Koji Project 1: Death to Smurfy

[koji]

I’m out of town on business right now so I won’t be doing anything to the car till tomorrow night. I’ve got a ton of ideas running around in my head and since I’m chillin’ in my hotel room I decided to put write some of them out. I have a couple of goals for the interior, mostly it’s to get rid of the blue, but I also want to see if I can make it look a little more modern as well. Here’s the list of what I’m thinking I’ll do in this project (this is mostly for me).

AC Repair: There’s something behind my glove box that sounds like a cat being slaughtered when I turn on the window defogger. It also smells like burning plastic. I haven’t looked through the manual enough to know what this is, but something clearly needs to get fixed.

Recaro SE Seats: I love these seats. They don’t make them anymore so I’ve hung onto them. They’re a great daily driver seat because they have good side bolstering for the upper body but not so much on the lower body that you smash your boys on the way to work. I’ll probably use the OEM brackets and weld a few pieces of steel to them to mount the seats. From the searching I’ve done on here it doesn’t sound like most of the ones out there fit right.

Carbon Fiber Shifter Surround: I know how to work with CF and the area is relatively flat. The OEM piece is a little bulky for what it does so I want to make something to hold down the shift boot that doesn’t look like crap. I’m not going to cover the entire shifter plastic bit, I’m just going to do a ½” thick ring.

Seats Belts: You can’t recolor seatbelts. I’ve completely struck out on finding a set off of a wrecked MR2 and new ones are $150 each. Yeah, that’s not happening. I don’t know if I’ll do a harness bar/harnesses or if I’ll just try and find a belt off a different car that will do the job. Once I get the OEM belts out I’ll hit the junk yard. Hopefully Subaru belts will do it because I’ve “got the hookup” on local salvage.

Custom Center Console: Basically I’m going to sand down/paint the interior plastics for the center console and the gauge shroud till they look like black glass. I’m also going to put in a few integrated gauge slots on the top side of where the OEM deck sits now. I did this on the Subaru, which also had a super huge OEM deck.



Side door handles: Most modern looking cars have these. Think S2000. They run vertical to the door, and attach the arm rest to the top of the door. The car currently has these stupid cup things like on my Subaru. I have no idea how I’m going to construct these yet because they’re dependent upon a solid mounting surface. We’ll see what’s there when I get the door torn apart.

Door inserts: The part that right now is a super awesome blue cloth is going to get recovered with black leather and red stitching.

Cupholder: I’m thinking I’ll put these either in the door – just past the pocket – or in the center console where the ashtray is. I don’t smoke and I don’t keep change in there so it’s useless to me. The tray goes deep enough to lead me to believe there’s enough vertical space for at least a 12oz soda can sized cupholder.

iPhone Holster: Depending on what I do on the cupholders this will probably go near the ashtray.

Aluminum window handles: I like the roll-down windows but the actual handles are atrocious. I’ve got a bunch of spare aluminum laying around from old projects so I’ll cut/polish some up and create a mount to attach it to the window mechanism.

Steering wheel: I bought one off of eBay with a quick release. Normally I’d never do this because of the airbag but with good aftermarket seats and a strong chance I actually go with a belt harness I decided to buy one.

Stereo/Speakers: I put in an order at Crutchfield for a deck and some 6.5/4” replacement speakers. Nothing special – I’m not an audiophile.

Re-carpet: Depending on how it looks/smells once I’ve pulled it out, I’ll either just paint the carpet or get some material and cut up a new one. I also got some floor mats from Twosrus.com

Clean up the HVAC controls: A few buttons are completely worn down to the point where they’re transparent. I’ll need to paint them and find some appropriate stickers.

Paint everything else black: Self explanatory.

[countyboy3188]

welcome koji!!
Great work so far hope to see more from you.

And Nautical blue FTW!

[Archidamus-R]

OMG, I have that shift knob! Pulled it out of a totaled WRX at a yard for $10. Did you restitch that by hand, as the holes for the stitches are already punched? I WANT mine to have red stitching . . .

Also, manufacturers like to use as many interchangeable parts as possible across their entire vehicle lineup. You might look at similar vintage Corolla, Celica, or Camry belts. They should bolt right in, or require tiny modifications, and they should all have the same buckling mechanism (same metal tab, I can't think what they're called). I just installed a steering column combination switch out of a Celica in my 2. Now I have a switch for my rear windshield washer/wiper! LOL.

Great writeup so far, and welcome!

[koji]

Originally Posted by Archidamus-R

OMG, I have that shift knob! Pulled it out of a totaled WRX at a yard for $10. Did you restitch that by hand, as the holes for the stitches are already punched? I WANT mine to have red stitching . . .

Exactly. You need upholstry thread which is thick and heavy duty. I doubled up mine twice. (Two pieces of thread through the needle, doubled back and all tied together).

Originally Posted by Archidamus-R

Also, manufacturers like to use as many interchangeable parts as possible across their entire vehicle lineup. You might look at similar vintage Corolla, Celica, or Camry belts.

Yep, I know. I did this. Nada. The problem is that I specified Black or Gray ONLY. Clearly I'm not the only one who has asked about this as nobody had anything from a mid-to-early-nineties-Toyota-anything.

A couple of parts have gotten here (yay!) so I'm going to start pulling bits out of the car tonight.

More to come!

[mr29180]

Wow can't wait!!

[Archidamus-R]

Originally Posted by koji

Exactly. You need upholstry thread which is thick and heavy duty. I doubled up mine twice. (Two pieces of thread through the needle, doubled back and all tied together).



Yep, I know. I did this. Nada. The problem is that I specified Black or Gray ONLY. Clearly I'm not the only one who has asked about this as nobody had anything from a mid-to-early-nineties-Toyota-anything.

A couple of parts have gotten here (yay!) so I'm going to start pulling bits out of the car tonight.

More to come!

Aww, BS . . . On their part, not yours. Dunno where you live, but my local graveyard has quite a few Yota's. I could scout around for you . . .

[Sh0ty]

Your knob's leather kinda looks like a... a knob. Great stitch work, I really like the DIY attitude.

[koji]

Time for my first update!

Since you guys aren't really familiar with how I get down, let me esplain' a bit. I don't watch TV except for sports. I gave up gaming. I cut anything out of my life that basically involved sitting on my ass when I'm done with the work day.

My wife is pregnant (w00t!) and this one is taking the piss out of her. She pretty much goes to bed at the same time as Tommy, my 3 year old, which most nights is about 8:30.

I relate to Fight Club on a very personal level because much like the main character I don't sleep much. I usually get about six hours a night if that and frankly that's about all I need.

Most nights during the week I get about an hour and a half every night to play before I go to bed. Some nights this gets to be quite a bit longer. I'll occasionally work till 12-1am, but I can't do that every day.

I try to make the most of the time I have and I'm pretty bad ass at getting things done quickly.

With all that said, let's get to the update.

8:00PM: Tommy is in bed with the wife and it's playtime. I just got back from the east coast and my flight was at 6am (3am my time) so I'm pretty much beat to hell. I decide that I've got about an hour and a half of good activity before I go full retard so I put on a play list of hip-hop circa the 1990's (you know, before hip-hop began smoking knob like a knob smoker in a knob smoking contest where the grand prize is the ability to smoke an unlimited amount of knob) and get started.

8:01PM: I am mildly troubled by the prospect of pulling apart yet another car and one of a make that I have never played with (I've only owned Subaru's and Honda/Acura's - this is my first Toyota).

8:02PM: I remember that I am Koji. I am no longer troubled.

8:03PM: I pop all the hoods on the MR2 and start by pulling the center console bit that goes around the shifter. There are a couple of wires attached to a light that as near as I can tell are for a factory alarm system I don't have so I cut them off and yank the piece.





I start by pulling the drivers seat.

8:07PM: The drivers seat is out and I take it into my basement and set it next to the Recaro that will replace it. Heh, they even look sort of similar.





I move on to the passengers seat.

8:10PM: The passengers seat is out and in the basement.

I start pulling the back section of the center column (or whatever you guys call it )

8:15PM: Aaand it's out.



I move on to the front part of the center console.

8:20PM: The front center console is out.



I move on.

[Medusa]

I'm loving your methodical approach, and your excellent documentation. Keep up the good work! MR2's aren't any harder than a Honda (I've stripped and rebuilt a few, interior and exterior), and sometimes even easier.

[koji]

8:30PM: The deck and the underside of the steering wheel piece are out.





I start pulling the storage compartments that are behind the seats.

8:50PM: The enclosures and lids behind the seats are out and the seat belts are disconnected. I begin yanking the plastic bits around the back of the car.

9:00PM: Everything in the back of the car is out with the exception of a mat like piece on the firewall. I start pulling that and the headliner.



9:10PM: The headliner and the back mat are out.



9:11PM: I contemplate that the speakers in this location are cute and utterly useless.



I start working on the carpets.

9:20PM: The carpets are out.





I begin organizing everything in my basement.

9:30PM: Everything in the basement is arranged and easy to get to. I call it a night and right this update.

[koji]

BTW, two questions;

1) WTF is this mess? I assume it's yet again part of a factory alarm system I don't have.



2) Anybody got a front drivers fender to sell? I've replied to a couple of threads on here but nobody seems to want to get back to me. I really need one because this sucker is beyond repair.

[Medusa]

That doesn't look factory to me. I've got a factory alarm system that works quite well (Too well sometimes, in fact...) and it's way cleaner than that. That looks like an aftermarket hack job.

[Josh87]

Originally Posted by koji

I put on a play list of hip-hop circa the 1990's (you know, before hip-hop began smoking knob like a knob smoker in a knob smoking contest where the grand prize is the ability to smoke an unlimited amount of knob) and get started.

Thats Great!

[efx]

Welcome to the board Koji. Man I love watching people work, specially when they know what they are doing. And sometimes even when they don't because at least they can make you crack up. I can tell you I already learned something from you. I didn't even know what type of thread to use on something like that. I've never done it, but it's neat to see how it's done. Thanks.
Jaime

Originally Posted by koji

Thanks! It's really good to be here. This is going to be a lot of fun. As for your questions:

1) I used a sewing machine. Doing that sort of thing by hand, on real leather, will be an exercise in wanting to bang your head against a wall. The only way I'd do that is with a sewing machine.

2) You can do that part first, or next to last, depending on how you sew it. If you do it first, it's cake. I did it next to last, so what you do is sew most of the way up the side but leave enough room for you to still be able to twist it, turn it right side in, fold over, sew them down, turn back inside out, then finish the seam on the side.

3) It depends what you're doing honestly. If you're just covering things - no special equippment is required except a sewing machine, upholstery thread, and heavy duty needles. I'd also recommend having on hand some good spray glue. If you're recovering seats - that becomes a bit more interesting because you need tools to stretch the leather so that when you do the stitching you actually keep the leather under compression. I don't have any of that stuff.

A side benefit of learning how to sew is being able to make tons of other stuff. My last project (before the final Subaru one) was making a Halloween costume for my three year old. The background on this is that I like Batman, and I love the ninja costume from Batman Begins. So...I made a copy of it...Sized for a three year old. I did mention I'm crazy right? Anyway, the finished product turned out quite well. Here's a few pictures of the Wee Ninja:

[mr2magic]

I vote Koji gets status 'write-up god!'

DO IT!

[koji]

Originally Posted by Medusa

That doesn't look factory to me. I've got a factory alarm system that works quite well (Too well sometimes, in fact...) and it's way cleaner than that. That looks like an aftermarket hack job.

Great. Guess I'll get to have some fun tracing where all that crap goes. Hopefully something goes to the fuel pump relay (assuming one is included on this car) because I typically like to add a well hidden kill switch to that.

[lsgheero]

I agree with mr2magic, altho thank you koji. I am in the process of DYI my entire interior with all new vynil/leather. I will need to rewrap my wheel and your advice about the thread type to use is very helpful.

[Ghost Ridah]

Welcome to the board. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your writeup. This is great. Keep up the awesome work.

[koji]

Originally Posted by Archidamus-R

Aww, BS . . . On their part, not yours. Dunno where you live, but my local graveyard has quite a few Yota's. I could scout around for you . . .

Doooooo iiiiiit.

Thanks dude.

[koji]

Here's the update from last night:

7PM: My buddy Roy shows up. I had completely forgotten that he was supposed to come over. Basically he needs to repaint the hood scoop on his car because it turns out the one he had wasn't OEM and the paint peeled off last week. Roy calls up rattlecan-picaso (Alex) and I get started sanding down Roy's scoop with my DA sander.

7:20PM: Alex shows up. He takes over sanding the scoop and I start on the MR2.

I decided to start the night on the OEM carpet. The first thing I did was remove these bits.



I did this because they're in a high wear area and they're a harder plastic. Anything I paint them with is going to come off at some point and look like ass.

7:25PM: The parts are off. This was easier than I thought. Basically you just want to cut down one of the long edges, then pull. They're seriously just glued to the carpet.

I contemplate that the pad on the side is actually a good idea because your foot is invariably going to hit that spot a lot and wear out the carpet. I take the piece into my office/workshop and start sewing a replacement out of some leather, foam, and heavy canvas.



7:40PM: I'm done. I did a more interesting design than what was on the OEM piece because I figure - why not.



I decide to start on the shifter surround piece and start looking for something to use as a mold.

7:45PM: I find a tupperware bit that's about the right size but the lip is too narrow so I cut it out.



I mix up some reinforced milkshake (50/50 mix of body filler and fiberglass resin, with a few shredded strands of fiberglass chop mat thrown in). Milkshake is good stuff because it's stronger than either material on it's own and will generally self level to get rid of the pinholes.

Basically I'm just going to pour this into the tupperware and use something to weight it down. Plastic is good for this kind of thing because neither fiberglass nor body filler will actually stick to it so once the piece is dried you can just pop it out. Think of it as a cheap and really ghetto way of avoiding making a custom mold.

7:50PM: Hey look! I found a use for the OEM deck!



I check on Alex and Roy.

8PM: Roy is messing around disassembling something on one of his rifles. Alex has turned my garage into a veritable swirling mess of carcinogens.



I decide that as long as the garage is going to smell like ass why not paint a few things myself.

Before anyone asks, the reason I don't throw cardboard against the wall in the next pictures is that I'm going to be remodeling my garage next summer inclusive of adding some epoxy garage floor. I'll also need to repain most of the wall surfaces and patch a bunch of holes from the previous owner. As a result I can completely eff up the thing and don't have to care.