Toyota MR2 '86
Discussion
Love this, and love what you're doing. I've got an '88 T-bar in Helios with 59k miles all old MOTs and history, and I'd love to have the time to do what you're doing, but between a fairly in depth house re-furb and my Evo becoming unusually troublesome recently, it'll need to wait a bit longer than I hoped.
Keep the updates coming.
Keep the updates coming.
Excellent job on the lights : nice to see some good news.
What are you planning for the engine (or did you just want to look inside) ?
I just spent an hour failing to mate my freshly rebuilt engine to the gearbox - the 6-speed is a real pain to get everything lined up without snagging the RHS driveshaft on the block
.
I need to organise a young and beefy mate to help muscle everything into line, but tomorrow I'm going fishing. Bugger cars.
ps I weighed my new 81.5 mm pistons (stock Toyota o/s) before fitting.
Heaviest : 300.9g
Lightest : 300.4g
(I think that was with rings fitted).
No need to balance those!
What are you planning for the engine (or did you just want to look inside) ?
I just spent an hour failing to mate my freshly rebuilt engine to the gearbox - the 6-speed is a real pain to get everything lined up without snagging the RHS driveshaft on the block
.I need to organise a young and beefy mate to help muscle everything into line, but tomorrow I'm going fishing. Bugger cars.
ps I weighed my new 81.5 mm pistons (stock Toyota o/s) before fitting.
Heaviest : 300.9g
Lightest : 300.4g
(I think that was with rings fitted).
No need to balance those!
Sump came off to repaint it. It was going rusty. As these cars like to do when left alone. Added bonus was to have a peek inside. Nothing untoward going on inside. The oil pickup was completely clean, I've seen a few photos of them being a bit bunged up with crud. I guess this owes to being serviced regularly from new.
Any pictures of your MR2 Heaveho?
Any pictures of your MR2 Heaveho?
tonyb1968 said:
This is looking fab 
i remember these when they came out, you could get a skateboard in the boot but not much else and the back seat was totally useless but they were good looking and pretty powerful for their day
Back seat? I think you are thinking of a different car. i remember these when they came out, you could get a skateboard in the boot but not much else and the back seat was totally useless but they were good looking and pretty powerful for their day AW111 said:
Back seat? I think you are thinking of a different car.
Hence why it's totally useless. That said, it impressed me when it swallowed my bass guitar. Dropped straight in! Same can't be said for my 'practical' car. Takes some wiggling to get it in due too the length.Power wise, i'm not fooling anyone here, its quick. Enough to get some speedy overtakes done without fussing 'too' much. That's not what it's about though. Roads with infinite corners; so much fun
Edited by Sillyhatday on Sunday 16th April 18:02
As requested, more updates. These post are mostly copied from another forum, so the timeline and some things being said don't make much sense.
Well, it's back on terra firmer.
Still not brought it home yet, been waiting for a dry evening, which is impossible in this country. So thought it about time to make sense of some photos. I'm sure I got everything done I wanted to.
This was once an alternator, complete without bearings. Thing was simply noisy. Turned out the bearings were totally dried up and corroded inside. Seemed like a simple job and more or less it was, except a few nights spent searching for the right dam size! Seems there's a ton of different variations of these Denso alternators. Spending nearly all week measuring the same bearings over and over. Double checking measurements more and more. Certainly can over think things sometimes.
I found one company on ebay that seems to get any sized bearing you want. Been perfect so far, just a question of longevity. How long, will they go on? For anyone wondering about giving this a go yourself, it was probably one of the easier jobs to do - neglecting the hurdle of getting the thing torn out of the engine bay. That's how it felt to me anyways. I had the luxury of a lift without any suspension components in the way. Anyone doing that on the ground with the car in one piece; I wish you your sanity.
Here's the main casing with the new bearing sent home, along with its cover plate. Needed some careful smashing with its older brother to protect it. No fuss
The other bearing pretty much pushed into place with two thumbs in its eyes. That one came off the shaft originally, so I put the new on back on there too. Didn't get a picture of that. Here it is with the armature back in and the two halves reunited. The four studs you can see around the outside were pretty corroded upon disassembly. I cleaned them as best I could on the bench grinder and immersed them within copper grease. Fit much better now
You can also see the four insulators for the winding connections sticking out. Don't forget them, they important. It was a matter from then to get the electrical bits back on. The brushes being fine from such a low milage they got reused, there was a tone a of life left. The contact points got a little scotch bright, but that was the extent.
Here it is back together with the sandblasted casing and newly painted rear cover. I used the left over wrinkle paint from doing the spark plug valley plate. Looks the business in my eyes. Just missing the pulley and yes the casing got slightly damaged when separating them. Those few marks
Works a treat
Thought I would add a few more photos from the rebuild. Realising there's not much showing the underside.
Inside the front wheel. You can see the new brake line to the caliper. The pedal after a few good stops is the best feeling of anything I've driven. Rock solid allowing for excellent modulation, while not like today's overly assisted cars
Bolts all gold and yellow coloured, as they were from factory 30 years ago. Time spend zinc plating was well worth it.
Rear end. Since this picture I've adjusted the exhaust position, as it had moved on the hanger. I've also had the bracket visible here, off and re-painted along with all the engine mount brackets.
Jobs I'd still like to get done are:
- Plate the bolts holding the bumpers on, they are visible underneath.
- New radiator, which is a low priority as this one is holding fluid right now.
- Pull the rear bumper off to inspect the rear crash bar and generally the body condition.
- Exhaust is rattling against heat-shielding. Just wants some more bending now it has settled into position.
- Exhaust is blowing at the join on the manifold. I had trouble with it before, it's no surprise really. Wants the exhaust sealant cleaning off again! Along
with two new gasket rings, which I already have. When I bought the exhaust the seller threw two in, after I bought some already.
- New fuel filter, low priority but I feel it may bite me in the ass.
- Radiator fans and bracket need respraying. Some surface rust coming through.
- Engine bay fan, same as above
- Connect the factory under seat sub separate to dash speakers so I have more control.
- Repair rust bubble on front valence
- Replace fuel tank vent valve (for lack of a better name) or reroute vent exit. Fun as it is using all your senses, the smell eventually give me a
headache. Doesn't seem as bad lately.
Most of it will wait while after summer, busy reducing its value, adding miles to it
Well, it's back on terra firmer.
Still not brought it home yet, been waiting for a dry evening, which is impossible in this country. So thought it about time to make sense of some photos. I'm sure I got everything done I wanted to.
This was once an alternator, complete without bearings. Thing was simply noisy. Turned out the bearings were totally dried up and corroded inside. Seemed like a simple job and more or less it was, except a few nights spent searching for the right dam size! Seems there's a ton of different variations of these Denso alternators. Spending nearly all week measuring the same bearings over and over. Double checking measurements more and more. Certainly can over think things sometimes.
I found one company on ebay that seems to get any sized bearing you want. Been perfect so far, just a question of longevity. How long, will they go on? For anyone wondering about giving this a go yourself, it was probably one of the easier jobs to do - neglecting the hurdle of getting the thing torn out of the engine bay. That's how it felt to me anyways. I had the luxury of a lift without any suspension components in the way. Anyone doing that on the ground with the car in one piece; I wish you your sanity.
Here's the main casing with the new bearing sent home, along with its cover plate. Needed some careful smashing with its older brother to protect it. No fuss
The other bearing pretty much pushed into place with two thumbs in its eyes. That one came off the shaft originally, so I put the new on back on there too. Didn't get a picture of that. Here it is with the armature back in and the two halves reunited. The four studs you can see around the outside were pretty corroded upon disassembly. I cleaned them as best I could on the bench grinder and immersed them within copper grease. Fit much better now
You can also see the four insulators for the winding connections sticking out. Don't forget them, they important. It was a matter from then to get the electrical bits back on. The brushes being fine from such a low milage they got reused, there was a tone a of life left. The contact points got a little scotch bright, but that was the extent.
Here it is back together with the sandblasted casing and newly painted rear cover. I used the left over wrinkle paint from doing the spark plug valley plate. Looks the business in my eyes. Just missing the pulley and yes the casing got slightly damaged when separating them. Those few marks
Works a treat
Thought I would add a few more photos from the rebuild. Realising there's not much showing the underside.
Inside the front wheel. You can see the new brake line to the caliper. The pedal after a few good stops is the best feeling of anything I've driven. Rock solid allowing for excellent modulation, while not like today's overly assisted cars
Bolts all gold and yellow coloured, as they were from factory 30 years ago. Time spend zinc plating was well worth it.
Rear end. Since this picture I've adjusted the exhaust position, as it had moved on the hanger. I've also had the bracket visible here, off and re-painted along with all the engine mount brackets.
Jobs I'd still like to get done are:
- Plate the bolts holding the bumpers on, they are visible underneath.
- New radiator, which is a low priority as this one is holding fluid right now.
- Pull the rear bumper off to inspect the rear crash bar and generally the body condition.
- Exhaust is rattling against heat-shielding. Just wants some more bending now it has settled into position.
- Exhaust is blowing at the join on the manifold. I had trouble with it before, it's no surprise really. Wants the exhaust sealant cleaning off again! Along
with two new gasket rings, which I already have. When I bought the exhaust the seller threw two in, after I bought some already.
- New fuel filter, low priority but I feel it may bite me in the ass.
- Radiator fans and bracket need respraying. Some surface rust coming through.
- Engine bay fan, same as above
- Connect the factory under seat sub separate to dash speakers so I have more control.
- Repair rust bubble on front valence
- Replace fuel tank vent valve (for lack of a better name) or reroute vent exit. Fun as it is using all your senses, the smell eventually give me a
headache. Doesn't seem as bad lately.
Most of it will wait while after summer, busy reducing its value, adding miles to it
Edited by Sillyhatday on Tuesday 18th April 15:42
Edited by Sillyhatday on Wednesday 12th July 20:54
I got the exhaust off again today, it's blowing its tits off. I forgot to get a picture of one of the gaskets that came out. It had blown a chuck of it out and was blowing noticeably from there. I'd also used exhaust sealing paste on the flange faces. I feel that was a mistake and possibly why I'm here taking it off again.
Got to get that cleaned off :/
Better.
Put it back on this time without a lot of sealer on it. It's all good so far
When I was taking it off it wasn't what I'd call tight. It certainly was when I put it on before, so expansion has caused them to back off. So this time I'll be checking them after a few drives.
On another note, I dropped the tyre pressures the other day. Internet told me 29psi front, 32psi rear. I took attention to the fact I'd not checked them since our mad local tyre fitter had been. They were 38psi all round. That's all well and good on my Honda road rocket, with its big heavy nose. This is a lightweight spring lamb! I dropped them to 32psi front and 34psi rear. I didn't quite believe what they should be, was right. Anyway, this all came about when I'd noticed after rebuilding the thing, the rear seemed awfully unsettled, very subtle and its not stepped out of line, non the less the tyre pressures were to blame. I'm guessing that with the dampers all blown out, the higher pressures made a knackers worth of difference.
So before my next ride, I'll drop them down some more. Even now, the rear is 80% better and the front turn in is - and I'm not exaggerating - exactly like a gokart with a big steering wheel and a horn! I couldn't believe it. At first I didn't gel with the thing. The engine was gutless down low, it floated about, the on limit handling was snappy and yet I knew it would come good. I'm now wondering whether to treat it to a new set of wheels...
NEW POST
Been meaning to process this video. Out a few weeks ago (I think) and never got round to exporting the video. Just me out driving the thing. Stacking up the miles on it. Done over 1000 miles since last August and we still have all this summer to go yet! Get out and drive your cars. Its now well over 33,400 miles. Might upset some preservationists, but that's what it's for. I;ve done more miles in 7 months than the previous owner in 12 years.
Nothing special, bad camera position, but now I know after trying
Chasing some bikers
https://youtu.be/3UkNhOlMRHc
NEW POST
Too a friend out in the car yesterday. He'd not seen it running yet, so only seemed fair he got a go in it. I'd thought about adjusting the idle speed but I really had no time. Just filling the time between soundcheck and the nights gig.
So I got around to it today. The idle had been dropping to 900rpm after something like 30mins+, for a few weeks after I got it. Though not always and sometimes took forever to idle down at all. Lately though it never got past 1100rpm. So I figured after more regular use the waxstat has settled down. Its behaviour more consistent, so worthy of winding in the idle screw a bit.
I was so amazed how much quieter it is adjusted to 700 - 800rpm, that I made a video of it. I'd initially set the speed with blower on, so when its idle up signal to the ECU was lost, the speed dropped to 500~ and virtually stalling itself. Top tip, turn all electrical items off in the car before setting the idle screw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI0uMDy9obQ
Having never seen my MR2 idle at this speed, the oil pressured dropped under the middle marker. Figured its all OK, it picks back up again after 900rpm or so.
NEW POST
Got myself a brace. Cheap enough, no idea if it will make any difference. Needs a repaint but it's staying on for this Sunday. So long as its not pissing down
NEW POST
Got out with the MK1 club this Sunday. Managed 8 of us in total. I solid 120 miles around the Peak district, which was awesome fun. The term charging around correctly applied. People moving out your way when all of you come charging through.
We attracted a bunch of attention; people turning to look, people pulling cameras out to photo, some videoing us, people talking about the cars as we pass by and people asking us about them. Great fun, nice people. I've got a whole load of video to process to hopefully compile the best bits. Here's so far
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ZDNi-7zbo
I intended on more pictures, but with meeting people and short stop, there just wasn't time. On the way home I was too exhausted to stop and worry about artistic shots. 255 mile round trip for me, with 120 miles of fast driving on convoy. It was mentally exhausting.
I've not idea how to embed videos on here
Got to get that cleaned off :/
Better.
Put it back on this time without a lot of sealer on it. It's all good so far
When I was taking it off it wasn't what I'd call tight. It certainly was when I put it on before, so expansion has caused them to back off. So this time I'll be checking them after a few drives.
On another note, I dropped the tyre pressures the other day. Internet told me 29psi front, 32psi rear. I took attention to the fact I'd not checked them since our mad local tyre fitter had been. They were 38psi all round. That's all well and good on my Honda road rocket, with its big heavy nose. This is a lightweight spring lamb! I dropped them to 32psi front and 34psi rear. I didn't quite believe what they should be, was right. Anyway, this all came about when I'd noticed after rebuilding the thing, the rear seemed awfully unsettled, very subtle and its not stepped out of line, non the less the tyre pressures were to blame. I'm guessing that with the dampers all blown out, the higher pressures made a knackers worth of difference.
So before my next ride, I'll drop them down some more. Even now, the rear is 80% better and the front turn in is - and I'm not exaggerating - exactly like a gokart with a big steering wheel and a horn! I couldn't believe it. At first I didn't gel with the thing. The engine was gutless down low, it floated about, the on limit handling was snappy and yet I knew it would come good. I'm now wondering whether to treat it to a new set of wheels...
NEW POST
Been meaning to process this video. Out a few weeks ago (I think) and never got round to exporting the video. Just me out driving the thing. Stacking up the miles on it. Done over 1000 miles since last August and we still have all this summer to go yet! Get out and drive your cars. Its now well over 33,400 miles. Might upset some preservationists, but that's what it's for. I;ve done more miles in 7 months than the previous owner in 12 years.
Nothing special, bad camera position, but now I know after trying
Chasing some bikers
https://youtu.be/3UkNhOlMRHc
NEW POST
Too a friend out in the car yesterday. He'd not seen it running yet, so only seemed fair he got a go in it. I'd thought about adjusting the idle speed but I really had no time. Just filling the time between soundcheck and the nights gig.
So I got around to it today. The idle had been dropping to 900rpm after something like 30mins+, for a few weeks after I got it. Though not always and sometimes took forever to idle down at all. Lately though it never got past 1100rpm. So I figured after more regular use the waxstat has settled down. Its behaviour more consistent, so worthy of winding in the idle screw a bit.
I was so amazed how much quieter it is adjusted to 700 - 800rpm, that I made a video of it. I'd initially set the speed with blower on, so when its idle up signal to the ECU was lost, the speed dropped to 500~ and virtually stalling itself. Top tip, turn all electrical items off in the car before setting the idle screw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI0uMDy9obQ
Having never seen my MR2 idle at this speed, the oil pressured dropped under the middle marker. Figured its all OK, it picks back up again after 900rpm or so.
NEW POST
Got myself a brace. Cheap enough, no idea if it will make any difference. Needs a repaint but it's staying on for this Sunday. So long as its not pissing down
NEW POST
Got out with the MK1 club this Sunday. Managed 8 of us in total. I solid 120 miles around the Peak district, which was awesome fun. The term charging around correctly applied. People moving out your way when all of you come charging through.
We attracted a bunch of attention; people turning to look, people pulling cameras out to photo, some videoing us, people talking about the cars as we pass by and people asking us about them. Great fun, nice people. I've got a whole load of video to process to hopefully compile the best bits. Here's so far
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ZDNi-7zbo
I intended on more pictures, but with meeting people and short stop, there just wasn't time. On the way home I was too exhausted to stop and worry about artistic shots. 255 mile round trip for me, with 120 miles of fast driving on convoy. It was mentally exhausting.
I've not idea how to embed videos on here
Edited by Sillyhatday on Monday 22 May 21:03
Edited by Sillyhatday on Wednesday 12th July 21:14
Awesome weather. I checked, and it was ungrateful to not get out in your weekend car.
This is the hottest weather its been driven in while in my possession. So a good test for the cooling system. How it stays so cool I don't know. There's only the small opening at the bottom for air flow over the radiator. Most of that is covered by the number plate. So after a lot of miles last week and testing it today, I'd be happy to drive it anywhere.
Toyota MR2 by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
Toyota MR2 by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
Toyota MR2 by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
Harsh lighting just after midday. There was no way I'd be sober to drive in the evening light on a bank holiday. So here's a few shots from a fin day indeed.
This is the hottest weather its been driven in while in my possession. So a good test for the cooling system. How it stays so cool I don't know. There's only the small opening at the bottom for air flow over the radiator. Most of that is covered by the number plate. So after a lot of miles last week and testing it today, I'd be happy to drive it anywhere.
Toyota MR2 by Dan Simpson, on FlickrToyota MR2 by Dan Simpson, on FlickrToyota MR2 by Dan Simpson, on FlickrHarsh lighting just after midday. There was no way I'd be sober to drive in the evening light on a bank holiday. So here's a few shots from a fin day indeed.
Edited by Sillyhatday on Saturday 27th May 10:08
I must say I'm fine with them all changing wheels. If they're happy, looks are in the eye of the beholder.
In my eyes, I've yet to see aftermarket wheels suit this body shape. I've been looking at some aftermarket wheels to swap between the triangles. I've not yet found anything that suits it. More grip would be fun with more tyre but, the whole fun of this car is small tyres and the car coming alive at 50mph. I've a car for loosing my license already.
Thanks for the comment
In my eyes, I've yet to see aftermarket wheels suit this body shape. I've been looking at some aftermarket wheels to swap between the triangles. I've not yet found anything that suits it. More grip would be fun with more tyre but, the whole fun of this car is small tyres and the car coming alive at 50mph. I've a car for loosing my license already.
Thanks for the comment
Seeming as the MR2 is getting attention on the front page, I'll throw up a small update. Just about fixed the thread after the photobucket cop out. Some of the images didn't get resized at the top of this page, I appologise. I may get to sorting it. Someday.
Got out on Sunday to a local car meet. A few dozen cars there, amongst some other things going off too. Met up with a few people once there.
Sadly the only good picture of my own car there. Totally distracted by everything else. Doh
Toyota MR2 by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
Friend bought this totally original Montego to drive to Spain in. Can see his mates Stag with the original engine in. Safe to say he had a few problems getting there and cousins Volvo next to that.
Austin Montego by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
Not to derail my own thread, but another person he was driving to Spain with, bought a Rolls Royce to do it. Pulled out the engine and stuffed a Cummins diesel in there.
Roller Cummins by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
Struggled to get a good picture of it for people crowding around it all day. Safe to say the Montego was left at home and joined the guys in the Roller.
The build quality between my MR2 and the Austin is leagues apart. Even so, I strangely liked it
got asked if the MR2 was for sale too 
Got out on Sunday to a local car meet. A few dozen cars there, amongst some other things going off too. Met up with a few people once there.
Sadly the only good picture of my own car there. Totally distracted by everything else. Doh
Toyota MR2 by Dan Simpson, on FlickrFriend bought this totally original Montego to drive to Spain in. Can see his mates Stag with the original engine in. Safe to say he had a few problems getting there
and cousins Volvo next to that.Austin Montego by Dan Simpson, on FlickrNot to derail my own thread, but another person he was driving to Spain with, bought a Rolls Royce to do it. Pulled out the engine and stuffed a Cummins diesel in there.
Roller Cummins by Dan Simpson, on FlickrStruggled to get a good picture of it for people crowding around it all day. Safe to say the Montego was left at home and joined the guys in the Roller.
The build quality between my MR2 and the Austin is leagues apart. Even so, I strangely liked it
got asked if the MR2 was for sale too Took the car down to SIlverstone Classic this weekend. The weather started awful and never really progressed from there. That didn't stop the proceedings though.
Pissing it down nearly all the way there, the first time I've driven it in the rain. Got completely splattered in mud. Other than that, mostly uneventful, stuck in slow moving M1 traffic. The nearly 20 miles of 50 limit to protect road workers who aren't there took the piss.
We arrived on Thursday afternoon after a reasonable 120 miles trip. Luckily the rain had stopped by the time we arrived, helping to put the tent up. We headed straight for my usual spot, right on a corner against the outer fence. It's not too far from the toilets - enough to not smell them anyway - and the highest point, so also the driest.
Setup from Friday morning. Drying the old beach towels after a shower and getting the kettle boiling.
Woodlands Camp by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
I'd gone with the MK1MR2Club, but gotten there before most of them and so didn't end up camped together. Something to rectify next time.
Collected the tickets from Tom the chairman the Thursday evening. Club ticket rates make the whole event much more appealing. This also includes a club stand pass for the car, so off in we went for the first time!
MR2 Stand by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
The weather was still largely s
t right through Friday. Walking around with a ski jacket on freezing in July. England baby.
Our stand right next to the Jaguar experience thing. Real good fun to watch them taking everyone for passenger rides, about 30 seconds a time. At full swing the F Type Jags were having tyres replaced every 20 minutes. About four of them spending twelve hours a day just powersliding. A full lorry of tyres used each day. Perelli being the sponsor. Safe to say the MR2 ended up covered in chunks of rubber each day
Jaguar Experiance by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
Saturdays weather was much better. Finally get out in a shirt as your supposed to in July Busiest day of the weekend as always. Joined by a few more MR2s. A total of 12 I think.
MR2 Stand by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
We missed Sunday as we thought it would be a good idea to go buy a 1952 Dodge B series pickup. In the end didn't buy it, so a bit of a waste of the Sunday ticket. Never mind.
On the way out a stream of Lambos were passing as I was trying to merge. One of the many slowed down with a huge grin and a massive thumbs up out the window. Genuinely seemed happy to see the little Toyota, made my day
An unexpected bonus was that the club chairmen Tom, had used a picture I took of his car last year, for the MR2 club feature in this years program. So thanks Tom, I know you've heard me say it a million times :P
Such a great event. Anyone into any aspect of cars will find something there that interests them. One highlight was to see 50 Jaguar XJ220 lined up side by side in the International Pits. A sight to behold. Impossible to photo them properly. Strangely a lot of people crowding around them
Brilliant event, the whole thing well organised and going again next year without question. The poor MR2 needed a proper good clean down before putting away.
Bringing up the mileage some more. Already had 25 miles on the odometer before setting off, now to 287.8. Full to light on the fuel gauge.
Pissing it down nearly all the way there, the first time I've driven it in the rain. Got completely splattered in mud. Other than that, mostly uneventful, stuck in slow moving M1 traffic. The nearly 20 miles of 50 limit to protect road workers who aren't there took the piss.
We arrived on Thursday afternoon after a reasonable 120 miles trip. Luckily the rain had stopped by the time we arrived, helping to put the tent up. We headed straight for my usual spot, right on a corner against the outer fence. It's not too far from the toilets - enough to not smell them anyway - and the highest point, so also the driest.
Setup from Friday morning. Drying the old beach towels after a shower and getting the kettle boiling.
Woodlands Camp by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
I'd gone with the MK1MR2Club, but gotten there before most of them and so didn't end up camped together. Something to rectify next time.
Collected the tickets from Tom the chairman the Thursday evening. Club ticket rates make the whole event much more appealing. This also includes a club stand pass for the car, so off in we went for the first time!
MR2 Stand by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
The weather was still largely s
t right through Friday. Walking around with a ski jacket on freezing in July. England baby.Our stand right next to the Jaguar experience thing. Real good fun to watch them taking everyone for passenger rides, about 30 seconds a time. At full swing the F Type Jags were having tyres replaced every 20 minutes. About four of them spending twelve hours a day just powersliding. A full lorry of tyres used each day. Perelli being the sponsor. Safe to say the MR2 ended up covered in chunks of rubber each day
Jaguar Experiance by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
Saturdays weather was much better. Finally get out in a shirt as your supposed to in July
Busiest day of the weekend as always. Joined by a few more MR2s. A total of 12 I think.MR2 Stand by Dan Simpson, on Flickr
We missed Sunday as we thought it would be a good idea to go buy a 1952 Dodge B series pickup. In the end didn't buy it, so a bit of a waste of the Sunday ticket. Never mind.
On the way out a stream of Lambos were passing as I was trying to merge. One of the many slowed down with a huge grin and a massive thumbs up out the window. Genuinely seemed happy to see the little Toyota, made my day
An unexpected bonus was that the club chairmen Tom, had used a picture I took of his car last year, for the MR2 club feature in this years program. So thanks Tom, I know you've heard me say it a million times :P
Such a great event. Anyone into any aspect of cars will find something there that interests them. One highlight was to see 50 Jaguar XJ220 lined up side by side in the International Pits. A sight to behold. Impossible to photo them properly. Strangely a lot of people crowding around them
Brilliant event, the whole thing well organised and going again next year without question. The poor MR2 needed a proper good clean down before putting away.
Bringing up the mileage some more. Already had 25 miles on the odometer before setting off, now to 287.8. Full to light on the fuel gauge.
Edited by Sillyhatday on Monday 31st July 20:15
"This was posted elsewhere back in January"
Well long time no update. There's been nothing to report, which is good really. Thought there is a bit of something now! Both good and bad
Really, I've not had the time to be messing around with cars too much. The last few months of 2017 at work has been quite crazy.
To start of with, I never got around to pulling off the rear bumper off the previous year. The front crash bar was quite corroded, so I figured the rear may be in a similar state and worth saving before it gets too bad.
It really wasn't anywhere near as bad as the front one, to the point that I didn't even take a picture of it. It had some corrosion around the middle that had just started pitting the metal. So I rubbed it down and gave it a generous splash of rust eater. Afterwards once again ended up using good old Hammerite spray that leaves a great finish for parts like these.
All the nuts and bolts were pretty ugly in the bumper assembly. So out came the plating equipment once again. I thought after not using the stuff for quite a few months, that I'd come back at it fresh and get some better results. As it turned out I didn't. Everything was coming out dull once again, just the same as before. I think the electrolyte is polluted quite badly. I have some more that I can mix up, but didn't want to go down that road for just these few peaces. The actual process works quite nicely, the zinc coating and brighter stick nicely.
I proved that point last summer by taking a few of the wheel nuts from my daily car. They were starting to corrode on the end, so took the chance to take them back to bare metal and run them through the process. I've had them on the car for a solid 6 months and although the finish was bad, there's no corrosion. So that proves the plating is working but just not finishing that nice bright colour. They've stood up to heat, cooling, water, salt, brake dust and washing fairly often.
The finished result:
Some of the bolts didn't work out well at all due to not cleaning up the heads properly. So that was my own fault. They are the ones that are under the bumper, so easy enough to get at and have another go.
They do still look quite nice against the fresh black paint
Reassembled everything. Those end brackets were in perfect shape, so got left as they were.
I haven't got one of it back on the car, you know what that looks like
The bad news is that over the winter months, the car has developed a steady coolant leak. It's been leaving me little love trails all over the garage floor :think:
Now the leak is dripping from the edge of the sump, the same side as the water pump. It's only pooling up on the sump edge though and impossible to see where it's coming from. Every hose and join above there is totally dry. All the freeze plugs are in tip top condition and also perfectly dry. The only possible place I can think it is coming from is the water pump. It makes sense as the previous garage who did the cam belt change also did the water pump at the same time. Well after the piss poor job they did of the belt, it would make sense that they did a poor job of the water pump too. So a stab in the dark, I'm getting a new pump and changing it for peace of mind anyway; if it stops the leak then that's a bonus! If not then I'll have to keep looking. That said, after running the car yesterday right up to temperature, it has stopped dripping for now.
Well long time no update. There's been nothing to report, which is good really. Thought there is a bit of something now! Both good and bad
Really, I've not had the time to be messing around with cars too much. The last few months of 2017 at work has been quite crazy.
To start of with, I never got around to pulling off the rear bumper off the previous year. The front crash bar was quite corroded, so I figured the rear may be in a similar state and worth saving before it gets too bad.
It really wasn't anywhere near as bad as the front one, to the point that I didn't even take a picture of it. It had some corrosion around the middle that had just started pitting the metal. So I rubbed it down and gave it a generous splash of rust eater. Afterwards once again ended up using good old Hammerite spray that leaves a great finish for parts like these.
All the nuts and bolts were pretty ugly in the bumper assembly. So out came the plating equipment once again. I thought after not using the stuff for quite a few months, that I'd come back at it fresh and get some better results. As it turned out I didn't. Everything was coming out dull once again, just the same as before. I think the electrolyte is polluted quite badly. I have some more that I can mix up, but didn't want to go down that road for just these few peaces. The actual process works quite nicely, the zinc coating and brighter stick nicely.
I proved that point last summer by taking a few of the wheel nuts from my daily car. They were starting to corrode on the end, so took the chance to take them back to bare metal and run them through the process. I've had them on the car for a solid 6 months and although the finish was bad, there's no corrosion. So that proves the plating is working but just not finishing that nice bright colour. They've stood up to heat, cooling, water, salt, brake dust and washing fairly often.
The finished result:
Some of the bolts didn't work out well at all due to not cleaning up the heads properly. So that was my own fault. They are the ones that are under the bumper, so easy enough to get at and have another go.
They do still look quite nice against the fresh black paint
Reassembled everything. Those end brackets were in perfect shape, so got left as they were.
I haven't got one of it back on the car, you know what that looks like
The bad news is that over the winter months, the car has developed a steady coolant leak. It's been leaving me little love trails all over the garage floor :think:
Now the leak is dripping from the edge of the sump, the same side as the water pump. It's only pooling up on the sump edge though and impossible to see where it's coming from. Every hose and join above there is totally dry. All the freeze plugs are in tip top condition and also perfectly dry. The only possible place I can think it is coming from is the water pump. It makes sense as the previous garage who did the cam belt change also did the water pump at the same time. Well after the piss poor job they did of the belt, it would make sense that they did a poor job of the water pump too. So a stab in the dark, I'm getting a new pump and changing it for peace of mind anyway; if it stops the leak then that's a bonus! If not then I'll have to keep looking. That said, after running the car yesterday right up to temperature, it has stopped dripping for now.
More than likely a stuck pressure relief valve on the pump, it's a common Toyota thing, and not usually indicative of anything serious. I stopped this on one of my many Corolla GTIs by spraying WD40 up the hole the valve vents from. All I can assume is that it freed off the valve. Worth a try, won't do any harm, and it was a free fix for me.
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