This Nissan Silvia S12 1.8 ZX Turbo is the spare one and has undergone a full restoration. As with the other cars it has been painted underneath with hammered finish paint, and has had the inner panels treated with Waxoyl. It has all the refinements my other Silvias have, and is the most economical of the three.  The car has affectionately been named ETY due to her registration number.

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the image.

Restoration:
I didn't realise how time consuming this type of work could be and the masking off took longer than the painting as, inside the car had to be masked to spray the parts inside the doors and the tailgate. Even the wheel arches had to be masked off as I cleaned underneath and painted it all with a hammered finish paint before I set about the bits you usually see.

This work was completed in 1999 and SunnyZX side skirts were modified and added in 2002.

Maintained to the highest standard this Nissan Silvia S12 has benefited from engine oil and filter changes every 2500 miles since the date of purchase. The differential oil, power steering fluid, brake fluid and transmission fluid are changed at 25000 miles. The timing belt is replaced at 30000 mile intervals and the valve clearances adjusted if necessary. The coolant has never been allowed to fall below 20% antifreeze solution. Suspension bushes are checked annually along with the grease to the front suspension bottom ball joints. The brakes are checked every six months including inspection of the handbrake cables. A full under-body inspection is carried out before each winter. The drain holes to the sills are checked annually. More Waxoyl is introduced every 5 years and the paintwork is polished at least every 3 months.

Mechanical Repair:
The first job was to repair the engine. Although the engine had only covered 76,000 miles the big end shells were worn and there was a tell-tale sound from the engine at high revs. New shells were fitted and the engine was returned to the vehicle. A full service then followed.

Preparation work:
It actually took ages to get the car to this stage although to look at it you wouldn't think so! I was also recovering from an operation at this time, but managed to prepare the bottom of the sills and doors whilst lying on my back.

Masking:
The masking is a boring job! This time it was no trouble as David with the S13 import Silvia, seen on the visitor's page, did that for me. The car had been repainted previously and badly! Only the paintwork in the engine bay was acceptable. I returned the car to it's former colour.

Painting:
Bumpers, rear spoiler, headlamp top panels etc. all had to painted off the vehicle and refitted later. Trims and side glass were also returned after the painting process. The job was made more difficult by my choice of the original metallic paint finish that required base-coat and lacquer.     

Rust Prevention:
A typical image of a wheel arch that has undergone the silviagod treatment. This includes painting the strut, brake calliper, the suspension members, the inside of the arch and the inner face of the wing. The callipers were painted red later when a set of wheels that were easier to clean were fitted.

Underside View:
5 litres of hammered finish paint later and a couple of cans of VHT exhaust paint for the home-made system. The fuel tank was removed in 2003 and fully coated with hammered finish paint.  The fuel tank straps were reconditioned and painted red. Painting the underside is not one of my favourite jobs but the end result is worthwhile.

This unit provides interior light fade and other features. Click on the title to see more.

 

Problems:
Due to Mrs silviagod's car being bumped, a non-fault car hire company was used and Mr's silviagod got to drive a 1.2 Corsa for a while. She hated it! By this time the restoration was at the stage shown on the picture. I had repaired the engine, carried out a major service, straightened the front end and fitted another pair of front wings. I bought two tins of colour match spray cans and applied a coat of paint to the wings. After flying through an MOT the car was handed over to Mrs silviagod and the hire car returned. On returning from work that day Mrs silviagod said that the car was a delight to drive.

Interior:
The wrong interior was fitted to the car and I managed to find an interior with the vinyl backs to the front seats. These were fine but should have been all fabric and no vinyl. Wacomuk, seen on the visitors page, came to the rescue as he was breaking a white 88 Silvia. The foam to the drivers seat was repaired then lumbar and side support inflatable air mats were fitted. Heating elements with timers were fitted to both front seats, and the back seat was modified to contain the rear head restraints.
A passenger foot-bar was fitted to match the one in silviagod's car. No reason for fitting this other than the fact that I like them.


Warning Lamp Strip:
No warning lamps are present here in the later models, but as I drive this Silvia I like to have the refinements to which I have become accustomed. They are wired identically to silviagod's wife's car and also contain the external temperature display. Transmission temperature and volts gauges are also present to the left of the ash tray. Additional warning lamps are located in the instrument panel and in the lenses to each side of the instrument panel.

Map Reading Lights:
This unit was found in a 300ZX non-turbo model and fits very nicely here. If you have a navigator with you they are perfect as they don't distract the driver at all. Every Silvia of mine has them now and I plan to fit one to the 200SX.
 

As added to silviagod's and, all the rear lamps are monitored and in the event a bulb fails the warning lamp will illuminate when the appropriate circuit is in use. For example the warning light will operate with each press on the brake pedal, when reversing, or when the tail lights are turned on. Click on the title to see more.

Sunny ZX Side Skirts:
As I was very pleased with the Sunny ZX side skirts I had fitted to Mrs silviagod's car, so I fitted a pair
and painted them. As they had been blended in I masked to the bottom line of the rubber trim. Four 20mm diameter holes were bored at even spacing along the length of the underside to provide ventilation and drainage between the skirt and the sill. Waxoyl was also introduced into the void through these holes. As an extra precaution the sills were painted again before the skirts were fitted.

Rear Modifications:
During the restoration work the rear lights were changed for the preferred type and wired in the same manner as the other two cars. A Citroen XM rear spoiler was added along with the silviagod rear nudge bar that offers a little protection for the rear lights. The bumper was cut to house reversing lights and the reversing lights were fitted with an additional orange 5W bulb painted red for extra tail lights. A tow bar and a reversing spotlight were also added.

Front Modifications:
The headlamps were changed for the earlier type with the stone guards and the wash/wipe units, they plugged in to the existing loom along with an extra washer motor. Below the bumper are fog lights. A number plate bracket was made and mounted slightly higher so as not to obstruct the air intake. The side lights and indicators were tinted with a special spay paint.

Used to lift, flash and retract the headlamps with a brief touch of the control switch. Click on the title to see more.

Intercooler:
A 300ZX twin turbo intercooler was mounted in the front passenger wheel arch and protected from mud and dirt using aluminium panels. A Metro bonnet vent was used in the front bumper for an air intake, and to provide through flow of air a £2.50 aluminium louvered vent, from the builder's merchant was added in the wheel arch. Fitting was slightly easier than the 200SX unit. The pipes were made from mild steel and the connection to the turbo uses a straight rubber connector from a 200SX system with a jubilee clip. A Collins twin piston dump valve was added during this modification.

Horror Story:
Poor ETY got a damp roof lining! Instantly I blamed the windscreen people and had to trail to Warrington for them to inspect the problem. Cheeky man said I would have to pay as they would not guarantee their work on a car of that age! With the roof lining all cosy in the front room my inspection revealed that the water was getting in from around the internal drainage tray of the factory sunroof. I re-sealed the tray and applied 3 coats of paint. A water test found one of the drainage tubes blocked. This was cleared by removing the passenger kick-panel and firing compressed air up the end of the tube. The blockage was ejected with quite a force and made a mess! Having cleaned up the interior parts were returned.

High Level Brake Light:
Fitted to the rear window using pads attached with epoxy resin adhesive and a section of the glass painted black to hide the wiring to the unit. Not wired through a bulb failure sensor as yet, but planned for the near future.

Wheels and Tyres:
The wheels were made by Nissan and cost me £120, they were still in boxes when I got them. The offset was slightly different so spacers have been used and as a result the track is approx 15mm wider than standard. The tyres are 205 x 55 x 15 Michelin Exaulto V rated and cost £380. They give both excellent grip and last.


ETY brings another home:
280 miles of towing and another Silvia S12 is added to the collection. Less than 35,000 miles on the clock and over half a tank of petrol. This was another free one and has only one previous elderly owner. This will be the fourth free Silvia and the sixth expedition ETY has carried out. The fuel economy on this occasion was not as good as the last! The only difference was that this run only encountered BP stations where Ultimate Unleaded was used. The previous run was on Optimax? I do hate advertising overpriced products but this is now fact. I got emails with viruses in after this comment?

New Exhaust Silencer:
From the same place I got the one for my main Silvia I also got this one. It was a bit awkward to fit as I did not want to weld to it. I made a hoop from stainless steel and spot welded it to a thicker piece of metal and bent it to get the silencer hanging at the desired position. The silencer would have been easier to fit had the tailpipe part been a little longer. The sound is not as loud as the one fitted to my main Silvia but is quite loud. Details of how to get one are mentioned on the silviagod's Silvia page.

Change of Turbo March 2005:
The turbo that was on ETY was the turbo that she came with when I bought her. I had noticed some oil in the inlet side so there was a slight problem with the turbo oil seals, but as she wasn't smoking that much there was no point in changing the turbo. Unfortunately the smoking got worse. There didn't seem to be any change to the level on the dipstick but the smoke was starting to get embarrassing. Out came the half-a-spanner and the awkward job began. Two of the manifold studs came out all together with the nuts attached and the top four stayed in place. The studs that came out went back in well and I was able to change the turbo without the need for drilling and re-tapping holes.
the three studs on the down-pipe that hold the exhaust on came out too, but they went back well. the lower water pipe was awkward as always but apart from this the job went well. With the main high tension lead removed I turned the engine over for about 15 seconds to get some oil into the turbo. I then started it and it ran well apart from a small blow from the rear manifold gasket. The blowing stopped after about a minute and everything sounded good. The following morning when everything was cold I tightened the manifold up some more and there was no blowing from the manifold. I test drove the car and was amazed at the difference. The job took about 6 hours in total. It is not a record but the job was a success.

Vehicle Specifications:
Electric windows with one-touch operation on driver's window.
Remote mirrors.
Headlamp wash/wipe.
Wing mounted intercooler with air intake cut into the bumper.
Additional shielding above the exhaust manifold.
Boost bleed valve.
Free flowing induction system.
Standard T2 turbocharger.
2.75 inch diameter straight through exhaust system with one silencer to the rear and a 5 inch tail-pipe.
Bailey twin piston dump valve.
Conservatively estimated 185 BHP.
Colour coded front strut brace made from solid steel.
Standard rear springs, that are lower than those fitted to later models with Monroe gas shock absorbers.
Astra GSI bonnet vents, side skirts with door panels, CitroenXM rear spoiler and air intakes in front bumper.
Colour-coded mirrors and wiper arms.
Towing bracket with sensor.
Reversing spotlight and tail lamps in rear bumper.
Level sensors to coolant and washer bottle.
Ice warning system.
After-market 15 inch alloy wheels with Michelin tyres.
Factory sunroof.
Front fog lights.
Higher specification air conditioning system.
Immobiliser and full closure alarm system.
Front seats with heating elements and inflatable air mats to driver's seat.
Bulb failure warning system monitoring all the exterior lamps to the rear of the vehicle.
Rear head-restraints.
Passenger foot-bar.
Sony head unit with CD changer with more powerful speakers and added ones to each side of rear seat.
Interior light fade with added step and foot-lights.
Twin map reading lamps.
Additional cigarette lighter.
Additional warning lamps and gauges.
High level brake light.
Hammered finish paint applied to underside including arches and using different colours to suspension parts.
Waxoyl rust inhibitor injected into sills, chassis members, box sections, backs of doors and rear quarter-panels.

Starting Problem:
More of an annoyance than a problem with nothing at all from the starter motor at all in Park or Neutral. If you kept the key turned and move the stick from P to N and back it eventually started. Mrs silviagod had trouble with this so I had to do something about it.
I had tried an assortment of starter motors and inhibitor switches in the past and found no improvement. I had also cleaned the wiring loom plugs and sockets below the washer bottle on the chassis, and the problem has reduced but was still present. The only remaining thing was the ignition switch and I have never heard of one giving problems. I assumed that an elderly inhibitor switch running a reasonable current could become less reliable as I know of another automatic with the same problem.
I took the wire going to the solenoid and passed it through the coil of a relay to ground. From the battery I ran a wire through the relay contacts to the solenoid. In theory this should end the problem once and for all. The start signal for the ECU should not be effected by this modification either.

Extra space:
I have thrown up another little site with the intentions of improving it and adding more pictures. My web skills are only limited but I am trying to learn with the limited time I have available. Please have a look and feel free to offer suggestions.
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/silviagod/

This Nissan Silvia S12 Page will be updated regularly.