totally shot....it must be the only bit of the car that isn't full of filler!