Bluesmoke's 2003 FL Roadster

[bluesmoke]

Thought I'd start a thread just to keep track of the things I've done/will do to this car.

I bought this car for a bit of an odd reason; I got a job in Newcastle and had to travel from near Leeds! Possibly not an ideal car for commuting in some folks' minds, but I've always had a bit of an urge to get another MR2 and when I weighed up the pros and cons a Roadster with it's circa 40mpg made much better sense than an old diesel BMW or similar. I couldn't have a front wheel drive car, so that narrowed the options considerably. It had to do 40mpg so most of the Quattro Audis were ruled out (the old 1.9 TDI doesn't exist to me!) and with a very small budget I was looking at circa 200k E46 320 and 330ds. That was no good.

So I kept an eye out for a Roadster, albeit tentatively. Then I saw this one. It was on ebay and started at £500 so I decided to be cheeky and ask what they'd take for it. A figure was agreed and I went to see it.

The man who was selling it was selling on behalf of his best friend's wife. His best friend apparently looked after the car for her but he was tragically killed when he broke down on a "smart" motorway. He was quite literally obliterated by an HGV from what the seller told me.   s:( s:(  I don't think I've ever bought a car with such an awful story attached to it.

Anyway, I digress. I roped in a mate and traveled all the way down to Telford after work to see it. Thus started a ridiculous adventure which entailed an absent seller as he'd taken someone to hospital, a torn rear tyre, a completely dead clutch and a 122 mile journey home on a space saver. A particular highlight was having to change the wheel just to have a test drive and the car falling off the jack on his gravel drive. Then finding the clutch was toast when I did drive it.   s:evil: :evil: s:evil:  

However, the car was still worth a punt IMO if I could get the price down from the grand they'd asked originally. I ended up buying it for £875. Most people would probably have walked away but I seem to have this thing about saving cars and animals.....

With two project cars already, I headed home with essentially a third. I am absolutely nuts, no doubt about it.

Eventually we made it:

[bluesmoke]

One of the first jobs was to sort the tyres. Different on every wheels. I ended up putting a pair of Bridgestone RE040's (I think!) on the back straightaway. Fronts I'm still to sort   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

I needed to change the clutch. I made enquiries with a trusted garage but they couldn't fit me in. I had a week off and was asked to start a new contract a week early so suddenly I had 3 days to get a clutch and fit it; I was going to have to do this myself.  s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:    s:? :? s:?  

I bought an Exedy clutch kit from ECP for about £70:


I read a few guides around the web and used Shnazzle's How To which was very helpful. In all honesty, being cautious and trying to double and triple check everything I did at every step, it took me almost 3 days from jacking it up to driving it! I did do it completely on my own though and it was the first clutch I've ever done. I also changed the gearbox oil seals but I'll be honest, with one engine crane to support the engine and then trying to manoeuvre the gearbox back into place with just a jack and a ratchet strap around the X brace, the new seals took a bit of a pasting from the driveshafts. They seem to have held up OK but I wouldn't have been at all surprised to find them leaking.

Here's some work in progress pics:






I eventually got everything back together and despite almost freezing to death out there, I did it!  s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  I was quite nervous about torquing up the clutch cover plate bolts. They're only 20nm. I remember going around them and then finding one completely loose. I think I triple checked them all in the end, all were tight and to spec, but even now, 3 weeks later, I am still convinced I will have left something loose!

The state of the old friction plate was unreal. I don't have a photo to hand, but some of it was worn completely smooth and flush!  s:scared: :scared: s:scared:  

But all must have been well in the end as here we are, three weeks later and all working admirably. The weirdest thing is how the clutch pedal has almost no weight to it. If I get into one of our Subarus after driving the MR2, it feels like I'm pushing a one tonne weight with my left leg! It does feel a bit like the first bit of pedal travel is just empty, wasted travel as the bite point is quite low, but I'm sure it's all as it should be.

[bluesmoke]

I have found that my steering has a strange notch to it when moving to the left or right of centre. My first thought was the UJ, but upon closer inspection, it isn't that. Indeed, the car had a brand new Toyota item at a cost of £270 last summer.  s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  In light of that, it may well be the track rods. Likely the inner one on one side. I've had it before where there's play in one of those and the ball in the joint is able to move back and forth. That would certainly give a notchy feel but in all honesty I am speculating right now. That's up there on the list.

On Sunday evening I decided to check the pre cats. After a lot of rifling through the garage, I realised I had lent my O2 sensor sockets to a friend 30 miles away. Balls. It was time to get creative. After removing the top heat shield bolts, I managed to lift the heat shield enough to undo the left sensor with an adjustable spanner and then I could lift the shield right up off the right hand sensor to undo that.

To my dismay, the pre cats were still there, although on the plus side they appeared completely intact. I proceeded to whip the manifold off. I did have one of the lower bolts shear on the heat shield but to be honest I was actually fairly happy with that result as just losing one isn't bad going IME  s:mrgreen: :mrgreen: s:mrgreen:  









I got to work and bashed them out, followed by a good thorough blast with the jetwash:



I didn't have any new gaskets etc. to hand, so just chucked it all back together. I figured a bit of a leak is far better than leaving the pre cats in place. Luckily all seems well and everything is sealed. Spot on   s:D s:D  

That's where I am up to for now. The front bumper needs replacing really and the track rods need doing. I want a better DAB stereo in there and upgraded speakers plus I am going to fit some leather seats. I have sorted a pair, albeit PFL ones but they were cheap as chips.

The issue at the very top of the list is the subframe. During my clutch change escapades, I found a hole. It needs replacing ASAP but I am loathe to pay £300 for one. I did have one lined up from Rutland MR2 but he double checked it with a hammer before posting and found it was worse than he first thought, so currently back to square one.

To be continued.

[jvanzyl]

Sheesh man... that's an epic purchase story, followed by an amazing effort by yourself! Kudos to you!

I'd highly recommend getting all 4 tyres sorted and the same... I've done a 180 in mine when I had a bunch of el cheapo's on..

[bluesmoke]

Cheers, I will be. I have my eye out for a couple of fronts on eBay. I have to go part worn this time as I've just got too much on to buy new. I won't buy anything under 6mm though so having to wait it out.

[cptspaulding]

Great effort so far. Well done.

[bluesmoke]

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately my financial situation has worsened and this might end up being a very short lived comeback  s:( s:(

Have to see how things pan out over the next month but it's looking very likely I'll have to sell up at the start of April. To say I'm gutted at the prospect is an understatement. It will have a 1 year old steering UJ, a brand new clutch, leather and a replacement subframe by that time so hopefully it will get me something like £2.5k back. For now I'll carry on enjoying the roof down and just driving it. I do love it.

Yesterday I bought and fitted some Philips VisionPlus 130% Extra Light bulbs. Very happy with those. I'm going to tackle the lenses with the Meguiars headlight restoration kit this weekend so I'll try and get some before and after pics up.

[shnazzle]

 s:( s:(