Drifting - Not in a Nissan

Since deciding to sacrifice my Nissan NX for a more modern and suitable main family car, I haven't had much going on to post about. I'm still monitoring NX prices and hope to pick one up before next summer, but in the meantime, I recently had the chance to sample one of those driving experiences you can buy to treat yourself or a friend (Click here to get one for yourself)

It involved hooning around in a Caterham and learning how to drift. So it was a bit different to the Nissan or my previous driving experience, but proved to be a lot of fun. Basically you stayed in first gear and under 40mph - sounds tame until you're in a car going sideways!

It turned out to be amazing fun. The Caterhams accelerated incredibly quickly, and proved easy to drift by combining the power with more 'durable' tyres then you'd want on a track.

Everyone on the course, from the complete novice to more experienced drivers, had a great time and with runs of two quick laps it meant everyone got plenty of time in the car.

The only problem is that it was a cheap way to sample drifting, but now I'm trying to work out how much an empty car park would cost me!

An actual Nissan 100NX for sale...

To make up for the last post, here's an actual Nissan 100 NX for sale on eBay which could be of interest.

A '93 K reg Nissan 100 NX in black, tasteful alloys but no other modifications listed or obvious, and just £420 with zero bids so far...

I have to admit, I'm a bit tempted to break out the credit card...

A 2005 Nissan 100NX?

If you're really expecting a 2005 Nissan 100NX has mysteriously left the factory after being hidden in a corner for almost a decade, then I apologies for getting your hopes up...

But I couldn't help spotting this eBay listing, which appears to have a Nissan NX disguised to all intents and purposes as a Nissan Almera....

Looking at some Nissan NX's on ebay...

Given that I've had a non-running Nissan NX 100 on my drive for over a year, it may seem slightly silly, but I can't stop myself thinking about picking one up with is fully MOT'd and taxed to use as a daily car again..
So a quick look at eBay looks promising:
I'm discounting anything from a garage or that's over £1,500 - an instant way to lose money considering the resale value of the under-rated and under-appreciated NX. Here's a handy price guide for the Nissan NX.
But I have spotted a couple of reasonable options on eBay at the moment:

1. A 1993 Black 1.6 with 5 previous owners starting at £650. It's a 5-speed manual with roof covers and sun blocks (which people normally lose early on).

2. A 1992 Red 1.6 5-speed at £595. Surprisingly this is actual via a garage, but the explanation is that it's a part-ex to clear.

Now all I can do is hope one of you takes a look and busy them before my willpower gives way...

Washing the NX and remembering why I like it...

So early last year I decided that rather than scrapping the NX or breaking it, I'd try and rebuild it. Hopes were raised, budgets were planned, and then...

Nothing.

Basically work, family, websites and a lack of spare cash all transpired to mean the poor Nissan has sat on my drive, not turning a wheel except to be pushed forwards or backwards if we need the room (At least the brakes don't seem to have seized yet!).

Every day I walk past guiltily - and it's got even worse now that the family car has been hit not once, but twice this year, and has assorted bodywork damage which could also do with some repairs.

At least I've finally had the time to start cleaning up both cars and working out exactly what needs doing, and what the best plan of attack will be - and I've given up some other hobbies in order to actually fund some progress. The biggest problems are that winter is coming, I don't have a garage, and I'm not entirely sure the NX is exactly watertight...

First job then, is to buy/find/steal/borrow a decent car cover from somewhere - anyone got any recommendations?

Not often you see a Nissan NX 100 go rallying

I'd heard of people racing Nissan NX 100s in various Tarmac events, but I hadn't seen any rally examples until now.

The pictures are copyright protected on Flickr so I can't embed them, but there's a rally NX here, here and here. It looks like it's driven by João Luis Palma & Luis José Maldonado, and Joao seems to be a fairly frequent racer. Sadly I can't translate any of the reports...

Spookily enough I'd just been on a short holiday, and took the chance to do some rally driving in a Peugeot 205 - maybe someone is trying to tell me something!

Anyone else got any unusual NX motorsport pictures? Spotted one going ice-racing?

The NX decision

Well, after a bit of thought, and a lot of sitting around I've made a decision about the future of my NX.

We're going to rebuild it.

It's going to take a lot of work and effort, and a lot of time (which is something which is in short supply for me), but the cost to get it into a state where I could sell it wouldn't be returned - and I'm strangely unable to see it go to the scrapyard.

So for once I'm actually going to start planning it carefully.

First stage is to come up with a plan for the finished article - I'm giving myself 12 months to get it into a decent state again, which seems reasonable considering all work will be happening on my driveway unless I can find a good friend with a garage I can use or someone with a workshop sitting idle.

The basic plan is something fairly stripped and light, fairly subtle, and retaining a couple of creature comforts to have something that's usable but a bit quicker and more unusual than standard - I'm not going to go over the top with body mods, and I don't have the money to do something really bizarre.

I'm also looking at how to rebuild the engine for more power, or possible engine swaps. There must be something which is a better alternative in terms of cost than the popular Pulsar GTi swap.

Inspiration is coming from a range of places, including cars like the Integra Type R - something that discerning pople know is quicker than standard, but not something that shouts about how quick it is.