Suzuki Ignis sport project/resto

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Hello

New car new project
I Had a lovely 9-5 Aero which I spent a fair bit of money and love and after a while I have just lost interest in it, I stopped using it for commuting as I can walk to work in 20 mins so I made the decision to sell and cut my losses.


New car had to be small fun, fairly quick and quirky oh and less than a grand so after a few weeks searching this popped up


After a small haggle I managed to get the car for £950 good points are

1 lady owner, completely standard, some service history mainly suzuki dealership stuff, completely mint recaro interior no rips no tears no wear (apart from matts), Original wheels, MOT till november with only a few advisories

Bad points

Been stood awhile, needs wheel alignment and steering wheel adjusting it fells slightly off, advisories are 2 front tyres and exhaust corroded, Bonnet has a lovely rust spot, slight wear and tear on body but it has done 100k+, it will need a good service as it feels great in first and slightly sluggish in 2nd and 3rd anyway pics

Interior is lovley and needs a good Vac and wet Vac






Engine bay needs some love various rust patches but only surface stuff nothing serious



The bonnet


Wheels need a refurb

Edited by scratchnsniff on Thursday 11th July 13:17

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So lets tackle that interior

Gave it a wet vac










And the Only let down to the interior No idea how I am gonna replace it as it is an original matt and i think they do not stock them anymore.

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Scottchester said:

Nice car and looks in good condition. My parents have a 1.3 and everytime I drive it I think it would be awesome with a bit more power, bet this is great fun.
Is the passenger seat base a different colour to the driver's one?

Same shade etc just crap pictures and yes the car is a hoot to drive feels fast but probably isnt. For 950 quid it's hilarious

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V8RX7 said:

I was looking at these as an old school hot hatch but I didn't like the looks (I think I'm possibly double the target age group)

I ended up with it's successor - a Swift Sport - very similar ethos and great fun - bargain at £880 too.

Enjoy !

I'm 35 so probably over the target age group but I love this type of car I've had a fiat panda 100hp my mum has it now so this is well up my street. I wanted a cheap swift sport but couldn't find anything in decent condition for the price 880 quid sounds a really good price. To be honest I love the rarity of these and the recaro's are so so good

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bungz said:

Was given a Boggo 1.3 GL at the start of the year for free.

Has needed brake discs / drums all round, a full service and a few other bits.

Its hideous but 80 odd hp and a close ratio box in a little tin can is more than enough to raise a smile. I cannot see myself getting rid of it!

Would love a Sport but most look absolutely shagged.

Most are shagged buddy mine isn't in the best condition but the good points outweigh the bad if you can find a original one that's rough and unmodified go for it.

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V8RX7 said:

My Swift was an Ebay "bargain" with a few door dinks, stinking of weed and needing a service - £120 for all the parts inc. new rear shocks, so really it was £1k

I haven't had such a low powered car for years and am enjoying the fun of thrashing it without ending up at silly speeds.

That's why I love these cars it's not all about power you can go fast ish and still have plenty of fun on the ragged edge

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Gmlgml said:

Not sure if it helps but in and amongst the pile of receipts for a recent purchase (an Alfa GTV ) there are details for a custom mat company. The original Alfa ones go for stupid money in good nick (£200 plus !) so the previous owner had a custom set done for £80 to match the factory colours and fit.

They may be able to do something with your old mat as a template?

I never thought of getting a custom Matt made up it's a good idea thanks for the advice

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greeneggsandham said:

Your Saab looks
Got a thread on that?!
Good luck with the new project too

The Saab was lovely but was costing so much to run and it was just sitting doing nothing half the time not only that but it decided to leak more oil after fixing it a few times. Saab is now in black pool with its new owner and to be honest I'm happy it's gone the little Ignis makes me grin ear to ear something the Saab rarely did

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Ste372 said:

Absolutely love these! I've had 6 in various condition/modification over the last 3 years. Currently stepped away from them for a while and have got a corolla t sport at moment. I will be getting another one when time/funds/space allows.

Riot to drive and so forgiving. You can really get the backend to step out if your into that sort of thing. Not fast by any modern standards but brisk enough upto around 80. Perfect for back lane bashing.

I might have to pick your brains buddy

Mines done over 100k are they ok at that mileage I'm gonna service it soon but what about the water pump and chain etc.

Heard that the engine temp sensors can be bad and if they are thrashed cold can be an engine ruiner. Mines had 1 lady owner so no boy Racers so fingers crossed it's a Decent engine.

Got a slipping belt easy to do myself or a garage job?

If you can answer any of them it would help

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Ste372 said:

I might have to pick your brains buddy

Mines done over 100k are they ok at that mileage I'm gonna service it soon but what about the water pump and chain etc.

Heard that the engine temp sensors can be bad and if they are thrashed cold can be an engine ruiner. Mines had 1 lady owner so no boy Racers so fingers crossed it's a Decent engine.

Got a slipping belt easy to do myself or a garage job?

If you can answer any of them it would help

Hi mate there is a few that seem to run into head gasket trouble over the 100k mark but nothing I'd be seriously worried about

Couple of reports say red coolant is a factor and to only use blue.

I'd give it a good service, change the thermostat and rad cap for new ones.
Thermostat is under inlet manifold at back of engine

Crank sensors can break down when engine upto temp. Again under inlet manifold behind alternator

Slipping aux belt nice and simple set up 15mins tops.

They're good little motors.
Common issues these days are
Eats top mounts. Correct ones are suzuki only
Gear cables break. Again suzuki only
Sticking rear calipers. Bigg redd for a rebuild
Shocks are suzuki only for correct damping as Most are dead by now
Exhausts rust. Suzuki only for the correct sport one
Rust is starting to claim a few now
Coolant issues pushing coolant into the overflow.

The only down side is most replacement parts are suzuki only.

Anything else give us a shout I'll do my best to ask.

If your on Facebook make sure you join the owners page. Suzuki ignis sport owners

I will join the Facebook group ASAP

Any info on the crank sensor as there are a few to choose from.

Exhausts not a clue where to find one a Suzuki one may be expensive is it worth going custom? Mine needs replacing was on advisories

I will replace other stuff when it breaks mine seems completely original and not thrashed so fingers crossed.

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vx220 said:

Ignis Sport or a Yaris T-Sport?

I'm after a little daily, coming from an MR2 Roadster

Apologies for derailing...

Never driven the Yaris t sport only a boggo basic model I hated it. If you can test drive both than go ahead the Iggy has amazing recaro's and is slightly rarer these days but can be ropey hence why so many are cheap. The t sport is meant to be a great drive and just as fun as the Ignis I was actually looking at buying one but just wanted an Ignis so so bad

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muchacho said:

Congratulations OP. I had a hunch about these and bought a blue one as a winter car and workhorse four years ago. Now on over 150k miles and it has turned out to be the best car I have ever owned. Good luck, commit to it and ask questions as the owners are the best group of car enthusiasts yet encountered!

Loving the car so far just serviced it and was so so easy all the enthusiast's have been awesome lots of help and knowledge.

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So got some new goodies for the car recently new tyres (cheap but not to cheap) and a new exhaust just got to fit it. Also got some paint ready to give the bonnet a quick tidy up and a few other bits and bobs like new thermostat coolant and drive belt. Will post pics up when I work on the car weather has been crap so not had time.

Still plan to get this little Suzuki looking better than ever so watch this space

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Been a crap time with the little Ignis recently

Wanted to change the exhaust as the original was rotten, what actually happened was me opening pandoras little f****ing box

The main issue is the manifold/cat flexi bolts were in bad condition then one decided to snap off but not snap off nicely it decided to snap off so i couldnt heat it and crack it off. What you can see below is a few days effort on my back trying to drill out the bolt spoiler ............its still in there



So after getting HULK lvl angry I have booked it in to a garage that is well know for getting bolts out, so with some free time I am gonna refesh the underneath and possibly get some new suspension bits.

Here is a little of what I have been up to (wire brush, jenolite rust cure and hammerite)





Still got lots to do


Knackered exhaust

New Exhaust

Uncle trying to help

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So not posted on here for ages (not that anyone is bothered but I like to do these work in progress threads)

Still got the Ignis sport had quite a Lot of work done

New exhaust is on but not an original as they are super expensive and not stainless steel, so new exhaust is a cat back system centre exit fully stainless
Loads of parts bought but not fitted

New thermostat
radiator cap
lots of radiator pipes
coolant
new Bonnet catch (fitted)
second hand bonnet (fitted)
re-painted and cleaned engine bay (done)
quick under seal (done)
New alternator
New Water pump
Monster sport white gear knob (Japanese OEM optional extra)

So Lots of parts need fitting but have not had time so will probably go to a garage to get fitted then its MOT time in November and I think its going to need the rear suspension doing so more money. I will put up loads of pics when I have time and when its all done take some driving shots and videos

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Ste372 said:

Getting there slowly mate.

Would of been easier to drop the manifold/cat completely off the car and tackle the snapped bolt on a bench.

These are slowly creeping up in value now and well worth looking after.

Get some more pics up!

Got an engineering garage to drill it out and re thread it just dont have the time and have no garage to work in myself.

Pics coming soon gots loads of parts to take pictures of and a video of the new exhaust!

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So got some quick pics of some before and afters

Engine bay when I got it


And after





Got rid of those horrid bump Gaurds (sorry about the pics took them at work quickly)
Before



After





Defects I need sorting






So will try and get a Big old picture of all the parts needing to be fitted in the next few weeks then try and work out how I am going to get them fitted no money or time!! Then its MOT Time in November and I am dreading it

Edited by scratchnsniff on Thursday 10th October 14:17

Edited by scratchnsniff on Thursday 10th October 14:17

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Gallons Per Mile said:

You're doing a cracking job on that! Bet it's like a go-cart on the road.

Why are you dreading your MOT? Check all the obvious things like tyres, brakes, lights, screenwash etc and if it drives ok with no nasty noises you're most of the way there.

Had a good check and I do not like the look of the rear suspension, heavily corroded there is no obvious knocking and it handles fine its probably just me being overly critical but Everything else seems good. One other issue I am dreading is that Ignis sports are known for failing on emissions due to the cat not being warmed up enough before being tested Got to hope tester will do my car first thing after I give it a good run up to temp on the day.

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Ste372 said:

The rear trailing arms have a tendancy to crack where the two rear bushes are. Personally never seen it myself but a fair few members have had theirs go.

Just had a look and I see no obvious cracks but will have a proper go over before the MOT end of month

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Got the monster sport Gear knob fitted It looks odd in the photo's and its bright white which does not help but what it has done is make changing gears bloody lovely its a good 2 inches shorter than stock so shorter throws.
Excuse the dirty interior