MR2Jay's MK3 Rebuild Project - Springs Finished

[Jrichards20]

So your saying the MK3 are more confortable? From just sitting in a MK2 they seem to be more comfortable inside. But I havent driven one. I will have to take one out before I decide on a project or a daily.

[MR2Jay13]

Not more comfortable, it's all down to how you set up the suspension...

Personally I find the mk2 to be a nicer place to sit and on stock suspension it is VERY comfortable. The minute you start messing with it to improve the handling, the comfort is compromised.

[dj2k21]

Engine - how often has it been serviced? When was the cambelt changed?

These have chains not belts dont they? Atleast everyone ive seen did anyways. Non interference motor in these  s:) s:)

[MR2Jay13]

Not on the mk2 bud  s;) s;)  Belts in the 3s engines  s;) s;)

[trevsmr2]

Engine - how often has it been serviced? When was the cambelt changed?

These have chains not belts dont they? Atleast everyone ive seen did anyways. Non interference motor in these  s:) s:)

OP is looking for a MK2

I'm also thinking about a Mk2 - just for cruising..... got the mk3 for being silly in!

Any tips on what version to think about etc?

[Anonymous]

Very Interesting post! Glad you went black!!

As for the eyelids - why not make your own out of vinyl like I did? cost me £14 and got a very good finish out of it!

Completely transformed the shape of the headlights.  s:) s:)

[MR2Jay13]

Hehe, colour wasn't an option, all I wanted was a good shell. It just happens to be black  s;) s;)  

Already bought the Abflug brows, did see your post and will probably copy the rear brake light mod  s:) s:)  

Anyhow, successful lunchtime today. Went and collected the alloys. They are in pretty good condition but one is slightly scuffed which means that they will need a refurb.

Can't wait, shell arrives tomorrow with the seats so I'll be able to get stuck in  s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

Im doing a rear light eyelid soon as well  s:) s:)

[MR2Jay13]

I have now officially joined the MK3 fraternity :yahoo:

First shout goes to Vinny - thanks for your help bud, this has been made possible because of you   s:D s:D  

Anyhow, she is here   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  









First job on here is a cosmetic one. Because of the neighbors and the fact our landlord lives right behind us, any project has to look respectable. What's the worst thing on it? The "Noddy" Wheels

All gone now :th: Used the Red anodised lugs I had here already to fit the rims. I was going to paint them but actually, I kinda like the anthracite   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  







So, tomorrow I hope the weather is kind to me to try and clean this car from top to bottom. Try and resuscitate the rather dull paintwork and clean out the interior   s8) s8)

[Topdownman]

Awwwww, I was liking the skinny rims!

Good luck with the project.

[MR2Jay13]

Thanks mate   s:) s:)  

One huge shock to me though. Having seen this one and the mk2 parked next too each other, there is very little in it size wise. I always assumed the mk3 was a good bit smaller. Must be a trick of the eyes which has surprised me.

[StuC]

Good start.  :-) :-) :-)

Couldn't notice that you have ears on your folded soft top.  s;-) ;-) s;-)
Another job for today?

[MR2Jay13]

Today I will mostly be cleaning.

The car is seriously dull and although it won't be perfect, it'll certainly have a shine when I have finished.

Want to give it a deep clean inside and out so I can fully assess what needs to be done  s:) s:)

[MR2Jay13]

Today I started in earnest....And I am cream crackered already   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

The car was seriously dull, and a stress the work "was". Before I can seriously assess what I need to do with her, I need to give it the clean of it's life. I started on the outside of the car at about 8am   s8) s8)  

So, to start with, she looked like this







First step was a good wash. I swear by the Ubershine Muc-Off stuff and it didn't let me down this time either   s8) s8)  







I then moved on to Meguires Ultimate Compound. Great stuff for cleaning the paint. When applying this stuff, it was almost as if the paint was covered in sand   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  







And last but by no means least, Poorboys Natty Paste Wax   s8) s8)  







She has come up a treat   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  

Looking over the car, I think it would benefit from a full respray once the kit is on. The paint has certainly seen better days   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:   Plenty of fairly deep scratches, stone chips etc. Not to worry, it would need paint anyhow   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

Going to take a break now and start cleaning out the interior   s8) s8)

[simers]

Came up a treat... Fair play

[MR2Jay13]

Thanks Mate, was hard work though   s:? :? s:?  

So, as I was on a roll, I thought I would get the seats retrimmed that I got from Vinny   s8) s8)  

The drivers side already was 90% there so I tackled the passenger side. Never done this before but what a tricky job   s:? :? s:?  

These are facelift seats with brand new leather covers to go on. All that is left to do is now zip these up and bolt on the bases and they are ready to go in   s8) s8)   I have a set coming from eBay with a collection of different size zip heads which should be here this week   s8) s8)  

[StuC]

I amso  glad someone finally gave those seats the love they needed!!!  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Productive day for you Jay!  s;-) ;-) s;-)

[MR2Jay13]

Yup  s:) s:)  

Really pleased with how the seats are starting to look. With any luck I'll get them finished this week  s:) s:)  

Started assessing what I need to buy. Needless to say the list is already growing  s8) s8)

[puma2]

 s:D s:D  all your hard work is paying off. what a great job you have done on the outside shiney   s:D s:D  well done to you over the seat covers as well  s:D s:D    s:D s:D  
keep up the good work and the updates on here  s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:    s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

[MR2Jay13]

Sat back and started putting together a list of parts to order. The plan of attack is to first get the car roadworthy and then begin styling and tuning.

In order to do this, certain things need to be replaced. Once the seats are completed and installed, the interior just needs door cards which I have sourced at a great price delivered from a breaker. These will be tarted up with the matching inserts to the seats I have here.

On the chassis, one of the rear tie bars is missing. Rather than just sourcing a second hand part, it makes far more sense to get a set of adjustable Che ones from Monkey Wrench so they have found their was on the list. While on the subject of the chassis, I have found that one of the springs is cracked so then plan is to buy a set of Tein S-Tech springs for her.

Electrically I think she is Ok. I am going to charge the battery and test all the circuits to make sure though.

That leaves the engine which is completely crackered. So I need to source a replacement 1zz engine for her. Just need to save the pennies to try and source the best (and latest) one I can.

The list is slowly growing but isn't insurmountable  s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

If you get the che arms adjust them to stock length to start with and adjust from there. Also make sure the nuts are tight. Also if your looking at using mwr for those and looking at turbo later might be worth looking to see what is still usable on the old engine and possibly putting in forged pistons and liners, as that's normally the cause of most engine failures.

[MR2Jay13]

Sounds like a plan  s:) s:)  

I assumed the best way to set up the arms was start from stock length. This gives you a known working setup to tweak  s:) s:)  
Good call on the old engine. I suppose once it is out, I can strip it down and see what is what  s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

Exactly. With out knowing why it died, if it was oil burning / bottom end knocking then I would take the block and change the liners and pistons for uprated and full new bearings. Then I would recon the head and bolt together. That way you got a slightly uprated engine that is new / recon that is ready for later addons.

[MR2Jay13]

From what I have been told about the engine, chances are it will be terminal but I lose nothing by breaking it down and assessing from there...

Cost is also a factor at the moment. As it stands, she owes me very little so I have scope for a little uprating along the way  s;) s;)

[MR2Jay13]

Finally!!! One seat finished and installed.   s8) s8)  

I had managed to get the cover on and secured to the "shaping" bars before reaching a dead end as I needed a zip head to finish this retrim. These arrived today and through some serious perseverance, I now have the passenger seat retrimmed and bolted into the car   s8) s8)  











Need to get the driver's seat done now. I know understand why, despite the materials not being that expensive, a full leather retrim costs as much as it does   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

The door cards should be here soon which will complete the interior   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce: