1985 Restored Red Mk1a MR2 (now with pics)

[seankenyon]

Hello,

Joined yesterday, my first post on here, had my MR2 for 2 years but only been road worthy the last 18 months, and i love it

Recently fitted a K&N Cone Filter and have braided hoses, Racing Brake Fluid and brake pads waiting to be fitted, and lowering springs

The tyres were cheap "MOT" worthy tyres, so next is some road legal track tyres, Upper Rear Strut Brace & Mk2 Turbo ARB, and thats it... as the standard exhaust with the K&N Sounds just brilliant as it is

Took me 6 months of weekends to do the bodywork, the interior and mechanicals were fine, simply an oil filter, oil change, battery, tyres and job done

I do have a question though, this being a Mk1a 1985 C Reg, is it a transition model? Because im the 3rd owner and the previous owner had it since 1 year old and never changed anything, so the lower lip and headlight eyelids were already Red along with sideskirts and bumpers when i got it (but I painted them black pics to follow) whereas Mk1a's have black bumpers, trim and side skirts

Sean.

[kevin..in]

hello and welcome
in answer to your question, earliest 1A cars had black trim bits,later 1As got colour coding & side skirts, transition or more commonly called "crossover" cars are 1B models from '87 model year onwards
seems you have a later 1A

[seankenyon]

Ah i see Thanks for the info and the welcome

Ive not uploaded any pics yet as I need to make so many posts on here before i can include URL links

Does the later 1a have any mechanical differences to the early 1a's then?

[kevin..in]

Ah i see Thanks for the info and the welcome

Ive not uploaded any pics yet as I need to make so many posts on here before i can include URL links

Does the later 1a have any mechanical differences to the early 1a's then?

no just a cosmetic makeover, body/suspension and later engine revisions came with th 1B

[seankenyon]

Good to know thanks

Was the car launched shod with particular tyres? For example the Integra Type-R i used to own was released with Bridgestone Potenza RE010

[kevin..in]

continentals,lots of cars still have an original conti as a spare, i used one once 20 year old rubber does not grip well

[seankenyon]

Hmm, i think rubber technology has moved on since then! Hope it didnt have a bad ending!? Sorry for laughing if it did...

[seankenyon]

I was thinking either Yokohama A539's or A021/A032/A038/A048 or Toyo T1S / R888 for my standard 14"'s

[kevin..in]

Hmm, i think rubber technology has moved on since then! Hope it didnt have a bad ending!? Sorry for laughing if it did...

no it was ok but would spin up on acceleration and when passing over ironwork in the road, probably ok tyres when new but when delicatey aged were somewhat uncomplient
as to tyre choice today, i'm not qualified to say mine runs toyo's but there are nearly as many opinions as there are tyre choices

[seankenyon]

Phew

Regardless of choice and opinions i know i need to change them, tyre wall flex is awful

PS I forgot to say i upgraded the standard headlight bulbs to "Halfords Extreme Brilliance" with Xenon gas - a million times better

[mr2mk1chick]

R888 for my standard 14"'s

these are fab for track and road, but i don't think are redily available in 14" and have also gone up loads in price over the last year. the sidewalls are really stiff and supportive. most people upgrade to 15" alloys and get a good tyre deal as a package, and they handle really well on this size.

I prefer the 1a engine

[seankenyon]

Great stuff Good to know, yeah ive been looking at the R888 prices for 14's and they are pretty steep! 13's or 15's are far cheaper, but alas i know the 13's are not wise to fit

[seankenyon]

See link for pictures:

mr2mk1club.com/showthread.php?12973-1985-Restored-Red-Mk1a-MR2&p=137150#post137150

[kaiowas]

Ah i see Thanks for the info and the welcome

Ive not uploaded any pics yet as I need to make so many posts on here before i can include URL links

Does the later 1a have any mechanical differences to the early 1a's then?

no just a cosmetic makeover, body/suspension and later engine revisions came with th 1B

I was under the impression that only the early mk1as had the smaller clutch and that most cars have the 212mm one. Been caught out before having bought a 'mk1a' clutch and not realised until I got everything apart that I needed the larger one.

(EPC says that the smaller clutch was only fitted from Nov84-Jun85 then it was the larger one)

[kevin..in]

Ah i see Thanks for the info and the welcome

Ive not uploaded any pics yet as I need to make so many posts on here before i can include URL links

Does the later 1a have any mechanical differences to the early 1a's then?

no just a cosmetic makeover, body/suspension and later engine revisions came with th 1B

I was under the impression that only the early mk1as had the smaller clutch and that most cars have the 212mm one. Been caught out before having bought a 'mk1a' clutch and not realised until I got everything apart that I needed the larger one.

(EPC says that the smaller clutch was only fitted from Nov84-Jun85 then it was the larger one)

every day is a school day

[seankenyon]

Every day is a Mk1 MR2 School Day

[Lauren]

Can't see your pics, because the MK1 club site took so long to load I gave up.

Worth pointing out that you need to be a member to view, so not ideal for anyone who isn't.

I restored a 1986 MK1a, but am not a fan of the later looking MK1a's with sideskirts, so converted mine to the earlier black bumper look.

Before:


After:


Post pics up here when you have enough posts.

[craig]

When did you get rid of that? Remember you bringing that to the lakes run ages ago

[craig]

To the original poster:

You need 15 posts to be allowed to post images

[seankenyon]

Good job mines similar to your front end except the bumper, I agree I prefer the mk1a look, it ties in all the black parts, the eye lid and lower lip in black gives it an aggressive look in my opinion

Sorry about the link