Meet Maureen she's a Silver 04

[Garfy]

Think I've got it, this thread is basically "what have you done to your MR2 today" or a digest of progress or lack of change.

Well, last year I decided I wanted another mid engine car, previously I bought the G/F an MGF and ended up driving it more than her.
Drove it across France through the Pyrenees mountain around the edge of Spain, boarded a ferry and ended up in Gran Canaria for around five years.

My thoughts last year were as I'm turning 50 this year I need a two seater again   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  . My daily drive was Kia Magentis with 60K on the clock, the plan is Maureen for the summer and Kia for the winter.
Started looking at cars last year and reading, was looking for 2 seats, mid range, reliable and fun.
The MR2 came out tops imho.

Joined this site, asked a few questions, went and have a drive in someone else's MR2, decided yes please, I want one.
Found Maureen on this site, went to have a look. Everything looked good so in December 16 went and bought it, drove it for a week and placed it in storage until April when the Kia broke down.
She's silver, has 52k on the clock, when I bought her she had two Yokohama's on the front, a falken and another different tyre on the rear.

[Garfy]

Reading through I decided I don't want to go down the route of turbo or increasing the BHP, I would like to see what can be done with the stock engine and possibly a few MODs.
My initial thoughts were new lighter alloys (the stock ones are pretty mashed up and not pretty), I like my acceleration so a lightened fly wheel with possibly a stage 2 clutch, K&N air filter (cause I like the sound), pushy out air vents on the side to get more cold air into the engine bay (I have assumed these would do this). I like the look of style bars so I wanted one. The fog lights look like a scene from the moon but still work. Matching tyres all around.

On a personal note, I have worked on engines but am more used to things going wrong than right. Therefore with no tools and the aim is not to kill the car, I go down the route of going to a mechanic for mechanical issues.

What have I done since I got Maureen.
Paid through the nose for a "frenzy style bar" to be sent from the US and fitted that, but I am pleased with the look.
Had two Yokohama AD09's fitted to the rear.
Had a 50,000 service by a local mechanic.
Had a new radiator fitted as the old one started spraying stuff all over the place.

Due to some of the above this has pushed the lightened fly wheel back a little while, not sure how long this will be now as I have since found other issues   s:scared: :scared: s:scared:

[Garfy]

Finally had some time to attempt the rudimentary stuff.
Cleaned the MAF and reset the ECU
Attempted restoration on one of the headlights, improved it but not a lot of change so believe the issue will be inside the headlight   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  
Took the cover underneath the hood off to find the attached   s:crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: s:crazyeyes:  
Have been informed I will need a new one and have been in touch with a supplier, I get paid on Friday but feel the flywheel slipping further away    s:( s:(

[Garfy]

Today I decided to have a go at a calliper, Jack up, wheel off, wire brush, wash down with thinners, two coats of paint on the calliper and back together.
Fours hours, three more to do   s:scared: :scared: s:scared:  
Now you can see the state of the wheels with the attached files   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  [attachment=1:wixeygn0] ia1 CalliperPre.jpg ia1 [/attachment:wixeygn0][attachment=2:wixeygn0] ia2 CalliperPost.jpg ia2 [/attachment:wixeygn0][attachment=0:wixeygn0] ia0 CalliperWheel.jpg ia0 [/attachment:wixeygn0]

[jvanzyl]

Looks like an awesome fixer upper!  :-) :-) :-)  Well done on the progress man!

[Garfy]

Today I received a new UJ and some hel brake pipes   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  got to save now to get them put on.
Was thinking, if I change the UJ and get to go  around corners, I'd better have the ability to stop as well   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

[jvanzyl]

Can help with the brakes if you want... but there's only so much you can do without taking them fully apart/ renewing the calipers...

[Garfy]

 s:bowdown: :bowdown: s:bowdown:  Thank  you for the offer sir, I may take you up on it.
Today possibly, on with calliper cleaning (weather dependant)

[Garfy]

 s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  2nd calliper cleaned and painted, 150 mile round trip to Crawley and back on Sunday. The G/F drove it back due to the evaporation of a decent brandy with an old friend.
She says she enjoyed the ride   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

Two more callipers to paint, HEL brake pipes to swap, UJ to be replaced, fog lights to be replaced, gear change  bushings to be replaced and I'd like to polish it sometime.
This starts to become a full time job   s:crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: s:crazyeyes:

[StuC]

Full time job is necessary to support the full time mods that will be inevitable!!!  s;-) ;-) s;-)

[Garfy]

Third Calliper painted today   s:D s:D  Not fantastic, but better than what they were. Hope to get a dremel type thing one day and take it back to bare metal before painting them up.
May push the boat out and attempt the last one tomorrow (also gets me out of the way of baby sitting   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  )
Could also attempt to take rear light clusters off, to clean out condensation. (if said baby sitting becomes protracted   s:( s:(  )
Or maybe just involve seven year old girl in removing wheel.

Only thing, I couldn't undo the rear wheel nuts by hand or standing/jumping on the wheel spanner (would have been stuffed with a puncture), ended up removing the pole that the washing line sits in to get some better leverage.
Unfortunately the washing line now sits at an angle (not sure if the G/F will notice as I normally put the washing out)   s:scared: :scared: s:scared:

[StuC]

That looks pretty neat to me.   :-) :-) :-)  

My kids love to get involved in working on the car.  s:-D :-D s:-D

[Garfy]

Finally managed to get the last calliper painted   s:D s:D  but it was made easier by having to get it replaced as the old one was binding and heating the brake disc   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  
Also paid to get the brake pipes replaced with the HEL ones I had sourced, time to start saving again and chip away at my credit card bill, whilst I look for what I would like to do next   s8) s8)

[puma2]

Maureen will be keeping you busy for a while good work on your brakes  s:D s:D  
lets no how you get on  s:D s:D

[Garfy]

Unfortunately i think that will be it for this year unless I get a winfall somewhere   s:cry: :cry: s:cry:  
Already been an expensive year , have to chip away at the credit card for a little while   s:) s:)  
So now only little things I can do on my own and enjoy the drive   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

[Garfy]

This week I have added roadster sills, Today I have noticed a small lid issue which I'm attempting to fix   s:) s:)

[jvanzyl]

Shucks... Duct tape for now, and then maybe get your name down at Jack Smith's as the waiting list will be a couple of months I reckon..

[Garfy]

Vinyl repair patch cut into 4 strips with contact adhesive. Looks ok from a distance and perfect with the top down   s8) s8)

[Garfy]

Well I bought a new manifold (thought it time to get rid of the pre-cats) and wanted to lose the heat shield as well because I think it's one of the rattles   s:? :? s:?  
So today I gave it a go at wrapping said manifold. Watched a few youtube videos, asked for help here and this is what I came up with   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

[Garfy]

[attachment=2:rhz57g5m] ia2 WTF.jpg ia2 [/attachment:rhz57g5m][attachment=1:rhz57g5m] ia1 1.jpg ia1 [/attachment:rhz57g5m][attachment=0:rhz57g5m] ia0 2.jpg ia0 [/attachment:rhz57g5m]

[Garfy]

[attachment=2:2qp4ur4r] ia2 3.jpg ia2 [/attachment:2qp4ur4r][attachment=1:2qp4ur4r] ia1 4.jpg ia1 [/attachment:2qp4ur4r][attachment=0:2qp4ur4r] ia0 Finish.jpg ia0 [/attachment:2qp4ur4r]
Hopefully OK, just making it up as I go along   s:D s:D  Now to contact someone to fit it   s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:

[The Other Stu]

You not going to have a go yourself?
Can do this with a couple of stands or some ramps.

[m1tch]

You should be able to do it yourself, you can see where all the bolts are meant to go, start soaking them now and it shouldn't be too hard - the way I think about working on cars is that they were built on a factory production line so are meant to be simple to bolt together. Usual things that cause issues I have found so far is access and rusted bolts - always good to dig into the car especially if its not a daily drive and take your time over it.

[Garfy]

 s:bounce: :bounce: s:bounce:  Currently it is my daily drive, even s,o I would give it a go (as I have a spare) IF this wasn't my COMPLETE tool kit   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  
The heat shield bolts are soo rusted you can't make them out, but the main reason is, I'm used to  sfuck fuck sfuck ing things up over the years and it's took me 30 years to get this car.
I will attempt small jobs as my tool bag grows, otherwise leave it to the professionals   s:| :| s:|  
[attachment=0:2tn8jeqz] ia0 ToolKit.jpg ia0 [/attachment:2tn8jeqz]

[Justin.D]

:bounce: Currently it is my daily drive, even s,o I would give it a go (as I have a spare) IF this wasn't my COMPLETE tool kit   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  
The heat shield bolts are soo rusted you can't make them out, but the main reason is, I'm used to **** things up over the years and it's took me 30 years to get this car.
I will attempt small jobs as my tool bag grows, otherwise leave it to the professionals   s:| :| s:|  
ToolKit.jpg

That's pretty much how my toolbag was when I got this car. My confidence is growing everytime I pick up a spanner/screwdriver etc. The help from the forums has been awesome. You'll be out of your comfort zone in no time. It's just nuts and bolts really