hahaha. sivart! So good! We should definitely create an award for that. We could do another sort of wall of shame similar to how ... I can't remember his name now, but he had a yellow spyder with a SARD body kit. Some of us went up to Jacksonville where he was at a show to meet him. he was a graphic artist.... Anyway, he had a wall of shame graphic for everyone that said their passenger window switch stopped working. We should bring that back too. haha.
Hey rm2011, I haven't been here lately, so, sorry I missed your update. My Spyder has a MarkI nose badge(smallish red bird/eagle) and the script Spyder where you drew the blue circle on the rear bumper cover.
Let me know if you need the extra hands and eyes.
"Think as we think", say many Spyder owners, "or you are abominably wicked, you are a toad". After I'd thought about, I said "I will then, be a toad." Thank you, Stephen Crane
The top is finally done. I started the install the week after Christmas and it was pretty straightforward. I only had a few questions and between @galo's BGB and the included instructions I was able to get it all sorted out. I did lose one bolt down inside the car but it's one of the three that holds the top fabric to the frame underneath the top window seal bracket and seems to just be there for ease of install since the bracket will hold the fabric in place once installed. I left off with everything complete except the headliner because I hadn't picked up any adhesive for the 2nd bow flaps.
Well on Saturday I happened to find myself at the hardware store for other reasons so I picked up this stuff.
It installed like this.
One strip on each half of the bar itself, here shown with the first strip installed. Pull the white paper off, and then pull the vinyl tabs on the top around behind the 2nd bow and stick them to the tape. Very easy and seems stronger than I expected.
Then the headliner slots into the metal tab along the front and job complete. I'm supposed to keep the top up for a period of time to let the fabric stretch over the new frame, but it's a struggle because the weather was super nice today. I took the van out instead and opened both sunroofs and all four windows. And to think we're supposed to get a freak winter storm tomorrow.
So my MR-2 ToDo list:
Radio. These are still unavailable presumably because of the chip shortage or whatever. I'm currently using a bluetooth adapter plugged into a cassette adapter to get music because it's much louder and higher quality than my FM transmitter. Still sucks, though. I also need new speakers because the left front is blown.
ECU. I'm pretty set on an AltezzaLink G4X at this point. It supports BEAN, can be purchased with a PnP adapter, and cannot possibly be worse than the MegaSquirt in my Eclipse. I'm getting an EVO8 G4X for the Eclipse soon because it needs something else desperately, then I'll get one for the ZZW30 after.
Seat belts. I've already spoken with a company about making rear belts for my van, and while I have stuff there I might as well have the front belts done in the MR-2. Cobalt seems to be the closest to my Spectra Blue Metallic.
Steering wheel. Mine is usable but in kind of poor shape. Found a company that will redo it and can add blue carbon fiber accents to some spots that were originally wood trim on the Camry or whatever. I can find no pictures of this blue carbon fiber and not a ton of reviews of the company's work in general, but it's cheap enough that I think I'm just going to run with it. Here's what it looks like with wood trim.
And their "blue fiber" swatch looks like this:
Body work. Spoke to my body shop at the end of last year about a plan of attack for the car. I will order a replacement front left fender and they will just repair the right front and right rear. Paint on those three fenders and the front bumper should cover it, but the hood might get involved as well. While I'm doing paint, I'll add:
Spoiler. Application-specific options are limited and I prefer to look under wings instead of over spoilers, so I'm getting this and painting it body colored.
Headlights. The right front needs replaced or refinished. Also one can get brackets to install Mini H1-flanged projectors into the factory projector housings so definitely doing that. And while the Mini H1 is okay, Morimoto just released the Micro D2S projector which uses the MH1 mounting surfaces but with D2S bulbs and better optics. So I'll be picking up a set of those and bulbs and ballasts to go full bixenon in a stock-appearing package. I haven't put any thought into DRLs but my Eclipse has switchback halos that are kind of neat.
2ZZ, 6 speed, turbo kit. There's an engine importer in Cincinnati that had a 2ZZ and transmission in stock for a good price but I missed buying it by less than a week. Now that there's no urgency, I plan to contact them and get another 2ZZ set imported as well as every single VVT K6A that I can find because I hoard those things. And some other large parts imported from Japan like bumpers and seats.
Tires. The rubber on the car now is new enough and las lots of life left, but they're mismatched. It's winter rubber at the front and all-seasons at the rear, I think. Different no-name brands and all that. Certainly needs to happen before the aforementioned power mods, but not really a priority otherwise. At least not until it warms up.
Wheels. I like to have a winter set for all of my cars even if they don't get driven in winter because I got tired of my good summer rubber getting ruined after one winter outside. I also hate staggered wheel setups. So Idk what I'm going to do. Maybe get a second staggered OE set and put summer rubber on the two larger 16" wheels and winter rubber on the smaller 15" wheels? Maybe keep the OE staggered setup for winter and get something nice and aftermarket for summer? I have done zero research into this.
Lug nuts. I have 5 short ones with part number 90084-94001 and 9 longer ones of unknown origin. They need to match because this is dumb. The plan is to get 9 more short ones.
Thanks for the update and write-up on the soft top install. Sounds like you are having a lot of fun and have a boat load of more work (fun) ahead of you. 🙂
Bracing! I forgot bracing! I need to get some braces under this car. I had ~15 tabs open on my phone researching things but lost them all when I switched ROMs. Pricing will determine where these fit in the priority list but the car is doing okay as-is. Probably after wheels and tires.
And not really related, but my sister drove up from Nashville for some work on her 1ZZ. She called dibs on my C56 when it comes out, since her C59 is being weird with 3rd.
Well on Saturday I happened to find myself at the hardware store for other reasons so I picked up this stuff.
It installed like this.
One strip on each half of the bar itself, here shown with the first strip installed. Pull the white paper off, and then pull the vinyl tabs on the top around behind the 2nd bow and stick them to the tape. Very easy and seems stronger than I expected.
This did not work in the slightest. The tape pulled off the very first time I closed the top. Idk if I will put much effort into pulling the headliner back off to fix it since the plastic leading edge of the headliner fabric can be easily damaged on removal. With 2ZZ stuff arriving it's not a priority but I may get to it later.
I’d probably avoid highway speeds until you can get back in there and fix the attachments. Those ragtop tabs keep the top from billowing up at highway speeds. I think I’d glue them to the bar with a very aggressive contact adhesive. Like Weldwood contact cement. Brush a thin coat on the metal bar and the vinyl tabs. Let them dry so they’re not shiny any more. Then smush them together hard. Lay an old towel beneath everything when you’re applying the glue, cause it drips everywhere and it’s about impossible to clean up (acetone will clean it, but not on cloth!)
This post was modified 3 years ago 2 times by cyclehead
I make Amateur Armrests - see the Commercial Forum. I also have SMT repair seals available.
Dude, you've been busy!!! I'm currently between jobs, so if you'd like those extra hands and eyes...
"Think as we think", say many Spyder owners, "or you are abominably wicked, you are a toad". After I'd thought about, I said "I will then, be a toad." Thank you, Stephen Crane
I had this exact bottle with me while I put the tape on. Maybe I've only ever used old bottles or something but I have NEVER had an experience where this sticks to anything at all. It was going to be my backup plan if I couldn't find any tape. Maybe I'll test it on some scrap painted metal I have laying around and see if it will work.
@Galo I have nothing else on my car to-do list for a while, actually. I've been focusing on cleaning and organizing my garage, and that's going well enough. I still have that whole wooden shelf in the background to pull out and organize, but I can at least get to the bar now.
I had to install new brake pad wear sensors on the Beemer...front was easy, rear, not so, but I got it done. About ready to get the LC2 & w/b installed and running...I just wish it was warmer. Gonna switch tires on both cars in the next couple of weeks, the Beemer 1st. The Spyder will be more involved; doing the brakes while the tires are off.
Now to get serious in job hunting...
"Think as we think", say many Spyder owners, "or you are abominably wicked, you are a toad". After I'd thought about, I said "I will then, be a toad." Thank you, Stephen Crane
