02x02 - Toyota MR2 MKI Part 2

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to Wheel of Dealers, the show
that's mad about iconic classic cars.

Now, the MR2 was
considered to be the world's first

affordable and reliable
mid-engine sports car.

And the last time you
see me, I bought this little

cherub for the princely
sum of only 500 quid.

Ed, my mechanic, has already
done a service on the Revi little 1.

6-litre engine.

And the rattly alternator has been
replaced with a silky new one.

He's ground down the rust and transformed
the paintwork on the rear of the MR2.

But up front, it's in a sorry state.

He needs to fit the second-hand wing I
found him in a salvage yard.

And he's still got to refurbish those
dull-looking alloys.

Also, the boot and ignition lock both need
to be replaced.

So, Ed, there's still plenty to do.

Well, hopefully, Ed will get all the work
done.

And at the end of the show, I'll be able
to sell it on for a profit.

But before that, I'm gonna go and meet a
fella who's got a minter of an MR2 to see

how one of these babies should really
feel, look and drive.

Bang!

Thank you very much for coming down.

And thank you for bringing this
lovely-looking car.

It's no problem.

So, MR2, what made it so special when it
was first introduced?

Well, it's the design, the look,
the handling, and the performance.

And most importantly, it's the
reliability.

It is the original reliable sports car.

Yeah, reliability was a big issue with the
MR2, because before this, it was only a

Fiat X1 9, and they sort of rotted away
and went back to earth.

Exactly, yeah.

So, your car is
totally original, by the

looks of it, but have
you done anything to it?

We've done absolutely nothing to it.

As you see it here is the way it came out
of the showroom in 1989.

And do you plan to do anything to it?

Put some clear indicator lenses on, lower
it, you know, some neon lights underneath?

No, no, I'll be keeping it completely
standard.

Good lad.

See, I like that.

I like it when people
keep their cars standard

and don't muck them
out of them so much.

Now, if I was to go and buy an MR2,
what the problem here is?

Where should I look out for?

Well, it's rust, basically.

You'd be looking at rust on the rear
arches.

Rust basically all over it is the main
problem.

Reliability is not an issue at all.

The engine will go on for
upwards of 200,000 miles,

and some of them have
been known to do double that.

So, reliability in terms of engine
performance, they're bulletproof.

Yeah, absolutely.

Now, your car is absolutely lovely.

Do you use it on a daily basis?

No, this is our showroom example.

It comes out in the summer for shows,
etc.

But we have another
one that we use on a

daily basis, so we
still get that excitement.

Right, so this is your showroom car.

Exactly.

Does it ever go over 4000 rpm?

Oh, yes.

Too right.

On the motorway down here, we were driving
it as they were built to be driven.

I'm glad you said that because my next
question was, can I have a go in your one?

Of course you can, mate.

You don't mind.

What a gentleman.

Thank you.

Climb into, you sort of slot yourself into
it.

Very, very comfortable.

Feels tight, feels raucous, feels raw.

Rear wheel drive, great fun.

Nice punchy gearbox.

Look at that gear change.

So slick.

It's also a good testament to Toyota for
the materials that they use in this car.

They use nice, solid plastics.

They use good, durable cloth on the door
cards and on the seats.

And even 15 years
on, this car still feels as

fresh as it did today and
come out of the factory.

Wayne has done a tremendous job in finding
an original car.

It feels like a modern motor.

I reckon we can get our MR2 exactly like
this.

I don't think we're a million miles away
from this car.

Our car has got rust on the wings.

It's got a few problems mechanically,
what with the alternator grumbling away.

But that's not a problem.

We can fix it.

Once Ed gets his tickling fingers on it
and brings that thing back to life,

then look what we're going to have.

Right, back to the workshop.

Now, Ed's next job is to fit the
second-hand wing that I found him.

For such an impressive
transformation, fixing this

wing onto the car is
actually rather a simple job.

All I've got to do is get it into position
and bolt it on.

Easy as that.

Fitting this wing doesn't
require special tools,

just a socket set and
real attention to detail.

Be careful not to bend or
scratch the new panel as it goes

in, especially if it's in spotless
conditions like this one.

Don't completely tighten the locating
screws as you go along.

Make sure the wing is
perfectly in position and the shut

lines are clean before
finally screwing it into place.

Mike bought me a nice
new wing, but not a new side

repeater, so I'm going to
recycle the one from the old wing.

It's a very simple process.

Get some pliers, give it a squeeze and out
it pops.

The next bit's chance plate.

All I've got to do is put the bulb into
the lens.

Piece of cake.

It's just a case of bolting
this line onto the car

and then we have a thoroughly
presentable new wing.

And there you have it, as good as new.

And of course, let's not forget the side
skirt.

A particularly obvious
problem with this car

is this large crack in
the windscreen here.

Now it's already an MOT failure and as
it's a bonded screen, I'm not even going

to bother to attempt to take it out
myself.

I need lots of specialist equipment and
skill, so I'm going to bring in an expert.

Because we're well under
budget on this car, I'm

happy to cough up
£165 plus that for this job.

It's safer and faster than struggling
through it myself.

First, Neil prepares the new screen, k*lling
the ceramic band of tiny bits of dirt.

Then a heavy-duty degreasing glass cleaner
goes on and a layer of primer.

It's time to remove the old screen.

The trim peels away very easily, but
the nasty bit is removing the actual glass.

So how do you actually get the glass out
of here?

Because it's stuck down pretty well,
isn't it?

Yeah, it needs to be cut
out with a specialist cut-out

tool, which means that in
between the glass and the body.

Oh, okay.

That's clever.

This type of tool should only
be handled by a professional,

and Neil is wearing
protective gloves and eyewear.

I have to say, I'm really rather glad that
he's doing this rather than me,

because it looks very,
very messy, and I think

this one's turning
out to be a bit of a pig.

The window frame is primed before a
heavy-duty adhesive is run around the edge.

We're ready for the new glass.

So you're going to need a hand with that
then?

Yeah, if you could give us a lift in with
it.

Of course I can.

The suction cups hold the
new screen firmly in place

for lifting, but even so,
this is a nervous moment.

Look at that.

Perfect fit.

It's only taken a couple
of hours from start to

finish, and the MR2 windscreen
is road legal once more.

Thanks very much, Neil.

No problem.

Brilliant job.

And don't worry about the mess.

I'll sort that out.

Okay.

This car really is coming together.

The only snag is the paintwork.

It's a bit of a patchwork quilt,
and I want a nice, smooth, even tone.

And I want to get that by using my trusty
mop and polishing it back into shape.

Now, this stuff I'm using is called G3.

It's cutting compound.

Basically, it's like a kind of a grinding
paste, but really, really fine.

And what it does is cuts through the top
layers of the paint, the kind of road

grime, the faded, stale stuff,
and gets through to the fresh paint

underneath, and that's how it restores
color.

Now, it's very important
that this is used with loads

of water, so I recommend
doing a small patch at a time.

And that way, you can keep control of this
moistness.

If it should go dry, what
tends to happen is it will

burn the paint, and that
will just ruin everything.

You can buy a mop like this one for about
150 pounds.

It gives you a much better finish than a
hand wax and polish.

Now, you can see this process is already
beginning to work, because when I started,

this mop was a bright white.

But now, it's actually
going pink, because the red

of the paint is actually
wearing off on here, too.

I've only done the
bonnet so far, but you can

already see a fantastic
transformation taking place.

Before, I had some horrible
white blooming in the paint

here, and now I've got a
lovely, even shade of red.

So you can just imagine how great the
car's going to look when it's finished.

It's time to tackle a
few last niggly jobs, like

the broken ignition barrel
and missing boot lock.

This one isn't difficult.

Take off the trim, locate the hole,
and connect the second-hand lock.

Okay, I can see the back of the hole that
the lock is going to go into, and the lock

feeds in like that, and then there's a rod
that goes from our lock to the latch

mechanism just there, and
then there's also a cable that

goes from our lock inside
the car to the boot release.

So I'm just going to pop that inside and
then connect everything up.

One

down, one to go.

As we know, the ignition on
this car is absolutely mashed, so

what I'm going to do is replace
it with this salvage barrel.

Unfortunately, to get to it, what I have
to do is remove all these dashboard parts,

including the steering wheel.

So bear with me.

All this hassle because the previous
ignition key snapped off in the barrel.

This may look tricky, but it's the
quickest and easiest way to fix it.

Common sense rules here.

Keep a very clear track of the bolt to
remove and do not shear them off.

That will give you real problems.

I can now see the part I'm actually going
to replace.

It's only held on with three bolts, a
circlip, and this electrical wire as well.

The barrel was a reasonable 40 pounds from
a specialist MR2 breaker.

And then we have it, a small bit of scrap
metal.

Okay, that is one ignition barrel
replacement.

And of course, there's only one real way
to test this.

Hey, look at that.

Well, there's certainly no need for this
anymore.

Now, aesthetically speaking, wheels are
the most important thing on a car.

On a sports car, they're only second to
the engine.

Now, these things are shocking.

They're just in such a rubbish state.

I'm going to have to sort them straight
away.

Soap and water is sometimes all that's
required, but not this time.

I'm just cleaning off the muck so I can
see how bad the damage really is.

What seems to have happened is the lacquer
has peeled away from the wheel and road

salts and dirt have got inside and then
have actually attacked the aluminium.

What I'm going to have to do
is grind back the lacquer and

the corrosion to see what
I've actually got to play with.

And of course, safety is a must.

The trusty angle grinder with a tough wire
brush attachment really is the business,

but it's slow progress.

Well, that's that wheel done.

Unfortunately, this
process leaves lots of little

tiny scratches in the
surface of the wheel.

To remove them, I need to use grinding
paste and a mop.

And the idea is to polish
and polish and polish

until I end up with a
really fantastic mirror finish.

Sometimes the laborious, tedious jobs are
the most important ones.

If I put the elbow grease in now,
the wheels in the car will look great.

If I don't, Mike will be really
disappointed.

It's going well, but I mustn't forget the
little scallops in the wheels.

They need to be sprayed black.

So now I'm just going to mask them up.

Now, it's really important that you get
the masking tape done just right,

because just like colouring
in, if you don't get the

paint within the lines,
it's going to look rubbish.

As usual, primer on first, then sat in
black paint straight after.

Three coats, and I hope four ace-looking
wheels.

Well, that's all the painting done.

All I have to do now is let
it dry, take off the masking

tape, coat of lacquer, and
then I can put it on the car.

The lacquer is finally dry on this wheel,
and it looks stunning.

I've actually managed to surprise even
myself at how good this looks.

This is what they look like
before I actually started,

and you can see it's
pretty scanky, to be fair.

So it's been well worth the effort to do
this.

So, wheels on, polishing nearly there,
and the Toyota MR2 T-bar is finished.

Look at that shine.

This mopping has totally transformed this
tired old paintwork, and it's helped me

blend in those bits I've re-sprayed and
also the salvage wing that Mike got me.

This is a car ready for its close-up.

Our MR2 is a testament to
what you can do in a short

space of time if you're
resourceful and hardworking.

This car was a trade-in that
a dealer mate couldn't shift,

and I used that to leave her
a bargain price, just 500 quid.

Ed got to work on the engine first.

A new alternator and belt got rid of that
horrible knocking noise, and a full engine

service made a massive difference to the
way the MR2 now runs.

The rust on the rear wing was ground back
and re-sprayed, but the front was

pass-saving, so I found a
salvage wing that looked the part,

and Ed mopped the rest of
the paint to blend the colour in.

The windscreen had a nasty crack,
and that was replaced by a specialist.

A new bootlock, ignition barrel and door
trim came from an MR2 breaker.

We bought an extra teardrop alloy,
then Ed refurbished the whole set,

and to keep the look going, we stuck on a
new set of tyres and a shiny new back box.

The alternator and belt were £250.

Filters and fluids just £45, salvage parts
£100.

The windscreen, £165.

A new wheel, plus four tyres, £170.

And the exhaust rear box, just £48.

Add that to the purchase price of £500,
and it now owes us just £1,280.

And that's well shy of our £2,000 budget.

Fantastic.

Ed, I can't believe it, mate.

Well done.

It looks amazing.

Look at these wheels, they're very
bling-bling.

Oh, yes.

Well, this has been a huge amount of work,
but it's been a real labour of love.

I was convinced there was a lovely little
car under here somewhere.

It was just a matter of revealing it,
you know?

Well, you've certainly done that.

It's a testament to you, Ed.

But they do say proof of the pudding is in
the driving.

It really is, and this is a lovely little
car.

Just look after it, OK?

I promise.

Right, then, here we go.

Now, remember, this car before was all
going.

No show.

It was an absolute wreck when I gave it to
Ed.

He also gave him that big, long list of
jobs to do.

What a remarkable turnaround.

Ed, you've done it again, fella.

What a cracking, cracking bit of kit we
got.

All I can hear now is the
sound of that bulletproof

reliable engine whistling
away right behind me.

Perfect.

Also, Ed's done a lot of work on the
outside of this car, and that's where,

really, the main transformation has come
in.

It now looks like a
bling-a-bill driving down a

road and something that
anyone would be proud of.

And that's exactly what I aim to do.

I aim to make somebody very proud to own
this car.

And I reckon that I can knock this car out
easily for two grand.

No problem at all.

We're in the money.

The MR2 has a strong fan base,
and buyers offering top dollar for these

cars use specialist
websites to find one imperfect

nick, and that's where
I'm going to advertise mine.

Spring or summer is the time to show an
MR2.

The desirable T-bar spec has practical
roof panels that come out easily and store

behind the seats,
which is where they're

going to stay when the
punters come a-calling.

I've had a surprising amount of interest
from the specialist Japanese website where

I advertised our little MR2, and the guy
behind me, he's called Jim.

He's the first to come and see it.

He's already had a
test drive, and he's made

all the right noises
about the way it handles.

Well done, Ed, but now it's down to me to
see if I can close the deal.

So wish me luck.

Jim.

Hi.

How are we getting on so far?

What do you think?

Good.

I like it.

I like it.

It looks great.

Lovely interior, really clean.

Is that all original?

It's all original, yeah.

They wear quite well these interiors.

It's lovely, Nick, and we've done nothing
to it.

Other than, I will tell you the truth,
it's got a new set of keys, and that might

worry you that we've changed the ignition
barrel because it was stolen or something,

but the truth of it is, the previous owner
snapped the key in the lock.

So it's got a brand new set of keys
because it's got a new ignition barrel.

But other than that, it's totally
original.

No, it's good.

Very good.

Nice and tidy.

You should see the engine.

It's a very nice job
under here, Ed, to clean

it, and he's done a
smashing job actually.

That is clean.

Any problems with it?

No problems at all, but one of the things
to be aware of is water sits in this

little tray here and drops down onto the
alternator bearing, and it tends to grumble.

But the good news is,
we fixed it on this one, so

you shouldn't have to
worry about it for a few years.

Fantastic.

Great.

Body work's all in good nick as well.

It looks so tidy.

Is it all original?

I'll be lying if I said yes.

We've actually done a tiny bit of paint
work on this rear quarter.

There was a bit of rust there, and Ed's
done a tremendous job of mashing the paint.

And we've replaced this front wing.

The front wing originally had a nasty rust
hole in it, and rather than put a load of

nasty filler in, I got
Ed to just completely

change the wing, and
he's done a tremendous job.

The wheels are great.

They're bling bling.

People think I put new wheels on,
but I just refurbished the old ones.

They really set it off.

They do set it off.

It makes such a difference.

So there you go.

You've driven it.

You know all about it.

You know that it's the right time of year
to go and buy one.

It's got the T-bar roof.

It's everything that you said that you
wanted.

All it needs is a new owner.

Well, that's what I've been looking for,
definitely.

It's been a while, and it's the right car.

But it's in it a little bit high for me at
the moment.

Well, I've got it advertised
for two grand, and I

thought it's worth two grand
of anyone's money, this car.

How about 1950?

How about halfway 19?

Cash?

Cash, definitely.

1900 pounds.

Yep.

Yep.

Hold on to it.

Hold on to your end.

Yep.

You bought yourself an MR2.

Stop a well-done seller.

Thank you.

Over 600 quid profit, great.

That's more than I dared hope for.

But for me, it's not about the money.

It's about taking an MR2
that's right on the edge and

turning it into something
that really shines again.

So there you go.

Another motoring classic has found a new
owner and made it back onto our roads.

And that's it for this show.

Make sure you join us
again on Wheeler Dealers

when we'll be reviving
some more motoring icons.

We'll see you soon.

Tala.