My Blue 2000 1MZ MR2 - Jrichards20 Fast Road/Touring Build

[Anonymous]

You to mark! Ah ok, well il change that and probably the uj as well. Yeah I thInk the 1MZ is going to be the way forward. I'm sure I will call upon you for a fair few bits! Did you do the coilovers yourself?

I was thinking of the Honda, but haven't seen any set in stone, drive in drive out conversions. And I would guess a K20 would be similar price to 2Gr.

As topdownman, great to meet you btw, advised to reorder my list, I've detailed what needs to be done asap and then what can come along later!

All items to pass MOT
Headlight polish, might as well put HIDs in there at the same time
Windscreen wipers, lightweight ones (marks looked nice)
Windscreen wash
Handbrake cable, will just tighten it, but will need to be replaced at some point.
Rear light bulbs.

Then is going to be complete suspension and steering upgrade.
New steering knuckle and uj
Upgraded ARBs
Coilovers (after testing BC coilovers they seem perfect!! Would be around the two softest settings, will need to look into other cheaper options if available as if I'm using them on softest option maybe I don't need that expensive Coilies.
While I'm there, anything rusty or needing preserving will be changed and hammerited.

If all issues are then solved, it's time to get my name down on the waiting list for engine transfer and do some prep for that.

The soft top is well and truly shot, so as soon as I can get my hands on a hardtop il be stripping the softtop and fitting the hardtop.
Lovely new brake fluid will be added, already has HEL braided lines and refurb calipers so they will stay, but EBC discs and pads will need to go on.
Hopefully my team dynamics wide wheels with R888s will fit, so they will go on.

(Planned engine in!) -with radiator, battery, clutch etc.
gearstick cage mounts and bushes???

Front and midship bracing

Then onto appearance mods.
TS front bumper.
Side skirts
Modified rear bumper

Spoiler. Underneath sheeting with diffuser lip, splitter.

And the rest can come in any order, I'm sure il see some bits pop up and grab them early  s:) s:)  

Large C-One Style Side Scoops
Wrap in black.
Short shift
Half Alcanatara/Half Leather seats, but OEM.
Small bump ariel.
Headlight Covers - Vinyl, not spending money on the expensive ones because i'm cheap!
Larger Centre console - the same one as Muffdans
Engine Start stop button - again similar to Muffdans
Embedded Touchscreen/Sat Nav/Radio in standard radio place.
Keyhole covers
Daytime Running Lights
Upgraded Speakers
Darkened Side repeaters
Midship badges
Rover Armrest.

I'm slowly gathering pictures of various roadsters to get some ideas, and hopefully create some sort of collage for what I want to get it like  s:) s:)

Plans sound good, check out the rotrex 2zz thread, the guy doing that is refurbing all the bits on the suspension, they are coming up like new.

Yep did all the coilovers, arbs, rear arms, rear subframe myself. The "only" job I didn't do so far is fit the engine..although I wish I had  s:D s:D

[tomaky]

Definitely need to take precaution, ive put a spare pair of goodridges on the rear. Ive now got over a inch of clearance. The fronts dont appear to be an issue. Would of changed them all but i ran out of tine and had a nightmare. Threads and a snapped bleed nipple didnt help! Had to fit another caliper luckily it was from the silver scrap car it loomed like a refurbished/pattern part and hasn't Given me any issues.

[J03]

Welcome to the wonderful world of de-rusting a Roadster. It's such fun   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[Jrichards20]

.

[shnazzle]

That's a lot of work! Looking forward to this thread and all

[Jrichards20]

Headlights polished, handbrake adjusted, windscreen wash filled up and brake lights changed all with an hour! I love how simple the MR2 is to work on! All ready for MOT tomorrow morning!

I literally did a minute job on each headlight with Colgate, I could have spend half an hour with some fine grit and t cut but that will come later, for now I just want to pass.

[Jrichards20]

It passed!!! Woo!! Spend today cleaning it  s;) s;)  so finally I can upload some pictures! It's really come up nicely, only needed a bit of tlc  s:) s:)  




Just need to de gunk the old badges, but haven't got any stuff to do that, need to buy some more.

Next week, inspect the suspension and steering to see what needs to be replaced.

[Mightyquin]

Excellent news!   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

[1979scotte]

Well done mate.
Where is my ride in the lotus then?

[Anonymous]

Good work, seems like a good buy  s:) s:)

[Jrichards20]

Got a slight problem, took it for a drive and about half an hour, the car got very very hot! With a burning smell. I think it could be one of two things.
Either when tightening the handbrake it's rubbing on the discs and causing the engine to over work. The rear discs were hot, but not excessively for 30mins on the motorway rubbing.
Or
Clutch is  sfuck fuck sfuck ed as it smelt a little like clutch. But would that cause overheating?

[Jrichards20]

Well done mate.
Where is my ride in the lotus then?

Haha sorry mate! But I'm far more excited about my new two than I ever was about the Elise! Just didn't have the power. Just like a bumpy non power steering mr2  s:) s:)

[Jrichards20]

its definitely the clutch, took it up a steep hill, floored the accelerator and ofcause the car started revving with no movement, so need a new clutch. But luck (the missus called it fu*k*ing typical) a nice 1MZ from a lowish mileage Rx300 has already been sourced for me, sending payment over this weekend and shipping will take two weeks   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:    using man maths as always, this wasn't as early as I wanted to buy the engine, but its saved me a few hundreds pounds   s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

got to love man maths! I favourite form of accountancy. My girlfriend (being an accountant) begs to differ!

Great news though  s:D s:D

[Jrichards20]

Problem is mark, I'm also an accountant. So I use both of the best bits and come up with a figure that couldn't be further from the truth when explaining to her!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

Who needs a nice house any hoo!

[Anonymous]

Problem is mark, I'm also an accountant. So I use both of the best bits and come up with a figure that couldn't be further from the truth when explaining to her!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

Who needs a nice house any hoo!

Haha, brilliant  s:D s:D

[saicab]

That car was a bargain!,
Just what I'm looking for

[Jrichards20]

EDIT: PM'd to keep the thread on topic  s:) s:)

[jonty]

Good job on the man maths! I'm excited to see the progress once the Lexus engine arrives.

If you are after a stock clutch to keep the car going on the cheap in the mean time I have one from my 1zz that you can have for not much... it did 10k of mainly dual carriageway commuting and then the engine gave up the ghost, so is in fine and dandy condition.

[Jrichards20]

Thanks jonty, but think I probably need to save as much money as possible at the moment!  s:) s:)  

Took of the frunk plastics to have a look. It didn't look good, but there didn't appear to be any surprises. So plan for the moment carries on, a complete rub down, im on the hunt for a new UJ, that's my main priority to see if it fixes my slight steering issue. Although I know that other bits could also contribute. The arb will just be rubbed down and treated for the moment, if needed I can change this after the engine swap.

Goals for next 2 weeks:

De-Rust and Paint steering Rack
De-Rust and Paint ARB
De-Rust and Treat PS pipes
Check ABS pump bracket.
Buy and Fit new UJ
Hopefully, if they fit, fit my Team Dynamics Pro Race wheels with R888s.

Give it a blast to see if that has sorted out my steering and whether I have some grip.

If all goes well, I will order the coilovers and get them fitted. That way, im hoping, guessing, praying that will be all the car needs grip wise!

Poor untreated front  s:( s:(  

[J03]

New UJ's are available from   m http://www.tcbparts.co.uk m  - about 3/4 down the page, part number is T.C.BMR2UJ

That ABS pump bracket will be shot as well mate, mine was like a slice of Viennetta!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  If yours can't be saved, a new one is just shy of £70. Both ABS & PAS pumps will be corroded to hell underneath as well, so try & get those cleaned up best you can   s:) s:)

[Anonymous]

New UJ's are available from   m http://www.tcbparts.co.uk m  - about 3/4 down the page, part number is T.C.BMR2UJ

That ABS pump bracket will be shot as well mate, mine was like a slice of Viennetta!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  If yours can't be saved, a new one is just shy of £70. Both ABS & PAS pumps will be corroded to hell underneath as well, so try & get those cleaned up best you can   s:) s:)

Mine were the same  s:( s:(

[Jrichards20]

£90 is a lot cheaper than I thought it was going to cost me  s:) s:)  Just looked on Gt4Play and a kit of polybushes cost £250...  Do I need all of them? Basically, I just want to change what is needed to get the car back to normal performance. Anything that needs to be changed will be upgraded for better aftermarket items. But I don't really want to change anything yet unless it needs to be changed.

So the UJ definitely needs changing, if I just brush up the pumps will this cause any more damage if I don't replace them straight away? I know the coilovers are a must, UJ is a must. Are the bushes a must? Anything else that definitely needs to be changed? Or can the rest wait until it breaks haha (or I have got a bit more money spare)

[Jrichards20]

Just got it weighed, 980KG with half a tank of fuel! So I'm very happy with that. with the extra weight of the engine and me lightening some bits and pieces, It should be kept below 1000KG, which is perfect.

Steering UJ, JDL bumpers and R888s got collected today, so time to go out and fit them. Hopefully some pictures to follow in the next couple of hours!

[Jrichards20]

Ok only managed to get the UJ changed! Took about 2 and a half hours!  s:( s:( . But I managed it in the end! I was then going to fit the wheels, took the oem wheels off and tried to put the new ones on and the wheel nuts don't fit in the holes of the wheel. So need to go and buy some aftermarket nuts.

Then looked at the bumpers, doesn't look like the diffuser will fit onto the JDL one. But both are going to require a lot of prep work and sanding down, they have gone in the shed and that is going to take a while to get them back into good condition. So not as much as I planned but at least I got some of it done!