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April 2014 - TheStigP11GT

Printed From: Nissan Primera Owners Club
Category: General Open Forums - NO TRADING!
Forum Name: 2014 Archive
Forum Discription: Winners from 2014
URL: http://www.npoc.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=69627
Printed Date: 28 Mar 2024 at 4:07pm


Topic: April 2014 - TheStigP11GT
Posted By: NPOC_MOTM
Subject: April 2014 - TheStigP11GT
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2014 at 10:05pm

Congratulations on winning April 2014 MOTM Chris! How does it feel to be our exclusive Member of the Month and having your name up in lights?

I must say it is an honour! I never expected that I would have the privilege to become the NPOC MOTM but I must say I am thrilled to bits about it. It has certainly put a nice smile on my face.

We’d love to find out about you the person. Please tell us about yourself and what you get up to, away from the NPOC.

I am currently at Edinburgh Napier University doing Computer Systems & Networks. I am in the third year which and nearly finished, then by next May I should have my Honors in IT. It’s one of the things I had wished I had done back when I was younger but hey ho, better late than never.

I was made redundant in 2008 from Samsung doing technical support, before that I was in several other similar type jobs. I took the decision then to go back and get an education on something that I have known for a long time. Back in 2002 - 2003 I was an IT technician which I got the job on experience, unfortunately most companies need bits of paper. I was so sick of being in dead end jobs, so I took the plunge and thought “time to get a career”.

I have been with my fiancée Fiona for 9 ½ years. I have known her for 15 years, but we were kids. She knows I always fancied her! I am very happy with her and she gives me good motivation. She is a pain in the backside sometimes but I would never change her for the world.

I have 2 dogs, Leo who we rescued from the cat and dog home in 2005. He is a Collie / Labrador cross, 9 years old and a complete idiot. He is very loyal and his prat of a personality always makes us smile. The other dog is Jess, a full bred Border Collie who we got when she was a puppy. She’s the first dog I have ever known to be obsessed with the TV (no joke). She is a sweet little thing and loves her cuddles and is now 5 years old. I also have a tropical aquarium which I have many Guppies (thanks to Fiona who makes me save every bloody baby they have) and a few Mollies, Tetras and a Gibbicep the size of a trout.

Generally in the summer time I like to work on mine and Fiona’s cars. Fiona’s more than anything lately LOL. Building cars from a heap is something I love doing as I look back on it and think “I did a good job”. I am also into computers and stuff, the inside of my house drives Fiona off her nut. I have network cables in all rooms routed through the loft and stuff. It’s a complicated setup!

I love to go out for long runs in the car also. Even better when I have a decent car to drive. I find it pretty relaxing.

I also love spending time with Fiona, we have some random conversations sometimes and I enjoy sitting watching movies on the TV and occasionally play the PlayStation when I get a bit of time.

Oh, and I am also a Top Gear fan in case you had not guessed. I also love watching my Formula 1 at the weekends but generally I do lead a very simple life.

I know it’s been a while now but can you remember how you found the NPOC forums and are we any good? Would you happily recommend the club to other Nissan Primera owners?

I think I looked on Google for some information on modifying my first Nissan Primera. I sort of joined and stayed. I think the relaxing forum and people on it just made me start becoming an active member. The amount of stuff about Primera’s at the time kept me very interested.

The car and club is always recommended by me. I have not yet found another club which is as helpful or as friendly as NPOC, so I would definitely recommend NPOC for any Nissan Primera owner.

Your join date from your profile shows May 2003! Which means you were carried over from a previous version of the NPOC Forums and regardless, you’ve completed well over 10 years of NPOC Membership now, good innings sir! What keeps you coming back and signing in every day here?

As I said the friendly atmosphere on the forums and respectful members makes me come back every time. I have had many Primera’s and everyone has always been as enthusiastic about them as myself. As the years have gone by I have had better and better projects come along. They are not limited to a Primera but others also. I love the fact that people are intrigued to what I do next.

With all the help from all the members throughout the years, I always feel I owe NPOC a lot. I try and do this in the angle of knowledge I have gained. When I first got in to Primera’s, I never had the first clue about changing a spark plug (funny story about that later which I still laugh at). Through the years of seeing other Primera projects, it has just sort of forced me to become good at something and I have learned so much from NPOC. I am just glad I have learned a lot about these cars now, that I can give back and help people who need it. I must admit I never thought 10 years ago I could strip down and rebuild a Nissan engine but here I am.  

Now over the last 10+ years, we’ve seen you in a few different Nissans but before we get into the history of that lot, tell us about life before finding Nissan. Were there any other marques of cars and how did you get on with them?

Not really much to tell as I was a young lad. I kind of always liked Nissans throughout my childhood. My dad owned a Nissan Stanza and for some reason I always have a special attachment to it. I think the Stanza is rare now but I am still on the lookout for one at the right price. I have a lot of fond childhood memories of being in this car, even when my dad crashed it a bit LOL!

The first official car I had was a Renault 5. When I got it, the strut broke and it was rubbing on the tyres. I remember going behind the old lorry yard near me and hooning around, it as an awesome place for handbrake turns, sadly though double clutching abuse shattered the gearbox LOL. I was actually given more for it in scrap value, then I paid to buy it. WIN!

After that it was onto my first Nissan Primera.

So bringing us into the Nissan era (happy days!!) But sticking with the cars you have owned, which you no longer own.. Give us a list and any specs you can remember please matey, oh and hopefully you have some photos stashed away too?

Here we go then, in order!

1993 P10 Nissan Primera 1.6 LX – I purchased this car for the same price I got for scrap value from the Renault 5, £150 it was. The engine was a non starter and in fact my mate Andy had purchased it first. He was 15 years old and his mum had kittens and then I offered him the price he bought it for. We got it started and that was that. The first thing we done because I was a stupid, daft wee lad, took it down behind the old lorry yard. I rallied the shit out of that thing and it refused to give up. I then invested in the car and fixed it all up. The body looked bad but mechanically was it was great. I then just fell for it and it made me find NPOC. I still remember my RipSpeed gear knob, floor covers and Belmont hub caps. Me and my mate changed the clutch in it but something was never right with it. I finally retired this P10 due to a sub frame problem. The irony is, it would be a 5 minute fix for me these days.

1999 P11-144 Nissan Primera 1.8 S – Another car I miss! I purchased this on finance. It did unfortunately get me in to a lot of debt. I had a lot of fun in this car though. Many early fond memories of meeting Fiona with it! I never had any modifications done to it. I sort of learned a little basic maintenance with this one. I got rid of it as I had a few mishaps in it. It was still a good car but needed a lot of work doing to it.

1994 Nissan Primera P10 2.0 eGT – My first smell of the SR20 engine! I purchased this car for £100. The engine did not sound the healthiest when I got it. The same night I purchased it and about 2 hours later, the engine was so shot it lost a lot of power and seized on me. This was due to bad servicing by the old guy I bought it from. I purchased a new engine for it from a local scrap yard and with help from NPOC and also my Brother in Law, I successfully swapped the engines over. This is really where it all took off, as I knew that because I achieved this I could achieve doing my own repairs. Unfortunately the head gasket blew on it about 4 months later, so I stripped off the head to do the head gasket and at this time, I broke the bloody chain guides DOH!. So I looked for a donor Primera.

1993 Nissan Primera 2.0 eGT – I won this car on eBay for just £67! It was a high mileage Primera sitting at 201k miles but did have good service history. I picked it up from just outside Chelmsford. It was barely legal but enough to drive it home. I remember about halfway home I put the foot down a bit and the temperature needle rocketed. I decided it was in better condition than my other eGT so I put this one on the road and took all the good parts off my old eGT. New MOT and boom. It lasted 2 months until I blew the engine up attempting to race an MR2. The oil pump had destroyed itself which lead to the engine seizing. I planned on getting it a new engine when I sort of found the VVL engine. I thought I would save up but unfortunately it was a bad time with debt. I scrapped her unfortunately.

1997 Nissan Primera P11 1.6 GX – Probably the first car which made me fall in love with the P11. I had purchased it from a mate cheap but the kingpin bearing was shot, this was put on the road because I killed the engine in my eGT. It was a nice comfy car to drive but 5 months later I started having a problem with it. Turns out the Gasket had blown on this too! I attempted to do the head gasket on it but sadly I made a mess of it and made a school boy error by not marking which sprocket was Intake or Exhaust. When I fitted everything back I made a guess. I did get it started though but you could hear a lot of piston to valve contact. I gave up with it and purchased a Proton Persona and this P11 got scrapped.

1996 Nissan Primera P11 2.0 GX – I had a few other cars in between this one and my last P11. I purchased this one from up the north of Scotland because I really wanted another Primera despite my bad luck. I took a test drive and instantly fell in love with it. This car gave me a good year of motoring but the exhaust had blown and there was a hole which developed in the floor from corrosion. I planned on getting it fixed but I then saw a Primera GT for sale. This car got scrapped. It did have a strong engine in it, when it was scrapped though.

1998 Nissan Primera P11 2.0 GT – My first GT! I had purchased this on eBay for around £700 and drove to Wakefield for it. The look of the car was just awesome and I instantly loved it. I remember on the way home just past Newcastle every turn I made, the oil light kept flickering, I still recall the fear in my head. It got me home, I parked her up and the first thing I did was an oil change. There was very little oil in the engine which I drained. Anyways the next day was a drive to work and I remember thinking that my old GX felt quicker. The next weekend I spent a whole day working on it. I changed the old dirty components from my GX to my GT. The next morning I drove to work and it was just pure power and smoothness. Unfortunately my happiness was short lived as I snapped the bloody drive shaft. It was towed home by Fiona in her Fiesta. I then used the shaft from my GX, fitted it to the GT and was back on the road and had minimal issues with the GT from then on. As the suspension components were tired, I replaced pretty much everything. Front and back shocks, wishbones, the whole shebang. It was a very loyal car. Unfortunately because I was made redundant, I could not afford the best TLC for it. It still got me many years happy motoring, In fact it has travelled from Scotland to the south and back a few times. But then unfortunately I was stupid and got myself banned. Fiona took to driving it but rust started attacking the car, the front rad support rusted very badly, as did other parts underneath. I broke the car and saved the good components. I got that car at 162k miles, I broke her with the engine still running spot on at 220k miles. In fact the block is in my garage ready for a rebuild.

1999 Nissan Primera P11 2.0 GTLE – I purchased a previous members old car which I had planned on making a daily. Unfortunately hidden problems made me break it but the car was full of goodies. It was primarily purchased for the SR20VE engine it had. It was then broken and thankfully scrapped.

Have you got a favorite out of the “previously owned” list above and why?

My first P11 GT (1998). The first car I actually thoroughly enjoyed and had an attachment to. Despite the high mileage, I did so much in that car that made me smile. I do miss it and must admit I would love to just have 1 more drive in it. It was the car that really made me learn a lot of the mechanicals about Primera’s and in fact other Nissans also. It never really let me down and always got me home (except when I snapped a drive shaft or 2 LOL).

What got you into a Nissan Primera to start with, was it on the list of cars to own back in the day, or a chance encounter?

As I mentioned before, I had purchased one from a mate. If his mum never went ape shit at him for getting it, then I probably would never have bought it. It was a chance encounter.

So setting the Flux Capacitor to April 2014.. Tell us about the current fleet you maintain please, what’s your daily (and do include Fiona’s rides here), what’s being done up / worked on and any other projects you’re taking on to?

These days I have a nice decent fleet of cars. I will start off with Fiona’s motors.

1997 Autech Pulsar Serie VZR N1

This was found by change on Gumtree by Fiona. She was looking for a decent N15 Almera shell because her old GTi had rust issues, despite having a respray done. We purchased this with a knackered engine but because it was an N1, it was like Christmas and birthdays all rolled into one. We got it home on a low loader so I could start work on it. I have turned a shed into one hell of a machine!

Here’s the specs:

Major Works:

Full Body Restoration

Full Engine Rebuild

Full Electrical System Repair

Full Suspension Overhaul

Engine:

SR16VE N1 Cylinder Head

N1 Intake Manifold

N1 Camshafts

CS Adjustable Cam Gears

SR20DE 4CW Crank Shaft

Eagle H-Beam Rods

Modified N1 Pistons

Piston Cam Coated for Extra Heat Resistance and Extraction

G Spec Crank / Water Pump / PAS Pulleys

ARP Rod Bolts

SR16VE Block

Modified SR20DE Distributor

ACL Race Main Bearings

ACL Rod Bearings – 5 Hole Version

SR20DET Oil Squirters

Stock Composite VE Head Gasket

SSautochrome VE Header

2.5” FreeFlow CAS Catback

HRC Performance 255LPH Fuel Pump

S14 Fuel Filter

NKG BKR7EIX-11 Iridium Spark Plugs

Magnecor KV85 HT Leads

eBay Cone Filter

Dynamically Balanced Crank / Rods / Pistons / Flywheel / Pulley

Drive Train:

SR16VE N1 Short Ratio Gearbox

Nismo Mechanical LSD

Black Diamond Stage 2 Clutch

Hydraulic Clutch System

Fidanza Flywheel

Engine Management:

Almera GTi ECU – Modified

Nistune Type 4 Board

Greddy MSS

AEM Wideband

AEM Oil Pressure Gauge

Almera GTi Modified Wiring Loom

Suspension:

BC Coilovers – Rebuilt

BC Spring Powdercoated Red

Superpro Polyurethane Suspension Bushes

Almera GTi Front & Read Strut Brace

Falken ZE 912 Tyres

Braking:

Blueprint Front and Rear Brake Disks

EBC Redstuff Front Pads

Stock Rear Pads

Rear Calipers Reconditioned

Cosmetics:

Fully Body Overhaul

Rear Arches Replaced

Front Wings Replaced with Indicator Holes Removed

Sills Replaced

Boot Door Replaced

Almera GTi Doors Fitted

VZR Front Grille

Almera GTi Headlights

Bulge Indicators

N1 Genuine Spoiler

Almera Ph2 GTi Front and Rear Splitter

Almera Ph2 GTi Side Skirts

Team Dynamics Pro Race Alloys Refurbed Black

Interior:

Autech Pulsar GTi Full Interior – Not Fitted yet

Primera P12 Gear Knob

AEM Oil and Wideband Gauges

Almera GTi Centre Console

ICE:

Sony Xplod DAB CD / MP3 Player

Vibe Black Air 6x9 Rear Speakers

Vibe Black Air Front Speakers

Fli Amp

2x Fusion 12” Subs

To Be Done:

Deatchwerks 370cc Injectors – Ordered and on way

Custom Intake – Will be made by CAS Shotts

Replacement Steering Rack – Part waiting to be fitted

Harley Davidson V-Rod Shims

Remap – Will be done by ProTuner

Nissan Primera P11 144 1.8

This car is Fiona’s Daily. Her first Primera, she loves it. The car is serviced often and has had some repair work and components replaced such as the MAF. The car has very light modifications.

Exterior:

HID 8000k Kit

Primera Sport + 16” Alloy Wheels

Interior:

Primera Sport+ Interior

Sunglasses Holder

Exhaust:

2.0 Custom Cat Back

Engine:

NKG Iridium 6 Spark Plugs

Suspension:

Primera GT Front & Rear Suspension

Primera GT Front Strut Brace

Nissan Almera N16 1.5

This is my current daily driver at the moment. Unfortunately she will be retired at the end of the year. I purchased this car from member “Jason K” when the gearbox had broken. I remember driving it home with a knackered gear box, I nursed it back though. I managed to source a new gearbox for it and then fitted this myself. Fiona had a minor mishap a few years ago and wanted to scrap it when I got disqualified for driving. I took the car and it sat in the garage for 2 years. I planned on VE’ing this but unfortunately the body underneath is rusty hence its retirement on its next MOT. It has some light modifications.

Engine:

eBay Cone Filter

Motrio 2 Prong Spark Plugs

AAS 2.25” Cat back

Suspension / Brakes:

H&R Lowering Spring

Primera GT Front Brakes

ICE:

Pioneer DAB Head Unit

Sony Xplod 12” Sub

Edge 6x9 Rear Speakers

Fusion Amp

Some Random Amp

Exterior:

Colour Coded Bump Strips

Primera P11-144 Active Alloy Wheels

Nissan Primera P11 GTSE – Mystic

My new project, which was purchased last month. The car is currently in a sorry state but I plan on getting some health back into her over the summer and so I can use this instead of the N16 Almera. I have removed some of the modifications which were on it, such as the RipSpeed head unit and Wizard of NOS kit. Still a lot more to do!

Post summer modifications will be:

SR20VE Engine

SR16VE Cams

H-Dev Mapped Almera GTi ECU

Custom Intake

Toyosports Header

333cc Injectors

Half Leather Interior

OZ Racing 17” Alloys

Not really much more I can add at the moment till I start working on it. But the future plan is:

Custom VE Build

SR16VE N1 Head

SR20VE Block

Custom Pistons

H-Beam Rods

8CW Crank

Link G4Plus Extreme Stand Alone ECU

8x 270cc Injectors

BMW M3 Throttle Bodies

9000 RPM Limit

CAS 2.5” Catback

ICE with Satnav – Fitted to the Monitor in back

R34 Front Brakes

And much much more…

Above is the bare minimum which I plan on doing but do keep an eye on my project thread here on NPOC, for its progress. All I know is I have a lot of work to do to it. At some point I will have a full Mystic respray done too. I plan on having it looking like new.

One of the things I’ve noticed about you over the last decade, is your Nissan skill set and knowledge has massively increased. Now I know you’re a member of many Nissan based forums (whore! Hahaha!), but has the available internet based knowledge, been beneficial in how you now tackle cars?

I first got in to cars with my mate about 2001 ish. Before then I was never really bothered. I started just doing little odd jobs and then at some point I was confident enough to change an air filter.

I have always been curious about things since I was young enough to walk. I took my mums video player apart (which was hired) back in around 1988, I was around 3 at the time and surprisingly I never broke any components LOL. The hire company guy saw the funny side and still fixed it for my mum but mum started to hide the tools from then on. She always said I should have been called Miles (as in Miles and the screwdriver – probably way old for some young pups to remember this). Anyways with my curiosity, it just makes me do a lot of research and learn new stuff. I then always put in to practice what I have slightly learned on the internet.

When I started my relationship with Fiona, I didn’t speak to my friends as much at the time. My mate is a mechanic and he used to do all the major work but since we sort of never seen each other much, I had to stand on my own two feet. Any issues first port of call was the NPOC forums, else it was other forums. After a few failed repairs it became time I wanted a VE. Now I had done engine swaps in the past and it worked but I was always curious about it. At that time there was no specific VE owners clubs out there. I thought good idea for me to make one. After a couple of months, I met Wezz from Middlesbrough who had done a rebuild and swap, then afterwards a fellow scot named Garry who has a stunning Lucino. The curiosity just grew on from there and so I was tackling harder and harder jobs.

Fiona bought a Black N15 GTi that I spent a weekend working on. I stripped down the brakes and revealed bad repair jobs in the past. Good car when I had finished but there was a lot of corrosion and the car didn’t last too long sadly. She then bought a Blue GTi but due to issues with engine coolant and it fried the engine so at this point I suggested a VE engine as a sort of joke but she said yes! So I started looking at importing an engine when all of a sudden the P11 GT with an SR20VE came up for sale. I did my first successful DE to VE Conversion in that GTi (with the engine from the P11 GT). This proved to be a very successful conversion all because of research and taking the time to think about it. Fiona then saw the now Current N1 VZR as she was looking for a decent shell (the blue GTi was getting rusty). I got it stripped and stored the parts. Slowly we got all new parts and with all the stuff I had read and got involved with and old engines to tinker with, I took on my first successful “ground up” engine build. If I put my mind to something I make it happen. I mean I don’t really remember how I have learned everything I know but it damn sure comes in handy. Plus being Scottish I hate to pay for things so why pay a garage to fit stuff when I can do that for free!

As for other clubs, I am only ever on 2 clubs nowadays. NPOC as the club is awesome and NeoVVLOC as it is owned by me.

You’ve specifically become a bit of legend in all things VVL and you run a very successful club / forums dedicated to this. Is it your intention to stuff a VVL lump in every Nissan you will own LOL?

Yes! I am very greedy with VE’s. I have 2 of the rare N1 heads, one in the VZR and the other to be built for my new GTSE.

2 standard VE heads, one from the old Primera / GTi engine and the other purchased as part of a full engine setup. One will be used for a DE / VE Hybrid for an N16 in the future. The other head will be built onto a DE block for Fiona’s P11-144 when the QG starts playing up (or in a few years time).

So yeah there will be 4 Different Nissans with 4 VE’s.

An N1 Nissan Primera has never been done, so I will be the first!

So lots of NA power knocking around in your rides or “to be” knocking around in your rides, why have you never considered boost and are you a turbo hater?

I am not a turbo hater. In fact, I was planning on a VE N1 Turbo until I got banned. It’s also down to cost as I plan on buying a house in a few years, so I decided for reliability and cost I will stick with N/A at the moment. I’m looking at around 250 BHP estimated for my NA build anyways, so that will still be pretty impressive.

Do you think we’d all be running SR20VE engines, if the engine was easier to source (I know I would LOL)?

I would hope people would consider it. VE engines have gotten a bad reputation by people because they could never get it right. But when you do get it right, you are hooked. Pushing an SR20VE Stock to 8500 and hearing the scream just gives an adrenaline buzz - Best upgrade by far. It beats all your cam upgrades and stuff. A correctly mapped VE engine gives better MPG than a DE engine too!

VET? You know we need one around the place!!?

Never say never! As I said, I had planned on it but it’s not cheap to do. A VET would easy hit around 500 BHP mark but the problem is with gearboxes, drive shafts, and so on. Cost is not worth it for me at the moment but never say never!

Time for the quick fire question round!

What makes you smile? 

Jeremy Clarkson – He cracks me up!

What makes you sad? 

Cruelty to Animals

Tell us something we don't know about you..

I have a fascination of Primates

Your favourite colour? 

Black

Your lucky number? 

3:16 – Back when I liked WWF

What will it say on your gravestone?

Nothing, I plan on being cremated

Your favorite drink (any)? 

Coffee, a lot of coffee

Your sub £10K second hand dream car would be? 

Nissan Navara in black

Your sub £30K second hand dream car would be? 

Nissan Skyline R34 GTR V-Spec in Blue or Black

If you could steal the keys to someone else’s car (on NPOC) for 1 day, which car would you steal and why? 

Come on Shaun, that Pink Primera of yours. I would love to see what peoples reactions would be, when they see me driving a Pink car! Shaun's Pink Beast pictured below!

You’ve shown up at a few North East regional club meets and anything held in Scotland but 10+ years of membership and you’ve sadly never made it to one of our bigger national meets, further down South. When are we gonna get you out for Japfest / JAE or even Ace Cafe?

I have set a challenge this year to have the Mystic healthy for the Ace Café Meet in December. I do plan on coming to a few big events in the next few years once I have finished University and have a few extra bob in my pocket, I‘ll be there.

Tell everyone who has never come out and joined us at a Club Meet, why they should..

The first Meet I attended was a Scottish Meet and it was such a laugh. I met some of the nicest people anyone could ever meet. We also shared a memorable moment with “the Nesbit’s” teaching a Rottweiler how to swim in a lake LOL. The meet showed it was not all about the cars but meeting new people. I was always made to feel welcome. The same applied when I went to my first North East Meet, I was even in an Almera!

So over 10 years of NPOC membership Chris, is there a defining club memory in that lot somewhere?

I think the first Scottish Meet was a memorable event with the NPOC. I had an amazing time.

Most of us know you have just come back from a driving ban and whilst we’re not here to judge (we all speed regardless of who wants to look in the mirror and deny it!) Personally I was a regular 3 figure motorway driver years back, until I got caught.. Has the ban slowed you down and made you look differently at how you drive?

Definitely! I need to consider changing my name to Captain Slow now. I am happy to sit on the motorways at 60 MPH now. I never expected a ban to change my attitude as much as it did on the roads. Sitting as a passenger for 2 years gave me a good insight as to how stupid it was with the speeds I was doing. It’s all very fresh in my mind and I think it has made me a better driver for it.

Not only that, the inconvenience of it all was hard also. Taking public transport which is always cold and damp in the winter, with old dears coughing on you and waiting up to 30 minutes for a bus drove me nuts. It took 1 hour and 40 minutes to get to University on the bus when it is just 20 minutes by car etc. The fact I had to go through an Extended Driving Test before I could drive on my own again, was hard and financially difficult. Car Insurance has taken a hit too.

Although I am building fast cars, I am doing it for taking them down the drag strip or track time and as a hobby. High and illegal speeds are best kept off the public road, so I suggest that anyone learn from my stupid mistakes and think about it before you reach those speeds. It’s dangerous and could potentially be fatal, if something was to go wrong.

NPOC for life (regardless of what car you own and drive) or leg it when you change car?

For life! If I was ever to get another type of car I would still be happy to pay my Club membership and stay with NPOC. I do hope to live to see the day, when Brian finally gets Nistune sorted on his Ginger GT LOL!

Tell Carlos Ghosn why he needs to bring back the Nissan Primera brand:

The Nissan Primera was / is the best family hatchback in the world. He needs to tell Renault where to go and build another Primera using the same passion as the last one. The Nissan Primera already has the best Owners Club around.

As I have asked all of the 2014 MOTM winners so far, we all read the debate in the December 2013 COTM about my decision to change the name of our monthly feature to "Member Of The Month" and also change the criteria and so on.. I do appreciate as a winner of this new feature, it’s going to be potentially hard to speak out against the new format LOL but did I make the right call in changing things around here? Or should I have left it as it was?

I think it was a good idea to implement it into NPOC. A lot of members have owned fantastic Primeras but have sadly moved on to other cars. The good news is that they have stayed with NPOC and still to this day, contribute to the club with their help and knowledge – The fact that you can now win MOTM on merit, rather than how shiny your Nissan Primera is a positive step. Unfortunately Primera’s are starting to decline in numbers but the spirit of the club still remains.

Right then, so we’re nearly at the end of this one Chris but you’ve been holding out about the promised funny story with your old Renault 5! Cough and be judged haha!

When I first changed the spark plugs on my Renault 5 GT CAMPUS, I threaded a plug going back in, because I was stupid with cars at the time, I used Jeremy Clarksons favourite tool - A hammer and a ratchet! It got the plug back in though LOL!

Member Of The Month is all about highlighting the unsung heroes around this club and also their cars, should they be driving a Nissan Primera. You won this feature because you have spent 10 years plus, owning and driving a variety of Nissan Primeras and other Nissans. The help you have given our members (paying and non paying) over the years, has been selfless and always a welcome sight - Thank you Chris, it’s been massively appreciated and here’s to another decade of Club Life! With my thanks out of the way, it’s over to you Chris.. Congratulations once again for winning Member Of The Month for April 2014! Please end this feature, in your own words and feel free to thank anyone who’s made this one possible.

First off I need to give a massive thanks to my other half Fiona! She has allowed me to be into all of this and even got involved with me. She has given me projects to do for her, which have given me great satisfaction.

Ant-Dat for all the useful information in the past. He has grilled me on a few occasions but only because he is always right. His knowledge and explanations as well as his tech articles, have made it possible for me to work on cars.

Garry (97VZR on NeoVVL) for all the help and support on my projects also. With having a VE and meeting him, I consider him a good friend now. He has also helped me mechanically as well as technically in the past.

GTIRWezz for his technical help also and allowing me to buy his N1 head.

Brian (PrimeraP11GT) for having me in stitches, with some of the daft stuff he comes up with.

Finally a mega thanks to NPOC, for all the help and support through the years and the support for my projects. I will be an NPOC Member and a Nissan owner for many years to come, thanks to this club and also thank you for making me MOTM. 




Congratulations once again to Chris!

April 2014 MOTM - TheStigP11GT

Written by essNchill



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