Hi guys-
Here's a little story about my other car, my soon-to-be daily driver...
Back in about 1996, my roomate told me he was going to Mexico for 6 months to sell timeshares. Along with him, his coworker decided to go as well. He had an '86 MR2, and didn't know where to put it for those 6 months, so he asked me if I would watch it for him. I said sure, no big deal. He left me some money to keep it up while he was gone(~$200). Well, during that time, I drove it once or twice, and started it every couple of weeks to keep the battery charged, and the oil moving. I noticed almost immediately, that two od the car's tires were balding, and so i used the money to get a new set, since it needed them.
Well, six months passed, and my roomate came home, but his buddy didn't. So....I continued to babysit the MR2. days became weeks. Eventually, the battery needed to be replaced, due to sitting for so long, even though I was trying to keep it charged. Then one day while driving it on a rare occasion, it started making a slight rattle. I was thinking rodknock(I DO drive a supra afterall). At first it was mild, but one day I had to drive the car because my supra was out of commission- and it got Seriously loud, and the motor had NO power. I was on my way to work at a nightclub in midtown Atlanta. I asked my boss if i could leave it parked in the back lot for just a *Little* while. He said yes.
The owner(whom I was still in occasional contact with) asked me to sell it. He sent me the title, but I told him about the engine failure, and asked him what he wanted me to do with it. Never heard from him again.
Well, those months eventually turned into years. By around 2005, that poor little MR2 had been sitting under a pile of leaves, sinking in the mud, in the backlot of a midtown nightclub. The only time it had budged, was to move it from one spot to another on a couple of rare events where the club needed the space. Ironically, every time the jumper cables were applied, the little 4AG started right up on the first try, although it always sounded like crap.
So, eventually the MR2 outlasted the club. the owners decided to sell, and asked me to move the car. So with the help of AAA and some jumper cables, that MR2 was driven onto a flatbed, and towed up to where I lived and placed into storage. Now- why would I keep this thing for so long, you ask? Well, my friends told me many times to just junk it and get rid of the cost and hassle. But i figured- after a decade of having it, replacing the battery countless times(under warranty), and paying storage fees(and once an impound fee), I OWNED that sucker. And being a Toyota guy, I knew i'd eventually want to dive into it as a project.
To this day, some 15yrs later, the previous owner is still MIA, somewhere down old Mexico way. and so be it. squatter's rights. I have the title, i own the worthless thing. Fast forward to 2007. the MR2 had been sitting in storage now for 2 years, me paying the $80 bill each month. Well, i finally moved across town, to be closer to my new job, and into my very first house. Meaning- my very first garage- YAY! So with a friend's help, we load the MR2(again- under it's OWN power) into a trailer and drive it out to my new house, and into my garage.
About 6 months later, I finally get the urge to tear it apart and see what it's made out of. So, I pull the engine/tranny, and start looking into what I'll replace it with. The idea of a 7AGE catches my interest, and so i start collecting 7AFE parts to make the build. BUT, not long after that, I get frustrated with trying to get a decent motor for a decent price. I go to many junkyards looking for a 7AFE, but they're either crap, or missing. I finally get what i think is a good shortblock, but when I get it home and torn down, I see that a rod ate the crankshaft. I lose interest, and begin focusing on my supra again. Now with a bare 7AFE block in the corner, sitting next to the original blown 4age on a motor stand.
Last week, i finally decide to do something about that damned eternal MR2.
I decide that I want to get it up and running, so i can make it my daily driver, and that'll allow me to redo my supra properly. So now the focus is a cheap restoration. With that in mind, i decide to just keep it simple, and stick with the 4age. i tear apart the engine, only to find out that it was not rodknock, but rather, the engine ate two of its pistons! #2 and 4 both have broken ringlands, with #2 missing a good chunk altogether! The rods look good, the block looks good except for a few scratches down one cylinder, and the crank just needs a light polishing on two rod surfaces.
Welcome to the present! I have just ordered a new gasket set, new head bolts, new pistons/ rings in +.5mm, new clutch disc, and new bearing set. Total price- $202. Next on the list is new flywheel bolts and arp rod bolts, for peace of mind. Then the block and rods will get sent to the machine shop. Block will be bored/ honed, and the rods will be resized with the new arp hardware. i expect the cost of machine work will be around $100-$150.
I know a guy.
As for the car itself- beautiful interior, outside is decent, but it again needs 4 new tires- they dry rotted. The car has a bit of typical rust-out behind the rear wheels, so i might end up going to the junk yard and cutting the back out of another shell and welding them in. otherwise, it's pretty solid. About a year ago, i rebuilt all 4 brake calipers and installed new rear wheel bearings. Car rolls nicely now.I'll add a few pics as well here.
---------- Post added at 10:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 AM ----------
---------- Post added at 10:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------
---------- Post added at 10:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------
11/10:
I got the block/ rods/ crank up to the machine shop. The guy looked at the crank, and said that the rod journals would have to be ground down, though the mains were ok. I asked him if it would need to be brought down farther than .25mm(.010), and he said he didn't know. Apparently, they make rod bearings all the way past .75mm, so I guess I shouldn't worry too much, just have to order ANOTHER new set of rod bearings now, this time undersized.
---------- Post added at 10:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 AM ----------
11/30
So, it's been awhile since an update, but that's because I've been waiting for the machine shop to finish up. They called me yesterday, to let me know that the crank had come back from cutting/ polishing, and that they took .020 off the rod journals, so now I know what bearings I need, and have ordered them.
They also told me that the crank needed minor straightening, so the cost was slightly higher. Then he told me that the block needed to be decked, which I was hoping that it would not, so the machine work cost has risen from ~280 to about $400. AAARGH!!!
Oh well, Do it right the first time so there doesn't have to be a next time.
I plan to pick up the parts tomorrow, and will post pics up. Assembly will begin immediately.
---------- Post added at 10:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 AM ----------
12/2
Finally- Got the engine back from the machine shop. There was additional work required, that I hadn't planned on, so here's the breakdown of what was done:
Block- tanked, bored +.050, decked, honed
Crank- polished mains, cut rod journals -.020, straightened
Rods- rebuilt with ARP fasteners, resized.
All this cost me $410, about $150 more than I had hoped. But the parts came out looking great, and it gives me piece of mind. As soon as I got home with them yesterday, I began reassembly. At this point, the rods and mains have been plastigauged and look good, and so I've installed the rods, pistons and main caps. Next is oil pump, rear main, oil pickup and pan(s). If I'm lucky, I'll get up to the cylinder head today.
---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 AM ----------
12/4:
As I've been reassembling the engine, I've been having trouble finding some of the parts! I took this motor out 2 yrs ago, and now I'm playing "Where's Waldo" with some of the timing and accessory components.
I've also been playing the "2 steps forward, 1 step back" game. After I started diving into the Hayne's book, I realized that I never checked to see which way the valve springs were reinstalled. SO, I had to remove the cams and lifters, and pull all of the springs to check them. I found that 5 of the 16 were upside down.
After reassembling the head I mounted it on the block, and THEN realized that(unlike the 7MGTE) you have to remove the cams to bolt it down! Oh well, all that's done now. Next i have to have a small break in one of the two cooling pipes welded up, then I can mount those, and the intake manifold.
---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 AM ----------
12/6
Well, I still need to get a few more parts(of course), but it's coming together.
Tomorrow, I degrease and install the ac compressor, alternator injector rail and injectors, etc.
---------- Post added at 10:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 AM ----------
12/8
Dangit!
I needed new tires for the car, since the old ones were kinda dry-rotted...
So I got online and found a set for a great price. After completing the transaction, I realized I ordered 15in. tires instead of 14!!! OMG...I even messed up the profile, by selecting 50 series instead of 60 series... and 195's, instead of 185's! I am such an idiot!!! These will NEVER fit on the original rims.
Well...
I guess this just means that I need to order brand new wheels to match these tires...
:devil:
ok..so I 'messed up' on purpose. I know it was supposed to be a cheap rebuild.
So sue me.
---------- Post added at 10:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 AM ----------
12-9
Latest pic: All of the accessories on. I had to replace a coolant hardpipe, because after welding up the rust holes, it still leaked from microscopic pinholes.
I bought a used hardpipe off a guy on the MR2 forums for cheap, and now I'm just waiting to powdercoat the valves covers a wrinkle blue finish at my friend's house. Then I mate the engine and tranny together for the install.
Here's a little story about my other car, my soon-to-be daily driver...
Back in about 1996, my roomate told me he was going to Mexico for 6 months to sell timeshares. Along with him, his coworker decided to go as well. He had an '86 MR2, and didn't know where to put it for those 6 months, so he asked me if I would watch it for him. I said sure, no big deal. He left me some money to keep it up while he was gone(~$200). Well, during that time, I drove it once or twice, and started it every couple of weeks to keep the battery charged, and the oil moving. I noticed almost immediately, that two od the car's tires were balding, and so i used the money to get a new set, since it needed them.
Well, six months passed, and my roomate came home, but his buddy didn't. So....I continued to babysit the MR2. days became weeks. Eventually, the battery needed to be replaced, due to sitting for so long, even though I was trying to keep it charged. Then one day while driving it on a rare occasion, it started making a slight rattle. I was thinking rodknock(I DO drive a supra afterall). At first it was mild, but one day I had to drive the car because my supra was out of commission- and it got Seriously loud, and the motor had NO power. I was on my way to work at a nightclub in midtown Atlanta. I asked my boss if i could leave it parked in the back lot for just a *Little* while. He said yes.
The owner(whom I was still in occasional contact with) asked me to sell it. He sent me the title, but I told him about the engine failure, and asked him what he wanted me to do with it. Never heard from him again.
Well, those months eventually turned into years. By around 2005, that poor little MR2 had been sitting under a pile of leaves, sinking in the mud, in the backlot of a midtown nightclub. The only time it had budged, was to move it from one spot to another on a couple of rare events where the club needed the space. Ironically, every time the jumper cables were applied, the little 4AG started right up on the first try, although it always sounded like crap.
So, eventually the MR2 outlasted the club. the owners decided to sell, and asked me to move the car. So with the help of AAA and some jumper cables, that MR2 was driven onto a flatbed, and towed up to where I lived and placed into storage. Now- why would I keep this thing for so long, you ask? Well, my friends told me many times to just junk it and get rid of the cost and hassle. But i figured- after a decade of having it, replacing the battery countless times(under warranty), and paying storage fees(and once an impound fee), I OWNED that sucker. And being a Toyota guy, I knew i'd eventually want to dive into it as a project.
To this day, some 15yrs later, the previous owner is still MIA, somewhere down old Mexico way. and so be it. squatter's rights. I have the title, i own the worthless thing. Fast forward to 2007. the MR2 had been sitting in storage now for 2 years, me paying the $80 bill each month. Well, i finally moved across town, to be closer to my new job, and into my very first house. Meaning- my very first garage- YAY! So with a friend's help, we load the MR2(again- under it's OWN power) into a trailer and drive it out to my new house, and into my garage.
About 6 months later, I finally get the urge to tear it apart and see what it's made out of. So, I pull the engine/tranny, and start looking into what I'll replace it with. The idea of a 7AGE catches my interest, and so i start collecting 7AFE parts to make the build. BUT, not long after that, I get frustrated with trying to get a decent motor for a decent price. I go to many junkyards looking for a 7AFE, but they're either crap, or missing. I finally get what i think is a good shortblock, but when I get it home and torn down, I see that a rod ate the crankshaft. I lose interest, and begin focusing on my supra again. Now with a bare 7AFE block in the corner, sitting next to the original blown 4age on a motor stand.
Last week, i finally decide to do something about that damned eternal MR2.
I decide that I want to get it up and running, so i can make it my daily driver, and that'll allow me to redo my supra properly. So now the focus is a cheap restoration. With that in mind, i decide to just keep it simple, and stick with the 4age. i tear apart the engine, only to find out that it was not rodknock, but rather, the engine ate two of its pistons! #2 and 4 both have broken ringlands, with #2 missing a good chunk altogether! The rods look good, the block looks good except for a few scratches down one cylinder, and the crank just needs a light polishing on two rod surfaces.
Welcome to the present! I have just ordered a new gasket set, new head bolts, new pistons/ rings in +.5mm, new clutch disc, and new bearing set. Total price- $202. Next on the list is new flywheel bolts and arp rod bolts, for peace of mind. Then the block and rods will get sent to the machine shop. Block will be bored/ honed, and the rods will be resized with the new arp hardware. i expect the cost of machine work will be around $100-$150.
I know a guy.
As for the car itself- beautiful interior, outside is decent, but it again needs 4 new tires- they dry rotted. The car has a bit of typical rust-out behind the rear wheels, so i might end up going to the junk yard and cutting the back out of another shell and welding them in. otherwise, it's pretty solid. About a year ago, i rebuilt all 4 brake calipers and installed new rear wheel bearings. Car rolls nicely now.I'll add a few pics as well here.
---------- Post added at 10:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 AM ----------
---------- Post added at 10:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------
---------- Post added at 10:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 AM ----------
11/10:
I got the block/ rods/ crank up to the machine shop. The guy looked at the crank, and said that the rod journals would have to be ground down, though the mains were ok. I asked him if it would need to be brought down farther than .25mm(.010), and he said he didn't know. Apparently, they make rod bearings all the way past .75mm, so I guess I shouldn't worry too much, just have to order ANOTHER new set of rod bearings now, this time undersized.
---------- Post added at 10:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 AM ----------
11/30
So, it's been awhile since an update, but that's because I've been waiting for the machine shop to finish up. They called me yesterday, to let me know that the crank had come back from cutting/ polishing, and that they took .020 off the rod journals, so now I know what bearings I need, and have ordered them.
They also told me that the crank needed minor straightening, so the cost was slightly higher. Then he told me that the block needed to be decked, which I was hoping that it would not, so the machine work cost has risen from ~280 to about $400. AAARGH!!!
Oh well, Do it right the first time so there doesn't have to be a next time.
I plan to pick up the parts tomorrow, and will post pics up. Assembly will begin immediately.
---------- Post added at 10:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 AM ----------
12/2
Finally- Got the engine back from the machine shop. There was additional work required, that I hadn't planned on, so here's the breakdown of what was done:
Block- tanked, bored +.050, decked, honed
Crank- polished mains, cut rod journals -.020, straightened
Rods- rebuilt with ARP fasteners, resized.
All this cost me $410, about $150 more than I had hoped. But the parts came out looking great, and it gives me piece of mind. As soon as I got home with them yesterday, I began reassembly. At this point, the rods and mains have been plastigauged and look good, and so I've installed the rods, pistons and main caps. Next is oil pump, rear main, oil pickup and pan(s). If I'm lucky, I'll get up to the cylinder head today.
---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 AM ----------
12/4:
As I've been reassembling the engine, I've been having trouble finding some of the parts! I took this motor out 2 yrs ago, and now I'm playing "Where's Waldo" with some of the timing and accessory components.
I've also been playing the "2 steps forward, 1 step back" game. After I started diving into the Hayne's book, I realized that I never checked to see which way the valve springs were reinstalled. SO, I had to remove the cams and lifters, and pull all of the springs to check them. I found that 5 of the 16 were upside down.
After reassembling the head I mounted it on the block, and THEN realized that(unlike the 7MGTE) you have to remove the cams to bolt it down! Oh well, all that's done now. Next i have to have a small break in one of the two cooling pipes welded up, then I can mount those, and the intake manifold.
---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 AM ----------
12/6
Well, I still need to get a few more parts(of course), but it's coming together.
Tomorrow, I degrease and install the ac compressor, alternator injector rail and injectors, etc.
---------- Post added at 10:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 AM ----------
12/8
Dangit!
I needed new tires for the car, since the old ones were kinda dry-rotted...
So I got online and found a set for a great price. After completing the transaction, I realized I ordered 15in. tires instead of 14!!! OMG...I even messed up the profile, by selecting 50 series instead of 60 series... and 195's, instead of 185's! I am such an idiot!!! These will NEVER fit on the original rims.
Well...
I guess this just means that I need to order brand new wheels to match these tires...
:devil:
ok..so I 'messed up' on purpose. I know it was supposed to be a cheap rebuild.
So sue me.
---------- Post added at 10:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 AM ----------
12-9
Latest pic: All of the accessories on. I had to replace a coolant hardpipe, because after welding up the rust holes, it still leaked from microscopic pinholes.
I bought a used hardpipe off a guy on the MR2 forums for cheap, and now I'm just waiting to powdercoat the valves covers a wrinkle blue finish at my friend's house. Then I mate the engine and tranny together for the install.
really fun car. nothing like the supra, but still a fun zippy lil dd
