It all started back in 2011.
I'd always had company cars since passing my test so I'd never had to buy my own car. For some time I'd had the itch to buy something as a weekend toy, something fun and something I use as a way of improving my mechanical knowledge. But what to buy?! 
I'd always loved the styling of Mk2 MR2s, since way back when they were first released in the 90's.
There was something about the lines that really appealed to my eye and after much deliberation I decided that's what I wanted. At the time I had no clue what I was looking for with regard to revisions, what a good example looked like, or what to watch out for etc. What I did know was my ideal looking car being a white T bar turbo that was tastefully modified (sound familiar..? 
). I spent a whole chunk of time looking at a load of different cars, mainly stuff on eBay, but never found anything that tickled my fancy.
Then one cold December evening I found an ad for a Caribbean Blue "Rev 4" (confusion related to the registration plate/year), which was conveniently located about 15 miles from me. It was sat on eBay, 2 hours left on the auction, £1750 with no bids. After discussing it with a friend he suggested it looked to be a lot of car for very little money, so I took the plunge and bought it blind! 
Within 24 hours I went to collect my new acquisition.
The seller was a mechanic and had built the car for a friend. He owner ran the car for a while, threw a load of money at it, before leaving it to sit for a few years. The builder eventually bought the car from him, with the intention of giving it a refresh etc. However, he ultimately decided to sell it on. Well, that's the story at least.. These are the original photos from his ad:
Full spec can be found on page 1 of this thread, but it goes along the lines of:
Fully forged build
(87mm pistons!) Hybrid CT20
HKS Hi Power
Rays TE37
Aquamist WI set-up
Stock ECU with piggyback modules
(HKS FCD and SLD) The cheapest set of ditchfinder tyres known to man
(we'll hear more about these later....) The car was SORN'd, had no MOT, the turbo smoked, the brakes were later found to all be pretty shot and the alternator belt snapped after the I got it home.
The tensioner then wouldn't loosen, meaning I couldn't replace the belt and had to get it towed to a garage. They sorted the main issues and got it through its MOT, with a little "help"... 
It definitely wasn't the winning any Show
'n Shines at the time of buying it. However, I was confident that with a bit of love, a lot of cleaning products and a good few hours of scrubbing there might just be a nice little car to be found. Turns out there was 
Or the makings of at least. 
I stumbled across IMOC whilst looking for information on replacement turbos.
Decided I liked the place, promptly signed up and then made a certain build thread.. My plan was to use it as a car journal where I could off-load details of the work I was doing, allowing look back on it all later after the dust had settled. Turns out I had a lot to off-load 
I also got to know a bunch of fellow owners and occasionally took the slowly improving blue lump to car shows and The Pod.
Given it had the WORST TYRES IN THE WORLD on it didn't do too bad, clocking a 12.9s 1/4 mile.
It certainly whet my appetite for more power... Time passed, I meddled with things and a sea of parcels arrived at work each day.
I learnt more and more about the car as each day passed. That ever present upgrade itch getting stronger and stronger... This is around the point where a certain Rev 5 Turbo belonging to Rob B came up for sale. One hell of a car and was running the engine from Roy Ashby's (see "MR2 wheelie" on YouTube) old car. I didn't end up buying it and I regret that decision to this day 
The car was broken for cars and I ended up with piles 
This little lot comprised of:
Full GT3076R turbo kit, Tial wastegate and screamer pipe
Apexi Power FC Pro Drag ECU
(Included launch control) and Hand Commander Radtec Chargecooler kit
SARD 800cc injectors
ATS Racing 4" Intake kit and K&N filter
ATS Racing cam pulleys
Aeromotive FPR
Carbotech pads
Rogue dual engine lid fans
Rev 5 spoiler
Cusco braces
- Front and rear Gas engine lid strut
The car was booked in for the work to be done, along with me booking holidays so I could
"help" (read learn). The Mule made another new friend while it was there. 
A few days, a few cuts and a whole chunk of cash later we ended up with this.
The difference was huge and immediately obvious when driving it.
The ECU still had Rob's 5S build map on it, which meant I drove it back off boost (mostly... ). It was clear, though, this car was starting to really come alive! I'd booked in for a mapping session with Ryan G off of 2Bar Tuning, so I had a leisurely 3 hour drive down to Surrey Rolling Road.
All of which was during one of the wettest summers we'd seen in years, so all I saw was this. 
It was clear that the
£7 worth of tyres the previous owner had fitted weren't going to cut it. Hell, they made the drive pretty terrifying!! 
We did eventually get there though and my bottom had some time to unclench! Met up with Ryan, we had a good chat about the car and my goals, he then set to work. Power wise I'd always wanted a 400bhp car. I don't know why 400bhp specifically but that was the long term goal for the car. 
The engine was strong, very strong.
Unfortunately there were a few little issues that needed resolving, which held the car back from hitting my power goal. Still, we saw a good 350bhp and most importantly we had a solid map on. 
I was a happy boy!
I was so close to my power goal and knew what was left to do in order to meet it. Everything felt good in the world, apart from the dent in my wallet! Little did I know what was about to happen... The weather on the drive back was horrendous and the ditchfinders really weren't helping.
, with aquaplaning being a big problem. Eventually something was going to go bad and coming off the A43 just before the M1 it did... 
I hit a big patch of standing water, the car went into raft mode and headed out of the lane.
I attempted to catch it, which surprisingly I did, but then it caught traction again and snapped on me. It was enough to mount the curb and tap the railings on the NS front and rear. Not a big impact by any means but enough to do some serious damage. GUTTED, absolutely gutted! 
Sky high to rock bottom within minutes!I sat in Northampton services for 3 hours, while I waited for a tow truck to come and recover the lump of metal I'd just put blood, sweat and cash into.
Eventually we got home and I went to bed to wallow in my own self pity Next day I took myself out and assessed the damage; it wasn't pretty.
The front wing, door, and rear quarter were mangled, two of the TE37s were buckled, the front and rear arms were bent, lights shattered etc. I also had no idea if the chassis was bent. I had some thinking to do and some decisions to make. The outcome of those spelled the end of Mule I. The photos of which I'll spare you.. However, it wasn't the end.
In fact it spawned the next chapter in the journey: Mule II. Which comes next 
I'm off on Monday, I'll aim to drop it in then.
