The Return of the Micra

Many of you reading this will have found the site because of the Global Convoy Navigation, a challenge I ran some 7 years ago now. So much has changed since then! To be fair, I would argue that everything has changed since then, including the Micra that went on that trip.
It’s been hiding away for almost 3 years now, and before that it was held up on the side of the road. Now, after lots of hard work and grafting learning new things (including how to weld, although somewhat terribly and very slowly!) the Micra is now legal and back on the road. Well…sort of back on the road.

Yes, despite changing so many things including new brakes, suspension, lines, hoses, the steering rack, exhaust, bearings…(and that is not an exhaustive list!) it’s still refusing to play ball. There was a strange noise coming from the front left of the car which I initially thought was a rock stuck between the pad and disk. The noise got worse and worse before changing so I got underneath and discovered a very dodgy sounding differential and driveshaft. Due to the car being higher, it’s not out of place for the diff to go. So ‘new gearbox it is’ I thought – this all happened right before its first big show, The Bushcraft Show, not the best timing! I stayed up until 3am changing the box but guess what? It wasn’t the box. Stupid thing! Very tired and feeling rather defeated, I headed home and went to sleep.

t was back to the diagnosis process. The noise comes with rotation so it can only be the driveshaft, brakes, or bearing. The bearing is brand new, and the noise stops when turning right so that rules that one out. So, using the process of elimination it was on to service the brakes and make sure they weren’t binding. When I stripped them down there was a bit of binding but nothing too bad. I tested it and still the same, so new shafts it is, which is where I am now waiting for the shafts to arrive to fit them. The finally, I’ll be able to get out on some adventures. Oh, and I still need to fix both the vans but that’s a whole other task…

The question is, why did I even bother to try and bring the micra back from the wreckage that it was? Although it has seen many parts of the world, it needs to see more! As such I’m organizing an Adventure Rally across Europe this summer, before it’s not possible to drive it anywhere. After that, I’ve got Africa and Scandinavia on the bucket list of places the Micra needs to visit. But until then, if you’re interested in joining our adventure this year, please get involved here.