Bargain-bucket MR2

[The Arch Bishop]

The sound of radio silence was the only blot on the Bucket's copy book, so yesterday I had a crack at fitting the single DIN stereo I'd had kicking around in the garage. With a fitting kit duly bought from eBay, I set about the task.

The kit was far from a straight bolt in set-up being a universal Toyota set up that came with various side parts depending on the model you were fitting it to. Following the MR2 instructions faithfully, I dremel'd off the lugs not required and put it all together.

The result? Well it's certainly fitted;



But the fit? Just terrible....





Now I'm sure I've fitted this as per spec and there's no other way it could fit (I've done a great many headunit installs in my time), but it looks god-awful! 

Another bit of research and what I should have done is to buy a 'C2 24UV18 Universal Facia Plate Double To Single Din Car Stereo Pocket' and utilised both the original metal fitting brackets and the old stereo surround for a nice factory-ish look. So I'll have to order that in and have another go.

At least I have a functioning music box in there I suppose!

[Justin.D]

The face-lift surround should just clip on and finish that one off. Maybe pop the one off your yellow one to test

[The Arch Bishop]

The face-lift surround should just clip on and finish that one off. Maybe pop the one off your yellow one to test

Interesting - Thanks! I'll take a look!

Still, if you'd bought it for a PFL as I did, you'd be a bit peeved! Nothing in the instructions about it either.

Also means I need to source a FL surround!

[The Arch Bishop]

Three weeks of commuting and daily duties and the Bucket has excelled. I've been quite impressed with the rear screen and front blowers in clearing off the frost in the mornings - a far better proposition than my old MGF with its plastic rear screen.

I've also been very impressed with the Falken tyres which have been great in the dry and very solid in the wet. Lots of confidence at normal or slightly above normal speeds and great feedback. They're a great match for the MR2 as an every day car.

The only wasp in the jam is the increasingly loud whirring noise coming, I think, from the back of the car. It's road-speed dependent and hits a slight buzzing resonance at about 45mph. Wheel bearing or gearbox? I'm not sure but it always been there to an extent. It is getting louder though...

Gearbox itself feels fine - great shift, no shunt and the oil was very clean when I changed it, so I'm leaning towards the wheel bearings.

Anyway, da bucket done good and I still look forward to finishing work and the drive back, something that I can't honestly say about my Swift.

It's got some proper Sussex muck on it and everything;

[The Arch Bishop]

Well over a month since my last update, a frankly shoddy effort on my behalf. I will berate myself personally later.

Why the update now? Because this morning, jumping in the Swift to head to work, I discovered after about 10 feet that I had a flat tyre. Cue flashback to Mrs. Arch Bishop stating she'd hit a fearsome pothole on the way back from Tesco last night. Great stuff.

Reverse the stricken Suzuki back onto the drive, grab the keys for the trusty Bucket and thankfully due to the investment in a new battery, the old gal fired straight up. Less than two minutes inconvenienced and to work on time.

A pox on friends and family that scoff at my many old cars!

In all honesty, I was sort of thrilled to have a really good excuse to be behind the wheel of the MR2 again. Turning up the stereo sorted the moaning from the suspected duff wheel bearing and all was right with the world once again.

As the (stupid teenager-spec 17" rubber band-shod) wheel on the Swift has the profile of a 20p piece now, it seems that Christmas commuting will be the bucket's job for a week or so. Shame.

So here's the old beast in it's own classy Christmas light habitat. Merry Christmas and all that...

[Chilli Girl]

Great pics Lee and a Merry Christmas to you too.

[The Arch Bishop]

The Bucket has indeed done all of my Christmas motoring, not because I haven't had the Suzuki wheel repaired (which I have), but because when I mentioned to Mrs. Arch Bishop that we could go back to using the Swift again, she pulled a strange face and went "eh." basically saying that the MR2 was to continue in service due to it being rather more fun.

But with the early morning start to work comes a certain responsibility, namely the game of not waking up the neighbours with rattly grindy old cars. Sadly, the electric ariel noises were not just loud, but LOUD.

"Here mate! Something's wrong with your engine!" passers by would shout as the ariel ground it's way along its cycle for 30 seconds.

So Yesterday, I decided to tackle the problem and pulled the ariel and the cord out of the motor assembly;



The cord looked a little short, but I wondered whether the guide in the how-to of the forum would be enough to fix it. However, today I had a bit of time to investigate it a bit further, so I jacked the back of the car up, removed the rear wheel and the arch-liner and learnt about the murky world of the electric ariel.



In typical Toyota fashion, it's quite over engineered in some ways and nicely simple in others. Once the top castled nut on the wing is removed, the only thing holding the ariel assembly on is one 10mm bolt after which, you can manoeuvre it out of the wing. Removing the power connector gives you ample room to lover it to a workable position.

The weather proofing on the unit is one of the over-engineered bits - the entire unit has a sturdy plastic weather-proof cagoule that you have to roll up to reach the cover. Once you've removed the screws, you can prise the cover off to look at the inside. Again, the cover has a soft silicone sealant around it. Toyota really didn't want water getting in there!!

In this picture you can see the central winding drum that's driven by the motor in the middle.



The cord runs down the ariel tube and comes out within the body where it's picked up by the teeth on the central drum;



This then drives the cord off of the drum and into the cover which has a cylindrical area to store the wound in cord.



So with all of this apart, I found the snapped section of the cord;



Way too much to bother with a bodge repair of any kind and as Davey P on this forum found a replacement antennae and cord unit for £15, I've ordered one.

Should sort out my noise issues!

[The Arch Bishop]

Almost forgot! I received a surprise present from Mrs. Arch Bishop for Christmas which I'm really pleased with.



Obviously this will be for the Custard Tart as it's a facefift era headunit, but most importantly, it's got a Minidisc player as well as a CD player. I bought a Minidisc headunit for my first mk1 years ago so this brings it full-circle! 

Not sure if these were ever an option for the MR2 but it's a subtle enough mod so I'm not fussed if it's 'OE' or not really. Time to dig out the old Minidiscs!

[Davey P]

Way too much to bother with a bodge repair of any kind and as Davey P on this forum found a replacement antennae and cord unit for £15, I've ordered one.

You're welcome mate, I'm always happy to help spend other people's money!  I just hope it fits, and you get the aerial sorted.  I'm watching this with interest, as mine has got the same issue...

[paulj]

Nice head unit, but I do prefer the Sony set in my PFL.  I had the chance to drive a new Lexus 4x4 recently and was amused that the entertainment system only had only one twisty control on it - far right hand side with PWR-VOL written above it.  Some times the old ones are the best!!

[The Arch Bishop]

The new mast arrived during the week, so today I got the chance to fit it. A lot easier than you think it'd be.

New mast;



Quick how to;

1. Unscrew the chromed fixing on top of the wing where the ariel extends from using a set of mole-grips and a cloth to protect your body work.
2. Remove the chrome fixing and the shaped rubber seal and put aside.
3. Switch your radio on so that the motor extends the existing ariel as much as possible. Leave the radio on.
4. Pull the mast up sharply - it'll likely be a bit stuck where the mast fits into the ariel assembly. Remove the old mast (with it's toothed cord) and lob it!
5. With the radio still on get your shiny new mast and feed the toothed cord in to the hole on top of the wing down into the ariel assembly. Make sure the toothed side of the cord is facing the back of the car.
6. Switch the radio off (or get an assistant to do it). Push the toothed cord down until it engages with the gear drum in the ariel assembly. It should start winding the new cord in.
7. When it reaches the body of the mast, slot the bottom of the mast into the  ariel assembly. If it's not all of the way down, just switch the radio on again and then off again to fully retract the mast.
8. Once happy, refit the rubber seal and the chrome retaining fixing (again using mole grips and a cloth to protect the body work.
9. Rejoice in the smooth operation.
10. Switch it off and on again more times than is needed, like someone who's never seen an electric ariel before. Ensure to go "Ooooooooo!" every time it works.

Look at the picture - stare hard enough and you can hear it not grinding away!



Cheers again to Davey P for finding the bargain ariel.

For those looking, it's this one - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-MR2-replacement-Electric-Aerial-Mast/201381598132?hash=item2ee34753b4:g:N70AAOSw-vlVlVuU:rk:1:pf:0

Or search for 'Toyota MR2 replacement Electric Aerial Mast' - this one was from the seller 'Brooklandmotorfactors' and was £15. It came with instructions and arrived very quickly. Seems good quality as well.

[Chilli Girl]

Lee, excellent "how to".  Foxy's aerial has never been the smoothest or quietest so I may well have a go at this this year.  Perhaps, a Ding Day job then someone can help me perhaps.

[The Arch Bishop]

Lee, excellent "how to".  Foxy's aerial has never been the smoothest or quietest so I may well have a go at this this year.  Perhaps, a Ding Day job then someone can help me perhaps.

i reckon you'd do it easily - it's a one-tool job (I mean the mole grips not me) and a case of switching the radio on or off.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong.... 

[Joesson]

As a bonus there's music while you work!

[Robos_mr2]

Great thread, just read right through, came in handy as I'm just doing my decat manifold!

[The Arch Bishop]

Good luck fella! I hope yours is a lot easier than mine!

[StuC]

Nice result, great write up & excellent looking 2... in the garage!!! 

[The Arch Bishop]

Time for an update! I've done quite a few miles in the bucket over the last month or so. It's been a great companion and coped with rain, mud, frosty mornings and even some decent black ice. It's a trooper.

However, After giving it a wash today in this unseasonably warm weather, I decided to bite the bullet and attack a patch of bubbling paint I'd noticed on the bottom of the front wing and the sill. It looked a little ropey;



I set about it with a screwdriver as it's best not to ignore these things for too long. The sill where it dips under the front wing turned out to be surface rust, but the front wing, after a right proper poking ended up like this...



That hole!



Luckily, it looks to be only on the wing itself, but will require removing the wing (it's scrap anyway) and a good rubbing down and repainting. There are benefits in having an over-popular coloured MR2 in that panels are plentiful!

I rubbed down the worst of it for the moment and applied some Bilt Hamber rust converter over the top, but when the Custart tart comes out of the garage for the Spring, it'll be time to dig a bit deeper!

On the plus side, the engine in the bucket has still yet to use any oil at all over several thousand miles, so it appears to be a good 'un. I've ordered some oil and a filter so I can give it a service soon even though the oil is still clean. Got to keep then piston oil-ways clear!

[Chilli Girl]

Sorry to see the dreaded rust but glad she's running well for you.  That's down to you, the tlc you give her. 

[The Arch Bishop]

Sorry to see the dreaded rust but glad she's running well for you.  That's down to you, the tlc you give her. 

Kind of you to say!

I'll come clean and say that the bucket was meant to be a sacrificial MR2. Essentially, I bought it because I'd had MK1's years ago and always loved them, but the prices had risen on the good ones and the ones I could afford turned out to be basket cases, so I decided to pay the least I could for a mk3 to see if they were any good. Then if I did like it, I could save for a better one.

Sure enough, I did very much like it and every time I pulled it apart, there was more good news - a non-oil-burning engine, refurbed wheels, leak free roof and so on, so it became less and less sacrificial and more "Christ I love this old car!!!" Over the winter, it's behaved in a manner that means we've never worried about reliability - on the worst possible mornings, it's started without any fuss and ran like a nice watch.

It's 19 years old but still seems as well-built and refined as modern cars. I like the 1zz (although it seems I'm one of the few) and the one in the car feels extremely strong and a deal quicker than the one in the Custard Tart. It's quite rusty as far as Roadsters go, but so far there's not been anything too scary, so it'll be repaired unless there's something that crops up that is beyond economic repair.

If someone offered me decent money for it, then I'd consider selling as I have another, but as it's likely to remain at the budget end of the price scale, that's unlikely!

TLDR: It's going to carry on getting fixed up.

[Chilli Girl]

Lee, my mate Angela has always told me, all the cars that she has had and that's a lot, the more miles she's done in them, the engine gets better and better with mileage and that cars are made for using, they don't like sitting!  Well, clearly your daily has proved that.  By the way, not sure why I put up a "crying emoj" - I meant to put a smiley one!

[The Arch Bishop]

As Donna Summer once sang, "She works hard for the money", but this Winter the MR2 has worked harder.

My 'project car' has essentially ended up being my Winter daily meaning my actual daily has sat dejected down the drive way. Well that's not entirely true. I did manage to drive it for three days 2 weeks ago before I quickly relegated it again due to being as dull as ditch water to drive.

The bucket has weathered frost, floods, gale-force rain and black ice over the last 3 months and has taken it all in its stride. And against popular myth, hasn't once tried to chuck me through a hedge backwards due to tricky on-the-limit-handling. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough...

Anyway, other than poking homes through the front wing and treating it like an appliance (I haven't had to top up the oil since I first serviced it), it's just got on with being comfortable and dependable.

However, the roads to work are a disgrace (and legendarily hard on cars - they killed a low mileage Skoda Fabia in less than a year once) and so, this is how it looked after 2 weeks without a wash;







It got another wash obviously, but it's interesting to see that the Winter hasn't been kind. The poorly sprayed bonnet is starting to micro-blister in a few places and there's a tiny bit of rust bubbling through on the rear quarter a few inches under the fuel filler door which doesn't bode well.

However, the Custard tart is due out of hibernation in the next week and then the Bucket can retired for a bit so I can sort the rust and get the loud bearing investigated. There'a a fair bit to do and a bit of money to spend, but it's worked hard for it!

So basically I ruddy love these cars, but they have a side-effect of making other cars feel a bit rubbish to drive.

Ah well.   

[Chilli Girl]

It sounds as if you're going be busy Lee - all worth it though. 

[K T M Rider]

So basically I ruddy love these cars, but they have a side-effect of making other cars feel a bit rubbish to drive.

Ah well.   

I can relate, as for most of my Roadster ownership, my "sensible car' was a MK1 Fabia estate. However now that my 'sensible car' is less sensible (E46 325ci) I no longer suffer from this problem. 

Maybe worth taking a 1 series for a spin sometime.........?

[The Arch Bishop]

Last Friday, I nipped into Retyred in Ditchling Common (where I had the tyres fitted) to see if they could take a look at the increasingly stricken sounding wheel bearing on the bucket. One of the mechanics took the bucket out for a short spin to see if he could work it out, arriving 5 mins later with a big grin on his face (he mentioned he'd had a mk2 track car but seemed to think that this was quicker and felt much better connected to the road) and agreed that one of the bearings was sounding near-terminal. He managed to locate it as the driver's side front which was far more difficult to turn than the other side.

A phone call later and he came back saying that the price they could do it for, due to the price of the front bearing/hub assembly being "flipping expensive", was £300. I'd already decided that should it be the front bearing at fault, I'd tackle it myself as it's a complete assembly and doesn't require a bearing press. Anyway, with a "fair enough mate - no charge", he waved me on my way.

Got back home and gave TCL a call asking for the price on the front bearing assembly (inc ABS), a rear bearing (because they are fairly cheap and I know too well that quieting one bearing will mean I'll likely find one of the rears is also singing slightly quieter) and, if they had a second hand front driver's wing to replace my holey one (yes, a long shot).

Later they called back with a quote. Sadly the front wing was a long shot, but for the front bearing assembly and the rear bearing delivered, it was a shade over £100 which I thought was very good indeed. While the front is a pattern part, I'm assured they are very good quality (they turned up today and they are).

Sorted! Time to dig out the Suzuki for daily duties until I'd fixed it.... But no.

It would seem that the pot holes around here had finished off one of the rear shocks and the Swift had left a slightly embarrassing puddle of shock oil on the drive. Luckily the OE Monroe shocks are £32 each, so a pair have been ordered. They are also separate from the springs so should be very quick to swap.

But that left me with no car for work on Monday. But hang on! I have a spare MR2 in the garage and it'll be April 1st on Monday so I can tax it!

Out came the tart. A quick wash down to remove the spider webs and dust and a hasty insure and tax - I was back in business! Who said 3 cars was too many eh?

Because I haven't any interesting photos of spannering stuff yet, here's some dodgy 'arty' ones I took during and after the wash. Not sure how many layers of wax my old man put on it, but it was a struggle getting water to stay on it at all!

















Drove to work today - all lovely, strident exhaust note is very entertaining, don't like the seats as much as the early ones in the bucket and prefer the 5 speed gearbox. But she sure does drive lovely! 

More grubby photos soon when I attempt the front hub bearings. Getting the old bolts out of the hub is likely to take some knuckle skin, creative swearing or worse, so stay tuned!