So from the beginning of owning the car, I always wanted to have the pre-face lift front end design of the March, more specifically the Nismo version, so throughout some time in the past few months I was able to pursue this and acquire a few starter parts from Japan to demonstrate that this is possible.
First thing, was the headlamps these are of course different in design "slightly". They do not have the integrated side makers like the Canadian spec. It was a bit difficult to find a worthy pair, and I also had to keep in mind that the particular models I was looking for needed to be the late revised models DBA-K13 (Nismo spec use OEM headlamps that are late model design were you see the front of the housing has a sharper end to it same as Canadian type). I had to source a pair since most were just singles so that the quality wouldn't vary. After a couple of months of searching I ended up getting really lucky and found a nice barely used pair @yahoo auctions jp and when they arrived they were new at used price. Missing levellers, in Japan they are electronic and can be adjusted from the interior
Something to take note, the Canadian headlamp assembly is made by Hella (German company, made in Mexico) & the JDM headlamps are made by Koito (Japanese company, made in Taiwan).
For the first test, I had to strip my front-end to equip the JDM headlamps on the frame. With that, I can confirm some of the mounting points were the same, however I already knew this shouldn't work without the JDM side fenders, since they have a different shape and different plastic snap plate. Knowing this, the full conversion cannot work without them. I will have to wait until spring to test the rest. Bellow are some pictures of the fitment.
Fender side screw mount
Fender overhead screw mount
Also, another thing to take note. The front markers are not the same bulbs since in Japan the markers are on the side fenders. The smaller bulb holder made by Koito is much smaller (two prongs vs 3 prongs) and different than the Hella made model. I will simply get the correct plugs. I thought I could re-use the current ones but these won't fit in the lamp housing.
That's it for now, I will keep this tread updated as the months go by, and proceed to the next crucial step, seeing if the OEM JDM side fenders will fit on the frame.