One more!

[coanda]

I think I used to get about 200 miles out of my SC before I chickened out - that last quarter drops very quickly!

[BMR2L]

Well, the container has just been delivered, but apparently the car wasn't secured well enough so there is some damage to it.

I'm still on the other side of the world so I don't know yet how bad it is. My wife is supposed to be sending pics.

-Alan

[coanda]

Fks sake. Hope its not too bad. Any comeback on the shippers?

[BMR2L]

Should be. Its insured but if it really wasn't properly tied down then that sounds like negligence to me. Trying to stay calm until I see pics...

[BMR2L]

Got pics. Its not too bad. Slight scuff on the front bumper but rear bumper is a mess.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanlaird/ ... 2675531993

Thats a new skin at least, and maybe the foam insert. Biggest challenge will be getting a match on the transfers. I've got various genuine ones but not for the rear.

Can anyone recommend somewhere thats good with MR2 bodywork in Scotland?

-Alan

[coanda]

On my phone so haven't seen the pics, but if you are still out in Japan, try and get the parts there. I've just tried to get new bumper components and
Toyota computer says no to all the bits other than the crash bars.

[un1eash]

That does look a mess. I don't think you can get the original decals anymore. Best bet for a bumper would be a used one.

[BMR2L]

Back home now so had a closer look. The bumper bar is quite bent almost to the point of touching the body behind it. Hopefully with the impact(s) being well away from the mounting points it hasn't passed any of the force on into the car.

Currently having an email argument with the shippers who insist it was done to their standard procedure and as such I should claim my insurance. I very nearly didn't take insurance out at all as the rate is a bit silly. They also want me to submit a claim within 30 days of delivery. The chances of getting it on the road and getting any kind of quote from a repairer within that time must be slim.

The crew left behind the wooden battens that were placed before and after it and down the side of it to keep it in place. They're about 1.5 inches high so it wouldn't take a lot to make the car roll over them. The battens holding the Mitsubishi in place last year were much meatier. Will push a picture of these up to the flickr album I linked to earlier in the thread.

Now trying to find insurance for it so I can take it for its MOT.

On a positive note the engine arrived wrapped in polythene in a beautifully made crate. But is sitting in the middle of the garage preventing me from putting the car in... Thats what I get for leaving the wife in charge of the unloading arrangements.

-Alan

[coanda]

This could help out as a fix?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TOYOTA-MR2-MK ... 1c311a49d4

[oukie]

Hi Alan,

I'm in Scotland and I have a few spares I will have a look if I have a bumper skin in the garage and or a bar (you'd think I'd know but Ive got ALOT of spare's in there, and frankly aint looked in a few months)

Chris.

[BMR2L]

Thanks Chris and coanda appreciate the help.

I dropped into my local Toyota (Helensburgh) on the off-chance that they could get me parts but no such luck. The guy there at least was very apologetic and said if there was anything else I needed he'd do what he could to help.

Instead I've managed to get hold of a used bumper thats in decent nick from Neil Jones. At least the reinforcement bar and the skin are good but the strip along the bottom that holds the skin on was a bit crumbly to say the least. I had a hell of a job getting the bolts out (only one snapped, quite pleased with that). I suppose I'll need to get used to the typical condition of UK used parts... I might be able to get mine pressed straight but for the moment the crumbly one is back on with the un-crumbly bolts from mine.

The argument with the shipper on whose fault it was came to nought so I've got a claim in against the shipping insurance. But that can't go any further until I get an estimate from a coachworks and I can't do that until its on the road. The stumbling block for that now is that the Japanese export documents have gone AWOL. Supposedly they were sent to the UK shipping agent for customs clearance but they haven't been sent on to me so another round of hissy emails has gone out to the shipping company.

On a more positive note I have managed to get it all ready for its MOT despite risking frostbite out in the garage over the last couple of weeks. I'll write up something when I have a chance on wiring in the fog light and swapping the speedo.

-Alan

[BMR2L]

Got the MOT done on Wednesday at Toyota Helensburgh. No problems at all despite the tyres looking a bit decrepit. They were very complimentary about its condition. Lovely drive over there so really looking forward to being fully legal. I must have passed at least 3 police patrols on the way there who took absolutely no notice of my lack of number plates.

The shipping agent found the deregistration certificate so I took all the paperwork into DVLA Glasgow yesterday. Hopefully I will get the tax disc in the post tomorrow and I can get plates made up so nearly there

Alan

[MartG]

Good to hear that

[BMR2L]

After a few more holdups its all done and fully road legal now.

There was no sign of the tax disc after a week so I rang DVLA to see what was going on. Of course they don't make it easy to talk to someone who can actually help you but after 4 phone calls I did speak to someone in the local office who said it had 'just' been sent out. Coincidence?

The next delay was the ebay charlatan I ordered the plates from. I ordered Monday morning, got the shipped message on Wed evening and the plates arrived Sat morning by some crappy budget courier. Not quite the claimed 'order before 3pm, ship same day by 1st class' service.

Now just need some appropriate weather.

-Alan

[BMR2L]

Mr T's estimate to paint front and rear bumpers and lower valance --- 983.70

[coanda]

Lol - gotta keep them main dealers paid for somehow!

There's gotta be a good paint/bodyshop near you somewhere? I'd look for those doing classics for a better chance of a good job.

[BMR2L]

I think the insurance company might just cut me a cheque and let me get on with it so the higher the estimate the better.

If I can find a good restoration body shop then I'd definitely prefer that as I want to get a few other things fixed up like the mis-matched front wing. If anyone can recommend somewhere in West or Central Scotland please let me know.

Alan

[BMR2L]

Heres what i did for the rear fog light.

Initially I got hold of a UK dash harness thinking I would graft the bits related to the fog lights onto my JDM harness. However as I dug around I found that the JDM car is already wired for optional front fog lights. This uses the same relay as European cars with the switch on the panel under the dash next to the coin holder. There is a connector taped up under the dash that fits right onto a UK switch and operates the relay no problem.

The lead for the switch was a little too short to reach into the binnacle so I popped the terminals out of the switch housing, made a short extension with spade terminals and popped the connector back on. The JDM wiring doesn't operate the tell-tale but that was easily fixed by earthing the tell-tale terminal. With a UK spec switch on the binnacle it all looks completely standard without having to hack around at all with the harness.

The relay only operates if the tail lights are on which I thought was a UK requirement but now not so sure having looked at the MOT testing specs. This could be one place where the IVA test is stricter than the MOT.

Obviously there is no wiring going to the back of the car instead it goes the other way to a connector near the sidelight/indicator connection. So
I ran a new feed from the fuse box alongside the existing harness, through the engine bay and into the boot. I already have a feed going the other way that takes the reverse light signal into the cabin for the satnav. With hindsight I'd probably have preferred to run this through the offside rear quarter alongside the aerial wiring so that its all out of sight. Next time.

For now I've just got a generic fog light housing dangling under the bumper but at some point I'd like to do the JDM rear cluster hack to put the lights in there. I've run the lead out through the lock drain hole in the floor of the boot. The dangly fog light looks better than I thought it would.

Hope this is of interest or use to someone.

Alan

[BMR2L]

And the speedo conversion.

Getting the speedo out of the instrument cluster is pretty straightforward. Just unclip the front clear plastic, unscrew at the back and its out.

I had a miles speedo but the odometer had a silly 300 odd thousand miles on it which I wanted to do something about. Being a bit obsessive compulsive I wanted to get the mile reading the same as the equivalent of the existing km speedo.

Disassembling the speedo. The needle is carefully pulled off and the face unscrews. The mechanism can then be separated into two halves, the front with the number barrel and the rear with the magnetic drive and the reduction gears. However I still couldn't get the number rings off of their spindle to rearrange them. They are held on very tightly and I didn't want to destroy it by trying too hard. No doubt to deter exactly what I was trying to do. I was able though to wedge my fingernail between the rings and click them round a few positions. This got the reading of the hundreds and tens of thousands right and left me just 300 miles over where I wanted to be. Without the reduction gearing it was easy to just spin the numbers backwards and within a couple of minutes I had it exactly where I wanted it. Must be the fastest an MR2 has ever gone!

Reassembly was a bit of a faff as there is a little lever that adjusts the stop position that likes to fall out. I must have had it apart and back together 10 times before everything was in the right place.

Interestingly both speedos have a reed switch close to the underside of the magnet. Presumably the switch closes above a certain speed but I'm not aware of any use for that on UK cars. The JDM speedo also has another set of contacts above the magnet to operate the door bell. Anyone who has driven an older JDM car will know all about the 'chime' that starts sounding above I think 100kph. There's also an ignition cut at 180 k's. The bell on mine was removed very shortly after I got it but I suppose I did still have the cut out. In Japan I never had it fast enough to find out.

So far it all seems to be working. It's just passed 97,000 and everything is nicely lined up but I won't find out if the clicking did any permanent damage to the tens of thousands until the big 100k rolls over and that could be a while from now.

It does feel a bit as if its over reading. The 30 limit flashing signs seem to come at a higher indicated speed than in other cars. There is another little lever in the speedo that adjusts the preload on the return spring so must act as some sort of calibration. This got knocked about during the process so I may have a go at tweaking that next time I have to take the dash apart.

So basically I now have a completely standard looking UK dash and switches but with a supercharger light. Happy with that.

Alan