The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

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Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

24 hours and two visits (we ran out of time yesterday) from a local auto electrician and a bunch of fettling later, we have working headlights once more! :cheers:

The short version of the story is that there's a box with fusible links in the engine bay, hidden under the already awkwardly located fuses boxes (3S-GTE conversion life!). Those links weren't broken but they were loose, which had cut power to the fuse box in the frunk. After being cleaned and tightened down they lights sprang into life and my world became a happy place.

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He also spotted that the cooling fan controller plug had a loose pin, which is fixed now. Also, hard lines for the brakes, in the frunk, were running through chassis holes without grommets and were wearing through! I've now fitted some grommets, which is a bullet dodged!

I just need to put the cabin back together, then I can shift focus back to the speedo. There's also the thermostat to replace and a coolant system flush at the same time. Beyond that it's just winter overhaul and snagging jobs, on the Mk1.5 at least...
jimi
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by jimi »

Good result. 8) well done the sparky for figuring it out.
That kind of thing is a fairly common problem with conversions with wiring from 2 cars joined together, unless the person doing the wiring is pretty competant (electrically) then the result tends to be a bit of a bodge. with no diagrams left to show what has been done.
Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

It's a weight off my mind for sure. There's still the speedo and resulting code issue to sort but it's a positive step forwards.

The fact he went away and did a load of research overnight after the first visit, then came back almost absolutely sure he knew the cause, really impressed me. As you said, it being a conversion, one that's also been bare shell rebuilt, adds a load of mud to an already murky puddle.

I appreciate you taking time to offer advice through this :) Especially as we know footfall through the forum isn't that high these days.I'm happy talking to myself, but it's also good to know people are coming along for the journey.
jimi
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by jimi »

No problem, hopefully your threads being live and updated will be encouragment to others and perhaps attract people back to the forum 8)
Just for info, the best source of info on 1.5/1.6 conversions is the originator of the concept Paul Woods, the best forum was TwoBrutal, which unfortunately is no more :( but Paul has archived the site so that all the info, posts etc are still available ( you can still post on the forums, some people still keep an eye on them :wink: ) http://www.woodsport.org/forum/forum.php
Looking forward to seeing your progress, do keep posting :clap:
Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

jimi wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 10:47 am
No problem, hopefully your threads being live and updated will be encouragment to others and perhaps attract people back to the forum 8)
Just for info, the best source of info on 1.5/1.6 conversions is the originator of the concept Paul Woods, the best forum was TwoBrutal, which unfortunately is no more :( but Paul has archived the site so that all the info, posts etc are still available ( you can still post on the forums, some people still keep an eye on them :wink: ) http://www.woodsport.org/forum/forum.php
Looking forward to seeing your progress, do keep posting :clap:


Thanks for the suggestion :) I had been looking at Paul's site for while and XIII is a Woodsport conversion. It really does remain a honeypot of knowledge. It's a damn shame these sites aren't used anymore :(
Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

Not much progress since my last update as we've been away again and I'm waiting on one of the bigger milestones: Mapping Mule X, which is tomorrow! I'm prediciting great results or grenade results, hopefully the former!

I'm not looking for big numbers, that was never the goal for the car. A healthy and usable 300 would be perfect. The limit will be the stock injectors, which it's suggested should be adequate for the power level I'm wanting.

It's away for a couple of days so I'll post back with the outcome later this week.
jimi
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by jimi »

Image Image
Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

Mapping postponed. Their shutter doors failed and they can't get any cars in or out #-o

The revised date is November 16th.
jimi
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by jimi »

Bummer :(
pistol pete
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by pistol pete »

looking forward to seeing it mapped and glad the mk1 is now sorted, be good just to use it a bit
I know you did the other day and enjoyed it.. Mega looking thing!
Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

pistol pete wrote: Tue Nov 01, 2022 10:35 pm
looking forward to seeing it mapped and glad the mk1 is now sorted, be good just to use it a bit
I know you did the other day and enjoyed it.. Mega looking thing!


I have a love/hate relationship with XIII. It's had so many weird and frustrating issues which have kept me from using it, pretty much from the moment I got it. However, when I drive it and see it out in the wild, I absolutely love the thing! It's close to being sorted and I'm looking forward to actually getting out to some shows etc in it next year.

As far as Mule X goes: Once the mapping session is complete and assuming it doesn't grenade, I'll finally be able to really push on with the remaining bits I want to do on it. The paint lacquer being high on the priority list. It looks good from a distance but when you're close it'll make your eyes itch :lol:
Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3. Is this site finally working again yet?! :lol:

*Edit* It is! :cheers: Holy hell there's a lot to catch you all up on! :lol:
jimi
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by jimi »

I reported it about 4 days ago, sorted that day & been ok since :wink:
Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

I tried but IMs were down and any post attempt errored. I thought about raising it through Facebook but never got around to it :lol:

Nice work for raising it and to whoever fixed it :)

I found out it was down the hard way, back in November. That being after spending an hour writing a post, only to see it error and me lose the lot! The one time I didn't copy and paste before posting too #-o

I'll put together an update over the coming days, but essentially it's the following:

* One is fixed (twice)
* One is mapped but needs to go back for an update
* One now lives on a farm, alongside the SC
* Another has joined the fleet
Red Devil
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Red Devil »

Magic Beans wrote: Tue Jan 17, 2023 10:49 pm
I'll put together an update over the coming days, but essentially it's the following:

* One is fixed (twice)
* One is mapped but needs to go back for an update
* One now lives on a farm, alongside the SC
* Another has joined the fleet

Beats collecting stamps. :D
Thread bookmarked. I've got 5 atm but one is off the road and another will soon be be up for grabs.
jimi
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by jimi »

Magic Beans wrote: Tue Jan 17, 2023 10:49 pm
I tried but IMs were down and any post attempt errored. I thought about raising it through Facebook but never got around to it :lol:

Nice work for raising it and to whoever fixed it :)

I tried the same as you with no success either, then noticed that since the forum software update (at least a decade overdue) there's now a contact us link at the bottom of the page that has a working email address 8)
ayresyboy
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by ayresyboy »

so what do you have to tell us.....
Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

Apologies, all. I've been meaning to type something up for weeks now but never got around to doing so. After the loss of the mega post I typed up just as the website shat its digital underpants, I've struggled to find the drive to do it all again. Especially as now I've got 3x the content to write-up, because time passage #-o

I will get to doing something more fleshed out with photos etc in the near future. For now, though, a brief summary is as follows:

Mule X (Red Rev 3 Turbo)

I've done a huge amount of work on this one, snagging all the bits I've found over the months. It's also been in for two mapping sessions. The first built the base map and set the car up with the Wolf ECU. After which (aside from some more snagging) it was quick, very very quick! They did have some issues getting the boost above 1bar and the takeaway suggestion was to switch out the Apexi boost controller with a 3-way MAC solenoid. I did this and then took it back to get it set up, along with a couple of tweaks to the idle and cold start.

I am planning on selling the car though. It's had a huge amount of work done and has cost a fair chunk to do. However, my heart really lies with these cars in their stock form. As such, Mule XIV exists and I really now have no need for two SW20's. It still needs work and given I have four MR2s plus the daily and other bits I've been mulling, I see less and less opportunity or interest in doing it :(

Mule XII (AW11 SC)

It's in a lot of bits and is basically sat in a barn, covered and waiting for the day (hopefully later this year) when the restoration work can begin.

Mule XIII (AW11 1.5)

The headlights issue remains fixed. I've also fixed the speedo, which was essentially due to the core of the speedo drive cable pulling out of the back of the cluster. Probably from when I pulled the core to clean it, in a bid to stop the speedo leaping up and down while driving. Anyway, it's fixed, the speedo reads and doesn't leap about. I'll replace the whole cable at some point but not anytime soon. If it ain't (currently) broken, don't fix it. Especially as fixing things seems to create more issues :lol:

One little merry-go-round I had was replacing the alternator belt, after suspecting the alternator needed replacing (it didn't). The belt was far too tight but could I find the right size replacement, that wasn't far too big?! Anyway, 6 belts and a lot of wasted journeys late, I have the right one. Yes, I know you can use the string method to measure it. I did that and was still way out :lol: All part of the learning process, right?

I've added an expansion bottle to the chargecooler, as it did a little wee when I used it last summer. It's one from a quad bike of all things, as it was a perfect size/shape and capacity for my needs. the rear brake calipers have been cleaned, prepped and painted (black), to match the Celica brakes on the front. Much cleaner now, rather than the oxidised metal from before.

It's currently living at the farm, alongside the SC. I'm very much looking forward to using it this year, once we move up that way.

Mule XIV (White late Rev 4 Turbo)

As the brackets suggest, the latest one in the fleet is an immaculate Rev 4 Turbo, which I collected just before Christmas. I'd been speaking to the former owner for some time, after selling him a few bits for the car. I always had in my mind that I wanted to buy it though, as for me it's pretty much the perfect car. The opportunit came up and I bought it. It's mostly stock, bar an exhaust, intake, BC coilovers (brand new) and wheels. Low mileage <70k and with some choice factory extras, such as traction control and an LSD.

It's a wonderful thing, both to look at and to drive. It drove home just home good SWs are when you don't meddle with them :lover: Says the guy who created Mule II and currently has Mule X :lol:

I've done very little to it, other than some preventive maintenance and minor cosmetic tweaks, to bring it in-line with what I consider to be the perfect look. The previous owner did put a Blitz BOV on it, whih I've since swapped back to the stock unit (came with the car). Currently rolling on the SA3Rs from Mule X, which I might well keep on it long term. Unless I see something I like more, something period correct, and find an opportunity to buy them.

There you go. A "brief" summary of what's happened since I last rattled at you all :lol: I might type things up in more detail (including our impending move an what that means for workshop/garage space), if I find a spare forever to do so. What I might do though is draw a line in the sand and just update from here on, to avoid it feeling like such a daunting task. Something with a few chronological holes in is better than nothing, right? I've also considered doing some stuff on YouTube, which I might explore more once we've moved...

"What, no photos?! Ok, just a few :wink:

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ayresyboy
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by ayresyboy »

Thanks for the update. Love the named car covers. P841 looks great - all the MR2 you'll ever need. :^o
Magic Beans
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Re: The journey of one man and his Mule(s)

Post by Magic Beans »

ayresyboy wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 2:14 pmall the MR2 you'll ever need. :^o


I'm not listening. It, along with one AW, is enough for me :lol:

I have ideas on a couple of non-MR2 stable mates though. They won't be for some time though. Well, I say that and inevitably something happens and I'm shifting cars around again in a bid to squeeze more in #-o
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