Bargain-bucket MR2

[The Arch Bishop]

Dad's car Lee?  I also do like a yellow 2.

Yes indeed! He decided he'd done everything needed to it and has passed custodianship to me. I drove it back from Wiltshire today with my eldest daughter. It's amusingly loud with the TTE backbox and the de-precatted stainless manifold. It drives perfectly and easily gobbled up the miles. More importantly, it handles! It was a wake up call to how broken and dangerous the silver car feels. The custard tart is utterly chuckable - you can't do that with the bucket otherwise it tries to buck off of the road.

Anyone interested in a load of photos and a run down on the spec?

[Chilli Girl]

Glad you enjoyed your ride back from Wiltshire, great cars, yellow suits it I think.

[The Arch Bishop]

Well, some about the custard tart, a bit about the bucket and some other MR2s in this post!

As stated above, my dad decided a month ago that he needed some garage room back and, having fettled, fiddled and finessed the bright little Roadster back to a great state of health, decided to pass it on to me.

Can I really afford to run two MR2s as well as my daily Swift?

No.

Could I pass up the offer?

No.

Obviously.

So a few weekends ago, my long-suffering Father in Law agreed to run me and my eldest daughter over to the part of the country where they have lots of pigs. Setting off early to avoid the traffic, we got to Wiltshire in decent time - a lovely quiet Mercedes E class being the relaxing chariot of choice for the trip. Arrived in good time some sliced pig butties, catch the F1 qualifying and a good old catch-up, and me and my intrepid daughter Ellie set off for the journey back down to Sussex.

First thing I noted - having spent the preceding week driving around in the 5 speed bucket, people behind you in a queue get very nervous when you flick the reverse lights on in a failed attempt to go for first gear on a 6 speeder...

Second thing - the Tart has quite a fruity exhaust note. It's de-precatted with a stainless manifold and has the TTE back box that its original purchaser specced along with a few other TTE bits and bobs. It's great fun blatting around the country roads in, but at motorway speeds up hill with a half throttle, it's a bit strident eliciting a fingers-in-ears gesture from my young co-pilot. After the sensory deprivation that was the Merc on the way up, it was a bit like being dropped in the middle of an early 90's rave. Excellent.

Thirdly - Oh this is how they handle! Within 10 mins of setting off, I was chucking it around the rather excellent Wiltshire roads with ease and making myself and the young'un giggle manically. Part of this is probably due to my dads insistence of fitting the pricey but stupidly grippy Yoko AD-whatsits on all four corners. Part of it is driving the rather unstable bucket around for a week before hand.

Quick stop off at the ever popular Fleet services - it certainly stands out in a car park;



And actually tones well with my daughter - being a ginge near-teenage dirt bag means she can clash horribly with certain cars.... 

A rather surprisingly clear run around the M25 and M23 meant we were back in time to snap a few pictures;





FL and PFL - (whisper it - I still prefer the cleaner lines of the PFL...)



So with the look-at-meeeeeeee-coloured MR2 safely back home, it meant that Dad could cancel his insurance and tax for a refund. No wait - one more appointment for the car before it's tucked up in the garage for the winter.

There's a local MR2 messenger group that I was invited to join a while back. It's a group of MK1 and Mk3 owners (there's no Mk2 snobbery - there's just not anyone local that seems to own one sadly) that live around Sussex that huddle together for warmth and advice and a seriously nice bunch of folks they are too. Matt is only 5 mins drive away from me and a very proud owner of a tidy Mk1 while his wife Jo has a wonderfully one-off Roadster that is so beautifully clean, it makes me weep. So we agreed to have a little mid-week mini-meet at a local pub to finally get to meet them in real life rather than via a keyboard.

Because of near-teenage dirt bags and my other daughter (basically a 7 year old bundle of fury and mess), my wife couldn't come too which left me a driver short to get the bucket over as well. Luckily, my neighbour Rob stepped in and wrestled the wobbly silver dream over to the pub (later remarking that it was terrifying and awesome to drive in equal measure). This was after I got an anxious phone call from Rob asking if the EML should be lit up on the dashboard. I informed him that the yellow engine light came as standard and it was all fine...

So four-car mini meet!





We've decided to get a bigger gathering together in the Spring!

So, fixing of things.... Not a lot to report there as it's been a bit busy, but I did order a new Denso lambda sensor to fix the aforementioned yellow EML on the bucket. Bargain from Opie Oils at under £50. Sadly, I've made the rookie error of ordering the longer-wired post-cat version rather than the pre-cat one that I need. I could use it, but I'm a funny bugger so I'll order the right one and keep the other for spare. An o2 sensor fault is never far away on a Roadster anyway. 

Next thing is to try and find the cause of the, to Quote Rob - "terrifying" wandery handling. It's either shocks or tyres. Luckily, with two cars now on the fleet, I have the luxury of swapping the tyres over to the bucket and seeing what difference that makes. If it still wallows about, I can look to buying some new shocks.

Right, that's the end of this rather long, boring and rambling post.

Thanks for reading or, at least looking at the pictures!

[Call the midlife!]

Jo's is a stunning car, (not that the custard isn't [emoji23]), had a good look round it at the National Day when she won prizes with it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The Arch Bishop]

Jo's is a stunning car, (not that the custard isn't [emoji23]), had a good look round it at the National Day when she won prizes with it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

She's rightly proud of her prizes! The seats are amazing and the finish on the paint work is stunning. The Tart has had a respray at some point and it's pretty good but not a patch on Jo's!

Now if I can just get my wife as keen on them I'll be on a winner! 

[Call the midlife!]

Jo's is a stunning car, (not that the custard isn't [emoji23]), had a good look round it at the National Day when she won prizes with it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

She's rightly proud of her prizes! The seats are amazing and the finish on the paint work is stunning. The Tart has had a respray at some point and it's pretty good but not a patch on Jo's!

Now if I can just get my wife as keen on them I'll be on a winner! 

[emoji38]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[K T M Rider]

Can I really afford to run two MR2s as well as my daily Swift?

No.

Could I pass up the offer?

No.

Obviously.

Clearly the Suzuki will have to go.

Of course there will be the naysayers who will try to convince you that MR2s aren't practical for family trips out, but (seeing as your wife drives too) I think this picture easily silences such pathetic whinging. 

Next thing is to try and find the cause of the, to Quote Rob - "terrifying" wandery handling. It's either shocks or tyres. Luckily, with two cars now on the fleet, I have the luxury of swapping the tyres over to the bucket and seeing what difference that makes. If it still wallows about, I can look to buying some new shocks.

Even if the shocks aren't the main problem now, might well be once you fit AD08Rs. Replaced worn out Potenzas with them on a 65k car and they initially ruined it (!)

..........untill new KYBs, Teins & a Geo then made it pretty epic 

Clearly the softer worn potenzas suited the softer worn suspension my car came on much better, it was fun to drive on smoothish roads, though could get out of shape with a spirited drive on poorer surfaces. But 98% of the time it felt fine (well compared to the 140000 mile Fabia estate i'd just stepped out of  ).

After months of anticipation of wondering what all the fuss was about I fitted the Yokos and they made a previously fun car (on seen better days suspension)  pretty awful, If entering a bend at speed it was turn wheel - note sharper turn in - but then wait for the lurch due to weight transfer, which was either very pronounced or barely noticeable but you were never quite sure which it was going to be 

It's a classic case of change one thing and it shows up another, and I reckon the yokos will show up any suspenson deficiencies far more than (say) T1Rs would.
Wild speculation I know, but maybe the car would be reasonably nice to drive on T1Rs (especially if you mess around with the pressures), AD08Rs I'm not so sure, without a shock change.

BTW, possibly remiss of me to suggest you might consider selling already, but if you tire of using your custard as a very expensive way to store spare parts for the bucket, there's someone in this thread after a low mileage FL custard:

https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=66148.0

Though not sure if the starship-like 3 to 4000 a year? mileage of your custard fits his idea of low mileage anyway     

[Call the midlife!]

Putting T1Rs on wobbly suspension would actually compound your issues, put it hard into a corner and you're going to get double trouble. The settle from the tyre walls and then the give from the suspension, whichever happens first. On decent suspension you only get the initial flex of the tyre wall, once you're used to it you're laughing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[K T M Rider]

Putting T1Rs on wobbly suspension would actually compound your issues, put it hard into a corner and you're going to get double trouble. The settle from the tyre walls and then the give from the suspension, whichever happens first. On decent suspension you only get the initial flex of the tyre wall, once you're used to it you're laughing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I take your point but I think you have also further explained mine - as the AD08R sidewalls have so little flex - any deficiencies in the suspension after initial turn in can become much more apparent, whereas softer sidewalls are IMHO probably much better at masking deficiencies in the suspension. Also the softer sidewalls will I imagine give more scope for changing the feel of the car by trying diferent tyre pressures.

I was not trying to say that the car would actually be better on T1Rs (than AD08Rs) in an absolute sense, merely speculating it may feel better (which is of course a subjective judgement anyway).

I'm sure we'll get an update shortly contradicting at least one of us   :-)

[Call the midlife!]

Putting T1Rs on wobbly suspension would actually compound your issues, put it hard into a corner and you're going to get double trouble. The settle from the tyre walls and then the give from the suspension, whichever happens first. On decent suspension you only get the initial flex of the tyre wall, once you're used to it you're laughing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I take your point but I think you have also further explained mine - as the AD08R sidewalls have so little flex - any deficiencies in the suspension after initial turn in can become much more apparent, whereas softer sidewalls are IMHO probably much better at masking deficiencies in the suspension. Also the softer sidewalls will I imagine give more scope for changing the feel of the car by trying diferent tyre pressures.

I was not trying to say that the car would actually be better on T1Rs (than AD08Rs) in an absolute sense, merely speculating it may feel better (which is of course a subjective judgement anyway).

I'm sure we'll get an update shortly contradicting at least one of us   :-)

Nope, totally get what you were saying, just adding that as a T1R wearer you're going to get two lots of reaction to your input. Where you got just the vagueness of the suspension after turn in, with the Toyos you're going to get it twice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[K T M Rider]

Agreed, (even though I've never actually driven on T1Rs, I was just using them as an example )

My point was more about the Yoko's really........

Apologies for turning your RR into a tyre debate

[The Arch Bishop]

No worries! It feels like crackered shocks to be honest, but before throwing money and time at fitting them, it's worth throwing the Yokos on there to see what happens. Sticking TR-1s on there would make it truly squidgy (I've experience of these tyres) but the Yokos should show up any difference between the bucket and the tart (never thought I'd ever type that).

[K T M Rider]

Well I have heard the Toyos are a bit of a "marmite" tyre anyway.......

It's worth throwing the Yokos on there to see what happens.

I shall await your feedback with interest.

I'm thinking that a bit like mounting a gold Rolex on worn knicker elastic it may stand out

[The Arch Bishop]

Well I have heard the Toyos are a bit of a "marmite" tyre anyway.......

It's worth throwing the Yokos on there to see what happens.

I shall await your feedback with interest.

I'm thinking that a bit like mounting a gold Rolex on worn knicker elastic it may stand out

Good analogy! 

It'll be interesting at least! Wibbly wobbly with lots of grip.... Actually doesn't sound that appealing.

[The Arch Bishop]

Well, I think I'm over the rough and hoping it's in with the smooth from now on with the bucket.

First thing today was to change the duff o2 sensor that was giving me an EML (bank 1-sensor 1 - driver's side manifold one I believe - if not then I've replaced the wrong one). I'd ordered a new Denso sensor the other week but had discovered that I'd bought the one for the post-cat with the long lead (DOX-206) whereas I needed the shorter one (DOX-204). However, with the discount codes on Opie's site, it brought each sensor down to under £50, so I kept the wrong one as a spare and got the shorter version ordered as well. I ended up with these two;



You can see that the DOX-206 has all of the clips that mount it to the chassis on its way up to the connector behind the coolant bottle.

The new one was a simple and quick swap and was torqued up to 20NM as dictated by the instructions on the box.

The next thing was to bung another jubilee strap around the heat shield - it'd been rattling really badly again. THe new strap has gotten rid of 80% of the remaining rattle - much better.

Next up for the bucket, it was time to swap the front tyres from the Custard tart (Yoko's only about 6 months and 400 miles old) on to see if that was the cause of my wallowing, tram-lining and bucking handling. This had plagued the Bucket from the start of ownership and made the car really scary to drive at times. I was convinced that the shocks were shot, but changing the tyres over was a worth-while test.

By the time I'd gone a few hundred yards it was obvious that this had solved the problem. The car tracked perfectly on broken roads and could be thrown around with confidence. Grip from the front was strong with no healing over on roundabouts and it felt like the yellow car. Well, almost - it was clear the back tyres were also not up to it as you could feel it getting a bit unruly on corner exit.

So that's it then! Problem solved!

I just need to replace all of the tyres, which doesn't sound like a great improvement over buying new shocks, but the fact that;

a) It won't need tracking up again at £60 a go and
b) I don't have to do it

...means that it's a big win.

The only problem remains which tyres to get. I fancied a set of Avons or Rainsports as the price for them is decent (around £60 for the fronts), but other than the Yoko's (over my budget and I'd prefer some tyres that are more at home in the wet), I haven't managed to find a tyre that you can get in both the front and rear sizes. I'm only interested in a complete set.

If anyone's got some ideas on what to get, let me know!

I've swapped the tyres back now.

Finally, I checked the oil as it's been in for around 1700 miles since the service - still not a drop used.

I also remembered that the frunk of the Custard Tart had been filled with swag by my dad and thought I'd have a nose through it;



That is one tidy frunk!!



Loads of good stuff! A six speed layout aluminium gear knob, some oil for top-ups, some gearbox oil, Toyota power steering fluid (about 1/3 bottle left), most of a hood renovation kit, caliper paint in bright yellow (naturally), spray can of super bright yellow paint and a few other bits and bobs.; A great haul - cheers dad (I know you read this thread).

I also noticed the strange (potentially prophetic for a 1zz) missive printed on the back of the air-freshener I'd added to the car.



Good advice there for any Roadster owner...

The garage has been thoroughly cleared out ready to put the Tart away for the winter - just needs a wash down first and then in she goes!

[The Arch Bishop]

Tyres for the bucket ordered. I decided on the Falken 914's in the end after driving the Tart with the stiff AD08Rs and not finding it overly hard-riding. Good price from MyTyres as well.

They should be delivered to my local fitters later this week so I can enjoy a more wayward MR2 experience.

[K T M Rider]

By the time I'd gone a few hundred yards it was obvious that this had solved the problem. The car tracked perfectly on broken roads and could be thrown around with confidence. Grip from the front was strong with no healing over on roundabouts........

Interesting, I guess my 65k shocks were more knackered then.

Maybe yours aren't original - either way that's a result. Let us know how you find the Falkens....

[The Arch Bishop]

By the time I'd gone a few hundred yards it was obvious that this had solved the problem. The car tracked perfectly on broken roads and could be thrown around with confidence. Grip from the front was strong with no healing over on roundabouts........

Interesting, I guess my 65k shocks were more knackered then.

Maybe yours aren't original - either way that's a result. Let us know how you find the Falkens....

No one is more surprised than me!

The Bucket is a bit of an enigma - a tonne of service history but no mention of the engine being replaced, the interior feels far less lived in than the 50k mile Tart and it genuinely feels like a far newer car than the mileage suggests. Again, no mention of the shocks being replaced (and the gaiters are knackered), but they felt absolutely fine on the Yokos.

I've used Falkens on a few cars now - I had the 912's on my puma and the newer 914s on my old Subaru Forester and they give a harsher ride than most tyres, but they do give very quick initial turn-in and they wear pretty well. I'll be sure to let you know what they're like on a Roadster!

[The Arch Bishop]

Brrr.... It's getting a bit nippy out there! Time for the Tart to settle in to a slumber for the off-season. I'd cleaned out my bijou garage last weekend and was hoping to get the car washed down before I put it away, but the weather for this weekend looked rather bleak, so decided to bung it in anyway. Certainly brightens up the space!



Sitting in there, it looks like a model car from the side door;



I've left the car in gear and with the handbrake off, but because I know my memory is rubbish;



Anyway, still waiting for the tyres to be delivered for the Bucket. Sent off an email this morning asking where they are. They quote 4-5 working days but we're up to five now... 

[Chilli Girl]

The tart does look gorgeous Lee.  Glad she's undercover for the winter months - it certainly protect these cars, I like to keep Foxy in the same conditions.

[The Arch Bishop]

The tart does look gorgeous Lee.  Glad she's undercover for the winter months - it certainly protect these cars, I like to keep Foxy in the same conditions.

Cheers Chilli! It's just started chucking it down, so not a moment too soon!

It's s shame that the Bucket will have to live outside this Winter, but I intend to use it regardless of the rubbish weather. It'll just have to cope! Might have to do some more rust proofing though - it's quite a boring job...

[The Arch Bishop]

After a week and a half of Mytyres faffing around with sending out the tyres, my local fitters (Re-Tyred at Ditchling Common) confirmed they'd finally received them on Friday. Luckily, I had a day off so sauntered (well, more wobbled in the Bucket) over there for fitting. Within 10 minutes my car was in the depot and getting sorted while I had a pleasant nap in the rather lovely Alfa leather seats they have in reception as a sofa. How decadent.

Soon it was sorted and after shelling over £60 for fitting I was on my way.

New shoes!





First impressions were that the ride was pretty harsh although upon returning home, I removed 6PSI from the fronts and 2 from the rear. I guess the tyre places do a standard 32 PSI for everything as I've found this at other places. With the pesky extra PSIs removed, normal service was resumed and the ride, despite the hard sidewalls of the Falkens, was absolutely fine.

Meanwhile, the wobbly pitching, wandering mess that was the handling has been transformed into a sure-footed, tight and unflappable thing. Soooo very much better! It doesn't feel like it's trying to kill you any more and the bucket is a sweet motor to punt around in. I'm very much looking forward to commuting in it next week!

So after a Summer of lows, we finally have the Autumn high. With this in mind, a (some wish) list of bits to do is probably in order...

- Straighten the steering column - I know it doesn't matter, but the wheel being 5 degrees off straight bothers me. Which is silly.
- Get some choooons - the original stereo now doesn't work at all due to the rotary pot' being crackered. I have a decent but garish single din Sony that will do but will need a fitting kit.
- Find the very quiet but insistent rattle from the hood. ARRGGHHH!!! Stop rattling!!!
- Rid the exhaust heat shield of it's last rattles - there's more jubilee straps than heat shield currently.
- Source and fit a few non-important bits of trim - one frunk latch and the plastic covers for the rear strut tops just to finish it off.
- Have another go at the headlights - still rather yellow - never going to be utterly new looking but should be able to improve further.
- De-rust and paint the front of the chassis - if it's doing all weathers, probably best!
- Rear calipers refurbished - still not happy with one in particular as there's a lot of brake dust on that corner. Think the piston is sticky.
- Replace the little handbrake gaiter where the cable attaches to the caliper - I've heard they can be replaced with push bike ones?

That'll do for now.

All small jobs but all should make for a better Roadster.

[Chilli Girl]

Well done Lee - glad to hear the little 2 is handling better.

[The Arch Bishop]

The smallest of tiny wins - the insistent rattle was traced to the little 'PULL' badge from the hood release. Put a bit of blue-tac behind it and refitted. Think that's got it!

As I said, smallest of tiny wins...

I've given in and ordered a single DIN fitting kit so I can get my Sony headunit fitted. While the engine sounds sweet, it's a bit boring everyday without some music. I'll have a go at fixing the old headunit when I get a chance as you can still get the volume pots' on eBay for a tenner.

My long suffering wife borrowed the car this evening and confirms that it's no longer out to kill her. Always good news!

[Akayfortyseven]

Thank-you! Ive had an annoying rattle for a few weeks, ever since I replaced that PULL garnish now I think of it!