Wasn't expecting every plastic piece to be so brittle!

[awaken101]

Oh man, as I'm getting into updating things... I'm quickly learning that a gentle touch & a heat gun could potentially save me hours. Don't get me wrong... I'm absolutely loving the challenge to DIY solutions for parts that may not be readily available. I'm not minging, perhaps just venting for the time being.

As I've mentioned before, I've owned 3 MR-2's from the same era as the Elan. Maybe it's Japanese plastic that is more malleable and can take a beating, but Lotus plastic has shown me that it hates being lightly played with and snaps pretty quickly. (If I was to deep dive, or if any of you have experience in the efficacy of American vs European vs Asian plastics, I think it would be a fascinating read that I would appreciate.)

3 days ago I went to diagnose as to why the petrol release cable wasn't working. It seemed to be a weakness at the plastic claw that the end ball cap fitted into. I'm assuming that over the past few decades the smaller claw shifted to one side due to the amounts of varying temp conditions (Hawaii for it's 1st 8 years then Virginia for the rest of it's life) & frequency of use finally allowed the ball to break free of the claw. In hindsight, I should've heated the plastic prior to trying to train it back into place, but it's been awhile since I've done any restoration and I messed up, the lil claw snapped. JB Weld to the rescue!



Ran into another issue today with the plastics when I was working on getting the stereo system installed. The Kenwood that was installed didn't power up and I'm still diagnosing that issue. I went to detach the fascia, I had removed the speedo fascia trim and while holding the speedo in place, the top metal bracket that kept the speedo secured to the top of the dash faschia just snapped off with barely any effort. JB Weld to the resuce again! It's curing now and will hopefully set the speedo back into it's rightful position. Even without it in place, the speedo is positioned properly but I think a gravel road may jostle it free.

The new stereo system is a 7" screen... and kinda neat but may be overkill. It has vertical movement (lowest position you can't shift with a standard shifter, middle is perfect and still allows A/C) as well as tilt to the left and/or right so you have more focus. The unit has one Android Auto/Apple Car Play USB port & a standard 3.1 USB port, so I removed the cigarette lighter and added in a circular flush mount USB-C & standard USB port device.

Here's a test fit:


Still sourcing why there's no power but once it's up and running I will give a better review as to how it's working. So far from a usability, security (it's detachable!) and ergonomic standpoint, it should do the job. Aesthetically, I worry it may be overpowering to keep in line with the look & feel.

Long story short... is this a pretty common issue with the plastic pieces being so brittle? Definitely will be more mindful as I push, pull, twist on things as I resto. Are there any particular things aside from old scrivets that I should be mindful of as I dive deeper? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Tuga2112]

Tldr
The wiring on the m100 radio is not standard,
Plastic does break and you replace them, we just live with it.

The long explanation.

People don't really complain about it much. But it happens, in my experience the plastic bits inside my gt4 are more resilient than inside the m100 but I never blamed the origin of the car, always assumed it's a side effect of the long term storage conditions, with a special emphasis on the fact the m100 seals let the outside environment in far more than on the Celica.

I think it's one of those that you just need to take it as it comes and adapt.

As far as your radio. One thick to keep in mind is that getting ready access to the hazard switch can save your life, so make sure your comfortable with access to it in whatever way your installing the radio.

Also as you come from a Toyota background. You will find generally speaking that the m100 lacks refinement by comparison.
Saying that as for your case, this point may be relevant.
For the Toyota models, you get a ACC (accessories) power supply from the ignition barrel. This allow you to wire the aftermarket radio to switch on (as well as window motors control) while the ignition is off (fuel pump, sparks and injectors won't power up)
In the m100 you don't have that "luxury" (but you can modify it's wiring too achieve that using an off the shelf Vauxhall/Opel part)

When you add to that the fact that wiring on the car does not match the standard ISO din wire colours but the hole in the dashboard is ISO sized, you end up (usually ) finding all kinds of weird and wonderful hacks to make the radio work.
There's no "right" way to wire an aftermarket radio to an m100. But many ways that kinda work.

I been preparing to modify mine to be fully iso compatible, that being what I consider "right", but for that you need an ACC wire adding as well as ideally the interior lights feed, dimmer, amplifier (if you installed one) reverse lights, handbrake switch (same feed that trigger the warning light on the cluster, intentionally "forgotten") and power anteena (which ideally operate a relay)

As you can see from that description, that's what you can feasibly access or add that's missing at the plug, but when I finish that job, the din plug on the m100 will be better prepared than the one on the Toyota models.

[awaken101]

Tldr
The wiring on the m100 radio is not standard,
Plastic does break and you replace them, we just live with it.

Duly noted and accepted.

....with a special emphasis on the fact the m100 seals let the outside environment in far more than on the Celica.

Didn't even consider that... even the T-tops of my 2 kept a good bit of elements out. Thank you, makes a lot of sense now.

For the Toyota models, you get a ACC (accessories) power supply from the ignition barrel. This allow you to wire the aftermarket radio to switch on (as well as window motors control) while the ignition is off (fuel pump, sparks and injectors won't power up)
In the m100 you don't have that "luxury" (but you can modify it's wiring too achieve that using an off the shelf Vauxhall/Opel part)

When you add to that the fact that wiring on the car does not match the standard ISO din wire colours but the hole in the dashboard is ISO sized, you end up (usually ) finding all kinds of weird and wonderful hacks to make the radio work.
There's no "right" way to wire an aftermarket radio to an m100. But many ways that kinda work.

Lots to digest, really appreciate your post, thank you so much.

[awaken101]

I been preparing to modify mine to be fully iso compatible, that being what I consider "right", but for that you need an ACC wire adding as well as ideally the interior lights feed, dimmer, amplifier (if you installed one) reverse lights, handbrake switch (same feed that trigger the warning light on the cluster, intentionally "forgotten") and power anteena (which ideally operate a relay)

As you can see from that description, that's what you can feasibly access or add that's missing at the plug, but when I finish that job, the din plug on the m100 will be better prepared than the one on the Toyota models.

Forgot to mention... LOVE ALL YOUR VIDEOS TUGA, you are putting in the hard work and I appreciate it! If you do have a fully iso compatible option, I am very interested in what you discover and can share. Again there's a ton of info you shared with me above, thank you. May need to reach out to you in PM's if you don't mind if I run into a snag.