Absolutely, what a hoot to drive!!
 
Some progress pics below.  We decided to go with a crinkle red for the rocker cover.
 
Prep work:

 
 
 
Painted:

 
 
 
Close up of the crackle:

 
 
 
Final result, looks great.  

 
Massive lift for such a small change.  Got some of the stainless allen bolts from Delta V as a finishing touch.
 
Cheers

Had a bit of an issue with the gear shift being stiff, sorted it out today.  Ended up being a problem with the selecting bellcrank binding up.  Here is the thread for those interested:
http://www.mr2australia.c...5364&mpage=1#85895
 
Fitted the Gen 3 shifter at the same time, feels great now!  The throw is significantly shorter than the older setup.
 
Got a nice beefy battery the other day too (650CCA), plenty of room in the battery space to fit large capacity battery.  Will have to rig up a trickle charger to keep the battery topped up when the car is not used.
 
Cheers
 
 

Good job on the valve cover! Looks awesome.

Thanks, we were pleasantly surprised on the result considering the quick effort.  Well worth it.  If the standard IC was staying, would probably paint the hot and cold pipes too.
 
Car is running great.  Still need to nut out a few issues.  The idle is a bit high ~1000rpm, sometimes ~1200rpm (drops with AC), and the its running 0.6 bar, so need to recheck the wiring, hopefully something amiss there.
 
Cheers

Congrats Arty for sticking through with it for the long haul.
Fantastic results on Rocker Cover - Did you use paint stripper to clean it up?
 
Look forward to seeing it sometime.

Cheers. Will definitely be going to participate in some track events, so no doubt will meet some of you soon.

We just prepped up the valve cover with sand paper to remove some of the "JDM oxidation" then sprayed it. Used a heat gun to get the crinkle up. I think the crinkle lets you get away with being less critical with prep compared to say gloss paint. Definitely an excellent result for the small time invested.

Cheers

Got the low boost issue sorted out.  Turns out the ECU was not getting the speed signal (I did not earth the speed cut defender yet) and hence limited boost.  I Bypassed it (for now) and full boost returned!  Car is running nice and strong.  Power delivery feels completely different from previous setup, which was gen2 motor with highflowed ct26, which had a sizeable kick in the back once the turbo came on song.  Currently it feels much more linear, more oomph down low and pulls hard to the cut out.  Cant wait to fit up the W2A intercooler and will reinstall the water injection too.
 
Did some other tinkering with the car.  Polished up the faded rear tail lights with Meguiars plastic polish, only takes a minute and makes a huge improvement.
 

Left lens after, right lens before.
 
Also did the front corners, which were completely faded.
 
Before:

and after:

 
Cheers

Here is a pic of the Gen 3 shifter and knob.  The leather on the knob was weathered and stuffed.  I ripped the leather off and cleaned up the glue residue, looks great:

 
 
 
Also picked up a seat cover and replaced the ripped drivers seat cover.  I got the cover from the passenger side but it fitted ok, was quite easy to do.  The passenger cover does not reach down far enough on the left side of the drivers seat with a bit of the foam exposed, but you can not see it once the seat is installed in the car due to the tunnel.
 
The headrest rod holders can be removed by reaching in behind the seat back, squeeze and push them out, they are just sitting in the foam.
 

The bolster and lumber adjusters are retained with c clips like old style window winders.
 
 

I undid the bolt so the cover could be removed without cutting.
 
 
 

Partly removed cover.  It is held in place by metal clips in a few locations, which can be twisted off with pliers.  
 

The vertical blue "tubes" house rubber cords that go under the base of the cushion, and go behind and get pulled up and tight, this presses the inside panel of the material into the seat.
 
Finished seat:

 
 
Need to cut holes for the adjusters and fit the knob and lever back on, will do it after the seat settles down to make sure they are in the right spot.
 
Found this box under the drivers seat, looks to be some sort of tuner signal gadget, has an aerial connection into it and a wiring plug.  
Also found a two decade old JDM spec liquorice all sort under the seat.
 
  

 
Cheers
 
 

Nice:

 

Hey Arty,
 
I think I saw you over the weekend in Midland on Great Eastern Hwy. Car looks Great!