The "Little Issue" Turned Into A Big Problem // Project MR2 Turbo 

If we learn from our mistakes then the mistakes are just tools to make us better. Congrats on getting better.

On my projects, I routinely spend half my time repairing the damage I caused doing my initial repair!

In the UK, we use "Headlamp Beam Adaptors/deflectors" if we take a r/h drive car into a l/h drive country.

Everyone that has ever modified a car has made a “3am mistake” at some point. The good news, you know what you need to fix.

Cardone remanufactures these distributors. A bit spendy, but I just had to replace mine, 91 MR2 turbo. Wichita kansas.

In my '83 GTI, I had a set of Hella E-Code H4 conversions that were amazeballs.

Goodness freakin' sakes, after watching my first video of you, "How I built my dream car in 15min".. I've just absolutely fell in love with your style of videos. As I watch this one, I realize more and more how much information you've obtained to learn from.. Thank you very much and keep making videos, you are very talented.

OBD1 code 12 is no crank signal which is normal as engine not revolving. So everyone just uses 12 to indicate it's in diagnostic mode. It's not a fault. I think the metal bits is just a lucky coincidence. Lucky in that you can fix it in the garage without a tow. Anyway all my OBD 1 experience is GM based but should be same.

I am learning so much from you. You're an AMAZING automotive technician!!! Thank you.

This mr2 is sooooo clean. 🤣 Literally

Sarah, you're amazing! Don't ever change.

Sarah: 1) When UK (RHD) cars go to Europe (LHD) people can stick a small black vinyl strip on each headlight to block the area that would otherwise dazzle oncoming vehicles. It's often shaped like the trapezoid shape in the headlight glass. See Mike Howard's answer, below. 2) Only 50 oncoming vehicles?! Where do you live, the Sahara?! 3) Don't be too hard on yourself, you have done an AWESOME job not only on Mr DOS but all vehicles! I am 65 and I wish I had your skills. 4) Yours is the ONLY channel I have watched every episode of, for years! Whatever content you do, we love it. All the best from Switzerland, Rob

Geez Sarah, take it easy. I don't consider either of these issues mistakes. It is very difficult to think about all contingencies when rebuilding and working on these older cars. What you did anyone would do. It is very easy to get excited and the anticipation of a completed job clouds thoughts sometimes. Most folks would not have thought to thread lock those screws. IT sucks with the ignition issue, but someone will help you with some new parts! Be proud of your beautiful accomplishment.

don't worry about the JDM lights. Just tweak the low beams down a bit to reduce glare of oncoming cars. your MR2 is very beautiful car.

Hi Sarah !! Your MR2 looks MINT !! The engine is so very clean!! I LOVE watching your videos; keep them coming to your fans SWEETIE !!

Half the time I'm struggling to keep up at what you say because I'm not very experienced with cars but I always learn something new and appreciate your knowledge. I'm like the kid in the back of the classroom fascinated but struggling to keep up with the lesson lol.

Sympathetic (hugs) for you, Sarah. I feel your pain in having something as heartbreaking as this happen on a project. You'll get through this! Remember the line from "Heartbreak Ridge": Adapt, Overcome, Survive." You adapt to the situation by overcoming the obstacles and therefore, you survive. :)

2011 sub forester owner here. Found your channel last week been binging and rewatching ever since Your r awesome Most impressive is u doing all the wrk w hair down and no hair tie lol Hope to meet u one day u have inspired me to qrk on my subaru even though I've never wrked on cars Thks u keep up the wrk

Leave the headlights. I have a 92 Suzuki Cappuccino, and I have never been flashed in the 2.5 years that I’ve owned it. Truth is people don’t care or even notice the JDM cutoff

As soon as you turned the headlights on the first time with one of each I could see the right-hand drive beam pattern on the new one. I'm glad you figured it out though. Smart woman.

Sarah is so stealth about her vast technical expertise. I learned something new about headlight cutoffs from this vid. Thx S-n-T.

You'll find a way to overcome this you got it 👍

Sarah, you put out the most entertaining/ informative videos.

sorry to hear about your problem i hope for the best in the future

Nailed it with the headlight upgrade 👍

You really did it with these headlights. That really tied in the look of the car. You by far have THE nicest MR2 I’ve ever seen!

Sarah time, Sarah time again! Yea! You Rock girl. 🔥🔥🔥🍀

Mistakes are a part of life. We learn and move on. YOU share your mistakes and don’t hide them. Much respect.

about the headlights...just drive it!

You're doing great We all make mistakes as long as we learn from them. Then they are helping us. I don't see how you live a boring let me you are so cheerful and seem to be alit of fun to be around Be safe Sarah!

That was really clever with the ball head stud. I wish I had thought of that.

It's likely that I have a bit of OCD, as well because I definitely would clean those headlamp buckets. You are not alone. I did have a really dump thought that went away quickly, switch the headlamps. Then I realized that the buckets are likely dedicated to one side. I hope you feel smarter now. Also, when you said "boned" I felt many years younger, so thanks for that, Sarah.

YES YES YES. WOoooo MR2 is back. HECK YEA! Even a little tease drive. That exhaust sound! I should have kept my 93 mr2. But after some spin outs that car scares the crap out of me on track and in wet

Hi Sarah! I just finished binge watching all the Mister Dos videos and I wanted to say that your perseverance and work ethic are both admirable. I loved your dry quirky humour and watching your videos gave ideas for my own VW Cabrio that’s sort of a project car but mostly just a fun summer toy. Keep up the great work! I’m going to go back and binge the Teeter Tot videos now.

You're still my favorite RU-vid car nerd, Sarah!

To sort out your headlamp beam alignment you can bend the tabs on the h4 bulb and rotate it slightly from its intended position. It leaves the beam with a flat profile with no "kick up" in any direction. I live in the UK and have had to do this when I can only get European headlights for cars. Works 100% on my Ur quattro with sport front end. Give it a go, worst case you waste a bulb.

The music reminds me of Kraftwork. Great vlog Sarah! No ones perfect. Practice makes better!

I just removed my ‘98 Corvette dash to replace blend door motors and damn you, had to clean everything.

Lol just had to use a similar kit on the aw11. My connector almost didn't fit over the diag connector. And the light flashed. I'm going to try cleaning the old dielectric grease out and try it again. Agreed that you should be able to swap the cans... Why not led bulb swap? With the right color temp itll look kind of stock and the light output is great! Edit: I refuse to believe anything other than this was your plan all along. Who doesn't want a standalone? Keep up the videos, you're awesome 👌

Hey Sarah, Great video. I keep watching and learning stuff from you. Getting up the nerve to completely rewire an old Ford Truck I have. It seems very simple, just 7 old glass style fuses. But then again I don't have near the knowledge or experience you do. Oh well stay safe.

Thanks Sarah

do not get discuraged you still do great on your car!! Clear your mind the answeres and help will come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We all make mistakes, your knocking this stuff out of the park, your progress and achievements are huge, don’t be so hard on yourself, as always we love your content , keep it up! Loved the music in this one, very 1984😀🇮🇪

Cibie e code headlights are the best. I had them for years and the light output is amazing. It takes H4.

All i can say is that Ms Dos is lucky you have you in its life Sarah😃 You keep him young😍

Because you clean inside that socket is the reason you are so awesome and I keep watching

Love you Sarah!

Sarah, I think your headlights look just fine. And the ones on your car too.

I love the Raybrig conversion! My FC is going to get an upgrade now. You could adjust them down slightly.

I've had those Raybrig headlights on my LHD s13 240sx for 10 years. Don't worry about it unless you are getting flashed. If so simply adjust them using the beam alignment screws.

for my 68 camaro i used hella headlights 100watt high beams lots of light all glass looked like the flat face euro lights you are fun to watch have fun with mick beth

I own a 2002 Lotus Espirit Twin Turbo I purchased in the UK with left hand drive, my fix for the headlights was easy I just purchased the US lights and switched them out. They were aware of the light issue at customs but didn’t require me to change them.

On my S13 Silvia (with projectors) I retrofitted HID's and I had to drop them gown slightly. I've asked many people about my lights blinding them and they said it wasn't bad at all and the light output was still a huge upgrade for me. So my advice is Adjustments. You can find glass housings that except H4 bulds online too. I dropped a set in my hardbody and they were awesome.

I just bought the MegaSquirt for my AW11. I really recommend you that one cause like you im a little OCD too... so it keeps the car clean cause you use the stock wiring harness that you already repaired and invested time on it.

Be on the look out for 1ZZ being broken on ebay, you can take the coil pack loom from them. Although i don't advise, you might get lucky and get a low mileage one and take the coil packs. I've had the conversion done on my Rev 3 3SGTE with a Link G4. Also saves you money in the long run from having to buy expensive HT leads

Waaaaaoooo... this beautiful and sensuous lady is the best mechanic !!!! Diagnosed deep problems in her old MR2 and installed very quickly the appropriate lights

Sarah..... i had a similar problem with my KIA. I put the Asian Spec. headlights on the US Spec. car. I tweaked my adjusters to match the old headlight pattern. Been driving it like that for 6 months now and no complaints.

I’m just gonna say you could do videos about any subject on earth and I’d watch them all.

That mr2 is so awesome. I had an 85 with the levin 20v engine when I was 17 years ago.

its awesome to see a Woman doing tech stuff, and know her stuff, right on Sarah!

They look nice. I still have the OEM head lights on my 1988 200sx. Don't worry about the distributor. You will figure it out.

Another great production. Great camera trick. Posted a comment on Patreon about the distributor.

Hi Sarah, I'm from the UK, as part of my job I drive alot in Europe, so I got the same problem with my lights, (UK drive on the correct side of the road, everybody in Europe drives on the wrong side, thats why there have so many accident's over there) so what we have to do is buy a convertor kit (which is 2 triangular pecies of Black tape and stick them on) it works and if you don't like them easy to take off if there is any glue left on head lights easy wiped of with some warm soapy water

Man I love how clean your cars are.

When you just got the '12' code, I was thinking that was just the indication it was in the code readout mode; I had an '87 Chevy Sprint (really Suzuki Swift) that worked that way. What was really nice is there was a switch under the dash that put it in that mode, so you didn't need a scan tool or even a paper clip; just a finger and the key. 😁 But those metal shavings in the distributor are definitely a problem. I remember having those glass sealed beam headlights, that as you say never yellowed or got foggy. Of course, they usually only lasted a few years, too, but they were pretty cheap and you could buy them in department stores.

@6:18 love the orange lights too😍 Used to fit them to our cars back in the 80's. We called them "Cruisers"

Was looking at an MR2. Bought an S2K. Your videos makes me think maybe I need both now. This is a problem. Also appreciate you posting the problems you’re facing before I jump down that rabbit hole.

paint looks amazing

Have a look at your favourite store for camera gear for "Manfrotto 468MGRC2 Hydrostatic Ball Head" . It has a quick release which means you dont wear anything out. And the hydrostatic ball head means when you reposition the camera it doesn't instantly clunk to the side damaging anything, it has resistance. Its what I've been using for 6+ years with my Canon DSLR which weighs a ton.

Running a Link G4+ ECU on my JDM rev 2 Mr2 Turbo. The stock ECU capacitors are at the age where they leak, after going through 2 I went aftermarket with a Wide Band and a tune. Not only does the car run better but it's never had an issue starting since. Probably the best upgrade for one of those, more power, reliability & a USB to plug into a laptop to pull logs.

👍🏽👍🏽 on your mr2. I’m just starting on my new project with my Nissan R34. It’s my dream build so I’m moving back to japan for a yr to work on it at my buddies tuner shop. Hopefully in the next yr I can ship it back to the U.S. after the 25 yr ban is lifted.

You are not boring and you are the best and keep doing a great job and love as a fan and friend beautiful

Recently fitted Cibié H4 E-codes to my NA Miata. Drastic improvement over North American spec sealed beams. Would recommend if there is not a Raybrig solution for RH traffic.... The Raybrig lamps look great installed in Mister Dos. When you first unboxed them, I thought the up-kick in the reflector for illuminating road signs was on the wrong side for right-handed traffic. Sadly, confirmed, but they look great 👍. Stay positive, you will figure out the distributor fix or distributor-less option fix as well as the headlamps.

Hello Sarah, P-L-E-A-S-E do NOT be too tough on yourself with the distributor?? EVERYONE who actually completes projects "messes up" from time to time. HOW should you know whether to place lock tight on the distributor screws?? YOU are doing wonderful and we ALL truly enjoy your videos!! Looking FORWARD to watching your next video, :)

always fantastic content! great to watch and follow!

When I lived in the UK if we took our cars across the water to frog land we could buy strips that adhered to the headlights that prevented dazzling oncoming traffic, hope that helps

I left my headlights on my Rx7 and just adjusted them. pattern isn't "right" but works well and doesn't blind people. if you are going stand alone EMS and can get a CAS look into IGN-1A coils, they are high power, non CDI, and can be used with non resistor plugs.

chin up and move forward you got this this is a place here in michigan that may have it i will check today

Glade to see you back with another video and yes that was an awesome game loved that racing game on ps1 I had a copy of it. I think I definitely had the highest score in my family on the game I was that into it. Don’t feel bad about it everyone makes mistakes don’t shoot yourself down I made plenty of them I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life and I’ve made a lot of mistakes fixing stuff looking back now realizing that I probably could’ve got it running but never was able to because I like doing several steps that I could’ve done differently If you ever want to talk I am always here to talk about anything hit me up on any of my videos if you need someone to vent to about anything you wish to vent about

The good news is that now you have more content to film 😁

Noones laughing , everyone realises easy mistakes honestly documented are nothing in the grand scheme of things . Loved this “ chat” and love you , chin up keep going Bodywork is gorgeous

Hey Sarah , just discovered your channel and love your querkie style I'm getting to know your rating system on car reviews now , I will go back and get caught up on past videos ...you are brave person and I admire you for being who you want to be and doing what you what you ... keep up the good your you are gold girl !!! Kevin from new Zealand

Little issues aside, the MR2 is looking great! I really like it.

Stuff happens, even to the awesomely 😎 talented! Don’t let it get you down.

So sorry to hear about the distributor 😕 I’ve had my 1965 VW Bug for fifty years and over that time I’ve watched the OEM parts dwindle away to the point that I spend a lot of time online trying to find adequate aftermarket replacements 😲

you win some and you loose some! cant wait to see you this weekend !!!! IM COMING TO CHEER YOU TF UPPPPPPPPP!!!!!

I don’t know if your big door has a hose connection port in it or not. I always think it would be a great idea for your garage door so you can run MS Dos and others, inside and more often. Just like the extreme cold in Quebec City, you are inside a lot due to the extreme heat in southern Arizona. This idea always talks to me when viewing your RU-vid videos.

Your MR2 is sick and also in great shape. It's worth going that extra mile to fix it, don't worry to much about the headlights we all make mistake.

I ended up getting a set of Hella Eurovision H4 housing’s for my 1980 AL10 Toyota and I put LasFit LA led bulbs ;) SUPER bright! And DOT legal.

So knowledgeable 👍

You can adjust your headlights. There should be one screw on the bottom of the housing below the headlight bracket and one one either left or right don’t remember. The black plastic surround should have an indention to fit a long screwdriver through. I feel your pain on the MR2. Mine was not as clean as yours, but it was just PITA. Different problems every time.

0:01 you had me at “dumb”

" before I go and take this thing for a Rip ". Hell YES !

The Hella Sealed Beam Conversion from Prime MR2 works awesome with the LED bulbs.

Sarah dearest. The headlights are fine as is. Maybe vinyl-wrap the check engine light.

Love the MR2 and your t-shirts are great!

Sarah...as others have said..you should be able to twist the adjustment screws for the headlights to move the beams to a more LHD pattern...should be enough room on the adjusters for that. Those looks awesome though!

When you mentioned the new headlights i thought about the "left hand drive right hand drive" difference, but then i reminded myself that you for sure would thought about that beforehand. (The young lady always thinks about details that i would miss)

I love you Sarah !

I can hear it in your voice, don't beat yourself up so hard sis. You made a mistake but you're also doing this alone. You've basically rebuilt this car by yourself. Some help along the way, but not much. And that's honestly incredible. You're an amazing woman. We all love the work you do and the videos you produce. This is so minor in comparison to the project as a whole. Please, for us, but especially for yourself, let this go. You're better than your mistakes. This doesn't define you.