An introduction.... Finally.

[Sweetpea]

Hi folks,

I've been lurking around for ages trying to find out about these little cars and an intro is now long overdue.

My name is James, I live in Kent and work in London (God help me) but was brought up in the north. Now I'm 40 something I needed a mid life crisis that wasn't going to result in instant divorce. A friend mentioned a dead MR2 that was heading for the crusher as soon as the owner found the keys again. I've never said I'd have it but it became accepted that I would and since it's now in my garage I guess it's too late.

I've always owned Japanese cars, mostly Toyotas, so I'm quite at home with them although this one is by far the biggest pile of scrap I've had. It's going to need more than a polish before it turns a wheel again.

Here are a couple of photos...

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/10/6267676256_447388cd2c_z-1.jpg

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/10/6267150755_c200733207_z-1.jpg

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/10/6267150877_1daaf805cc_z-1.jpg

The sharp eyed will have noticed a few bits missing. Most notably the front. That came off about the same time as the engine blew up. Yes I think I'm crazy too. But underneath I believe it's fairly solid. There is no rust on it... There are some sizable holes where the rust fell out on the trailer though....

The little red car belongs to the chap who found the MR2 for me. It's got an MR2 engine in the back. He followed me back to Kent in it and helped me push the MR2 into the garage. It's the furthest he's been in it. We figured if it broke down there was probably room on the trailer for both!

James

[kevin..in]

missing front end is a classic "I tried to tow it with the towing eye" scenario, this will almost certainly rip off whats left of the rotted out front bumper reinforcing bar, there is a towing eye undeneath that will be well up to the job if needed
nice to see a black 1A being (hopefully) saved
good luck and welcome

[Sweetpea]

That's exactly what happened. I'm told it came off the motorway, overheated as soon as it hit traffic and died. They went to tow it home and ripped the nose off it.
When Ian (the chap with the little red car) and I jacked it up for a look underneath water ran out of a hole in the radiator so I guess that was the cause of the overheat. The result was a blown head gasket (or so I'm told) and a missing front. At the moment it has no compression on any cylinder but then it's been standing for 3 years or so. I plan to strip the head off this winter and see what state it's in inside.

[mk1 dal]

hi james and welcome to the club , its looks like you have a right shed there ( only joking mate :lol:) . i have saved a few of these now and yours doesn't look to bad at all , more than fixable and will make a rare cracking car when done . before you start throwing loads of money at her check the front chassis where the steering rack goes through for rust and the A and B posts . The front reinforcement bar and bumper skin are different on a revision A so don't by a b revision by mistake , if the sills need doing you can use mk3 escort 2 door sills and for the rear arches Nissan cherry n12 arches from Hadrian's panels ( Paul woods of woodsport discovered this money saving gem years ago ) . so go for it and good luck , any problems don't hesitate to ask ,there are lots of top knowledgeable members on the site and they are more than happy to help .

gary :thumbup:

[Sweetpea]

Hi Gary,
There is another issue that I haven't mentioned yet... The left rear corner is stuffed in. I know you can't get rear wings anymore so I'll have to think of a cunning plan or just get the hammers out. I'll post a photo later.

I did a lot of research on this site, mostly the restoration threads, so when Ian and I did a proper assessment I knew what to look for. Thank's to everybody who have documented their rebuilds. That was gold dust.

So, briefly, the front is missing, the radiator has a hole, both front wings are dead.
The front chassis is completely solid as far as I can see. I had a good poke with a screwdriver and it has a nice metallic ring when you hit it.
The A posts have problems at the bottom but the sills look ok. The right one will need a patch though and could fall apart when poked harder.
The B post on the left has some problems around the lock striker plate and lamp switch. And the left rear corner is badly bent.
The rear arch on the left has been replaced (but is now bent), the one on the right is rusting but not as badly as I thought it would. I wonder if it had a new rear wing sometime in it's early life.
The bottom of both rear arches has gone at the front but the rear part looks ok.
The underside looks great although I did find a small hole in the drivers floor pan.
The head gasket is blown and the alternator seized.
The interior is lovely for a 25 year old car.

It's enough to be going on with.

James

[mk1 dal]

HI , it looks like the cars fallen in to good hands ,it wont take long to sort out just keep chipping away at it . the rear wing may be a tricky fix but not impossible , you might be better cutting one out of a scrapper if its very badly damaged .

gary

[Kateg28]

As you found other people's documented restoration threads invaluable, does it mean you might return the favour????

Hope you really enjoy it as they are cracking little cars

[Sweetpea]

Hey!
Well, yes that was the plan.... But ever since the new website rolled out they have disappeared (which is a crying shame). I'm assuming that I have to pay some dosh and join the club properly. Could somebody confirm that for me?

Anyway, here is that photo of the stuffed in wing that I promised.

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/10/6300320658_360d917b5e_z-1.jpg

Until I buy a welder and learn to use it I'm thinking bashing it out is a better bet. But I won't know until I kick i a bit.

James

[kevin..in]

think you can now be a £5 forum member which gets you full forum access, rather than the full member gets all costs
there you go
http://www.mr2mk1club.com/cart.php?do=main&catid=3

[Sweetpea]

Perfect, thanks.
Just as soon as I get round to setting up a PayPal account...

[superwhite90]

There is a mk1a front bumper bar on eBay at the moment. Its been on there twice now so if your after a new one could make an offer for it.

[Sweetpea]

I saw that but, just to prove I'm as mad as a box of frogs, I've been having different ideas.

I need to teach myself to weld and to make new sheet metal parts... Mk1a bumper metalwork is getting rare so maybe I should repair one that's a bit trashed and document what I'm doing rather than start with a new(ish) one.
Sounds like a good opportunity to learn some new skills to me. The results would be on a part of the car that's not really seen so if my first attempts aren't too perfect it wouldn't be a problem. And it's thicker metal to weld before I start messing with the thin stuff on the body.

Now, of course, I've got a rusty bumper but it got ripped from the front of the car so the ends are totally destroyed and I have no idea what shape and size they should be. And the bit in the middle is slightly twisted too. Not a good starting point for a novice!

Anybody know of a MK1a nose in the South East with a rusty metal thing that needs a new home?

James

[kevin..in]

I saw that but, just to prove I'm as mad as a box of frogs, I've been having different ideas.

I need to teach myself to weld and to make new sheet metal parts... Mk1a bumper metalwork is getting rare so maybe I should repair one that's a bit trashed and document what I'm doing rather than start with a new(ish) one.
Sounds like a good opportunity to learn some new skills to me. The results would be on a part of the car that's not really seen so if my first attempts aren't too perfect it wouldn't be a problem. And it's thicker metal to weld before I start messing with the thin stuff on the body.

Now, of course, I've got a rusty bumper but it got ripped from the front of the car so the ends are totally destroyed and I have no idea what shape and size they should be. And the bit in the middle is slightly twisted too. Not a good starting point for a novice!

Anybody know of a MK1a nose in the South East with a rusty metal thing that needs a new home?

James

while i'm all for getting stucking and having a go, some things aren't worth the effort, keep your eyes open on ebay & due to weight of front rf bars you should pick one up for little money as a collection only item, I got a 1B bar in the summer rust free for £26

[superwhite90]

You will have to get your front bar either shot blast or spend all the time in the world removing the paint as unfortunately you cannot weld to paint.

Another problem you will have, as you're current bar is rusty, finding good metal to weld to will prove to be an issue. You will probably make find it gets even worse anyway when trying to fix it. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm teaching you to suck eggs.

I had an front end accident when I owned a MK1A. I bent in the front part next to the indicator hole which in turn snapped on the front side as it was rusty - I found a brick, a hammer and a stainless steel plate with two holes in it for a rivet did the trick. I shortly sold the car on after that but I would have spent the money buying another bar if I was replacing it.

[oukie]

Mk1's always look good in black, Great find there.

Chris

[Gilles27]

think you can now be a £5 forum member which gets you full forum access, rather than the full member gets all costs
there you go
http://www.mr2mk1club.com/cart.php?do=main&catid=3
I have gone to that url, but I can't see what I do next. Any idea how I pay?

[mk1 dal]

hi . the crash bar is the least off your problems if i'm honest , the damage on the back panel will i think be impossible to knock out to get any reasonable finnish and will take to much filler and its rusty anyway . there is away to fix it though , find a car being broken and cut the rear panel out ( with or without rusty acres ) but when you do the cut include half the rear end panel ( number plate panel ) as you can use the rear light fixing holes to locate the rear panel in it right position . a few pics of a car i have done to make it easier to explain .

cutting out donner panel

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/05/Picture156-1.jpg

cutting out damaged panel

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/05/Picture174-1.jpg

cut the existing panel in line with the fuel filling cap edge , its the most shortest distance for welding and will reduce distortion to a absolute minimum


http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/05/Picture176-1.jpg

tack the panel in and only do short runs ( 20 mm ) to have no distortion and cool with a damp cloth between welds .

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/05/Picture177-1.jpg

grind weld back using a flap disc .

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/05/Picture178-1.jpg

then fill match in


http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/05/Picture184-1.jpg


then prime and paint

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/07/Picture336-1.jpg

if you take your time you can do it .

gary

[Sweetpea]

That is a fantastic piece of work. I'm inspired. One reason I'm not worrying about the rear wing is that it scares me a so I'm ignoring it!

I probably should tell you my plans and problems.
The car is actually up the road, at Canterbury, in a garage with no power. It's got no chance of an MOT without a fair amount of work and that means I'll have to trailer it back here...

So the plan it to get the motor working so I can get it on and off the trailer easily. I need to find / buy a nose and 2 front wings (probably fiberglass) ready for putting back on when gets here. Oh, and teach myself to weld and bash metal around over the winter (hence my plans for learning on the bumper).

Next year (or possibly the year after) I'll have some time off work and try to get it structurally sound and through the MOT. Then I can drive it to Canterbury and back and life will be much easier. I don't actually know if the rear wing will pass an MOT or if I'll need to bash it out. Either way the first goal is to get it safe and back on the road. Then the pretty work can start!

I've started scribbling a blog about it. It's got (or will soon have) an assessment of the cars current condition and what needs to be done. I'll post a link in a few days when I've written a bit more. I'll also put it all in a resto thread when I finally get round to setting up a paypal account...

James

[Sweetpea]

Finally I've just joined! These things take time when there is more interesting stuff to play with in the garage.
I'll start the restoration thread as soon as I get access.

In the mean time here is a link to the blog I started writing just in case you fancy looking at more photos.

http://www.braystones17.co.uk/Site_3/The_MR2_Blog/The_MR2_Blog.html