Been a while since I did the repairs and was on here...was just taking the car out for a spin today and came on here to check out my old handywork! From memory I think I used 1.2mm (or might have been 1mm steel)....I just matched the thickness to the stuff on the car. The inner arch was much...
On my toyota mr2 I was able to make my own sill repair panels by shaping a new piece of steel around the existing sill.....this only worked because the sill just had a bottom lip and then a nice smooth curve so it was easy to clamp to the bottom edge and then bend the steel around the existing...
Really good work and fair play for not giving up...the mk2 MR2 is pretty much the same...some areas are totally rotten ....yet a few inches away it's like factory fresh. Bumper impact bar is a common issue on these. I would really like to do a MK1 but I'm too scared. Think you've done the right...
I reckon just go for it....if it turns out to be too big a job I'm sure "someone" will take it off you....they are quite popular cars. I think they all rot in exactly the same places so should be plenty of advice on line about how to fix them
I'm a beginner so take everything I say in context. You may need to do the repair in two pieces as it looks like you've cut out part of the angled profile towards the bottom of your last picture...unless you are good at bending steel? Shame the right hand edge of the hole has gone into the...
Hi Mate...also like those old BMWs...brave project but it can be done. Agree with the advice here (of course)...have been through a similar process with my MR2. I was totally new to MIG welding / fabrication work etc. Best thing to do is to plan everything carefully...agree compressor is a good...
Cheers guys...yea she turned out OK in the end...am looking for a new project at the moment....quite fancy a mini but will have to see. Have been busy on the mr2 fitting a tracker....found one on line for 30 quid that works with a phone sim....it even came with a relay for the fuel pump cut...
Finally she's finished
Spent what seems like an age finishing off those "little" jobs. Front end rebuild took ages...I ended up stripping back the front bumper, wings and headlights and giving them all a mini refurb...well I was fitting a new radiator so why not. She went for the mot this week...
I was thinking I might do another one myself but will have to wait a little...I have a mk3 mr2 project waiting to be sorted out and put back on the road.
Cheers mate....they really are great little cars + at the moment they are very very cheap. This is a rev1 which is the earliest mk2....depending on who you ask it's either described as the car with no ABS or power steering plus terrible rear suspensions.....or as I prefer...a true drivers car...
Cheers for the comments guys....I don't think I could have done it without the help here on the forum....there really is a world of experience here. Still plugging away at the mr2...am on to the nice bits...stripping down the front end ....fitting alloy radiator....full service...etc etc....alot...
Finally the bumper is back on....doesn't that work look flawless....errrr....hidden behind that bumper:whistle:
Was worth putting in the effort on the alignment...the bumper is a really really close fit around the back wheel arch flange so I guess it wasn't a waste of time after all...if the...
Then a few coats of regular primer followed by colour. I'm not going for a perfect finish just presentable as this will all be hidden anyway....I've done the best I can with just body filler....to get a better finish I think maybe some stopper to pick up the small flaws but this isn't going to...
Good progress today - began with cleaning off the welds a little more...then a dash of filler. I use the prepaint cleaner in the photo before doing any painting
Thanks for the comments...Yea...agree but am worried that if I start letting things slide then before you know it I'll be reaching for the tub of fibreglass. Agree the mr2 mk2s are crazy cheap at the moment...the same thing happened with the mk1 a few years ago and I wish I'd bought one...now...
Finally a bit of etch priimer and called it a day. Today went alot better than yesterday I think. Some of the welds will need a little more tidying then on to filler. I'll try to remember to take a few pics of the filler stage too....then of course it's on to paint.
Cleaned up the welds...including inside the arch as best I could...I want the end result to look similiar to the factory finish. Yes my gas bottle is tied to the car...stops it tipping over and landing on the regulator!