Great progress Steve. Looking good. This is bringing back lots of fond memories for me!
So on to business... from memory
Keep the rear number plate lights. You’ll need to sink these into the rear of the 430 kit when you get it. You'll need to extend the wires but you might as well use the factory connectors. Leave the other wires with connectors stuck to the rear bumper bar as they are in your pictures. Everything else you’ll get in the kit. 4 rear Ferrari lights, side indicators and front headlight set up. You can sell the mr2 rear lights, front lights, and side indicators
Also keep your front indicator bulbs and housing as these will lock into the DNA headlight housing you'll get with the kit. (Unless you’re crazy like me and decide to do the DRL switchback option)
Label up all your MR2 light connectors because by the time you come to do the wiring, you’ll forget what is what
Don’t forget to prime the bare metal cuts you have made in the body work to protect from rust
The mr2 air filter pipe I have arrowed in the picture below can come off as you won’t need that - you'll get a piece of pipe in your kit that you attach to the rear quarter pods to direct air into the engine. Maybe fit and induction kit now so that is sorted. You’ll want one of those.
Also the 2 pieces of metal I have arrowed in the second picture, you can cut off. They don't serve any purpose with the 430 kit on, and I found they just got in the way of the exhaust pipes when you come to fit it. I had to cut mine off with the kit bonded one, which was very hard to get access. Better to do now when the kit isn't on
As you’ve ordered your kit, I will take about 6 weeks to get it, but there plenty you can get one with beforehand such as:
• Stripping out the interior and packing away safely – including all carpets and plastics, they’ll only get in your way and get ruined when the car goes for painting
• Removing the wing mirror motors as you’ll need these for the 430 mirrors
• You could lay a wire from the battery to the rear so you can have a charging point with an Anderson clamp that you access from behind the rear number plate
• You could remove the alarm siren form the bottom of the frunk and relocate so you have more of a front boot.
• Relocate the washer bottle. I attached mine to the side of the frunk, some attach to the inside of the frunk, others move it to a similar position further forward, but I think it gets in the way when fitting up the front bumper, so better out of the way. You could also lay the pipes foe washer jets and also fit to the scuttle panel now. You’ll have to modify the scuttle panel at the sides and the front grill part(see my thread) but no harm is sorting the pipe work now so one less job for later
• Think about a tow eye solution. If you’re handy at welding to could get that all sorted now as the MR2 tow eye bolt location is too high and too far to the middle
• The MR2 radio aerial becomes defunct, so you could lay a new one up inside the A pillar
• Make a start on the banging in of the front arches.
• Replace you MR2 horns with better air horns
• Make some speaker wooden pods like I did to house better speakers
• If you’re going do the 430 dash, relocate the hazard switch as you can’t use it in the normal location
• Check for rust everywhere on the body and treat, prime and paint
A lot of this stuff I had to do once the car was painted and it was a lot harder as the kit is in the way
You talk about a work plan. I detailed mine in excel. Send me your email address and I’ll send you it, as it is sort of a time line of what bits is did and how long it took.
Yep definitely worth adding 50% to the expenditure strategy. But you can save tons of money getting the bits off eBay. I wanted all the nuts and bolts to be similar so I was forever ordering nuts and bolts from eBay. Much cheaper than B&Q. Just buy an absolute shed load in various sizes, M5, M6 and M8. Also order washers and penny washers as well as they come in really handy.
My donor cost £3250 and I managed to make over £1000 back on the parts I took off and sold. I see you have a twin rear exhaust silencer. They are quite sought after. I had the same and sold it far too cheap. Ask for at least £200 for it.
Care about the parts of the car that you can’t see as much as the ones you can. You’ll get much more satisfaction. Maybe paint the rear parts of the chassis (where you folded over the seams) a lovely satin black.
Check your MR2 brake discs and pads. If they are close to replacing, order some new ones and when your kit’s arrived and you take the originals off to do the DNA spacers, replace with new ones. I wish I had done that!
I hope this all helps
Paulie