Southern Belle

[Petrus]

Oh my....

The strut brace is in and...  does not fit. Apparently it is asymetric and thus LHD/LHD specific. The wiper motor is the crux. Not by much, but almost = not at all.

Ok, I should have made sure and asked the vendor, but since my address is SPAIN!!! I think they are at least as much at fault.
That does not solve the fitment issue though and sending it back is more hassle than modding the brace.

I was thinking about not refitting the vanity panel anyway so that is one thing that needs not be cut up more.

First greasing the strut bearings. Have a neat, very multi purpose syringe that will be of use.

[Petrus]

Ok,  cut & rewelded.
Hopefully-1 the cubby lid still opens far enough.

Paint in a moment.
Hopefully-2 it dries a bit quick so I can to fit it before I leave for the coast: It´s the Malagueña´s birthday and she wants to visit Grazalema. It is a jaw dropping drive so would lóve to try feel the difference.

[Joesson]

Petrus saidFirst greasing the strut bearings. Have a neat, very multi purpose syringe that will be of use.

@Carolyn suggested using the rubber cap as a " force pump" to do that job -fill the cap with grease and push it into place.
Not tried that myself as I regreased the bearings when off the car, but they did need grease and that was at around 60K.

[Petrus]

Thanks for the cup-pump tip.
With the syringe I can ínject´ it in the bearing. Then with the space filled up the cap push should do the rest.

One of the next things on the to-do list, is changing power steering fluid for which the syringe will do service again 

About the hopes...  the second did not apply as no, it did not fit. Got to cut & weld a bit more. Maybe tomorrow. If not then later. My agenda for the coming days is rather taken up by the girls 

Pretty sure the lid will not fit anymore. Well, fit yes, but not open. So it will have to go. The good side is that without the vanity shield and lid, adding the brace will amount to adding lightness as they weigh more than the brace 

The sunvisor plugs did not pan out either: The envelope was in the mail box mas pronto que pronto but only the envelope. It was not international travel proof and the plugs had fallen through the seam that opened up.
Still taken the sunvisors off though; piece of black tape over the hole, screws back in:  If you don´t look at it, you don´t see it  and I do see more. All sky ofcourse but it does add up to the perception of more space. 

[Petrus]

All near bláck sky 

Stormy to boot.

Still going up to Grazalema.

The downside is that it will be slippy so take seriously longer.
The upside is that it will be slippy and thus sliding at lower speeds 

[shnazzle]

Always appreciate that aspect of slippery roads Fun without speed. Safe fun!

[Topdownman]

I use my froot lid with a front strut brace that only allows it to open a few centimetres. I just ooen it and pull forward as the hinges just pull off and on.

To refit I just push it onto the rear hinges and close.

i wouldnt want to be without a lid for it!

[Petrus]

GREAT ride.
Málaga - Ronda - Grazalema - Ubrique - Cortes de la Frontera - Manilva - Málaga.
So we crossed the Serranito de Ronda, Sierra de Nieves and anther national park I forgot the name of.
Just about deserted secundary road só quiet that we saw a Genet Cat cross the road!
On days like this you feel living like a prince in Andalucia.

The ´car´ did only one step wrong on a véry undulated broken patch of wet tarmac mid corner in the clouds.

Near Ronda we saw a plaque on the wall of a venta so just hád to stop and have a laugh..



Grazalema:



The one of three who actually is a nurse:



and a patented solution for the toilet paper roll...




Long day of driving with some rain so a good test for no-lid on the frump bucket.

[Petrus]

I use my froot lid with a front strut brace that only allows it to open a few centimetres. I just ooen it and pull forward as the hinges just pull off and on.

To refit I just push it onto the rear hinges and close.

i wouldnt want to be without a lid for it!

Just tried it and no go. Not enough space even for thát.
Not a speck in it though after several 100 kms.

Right, time to paint the brace now.

[Carolyn]

I have the advantage of being close to an excellent breaker, so getting another cover for very little dosh is no problem for me.

So I got the jig saw out:

[Petrus]

I have the advantage of being close to an excellent breaker, so getting another cover for very little dosh is no problem for me.

So I got the jig saw out:

Thanks for that; looks seriously trick!!

I am more of a simpleton and thought it a good argument to shed the lid weight. Remember the 300 sunny days/year here. Currently using up the grey/damp ration quickly 

The numer of breakers with MR2s in the UK does make me a bit envious. Last month I sourced quite extensively and found thréé in the whole of Spain; with most pieces gone and silly, I mean SILLY! prices.

The upside is that it is a very rare car. On the road trip yesterday counted a dozen Porscháhs (proper ones; not counting the Cayenne or Panamera) and two Fewwawis.
Al of those serious road blocks as they are simply too wide to go off the main through routes. Only two of the upmarket VWs driven by a male. Both Fewwawis were not driven; parked at the official restaurant.

Meanwhile painted the brace a second time.
First coat I dried in front of the fire. The salon and kitchen smell richly of solvent so will no doubt get a lecture from the resident female when she gets in.
Hello dear, happy to see you too 

[Petrus]

Unfortunately no time quite yet to try it out. Also wet roads with plenty of mud coating.

[moredun]

With the right brace ....

[Petrus]

With the right brace ....

Nice one indeed!
Asymetric as well and would have been impossible to make fit.

As I wrote every advantage has its corresponding disadvantage; the two sides of a coin.
The vanity cover looks réally neat and the cubby cover is icing on that cake. I like that attention to detail a lot.

The downside is that is covers everything but fluid bottle caps meaning it needs to be taken out for anything else ánd, although only plastic, it is not weightless.
Same thing the cubby lid.

Also, any brace demands the cover to be cut and now I have not.

Was thinking, well, still am, about taking the cubby out as it is ever so easy to refit if a charming company would want to take an overnight bag along. Sofar have used it only once; for shopping which I really should not have been doing with the car.

[Call the midlife!]

With the right brace ....

Tidy that, if you haven't already done so, I got some U channel rubber trim for mine, rubber coated wire clipping that just sleeves over the cut edge of the frunk plastic.
You might have to round the corners out a bit so it doesn't kink but it goes round a fairly tight corner well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Petrus]

It cleared up here so asked my son to do the horses and I went out for a spin.

First down to/through the village (cobbles), then up the Molinillo (switchbacks), back over the highway and then the test track.
About 12 degrees C., around sundown so everything getting rather damp. Got the cheapo rubber up to about 45 degrees and had great fun before going back to the farm.

Obviously too light an experience to go by but yes the difference is rather notable:
Immediately, just going down the track and later on the cobblestones the ride at the front is firmer. It is like a heavier set of springs. Rolling at more speed it stays more tought with less perceived bit roll; not the actual roll through the corners as the initial movement upon steering in; less delay in the car ´setting´.
Notably easier to keep the inside line thus more confidence inspiring which leads yoú to keep the inside line better, etc. and ... the movement of the doors in the frames is more obvious. Bring on the door spacers!

[shnazzle]

Good stuff! That front brace is magic.
Speaking of which... Have you got the lower center body brace?

[Petrus]

Speaking of which... Have you got the lower center body brace?

Nope and probably not going to.
I plan to stop the stiffening at the door spacers.

Next is origami with the rear muffler.

Lighter wheels are very much on the want list.

I´d also like a front splitter to get a bít less lift on the highway. At 180 cm. wide, 10 cm. deep, even at 20 degrees angle it is effectively downward force of the wind pressure on 360 cm2. At 120 km/h that amounts to 25 kilos pulling the bumper down without adding áctual weight.
At 60 - 80 through a corner it still is 12 - 15 kilos more load on the tyres without any extra centrifugal push.

[Carolyn]

I was a sceptic when it came to the underbrace.  Got one stupid cheap and tried it.  Made a huge difference, not so much to cornering as smoothing out the potholes!

As for less air under the car....

[shnazzle]

Lift at speed is often due to the air dams missing off the front bumper. They make an odd amount of difference

[Petrus]

Wow Carolyn, that number plate would see my car overheat in summer! It is blocking half the radiator opening!!
Mine is the oblong shape so sitting pretty high, leaving more open area but stíll hampering enough for me to ask the Spanish Ministry of Transport  for a reduced sized on the ground of cooling problems.

[shnazzle]

Look at the great big slot in the bumper though to compensate

[Petrus]

Look at the great big slot in the bumper though to compensate

If only the cubby would not sit behind it 

The cubby out and a slot in the bonnet would be a cooler option. Literally.

Anyone have a lightweight bonnet with a slot for cheap?

[Petrus]

The OEM muffler pipes are in the post; thanks to Idnan.

Dug out the carbon bike muffler.
Straight through absorbtion damping.
Effective internal length 47 cm, 52 mm. internal diameter with a turbulence inducing´venturi´ restriction at 2/3s.

Not sure how effective it wil be on a, for a bike, low tune slow revving engine. Still 140 hp after all.
It was quite loud on an 800 4-cil with 125 hp.

How much does the cat. do in this respect?


p.s. found a direct with/without cat comparison;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MY_IqMwrs0

I´d say it reduced the level with about half and takes the sharp rasp off. The restriction it constitutes, indicates much the same. Stands to reason as it basically is a ´filter´.

I am véry curious about it.
It should make for a neat deep sound; fingers crossed it is moot enough to pass periodic inspection.

While at the subject of the exhaust and following the previous cooling theme; what would taking out the black heat shield do?
Seems that it would result in a lót more ventilation of the engine compartment.
Cannot see an obvious problem when running with the OEM muffler heay sink. Do I miss something?

[Petrus]

Also on the list are two:





Thanks to Lee´s tube,  now know to get the driver one out with a torx through two holes