**UPDATED** 1991 Rev 1 (Beastly V6 1MZ-FE VVTI) **UPDATED**

[KarlBristol]

I think that you are completly right, it does need to stay retro, which is the main reason I decided against the autopista centre, as it just didn't look OEM. Its a fine line between refurbishing, modernising it and then modifying it. I definately want to stay more on the side of refurbishing and some modernisation than major modification. I also want the car looking understated and sleek as oppossed to over the top or chavvy.

Today I managed to get the afternoon off work and it proved very productive

Although I recently replaced the headunit in my car for a standard one it wasn't working properly, and the cd section didn't function at all. In short it had to go ... I wanted a modern one that fitted in. I bought a Clarion CX609E headunit. It looks understated but has cd, aux, radio, mp3, ipod, bluetooth, phone connectivity, etc etc... (basically all the mod cons) It was a 5 minute job and ironically one that I am most pleased with in the car overall:

Before (looks oem but doesn't work properly)



New unit:



And installed:





It has numerous menu options and a huge variety of backlight colours. I've currently got it set as bright white to match my dash lights
I am so so pleased

I then fitted an engine bay sticker thats appropriate to my car:





Then the real fun began - I thought that I would make the most of the weather and do a job that I've been wanting to do since I bought the car!! I bought some underbodyseal, a paintbrush and some axel stands.

That resulted in the following happening:



I started to rub it all back (this took a long time to strip off years of dirt and rust). Here it is part way through.



The transformation complete on one side:







My current springs look horrendous!! But at least the waxoil looks good everywhere else:



Next year I want to replace the entire suspension setup but for the time being I am tidying it all up until I can properly afford it. Ideally I want to replace with original Toyota units, but fear that this will set me back quite a bit!!

I then did the other side rear wheel area (neither was quick)



Complete:





I'm borrowing a large jack from a friend and tomorrow I'm hoping to jack the car up as high as possible and waxoil all the relevant parts on the underside (weather permitting)

I also have 11 parts waiting to be delivered .... Although those will stay a suprise

Oh and hopefully next week I will fit my spal fan as I am on holiday from work for the rest of the month

[KarlBristol]

Oh and I've booked in for new tyres to be fitted on both the rears on Friday (in hopeful preperation for my MOT in a couple of months time ... fingers crossed all goes ok!!)

I've also run an i-pod cable from the headunit into the small cubby hole area on the drivers section on the bottom right by the fog switches, etc... (I was told today that its called the wallet-box). This is perfectly sized for my i-pod and all the cables etc... Brilliantly as my headunit can control my ipod fully I should never need to move it unless I want to watch a film on it

Managed a few other small bits like above today that I won't bore you with

[riot68]

Great work again, the head unit is perfect, looks like is was designed for it. Sticker very.cool too, where did you get it from? Enjoy your time off...

[KarlBristol]

Thanks for the kind comments, and I've dropped you a PM regarding the sticker

I did more waxoyl underbody sealing today
TBH I can't wait to crack the polybush kit out of it's box and start fitting! I feel it will make a huge difference and also allow me more access to seal and rustproof

Anyway this is what I've got done so far today

BEFORE:







It got a full rub back, and this is how it was looking by the end of the repaint:











The photos just don't do it justice its so much neater under there, and it only took just over 4 hours

Now if only the damn postie would turn up!!

[KarlBristol]

Well today proved to be a very very busy car day in the end!!

The back of the car started like this this morning:





And ended like this:







Credit has to go to jack-p for suggesting this mod to me (he'd kill me if I took the credit! lol)

I am really really pleased with the results! It looks different to everyone elses and I think really suits the car. It took me around 2.5-3.5 hours per side to get it looking right. Here is how I did it:

I bought some transparent red vinyl:



I then took the rear light out of the car and took them inside:



Using a combination of a hairdryer, medical scalpel, pair of scissors and lots of paitence the following happened:











Skipping ahead a bit, here is one done and one not:







I intend to re-tint the bottoms of the lights; don't worry! lol.

The light output is untouched although it has changed to more of a red colour, so I have both green and amber bulbs on order to see which gives the best oem indicator light finish

Needless to say that through that and waxoyling the underside that took a lot of my day!

However I also had this delivered:



I didn't want it mounted under the passenger seat, so thought of a more convenient area, which also wasn't as obvious/track car

I opted to bolt it behind the passenger seat onto the cubbybox. As I have an active sound system this is filled with my sub anyway, so seemed like a logical way forward.





With the seat back you can't see it at all

I've also had these delivered with the correct resisters for the cigarette lighter:



After lots of complicated bending, gluing, and soldering I've created this which should work perfectly and is far sturdier than the original. Fingers crossed it will match the ignition ring!



I've completed step by step photos for this mod aswell (that I won't bore you with) so if you want it sent to you just PM me. I will hopefully stick it back in the car tonight to prove that its works...

Hoping for more deliveries tomorrow for another busy car day...

[jack-p]

Image Replaced With URL For Quote http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h48 ... 164751.jpg

YES!! This really does look good mate, one of my fav mods to your car

[MR2O12]

That light mod has transformed your rear. Im tempted to do mine now. Next i would do your tints and get a stick on licence plate without the screws

[KarlBristol]

Thanks - I am really happy with the mod, I just need to sort out the issue of my indicators flashing red. Hopefully my green led bulbs that are on order will rectify this without issue before my mot

I highly recommend you do it to your aswell, its well worth it. I warn you now its a long and somewhat annoying job to complete, lol.

I do agree that they need to be re-tinted to finish it all off nicely though - that will come, buts its lower down on my purchase list, lol. Personally I would prefer braided brake lines first, and a couple of other bits and bobs...

[KarlBristol]

Well I didn't do much on the car today, more prep work for tomorrow.

I started by getting new fitted mats delivered (I won't show photos of them fitted as I'm not quite that much of a photowhore! lol)



It changed the look of the interior and is a lot more finished inside now. I just need to work out if there is anything else I can do to the inside

I missed a delivery today which I know is my new crystal headlight units, so these will be picked up tomorrow. As such I did the prep work today ready for fitting tomorrow morning (I knew that it would be a pig of a job as my screws were all rusty and I feared they would refuse to move after 23 years of sitting there)

When I took off the headlight shrowds I managed the pry the screws out and was left with the following rusty areas:







Needless to say it had all seen better days!
In order to future proof the car and update it a bit all of the screws are being replaced with new ones. I am also cleaning up the shrowds and have polished up the stainless steel surrounds:



I managed to take most of the units apart, cleaned up the insides and managed to WD40 a lot of it so that the movement continues to be smooth and effective.

I've also rubbed back the area that the units fit into and cleaned it up fully. These have had a good respray





All the prep is done, so hopefully it should be a quick and painless job tomorrow

New bulbs will also be going in, to give a better light output and also match the led sidelights better

[KarlBristol]

Oh I almost forgot

I started the day by getting x2 new rear tyres fitted

Its not much in the way of physical car work, but more cash sent the car's way! lol. Its also got rid of the slight vibration that I had on my steering wheel over 50mph; I would presume that freshly balanced and weighted tyres helped a lot with that

[Mike 'MR2' McHugh]

Nice update

[riot68]

Do you.ever sleep? ...

[GreddyMR2]

Do you.ever sleep? ...

That's a good question!
You are upgrading and upgrading your 2, I love it! I need a holidays from my job, you inspire me to work with my 2, thanks

[KarlBristol]

Nice update

Thanks bud, I do try lol

Do you.ever sleep? ...

Uuummm ... not really! lol.

In reality, thanks to my shifts and what I deal with at work I tend to manage between 3-5 hours a night, (sometimes 6 hours if I'm lucky! lol)

Do you.ever sleep? ...

That's a good question!
You are upgrading and upgrading your 2, I love it! I need a holidays from my job, you inspire me to work with my 2, thanks

Thanks mate - I think its coming along nicely now ... certainly miles away from the car that I first started with

Pleased that I can help with the inspiration lol

Take some time off work and crack on with the car in this lovely weather ... you know you want to!! lol

[KarlBristol]

Well a mini update, but probably all that I am going to manage today due to a lack of parts from the postie and also as I intend to relax today before I get dragged around shops on the weekend by the girlfriend as usual! lol.

I picked up my new headlights! YAY! What a difference they make!

Here is the old vs. new:



I think that the new ones are in slightly better condition! lol



I also had these delivered to be fitted:



And here are the new ones fitted with bulbs:





This is a real change ... which admittedly will only be seen when I clean the car and at night! lol.

I'm very pleased that I've done this - contemplating what other mods I can do now! lol

[GreddyMR2]

I'm very pleased that I've done this - contemplating what other mods I can do now! lol

Swap Swap!

[KarlBristol]

Well its been a while ... for me at least! Work has somewhat taken over my life recently

So what's happened on the car recently ... well tbh not a lot!

I've been waiting for the green lightbulbs to fit into the rear lights and see if they flash orange. Unfortunately I ordered them from Hong Kong and I'm still waiting for them. So I bought a set over here in the mean time and fitted them today. They do flash orange but not as brightly as I wanted. Also its thrown out the timing of flashes so that it flashes quicker.

So I've ripped off the tint and reverted the indicators to standard. I have kept the tint on the reflector parts

I've got a whole raft of DODO, Juicy, and Autoglym products in preperation for the impending Japfest... Also have a pressure washer on order to help with the cleaning process

I've got red tint spray on order to give a more OEM look to the reflectors
I've also got black tint spray to sort out the worn bottom sections of the lights

I'm currently on the look out for a bigger set of wheels for a more aggressive stance

I've also had a new bonnet delivered, sprayed to match and fitted as the old one was riddled with stone chips and marks. This will hopefully match the bumper which I intend to get sprayed up in several months time

Don't worry I haven't forgotten the MR2

The dreaded MOT is due on the 30th of this month and I'm a little woried about it. I managed to get a cracking deal through Groupon so the MOT in total is going to cost me a whopping £14 and will be done whilst I wait. Here's to hoping to goes through ok!!!

[KarlBristol]

17" forged rota wheels on order

[Magic Beans]

I thought you'd been a bit quite recently

Photos soon please

[riot68]

Yeah been a bit of a Karl update drought. Glad is going well, always amazed at how much you get done, that and spent. Looking forwad to seeing these new wheels...