Project #26 MR2MAN

[2mAn]

Wow! Great work...

Sorry about the loss, but great work on the pickup!

Thanks, good to see you popping in again!

Finally got around to replacing the noisy axle...








I also said F**k it and ordered a bunch of stuff from Mitch’s Auto Parts, and will probably order the tires for my wheels so I can finally push the car in the canyons without fear.

[parkerbink]

Wow! Great work. I literally signed in to see what was up with the Datsun because I found my '76 B-210 hatchback pink yesterday which got me thinking all things Datsun/Nissan.

Sorry about the loss, but great work on the pickup!

[2mAn]

Small update, I had this idea while taking the soft top off, and this bar seemed like it could be functional in many ways. I decided to remove all the extra pieces other than the center mounting bracket which can be used to mount a camera.




What I started with






Brackets removed






Ready for some paint, I had some rollbar paint leftover which I used.






and the final product installed






I haven’t driven the car since I installed it, but my engineer buddy is convinced that the bar does more for chassis rigidity than the hardtop. Whether it does or doesn’t, I’m happy with it and it’s staying. Hopefully I can get some in-car vids soon.

[rzerob]

Looks awesome man. Great job.

[luckybk]

tres sportif

[varg]

Yeah I'm all in on the hardtop. One of the things I never liked about that generation of MR2 was the fact that it wasn't available with a fixed roof. It looks good and as expected is a functional improvement.

[2mAn]

Very nice! Is the hardtop something you can easily install and remove by yourself or does it require two people?

Your garage is looking good. I really need to get some photos/posters/art up on the walls of mine.

I installed it all myself, not the easiest to do but possible. I need to find a Hardtop Cart to store it, but its likely going to stay on the car as I full deleted the haggard soft top which offset the weight of the hardtop.

Final product is stiffer chassis, less wind noise, more cabin NVH from the motor but overall a much more coupe feel than before. Im quite happy with it, drove about 120 miles yesterday comfortably.

The hardtop does way more than I expected for the looks of that gen MR2. Honestly very surprised

I agree completely. Its a wonderful update to the look of the car. Wait until I get my wheels installed and the duckbill :)

[Northern]

The hardtop does way more than I expected for the looks of that gen MR2. Honestly very surprised

[mike.bmw]

Very nice! Is the hardtop something you can easily install and remove by yourself or does it require two people?

Your garage is looking good. I really need to get some photos/posters/art up on the walls of mine.

[2mAn]

Figured today was the best time to get down and do it. Got to work early and it mostly went fine. Had a frustrating moment with the side posts, but eventually got it done. Grinding down the welded bolt went just fine but larger pivot point that bolts to the car eluded me. I hadn’t read anything about it and couldn’t get ahold of anyone who could help. Said screw it and busted out the cutting wheel and went to town. Didn’t take many pics of the work, basically a before and after. Enjoy.




UnBoXiNg ThE HaRdToP OMG!..












Pretty happy it’s how it looks now.

[2mAn]

Anyways, decided to start preparing the car for the hardtop. It’s hard to see the lines but they are there.


Can you see it?




drilled some holes to have a nice round edge





And the finished product



One step closer to that sexy hardtop being “unboxed”...




One other thing I got done was an easy OEM headunit upgrade, got the T1809 from a member here. A little bummed that the iPod cable connector was cracked but it looks like it might work. This was easy leash and I used the opportunity to clean up the parts. Previous must’ve had the hairiest, shaggy dog because there’s dog hair absolutely everywhere... anyways a before and after. I’m happy . Totally worth it

[2mAn]

My buddy is convinced my master cylinder needs to be replaced... and said I might as well replace the front calipers and change the hoses to SS... ugh I think thats overkill... Anyway to confirm if the Master Cylinder is leaking

[roguetoaster]

You know, if you are already doing a fluid exchange, it can't hurt to open the bleeder screw while trying to get piston retraction. Also, screw in and ratcheting caliper pistons are moronic, hateful junk, so I feel your pain.

[2mAn]

Well, the last week has been fun. I’m still dealing with brakes that don’t feel 100%. I have had friends help me bleed the brakes and even bought a tool so I can bleed it on my own. It’s getting better but still not where I want it. Also, the e-brake needs to be adjusted too


While staring at the exposed shifter / e-brake area I remembered that I still had some MonkeyWrench Racing shifter base bushings. Pulled the old stuff out, lined it all up and took a pic





After all that I took it out for some hooning, and I tell you, when you hit the 3->4 shift right and keep it in lift, hot dog... she’s just about ready for a canyon run. We’ll see.

[2mAn]

“Should be easy” ... famous last words...


After getting the car aligned, Robert at Cheworks mentioned the car pulls on hard braking. I had already planned on putting new pads and fresh fluid so this comment meant this task was moving to the top of the list. A few days later, I have freshly turned rotors and a set of the OEM semi-metallic pads. The dealer had the option For cheaper ceramic pads, but I figured these were the higher quality part. We’ll see... anyways, swapping pads and rotors should be easy right?... lol





Well, starting at the rear passenger side, I couldn’t get the piston on the caliper to depress with my little piston pusher tool. Realized what was stopping me and sadly the only tool I have for this job wasn’t working...


Wrong tool for this job.



The job that needs the right tool.




Not wanting to quit, I figured I could at least get the front knocked out. Passenger front went smoothly!... small victory. Moving in to the Driver front and all was going relatively smoothly until the stupid retaining clip got caught up and mangled a bit. A bit of rage motivation made things worse and after completing the install there was a dragging sound that is likely the clip, so I’ll have to pull it all apart again tomorrow when I have more time.


Today I had about an hour of time after going to Vatozone to rent the Caliper tool. Aka the right tool for the job. The goal was simple, use the tool to finish the rear calipers, and if time allows, get that front knocked out... well, even with the correct tool (and yes, the cap is off the brake reservoir), the Rear passenger side caliper did not want to move at all... could this be the source of the pulling?... well, let’s see what the driverside does... It’s also not moving.


The right tool, still not doing the job.




Reached out to Mico, who I’m sure has done brakes and he gives me the bad news. Calipers are likely toast, and I might as well just get two news ones now. Great...




Another trip to Vatozone and placed the order on some new calipers with a lifetime warranty. ..


They’ll be here Thursday and maybe I’ll wrap up this job... sh!t I shouldn’t have said that...