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Feb 18, 2012 14:26:30 GMT
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As planned, I attended to the dirty rear exhaust box this morning. This was the rear box before I started. In this photograph it doesn't look too bad, but take my word for it, it was stained and dirty.  I wire brushed the box and cleaned it with white spirit. To prevent overspray I masked off the rear grille and box brackets.  I polished the twin pipes with Autosol. They don't look bad, considering they're 16 years old.  Cracking looking rear end!  Next I dealt with the door window strips. The top gloss layer had rubbed off and they looked awful.  The boys on the MR2 forum recommend removing the strips and spraying them off the car. However, having already once had the pleasure of removing one of the strips (not easy!), I decided to paint them in situ.   Bit of prep and wipe with white spirit, followed by a squirt of black gloss paint and the job was done.   This is a rear centre panel MR2 badge, originally fitted to a Rev 1 / 2 Mk2 MR2.  There are a couple of clips on back of the badge.  I cut the clips off and applied two blobs of adhesive to the back of the badge.  This was the central part of the dashboard. MR2 dashboards are a little bland and very black.  Voila. A little mod that introduces a bit of bling to the dashboard.  That's it for today. |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic.  |
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Feb 19, 2012 16:09:02 GMT
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I fancied a smaller steering wheel and bought this via Ebay last night.  I was surprised how quickly I got used to it. The only time the steering wheel feels a bit odd is when parking, otherwise I love it. Charlie, my two year old son, likes it too.  I also bought and fitted clear side repeaters and front indicators.  I gave the MR2 a wash and took a couple of pics.   Great looking car! |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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Feb 23, 2012 17:32:48 GMT
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I've been busy tinkering with the MR2 again. I fitted a pair of Ariston pod speakers, the same pair that I once fitted to my first MR2, approx ten years ago. The head unit is connected to the original speakers via the red / white RCA leads (connected to the original amps) so the 4x45 watts internal amp wasn't doing anything. These add a nice bit of rear full range fill. The MR2's speaker count is up to 10!  When I bought the car the front offside corner had a nasty scuff.  Fortunately the scuff wasn't particularly deep and all it needed to make good was smoothing with 1500 grade wet and dry and a couple of coats of clear lacquer.  I noticed that the recently sprayed rear exhaust box isn't looking too clever! I used ordinary silver aerosol left over from my Toyota Celica days and clear lacquer, which evidently doesn't like heat. This will need sorting out asap.  I took advantage of the weather and gave the MR2 a good polish.  The results speak for themselves.   I know that I keep posting lots of photographs of the MR2 parked outside my house, but it just looks so good! |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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I must Say when i came across your 123 I was surely impressed, thanks for reminding me how beutiful this classic is when i get HOME I'm giving my one a wash, I'm struggling to get some parts for it but it shall be OK...LOVE YOUR RIDE MAN
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I must Say when i came across your 123 I was surely impressed, thanks for reminding me how beutiful this classic is when i get HOME I'm giving my one a wash, I'm struggling to get some parts for it but it shall be OK...LOVE YOUR RIDE MAN
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I must Say when I came across your 123 I was surely impressed, thanks for reminding me how beutiful this classic is when I get HOME I'm giving my one a wash, I'm struggling to get some parts for it but it shall be OK...LOVE YOUR RIDE MAN Thank you very much my friend. I'm glad that my efforts don't go to waste. Do you have any pics or more info about your car? |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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One benefit of being a chartered surveyor based out in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire is that I get to use my cars daily and often visit some great places and meet friendly likeminded enthiusiasts. Here are a couple of pics of the W123 parked up overlooking High Wycombe.   This morning I met a client who turned up on site in a very nicely presented W126 560SEC. Top man!  I tend to leave the MR2 at home if I know my car might be seen by clients. As nice as the MR2 is, it's not an entirely suitable form of transport for a chartered surveyor knocking on forty! For longer journeys I take the BMW, which gets me to my destination quickly, silently and returns over 60MPG. Great car. |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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Ian
Part of things
Posts: 977
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MR2 looking good as always, I bet the polish was hard to remove, as it looks to be on a little too thick, it could be done with breaking down a bit more until it starts to cleese and the oils are being absorbed.
One thing I always wanted to do on mine was remove the rear exhaust shield, the black vented section behind the back box, then fit a nice shiny stainless exhaust.
I love that blue, and keep looking out for a nicely priced one.
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MR2 looking good as always, I bet the polish was hard to remove, as it looks to be on a little too thick, it could be done with breaking down a bit more until it starts to cleese and the oils are being absorbed. You're probably right. I must confess that I don't enjoy polishing cars. It takes so long. I start by washing the car, then drying it off, then I apply the polish, wait for it to dry, wipe off the large sections of polish, then detail the bits around door handles, panel gaps, trim, etc, then wipe the whole lot over with another cloth and finally wash and dry the car to remove all the polish dust that gets into every nook and cranny. I think I spent about three hours doing the MR2. One thing I always wanted to do on mine was remove the rear exhaust shield, the black vented section behind the back box, then fit a nice shiny stainless exhaust. That does look good, but only if you have a nice and shiny exhaust to show off! This is the back of my previous Rev 3. I removed the black shield and showed off my bling Blueflame exhaust.  I love that blue, and keep looking out for a nicely priced one. The colour was the main reason why I bought the car. It does look good. It looks even better now that I've replaced the orange indicators and repeaters. I'll happily do a deal and swap for your E36 Coupe! |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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Ian
Part of things
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I doubt that! The e36 has sat in the garage since May when the MOT expired, and then I lost my job so fixing it went out of the window, it needs the new suspension and bushes fitted that are in the boot, and then the hunt for a replacement 2.8 engine as it has lost compression on one cylinder, I think due to the known BMW Nikasil issue, it's also an auto.
Driving around in a 2002 Astra at the moment which is just too boring.
I used to have a zircon blue revision 2 gt about 10 years ago, such a good car and always wanted a turbo!
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I doubt that! The e36 has sat in the garage since May when the MOT expired, and then I lost my job so fixing it went out of the window, it needs the new suspension and bushes fitted that are in the boot, and then the hunt for a replacement 2.8 engine as it has lost compression on one cylinder, I think due to the known BMW Nikasil issue, it's also an auto. Driving around in a 2002 Astra at the moment which is just too boring. I used to have a zircon blue revision 2 gt about 10 years ago, such a good car and always wanted a turbo! Sounds like a sad story. I love 328i E36 BMWs, especially Coupes with tasty wheels. Zircon Blue is a nice colour too. I've had 6 MR2s but never a Turbo. I've never felt the need to go that fast! |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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Ian
Part of things
Posts: 977
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I feel bad about not being able to fix it at the moment, but no point rushing things, I am in a similar line of work to you as a quantity surveyor, I like getting out to sites in my older cars, there isn't anything more boring than a sea of modern in a car park!
The Astra doesn't cut it either
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Mar 11, 2012 19:08:03 GMT
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At 9:30am today I looked out of the front bedroom window and witnessed my W123 being vandalised. Right there, in front of my very eyes, I watched a sparrow repeatedly jump from the nearside wing mirror to the side window trim, pick at the glass with its beak and jump back onto the mirror. It repeated this mating ritual for approx 5 minutes. This was the state of the car when I moved it off the drive.   Fortunately, the mess came off easily with a Flash wipe and left no permanent damage. As a precaution, if the mad bird decides to return for more fun and frolics, I wrapped the wing mirror with a plastic bag. I noticed that during the past few weeks three small scabs located near to the electric radio aerial have started to get bigger. I carefully removed the bubbled paint to find this.  I treated the rust with a corrosion inhibitor and painted the spots over with rust prevention primer.  Once dry, I'll touch up the spots with a paint stick. It won't look perfect but at least the rust will be kept at bay. |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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Mar 12, 2012 20:21:04 GMT
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Loving the MR2, Your brother-in-law still got my old E36?
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zircon
Part of things
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Mar 12, 2012 20:31:06 GMT
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The MR2 is looking good Peter - I am impressed with your scuff repair!
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Mar 13, 2012 16:42:04 GMT
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Loving the MR2, Your brother-in-law still got my old E36? Thanks mate. Yep, Matt still has your E36 and it's still going strong. Some of the bodywork (rust) could do with a little TLC but otherwise the old Bimmer hasn't given any problems. You want it back? |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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Mar 13, 2012 16:46:23 GMT
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The MR2 is looking good Peter - I am impressed with your scuff repair! Hey dude. Yep, the scuff repair turned out ok. Unfortunately, the exhaust box makeover was a big FAIL. Most of the paint has turned brown / black and smells like a bonfire, even after a short drive. I haven't decided how to undo the spray job. Any ideas? |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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Mar 13, 2012 16:49:12 GMT
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Your brother-in-law still got my old E36? Voila!  |
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1985 Mercedes W123 230E - 5 speed manual & 2011 BMW F11 520d Touring - 8 speed automatic. |
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Mar 13, 2012 18:25:25 GMT
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Your brother-in-law still got my old E36? Voila! Still looking good, I would have that back it was, and looks like it still is, a great car |
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