Hello from Aberdeenshire

[Gordond]

Hi everyone. My MR2 was first reg in Feb 1990 and has 105,000miles on it I have had it for almost one year now. Well I bought it about three years ago but My son used it for two years. Then he moved on to other things and I got it back I think the reason I got it back was that it was broken. Stuck in 2nd gear, anti roll bar broken off at one side at the front, problem with a speed bump, Drivers door lock fallen off inside the door, and a flat battery.

The gear change was a broken cable which was not too difficult to change. I managed to fix the door lock but found out that it’s not a good idea to take a door apart. It took about a week but I think I could do it in less that a day now.

The car is going very well now and my next job is a timing belt change. It's now my week end and Friday wheels replacing my 1957 Land Rover which I sold.

I was going to add a photo but it does not look so good as other cars also I cannot work out how to add a photo

Question the car had 195/50 15” wheels fitted when I got it three years ago What is the advantage of 15” wheels against the standard 185/60 14” wheels?

Gordon
Aberdeenshire Scotland

[Ben]

Hi Gordon, welcome to the club :+:

There is a handy guide to uploading photo's here:
/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=681 (http://www.mr2mk1club.com/forum//viewtopic.php?f=11&t=681)

Don't worry about uploading your pics - at least 80% of the MK1s I've seen are scruffy in some way. We're not a buncj of snobs ;)

In fact, I'm taking my MK1 complete with rusty arches and rusted-out rear quarters to a show on Sunday - it'll even be on a stand :lol:

Get some pics up - iy's great to see the work people have done, as well as what they plan to do in the future.

With regards to the wheels, the answer is: Not much! The sizes you have on are near-as-dammit the same radius as the standard 14" size. Cornering may be slightly improved (and ride slightly compromised) by the slightly lower-profile tyres, but this is only noticeable really if you start going for 16-17" rims. The main advantage to having the 15" rims you have is tyre choice. The most popular tyre choices (Toyo's, Yokohama's and Goodyear Eagles) are widely available in 195/50/15. Finding quality performance tyres for the stock 14" wheels is a little harder as there is less choice available.

[Gordond]

Thanks for the info on how to add photos I will have a go during the next few days or so.
Gordon

[Gordond]

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2009/06/P5150035-1.jpg[/img]

Followed your instruction and attached is a photo of my car taken May 2009. I use it at week ends and Fridays to go to work. 70 odd mile round trip. Not as good as some of the cars I have seen in other photos But full MOT and running well. I do have a fault in the electric system which is giving a drain on the battery. It will be flat if car parked for 1 1/2 to 2 days. So at the moment I just disconnect the battery earth lead. It could be the rectifers in the generator. Another job to sort out soon.

Gordon

[Ben]

That's a nice looking car mate :+:

Personally I'd stick with those wheels over the stock 14s, they suit the car really well. Also, it's nice to see a red one that hasn't gone pink! :lol:

Out of interest, regarding the electrical drain, does the interior clock stay on when you remove the ignition key?

[Gordond]

It looks better in the photo than in real life. Red paint starting to fade with a bit of white starting to show in places mainly on top of roof and engine cover. I had another red car years ago that had the same problem.

Yes the clock stays on with key out. Bit of a problem with the ignition switch if I turn full to left to lock I can have a major problem unlocking again. So may need to replace some time.

I had a problem with the rear boot lock last November. I made the mistake of locking it with the key. Took me some time to unlock it. WD40 and lub oil in key hole and moving key in and out and after a time it unlocked.

With battery disconnected if I put a meter between battery -ev and earth indicates 1a current with a high pitched whining noise for about 4 sec. Then no noise and 10a current for about 8 sec then drops to 0.44a current. Could be a capacitor charging up. Something for me to think about for a bit.

[Ben]

I seem to remember someone having a similar problem - the battery was draining and the clock stays on.

The interior clock should switch off completely when the key isremoved. In the previous case, it transpired that the ignition barrel was worn. In a MK1, when switching it off and removing the key, you have to turn it off as normal, then press the square black button next to the ignition and turn the key another click anti-clockwise to remove it. In this case, the barrel was worn so that the key could be removed without this last turn, leaving the ignition on the "accessories" setting that, amongst other things, leaves the interior clock on.

Check this first, it may be that you just need to click the button and make the final turn to switch everything off :+:

[alfiembra]

Hi Gordon good to see a Fit-Liker on here. I work in Aberdeen through the week and occasionally bring my two up for a change from my oil burner economy barge. There are a few locals in Aberdeenshire that post on here and other MR2 forums such as Shane in Huntly and BMWBILL, think he's a Toonser.

Your car looks fine to me, mine is also red and scrubs up well with a bit of effort.
Notice yours says SC in your spec, was it a conversion job or an import?

Welcome to the forum and hope to see you out and about sometime.

Alan

[Gordond]

Thanks for the information everyone. Sounds as if the fault could well be the ignition switch. Not sure why I put SC in the car type. It's a 1b first reg Feb 1990 and not an inport. one piece sun roof that lifts out and stores in the front boot
Gordon