MR2Jay's MK3 Rebuild Project - Springs Finished

[MR2Jay13]

Managed to get the driver seat finished last night as well.... Glad that job is over  s:) s:)  

Just sat it into the car so it benefits from the heat of the day.

I'll get it secured and take pics tonight  s8) s8)

[MR2Jay13]

So that's the retrim of the facelift seats finished   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  

All installed and looking great if I say so myself  s;) s;)

Once the door cards arrive, I can retrim the inserts and that is the interior complete. Well, I say complete, it get's it roadworthy and respectable  s;) s;)  I do have a few mods I want to do on the inside but they will wait until she is on the road   s8) s8)  

[Jrichards20]

They look fantastic! Thats another thing to do added to the list! Great Job!

[MR2Jay13]

Thanks mate, it isn't easy to do mind.....

Just paid for a set of adjustable Che tie bars and a set of door cards.  s:) s:)  

Once I have retrimmed the cards, that's phase one of the interior finished  s:) s:)

[MR2Jay13]

While I am waiting for parts, I thought I would make a start on fitting the AbFlug light brows to the car. Now, I was going to send these to a mate of mine so he could make moulds off them but they are REALLY poor   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

The fitment is far from great, they seem to be twisted. Started by cleaning the lens properly and trying to identify where these were supposed to fit. In the end, I decided that the best bet was to follow the inside edge of the light as, although poor, they do seem uniform. Bonded it to the lens with tiger seal and taped right along the length to try and keep it in place and following the lines while it sets.

Funny isn't it? You see the words "Perfect Fitment" and think "They can't be that bad".....Unless the company has a reputation, i wouldn't ever believe that statement again   s:x :x s:x   Trouble is, I bought these direct from the States so it is far more hassle trying to send them back than to make them fit. Still got the lower one to do yet but I am seriously tempted to remove the cluster for that one









Going to let this one set properly for a few days before tackling the passenger side one. I want the tape off so I can compare the lines properly. This is going to take a while

[Anonymous]

Will be interested to see how these look.

The reason i went with vinyl was because i didnt like the extra lump you get on these. I am sure these eyelids give the same desire i wanted of a more meaner looking car.

Your doing really well with improving that car! Well done and keep it up.

Rich

[MR2Jay13]

Removed the tape - still needs a bit of work but I think the final look is going to be what I am looking for....

I am in two minds however about the lower brows. Personally, I can't see the point of them   s:? :? s:?  

[MR2Jay13]

Been a long time since this has happened   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  

Parts arriving   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  

To start off with, I managed to get a set of CHE adjustable rear trailing arms   s8) s8)   Need to get the full kit but it's a start



Speaking of suspension parts, managed to get the missing rear track arm. I will want to get the adjustable ones at a later date but this does mean that it isn't actually missing   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:   Had a lot of surface rust on so cleaned it up and gave it a coat of Hammerite to tidy it up before it goes on the car   s8) s8)  







And last but by no means least, I have finally sourced a set of door cards for her. I was a bit annoyed at these when they turned up as it is obvious that the courier really didn't care when transporting them. The handles were sticking through where it had been dragged along and it had scuffed up the handles. Not only that, one of them had a gouge taken out of it....Not the suppliers fault as they were obviously not like that when they left him as the damage was still clean.....

Sanded them back and used some body filler to smooth them out. Once sanded, I gave them both a coat of etch primer before laying down some Audi silver I had lying about. Look like new now but leaving them to dry before laying lacquer down on them. I wouldn't normally bother but as these are used every time you get in or out, I wanted to give them a little durability   s8) s8)  

[MR2Jay13]

Couple of shots of the light brows without the tape   s8) s8)  

Just need to clean up the edges and I can colour code them to the car

[MR2Jay13]

She now has a full interior   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  

Refitted the touched up door pulls and fitted the door cards. Just needs a good clean in there and that is phase 1 (replace everything missing) complete. I have some interior mods I want to do but they are going to wait until she is back on the road   s8) s8)  

[XmadX]

Enjoying following your project  s:) s:)  interior looks great good job!  s:) s:)

[MR2Jay13]

Thanks for the kind words  s:) s:)  Going to take some effort to bring her back to top form  s:) s:)

So now it is time to start on the mechanical bits  s;) s;)

First on the list, I had a missing suspension bar on the rear. Managed to source one and paint it up (see previous post) so decided today was the day to fit it   s8) s8)  







So while I was on a roll, I decided I would start to fit the CHE adjustable arms I have bought. I only have the first set out of the three but do intend to replace all of the rear arms with this CHE stuff so the rear is fully adjustable. Before putting her back on the road properly, I do intend to go and have it all professionally set up though. I have extended the first arm so that it is roughly the same length as the original for the moment though   s8) s8)  











Just the driver's side left to do now   s:mrgreen: :mrgreen: s:mrgreen:

[MR2Jay13]

Things are moving along nicely. Still have to fit the driver's side adjustable arm which I'll be doing this weekend and I have tidied up the brows. Quite pleased with how they look. Just need to work out how to remove the light clusters and I'll spray them up to match the car  s:) s:)  

Biggest decision made recently is to do with the engine. I have sourced a running 1zz which seems to be ok. It does have oil seeping from the tensioner and the rocker gasket is weeping but other than that, it seems to run fine. Hopefully I should be able to collect that in the next couple of weeks and swap them over. The engine I have at the moment will then be going up on a stand to be stripped down, cleaned, detailed and rebuilt ready to up the power to about 220-230 BHP. Should be plenty for the chassis and be a little pocket rocket  s;) s;)  

This will mean that she is ready to go back on the road as a daily while I rebuild the old engine  s:) s:)

[StuC]

I think you have picked the right route with the engine there Jay.
You do seem to be banging the jobs off the list with some speed. Putting the rest of us to shame!  s;-) ;-) s;-)

[MR2Jay13]

Sorry bud  s;) s;)  I am just working through the remedial stuff first, getting it back on the road before starting to play properly  s;) s;)  If something needs replacing, I am a huge believer in either replacing with the best you can or upgrading  s:) s:)  

Oh, forgot to add... Need to pay for a set of Tein S-Tech springs next week as well. With one cracked spring, doesn't matter if it runs, it won't be fun to drive

[MR2Jay13]

It seems the only way to get at the lights is through the removal of the front bumper   s:? :? s:?  

What an odd design? At least it is 110% easier than the MK2 is all I can say   s:? :? s:?  

Removed the bumper and extracted the first light. I mounted these while they were still on the car so I could get the lines right. Now that the Tiger Seal has fully set, I have now prepped, primed, prepped, primed and laid colour down in the first brow.

Getting quite good at this paint malarky if I say so myself  s;) s;)















Needs to fully dry before it can go back on the car  s:) s:)

[MR2Jay13]

First light brow ready to flatten   s8) s8)  

Already got a good shine on it  s;) s;)

[MR2Jay13]

First thing this morning I decided that I needed to get things done this morning as the weather is likely to turn foul this afternoon.

With the first light fully set, seemed like a good idea to fit it so I can get an idea of the finished look. I am happy to say, it is exactly what I was hoping for   s8) s8)  

Just need to remove the passenger side now to give it the same colour coordination  s;) s;)

[PeteT]

Very nice Jay, make me wish I did this to mine when I had the chance. I'll have to pop mine up for sale to give someone else the chance.

Keep up the good work  :-) :-) :-)

[MR2Jay13]

Thanks Pete  s:) s:)  

This one actually looks like it should be on the car now. Very happy with the final look. Just need to do the passenger side to match now

[PeteT]

Did you get the bottomparts for the eye brows?
This is how mine looked

[MR2Jay13]

Yeah, got the bottom parts here but not fitting them.

The fitment is very poor and I'm not sure they add anything to the look

[MR2Jay13]

Looks like I might have set myself a challenging target   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

Get the car on the road by Thursday 12th September   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

I have my Bro In Law coming up from Devon to join us at JAE (MR2OC) and he always seems to end up shotgun in the MK2. As they are having a torrid time of it at the moment, I thought it may be a GREAT booster for him to be able to drive the MK3 over for it's first official outing....

Strictly speaking, all I need to do is swap the engine, fit springs, fit the last adjustable arm and get the geometry set up (bar insurance and tax) so not COMPLETELY impossible   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  

Collecting an engine from TrevsMR2 this weekend and ordering new springs (Tein S-Tech) as well so I'll have all the parts to finish phase 1 here, it's just time.....

Wish me luck guys - I think I need it   s:scared: :scared: s:scared:  

Got the last light sat curing now so should be able to refit that one tomorrow, at least that is that job off the list

[MR2Jay13]

Just a quick update, the second brow is now drying ready to go onto the car  s:) s:)

[StuC]

I love how you are painting headlamps when the engine and springs still need changing.  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

You have deffo set yourself a challenge. I could get the 'pride of 2s' from Saturday's meet to swing by if you need some extra hands?!  s;-) ;-) s;-)   s8) s8)