Christmas has come early! Sort of .... I have been stock piling a few bits and pieces over the last month and a bit to freshen up the interior and really start tying in the character of the car that I want to achieve. However today(The 20th of DEC) I received the final and arguably the most important part off the interior which is my brand new MOMO competition steering wheel! 

I opted for this steering wheel based on size, thickness and style. For me personally it suits all of those things perfectly! I wanted something which was 340-350mm in diameter, had a nice thick grip and was not too out of the time period. I didn't want anything too heritage but nothing too modern and I believe this is the perfect median. I also decided on the perforated leather to match the next piece I will talk about to accent the perforated alcantara on the door cards. 


The next piece of the puzzle is the Superklasse OE style, weighted gear knob. I decided on this gear knob to keep it looking original and shorten the shift throw. I have a "Sprint" knob atm and it is quite tall which i think made the shift throw feel sloppy and light. Coming from an Mx-5 as my first car and it having such a tight, solid shift feel I knew I would have to address this. Hoping the shift feel is increased significantly and I will update this thread on it once I get around to installing it. (Although the photo does not show it very well there is a 5 Speed H pattern debossed into the leather to keep it legal within NSW road vehicle standards.)

 
Now for my favourite piece. Owning an MX-5 for my first car I was introduced to a guy named Adam who runs an online store "Revlimiter". He creates custom gauge dials and horn buttons for our little mazdas but he also makes a few other designs for certain cars and manufacturers. I knew I was going to have this horn button in my MR2 before I even owned one and I am super happy with the finish and quality of the product. The horn button for me has always completed a car and this really ties in the look I'm going for. Adam was even nice enough to send me a personal thank you note and a Xmas present!(It was a lotus hotwheels toy for anyone wondering.)

 
Another thing worth mentioning is that I picked up a unbranded Slimline quick release hub from a local tuning shop here in Sydney. I specifically chose this one as I didn't want any random logos being displayed in the cockpit nor did I want any ridiculous anodised colours. Bonus picture of the horn button in the wheel with the gearknob next to it to compare the perforations in the leather.
 \
 
I will be uploading before and after pictures of the interior clean up soon. I am getting the car a set of professional grade before photos before all of these go in which is happening this Sunday (22nd of DEC). Then I will be installing all of these lovely bits and I can't wait.
 
 

Yes, very nice parts. Will enhance an already lovely cabin. Great place to spend some time.
Regarding that coolant outlet. Be mindful that the welding heat may have upset the press fit of the metal tube into the aluminium housing. They have been known to leak under pressure or even come right out.
Maybe in the future you should consider replacing all the cooling system hoses, have the radiator rodded out and change to the Toyota Red at that time. Please don't just put a radiator flush through it.
Such a shame the coolant had been neglected previously causing that 90 degree bend to rot out.
Gen 2 has a couple of other pipes that also go bad with neglected coolant. Can cause other problems as well.
Should be a really nice car when you get it sorted to how you want it.
We would like more photos please.

Just before Christmas I contacted a very talented friend of my John Tieu who had taken photos of my little Mazda in the past and asked him if he could take a very last minute photo shoot of my MR2 to really capture the condition of the car I purchased it in. This photo shoot shows exactly how the car presented when I first bought it minus an oil cap and a clean water outlet housing. Without further rambling here is the link to the complete shoot:
 
http://www.johntieu.com/Jasons-1990-Toyota-mr2-sw20-gt?fbclid=IwAR1Ihd46urboU3-IOIv1E6je5fu1v7X4yYH4HJOHxiDnHjo7f_TGBoozT8s
 
Here are some bonus teaser photos of the wash before the photo shoot.  

The day after the above photo shoot I could not wait to install my new interior bits. So I woke up nice and early and started tinkering! I decided to start with the easy part being the gear knob. Super easy as expected, the old one came off by loosening a 3mm Allen key bolt and lifting it off the shifter. After removing the the shift boot retainer clip which suited the old shift knob I had to resort to some electrical tape to hold it up under the new gear knob.
 
  
 
I'm still not entirely happy with how high the gearknob sits. I thought that the "Sprint" gearknob was just really tall but it seems that the shifter itself is quite high. Unsure what I am going to do with it at this point in time but it has made it more comfortable and easier to shift with. It looks much cleaner in my opinion over the sun burnt red leather.
 
The next piece was the Steering wheel! Unfortunately I was unable to fit the quick release as the one I received had a manufacturing issue which rendered the product unfit for purpose. It was not locking the steering wheel into place as its suppose to but got a full refund and was told I would be contacted once/if they fix the issue.... I was however surprised to see my car had a genuine "Work Bell" boss kit on it which was very nice to see. 
 

 
So after playing with the quick release for a while and rendering it useless I just fitted my new steering wheel directly to the boss kit as usual. It was however a little bit disappointing at first as the fitting bolts sent with the steering wheel were shiny silver and gave the wheel a funny look in my opinion. It was supplied with silver bolts as it is also supplied with a horn button retainer ring which I was not using as I have my custom "teq" horn button to use with it. I managed to run over to Fuel Autotek at Castle hill first thing Christmas Eve morning and grab a black bolt fitting kit which completed the look of the new wheel.
 

 
Overall I'm very pleased with how it all turned out. It is so much more comfortable and pleasant inside the cabin with fresh leather instead of the damaged, sun burnt and torn red leather from the 90s.

Shift knob and wheel are clear improvements :) take some isopropyl to the rest of the interior and you'll love it

Fantastic photos. I think my favourite photo is from the higher view point looking down onto the car with the hand railing partially in frame.
 
The interior is looking fresh! Big improvement.

19/07/2020 - All of the genuine Toyota goodies!
 
I ordered a bunch of parts from Amayama which I have had my eyes on for a while now but just never got around too. I ordered these 1st of June and took a about 6 weeks to get here but its always so satisfying seeing those Genuine Toyota labels.
 
Up first is the pedals, Following my build progress of maintenance first, interior second, there is still some things I wanted to get before moving onto the exterior and these pedals are a must have in my opinion. These are genuine Toyota "Sports" pedals from a Lexus is350. I know that might confuse a few of you however I can assure you that the pedals are exactly the same as the SW20 Mr2 as well as a few other cars like the Celica. These pedals not only look great but have a few comfort/performance benefits as well. The rubber knobs keep your shoes gripped to the pedals if your shoes are wet and you will notice the driver's side pedal is shaped with a slightly elongated bottom corner towards the brake pedal which helps with "heel  toe" braking.

 
Installation of pedals is something I have done a few times for my MX-5 and my friends cars. So I was prepared with hot soapy water, some small screwdrivers and a few other misc prying tools. This however did not make the job any easier.... These pedals are so perfectly fitted it took me about 2 hours to fit these, however majority of that time was spent trying to remove and reinstall this little pin from the accelerator pedal. 

 
But with a few breaks, reassessing the situation and using all the tools I had at my disposal all it took was an unexpected visit from a friend of mine who just so happened to have the perfect sized punch sitting in his car and the fresh can-do attitude which unfortunately for me started to taper away quickly this far in. All worth it in the end with such a subtle yet impactful change to the cockpit IMO.
 

 
Post 1/2....
 
 
 

Thanks for sharing the journey.  Hopefully it won't be too long before we can be driving as a group again.
 
Did you do your rego through Toymods?