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androo007 wrote:We're only really here for the love of the car due to its:
- Ease of tuneability- Ease to work on and play with- Availability of parts on a reasonable budget- Impressive performance that can be achieved without breaking the bank- Nimble handling, and fun factor/ challenge to get the best out of thew chassis
It was a combination of the lowering springs, instead of proper coilovers, the enormous tyres and their profiles. A set of coilovers and aftermarket ARBs would improve things for sure. The turbo also doesn't help, because when it comes it comes pretty hard. So if the chassis isn't well set up it just tries to break free, or light the wheels up. The heart of that car was strong. I still miss the noise 
Mk1, Mk2, Mk3, MX5, something else? Not looking for anything too serious, as in you feel like you're its custodian rather than a play mate. So things like a 240Z aren't on the list right now. Plus the house build hasn't happened and my agreement was once the house is built, along with a workshop, that's when it's Z time. 
JD wrote:It's large and American, isn't it?
I'd need a bigger driveway for one of those Just two more sleeps! However, this thread being what it is, it must be documented.. So.. breaking is well underway. It's sat on ramps at the moment, with the subframe now dropped and the engine about to come out. Many things have or are about to have new homes, so things will start moving pretty quickly. A choice selection of parts have been earmarked for the new car, which is making for a pretty exciting end product! Magic Beans wrote:T minus 2 days!
Insurance is sorted and the train booked.
I'll not put up loads of photos of the Rev 2 breaking, doesn't seem right.
Roll on Saturday!
ashley wrote:Mk I,II or III
ashley wrote:or are we looking at something blue with an extra couple of pistons in it
That car was so similiar to Mule 1 and how I ultimately wanted the car to look! Even the wheels were almost the same, albeit a lesser TE37 style equivalent. Ultimately though it was the lack of base power that put me off. I'd need to boost it in some way to get what I'd want from it and that was going to cost more than I felt the end result would be worth. It's not the first time it's crossed my path either... pistol pete wrote:Oi dont forget my very poorly elbow!
Sorry about that, on behalf of the car.. 
. Are you sitting comfortably? I had a freshly tuned Mule heart and was looking to transplant it in to a new shell. I'd whittled down a long list of options to just two remaining candidates. One of them was Mule II as you know her, the option was a Rev 5 turbo T bar that was being sold by Chris. I'll spare you my thought process in making the ultimate decision, but I made my decision and Mule II was born. Ever since then I've always questioned my decision, as both were really strong candidates for different reasons. There was always that "What if?" lingering in my mind though. The Rev 5 I had was sold, the Rev 2 was canned and I was left looking for something to fill the void 5 months of car dramas had left me with. I'd been toying with a whole host of different options. MR2s (Mk1, 2 & 3s), MX5s, shouty 'Murica mobiles, all manner of things. To be honest I'd looked so much I was getting a bit burnt out and was at the point where I was ready to part out Mule VII and call it a day for a while. Then while on a late night trawl through IMOC, looking at cars I was considering etc, I went back to look at an ad for a certain Rev 5 turbo being sold by Michael (muckman). It all suddenly made sense to me! The car was aesthetically exactly what I wanted, it had obviously been very well cared for and the only bits I felt it needed were things I had on Mule VII! How I hadn't thought of it sooner is beyond me?! It was essentially Mule VI completed to how I wanted it to be, with the ability to fuse in the best of Mule VII. The net result, to me, was my ultimate MR2. It then dawned on me that back when I was looking for my first MR2 it was a white Mk2 T bar turbo I wanted. Albeit back then I had no clue what I was looking at and eventually bought Mule 1, but there it was! The day after realising what I'd found I went down to see said Rev 5 turbo. As soon as I saw it I was smitten and had one of those "Throw cash at screen" moments. The outcome was inevitable.. I'm not one for fate and all that nonsense, but it was all feeling like a damn big coincidence!. What a day that was... The train was booked and the journey planned. I was driving down to Birmingham to get a train from New Street, because Adrienne had a wedding dress shopping day planned and it made sense to go from there. Hit the M1 and started cruising, safe in the knowledge I had about 45 minutes in hand, good times! 
Got to just before J25 and everything stopped, completely. The type of stop where you're there so long disgruntled men get out of their cars and start wandering about muttering to each other, which they did 
I sat there watching the sat nav ETA creep up, minutes passing by. Cut to about 45 minutes later and things started moving. The disgruntled men all bolted back to their cars, with one having to dive in as the car drove past! By now the sat nav was telling me I'd get to New Street about 3 minutes after the train was due to leave 
I made the call and decided to ditch that train and catch another one, from a different station etc. Cost me another £50 for the privilege though.. 
Met up with Michael, we did the paperwork and I was then given a demonstration of the PSVR. It's a lot of fun! Business settled we headed down to get the car. I busted out my camera, because photos are life and grabbed the first shot of the car 
We had to come up with a solution pretty quickly, so stuck some air in the tyre and moved the car back; big old screw right inbetween the tread. Driving it back with a space saver on wasn't an option, so we limped it to an ATS Tyres a few streets down. They were fully booked, which is understandable, given it was about 4pm on a Saturday. They were good enough to put some air in the tyre, which gave us enough to get to a Kwik Fit, which I'd been calling while this was happening. We rolled over to Kwik Fit, which had the friendliest manager I've ever known and they set out repairing it. Thankfully due to where it was it was a simple fix, which was at least small mercy 
By now I was THE MOST hungry person in the world, so stopped off to grab something to eat. Oh, and to geek out a photo too 
.. 
I still have MR2 PTSD from the whole time It was pretty brutal out and a sea of stupid was happening around me It came and went, twice and the car drove like an absolute dream. Solid as a rock and a joy to drive. Definitely a contrast to some I've driven in the past in similar conditions. 
(cars) of the household were introduced and the Rev 5 tucked away for the night. Leaving me in need of a good drink, which I had! Took a few last shots before that though, as always 
I certainly have no plans or desire to go for anything else anytime soon. As such this will essentially be my MR2 swan song, my ultimate MR2. Every last MR2 itch I have ever had will be scratched with this car. It's already a damn good base and I don't intend to do anything significant to the styling etc, it's perfect. The rest, however, you'll see over the coming months I want to say a big thanks to Michael, it's been a pleasure. I think I need to meet stuMR2lee at some point, I think we'll get on very well. We seem to share a similar attention to detail Best go and wash her now Can't wait to meet the new arrival (Bahnstormer) | 2004 RX8 231 (the Racecat) | 2001 Volvo V70 (Swedish eBay barge)| 1988 MR2 SC Super Edition 
Car looks fantastic! Tuned in for developments, inevitable really Ben wrote:Nice words, as ever.
Needs to meet your new angry Italian ashley wrote:Good stuff Phil, I assume you mean Chris Isles's old car? Will be good to see it with a decent power plant in it again
Well, assuming you mean the one he bought and converted, not his original big power build? To be honest, it drives really well as it is. I'd forgotten how good a CT20b is, in terms of spool time and power delivery.craig wrote:Good write up Phil.
Old skool, but Toyota got it pretty spot on with it, great for a road car. After our conversations glad to see you got something sorted.Magic Beans wrote:Ultimately though it was the lack of base power that put me off
Magic Beans wrote:I'd forgotten how good a CT20b is, in terms of spool time and power
