Jason's T-Top Turbo

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (Adrifto)

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 18:06:42 GMT

The pedals look great! Whereabouts did you source them from, was it somewhere like Amayama or a local dealer?

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (Shaz)

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 17:23:17 GMT

Thanks for sharing the journey. Hopefully it won't be too long before we can be driving as a group again.

Did you do your rego through Toymods?

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (ejays)

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 10:46:22 GMT

....Continue Post 2/2

Now time for the other pieces. I had been meaning to get a brand new radiator cap since my cooling issues earlier in my build thread however I wanted a genuine cap to keep it original and I think it was definitely worth the wait but also definitely way past its due date looking at the old one.

I was glad to see my coolant was still perfect condition as from my previous post about my cooling issues I now forever have PTSD looking at any cooling component of this vehicle.

Next up are these gorgeous MR2 10th Anniversary Edition scuff plates. Super excited about these as I think they look amazing!

After spending the time documenting all of this and taking as many photos as possible including cleaning the underside of the kick plates ready to install these beautiful stainless ones unfortunately they did not fit..... I forgot to take a photo of the fitment issues but its as simple as the stainless plates are about 3-4mm shorter in depth than the plastic ones the supposedly clip onto. I did a little bit of research on the matter and it seems that people in the US claim the same issues. From what info I managed to find these are suppose to be a direct fit to RHD vehicles but further researched showed up that apparently the whole plastic trim piece is different regardless of the parts diagram I originally ordered these from. So if anyone has any more information which could help or a set of scuff plates already fitted to the plastic trims please let me know.

For anyone who spotted the genuine Toyota Keys in my last post I will be heading to a lock smith to sort them out very soon it is however proving difficult with COVID-19 causing havoc over Sydney at the moment.

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (ejays)

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 10:35:38 GMT

19/07/2020 - All of the genuine Toyota goodies!

I ordered a bunch of parts from Amayama which I have had my eyes on for a while now but just never got around too. I ordered these 1st of June and took a about 6 weeks to get here but its always so satisfying seeing those Genuine Toyota labels.

Up first is the pedals, Following my build progress of maintenance first, interior second, there is still some things I wanted to get before moving onto the exterior and these pedals are a must have in my opinion. These are genuine Toyota "Sports" pedals from a Lexus is350. I know that might confuse a few of you however I can assure you that the pedals are exactly the same as the SW20 Mr2 as well as a few other cars like the Celica. These pedals not only look great but have a few comfort/performance benefits as well. The rubber knobs keep your shoes gripped to the pedals if your shoes are wet and you will notice the driver's side pedal is shaped with a slightly elongated bottom corner towards the brake pedal which helps with "heel toe" braking.

Installation of pedals is something I have done a few times for my MX-5 and my friends cars. So I was prepared with hot soapy water, some small screwdrivers and a few other misc prying tools. This however did not make the job any easier.... These pedals are so perfectly fitted it took me about 2 hours to fit these, however majority of that time was spent trying to remove and reinstall this little pin from the accelerator pedal.

But with a few breaks, reassessing the situation and using all the tools I had at my disposal all it took was an unexpected visit from a friend of mine who just so happened to have the perfect sized punch sitting in his car and the fresh can-do attitude which unfortunately for me started to taper away quickly this far in. All worth it in the end with such a subtle yet impactful change to the cockpit IMO.

Post 1/2....

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (ejays)

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 10:00:13 GMT

16/07/2020 - After many many months of driving and enjoying this car since my last post, I have finally completed my first year of ownership! So far the car has given me a few headaches but has returned them with countless smiles. I haven't really dived too deep into the car yet, there is still many things I have planned for this car which I'm sure will challenge me but for now it has been super enjoyable!

Something which has been on my checklist since I bought this car was to put it on Historic Registration as soon as it was eligible. So after about 7 Weeks of social messaging tag I FINALLY have historic plates for this thing.

They are not actually fitted in this photo as it requires some new mounting holes to be made to fit the bumper. I plan on getting around to that and some other bits and pieces in the next post.

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (Lumix)

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 16:54:22 GMT

Fantastic photos. I think my favourite photo is from the higher view point looking down onto the car with the hand railing partially in frame.

The interior is looking fresh! Big improvement.

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (Adrifto)

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 14:44:58 GMT

Regarding the shift knob sitting up high, I swapped out my Rev1 shift lever for the later Rev3+ lever. It has a collar upon which the boot and then shift knob sits, and gives slightly shorter shifts from what I've read. It was a purely stylistic choice for me and helped bring the boot and knob closer together, worth looking into.

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (rynex)

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 14:10:07 GMT

Shift knob and wheel are clear improvements :) take some isopropyl to the rest of the interior and you'll love it

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (ejays)

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 13:40:02 GMT

rynex
Haha nothing more Australian than a sweet Japanese sports car in a HJs carpark x.x

Western Sydney culture is quite unique haha.

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (ejays)

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 13:38:33 GMT

The day after the above photo shoot I could not wait to install my new interior bits. So I woke up nice and early and started tinkering! I decided to start with the easy part being the gear knob. Super easy as expected, the old one came off by loosening a 3mm Allen key bolt and lifting it off the shifter. After removing the the shift boot retainer clip which suited the old shift knob I had to resort to some electrical tape to hold it up under the new gear knob.

I'm still not entirely happy with how high the gearknob sits. I thought that the "Sprint" gearknob was just really tall but it seems that the shifter itself is quite high. Unsure what I am going to do with it at this point in time but it has made it more comfortable and easier to shift with. It looks much cleaner in my opinion over the sun burnt red leather.

The next piece was the Steering wheel! Unfortunately I was unable to fit the quick release as the one I received had a manufacturing issue which rendered the product unfit for purpose. It was not locking the steering wheel into place as its suppose to but got a full refund and was told I would be contacted once/if they fix the issue.... I was however surprised to see my car had a genuine "Work Bell" boss kit on it which was very nice to see.

So after playing with the quick release for a while and rendering it useless I just fitted my new steering wheel directly to the boss kit as usual. It was however a little bit disappointing at first as the fitting bolts sent with the steering wheel were shiny silver and gave the wheel a funny look in my opinion. It was supplied with silver bolts as it is also supplied with a horn button retainer ring which I was not using as I have my custom "teq" horn button to use with it. I managed to run over to Fuel Autotek at Castle hill first thing Christmas Eve morning and grab a black bolt fitting kit which completed the look of the new wheel.

Overall I'm very pleased with how it all turned out. It is so much more comfortable and pleasant inside the cabin with fresh leather instead of the damaged, sun burnt and torn red leather from the 90s.

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (rynex)

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 13:25:05 GMT

Haha nothing more Australian than a sweet Japanese sports car in a HJs carpark x.x

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (ejays)

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 13:14:45 GMT

Just before Christmas I contacted a very talented friend of my John Tieu who had taken photos of my little Mazda in the past and asked him if he could take a very last minute photo shoot of my MR2 to really capture the condition of the car I purchased it in. This photo shoot shows exactly how the car presented when I first bought it minus an oil cap and a clean water outlet housing. Without further rambling here is the link to the complete shoot:

http://www.johntieu.com/Jasons-1990-Toyota-mr2-sw20-gt?fbclid=IwAR1Ihd46urboU3-IOIv1E6je5fu1v7X4yYH4HJOHxiDnHjo7f_TGBoozT8s

Here are some bonus teaser photos of the wash before the photo shoot.

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (ejays)

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 14:43:11 GMT

Falcon
Yes, very nice parts. Will enhance an already lovely cabin. Great place to spend some time.
Regarding that coolant outlet. Be mindful that the welding heat may have upset the press fit of the metal tube into the aluminium housing. They have been known to leak under pressure or even come right out.
Maybe in the future you should consider replacing all the cooling system hoses, have the radiator rodded out and change to the Toyota Red at that time. Please don't just put a radiator flush through it.
Such a shame the coolant had been neglected previously causing that 90 degree bend to rot out.
Gen 2 has a couple of other pipes that also go bad with neglected coolant. Can cause other problems as well.
Should be a really nice car when you get it sorted to how you want it.
We would like more photos please.

I will definitely keep that point in mind. I have plans to overhaul the cooling system as time comes but I have other areas where I think the car can benefit more from the money spent. Photos will be uploaded very shortly!

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (Falcon)

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 17:32:08 GMT

Yes, very nice parts. Will enhance an already lovely cabin. Great place to spend some time.
Regarding that coolant outlet. Be mindful that the welding heat may have upset the press fit of the metal tube into the aluminium housing. They have been known to leak under pressure or even come right out.
Maybe in the future you should consider replacing all the cooling system hoses, have the radiator rodded out and change to the Toyota Red at that time. Please don't just put a radiator flush through it.
Such a shame the coolant had been neglected previously causing that 90 degree bend to rot out.
Gen 2 has a couple of other pipes that also go bad with neglected coolant. Can cause other problems as well.
Should be a really nice car when you get it sorted to how you want it.
We would like more photos please.

Re: Jason's T-Top Turbo (Lumix)

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 16:01:38 GMT

Great quality of life additions to the interior. Look forward to seeing the before and after photos!