Project Beater - 1993 GT - T-Bar N/A

[HughesR1]

Bloody hell I only got rid of it in November I think, looks like she's wasn't too loved then

The aerial wouldn't retract when I had it either, but I've just bought one of them amplified ones you can hide under the seat of your car and its brilliant, and it allows you to smooth over the aerial hole.

The induction kit did have a metal bracket holding it to the strut top so I'm not sure why that's gone, I can only assume it was removed for MOT emissions etc and not put on correctly

Also I will have that steering wheel of you whenever you get a new one (I would send you my OEM wheel but then I would be unable to drive around )

[HughesR1]

Also, it had a new downpipe/flexi centre section a few months ago due to the exhaust blowing so you should be able to rule that out.

I had the alternator re-wound by a local electrical company too and they said the bearing were fine so looks like I won't be using them again!

[Mwilkinson]

Also, it had a new downpipe/flexi centre section a few months ago due to the exhaust blowing so you should be able to rule that out.

I had the alternator re-wound by a local electrical company too and they said the bearing were fine so looks like I won't be using them again!

Well the aux belt snapped on me about an hour ago in a horrific squeal!! Luckily I was by the house.

I dont think the alternator is at fault at all, it was clearly the noise of a dying belt. Thankfully thats £10 instead of £140

I have found that the central locking issue is down to the micro switches on the barrels. I will take them apart and see if I can get them working again. Failing that I will be on the scrounge for a set from a breaker.

Whilst I had the door cards off I found a horrific speaker install so will replace these and get that sorted too. The window switch panel has been broken too, so another part needed.

I also need to get a new windscreen surround as the current one has had some mastic type glue on one corner which looks duff.

Turning into a bit of a project car.

Have you got a stock airbox going spare?

[HughesR1]

Just make sure the bearings are free on the alt as sometimes these cease up causing the belt to snap.

I don't have an airbox free at the moment, maybe in a months time. Although when I sold the guy the car I gave him a truck load of spares with it including and airbox, OEM steering wheel, engine lid etc. He must have sold them on.

I'm intrigued to know what stereo is in that car as I remember it sounding nice when Kitsan sold it me but he said it was all stock apart from a kenwood headunit

[Mwilkinson]

Went out and bought a new aux belt this morning. Fitted her and the after a few minutes the whine came back with a vengeance.

Disconnected the aux belt and ran her for a little with no noise. Spun the alternator and there is a metallic sound.

So its defo a new alternator time.

[Mwilkinson]

New OEM alternator on order. I have also bought a brand new drivers window switch panel (broken on mine) and two new interior door handle surrounds (broken on mine).

Going to put a thread up in wanted for some other bits I am now after.

[HughesR1]

Good to hear she will be fixed up though. Atleast you have a nice solid shell too. I bought this one as the owner looked like he took lots of care, said it was all solid and undersealed every year.

I got home dug off the underseal and and found a huge hole in my floor. Also the entire inner rear arches had rotted away and just been covered up and underseal

Its all welded up now though and slowly restoring it. Just kick myself every time I spend money on it as I wish I had kept the black one!

[Mwilkinson]

Good to hear she will be fixed up though. Atleast you have a nice solid shell too. I bought this one as the owner looked like he took lots of care, said it was all solid and undersealed every year.

I got home dug off the underseal and and found a huge hole in my floor. Also the entire inner rear arches had rotted away and just been covered up and underseal

Its all welded up now though and slowly restoring it. Just kick myself every time I spend money on it as I wish I had kept the black one!

Glad your getting your car up to scratch. The sills do seem to be weak on these cars.

I bough a replacement fog bulb and some new wipers yesterday. I have dug out some spare alpine speakers and have aquired some led bulbs for all the dash.

Looked at some MR2 wiper arms on MR2-Ben's site and they are £56+ a hit? That's a silly amount of money! I also can't find a stock 5 speed gear knob. Any ideas?

[HughesR1]

Join the que for a good condition OEM gearknob, rare as rocking horse...

I've just took my wiper arms off, rubbed them down and sprayed them satin black and they look good as new, and much cheaper than buying a new pair

[Mwilkinson]

Update time:

Well I had an interesting weekend.

It's official my car is a beater. Hence forth she shall be known as such and the project to get her back to glory shall be Project Beater!!

I managed to remove the old alternator but found that there was no lower bolt on the bracket. Thus the alternator must have been unsupported for some time. The bolt had sheared and the break was very dirty, implying it happened some time ago. God knows how it stayed in one place.

I therefore removed the whole bracket. Drilled out the Brocken bolt, retapped the thread and luckily had a replacement bolt that fit. I've cleaned the alternator connections and re-insulated them with electical tape, conduit and heat shrink. They were covered in oil

Having done this I properly inspected the underside of the car. The sills are good but I do have some rust in the rear arches.

The passenger side under brace has completely let go. So I have bought 2 brand new one for £45 from Mr T.

With the amount of oil everywhere it is clear the sump gasket an cam cover gaskets need doing. So sealant and gaskets ordered.

I got hold of an as new leather OEM gear knob from a Mk3 which fits perfectly. I have replaced all the dash bulbs that were blown with SMD led bulbs, but have retained the stock green as I like it that way.

I also tried to replace the fog light bulb but came up against the dreaded rusty OEM screws. I drilled them out and will replace them with galvanised riv-nuts and better quality bolts.

I will also replace the fog lamp units as they are rusted to peices.

I have found completely new replacement sets on eBay, but they are all from the US. Anyone know of a UK supplier other than Mr T himself?

I will also need to replace the anti roll bars at some point. They are OK, but they could do with a change.

I swapped over the wipers and will be painting my wiper arms shortly to freshen them up.

[HughesR1]

Jesus, sorry to hear! Myself and I'm sure Kitsan can assure you this car was rust free last summer, I can only think that the harsh winter and salt has brought up the rust Those bloody cancer brace bars near the engine bay are a waste of time, I think water must get inside of them because they seem to rot so quickly! As for the Anti-roll bars, I would just give them a rub down and lick of paint as they don't usually ever need replacing, although whiteline upgrade is always nice

Nice to see its getting done though, and to be honest for a 20 year old car none of these problems really do seem that mega. I really did struggle to find a better example at the time as most get scrapped these days

[Mwilkinson]

Couple of pictures of the car now that I can post pictures

[ashley]

Looks sweet

[Mwilkinson]

A few updates.

Beater is back on the road after a few weeks

I removed the whole dash and replaced all the bulbs.

This is the carnage of the removed dash. Was quite straight forward really.





This is the box of bits I removed.



Replaced the bulbs behind the binnacle with these. Please excuse the bloody hand!



I bought some SMD LED bulbs with OEM mountings.

This was the result.

[Mwilkinson]

Looks sweet

Cheers Ashley. She's a little rough around the edges. But I just love the handling. I would love to try one of these with a turbo in it. Properly insane!!

[Mwilkinson]

Today I did the cancer bars. Was quite a simple job in the end. The near side was the totally rotten one, the off side was rusty but servicable.

Regardless I replaced both. Took about 40 minutes to do it all.

These are the old ones.







As previously mentioned I bought an OEM gear knob. Here is a picture of it. It's a massive improvement over the old one.



I've also repaired the stock foglight having drilled out the old bolts and taped in new ones. New bulb fitted and she is fully functioning.

[HughesR1]

Glad to see she's coming along, dash bulbs look nice

[moscoworbust]

Wheels look pretty nice.

Do you have a side shot?

[Mwilkinson]

Wheels look pretty nice.

Do you have a side shot?

Thanks. I don't have one at the moment but will see about getting one next time it's out.

My understanding was that the wheels were £800 with tyres of eBay. Nothing special but they do suit the car.

[moscoworbust]

Wheels look pretty nice.

Do you have a side shot?

Thanks. I don't have one at the moment but will see about getting one next time it's out.

My understanding was that the wheels were £800 with tyres of eBay. Nothing special but they do suit the car.

Ok, cheers.

They are so open though. Really need some huge discs and calipers to fill them up.