Number 2 MR2

[Trotbags]

While Red is waiting on some seals to arrive from Japan before I can kick on with getting the replacement engine ready to go in, I've managed to get a Paint shop (thanks CJay for the recommendations) sorted to return Yellow to being shiny. This morning she was picked up and I followed the truck down to the shop to discuss the finer details. There was a bit of the "obligatory" teeth sucking by the panel beating crew as they pointed out some imperfections that I hadn't noticed, but its one step closer to getting it back on the road!

[Trotbags]

Did a quick visit to the paint shop yesterday to see how Yellow was getting on. Pretty much done and the paint work is incredible. Hoping to get it back home next week so I can start putting the interior and exterior trim back on it.

[ClanFever]

Lookn' Mellow! - hopefully you get some one on one time with it over the Holiday break

[lasersooby]

Looking really good mate, hopefully the yellow really pops in the sun

[Trotbags]

Thanks . Because I bought the car without the interior/exterior trim fitted, one of the tasks over Christmas will be finding the right screws and bolts so I can reattach everything. Luckily I have some other SW20s I can use for reference!

[Trotbags]

Yellow was delivered home yesterday and looks incredible. Colling and Gray in Levin did the work and even supplied a stack of photos of the work they did. Really pleased with it.

In an earlier wanted post I was looking for a replacement windscreen and was advised by a couple of members on here to get a new one - fast forward and Novus in Levin charged me $430 including GST for a new screen - and that included a new windscreen surround and fitting.

[Swampy]

Looking mint! And good luck with putting it all together

[Trotbags]

Thanks - I spent a bit of time in the weekend sitting in it "pretending" to be driving!

Luckily I can reference one of my other cars to figure out what goes where and in what order. Getting the right size bolts and screws will be the next task.

[Trotbags]

Day 2 of putting Yellow back together. For every 2 steps forward, I take 1 step back but I'm learning a lot about how the body and interior fits together - and what needs to be fitted first. For example, the centre console was fitted 3 times - first time was perfect until I realized that the heater controls fit under the console, second time was great until I discovered the temperature control was broken. Third time, with a replacement heater, and I can move on to the next bit of the puzzle. I am enjoying it though!

[Trotbags]

Getting there piece by piece with Yellow. I found the 3 piece (actually 4 piece) spoiler needs a gasket or seal on the bottom where it sits on the boot and rear guards. As these aren't available, I grabbed some 6mm wide double sided tape from Total Bodyshop supplies in Palmy and stuck it to the underside of the spoiler and wings. I left the tape on the other side so it didn't stick to the body. One of the headlight switches was melted so a new plug was soldered in and headlights fitted - damn they are a tight fit getting them in. A good moment was grabbing an old boot lid from Kane up in Palmy for the boot latch, rubber bungs, spoiler mounts and corner rubber plugs. Next step is trying to unlock the seat belts that have retracted in a bit too far. Hopefully I can save them.

I took the Aquamarine SW20 for a blast the other day and noticed the brake lights stayed on when the car was parked. A quick Google search and I discovered it is a pretty common problem as the cars get older. There is a little plug the sits on the drivers side of the brake pedal that pushes against the brake light switch when not the brake isn't in use, keeping the brake lights off. When you push down on the brake pedal, it releases the switch and the brake lights come on. The little plug is plastic and over time gets brittle and breaks. Google suggested the remains of the plug would be sitting in the footwell - and it was. A new one from Toyota was $5.00 and, aside from lying upside down in the footwell like a contortionist to fit it, it was a simple fix.

[Trotbags]

The weekend saw more progress on with the front bumper fitted after a fight with a mounting bolt that wasn't going in straight. Sidelights fitted with new bulbs. I also bought the rear window moulding trim from Nick on the MR2 club in the US - he managed to organise a short run of new PVC trim. That allowed me to fit the moulding along with the rest of the interior rear trim and the engine side covers. I've left the trim black at this stage as it compliments the rest of the revitalised black trim. The CarPro DLUX plastic stuff from Detail Depot is bloody fantastic for old trim.

It is starting to look like a car!

[Benckj]

Looken real sharp. I quite like the yellow with nice black trim.

[GDII]

Works well with the REV1 colour scheme.

[gruk]

Did you manage to get the seatbelts sorted? It’s a bit of a balancing act. I spent ages learning that trick when I replaced one a few months back, they need to be the right way up and at just the right angle to release. Quite a clever mechanism- I hate it

[Trotbags]

Did you manage to get the seatbelts sorted? It’s a bit of a balancing act. I spent ages learning that trick when I replaced one a few months back, they need to be the right way up and at just the right angle to release. Quite a clever mechanism- I hate it

Yes! It is a complete bastard of a thing to sort - you literally have to mount it and then carefully jiggle it about 20 times to get it to slowly release extra lengths of belt without letting it retract back in. Many a curse word was said. I have grabbed another set and will replace the passenger one as it is very slow to retract.

The fun/curse is that there is a definite order in putting things back together as I've found out numerous times. On the plus side, it gives me a chance to clean the trim and rubber which has come up really well. Dishwashing liquid and an old toothbrush removes most of the crud.