Happy New Year to all retro-classics readers 
You know you have a good daily when the damn thing just keeps on soldiering on and on and on! Apart from needing to change a front right wheel bearing/hub carrier for a WOF, the last year of AW11 motoring has been relatively trouble-free. This car has just ticked over 242,000km and really exemplifies the meaning of “reliable daily driver”!
So over the holiday break I decided to give the MR2 a bit of attention and swap over the black interior that’s been lurking in the depths of my shed for over a year. This entailed gutting the whole cabin on what seemed like the hottest two days of summer so far, and then spending another two days of re-assembly. The results were worth it in the end though!
Goodbye tacky smurf/electric blue.
With the black interior I guarantee the cabin temperature will be a thousand times worse while sitting in the sun, so I should probably re-gas the A/C like I said I was gonna…
Hello low-key black goodness.
The difference between black and blue is most evident in this shot comparing the old and new door cards:
Whoever optioned blue interior needs to have their eyes adjusted!
Fabric pattern of the ’89 spec seats doesn’t match the door cards – I assume this is because they are manual-winder as opposed to the more prevalent electric type.
A strange aesthetic mismatch.
and to finish, another view of the cockpit. And no, I still haven’t painted those wing mirrors. Or the rear spoiler, or the wheels, for that matter… I’ll get there!
What a difference black makes!
Save for a few little odds and ends (which remain blue) the conversion is 99% complete. I’m hoping to be able to slowly collect the missing bits from trademe, or even trawl pick a part for the more “generic” ’80s Toyota stuff like door handle surrounds over time.
But enough daily love! I should really turn my attention back to some of the other cars currently languishing in the shed…
