Andy's R32 GTR
Discussion
Hi all, I've been lurking on the site for a couple of years now but only just signed up.
I've had my first car (a MK4 Astra 1.6) since I was 17 which I'm still running as a daily. I see the same advice keep appearing on here; don't spend money on modifying your first car, save it and get something decent in a few years. Well, its good advice, 7 years later I had enough to get something I've been wanting for a long time.
My search started in the first half of last year. I'd been researching quite a bit before that and come to the conclusion that to get the colour and condition I was after, I'd have to import a car from Japan. I decided to use japaneseusedcars.com as an agent as you get to pick the car from the auctions yourself and they then inspect it prior to bidding. They were brilliant throughout the entire process. I had one car rejected as it failed their inspection and couple of months with nothing suitable appearing in the auctions when finally, this pops up.
It's a 1990 R32 GTR in the rare TH1 Dark Blue Pearl. Of the 40,000 or so they made, 280 ish were in this colour and it ended up as a special order. Also being one of the early cars its 50kg lighter at 1430kgs. The colour changes with the light and goes from looking almost black to a deep blue metallic. Its only had a couple of mods too which is extremely unusual. A Fujitsubo Super R exhaust, R33 GTR wheels, a CD player and an Apexi speed/rev meter and thats it. Exactly what I was after with reasonable mileage (96,000 kms) and full history present. Put in a bid and had a couple of days to wait for the auction to happen. They're 8 hours ahead in Japan so the auctions happen overnight here. Woke up and checked my email the morning after. I'd won the auction. No going back now!
Pics at the docks in Japan:
Cue a month and a half of nervous/excited waiting to pick the car up at the docks in Southampton.
Had sorted my insurance a while beforehand except they didn't mention that they were only giving me 14 days to get the car registered and provide them with the registration number. Great! Rear fog light was fitted in a hurry and then I drove it straight down for the MOT. It conked out at a set of traffic lights which was slightly embarrassing but it did start up again after a couple of minutes. It wasn't quite running right but I planned to give it a full service after the MOT anyway. It flew through, not even any advisories so that was a relief.
Had some fun at the Bristol DVLA office who were very helpful, it was the insurance company that caused issues as they hadn't put the vin number in the right place on the certificate. It then took them an hour and a half to fax it through. Registration number and tax disk came in the post two days later. Result!
On to the service. I did all the work myself with help from my Dad. I changed the timing belt and the water pump as well. It was reasonably straight forward although the crank pulley bolt put up one hell of a fight (The starter motor trick only bent the breaker bar!). In the end my Dad had a tool fabricated at work to clamp to the pulley and lock it in position. Was then a case of levering a bigger breaker bar with my leg to get it to break loose.
Problem pulley:
New water pump, tensioner and idle pulleys:
Next task once I'd put it back together was the spark plugs:
Bit of a surprise in the first spark plug chamber, must have got in there the last time the plugs were changed:
I fixed the running issue by resoldering one of the AFMs which is a common problem.
The conditions have been awful therefore I haven't had the chance to drive it much so I'm looking forward to better weather. The steering is fantastic and it certainly shifts alright. Oh and the noise! There's a few little scratches to sort here and there but for a 22 year old car it's in remarkably good shape.
Shines up alright after a wash. (Pictures are a bit dark, I was running out of light).
Updates and pictures may be slow coming it depends on the weather.
Easy on the Datsun jokes please.
I've had my first car (a MK4 Astra 1.6) since I was 17 which I'm still running as a daily. I see the same advice keep appearing on here; don't spend money on modifying your first car, save it and get something decent in a few years. Well, its good advice, 7 years later I had enough to get something I've been wanting for a long time.
My search started in the first half of last year. I'd been researching quite a bit before that and come to the conclusion that to get the colour and condition I was after, I'd have to import a car from Japan. I decided to use japaneseusedcars.com as an agent as you get to pick the car from the auctions yourself and they then inspect it prior to bidding. They were brilliant throughout the entire process. I had one car rejected as it failed their inspection and couple of months with nothing suitable appearing in the auctions when finally, this pops up.
It's a 1990 R32 GTR in the rare TH1 Dark Blue Pearl. Of the 40,000 or so they made, 280 ish were in this colour and it ended up as a special order. Also being one of the early cars its 50kg lighter at 1430kgs. The colour changes with the light and goes from looking almost black to a deep blue metallic. Its only had a couple of mods too which is extremely unusual. A Fujitsubo Super R exhaust, R33 GTR wheels, a CD player and an Apexi speed/rev meter and thats it. Exactly what I was after with reasonable mileage (96,000 kms) and full history present. Put in a bid and had a couple of days to wait for the auction to happen. They're 8 hours ahead in Japan so the auctions happen overnight here. Woke up and checked my email the morning after. I'd won the auction. No going back now!
Pics at the docks in Japan:
Cue a month and a half of nervous/excited waiting to pick the car up at the docks in Southampton.
Had sorted my insurance a while beforehand except they didn't mention that they were only giving me 14 days to get the car registered and provide them with the registration number. Great! Rear fog light was fitted in a hurry and then I drove it straight down for the MOT. It conked out at a set of traffic lights which was slightly embarrassing but it did start up again after a couple of minutes. It wasn't quite running right but I planned to give it a full service after the MOT anyway. It flew through, not even any advisories so that was a relief.
Had some fun at the Bristol DVLA office who were very helpful, it was the insurance company that caused issues as they hadn't put the vin number in the right place on the certificate. It then took them an hour and a half to fax it through. Registration number and tax disk came in the post two days later. Result!
On to the service. I did all the work myself with help from my Dad. I changed the timing belt and the water pump as well. It was reasonably straight forward although the crank pulley bolt put up one hell of a fight (The starter motor trick only bent the breaker bar!). In the end my Dad had a tool fabricated at work to clamp to the pulley and lock it in position. Was then a case of levering a bigger breaker bar with my leg to get it to break loose.
Problem pulley:
New water pump, tensioner and idle pulleys:
Next task once I'd put it back together was the spark plugs:
Bit of a surprise in the first spark plug chamber, must have got in there the last time the plugs were changed:
I fixed the running issue by resoldering one of the AFMs which is a common problem.
The conditions have been awful therefore I haven't had the chance to drive it much so I'm looking forward to better weather. The steering is fantastic and it certainly shifts alright. Oh and the noise! There's a few little scratches to sort here and there but for a 22 year old car it's in remarkably good shape.
Shines up alright after a wash. (Pictures are a bit dark, I was running out of light).
Updates and pictures may be slow coming it depends on the weather.
Easy on the Datsun jokes please.
Thanks guys. I'm certainly going to keep it completely standard exterior wise. I'm unsure what to do with the turbos at the minute. The standard ceramics do have a habit of losing their exhaust wheels. It'll only be light upgrades or rebuilt originals though.
Next job is a 4 wheel laser alignment. I forgot to mention I had to fork out for 4 new tyres to get it through the MOT (mobile fitters FTW!) so I want to make sure everything is straight and true. I'll also be redoing the underseal at the earliest opportunity for peace of mind. Other than that its just going to be light restoration work, sorting out the couple of marks on the bodywork. There's a very small bubble on the dashboard in the indent above the glove box, which you can just make out in the interior pic and a couple of bubbles on the trim on the inside of the B pillars.
I'm waiting for a break in the weather to get some better pics and I'll try and record some video as well.
Hopefully get it to some meets/shows around the somerset area this year.
Next job is a 4 wheel laser alignment. I forgot to mention I had to fork out for 4 new tyres to get it through the MOT (mobile fitters FTW!) so I want to make sure everything is straight and true. I'll also be redoing the underseal at the earliest opportunity for peace of mind. Other than that its just going to be light restoration work, sorting out the couple of marks on the bodywork. There's a very small bubble on the dashboard in the indent above the glove box, which you can just make out in the interior pic and a couple of bubbles on the trim on the inside of the B pillars.
I'm waiting for a break in the weather to get some better pics and I'll try and record some video as well.
Hopefully get it to some meets/shows around the somerset area this year.
Neith said:
Awesome car, looks in really nice condition for 22 years old. Any idea how long you waited roughly to get it? I'm importing myself at the minute (S15 Silvia) and 8 weeks has been mentioned as a rough date but I'm guessing this is wholly dependant on what comes up at auction.
It'll depend on the shipping schedule and which port it comes from and goes to. Mine went from Yokohama to Southampton, was about a week after the auction before it was on the boat, then about 6 weeks on the water. Customs clearance is a day or two if you use an agent and I picked it up about 4 days after it landed.Sf_Manta said:
Lovely car, though a piece of advice.
From what I remember all japan market cars didn't have very much in underseal or seam sealing, so best to get the car up on stands and break out the seam sealer and get ahold of some 3M stone chip.
Better to spend a day or 2 getting messy underneath but ensure the car's going to remain in mint condition for many years to come
Thanks, that's pretty much the plan, get it up on axle stands and do cavity wax as well as the black stuff after a thorough cleaning. Its been undersealed already but there are a few chips starting to show so it's about time it was done again.From what I remember all japan market cars didn't have very much in underseal or seam sealing, so best to get the car up on stands and break out the seam sealer and get ahold of some 3M stone chip.
Better to spend a day or 2 getting messy underneath but ensure the car's going to remain in mint condition for many years to come
had ham said:
I was lucky enough to work for Nissan 'back in the day', and spent 24 months down at the development centre in Atsugi. I had many opportunities to sample R32s, including a NISMO racer on track - absolutely phenomenal cars.
I plan to import one once the kids have gone off to Uni - but I'll be lucky if I can secure one as good as yours.
One thing though, I'm no fan of the R33 wheels!
Sweet, I'd love to have a go in one of the Group A race cars but short of a lottery win, I don't think it's going to happen.I plan to import one once the kids have gone off to Uni - but I'll be lucky if I can secure one as good as yours.
One thing though, I'm no fan of the R33 wheels!
The good ones are starting to fetch very good money in Japan. A lot of traders are buying up stock of the early cars like this for when they are legal to import into the US in 2014.
The wheels are growing on me. Ideally I was going to get a set of the original magnesium 16s although with the time constraints from my insurance it made sense to just put new tyres on the 17s. I'm actually really impressed with the ride quality. It's firm but very well damped.
Ten Four said:
Turbos - Go R34 N1s and get yourself a Power FC ecu + hand controller, maybe a 044 bosch pump cause the original is a bit old now...
The N1s are tempting although I don't want a hand controller cluttering up the dash so I'd look at another ECU. I'll probably be doing the fuel pump at some point anyway.Lee540 said:
The one I drove had terrible brakes and I think the interior could be improved
Yeah the brakes aren't brilliant I agree. Consensus seems to be that decent brake fluid, braided lines and high quality discs and pads improve it a lot so that will be the route I'm trying first. Like I said I'd like to get some original 16s so Brembos etc are out for the time being.I'm quite taken with the interior, yeah it's fantastically 80s but it is very well screwed together.
Skylinecrazy said:
Which sites are these auctions on? How does it work in regards to importing?
There's quite a few sites that will give you access to the auctions although most will now require a deposit unless you ask really nicely. Once I had a deposit down I could choose what car I wanted to bid on and how much. The car was then inspected and when that checked out my bid was submitted in the auction. Once I'd won I had a couple of days to send the balance including shipping costs. I then had to employ a customs agent to sort out the import duty plus VAT and the customs clearance. I also dealt with the shipping company this side and arranged transport from the docks.Of course you could just use a UK based importer to handle everything but you'll pay through the nose for it.
Sf_Manta said:
This stuff is what i was thinking of for extra protection, 3M Stone chip, should keep the underside from being damaged 
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/...
Thanks for that I'm gonna do some more research.http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/...
StottyZr said:
The picture from the rear yes everytime I came out of my house I'd think I had Gran Turismo 2 parked on the drive.
The first Gran Turismo is where the inspiration came from. I booted up the emulator earlier to get a screenshot:
obob said:
Is it rude to ask how much it cost you to get it over here?
Yes, but I'll let you off. 
To get it on the road, so that's taxed, MOT'd, rear fog light and plates, came to around £9-10K. Although to put that in perspective, that's a lot less than what some importers have charged for cars that have fetched less at auction. (Price data is widely available). The good cars fetch strong money.
Chunkychucky said:
What's the insurance setting you back if you don't mind me asking?
Not cheap, just into 4 figures but not by much. I prefer to think of it as a lot less than an Evo or an Impreza would cost to insure. Hopefully it will come down a bit next year when I've got a year's experience with it.Edited by Andy616 on Thursday 17th January 17:16
Edited by Andy616 on Wednesday 15th May 16:23
stuart-b said:
It cost 9k PLUS the cost of the car? 
Lovely car.
Lovely car.
I didn't word that brilliantly. That's all in, car, import duty, VAT, shipping, radiation check.....liner33 said:
I hate to burst a bubble but my heavily modified (All mods declared) 400hp Evo 6 cost me less to insure than my almost stock (300hp) R34 GTT , the reason according the insurers was the engine size.
Everyone's circumstances are different. I ran quotes at the same time and same details for a range of cars. Impreza and EVO were close to £2K. An S2000 was about £1.5k and oddly an RX-7 was about £500. Some of the specialist insurers laughed at me this year so I'll have to wait and see what happens next time around.digger the goat said:
Regarding the brakes...I've got red stuff pads all round and they are brilliant...NO they dont need warming up..(before someone starts ! )
Insurance....I'm with Adrian F......Same age as yours...Classic car insurance.
Try it !
P.s.........Very nice...But I am biased
I've seen a few people recommend the red stuff pads, they're definitely on the shortlist. I'm hoping I'll be able to insure it as a classic next time, most companies wouldn't even quote this time. Nice 32 yourself.Insurance....I'm with Adrian F......Same age as yours...Classic car insurance.
Try it !
P.s.........Very nice...But I am biased
Hoddy910 said:
Mate your realising a dream of mine here! If i could afford to run one i would but atm ill have to make do with my fwd turbo hatch...race you for slips?
I'd like to get mine on a dyno to see if many horses have escaped. Trouble is with the stock ECU I've got the 180kph speed limiter still in place so a 4th gear pull is out of the question. Yours looks pretty rapid!Oh Behave said:
I assume this is from the effects of the Tsunami, always wandered about import cars and radiation, are all exports subjected to a check? How do they check?
Yeah, I think it's just been after the Tsunami. I've no idea what they checked, all the invoice says is "Radiation Inspection - ¥3000" so about £20. I seem to remember an article about a bunch of cars that were stopped from entering Russia after failing a test. I've no idea what would have happened if it had failed? 
rainmasterb said:
By the way, does the rear bench have a middle seat? Could maybe get around the misses with it then! :-)
Unfortunately not, just two bucket seats. I'll take some interior shots when I take it out next. They are comfy though and you can fit two adults in the back, just. The last time I took it out I had my brother in the front and mum and dad in the back seats. My dad and brother enjoyed it! 
Honestherbert said:
One of the most detrimental factors of skyline ownership is chavtastic r33 gtst models that push insurance statistics up.
I think most insurance companies have got the sense to separate the different versions.Small picture update. I've not driven it for about a month due to the weather so came back with a massive grin on my face. I haven't done any more work on it yet, just gave it another wash.
Rear seats as promised:
Proper shot of the engine bay (not cleaned, sorry!):
Better shots of the dash:
Inside it's as it arrived on the boat, the only things I've cleaned are the floor mats (all original). The rocker switch under the steering wheel is my hastily added rear fog light switch. It's screwed into an existing screw hole so I can sort something more permanent at a later date. I'm thinking of incorporating an LED into the unused fog light button above the main light switch. The silver box under the wheel, which I forgot about, is one of those automatic toll payment card readers things. No idea if it works so that will probably be coming out as well. The strut brace is the original factory item with a matching one in boot and now I've changed the battery in the fob, the factory fitted remote central locking works.
Rear seats as promised:
Proper shot of the engine bay (not cleaned, sorry!):
Better shots of the dash:
Inside it's as it arrived on the boat, the only things I've cleaned are the floor mats (all original). The rocker switch under the steering wheel is my hastily added rear fog light switch. It's screwed into an existing screw hole so I can sort something more permanent at a later date. I'm thinking of incorporating an LED into the unused fog light button above the main light switch. The silver box under the wheel, which I forgot about, is one of those automatic toll payment card readers things. No idea if it works so that will probably be coming out as well. The strut brace is the original factory item with a matching one in boot and now I've changed the battery in the fob, the factory fitted remote central locking works.
It's going to be a rolling restoration and I'm going to keep it as original as possible. It doesn't need much, just little jobs here and there and the original seats will be staying but thanks for the heads up knight. I like the feel of the stock wheel, it helps that this one doesn't look like someones chewed on it like a lot of them do.
Something else I forgot to mention. The observant amongst you may have noticed that the GTR badge on the ash tray (in the auction shot in the first post) is no longer there. It went missing in transit, luckily it was the only thing.
Something else I forgot to mention. The observant amongst you may have noticed that the GTR badge on the ash tray (in the auction shot in the first post) is no longer there. It went missing in transit, luckily it was the only thing.
Not much to update really, I've still got plenty of bits to do.
I've had a CAT1 alarm/immobiliser fitted by Total Vehicle Systems who did a great job, it looks like a factory install. The guy had some fun with the factory fit remote central locking as there's a box for each door rather than the usual single unit.
I had to get a new battery as the one it arrived with kept discharging (I tested it off the car). I've got the receipt for the old one in with the car history and it's still in warranty. Don't think I'll be trying to claim on it though.
My next jobs are an oil/filter change (not fun!) and I've got some StopTech pads to go on all round and some decent brake fluid. I've also bought fluids for the diffs, gearbox and transfer box and I'll be doing the undersealing when the weather warms up.
Gave it another clean yesterday. The colour really is fantastic in the sunlight. You can see my Astra reflected on the side as well.
Edit: Bottom picture is slightly larger if you click on it.
I've had a CAT1 alarm/immobiliser fitted by Total Vehicle Systems who did a great job, it looks like a factory install. The guy had some fun with the factory fit remote central locking as there's a box for each door rather than the usual single unit.
I had to get a new battery as the one it arrived with kept discharging (I tested it off the car). I've got the receipt for the old one in with the car history and it's still in warranty. Don't think I'll be trying to claim on it though.
My next jobs are an oil/filter change (not fun!) and I've got some StopTech pads to go on all round and some decent brake fluid. I've also bought fluids for the diffs, gearbox and transfer box and I'll be doing the undersealing when the weather warms up.
Gave it another clean yesterday. The colour really is fantastic in the sunlight. You can see my Astra reflected on the side as well.
Edit: Bottom picture is slightly larger if you click on it.
Edited by Andy616 on Monday 1st April 14:38
Just a picture update. I'm trying out Flickr for the first time as an image host.
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
danjama said:
Commented on your flickr! Absolutely adore your car. Will you be going to any meets in the south east? Would love to see it.
Thanks mate, I won't be traveling too far this year, although I am going to do some shows in Somerset/Dorset. I'll post in here once they're finalised.liner33 said:
Why is the oil and filter change not fun? Its a doddle
Oil change is very easy. Filter change when the previous garage (in Japan) has wrenched the filter on is a PITA. Picture below which I took whilst doing the belts shows the location of the filter for anyone that hasn't seen it. It's so cramped you can barely get your hand around it. Getting a chain on it to get some leverage was even harder! 
Meant to put this up the other day. Just a short clip taken on my phone so the sound isn't as good as it could be but you get the idea. I wish people would check their mirrors and indicate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ja0GqkOfnI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ja0GqkOfnI
liner33 said:
Get yourself a cup socket to remove it next time makes life much easier
The Japanese have smaller hands
That's the conclusion I've come to. It's a good job I didn't order one to OEM specs the first time though as the Nismo filter it had on there was a different size anyway. The Japanese have smaller hands
V40TC said:
Red Stuff pads are superb, low dust and very good braking
4 Wheel alignment I had done on our car at J Day Engineering, very good service highly recommended.
Thanks for the recommendation, I finally got the wheel alignment done today at J Day Engineering. As you say they offer a great service and are a nice friendly bunch of people. I took the stock specs along incase they didn't have it on the Hunter system. They don't as it happens. Toe angles required very minor adjustment front and back. Front camber and caster isn't adjustable as stock but they were both ok being close to the extremes of the stock settings. Rear camber was adjusted as it was running slightly too much negative camber so it's now at the max of the stock settings.4 Wheel alignment I had done on our car at J Day Engineering, very good service highly recommended.
I haven't had a chance to see what difference it's made yet as the weather was appalling so I was driving very gently.
bozzy101 said:
Try RH Specialist Insurance. I had my 93 "K" Reg Import Eunos Roadster insured for £195 fully comp, that included breakdown cover! It was a classic car policy limited to 6k a year
Thanks for that. That's one more name on the list to phone come renewal time.A bit late notice but I'm off to my first show this Sunday (June 30th):
http://www.yeovilclassics.co.uk/index.html
In aid of a good cause so hopefully it will be a good turnout.
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
It's been a while since I've posted, I've been extremely busy. Done a couple of shows now which have been good fun.
Yeovil Classics charity event:
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
Yeovilton Air Day:
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
A great way to do the Air Day. No hassle with parking and about 100 yards from the display line.
I'm going to be at "Classics at the Castle" in Sherborne tomorrow as part of the Classic and Sportscar tour organised on here. Should be a good day out.
Yeovil Classics charity event:
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
Yeovilton Air Day:
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
A great way to do the Air Day. No hassle with parking and about 100 yards from the display line.
I'm going to be at "Classics at the Castle" in Sherborne tomorrow as part of the Classic and Sportscar tour organised on here. Should be a good day out.
A small very update. I've started a new job and I've been really busy over the last couple of months so no recent pictures. I'm still on the look out for a set of original wheels in mint condition.
It passed its MOT a couple of weeks ago, again with no advisories. Result!
The insurance this year now I'm 25 was £480. Even more of a result!!!
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
It passed its MOT a couple of weeks ago, again with no advisories. Result!
The insurance this year now I'm 25 was £480. Even more of a result!!!
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
A couple of pics from the weekend:
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
I also finally got some outside video footage. Turn your speakers up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygx5G5tmiyo
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
R32 GTR by TheAndy616, on Flickr
I also finally got some outside video footage. Turn your speakers up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygx5G5tmiyo
Another small job sorted. I originally created my rear fog light by putting a red bulb in the driver's side reversing light and operated it using a rocker switch screwed underneath the dash:
Functional but not pretty!
I'd been planning on rewiring the switch for a while now and got around to sorting it last week. Using the aux switch is fairly straight forward. You just need to attach the live wire on the fog light to the live wire coming from the switch. It's the orange/black wire that's the live one.
MOT rules, however, require a "tell" to be present. I wanted to fit an LED to the aux switch whilst making it look as original as possible so I bought a spare switch so I could examine it and see what could be done.
As it turns out, it's possible to do it without even taking the switch apart!
The switch:
I bought the brightest 3mm led I could get from the local electronics shop. The grey diodes pull out and you can fit the LED though the hole they come out of, like so:
You need to wrap (I stripped some thin wire and used the casing) the legs of the LED to ensure there is no shorting as it is eventually wired separately. Test fit without wrapping:
I split the new live wire so that the power goes to both the LED and the rear fog light. The LED is grounded in the driver's footwell. Soldered up:
All put back together:
Not the best pictures (taken on phone), it's brighter in reality. And that's not light shining out the bottom, it's the reflection from the handbrake light.
Much better than the rocker switch that was there before!
Functional but not pretty!
I'd been planning on rewiring the switch for a while now and got around to sorting it last week. Using the aux switch is fairly straight forward. You just need to attach the live wire on the fog light to the live wire coming from the switch. It's the orange/black wire that's the live one.
MOT rules, however, require a "tell" to be present. I wanted to fit an LED to the aux switch whilst making it look as original as possible so I bought a spare switch so I could examine it and see what could be done.
As it turns out, it's possible to do it without even taking the switch apart!
The switch:
I bought the brightest 3mm led I could get from the local electronics shop. The grey diodes pull out and you can fit the LED though the hole they come out of, like so:
You need to wrap (I stripped some thin wire and used the casing) the legs of the LED to ensure there is no shorting as it is eventually wired separately. Test fit without wrapping:
I split the new live wire so that the power goes to both the LED and the rear fog light. The LED is grounded in the driver's footwell. Soldered up:
All put back together:
Not the best pictures (taken on phone), it's brighter in reality. And that's not light shining out the bottom, it's the reflection from the handbrake light.
Much better than the rocker switch that was there before!
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