Niki - minor resto

[Aaron]

Thanks for the compliment, it's finally good to see it start to come out of its cocoon of neglect.  It's by no means finished yet, fair bit of interior work to do, tune up the engine, put a stripe down the side, etc... but it's at a point where I feel comfortable now driving it, and have a lower risk of the plod putting it off the road.

I'm probably in a minority here, but I actually quite like the plastic bumpers and fairings, it gives it that Eastern European Communist feel, well to me anyways it does.  I spent a fair bit of time stripping the black paint off the rear bumper to get it back to the bare grey plastic, just to look 'right'.

Considering how much it costs to get things sent down here from the continent, I gather the chrome bumpers would probably cost more than the inital price of the car.  Mind you, it would probably be only one of a very few in Oz with them...

[Aaron]

Well with the rust work completed, I had a new set of tyres fitted to the Niki last weekend.  Being 12" tyres, we don't seem to have a lot of choice here in Perth being only able find either Nankang or Durun tyres - so I took the cheaper option (being a tight b'stard and all) and bought the Durun at $60 each.  Seemed a pity to put them on the car as they were indiviually gift wrapped in this shiny green paper.  Needless to say the tyreshop staff were having great fits of laughter at seeing me turn up and asked me where the rest of the lego set was.

Fom my initial driving the tyres seem to suit the car well, although I'd like to get the alignment checked but finiding someone with a machine that can take a 12" wheel is becoming a tough ask.

This was the first real time I've had driving the car and as far as I can tell the gearbox is not as bad as I first thought.  Sure it's whiney in first but the other gears seem fine until you go to engine braking where there is a whine present - but I'm thinking this is just diff backlash and it's just something I'll just put up with.  I have noticed the gears (particularly 4th) do become difficult to shift out of when it is hot, so I'm planning on adding more oil stabiliser to the box as maybe the 20W50 I've got in there is as bit thin.  There's also a hesitation on the initial acceleration of the motor from rest which I'm hoping a good tune will cure - so very slow take offs at ther moment.

I've also installed some cheapo seat covers to hide the threadbear polish fabric, installed the CD head unit into the dash but still need to wire it up and have relabelled the switches on the dash.  To do the switches on the dash I got a set of switch stickers from the UK (these -http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/switches/warninglights.php - bottom of the page).  I cleaned each switch up, sprayed wthem with plastic bumper primer, then a coat of satin black, installed the sticker and clear coated the end product.  As you can see by the photo, they're not perfect but having said that they look better than the flash portrays.

Next task over this holiday period is to get the stereo wired up and the speakers mounted.  I've got a LHD parcel shelf section I'm going to attempt to use to make a matching speaker on the right side of the dash so I'll advise how that works out.

[Aaron]

After spending the morning making a new head gasket for my father's Victa lawn mower, I got jacked off with trying to get the bloody thing run and decided to attempt to fabricate the driver's side speaker module using a LHD parcel shelf I'd had sent over from Poland.

Initially I was going to cut it at the speaker, discarding the box section but upon closer inspection this would have left a pointy edge at about shin level just waiting for a nasty bump to have a go at me.  I decided to make a more intricate cut to retain the lower shelf lip and top edging.  The photos below show where I made the cuts and the final result.  Only the top right screw hole had to be drilled, the rest of the holes already existed in the RHD dash.  Makes the dash look symmetrical now.

I left the right side of the box section on at this stage, just incase I find that I need to remove the lower lip.  My initial stomping around with my feet on the pedals shows that I'm not going to have any real clearance issues compared to the original configuration with respect to the radio and the clutch pedal clash.

At this stage I've yet to install the speakers behind the mounts, that will be Monday's job and only 2 screws and 1 10mm nut to remove the section to do that.

[Aaron]

And more pics

[Aaron]

Well it's currently 39°C outside, so I'm inside adding to this post rather than sweating it out in the garage fiddling with the Niki.  Since my last post, I've wired up the stereo and associated switch gear to make it run.  Due to the lack of ACC mode in the FSM ignition switch, I've installed a separate circuit to handle the radio and power outlets.  I've run this through a 6 place ceramic fuse box (ex Lada Niva) mounted on the opposite side of the front boot to the original FSM install.  Coupled with this, I installed a Niva bank of relays complete with the original (stamped CCCP - 1987 build) functioning relays.

As the australian spec nikis used the BIS dash, we ended up with a couple of switch blanks where the fog lamps and rear washer wiper would be.  I have installed a couple of spare switches I had in these positions, one to switch the relay to the stereo/power outlets and one for a planned driving light install (when I find the right ones).  So now I can run my stereo without powering up the coil.

I have used 4" speakers all around in keeping with the small theme.  I have mounted the front speakers (4" round) in the original mounts, using screws through 2 of the grille holes.  The rears I've used Autolite 4" pods I had to get from the UK as no-one sells 4" mounts in Oz.

The head unit is an old Clarion CD I happened to have lying around, however I've stuck in a dual power outlet on the front of the coin tray to power my MP5 player (one of those SD card reader FM transmitter thingys), as most of the music I own nowdays is in MP3 format.

[Aaron]

Additional pics

[sideways]

Well done! It looks really good! It's good to see some one doing some work on a Niki!

I can't wait till I find one, got offered one but it was a bit too expensive for me

Hayden

[Aaron]

Thanks Hayden.  The old Nikis are still out there, just getting few and far between.  They seem to either be in poor nick or in good nick but at rediculous prices.  Seems you would have better choice if we were on the east coast.

As an update, work on my little buzz box has now slowed both due to the heat and that I'm pretty much getting it close to the way I want.  I had the immobilser box changed on Wednesday as the dealer said it was easier than to reporgram the existing one for a new touch key (immobilisers are required by law in WA unless you car is over 25 years).  I've also taken it for a 100 km shake down run to work out what is left to be done.

There is a definite pull to the left when braking, but I've been unsuccessful in getting somewhere in Perth that can align the wheels.  The Niki's track is too narrow to fit on the machines (I've tried three thus far).  Also the carby has an abosulte flat / dead spot just off idle which makes taking off interesting.  Considering that the carby also weeps fuel when the engine is shut down, I'm guessing an overhaul is probably required.  I'm still tossing up whether to rebuild the current one or just chuck a new one on.  126fan's price would work out about the same as I think the rebuild labour costs here.  I'm just having difficulty understanding what the EM idle is and whether my carby has it - 126fan lists 2 different types of carby.

[Aaron]

I also forgot to mention that I've found the handbrake has no adjustment left - have yet to work out whether it's an over stretched cable or something work out in the rear drums.

[sideways]

Thanks Hayden.  The old Nikis are still out there, just getting few and far between.  They seem to either be in poor nick or in good nick but at rediculous prices.  Seems you would have better choice if we were on the east coast.

Yeah, I've been looking for ages now, there's been nothing but wanted adds for them in the Quokka for months now . Honestly all I want is a crap one, as long as its complete, body/rust repairs don't worry me, mechanicals are easy. Something that would normally be considered a spares car I guess, around $300. And yes there does seem to be many more in the eastern states .

As for the handbrake, you can cut the little knob thingy of, cut a cm or 2 of wire out and solder it back on (or braze it if your careful). I've done that before (on motorbikes though), it worked very well, hasn't given me any trouble since .

Hayden

[Aaron]

I got mine via a wanted ad in the Quokka, just lucky to get a call within the first 2 hours of the publication.  There turned out to be another one advertised that day for $500 but it had been sold by 0900 that day.  I also got offered another later that week that was unlicensed and had been used as a paddock car - but it was in Collie.  Do put a wanted ad in - I know that there's one thats been running in there for 3 weeks now - but they have worked for me.

As an update, I've installed a few parts that arrived on Friday from Slovakia (thanks 126fan).  These being new door handles, replacement seat springs for the ones that were broken and a couple of the rubber stops for the bootlid which were missing.  Now I can lock both doors, my bum isn't touching the floor and the bootlid doesn't rattle anymore.

I've alos been messing with the colour printer at work trying to decide what stripe I should put down the side.  I found this locally made design below which I'm currently leaning towards.

[FURIA]

wondurfull work!
where plast pieces do you have from?

[Aaron]

Um.... I think I might be losing something in the translation here, so here's what I think you're asking:
Most of my parts that I didn't get from my parts car have come from 126fan http://www.126fan.sk/eshop/ except for the really big stuff which I've had to find within Australia.  The LHD glovebox section I got from a fellow I found on eBay but I don't have his email address on this computer.

The stripe I showed above, which I'm intending to have fitted soon - that was just a computer print out to see what it would look like - came from here http://www.auto-grafix.com.au/Car-Stickers/Airbrushed-Graphics/Twister-72.htm#.  These guys are about a 20 minute drive from where I live.

As a further update, I've swapped the gearbox oil to 80W/90 spec.  I was finding after about 50 km of driving that the ability to shift out of gear was bleeding difficult with the 20W50.  A quite intense internet search finally convinced me that what I had in there was wrong, as I found a 126EL handbook and a 126P handbook both in polish on the web.  The former listed 80W/90.  The later Oliofiat zc90.  I've also had advice from separate sources in the east the manual states Tutela zc90 - looking that up listed it as 80W/90 oil.  The main clincher for me was this reference I found here in the US http://books.google.com/books?id=bAEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=oliofiat+zc90&source=bl&ots=BUEi6QYPA7&sig=d6XVgb-iBepe1ihIai3IHNex0zQ&hl=en&ei=Yq1nS9ynBoGOkQXOysi5CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false.
upon changing the oil I found that the effectively 300 km old oil was black and there were a few specs of brass/bronze in the pan - however these could have just been stirred up by me actually driving the car.  I've put in Castrol EPX 80W/90 - mainly because I had this from my Lada days - which is both a hypoid oil and GL5 rated.  So far after 60 km of continuous driving the shifting is much improved - no longer baulks at changes.

[Hobbes]

Hey Sideways there has been a Niki for sale (in the Quokka) in Osborne Park the last couple of weeks. Unlicensed for $650.
Oh and there was a Bambino and Niki in the Sunday times for $15,000 for both.

[Aaron]

Little bit of a further update as my Niki is nearing what I would call completion.  It's just spent a week at the local FIAT specialist getting a few things done which I don't trust my abilities to get right.  It's had a full tune with a new carby fitted supplied by 126fan, the front end finally aligned, the wheel bearings repacked and the brakes fixed.  Turns out that my previously mentioned handbrake problem was due to FIAT 500 shoes being installed by the previous owner in the rear, which were just too small for the 126p handbrake to cope with under standard adjustment.  He also found all bar one of my wheel cyinders were siezed which would explain the pulling to the left.

So she's now purring properly and suprisingly far less noisy in the engine department, plus a bloody lot easier to take off from the lights now without the flat spot kicking in.

Only drawback is the outer housing of the speedo cable broke away from the black sheath such that the cable is now able to float in the sheath and disconnect from the gearbox drive unit.  So no speedo at the moment.  A simple fix, just waiting on the parts to get here in the post.