The Figaro was manufactured in Japan where Kilometres is the unit of measurement. As the car was never officially exported by Nissan (grey import) if it is driven in the UK (as well as Liberia, Myanmar and the United States) it will require a modification to allow the driver to see what speed they are going in MPH and to comply with local driving laws.

There are two types of modifications used to ensure the car is legal to drive on UK roads

The fitting of a small card into the Speedo dial allows the needle to display Miles Per hour. This is by far the cheapest and most common solution and can be achieved by purchasing the card.

To fit remove the dial’s edge with a small trim tool so the glass comes away and slot the card into place.

The Figaro Shop sell the Card Insert – Click here

If you have an MPH Sticker on your Speedo it means you have a Transducer fitted. We believe this was a solution before the Card above used was created. The device is usually fitted by a garage as it’s more complicated to install. It works just like a bicycle gearing system, basically slowing down the rotation to make the Kilometers show in Miles. It means that the odometer reading is now shown as miles.

Now the problem occurs if the KMS distance in the Odometer was not recorded at the time of fitting the Transducer. If this information was not supplied with the car you have no way of calculating the exact distance travelled since manufacture.

ONCE FITTED THE ODOMETER NOW SHOW MILES NOT KILOMETRES. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT AT THE POINT OF FITTING THE TRANSDUCER THE KMS ARE RECORDED. TO CALCULATE THE ACTUAL DISTANCE THE CAR HAS TRAVELLED SINCE MANUFACTURE YOU MUST ADD TOGETHER THE KMS + MILES!

We had originally planned an Essex Day Trip for 3rd October … which was only postponed as some of the original plans fell through! Lucky though, as the beginning of October was when fuel wasn’t getting to the petrol stations in the UK, so it looks like a higher (or lower!?) power destined us to make a trip around Essex on Halloween! Spooky!! While this was actually the third version of what was originally a very different event, we made the culmination of the trip something a bit different, being a visit to a once-secret Nuclear Bunker – great for Halloween!

The day started with everyone meeting for breakfast at the very hospitable Hunters Meet Hotel in Hatfield Heath. I must confess to having been worried about the weather and sadly the forecasts were correct. That morning the heavens opened forcing a last-minute change, making space available in the car park rather than parking on the venue’s very own heath!

I could have forgiven anyone looking out of the window that morning and deciding that a day trip wasn’t the best idea, but what a great bunch of absolute troopers our members were steadily arriving, splashing into the car park, many with seasonal decorations and costumes! We even had a couple of members arrive who hadn’t managed to book but nipped along to say hello and join us for part of the route!

The weather also meant that while normally my better half Lukas is in the passenger seat, roof down, taking photos and videos of the day, clearly with torrential rain that wasn’t going to happen. So, we had brought our other car with us and Lukas kindly led the convoy while I drove on ahead to capture some photos and videos.

Our stop was Bretts Farm Shopping Village, and it was pouring down as the fleet of Figgys pulled into the car park where our hosts had kindly roped off some parking spaces for us. Bretts Farm had a great assortment of shops from a garden centre, to a home/craft store, along with a Farm Shop and Restaurant. Plenty to have a look around as the weather lifted and finally the sun came out, giving members and other visitors the time to take photos of our lovely cars.

From here we headed out across open countryside which formed part of The Rodings, the remnants of an ancient Anglo Saxon community. The downpour had resulted in some flash floods, but undaunted our members drove on through Fyfield and into Chipping Ongar where I was ready to shoot a bit of video to capture the day and some beep-beeps in the town centre.

And so onwards to our final destination, we headed out of Ongar through some wooded areas, and now in glorious sunshine onto the site, following the sweeping road round to park up and get ready for our investigations into the once-secret nuclear bunker! Over the last few events, it’s become a bit of a tradition to ask everyone to stand by their cars and beep their horns as a fun start to the day, but the weather washed out that idea, so instead, we gathered our members outside of the bunker entrance and did a vocalised “beep beep” to the camera!

Together we entered the nondescript bungalow which forms the entrance, collecting our audio guides, and headed down a long tunnel, through the blast doors and into the three floors of communications rooms, sleeping quarters, offices and medical facilities, all in place for the 600+ people who would have had to live here in case of the worst.

With original videos to watch as we went round, it was quite a surreal experience, difficult to digest at times, but something definitely worth seeing, especially when you consider the measures required to keep the air clean and live-able for months of being underground, as well as other practical considerations! I don’t believe anyone witnessed any ghostly sightings, although a couple of members were spooked by the odd creepy noise here and there! By the end, our party gathered in the canteen, reflecting on what had been quite an unusual day, but one which was most definitely memorable with brilliant friendly members, some of whom we had met for the first time that day!

And so we headed out to collect our cars in the car park… to discover one last mystery… a solitary lapis grey Figaro that we didn’t have noted down as attending. The Figgy appeared to sparkle in the sun, or was it something more ethereal? We left a note to say hi, or think we did… in was in fantastic condition … was it real? It was Halloween after all

Words and pictures Kevin Fagan

The Cambelt is designed to keep the bottom half of the engine (pistons and crankcase) in sync with the top half (valves and cylinder head). It is one of the most important and essential parts of the engine and if it breaks or even slips the car can overheat very quickly and the damage to the engine can be terminal!

Nissan recommends replacing every 4 years or 50,000 km whichever comes first.

The timing belt, tensioner and water pump take around 2.5/3hours to complete. The average hourly workshop rates are around £60 (see our Garage Directory) so assume £180 labour + Parts which are around £110 so expect to pay £290 + VAT.

Remember, as a club member you have access to lots of DISCOUNT CODES across a range of Figaro products and services. Click the link below and enter FOCMDC