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....

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.

Considering the fate of my NX...

Well, the MOT didn't deliver great news - I expected that it might be a fail, but it turns out the NX needs a fair bit of welding, as well as a catalytic converter replaced.

Overall, it's not an extortionate cost - the local garage estimated an MOT pass for about £300 of work.

But it looks like I'll be commuting more in the future, so won't need a car for getting to work - and can I really justify a second car for the occasional weekend trip? Plus, after getting an MOT pass, there's a few jobs which will need fixing for the future.

So I have a dilemma.

So far, the choice is to sell the car as a whole, strip it for parts (it's got some nice aftermarket bits fitted), or take it off the road and consider taking the time and effort to restore it properly (without a garage or a car lift, this is likely to mean professional help and a fair bit of expense).

I've been trying to decide for a while, in between sulking that the MOT was due just before the weather started getting better and I could at least have enjoyed a bit of summer cruising with the roof down...

Rest assured I'll have a decision shortly - after all, selling it or taking it off the road means I need to reclaim some of the car tax and cancel the insurance, so the longer I wait, the less I save.

In the meantime, if you're interested in snapping up what would be a great NX for someone with access to welding equipment, or a really cost effective donor car for parts including seats, alloys, lowered suspension, plus original roof cards and roof panel bags, give me a shout... (thewayoftheweb at googlemail dot com)

The best car in a movie?

Even though it doesn't feature a single Nissan 100 NX..(harumph), I'm still enjoying seeing what happens with Car Magazine's vote for 'The Greatest Car in Film History'.

The good thing is that it's open to other suggestions - so the lack of titles like American Grafitti and Taxi, and the lack of cars like the stars of The Fast and the Furious, and Initial D can be rectified...

I'm tempted to try and get everyone to vote for the Toyota AE86 Trueno...it might not be a Nissan, but at least it's a cool Japanese car...:)

Spotted another NX on the road today...

Turns out that maybe I'm not as unusual as I thought in owning a Nissan 100 NX.

First I saw a red one in nice condition on the way to work this morning, and then I found out someone from the 100NX Club Forum is in the same town (With a far more modded car than mine!).

Nice to see some others avoiding the perils of rust...

A leaking fuel hose - and a lost Nissan 100NX mudflap

Well, the joys of owning a 15-year-old, 1993 Nissan 100 NX have finally turned from the thrill of a new car, to the fun of keeping an automotive antique on the road.

Having completed a 300 mile round trip for work, I got home pretty late on Saturday, and had a bit of a sleepy start to Sunday. Which wasn't helped by the smell of petrol throughout the house, traced to the innocent-looking Nissan parked 2 yards from my front door.

Walking outside I couldn't miss the puddle of petrol, and flipping the bonnet showed a lovely hole in the fuel hose. So of course I took it off to fix it without taking the time to work out whether the fuel pump was gravity fed or not.

It is.

So I then added to the petrol lake, until I'd cut away the offending section and reattached the hose.

I've got some replacement fuel hose now to be fitted within the next day or so.


And then, as I was sweeping some dust around to soak up the excess fuel, I looked under the rear of the car to find that one of the branded 100 NX mudflaps had disappeared at some point. Ruddy typical.

Classic Nissan timing...

Well, I've found a typically stupid way of celebrating the creation of Nissan NX World.

I took the 100NX shopping with the girlfriend for the first time, as the bootspace is a bit easier than our other car (a Fiat Panda). All went fine, aside from the door handle surround coming off when my girlfriend tried to get out at the supermarket!

And as much as I tried to lay the blame on her to trick her into buying me some new bits, it was probably my fault for not fixing it when I first noticed it - although to be fair, there are some more pressing issues around the handbrake, clutch and timing etc that probably need attention first.

I just hope the weather gets better so I can get some work done...