Project MRX350

[trunks_mk1]

@Paul where did you source the rubber trim that runs along the front valance and side skirts?

[autobody]

very nice looking mk1. I might have to copy some of your ideas for my next mk1.

Also interested in the rubber trims, I know the mk1 club sell them but looking for a better fitment.

@Paul where did you source the rubber trim that runs along the front valance and side skirts?

[PW@Woodsport]

Sorry only just seeing this now, i use double glazing seal trim to make the Mk1 sideskirt trim from.

[PW@Woodsport]

I took the car home tonight for the first time, and i thought it might be nice to take it to the same spot i first photographed the car 2 years ago before it underwent surgery.... some before and after comparisons, hard to believe it's the same car.

[donna]

Wow,unbelievable difference Paul

[matt-mr2]

that's a hell of a transformation

[PW@Woodsport]

A project update, after driving the car for several weeks now it is pure Mk1 utopia, for me the car is absolute perfection, it pootles around town with minimal effort at 1500rpm without any drama, the exhaust is very quiet and the engine can hardly be heard under normal driving.

During normal overtaking a slight squeeze of the drive by wire throttle pedal the car is launched hard and very quickly sees 80mph without any effort at all, i'm probably using 30%-40% throttle under those conditions.

It still feels and drives like a Mk1 should, very nimble and without any handling side effects, apart from armfuls of oppo needed when the throttle is applied too urgently and a slightly heavier/grabbier clutch it feels very well planted and capable.

It does need the rear ARB beefing up, and i feel it could do with being slightly stiffer at the rear, it rolls a little more on hard cornering than stock which i will rectify this winter with my KW variant coilovers and a Mk2 turbo ARB, but to be honest i'm being picky about it, probably Koni shocks would do it, at the moment the car is on new OEM Toyota shocks and Apex springs which i don't feel are doing the car justice.

It accelerates from 0-60 in about 4 seconds, that is WHEN i can do perfect launches, most of the time it just lights up the rear and i lose all traction, when that happens i can quite easily keep the wheels spinning and change gear at the same time.... too funny! It is after all using a Lotus Evora engine but with 300kgs less to haul around. When i do give it a hard launch the exhaust completely changes its note from family saloon to Nascar! It finds its throat especially around 4k and takes on a completely different character, it really is Jekyll and Hyde.

Rolling acceleration is hilarious, the car can be squeezed up to 100mph from 60mph in 8 seconds with no drama, there is no changing down to hit the powerband, it's omnipresence completely changes the Mk1s character, there is no hunting for the torque, it's just there in any gear at any speed... it just picks up and throws you back in the seat, i'm constantly twitching the wheel left and right to counter the rear end squirm under full throttle. Full concentration is needed at all times, this car needs respect, it would be very easy to put it sideways dropping a gear at 50mph and that is with 245 Toyos (i'd love stickier rubber but nobody else makes my tyre size). It's quite simply the most fun i've ever had, in any car, period.

The project will evolve further, this winter i want to overhaul the suspension with the KWs, fit my Aston Martin calipers, upgrade the master cylinder, fit a bias valve, polybush it (seems a shame, every bush is brand new from Toyota) but i want it as tight as it can be. I'm going to Tintop the car, that's me and T-bags done with, it leaks and i've never been able to stop it.... an Mr2 specialist that can't stop a leaking T-bar , i've replaced all seals, guides, bonded everything down, some days it doesn't leak, other days it pours in....they seem to be a lottery, even from new. So it will be getting a Tintop conversion, that fits with my JDM theme better anyway, i've already sourced the Tintop headlining.

Another job is to try and source an Evora 6 speed gearbox, that would give me perfect ratios and the ability to nail the Evora HTV1320 SC unit on at a later date, the Mr2 turbo gearbox is too short ratio'd for me.

She has the most perfect stance i've ever seen on a Mk1, ok i'm biased, but i just stare at it when i should be working, everyone knows i'm a Mk1 nutjob but this car is the ultimate for me, i cannot better it.

I'll keep the project updated this winter, as they say a project car is never really finished!

See you at JAE

[MartG]

It really is just about the ultimate Mk1

[pistol pete]

Fantastic write up there Paul


Look forward to having a look at jae

Hoping mine gets there with no dramas

[toxo]

There are 3 different 6 speed Evora gearboxes aren't there? Not to mention the sequential box Which would you go for?

[michaeljapp]

Fantastic work Paul, I hope you are able to enjoy the car and the hard work.

[PW@Woodsport]

There are 3 different 6 speed Evora gearboxes aren't there? Not to mention the sequential box Which would you go for?

I'm not sure, i just presumed there was the manual 6 speed and sequential version, i would be going for the manual. Google says there was a sports ratio upgrade for the Evora for an extra £1500 when new, so i think i'd just be going for the stock Toyota/Aisin manual gearbox... i need to do more research on that i think.

[emrrtwo]

got to agree about this being the ultimate mk1, for me there has always just been something just right about the shape of the mk1 and yet you have succeeded in the fine line of enhancing it even further. Your post detailing the driving experience sounds amazing being able to drive normally yet performance on another level and then some when the mood takes you yet there is still more to come!

[PW@Woodsport]

Thanks, yes that pretty much sums it up, it drives as a regular Mk1 would, except for the heavier/grabbier clutch and the ease at which it trundles around with minimal effort. If i'm honest i don't have the balls to fully exploit its capabilities, i mean i've built more powerful 3s-gte versions with crazy straight line acceleration on boost but nothing with such a wide and instant delivery of torque that just keeps coming in a relentless wave, it will drift for fun on every corner and i do consider myself competant but would take someone with a lot more talent than i have to use it properly. I built two others with the same engine for customers and only just now understanding why they raved about the performance, only something you can appreciate using them on a daily basis.... it's insane, but importantly only when you want it to be.

I would consider adding the supercharger next year but only to be unique, it definitely doesn't need any more power.

I may look into adding traction control next year too.

[kaiowas]

I'm pretty sure the stock Evora box originates from a rav4 Paul. (I can do some more digging for you and find out exactly what it is if you don't already know)

I know that in the case of the Evora the sports ratio 'upgrade' is pretty much a must have if you want sensible ratios, obviously in your car with different wheels your ratios will be different anyway so you'll need to do the maths to work out which will suit you best

[PW@Woodsport]

Thanks for that, any info you can find on the Evora box types would be brilliant, it's not something i'd want to be buying twice!

[toxo]

Loads of info here Paul. Unsure of accuracy of info but Wikipedia agrees.

http://wiki.seloc.org/a/2GR-FE_Gearboxes

Manual gearbox information

For the manual gearboxes this is the Toyota EA60 gearbox, as fitted to the Toyota Auris 2.0 D-4D and 2.2 D-CAT models.1 These are diesel engines, and the standard ratios are as they in the Auris, possibly explaining why they are often seen as rather long. The closer ratio gear set appears to be a bespoke set of ratios unique to the Evora and Evora S.

An adaptor plate is used to allow the engine and gearbox to be joined together, and the starter motor is relocated compared to the Toyota application.

For the manual gearboxes Lotus list two final drive ratios, one for 1st through 4th gears and another slightly shorter ratio for 5th and 6th.2

Automatic gearbox information

The Evora IPS and S IPS use the Toyota U660E gearbox3 as used by Toyota in conjunction with the 2GR-FE engine in several vehicles.

Other information

All Evora S's come with the close ratio Sport Gearbox fitted as standard. For the standard Evora the Sport Gearbox was added as standard equipment for the MY12 cars onwards.

[PW@Woodsport]

Thanks for that, i knew about the Auris info as i exported one for a US guy last year, no starter motor position is the problem on that one, but for the cost involved i will probably go for the Auris box and have a starter motor mounting boss from the E153 welded on.

Thanks for that mate

[donna]

Looking forward to seeing it at jae this year Paul I'm taking the mk3 v6 so it will be good to catch up

[PW@Woodsport]

Nice one Donna