The Incredible ULK

It had turned green, had an appropriate number plate and did something quite remarkable - what else were we going to call the new Retro Cars project car?

- Craig Cheetham

With the MG ZS nearing completion, it was time for Retro Cars to look out for a new project car. So when Associate Editor Tom Barnard alerted me to a Nissan Micra K11 that had spent 16 years abandoned in a bush near his home, the outcome was inevitable. After all, what could possibly go wrong, given the K11’s reputation for corrosion?

A quick call to the vendor revealed that he was a banger racer and if the Micra wasn’t gone by Wednesday it’d be going round the oval the following weekend, so cue a hasty rearrangement of my Tuesday plans and a trip in the Retro Cars beavertail (a suitably aged Nissan Cabstar) to Letchworth to go and do the decent thing.

When I arrived, the Micra was sitting outside the bloke’s house looking very sorry for itself, covered in mould and algae and with two tyres that had been butchered by bramble bushes (though they probably still had better handling characteristics than the Ukranian remoulds that were fitted to the front), so I reversed the truck up, handed over a few notes, and proceeded to winch it up on to the flatbed. Except…

Moment of disaster

Yep, that morning was the morning that the electric winch on the recovery truck decided to make a disconcerting fizzing sound, followed by a loud pop. It was as immobile as the Micra appeared to be.

With no option but to see if there was another way, I took out my trusty 6-metre jump leads - a gift from a mate who used to jump start trucks for a living - and connected the Cabstar’s battery to the 16+-year old Micra one. A quick crank showed that the engine was turning freely, so I took out my jerry can and splashed some fresh petrol into the air intake (don’t try this at home, kids…).