@The Arch Bishop
The wheel turns with the hand brake. Does it turn with the foot brake on?

Honestly didn't check, but it was bled thoroughly and the pedal is solid so I assumed it was working.

Maybe worth a check, nothing to loose.

Quote from: The Arch Bishop on September 14, 2020, 17:08

Quote from: Roj on September 13, 2020, 22:15If my memory serves me well, Evo ran the yellow car as a long term test car - the driver in that pic was one of their journos or photographers or something.

Lovely car btw! And great work keeping the bucket alive

Your memory serves you extremely well as it happens! Your post made me go and have a research for old editions at or around 2003, and sure enough, I eventually found the following;



This is an extract of EVO issue 57 (sadly I can't make out the write up from this tiny image) from this page here - https://dust-caps.com/p/evo-57-ferrari-challenge-stradale-t350c-evo-viii-clio-v6-vx220-turbo-carrera-gt

And looking around that time period, it seems it popped up first in issue 52 Feb 2003 and was on the fleet until it had an end of term report in issue 63 Jan 2004.

If anyone has a copy of 52, 57 or 63 that they could send me an image of, give me a PM!

Nice one roj!

I can't remember my girlfriend's birthday but I can remember random stuff like this.... no wonder I drive her crazy! lol

Quote from: The Arch Bishop on September 14, 2020, 17:35So all great stuff finding out about the tart's history, but not a lot of fun on the bucket side of the camp.

Yesterday I set about fitting the new caliper in an attempt to finally get a decent holding/non-binding handbrake. This is the last non-new part of the rear brakes that was left. I've fiddled with the rear brakes on my MR2s so much now I can remove them in my sleep, so off came the old caliper and on went the new one;



This was quick, but bleeding them was slow as there was no one about to help. Eventually, my neighbour returned home so I tapped him up to help. The caliper bled up nicely so I wound in the piston then out by 180 degrees, fixed the caliper properly and the engine started. Then I slowly pumped the brake pedal 20 times, turned off and hooked up the handbrake cable linkage. Back in the car, I adjusted the cable by the handbrake so that there was 7 clicks to full on position.

Pleased with progress, I tested that the other wheel was locked which it was and went over to the other side to check the new side - merely a formality surely? Well no - nothing at all on that - I could spin the wheel without any bother.

Maybe I've gotten the sequence wrong? Unhooked everything, adjuster backed right off and caliper/handbrake linkage back off. Piston wound back in and then out 180 degrees once more, caliper reattached, this time, cable hooked back up before pumping the brakes and then adjusting. That'll be it... Nope - still nothing on the new caliper.

Really adjusting the cable so that there's very few clicks just about gets it to start engaging, but you can still move the wheel by hand.

One more try and the same result.

So I'm flummoxed. It's not like I haven't managed to do these in the past - the handbrake in the yellow car is actually very good indeed after I changed the cables - I dare say you could pull a skid with it, should you be so inclined! But this one you can move by hand if you give it a shove.

So to recap, it has 2 new cables, 2 new calipers and new brake pads and still it doesn't work.

I mean it HAS to be something I'm not doing right, right?

I feel I should stop typing now.... I can feel the anger rising again!

Anyone got any ideas?

Since you were working on the car, have to presume it wasn't you driving though Plumpton/Westmeston yesterday morning?   Out on a road bike - didn't clock the full reg, but not many tidy-looking 'W' reg silver cars in the region I would imagine!

Is the caliper a refurb or brand spanking new?
Sure we've had dodgey refurb calipers reported before.

Quote from: 1979scotte on September 14, 2020, 21:23Is the caliper a refurb or brand spanking new?
Sure we've had dodgey refurb calipers reported before.

It's a new one but a copy - bought from Simon Sinclair.

Quote from: ManInDandism on September 14, 2020, 21:14Since you were working on the car, have to presume it wasn't you driving though Plumpton/Westmeston yesterday morning?  Out on a road bike - didn't clock the full reg, but not many tidy-looking 'W' reg silver cars in the region I would imagine!

No not me, although I've seen a few decent PFLs around these parts (although I wouldn't class mine as decent sadly)!

Quote from: Roj on September 14, 2020, 20:36I can't remember my girlfriend's birthday but I can remember random stuff like this.... no wonder I drive her crazy! lol

As long as you remember the important things eh?! 

Are both of the handbrake cables running free?

On mine, one of them has a lot more friction than the other. If you pull the handbrake lever 'fairly hard' then it will activate one side by yanking the 'bias bar' (under the centre console) at an angle. You have to give it a bit more welly to get the other side to pull on - but both do work eventually!

Quote from: AdamR28 on September 15, 2020, 12:03Are both of the handbrake cables running free?

On mine, one of them has a lot more friction than the other. If you pull the handbrake lever 'fairly hard' then it will activate one side by yanking the 'bias bar' (under the centre console) at an angle. You have to give it a bit more welly to get the other side to pull on - but both do work eventually!

Both cables are very free (pretty much new), but I see what you're getting at. I did notice that the handbrake arm and the cable end very a very tight fit, so it could be that that extra resistance is skewing the bias bar. Certainly can check that out. I suppose pattern cables and pattern calipers could easily have a bit of a issue playing nicely together.

Well another 3 hours taking the thing apart and putting it back together by the correct procedures multiple times results in.... it still not working. The offside is great but the nearside still doesn't work. I'd like to point the issue at the new caliper, but the old one had the same problem (the reason for changing it), so I just don't know any more.

The cables both pull perfectly evenly and freely, just one side doesn't lock up.

I think I've had enough of the bucket - this isn't throwing my toys out of the pram, it's just I have another in the garage I could be using and enjoying and I've sort of run out of time to fix up the silver fella!

Also, two lots of tax and insurance doesn't make a lot of sense, so I've started tentatively looking around to sell the bucket at a suitably bargain bucket price. I'll be mortified to see it go, but ultimately I have to look at the practicalities.

Sad times!

I may do a for-sale post on here sometime this week as I'd prefer it to go (cheaply so it'd make financial sense to fix the issues it has) to a MR2 lover rather than be broken for spares or to a trader.

Quote from: The Arch Bishop on September 22, 2020, 11:46Well another 3 hours taking the thing apart and putting it back together by the correct procedures multiple times results in.... it still not working. The offside is great but the nearside still doesn't work. I'd like to point the issue at the new caliper, but the old one had the same problem (the reason for changing it), so I just don't know any more.

The cables both pull perfectly evenly and freely, just one side doesn't lock up.

I think I've had enough of the bucket - this isn't throwing my toys out of the pram, it's just I have another in the garage I could be using and enjoying and I've sort of run out of time to fix up the silver fella!

Also, two lots of tax and insurance doesn't make a lot of sense, so I've started tentatively looking around to sell the bucket at a suitably bargain bucket price. I'll be mortified to see it go, but ultimately I have to look at the practicalities.

Sad times!

I may do a for-sale post on here sometime this week as I'd prefer it to go (cheaply so it'd make financial sense to fix the issues it has) to a MR2 lover rather than be broken for spares or to a trader.

This is pretty much how I feel about my V6.
Sunk too much time and money into her just to end up banging my head against the wall.
Again and again and again.
It meant to be fun ffs.

That's exactly it, but made worse by the knowledge that it's because I'm not all that great at fixing it!

Having said that, after investing in all new parts, you'd hope that it would actually result in a functioning car, but no...

@The Arch Bishop I can empathise with your thoughts about parting Company with The Bucket, @AdamR28 could be looking for just such a purchase.
Just saying!

Lee, I'm sorry to hear about the silver bucket.  I really enjoy reading up all that you've done to your car during the time you've had it and all your work has been a great success and I've learnt a hell of a lot from your excellent descriptions and pics during this time.  I am sad to hear that little silver bucket is going but I can wholly understand regarding running costs, etc. Anyway Lee, I think you've done brilliant on this little car and I really do hope it goes to someone on here that will continue to take care of it in the same manner that you have done so.

Rather late to this.

The side that does not work.
With cable disconnected. Does it work if you manually move the crank arm with hand?
And the pads are no more than 1mm from the disc surface.

If it does.
Might it be the cable is too long?
There are different lengths.

Edit.
Might tie in with this post.
https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?msg=833937

Quote from: Chilli Girl on September 22, 2020, 17:17Lee, I'm sorry to hear about the silver bucket.  I really enjoy reading up all that you've done to your car during the time you've had it and all your work has been a great success and I've learnt a hell of a lot from your excellent descriptions and pics during this time.  I am sad to hear that little silver bucket is going but I can wholly understand regarding running costs, etc. Anyway Lee, I think you've done brilliant on this little car and I really do hope it goes to someone on here that will continue to take care of it in the same manner that you have done so.

Ah that's very kind Chilli! Hopefully it can live on with someone who can put more time and effort into it!

Quote from: Ardent on September 22, 2020, 18:40Rather late to this.

The side that does not work.
With cable disconnected. Does it work if you manually move the crank arm with hand?
And the pads are no more than 1mm from the disc surface.

If it does.
Might it be the cable is too long?
There are different lengths.

Edit.
Might tie in with this post.
https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?msg=833937

It grabs a bit on the handbrake, but never enough that I can't move it with a bit of force. Could well be the cable but I'm past doing that again to be honest! Pagid do the two sets for PFL and FL. Certainly the ones I did on the Custard Tart worked a treat and I dare say you could almost pull a respectable skid with them (but I'm not 19 any more :-), but maybe the PFL versions are not up to snuff. Having said that, it did get through the MOT last year (just).

Regardless, I need to thin out the herd on my driveway! Thanks for the advice anyway - hopefully I can pass that on to whoever has the Bucket next.

For sale post is up - https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=70003.msg833970#new

I think this is a sensible price considering what needs sorting.

My bottom lip is wibbling right now...

Be strong Arch Bishop....be strong.....

Well the Bucket is due to leave my care for an exciting life up North doing what MR2's do best ragging around tracks and back-roads!

Very pleased that it's going to be kept in the MR2ROC fold!

However, Adam's driving her the 3 squillion mile back home, so with that on my mind, I've been doing a little fiddling to make the journey home a little more pleasant.

New wipers have been fitted as the old ones were shot.

I've had a further fettle of the handbrake and it can at least hold to a decent degree on an incline.

I also had a go at the headlights. It seemed that the driver's side one was the issue as it was about 2 inches higher than the passenger side. Using some marks on the garage door, I evened it up a little - hopefully it won't mean every driver coming the other way flashing furiously any more!

Usual checks for fluids and I think it's ready to attempt the journey!

I'll be very upset to see it go, but I really do think it's time - I've had a great time with it but it's time for someone else to enjoy it!

Quote from: The Arch Bishop on September 28, 2020, 09:39Very pleased that it's going to be kept in the MR2ROC fold!

Me too! Looking forward to continuing your great work and attempting to write this up in a manner nearly as entertaining as you have.

I'm very appreciative of all the extra bits you've done these last few days Lee, absolutely over and above what could ever be anticipated - thank you!

Today is a sad day... the era of the bucket cometh to an endeth...

And the bucket has gone...

Very sad, but also content that it's gone to another forum member.

Anyway, I've challenged Adam to make it the 260 miles back on the fuel left in the car. It has 60 miles out of a full tank and I've typically seen 330 miles to a tank, so it'll be a stretch...

Sad and glad that you have "passed the bucket".

At least you dont have to put any more money in it.

Looking forward to hearing how Adam gets on (I am sure whatever he does will be very quick!).

So, here I am picking up The Bucket. As agreed with Lee yesterday, I'll take over this thread to keep the history of the bargainous little silver gem going!


Well, what can I say. That was quite a day! Helped massively by some extremely kind hospitality by Lee (and Ali) and nearly a full tank of juice which did indeed get me home, without the light even coming on!

I can honestly say that was the best car-buying experience I've ever had (and I've bought a McLaren and a Ferrari both from dealers in the past!). The V5 was done before I'd even arrived, and if it wasn't for stupid DVLA online 'can't make more than one change within 5 days' nonsense I would have had it taxed even before I'd got off the train too. Amazing.

The car is absolutely as described (better, in fact) and having a working handbrake, plus the owl-finders (headlights) 'downgraded' to moth-finders did indeed make the journey back much smoother. Thanks again Lee.

So much so, I feel a little bad. £650 and a box of (admittedly very nice) biscuits seems like an actual steal for what is a very nice example of an MR2. I've been trying to come up with ways of making this right, but drawn a blank so far - open to suggestions...

Anyway, my day started at 8am with a walk over to work with my fiancee, then an about turn back to Chorley train station. 4 miles down, some crisp and sunny weather, the day was looking good.

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A change in Manchester, another in London with a short walk, and the final train was boarded leaving around an hour to destination.

I'm no fan of cities, but I can't think of many places you'll see such old and new buldings right next to each other... Quite cool.

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However, this is where the issues started. The train broke down at a station, so we sat there for a bit and I deemed that a good chance to call Shiela's Wheels to get insurance swapped over, having done battle with their over-promising but actually-useless online system for most of the morning.

Everyone was shunted onto another Brighton-heading train, and with me chatting to the call centre lady all the while I think I missed the announcement that the one stop I needed was indeed going to be bypassed by the 'new' train... I only realised this as the doors were closing and the announcement said 'next and final stop, Brighton'. I was meant to be getting off at Hassocks, about 10 miles North! shuttlecock.

Luckily, my dad lives about an hour away and we had arranged to meet up, so he was waiting at Hassocks for me - a quick call to him and he popped down to Brighton to collect me, phew!

Arriving at Lee's a few hours late - which was kindly deemed as no problem - we did the usual intro chatting, having a look around the car, exchanged stories, I ate a very tasty and freshly prepared BLT baguette, handed over cash & biscuits, dropped the roof (obviously) and then I headed off into the sunset. Well, not quite, but work with me on this, I'm trying to set a scene.

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Off to the Post Office then, the only way to tax the car. The Post Office website shows Hassocks (about 10 mins from Lee) does tax stuff and is open 'til 8pm - winner. Rocked up at 4:55 - 'Oh you'll have to be quick, we close at 5'. All done and £270 poorer, but within a couple of minutes of having to drive home with no tax, and potentially having to take the back roads to avoid ANPRs, which would have been quite a journey! Bullet dodged... Just.

Saw this little beaut on the way, what are the chances!

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(Actually quite high from what Lee's said, but ssshh, it's my first MR2 spot while in an MR2!)


Anyway, the car feels very 'peppy'. I think it's the power steering (Mr Poo's has been ripped out) and alignment, which I need to check out but feels quite 'agile'.

The stereo is the second poshest I've ever had! Little touches like foam wedged between the speaker mounts and door cards show that the car's been owned and cared for by a man who is in tune with his machine and knows what he's doing 

Quick pub stop at Hassocks station - where I should have been a few hours earlier - for tea with dad:

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And then onto the A23, and other letter-plus-number roads pretty much all the way home, with my USB stick (the future is here people!) plugged in belting out the tunes.

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No dramas at all, as expected, with The Bucket's four little explosion-propelled buckets purring away at just over 50hz for hours on end. Except it got a bit chilly near Birmingham - I hadn't packed enough clothes - and watching the fuel gauge drop faster than expected (as mentioned above, there was a challenge on...), I decided it was finally time to stick the roof up and maybe drop speed by 5mph to eek another few miles out of the tank...

I needn't have worried. Pulling onto the drive at home at 11:45pm, the fuel light still wasn't even on!

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Commuting to work this morning - roof down, of course - via the back roads was a dream. The car pulls well, goes in straight lines when it should, and sweetly carves turns like an accomplished skiier when asked. Proper fun, proper little sports car, proper chuffed.

The fuel light came on so I decided that was time to pop in and see my mate at Shell. He furnished me with 39.07L of his next-to-finest lead-free motion lotion, and I thereafter stuffed some numbers into the calculator on my phone. A smidge over 40mpg from the tank! And still 9l left in there if Toyota are to be believed (clearly they are, those efficient Asian boffins), meaning 430 miles from a tank would easily be achievable!

Here's Mr Poo and The Bucket ready at my place for making sweet, sweet car love, in anticipation of creating their own little Poo Bucket:

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Or maybe not...

The Bucket is so good, that the only bits Mr Poo could offer towards their little alliance are the brake discs (hardly worth it since the Bucket's are pretty new already), and maybe the seats (I much prefer cloth to leather... but they do look cool in red and were very comfy on the way back). So Mr Poo will now be turned into a track car, and The Bucket pretty much left as-is barring a few minor tweaks. Which I will of course detail in this thread.

So once again, a massive thanks to Lee for all the help throughout. He - like the car - really is a credit to the club. I feel all warm and fuzzy having encountered such a smooth and honest transaction with a thoroughly top bloke, and looking forward to many miles of smiles with The Bucket! 

Awwww shucks....

Honestly it was a pleasure to meet you and your Dad! I really can't tell you how chuffed I was to get your text last night to say you'd made it and the bucket behaved. Good old bucket...

As for the icky money side of things, I genuinely think the price was right - at the end of the day it's a non-fancied colour on a car that's got a bit of grot in the sills. It also has the 'staying in the family' aspect of it too - worth more than cash to me.

And don't forget the biscuits AND the bike bearings!

Enjoy mate, and who knows, maybe I'll grow a pair and come up to Oulton Park for a track day some day!

After reading the above reports I thought  what a "Grand Day Out"
( Wallace @ Gromit)
PS
@The Arch Bishop
Please be aware that your comment "it's a non fancied colour" has not gone unnoticed !