Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

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Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby Bravo 5 » Sun Nov 27, 2016 11:10 pm

Inspired by Don's 87 restoration project write up I thought I would do the same.

After many years of looking for a mint 1989 Supercharged I realized I wasn't going to find that gem (again). I still kick myself for passing up two super mint time capsule barn finds over the years. I passed on one because I had just bought my 85 and the other one I passed on because it was in Quebec. The one in Quebec only had 26,000km on it and last heard is that it had possibly been exported to Denmark?? I recently met a guy in Vancouver who had an 89 supercharged with only 6,000km on it. At first I thought the odometer was rolled back or disconnected but when I saw inside it looked like the seats had never been sat in... I figured it was probably legitimately at 6000k. Problem was he wanted $28,000 for it.

I picked up this white 89 Supercharged from a guy who had it stored in an airplane hangar in Pitt Meadows. He had recently taken the side skirts off to look for rust and found none whatsoever. There were a couple of small surface rust spots on the fenders but nothing more that I could find. It was all stock except the radio and wheels. This car was as close to mint as I was going to find and in the colour that I wanted so I bought it with the intention of restoring it and getting over the biggest hurdle of a true MKIB restoration... finding or custom making the pin stripe set. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm only slightly OCD when it comes my MR2s. I've been an MR2 owner since 1992 so I know what I like.

The paints looks ok in the pictures but it's a matter of "good from far, far from good".
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Rust spots. Not bad at all. Before I actually bought it I text these pictures to Wing to make sure he could fix it. Later when it was stripped down Wing found no rust anywhere else. The rust spots that were on it was only on the surface and easily fixed.
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There were alot of little things that needed to be addressed. Like this bezel that was originally blue but painted black. A very good paint job but it was scratching off. And the radio bezel was OEM but it was a late model bezel where Toyota changed the texture of the material used. The original bezels in the 80s were a shiny smooth faux leather. The newer ones are flat black and pebbled like this one. Even though it was an OEM part it would need to be changed for that authentic 80s Toyota look.
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I bought it and the next day dropped it off at Wing's for paint (Toyota White 043). Wing only paints one way... properly with the car stripped down. The only thing that was masked off other than the interior was the side door moldings since they are long discontinued and can't be reproduced since the pin striping is embedded inside the molding. During painting I had him install a new windshield molding because once he takes it out it won't go back in nicely. I also bought a complete set of TwosRUs restoration decals and rubber gaskets... front air dam, side skirts, side vent, turn signals, rear tail lights and C pillar. All the parts from TwosRUs are top quality.
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Rubber gaskets
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I got these in trade from Duncan. There's no point in restoring a car if you're not going to restore the wheels.
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Then of course the long discontinued pin stripes... and what I think really makes the MR2 pop. There is a pin stripe kit available from a guy here in Canada as well as a guy in the UK (I think they're selling the same kit actually) but the problem with that kit is that it's made up of 3 separate stripes instead of being screen printed onto one piece of clear tape like OEM. Those stripes are also too thick and spaced too far apart and since they're all separate they can be easily scratched or peeled off. This detail I couldn't yield on. Without the stripes MR2s look too washed out... too white, too black or too red. The stripes break up the colour and scream mid 80s. In fact, if I couldn't find someone who could make a factory OEM correct reproduction, I was going just sell the car! I couldn't live without the correct pin stripes or with the aftermarket set that I've seen. Price was no object if they were OEM correct. I could only find a print shop in Edmonton that would do it and after several months of back and forth we finally got the colour right. I used a digital caliper to measure the stripes that I had on the car currently so I could get an accurate reproduction of thickness and spacing.

First run. Looks ok for stripe thickness and spacing between stripes but it was too dark.
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Second run was too light and not enough metallic in it.
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Finally got it right. My bumper stripe colour was slightly different from the side stripes probably due to being replaced at some point and a different dye lot as well as age and sun exposure. So I used a side molding as the colour template as it's much less likely to deviate colour-wise from the stripes and the new stripes would match it and therefore the entire car. $700 later and this is what I got...
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The chicken is still available from Toyota. I had Wing take measurements of all the stripes and their placement before sanding the car down. Gotta be OEM exact!
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I paid a princely sum for a working OEM antenna mast but it was worth it.
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Replaced my ripped up leather seats with these excellent condition cloth seats. Now I just have to find mint leather seats or mint cloth door cards to match.
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More to come....
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby immorality » Mon Nov 28, 2016 8:28 am

Wow Dan, that's dedication to stripes! It looks great.
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby tedv » Tue Nov 29, 2016 5:49 pm

Looks great !, nice seats to
My 87 Mk1 is sold :( Owned many KE1#'s, currently a 2015 Yaris and a 2001 Rav4
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby Bravo 5 » Sun Dec 04, 2016 9:16 pm

I'd call this project 85% complete. I just picked up a set of really nice black sun visors, a NOS (new old stock) ashtray and an excellent pair of C pillar trims that only had one broken nut that I was able to fix.

To date I've done the following:

- sourced and had OEM correct pinstripes made
- paint by Wing
- refinished the OEM tear drop wheels
- mounted new Cooper tires
- replaced all the lug nuts with the OEM longer nuts
- applied pin stripes, OEM rear chicken on the bumper, OEM Toyota decal on the front bumper, reproduction Supercharged and Toyota MR2 decals from TwosRUs
- installed new bezels; radio and the one behind it
- removed old school aftermarket alarm
- oil change, OEM filter
- installed OEM red plug wires
- installed OEM double din radio
- installed better condition OEM leather steering wheel
- installed new OEM shifter boot and NOS OEM leather shift knob
- installed new gear shift pattern decal
- installed OEM battery
- changed hand brake cables
- changed transmission oil to Red Line MT-90 transmission oil
- changed supercharger oil using the GM stuff

I still have the following on my to do list:

Body:
- re-apply a few of the stripes. I noticed that some of stripes were off as in one stripe was thicker or thinner than the others. So I asked the company that made them to reprint them so I should be getting a new set this week
- find a replacement trunk stripe. I should be able to find that locally
- paint and install the new C pillar trims that I bought
- buy and install OEM windshield
- replace rear window with the better condition one I got from Tyler
- grease up the tracks on my power windows as they move pretty slow
- a few paint touch ups

Mechanical:
- install OEM valve cover gaskets
- install new Koni yellows (purchased and in the mail for Christmas)
- install OEM strut mounts (purchased and in the mail for Christmas)
- install OEM ball joints (purchased and in the mail for Christmas)
- install TwosRUs inner/outer tie rods (purchased and in the mail for Christmas)
- install OEM, plugs, cap and rotor
- install new brake pads all around. I was told they were discontinued but on Lithia they showed they had them. I ordered them so see if they show up
- wheel alignment at Dale's

To find:
- OEM supercharged muffler. I may have found one locally. Hopefully it's better than what I have now
- cloth door cards to match the cloth seats
- leather seats to match the leather door cards that are in it now

A few crappy pictures... better ones to come later.
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Of course what do I find on ebay in Denmark a few weeks after I get my car back from Wing? An almost complete set of dark silver metallic pinstripes for a white MR2! I snapped them up and will save them for a rainy day.
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby 2-yota » Mon Mar 20, 2017 9:05 pm

Damn those stripes! I think you should change your board name to "Stripe" instead. Buy that name off Stu.
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby Bravo 5 » Thu Apr 06, 2017 10:25 pm

Finally got the car back from doing a bunch of work.

First I dropped it off at Dales for:

- new brakes front and back
- installed new OEM ball joints and strut top mounts
- installed new front inner and outer tie rod ends
- installed rear tie rods
- installed Koni Yelllows
- wheel alignment

From there I took it to the dealership to look at an oil leak and to change my timing belt. Of course that turned out to be a blown head gasket. So the engine was dropped and the head was removed and machined. I also did:

- installed new oil pump and re-sealed the oil pan
- installed new water pump
- installed OEM head gasket set
- installed TwosRUs distributor seal kit
- installed OEM valve cover and valley cover gaskets
- installed OEM timing belt (and another belt, can't remember which)
- installed OEM cap, rotor and plugs
- installed OEM fuel filter
- installed OEM crankshaft and camshaft seals
- replace coolant hoses
- new OEM rad cap
- oil change

What's left to do:

- take her back to Wing to replace a couple of stripes that aren't quite symmetrical
- swap out rear window with one that doesn't haven't tint (the tint won't come off without destroying the defroster elements)
- paint and install unbroken C pillar trim
- final paint touch ups
- fresh undercoating and rust proofing
- order SV3 muffler from Aaron (he's still making them to order)

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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby znwgy09agh » Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:01 pm

Wow, looks good! I didn't realize SV3Power was still making exhausts - thought they shut down??
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby immorality » Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:39 pm

I think Aaron was just trying to use up the last of his stock.
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby sprinterkb » Sat Apr 08, 2017 1:41 pm

Congratulations on a spectacular OEM restoration, nice to see it done right 8)
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby Bravo 5 » Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:50 pm

One more thing off my list... Got my stripes reapplied by a guy named Harp who runs a decal shop and has been in the striping business for 40 years. He said he did Gord's 3M clear bra on his red 2 and I highly recommend him for any MKI owner who wants to apply any striping. Harp also did my spoiler stripe and got it perfect.

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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby Bravo 5 » Wed Apr 19, 2017 11:55 pm

Forgot to mention I got the collector plates about a month ago. Now all three of my MR2s have colllector plates. Time to look into Hagerty insurance for cheaper and better coverage.
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby 2-yota » Thu Apr 20, 2017 12:48 am

Wow! There's something really special with what you got there. Need to do a photo shoot for you.
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby Bravo 5 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:09 pm

Found these in the front signal lights. Unacceptable!
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So went to Toyota and picked up a whole new set of bulbs.
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Re: Bravo 5's 89 Supercharged Restoration Project

Postby Bravo 5 » Mon May 01, 2017 11:03 pm

I was browsing through Amazon and saw this Aisin/OEM clutch kit for $40 plus free shipping (wtf it must be a mistake?). Not that I need one but it sells for about $200 everywhere else so I figured I better grab one now at this ridiculously low price.
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I checked out and paid for it. With tax it was about $44. I reloaded the page and saw this lol. I scored!!
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