1994 MR2 GT turbo T-bar

[DAN_REV1_TURBO]

Looks good mate very nice.

[Ryan S]

I do like the look of that. I found fitting the exhaust much easier by slipping the mounts on while it was off the car (i was fitting brand new mounts anyway) and then fitting the mounts while the exhaust was attached. Literally a 5 minute job this way

Either way, changing an MR2 exhaust while lying on my back on a foam mat isn't something I wanna do again anytime soon

I must admit though, I do enjoy some garage tinkering

Couldn't agree more. My garage leaves no room at the front or rear and minimal at the sides. I removed my engine alone in the middle of winter. Not an experience I'll go through again! I do like the tips on that exhaust, Very neat!

[craig]

Looks good mate very nice.

Cheers buddy

I do like the look of that. I found fitting the exhaust much easier by slipping the mounts on while it was off the car (i was fitting brand new mounts anyway) and then fitting the mounts while the exhaust was attached. Literally a 5 minute job this way

Either way, changing an MR2 exhaust while lying on my back on a foam mat isn't something I wanna do again anytime soon

I must admit though, I do enjoy some garage tinkering

Couldn't agree more. My garage leaves no room at the front or rear and minimal at the sides. I removed my engine alone in the middle of winter. Not an experience I'll go through again! I do like the tips on that exhaust, Very neat!

I take my hat off to you, that's some effort!

I would love a double garage where I could open both doors fully at the same time.

Agreed, the exhaust tips do look smart. It's essentially a Mongoose exhaust with larger different design tail pipes. It fits in well with my future plans for the car

Took it out for a blast round the ring road earlier. I can confirm that the exhaust sounds awesome and I wasn't grinning on boost at all, honest.

[Ryan S]

Get some videos up! I'm really struggling for time/motivation to finish mine off so I'm considering firing it down to YVS to get it running/finished. In fairness the time it would take to get it there I could probably have half the work needing done to it finished. I assume all the niggles are sorted with yours now?

[craig]

Get some videos up! I'm really struggling for time/motivation to finish mine off so I'm considering firing it down to YVS to get it running/finished. In fairness the time it would take to get it there I could probably have half the work needing done to it finished. I assume all the niggles are sorted with yours now?

I would mate, but my only available method of doing a video, is my trusty iPhone 6.

Shame about the motivation loss. I've been checking in to see how you're getting on with the car. Be great to see it finished!

Yeah YVS are fantastic, but quite a distance for you to take the car there!

Yep, all niggles now righted by Simon. Car drives faultlessly. Should just be maintenance (and my indecisiveness ) to contend with now.

[Ryan S]

Nowt wrong with an iphone 6 video! Ach that's good then Craig. You'll be glad it's all corrected. It's more time than motivation. So tempted to just throw money at it until it's on the road at this point 😕

I'll keep an eye out for your video 😁

[craig]

Right then, updates!

I lost my rag with the border side skirts. The self tapper screws were catching the door bottom and taking the paint off. To remedy this, I bought a rivet gun in the hope that the shallower head would clear the door. How wrong was I!

I'd had it with them. They were poor quality copies. Rippled. Didn't fit properly and conflicting with the doors. I decided to remove them and chuck them in the skip. They are now no more!

I got hold of some P38 filler and filled and smoothed the screw holes. I then gave the sills 2 coats of hammerite stone shield, then top coated them in hammerite smooth. I've also touched in the missing paint from the door bottoms.

My car now has no side skirts fitted and looks factory from a sill point of view, which I'm happy with, and it currently looks like this:



Next up, I dragged my tired looking import rear bumper down from the loft and handed it over to my bodyshop for a respray.

In the meantime, I removed the number plate light housing and wiring...

I got to work and split it down to component parts and gave it a soak in domestos, rinsed it off and gave it a clean with an old toothbrush.

Once all dry, I T-cut and polished the lenses to bring them up like new. The whole thing laid out looking brand new:



And reassembled:



Much better!

With the bumper back from the bodyshop, I got the numberplate light housing refitted. I used new screws in the lenses as the previous ones were almost rusted solid!

I also replaced the filament type 501 bulbs with white LED items:



Bumper all ready to be fitted along with numberplate holding clips:

[Ben]

Nice. Good call on the skirts

[Magic Beans]

Almost there. We'll get the parked up next to each other at JAE

[craig]

Nice. Good call on the skirts

Cheers bud. I had to snap the skirts in half to get them in Becky's car to take them to the tip.

Almost there. We'll get the parked up next to each other at JAE

Aye lad

Not far off though, like you say. I do have a few other bits planned also.....

[Magic Beans]

[Madabout]

I think on your car it would look good if any of the mr2 tuners do a skirt that literally just covers and extends the sill area only the side intakes remain stock.

I think this would work really well with the front lip extension and the rear bumper spats.

Either way I always really like this car so good to see a photo update

[Magic Beans]

I hope you're out taking photos of your backend, Craig?

[craig]

I think on your car it would look good if any of the mr2 tuners do a skirt that literally just covers and extends the sill area only the side intakes remain stock.

I think this would work really well with the front lip extension and the rear bumper spats.

Either way I always really like this car so good to see a photo update

Thanks for the comments mate, I'm done with bodykits. Maybe its just me getting older. I simply can't be doing with the questionable quality and fitment of aftermarket bodykits. In addition, I think Toyota got it spot on with the original design of the mk2.

I also don't like the fact that side skirts trap dirt and stop you accessing/cleaning the outer sill behind them.

Regarding the rear spats, they're gone now. Update coming.

I hope you're out taking photos of your backend, Craig?

Yes mate, I've been out photographing my ass

[craig]

First, I forgot to mention I picked up a pair of front arch liner trim pieces:



They wouldn't fit with the old Border skirts so they were missing. These are now in place.

Right then, bumper is now on.

First off, got the old one off. Broke most of the black clips to remove the top and bottom bumper rails. I wasn't fussed about this, as I had new replacements anyway.

Rear lights and side trims off, and bumper removed:



Her bare ass!



With my better half assistant, we hung the bumper on the back of the car. I then got it fitted with all brand new bumper rail clips. Rear lights and side trims back on and bumper fully fitted:





And finally, a pic of the new (very bright) new numberplate LED lights:

[Magic Beans]

Much better!

Side shot required!

[Madabout]

I think on your car it would look good if any of the mr2 tuners do a skirt that literally just covers and extends the sill area only the side intakes remain stock.

I think this would work really well with the front lip extension and the rear bumper spats.

Either way I always really like this car so good to see a photo update

Thanks for the comments mate, I'm done with bodykits. Maybe its just me getting older. I simply can't be doing with the questionable quality and fitment of aftermarket bodykits. In addition, I think Toyota got it spot on with the original design of the mk2.

I also don't like the fact that side skirts trap dirt and stop you accessing/cleaning the outer sill behind them.

Regarding the rear spats, they're gone now. Update coming.

I hope you're out taking photos of your backend, Craig?

Yes mate, I've been out photographing my ass

Must be older age for me as I de-kitted my red mr2 before restoring it. Not a major fan. Yours works well as the lip and rear spats could blend well with some subtle sill skirts. I know what you are saying though as I looked at a mr2 and under the skirts there was a lot of holes and rust. Hides a potential problem area and dirt/moisture trap.

[craig]

Much better!

Side shot required!

All in good time sir, a few bits still in the pipeline yet....

Must be older age for me as I de-kitted my red mr2 before restoring it. Not a major fan. Yours works well as the lip and rear spats could blend well with some subtle sill skirts. I know what you are saying though as I looked at a mr2 and under the skirts there was a lot of holes and rust. Hides a potential problem area and dirt/moisture trap.

That red MR2 of yours was stunning! The idea with mine is the same as Phil's car - stock bodywork, with an aftermarket front lip. It's polyurethane, and adds a bit of depth to the front bumper. It also fits perfectly.

[craig]

Right, more faffing!

Since fitting the bumper, I noticed the boot floor could do with a bit of attention:



I also noticed a hole with a grommet missing on the drivers side:



Measured the hole and ordered a 6mm grommet off ebay.

I prepped the boot floor and cleaned it, then gave it a generous coat of hammerite rust protect gloss black smooth. Left it 24 hours to fully cure, and fitted my newly acquired grommet:





Wasn't fussed about presentation, as the boot carpet was to go back in when finished. So that's the boot floor, and deep down both sides fully protected from the elements now.

I also found a bargain factory boot mat on eBay, so bagged it.

Boot carpet back in with all clips, Toyota boot mat cleaned and fitted, the boot now looks like this:





I've also done away with the dual A pillar pod, and that's work in progress at the moment, so more on that later

[Madabout]

Nice work Craig. I have that boot liner in my yellow mr2.