MonkeyMax's Red 1989 MR2

[monkeymax]

Well, I've had the car for just over a year and a half now, so this thread is probably well over-due!!!


When I was a young kid (before I was ten) I used to see this lovely red sports car with pop-up headlights a lot of the time when I went to see my Grandparents. We'd go every couple of weeks to see them, and every once in a while I'd see this car. I didn't know what it was - just that I loved it.
Of course, the Ferraris we've seen photos of over the years have helped, but I've always since had a thing for red sports cars with pop-up headlights. I knew that at some point, I'd own one.

Fast forward a few years... I've been driving for four years now, and a few months after I passed my test, I stumbled upon "Frenchie" - a 1991 Peugeot 309XL. I paid the massive sum of £125 for her (seller wanted £150, but I was a tight bastard back then so brought him down) and bought the car. Back then, I knew nothing about cars and had no interest in them. It was bicycles for me.
And when I drove the Pug home, I hated it. The steering was heavy (no P/S), the speedo wobbled like crazy, the gear changes were hard. I bought it as work had gotten to the point where I needed a car but my intentions back then were definitely not to keep it.
But I'd taken a big gamble - I'd bought it knowing that the MOT was about to expire. The day after buying it, I took it to the MOT station... where she flew threw with not a single problem.
As I said, back then I knew nothing about cars. I used to pay for oil changes, and all manner of simple stuff. But then the Pug didn't really need much anyway - or I didn't give it much.

Three and a half years later, I still have Frenchie. She's served me very well over these last few years and 40 thousand miles, needing not much maintenance but giving a lot of laughs and letting me learn a lot about mechanics and driving.
She now looks a bit dirty (and in my opinion, better! ) as I live on a farm now but this is what a Pug 309 looks like:



So, two years ago I decided that as I had left Uni and had a job that required a bit of driving but meant I had free weekends, it was time for an upgrade in car. First I looked at other hatchbacks - the usual Econoboxes. Then I considered saloons - the old three series being another car I've always loved...
Then a mate suggested I look at the MX-5. A bit of an odd suggestion, but look I did. By this point my love of cars had grown significantly, so obviously I knew about the MX-5, I just didn't know whether I could live with one. I'd be losing the practicality of a boot for a start!
I tried one and liked it, but wasn't grabbed. Then someone else suggested the MR2... Hmmmmm...
I went to a club meet and fell in love with the Mk1s (the AW11). I'm an 80s child, so I guess that makes sense in some ways!
And then I had my first test drive of a Mk1 and fell in love again - but for different reasons. I had to have one.

My Dad became a great help in trying out the various cars. Obviously due to my age, insurance was an issue in trying out the different cars, so Dad helped here. But Dad's knowledge of cars is pretty good, so that definitely came in handy as well!

However, after 14 cars and 6 months we were both getting annoyed. All of them were more rusty than advertised or had some other problem. We saw an ad for one in Birmingham - further than either of us wanted to travel, but we decided it was worth one last punt before we start looking at MX-5s again.

And so, up we went to Birmingham. First inspection of the car was okay - it had clearly had a shoddy respray job at some point, and had more miles than I wanted it to have. But it was within budget and the correct spec. It was looking good.
Then Dad took it for a test drive. While he did, I looked over the paperwork and discovered something rather amazing... the car had lived very close to my Grandparents when I was a kid - on the road next to theirs! That was it - I had to have it! We don't know if this was the very car I used to see, but the chances are good!

And so, three days later I drove the MR2 back home, the V5 in my name...

Fast forward again to now... I ended up keeping the Peugeot (which is possibly worthy of a thread of its own, but it may be heading to the drive in the sky soon) as I didn't want to use the MR2 every day. I'm glad I made that decision - particularly now I live on the farm. It's probably worked out more expensive but it's meant I haven't had to worry about rust (yet)...








So what have I had to worry about? Well, nothing really! Well - until my sister went and bought exactly the same car. Then I drove hers and realised that my suspension was worse than I thought!

[monkeymax]

With the suspension being something I wanted to sort out, I decided to make a start last October. A number of things have gotten in the way (Uni, trips, etc, etc) and I've found it tricky getting all the bits on my student budget, but it's finally getting there:

Aiko (The MR2) as she stands now:


(Note: The bricks are there in case of emergency - she's not sat on them at all at the moment!!!)

Removing an old drop-link:


Removing the top nut from the strut:


The suspension is currently off the car and I'm halfway through repainting the old strut casings. Soon (hopefully!) I'll be fitting in my new Koni Adjustable suspension and then rebuilding all the suspension. And the rebuilt brakes! And then I can drive her again! I can't wait...!

I've gone from knowing nothing about cars to feeling confident about doing this sorta stuff, mostly thanks to the MR2 (just been doing a number of general jobs on it since I bought her) and also in part thanks to the Pug (I'm no longer afraid to attack it with a spanner when something goes wrong). In fact I now feel so good about working on the cars myself that I've just gone and gotten myself another project car - but that's going in another thread (which was really the reason I decided I should do this one!)...

Although it can be deeply frustrating at times, it can also be quite pleasant to leave the computer keyboard at night and go pick up a spanner and fix something properly...

I'll keep this thread updated as the work progresses!

(So now you can see why I've not managed to do anything with the RSS reader in - bloody hell! - two years. A little red thing has taken up much of my spare time!)

[Shawn]

Nice car! I like that MR2's design... very 80s and cool.

But the Pug 309 is cute too... what kind of engine does it have?

[monkeymax]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Nice car! I like that MR2's design... very 80s and cool.

Yup, what I love about it too!
Though I have heard the words "Cheese wedge" aimed my way a few times!

Originally Posted by Shawn

But the Pug 309 is cute too... what kind of engine does it have?

Yup, the old girl is a little cute (in an ugly dog kinda way! ) too, but for me the big reason she's stayed is that it's great fun in the corners. Heck, both cars are.
As for engine...? Well... Haha... a 1.3L petrol...
Still, I can easily get 40mpg out of it (well, before the fuel leak!), it'll sit at 70mph all day, it's very practical, deals with the mud on the farm quite happily and is a very perky little engine for its size too. I really can't fault the 309 (hence why I've kept it so long) but I guess it's now reached that point where everything is giving up... And I maybe getting a bit bored of it too... (poor thing)

[Ottobon]

Super Awesome Badass!

Thanks for keeping her alive! And if you get ambitious keep in mind that the one big downside to the 87+ cars is that the rear suspension links are shorter then on the 85/86 cars, so that can account for the twitchyness. I'm not a huge fan of swaybars, but if you happen to run across a stock sway bar (any of them, 10mm to 12mm) slap it on! Helps with predictable handling limits, even if its punts down ultimate grip a little


Oh, and try mr2oc.com for basic stuff, not a bad website.


One last thing, Keep that MR2 out of the salt!!!

[fbc]

I have nothing to add, but

(Somehow I doubt that will surprise anyone... geez, even on jack stands it makes the condition of mine seem very rough)

[monkeymax]

Originally Posted by Ottobon

Super Awesome Badass!

Thanks for keeping her alive!

It truely is my pleasure!

Originally Posted by Ottobon

And if you get ambitious keep in mind that the one big downside to the 87+ cars is that the rear suspension links are shorter then on the 85/86 cars, so that can account for the twitchyness. I'm not a huge fan of swaybars, but if you happen to run across a stock sway bar (any of them, 10mm to 12mm) slap it on! Helps with predictable handling limits, even if its punts down ultimate grip a little

Oh aye. I've now driven one of the pre '87 cars and have felt the difference. I should point out that the UK cars all have front & rear swaybars (they're called Anti-roll bars here) anyway and I think that my rear one is 10mm at the moment. But as I've got the suspension off, I have had a 'test' of it and it's a little too flexible. The bushes for it don't feel that great either. So I'm replacing the bushes now and will get new bars later on in the year.
The car was previously very predictable on the limit though - I reckon this was in part thanks to the tyres I've fitted (Goodyear Eagle F1s) but also due to the stock setup. I've now got beefed up droplinks (Sway Bar End Links) front and rear (thanks to Twos R Us in the 'States - Clicky here) which look absolutely awesome and I highly recommend over the OEM Toyota ones...
I'm hoping the way I've sorted out the suspension it should help make it even more predictable - thats the plan anyway.

Originally Posted by Ottobon

Oh, and try mr2oc.com for basic stuff, not a bad website.

Yup - it's a good site! (I'm already on there, under the same username!!! )
However, I mostly frequent the UK equivalent - IMOC.co.uk (where I am a Mk1 club moderator... ). We also have MR2OC.co.uk, but the Mk1 section over there is dire.

Originally Posted by Ottobon

One last thing, Keep that MR2 out of the salt!!!

I'd really love to. This time last year, she was in a garage. Unfortunately I couldn't do the same this year - so instead she's getting subjected to lots of wind and rain (granted under a cover, but still very bad)... It actually hurts to go outside and still see her outdoors at the moment. I may have found a garage I can rent for a couple of months this year though - fingers crossed! Otherwise the salt may be unavoidable...
However, I will actually be paying someone to do some really good undersealing soon. I'm saving up for that (the first job I've got someone to do on the car for me!) and really want it done properly. Though as I'm doing the suspension I'm also doing some undersealing where I can too (Using POR-15 - again awesome stuff).

Originally Posted by fbc

I have nothing to add, but

Thanks!

Originally Posted by fbc

(Somehow I doubt that will surprise anyone... geez, even on jack stands it makes the condition of mine seem very rough)

I doubt it. Compared to some I've seen I don't think yours is rough at all! Remember, most here are rust buckets now... something I'm guessing you don't have to worry that much about over there?

I picked up a new 'project' on Saturday which I now know is getting transported to me on Thursday. It does have rust which is a pain, but should be fun! I'll try to get that thread up and running this afternoon as well!


I should've added in the photos that photo number three (the movement one) was taken in France last year. These cars really do eat up the miles! I did 4000 miles in two weeks in the old girl in road trips to France and Scotland for my Summer holiday. Absolutely awesome way to spend two weeks!

[fbc]

Originally Posted by monkeymax

I doubt it. Compared to some I've seen I don't think yours is rough at all! Remember, most here are rust buckets now... something I'm guessing you don't have to worry that much about over there?

You haven't seen it up close... I just had all the engine mounts replaced (they were no longer fulfilling the 'mount' part of their name), and for the first time in 4 1/2 years of owning it I have a working handbrake! There's always been something a bit amiss with the motor - it has random flat spots that I've been bothered enough to resolve - and there's a front-end vibration at 100km/h that has evaded all attempts to fix. Funny you mention rust - I recently had some rust in the driver's side b-pillar fixed, but apart from that rust doesn't seem to be a problem with our local cars - not sure about the grey imports though (I'm not really active on the Aus MR2 forum).

Sadly though I think my time with the car may be coming to an end - for a while I've been thinking about upgrading to something more modern that I feel safer in and actually fit in properly.

[malcbo78]

Nice car and quite light as well
Was also a big fan back then (the Ferrari look)

[monkeymax]

Sorry, I've just seen the posts on this thread. Unfortunately due to other work in the workshop and a broken down compressor I couldn't make any progress this weekend...

Originally Posted by fbc

You haven't seen it up close... I just had all the engine mounts replaced (they were no longer fulfilling the 'mount' part of their name), and for the first time in 4 1/2 years of owning it I have a working handbrake!

Fair enough. And I do remember it having done 300k not too long ago! Still, they do just keep going!
As for the handbrake - they're easy to solve! You should've said something - for the price of a ticket to Oz, I'd have come and rebuilt them for you...

Originally Posted by fbc

There's always been something a bit amiss with the motor - it has random flat spots that I've been bothered enough to resolve

I assume you've checked distributor and distributor cap? What about fuel pump?

Originally Posted by fbc

and there's a front-end vibration at 100km/h that has evaded all attempts to fix.

A trait of the Mk1 seems to be a light front end at around that speed. Other than that, are all your wheels balanced?

Originally Posted by fbc

Funny you mention rust - I recently had some rust in the driver's side b-pillar fixed, but apart from that rust doesn't seem to be a problem with our local cars - not sure about the grey imports though (I'm not really active on the Aus MR2 forum).

You are definitely lucky in that respect - in the right climate!

Originally Posted by fbc

Sadly though I think my time with the car may be coming to an end - for a while I've been thinking about upgrading to something more modern that I feel safer in and actually fit in properly.

I know what you mean (on the safer front! I'm short so fitting in isn't a problem!) and it's one of the reasons I don't use the Mk1 everyday (not that the French beast is much better, mind! But FWD in wet, muddy conditions is definitely a little safer!).

Originally Posted by malcbo78

Nice car and quite light as well
Was also a big fan back then (the Ferrari look)

Thanks! If I remember correctly, they're in the region of 1100kg, so not mega light, but not lardy either...

[fbc]

Originally Posted by monkeymax

As for the handbrake - they're easy to solve! You should've said something - for the price of a ticket to Oz, I'd have come and rebuilt them for you...

Bargain!! Oh, wait... Every cable needed replacing - which meant sourcing them from around the country - yay for rare cars...

Originally Posted by monkeymax

I assume you've checked distributor and distributor cap? What about fuel pump?

Pretty certain the dizzy is okay - but I've never checked the fuel pump, might put that on my to-do list.

Originally Posted by monkeymax

A trait of the Mk1 seems to be a light front end at around that speed. Other than that, are all your wheels balanced?

Yep - I've had them balanced many times to no avail. I've tried a set of MKIII wheels and it improved a bit, but wasn't entirely solved. Fitting my spare (original wheel) to one side improves it quite a lot, as did new tyres. I've had the suspension checked & repaired several times - all to no avail. I think it's probably a mix of things causing it - but I've pretty much given up on solving it.

And I've just discovered it has a water leak from around the radiator area... hmmm...