1986 Toyota MR2 - We’ve got a damn great hump...

[jimi]

sweetpea
James
The two tone green/beige was called "Sherwood Toning" AFAIK there nothing special about them, it was a standard colour choice for the 1a available from any dealer (not offered on the 1b), no A/C on them in the UK.

The later cars still had a cable operated heat control, but with motorised air control flaps.



and the A/C switches were blanked off (top left)



But the mechanism is behind the blank, there's a fair chance yours are the same, the article I linked to has more pics, might be of use if you fancy investigating yours. The switch contacts are fairly light duty, I used one to switch a relay to give me the option to could keep the aerial down unless I wanted it up for radio reception.

[Sweetpea]

Oct 31, 2023 22:15:06 GMT jimi said:

sweetpea
James
The two tone green/beige was called "Sherwood Toning" AFAIK there nothing special about them, it was a standard colour choice for the 1a available from any dealer (not offered on the 1b), no A/C on them in the UK.

Hmmm. Maybe I'm muddling two stories up then. Interesting. Well I'm old and increasingly senile so it's ok...

It would make a lot more sense for dealers to be using the air con kits that I pondered for the Corolla on their new stock rather than grey importing cars from Japan.

James

[jimi]

One of the press cars for the UK launch was Sherwood Toning, if your interested Brian Long wrote 2 really good ( probably the definitive MR2 histories) books on the MR2.
TOYOTA MR2 - Japan's First Mid-Engined Production Car
and
TOYOTA MR2 - Coupes & Spyders

[Sweetpea]

Well, you can’t have missed the fact that it’s been a bit rainy for the last 10 days or so. Assuming you are in good ol’ Blighty anyway. Those of you in climates currently not enduring endless unsettled weather can be excused for not knowing that we’ve been having endless unsettled weather.
Get to the point James…

It’s an ideal time to find out if the rear quarter light that I fitted is leaking. I took a look… It’s dry! Yay! God, I’m good. Somedays I even impress myself.

But…







OH COME ON CAR! FFS!

Why do you wait until I’ve put a load of soft furnishings in and then spring a leak creating a boating lake on the bloody drivers seat?
Why could you not leak in the several months while there was just a metal floor?
Right! That’s it! I’ve had enough!
You’ve tried it on just once too often!
Right! Well, don’t say I haven’t warned you. I’ve laid it on the line to you time and time again.
Right, well, this is it! I’m going to give you a damn good thrashing!

[kevins]

I've invested in a car cap for the mx5, no more drips and it's even survived the storms.

[jimi]

Moonroof seals ?

[Sweetpea]

Just want to say thanks to the great John Cleese who assisted greatly with the text of my last post.




You didn't notice I'd stolen some of it!?

Nov 2, 2023 21:14:41 GMT kevins said:

I've invested in a car cap for the mx5, no more drips and it's even survived the storms.

Car cap?




Well, stylistically I wasn't sure to begin with... But yeah, I think we can pull it off.

Nov 2, 2023 22:32:16 GMT jimi said:

Moonroof seals ?

They are fine. And let's face it, on my car it's not going to be that easy. And it's turning out to be that way... Story to follow.

[vulgalour]

That car cap is genius, you should get yourself on Dragon's Den for some investment.

[jimi]

Nov 3, 2023 20:12:12 GMT Sweetpea said:

Just want to say thanks to the great John Cleese who assisted greatly with the text of my last post.


You didn't notice I'd stolen some of it!?

Ohhh yuss!!

See my reply on the MK1 Club

[jimi]

Looks like a typical T-bar leak but yours isn't!

[kevins]

Wrong sort, it needs to be a waxed cotton to keep ut dry.

[Sweetpea]

I guess we’d better work out why I have a soggy seat. Why has my car (that had been perfectly dry) suddenly sprung a leak at the moment I put the interior back in. (The obvious explanation is that it hates me.)

There are a few possibilities but the intriguing one is that something I did caused it. So what was I just doing? Welding up that hole at the bottom of the A pillar. What could I have disturbed? Well the sunroof drain runs right through that area.





Could I have knocked the drain off at the top?

Another thing that runs down the A pillar is the radio aerial. And I happen to know that there is a crack in the plastic mount in the roof.





I have to say, I don’t remember it being that bad. Could I have wiggled the bottom of the aerial tube and upset the seal at the top?

Another possibility that’s in the same area on the right side of the car is this doofer.





That thing set into the front edge of the sunroof aperture is a socket that carries the front edge of the glass. You can lift the glass out if you wish. On the front edge are 2 tangs that slot into those sockets. Effectively they are the front hinge. Anyway, could the seal have randomly failed? Maybe.

But let’s be honest with ourselves. It’s none of these things is it? It’s the heffalump in the room. The thing you dare not mention in case it is. The worst possible thing it could be. The thing that you dread but know deep in your heart to be true.




To find out we are going to have to take the head lining out. Well it needs to go in the house in order to dry out anyway. The drivers seat is in the living room drying out too.


So what did we find? Well it’s not the sunroof drains because, although everybody says it’s always the sunroof drains, it never is. It’s not the top of the aerial either. Or either of the sunroof sockets.
It’s… It’s… It’s…
It’s the worst possible thing. The one thing I can’t, and don’t want to, deal with just yet.


Yep… It’s…





…the windscreen aperture.

OH COME ON CAR! FFS WHY?
You actually hate me don’t you?

James

[kevins]

Temporary repair with gaffer tape? (if it ever dries out enough to stick)

[jimi]

That's a bummer James, although sadly its not an uncommon problem on MK1's 😞
You may find this guide from Paul Woods useful LINKY

Meantime I'd be going this route to at least keep the interior dry.

Nov 2, 2023 21:14:41 GMT kevins said:

I've invested in a car cap for the mx5, no more drips and it's even survived the storms.

[jjeffries]

No doubt about it, that’s a painful kick in the wedding tackle.

Thinking about what awaits you, have you had the dash out before?

Condolences, John

[ivanhoew]

darn it !

[eurogranada]

I feel for you and also see you have the same sort of relationship with your car as I with mine... I Keep caring for it and it in return finds ever new ways of making life miserable for me, lol.

I'm confident however that you will sort it somehow. You've already done so much quality work.

[westbay]

We could start a whole (hole ?) new section on this topic ! 😄

[ivanhoew]

but , james , wouldn't that drip much further forwards , on the hi-fi etc ?

[vulgalour]

Whatever you do, don't poke it!

I had a *far* worse example of that on the tailgate with the Maestro. Some Arbomast non-setting windscreen sealant copiously injected into the seal sorted things out for about 12 months. Think it was blackpopracing as recommended it to me back when I had my Renault 6, definitely one of my favourite products to have learned about because it is both cheap and effective, something of a rarity these days.


It cleans off really easily, isn't that smelly, and doesn't mess up your rubber seals if you need to re-use them. Far better than using silicone or tape and when combined with a weather resistant cover you shouldn't have any water ingress issues at all. Combine with a weather resistant cover and you should be good until we stop getting named storms rampaging about the place.