RHP
21st June 2013, 06:55 PM
Well I bought a 1988 NA MR2 back in April. It had a horrible knock, plenty of rust, stereo and plenty else missing, etc. Found it on Craigslist for $500, talked the guy down to $400 ;) it made it about half way home before I figured it needed a rest. The next day I decided to make another run for it, as soon as I went to shift into 3rd gear there was a loud clunk, I lost everything, coasted to the side of the road and my wife who was following me pulled over in front of me. I grabbed the tow strap that I brought because . . . I kinda figured this was a possibility. Got everything hooked up and ready to rock, sat back in the car and checked my mirror to find a local law enforcement officer behind me. I hopped out and explained my situation as a mystery fluid drizzled out of my car onto the highway. He was very understanding and offered us a police escort until we were clear of the highway. We towed the little car to the house and I hopped out and pushed it into the driveway, remarking how easy it was to push and steer :P. My wife who had never towed anything was just happy to be home. I could tell she was still not sure about my shady transaction for the car that just blew up on the highway.
A few weeks passed before I was able to do any more than clean out the truck and frunk and just look at it. I was in the process of stripping and parting another car (don't worry, it was just a Grand Am, I'm not that kind of guy) so the garage and most of my tools were in use. About 9 days ago I was able to finally roll it into the garage and get to it. I started by pulling the seats, which are not going back in the car (I still have them if anyone likes them or wants pieces, shipping is awful form up here though) under the passenger seat I found . . . a dozen syringes and caps (not all togther) several of the needles were still loaded up with black tar . . . awesome. So I had my local law enforcement friends come by and collect it for disposal, they were kinda curious about the previous owner. I was able to give them a dozen names, but that was because the car had changed hands as many times since February, anywhere from $700 to $200.
After all that I was able to start taking stock of what needed to be done. Firstly, the unsecured truck battery was removed from the engine bay, it's going to be replaced by a Yellow top I have waiting in the wings in time. The trunk liner was removed, all the intake ducting (If anyone needs any bits the only think I'm keeping from the OEM intake path is the MAF sensor) was removed. I removed the spoiler and 3rd brake light (again, if you want it, PM me, I hate to trash good parts) started a parts list and took stock of what was left of the stereo, some butt-splices . . . I deleted the antenna (it was bent and stuck about 2 inches up) and removed the goofy little sub from under the driver's seat (it was soaked and has been trashed) the rest is coming along when I get time. I have ordered a few parts so far, the OEM shift knob, a little worse for wear (restorable if someone wants it) has been replaced by a solid stainless steel sphere. Yes, the shift knob was purchased and installed after catastrophic failure.
I have poked around the engine and as of yet I am not sure what came loose on the highway. There is not rod shoved out the side of the block or anything obvious, I'm going to focus on getting the electrical system intact again (there was some disintegration, the ground was involved) before I can do much more than poke around. I did go so far as to pull the spark plugs, they were covered in oil, as the little valley between the valve covers was filled with oil . . . found a nice gouge on the mating surface for the valve cover gasket. Smoothed it out, ordered a new gasket set but got more to do to the valve covers before I'll put them back on, one of the bolts for the little plate between the valve covers is headless. Spider bracket for the throttle cable (which has been spliced . . . awesome) has been removed. Ordered parts for new air filter, new spark plugs and wires.
A bit about the car, it's red, manual, T-top, spare tire is missing. It has some Motegi FF7's that have been poorly spray painted silver, I'm going to see if I can clean them off, it looks as though they were originally black. I'll be keeping it red, maybe giving it some more depth in color. I have a few pictures of some of the things I've mentioned, I'll post later and I should have some time to work on it tonight. I hope to get it back on the road this fall but if it has to wait until spring then all the better for the car.
I'm looking to make a nice commuter and fun car to cruise around in, I am not afraid to spend the time and money to make a fun, durable, comfortable car.
-Matt
A few weeks passed before I was able to do any more than clean out the truck and frunk and just look at it. I was in the process of stripping and parting another car (don't worry, it was just a Grand Am, I'm not that kind of guy) so the garage and most of my tools were in use. About 9 days ago I was able to finally roll it into the garage and get to it. I started by pulling the seats, which are not going back in the car (I still have them if anyone likes them or wants pieces, shipping is awful form up here though) under the passenger seat I found . . . a dozen syringes and caps (not all togther) several of the needles were still loaded up with black tar . . . awesome. So I had my local law enforcement friends come by and collect it for disposal, they were kinda curious about the previous owner. I was able to give them a dozen names, but that was because the car had changed hands as many times since February, anywhere from $700 to $200.
After all that I was able to start taking stock of what needed to be done. Firstly, the unsecured truck battery was removed from the engine bay, it's going to be replaced by a Yellow top I have waiting in the wings in time. The trunk liner was removed, all the intake ducting (If anyone needs any bits the only think I'm keeping from the OEM intake path is the MAF sensor) was removed. I removed the spoiler and 3rd brake light (again, if you want it, PM me, I hate to trash good parts) started a parts list and took stock of what was left of the stereo, some butt-splices . . . I deleted the antenna (it was bent and stuck about 2 inches up) and removed the goofy little sub from under the driver's seat (it was soaked and has been trashed) the rest is coming along when I get time. I have ordered a few parts so far, the OEM shift knob, a little worse for wear (restorable if someone wants it) has been replaced by a solid stainless steel sphere. Yes, the shift knob was purchased and installed after catastrophic failure.
I have poked around the engine and as of yet I am not sure what came loose on the highway. There is not rod shoved out the side of the block or anything obvious, I'm going to focus on getting the electrical system intact again (there was some disintegration, the ground was involved) before I can do much more than poke around. I did go so far as to pull the spark plugs, they were covered in oil, as the little valley between the valve covers was filled with oil . . . found a nice gouge on the mating surface for the valve cover gasket. Smoothed it out, ordered a new gasket set but got more to do to the valve covers before I'll put them back on, one of the bolts for the little plate between the valve covers is headless. Spider bracket for the throttle cable (which has been spliced . . . awesome) has been removed. Ordered parts for new air filter, new spark plugs and wires.
A bit about the car, it's red, manual, T-top, spare tire is missing. It has some Motegi FF7's that have been poorly spray painted silver, I'm going to see if I can clean them off, it looks as though they were originally black. I'll be keeping it red, maybe giving it some more depth in color. I have a few pictures of some of the things I've mentioned, I'll post later and I should have some time to work on it tonight. I hope to get it back on the road this fall but if it has to wait until spring then all the better for the car.
I'm looking to make a nice commuter and fun car to cruise around in, I am not afraid to spend the time and money to make a fun, durable, comfortable car.
-Matt