Pistols MR2 stories... MK1 and 2zz MK3

[craig]

Top work as always fella

[pistol pete]

So Dropped the Gearboxes off to Patrick Chambers. He is putting the gearset from the celica box into the MR2, so we keep the MR2 casing, linkages and Diff, but had the 190 engine gears to keep the car in lift.
i am not currently swapping over the longer 6th, as it is a track only car.

At home last night a jumped onto getting the engine ready.
First up was to change the manky sump for a baffled one. I am going for a 1zz sump for now and then later ill be adding an accusump when funds allow




Also fitted the new Blitz oil filter...



next up was lift bolts. these are know to snap or wear. so while i have it they are 80p each so might as well and change the cam cover gasket too





Onto the lower temp TRD thermostat



fitted following these instructions closely


New water pump while there too
old one had a plastic impeller


new is a metal impeller


new sparks fitted too






I did also swap the idler pulley from the 1zz to the 2zz which sits where the air con normally would. The idler bearings are knackered, so Patrick is ordering em a new on to pick up when i get the gearboxes back.

Tonight hopefully ill be able to tackle starting to swap the looms and generally getting it all back together

[pistol pete]

A bit more has happened

Got both the 1zz and 2zz out in the sunshine to transfer needed parts and start building up the 2zz

removed the injectors and fuel rail from the 1zz . resinstalled the 2zz injectors and 1zz fuel rail so the fuel feed is on the correct side
blocked up the required (or not as it may be) coolant lines.



Swapped over the coolant lines then reinstalled the 1zz wiring loom.





pulled the 2zz loom into the back room and removed teh 3 wires and 2 plugs required to make lift work.



Popped up to my mates to pick up my new exhaust.






It was very nicely wrappedn, a good job. but i cannot go near the stuff without itching like a mofo. so it had to come off.

nice exhaust under there.



The first silencer was rattling. so cut it open and removed the rattle.. the other two back boxes are able to be repacked, so i just left this one empty and see how it goes..



new plate welded back on


Lastly made a new mini loom for the oil and lift switch





also i thought id weigh in the civic R EP3

[pistol pete]

I'm on nights this week which always means i can get a bit done..
hoping to pick up the gearbox this week which may mean engine in at the weekend!!

so managed to get a bit done today..
first up was putting the lift cables into the loom.. i am pretty happy with the finished product,





my little helper kept throwing me her ball so i could chuck it for her.. this slowed me down. but how can you say no!


I got a little trick from a friend a few years back, i want to get some poly engine mounts in future. but i am currently on a tight budget to just get the thing running. So using his trick.. filled the old engine mounts with Stickaflex. this has stiffened them up a load.
Ill see how it is when on the car. if no good ill order new ones. but worth a try



The others decided to help at this point



With the engine just waiting to go into the car. i thought it was about time i actually did some work on the car itself to prep!
so i covered all front suspension in penetrating spray. ill leave that now and take apart tomorrow


next up into the car. again the helper is there


want to get rid of all the fan and heater unit


first bypassed the heater.


got it all out after some fighting


gave it all a tidy up, moved some of the loom, i can get this much tidier, as i am pretty sure there is loads i can just unplg and remove, but i am not doing this untill i know the engine is in and running (i don't want to add more potential faults in one go)


So then take a perfectly good dash


and attach with an angle grinder



test fit.. pretty pleased with how it looks.. was tempted not to run a dash at all but this just keeps it tidy for now




I know the photos are not the best, they were taken on my pad in a dim garage..

Last job before deciding i was tired after working last night.. As i am inside the car i wanted to get the harness and seat sorted..
So fitted eyelets for harness and wrapped on the harness bar




test fit.. very chuffed (this is my happy face)

[pistol pete]

only a little job today..
Nights.. makes me tired and grumpy sometimes.

made these last night




can't really see in the pic, but with better light i will get a pic.
raised the gearshifter by 6cm.



I will see what its like when engines in, but all seems okay a nicely placed at the mo

[pistol pete]

Updates coming thick and fast now!

First off i realised i have only gone and left the throttle cable bracket attached in the celica, which long ago went to the scrappy (who have already crushed it)
So Roger G is sorting me one at the weekend. so i shall carry on until then without it.

So first off
Went and collected my gearbox from Patrick Chambers.. ( i seem to be missing some pics is took. no idea where they've gone)
whilst there he added the bung for the first lambda to go in, rather than in the down pipe


As i am not running a cat, I got an Ebay spacer


I was then waiting for my clutch to arrive so got on with some little jobs

My Fan arrived for the dash, ths is just to see if it works, as a cheap try no harm!

the opening left in to vent air to the windscreen

cheap 12v fan


all dash and interior is back in.. but no pictures... Doh

next up i pulled this box that has been sat in the corner of my garage for ages



got them fitted up



Also this fun little package of ultra racing ARBs arrives


Also fitted a new pulley as the bearings had gone in the old one


My clutch arrived. so i went about fitting the clutch, and gearbox etc all back together, these are the pics i am missing. but it all went together nicely.
This is just before installation


I haven't gone to town making this engine a show shiney engine. t isn't worth the effort.. its going in a track/sprint car.. i am sure it will be in and out / replaced many times!

A while later.. magic happens and a 2zz is in the car!!!


Again missing a load of pics.. but got everything reconnected, Oil and gearbox oil filled, subframe back on, engine mounts on.etc etc etc
Then coolant filling. MR2s can be terrible for coolant bleeding.

this time I thought i would try a way I have not done before. I used a friends vacuum filler.
so it pulls all the air out of the system, collapses all hoses etc. you shut it off and leave it a couple seconds to see if you loose the vacuum. If you do you know there is a leak somewhere... i didn;t luckily.. well at the moment anyway..
Then put the filling line in a big bucket of new coolant and open the system up. it the draws and fills the system with coolant and no air...

Happy days




It is now almost ready to start.
I have modified the celica air box to fit, and i have "borrowed" some gasket material from work to make my own exhaust gaskets... so fingers crossed.. tomorrow i can turn the key!!!!!!

[pistol pete]

Big day today.
I borrowed some graphite sheet from work to make my own gaskets for the exhaust
I have always run these on my race/sprint track cars and never had one blow




Then worked on getting the exhaust in and mounted



Love the tail pipe!!




I had one hanger with nothing to hang on, luckily i had a spare Poly hanger so managed to get it like this which is holding it nice



I fitted up the rear ARB at this point to make sure nothing rubbed.. all was good.

Plugged in the Lambda sensors..some rerouting/cable adjustment required before putting bumpers etc back on

mocked up the inlet, butched the 1zz and 2zz intake piping. I need to get a bit of tubing to finalize it so i am happy..

but it was ready for a test start!

connected the battery checked everything over...
battery was dead..

charged it for an hour to give it some life that it could do the ignistion system, then jumped it off my civic battery

This is first start up..first turn of the key

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45QimL1stwU
I was pretty happy!

checked everything for leaks.. left it running till it got up to temp and fans kicked in. then turned off, as its in the garage no air for the fans to cool the rads.

heres a vid of once up to temp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctGHgufqx4g

ran well could not see any evidence of leaks anywhere.

there was an exhaust leak from the end of one the repackable boxes, so ill whip the end cap off and reseal it.

come to work today very happy..

next up is get the ARBs mounted and brakes suspension all bolted together. (tomorrows job)
then swap the ECU's and repin to match.
the try again see if it runs. if not i know its something in the wiring


thanks for all the comments guys
fingers a crossed for a trackday in october and a sprint in november

[pistol pete]

no Huge update today
had to do the school run and go to work early..
but managed to get couple bits done.. first was the number plate lights on the trailer.. swapped out..
then the tow car/now daily shogun has a parrot system in it which i hate. and when using bluetooth it would distort..
Pulled it all apart and found this rats nest in there!!



Found a couple loose connections, also a bent pin in one of the plugs.. then taped and tidied everything and mounted the blue box nicely behind the dash rather than let it rattle around
all back together


beast


anyways.. jumped into the garage. got the rear ARB in place again as it was upside down, swapped over. Fitted new drop links, and camber bolts.. all together apart from the brakes now.. (yes the discs cover rust pile needs to come off)


Got both rears done.
I moved to the front got the front ARB mounted, after having two bolts snap and having to drill them out in the worst place ever to get a drill in!! and got new drop links fitted, unfortunately no pics.

that'll be it till next week i expect. I am work early tomorrow, funeral on friday (BOO ), then off to blyton park Saturday/Sunday for race day in the RX8!!! woohoo So more work on Monday

[pistol pete]

Update time!!

I went away for a week for work, whilst i was away i made a list of all the little bits left.
As we all know the last 5% takes the most time. its all the fiddly stuff
Here was the list

60mm intake pipe (measure)
Finish air box
Bleed brakes
Extend lambda wiring
Mount lambda plugs
Secure carbon canister valve
Re pin ecu and mount celica key and transponder
Tyres on wheels
Alignment
Refit rear lights and bumper.
Tow hook.
Oil filter change
Compression test
Decal kit
Tighten steering wheel attach face plate
Wire in fan for windscreen
Mount go pro


I got home early on Thursday so manage to hit on with the jobs, managing to start to tick them off pretty quickly
Unfortunately as i was rattling though i did not take loads of pictures..

Of all of them i was most worried about was the Re pinning of the Ecu for the 2zz ecu, I didn't want to damage any ECU plugs.
But after reading all the guides and a few you tube vids, i started. after about an hour of head scratching and moving around, and a phone call to Patrick chambers it was done.
I then held my breath as i turned the key.. It fired straight into life.. big sigh of relief!!

I done a compression test for my own peace of mind..
It was good results all round





Bled all the breaks, done all the little jobs.. got the lights and bumper back one.. wheels back on.
got the car outside



here is the car sat running
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEgk7-SqFX0

then it was loaded on the trailer


taken up to local alignment place. done to my investigations settings..
not all corner weighted yet, that will be later then i have done all the polybushing
But it does sit level. When all arms are done i will take it up to fensport get it set nicely.



Also got the tyres mounted so the car is currently sitting on the uniroyal rain sport 3s, and here are the Soft Avon ZZrs




Couple little jobs i had on the list.. was the intake link pipe, was using a temporary red silicon hose. i have found some tube at work and just need to re fit



also the carbon canister was rubbing on the dipstick, so some slight alteration to the canistor bracket


Just means i can move it by 1/2 inch will be enough..


Next came up on how i was going to actually test the car.
It was going to be book a brands hatch track day this week and get there and see how it goes, my big worry was i would do one lap and inevitably it something would break and the day would be lost.
It was still the best option until i phoned AIB insurance. They managed to sort me insurance on the car with all mods declared (basically a race car) and 1000 miles a year, for £200 which was same cost of the track day. but this covered me where i could drive up road (sensibly as its on road!!) but i could make sure the car runs all okay before going to track and driving it properly..
So fingers crossed one eve this week i can have a little drive in it!!!

It does have a small coolant leak, or the coolant is settling as i haven't seen any evidence of a leak yaet, so need to investigate that properly



Watch this space


As for the list of jobs above

60mm intake pipe (measure) Made, to fit tonight
Finish air box DONE
Bleed brakes DONE
Extend lambda wiring DONE
Mount lambda plugs DONE
Secure carbon canister valve DONE
Re pin ecu and mount celica key and transponder DONE
Tyres on wheels DONE
Alignment DONE
Refit rear lights and bumper. DONE
Tow hook. Rear Done need to sort front
Oil filter change DONE
Compression test DONE
Decal kit NEED TO ORDER
Tighten steering wheel attach face plate DONE
Wire in fan for windscreen DONE
Mount go pro DONE
Remount carbon canister Bracket made, to fit tonight
Find the coolant leak

[pistol pete]

found the air lock, it was just after the thermostat.. all sorted and temps seem to be staying where they should be!

An utterly boring and pointless video for anyone but me...
but i done one as a momento of its first drives out
at the alignment shop.
then last night.
It drive well. went into lift .. pulled as it should i think (never been in one) and as said before its on the road and its wet so no hard pulls etc.. and stopping to check everything was okay every mile..

touch wood it seems okay..
hopefully the next video will be much more interesting on the track!! what it needs to be

https://youtu.be/3bk-7_Po5t8

[pistol pete]

Well..
A track day has happened..
very very nervous leading up to it.. I didn't get much sleep the night before.. It went like this..

Friday morning. the wife said i had to get the car on track before going to compete at snet (she isn't wrong)
Brands is my closest track, its more expensive to book but by the time i have paid for fuel and hotel to go further afield brands was the best option.

Booked up with MSVT, weather was supposed to be cloudy, not raining. but the weekend and monday it had done nothing but rain so i wasn't expecting anything other than rain

Woke up nice and early (5am) as i am on earlies for work anyway, got to track and 6.45, i wanted to try and bags a spare garage before everyone got there, brands is always a busy trackday

I got garage 27!! my birthday is october 27th so i was happy. (small things small minds all that )





Got the car all unloaded. signed on, had some breakfast. car started, idled perfectly my nerves were starting to subside.
Next up nose test.. 94db. pleased with that,
there seemed to be a lack of cars. at the briefing it was told it was a low number day only 30 people signed on to drive.
sighting laps done, i went straight out, which is unlike me, but i wanted to get a couple laps done..


But most importantly there was no rain.. lots of fog!!
had the rainsports on to start with (that is how optimistic i was) three laps done felt good, went in and fitted the avons


by now the sun was coming out. and car was running well.. i was having an issue that it was dropping out of lift between gears, i also felt it seems very long gearing for what i was told would be short!
Had a chat with Patrick, he asked which air box i was using and the intake etc,
we found that the standard MR2 inlet pipe to the filter housing has a massive restriction in, removed this and it then rev'd more freely got right round to the redline, but still dropped out of lift. but nothing i could do while there so i just had fun

the inlet pipe




the car moved around on track but handled brilliantly it was great being back in a mr2,









It drove great ran well all day, and was a great success, And we had sunshine all day!!!!


there were quite a few red flags through the day, tended to be the race cars testing (ginetta juniors and fiestas as they seems to be pushing very very hard)]

In the afternoon my wife and daughter, and family friend came to watch, she got some good pictures and it was nice to have them there after all the do to help me get the car done.
also Harry the previous owner came and had a sit in the car



Overall I am very pleased with the car and great to be in a mr2 again. there is plently to do(lots of ideas).. but i will take it to Snetterton as it is.
Firstly will be the gearbox, looking back at video then at others, im changing at 8200 it drops back to 5800 lift doesn't come in till 6200 so i am always waiting for it, i also can do 80 in second and 110 in third. where as all others are 3rd at 55 4th at 85ish and 5th at 110.. so it seems my celica had a gearbox change at some point and the wrong box was put in it..damn! anyways it hasn't spoiled the day or the car, its just something to add to the Todo list..



Here is the video of last run of the day
https://youtu.be/dT5f3zaM64c

[pistol pete]

I was going to sort the gearbox out over winter.. but it was bugging me
And patrick sorted another for me.
so started at 4pm, stopped for dinner out by 8pm.
So i am pretty pleased.
I am on holiday from moday to friday. dropping box off to patrick ths friday and picking up next saturday for him to swap the gearsets etc over

[pistol pete]

got an message from patrick saying the new gearbox had arrived and was stripped. so i ran my box down there, that is now back together and ready for pick up this afternoon!





so itll start going back in this evening!

[pistol pete]

Update time...

I got the gearbox in on that Friday evening. Finished off very early Saturday morning.
Whilst there i finished off a few other odd jobs i hadn't been happy with. none of which I can remember
Where i had removed that huge restriction on the intake pipe I used to brake ducting to make a new pipe



Took the car for a quick drive out.. hugely different with this gearbox.. So much better on pick up. A lot better out of lift too as it isn't so long geared. Looking forward to trying it on track now!

This was an important day the Saturday.. It was time to say good bye to the Racecat, Ben had come to collect and put it in his lockup..
Quick picture together



It has been an awesome bit of kit, and look forward to losing to it over the next season

We had stripped all its decals as they were mine and Ben's. He has started a fresh and I assisted in fitting his new decals.. This is just the Base, he will be adding more to these


I went off on a lovely holiday for the following week.. nice week in Norfolk.. it was cold but sunny!!


Few more jobs I wanted done. First up.. Decals!!
Same decal kit as Ben, but different colours and due to size of the car, different placement.. also added the Zombie response.. (yes this is not to a lot of peoples tastes a lot will hate it,, but RACECAR!!! And all my race cars have it.. Its my Livery now)





Next up I got an OMP steering wheel for my birthday, as well as a really nice race-bag that I can now fit my helmet, Hans race-suit etc in neatly which is a huge help.
Ordered the Boss from Fensport while on holiday and got it fitted up as soon as we were back.


Ben gave me some money for my birthday, and for the racecat, which i did not expect and very kind of him. This I was told by him was to purchase a new race-seat, get rid of the puke smelling Sparco..

Road trip to corbeau who are about an hour from me.
I looked at the club sport, but this is just a road seat and not as strong as i would want, but was the price i wanted to spend.
Next was the Sprint which we have in the RX. standard was slightly to tight (im a 30-32inch waist) I fit fine but was cramped and the next size the EXCEL was far too loose
the happy medium was the next seat up in the series the pro-series X
https://www.corbeau-seats.com/product/p ... cing-seat/

This was slightly larger than the sprint standard. but was obviously a lot of monies, over double where I had started
So homebound, spoke with the wife, safety etc.. phoned Corbeau and order placed.
They phoned the next day to say it was ready, as i was on lates i had time in the morning to jump in the little Kia drive down and get it,


The next day was a lot of faffing. trying to get the seat to fit correctly. First position was too high. Managed to get it in a location that was as low as it would go but i still sat too high
After a quick hone call to Corbeau again they did a seat base with a lot less padding.. perfect.
Run down there again for a straight swap (3rd day in a row!!!)
While I was there I picked up a set of their side mounts, as my mounts were for 8mm bolts, but the seat used 10mm.. i did not fancy opening up the current holes

There side mounts holes were a little different in location too which meant I could actually sit the car a little lower.
Again lots of faffing, then full race suit hans etc on to get the harness set just right, glad I done this as found the with harness tight i was leaned too far back, adjustment and all sorted.. Its the little jobs that take time..
It has taken me longer to fit and set up the seat where i am happy with it that it did to removed and replace the gearbox!
Now it is in i am very happy, also managed whilst all out to wash any remnants of stains off the harnesses as well



so it all smells lovely

Got the car loaded on the trailer before work ready for alignment again nice and early tomorrow



there i think that's everything

Hopefully next up date will be a positive one after Snetterton on the 16th of November with a video too. We shall see all fingers a crossed!!

[pistol pete]

Well.. little over due an update isn't it

Before I could go to snet I had to sort some kind of door cards..
Before


after


Snetterton... as expected it was very damp all day. Very greasy and slippery

I found (again later on as well). the Avons do not like to cold or damp at all so I feel I lost a lot of time to them and will be changing them out for sprinting, keep the avons just for trackdays as they really needed heat to work

Arriving for its first sprint event


letting a friend share the garage also running a 2zz (yes i beat him but quite a lot)


next to racecat (which yes beat me as expected)


It was a great day, the car ran brilliantly all day, was very pleased. I just struggled getting any heat into the Avons..
here is a clip from the day. inc some sideways actions at the end

https://youtu.be/R3nfBtsTIak

The car go its first trophy.. woohoo




Also got this for the year in the racecat


Super pleased to receive this.. it really meant something to me, made my year it really did


We got home and promptly booked a track day at Silverstone full GP low numbers day

At this time the Shogun was my daily and costing me a fortune in fuel. I still wanted to tow so shogun went up for sale and sold pretty quickly. Sad day but it was time..
Unfortunately it went 2 days before silverstone
but i was lucky enough to borrow a van for the weekend



Again I struggled with grip at on track in the damp.. it was just sideways every single corner... It did do some fantastic drifts though I had a lot of fun. was not fast though..
The afternoon dried up and the tyres soon starting working.. when they did the car was fantastic. they will make great track day tyres for next year

Silverstone was a low numbers day on the full GP curcuit , there were a few mad Ferrari's going round total of only 30 cars so i could get many laps in without seeing a single person. it was great to really get to feel with the car.
Ended the day running with the MR2 turbo the we were sharing a garage with. It was a brilliant 6 laps, was pleasantly surprised how well it done against a Turbo.


In silverstone garage

Managed to get a picture of racecat popping some flames (top work Ben)


My go pro decided to stop working. so no videos except one where Ben is following in the RX8. the yokos handle the damp sooo much better than the avons.

https://youtu.be/as5P-dqtAJU

My lines in the vid a awful, simply trying to find somewhere where the car might get some grip! afternoon sessions were soo much better, i was not happy at all in the morning

anyway

Back home first off was to find a more economical replacement for the shogun (it done 20mpg daily.)
I started looking at estates. but i am very much one for wanting the weights to be right, also i really want to put a tyre rack on the trailer at somepoint so nose weigh can become an issue

After much hunting and looking around at different things. i decided on a freelander 2. they have a pretty good rep, loads of toys on them, and they can take 250kg nose weight if you have the right tow bar (i don't need that much)

I then became picky. i wanted Heated seats, leather, cruise control, front rear parking sensors, Auto (as the manual clutches are made from chocolate) and most importantly working nights in winter, a heated front windscreen
I had to have either a HSE or an SE, i was not fussed about colour.

After a couple weeks one came up with a full land rover history. if it needed work (or they told the lady it needed something) it got it. They lived south london and money did not seem to be an issue.

So here it is


I do like the interior


Unfortunately it did not come with a tow bar, after looking around i decided to buy and fit one myself.
These cars are made to tow, they have the plug in the back for the lights. and everything ready on the chassis just to bolt to, so it was easy plug and play
I went for a trust tow bar, with a nose weight of 150kg. that'll be plenty



I have not had a chance to test tow yet, but it has the same power and a bit more torque the the shogun did so i am sure it will be fine, looking forward to trying it

Like said I am a stickler when it comes to tow weights etc and being safe. I weighed the landy just to see



That'll be plenty!

The only issue I have had is a noisy front wheel bearing which I changed last week, other than that its been a joy to drive and easy return over 30mpg. which has made a huge difference



Also got a new phone, so managed to get a good pic of the JCW I get to drive often (its a brilliant little car)



Back to the MR2.
It sat under its cover after Silverstone until a couple of weeks ago. One of the jobs I wanted to tackle before going back on track was the alignment and bushes. We really struggled to get the rear tow to adjust to where I wanted, so used it as an excuse to poly bush everything.

Only issue is it can be fairly expensive. I also like to make things myself. so after a friend mentioned it, I decided to make my own bushes and bought some polyurethane rod

I wanted to changed the engine mounts too but it worked out cheaper to buy the mounts done also the front rear wishbone bushes as they have a large diameter

I got the Sub frame and all the arms out
the front wishbone front bolts were seized in the bush ended up having to cut them out (which was not fun)
also could not release the rear toe bolts so ended up removing the whole sub frame again!





Took into the workshop and lots of heat later and some pressing, the bolts did not give way.. instead it split the sub frame


bu88er!

I still needed the arm, by this time some work colleagues were interested and decided to assist

bye bye subframe


next up was pressing out all the old bushes
they were not a good state



some time later a pile appeared




I then washed all the arms in the solvent pressure cleaner and sprayed them all black.

New engine mounts arrived


Then we set about making these into my poly bushes



Here is a friend starting make up the centre bar of the bushes




Our first time turning Polyurethane



Pretty pleased how it all turned out





If it helps anyone here are the measurements if you want to make your own

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

The full kit is about £277, I paid £35 for the rod.. so some price difference

I used the diagram as reference



Have since cut out the last bush from the hub as did not want to remove the hub from the car and made the last bush tonight, also my brand new sub frame has arrived, soon will get getting it back together.

Whilst I have been doing that I have started some more weight saving.
Removing the rear crash bar, the a little bumper modification (yes the exhaust will get altered at some point)
But I am pleased with the new rear end look





More will be coming soon, a few jobs on the list!

Also the little Silver MR2. has spun a bearing so it will be getting the this cars old engine, which means it will have its roof, seats and engine.
Job for this weekend!!!

[pistol pete]

Update time!

We sold the mini

Due to lack of time ,and even when up and running the wife cannot drive it. Was time to let go, gone to a friend so we can keep and eye on what happens with it

The first sprint of the year was to be 8th may (or similar) with the Toyota sprint series within the Japanese sprint.
Due to lack of interest the Japanese sprint series was cancelled. Toyota sprint has then been moved to Javelin spring series.
This means all my sprint dates for the year have changed. Now redone all my holiday dates to suit and first sprint is the 10th April.. There is a test day at Blyton on 22nd march.. I could be interested in doing that. but we shall see

Decided I had better get on with getting the car race ready and back together. It has been outside with all the suspension off as the Silver one is still in the garage for engine swap. This has meant that not much has happened because I did not want to get soaked..

Then i find out the guy who does my suspension set up (and I do not pay a lot for) is leaving where he works to become a ford master tech, and he leaves Wednesday.
Due to the price he charges me to do it, and his boss isn't around i have to go in on a Saturday.
So on eve last week i went out and started getting the new sub frame ready
genuine Toyota part


with the new brace too


Out then out in the storm Saturday morning first thing with a ground sheet to get it all fitted up.
No pictures unfortunately.. It was went cold and horrible, I just wanted to get it done

New consisted on
2nd rear camber bolts so i could get the rear camber i wanted,
New Toyota sub frame
All new poly bushing
New poly bush engine mounts
Rear strut brace
Front tie bars
new rear cam toe bolts

Typically when i finished the sun came out. A quick phone call to Paul and he said bring it up
It was time for the new tow car, the Landy





Towed the hilliest way i could to make sure it was a good test, inc some motorway, I can officially say the Landy makes a fantastic tow car

Paul said would be about and hours before he could get me in, this gave me time to adjust ride height, it had always sat a little too high, Already lowered when doing the refit of suspension, but was now a little uneven.
So sat in the sun i got the ride height just where i wanted it.
also managed to get some good pictures too





Then in for alignment


I really like its new rear-end

Random under pics





Everything adjusted easily, i now have all the settings i wanted and no movement in anything. Cannot wait to get it out now!

This gave me a complete new love for it, and want to get out on track.
So spent the evening with a friend replicating the car as close as possible on Forza.. No Toyota, so have to go with a Lotus added all of the weight and got the power/weight around the same. Then even put my alignment setting on it

[pistol pete]

A small MK3 racecar update
A small Mk3 update.
with the engine swaps in mk3's they suffer badly with getting rain in the plug wells.
even with a cover over the engine vents when sat mine still got a load of water on them
so made a cover out of stainless to start with (all i could find at work)


Then i found some ally and remade it..




all fitted up


was ready fro trackday sunday at blyton

But even at the moment it is still on. but the wife being high risk and its 5 hours from home. not exactly essential travel i cannot see me going..

Gives me plenty time to play with the £100 MK2 though..

[pistol pete]

Also rather than a new thread ill keep both cars in here ... soooooo

So Browsing IMOC as i always do and came across the following advert :-

I have a 1989 'H' reg Rev1 UK NA car for sale. It is a non runner and will require you to come and remove it from the MK18 area, preferably on a flatbed or a trailer!

Car was originally a UK 3S-FE. At some point in its life it was converted to a V6. Right now it has a UK Rev4 NA engine swap, the engine has about 160k on it. I did the ECU harness conversion as it was in a right state when I got hold of it. It started and ran perfect. Then the starter broke. Right now the starter is in pieces and part of it is lodged in the gearbox. It will require the gearbox to be removed to retrieve the remains of the starter - it WILL NOT come out through the starter hole. A good starter motor is included.

The 2 bolt holes for the front gearbox mount are stripped. This is a fairly common problem on all MK2 gearboxes and is easily remedied with a timesert or a helicoil. The actual mount on the car is a brand new powerflex.

The gear linkage brackets need reattaching properly (the reason for removing the starter motor in the first place).

I believe the entire coolant system is present, but not installed. It has an aftermarket alloy rad up front, the hoses are all in the boot. Currently the system is dry/drained.

The driveshafts are unbolted at the outer CV joints. So, the stub is in the hub, but the rest is detached from the car but provided.

I had started putting the car back to standard - when I got it it had some horrendous 17" MOMO alloys and Rogue rev6 rear lights. It now has original alloys which are freshly refurbished with good tyres, and stock rear lights.

It's got a stereo/amp install in it behind the passenger seat. I haven't investigated it. It also has an aftermarket immobiliser with a touch fob.

The car has some corrosion to the passenger side rear sill. I'm not sure it would pass an MOT without some welding work. That aside it appears to be mostly solid. It's a sunroof model and being a white rev1 the body stripe is black, as are the sills (suggesting they've been repaired before).

For reasons that are not clear it has a Celica alternator, which is slightly smaller than stock.

One of the doors is a bit rotten. Another door is included.

The boot is FULL of spare parts. There are at least 4 rear light clusters, another starter motor, tons of bolts, brackets, spare engine mounts, wiring, etc. I am confident that all the wiring work is done, and all that is needed to make it work again is gearbox removal, starter motor swap, coolant pipe reinstallation, gear linkage reinstallation, driveshaft reinstallation, and fluids.

The garage it's at has no power or any other services, so you will just need to remove it - it can't be worked on where it is.

Last but not least, it has the highly sought after blue interior

£Offers.

As a MR2 Owner since 2000 I sent a reply saying Interested but no idea what to offer, as i already have a mr2 mk3 racecar, kia picanto, freelander 2 and Mini cooper S and access to a road going MK3 MR2. Didn't really mneed something else.. but when can you have too many?.

Shortly recieved a reply saying her really needed it gone... so a deal was done for £100!!
I have no idea what i was buying.

I was dropping on my wifes old mini she cannot drive any more, and i could pick up the MR2 on the way home worked out perfect.
Bye bye Mini



So Still with no idea what i was gettting really i turned up to this

John was swapping over the wheels back to the original MOMO's as he could sell the originals..

Pushing it out and straight onto the trailer.. it was chucking it down with rain. so didn't even look at it.
Also got a book load of stuff inc all the hoses, Turbo engine lid, and spare drivers door to replace the rusty one




After a very wet drive home it got left on the drive

Yesterday i managed to get some pictures and a quick look over.
It has a lot less rust that i expected.. but thats about it at the moment

when i get off the trailer and trackday done this weekend.. I will get a good look and see what i've got and give it a clean

Heres is the first pics









thanks peoples..

Managed a look over it on the trailer last night.
It is model with No ABS or power steering.
One arch needs some rust attentions but both sills look very good

interior when put back together again is pretty clean.. so fingers crossed will be a nice little purchase

It does indeed need the gearbox removing, as part of the starter motor is stuck. But i have removed loads a MR gearboxes and engines now should be fine, much easier having a scissor ramp!!!

Wife keeps telling me to fit a v6 back in it and use it as my nice daily.. we shall what transpires smile

[wilkie senior]

good read sir

Good to see some more posts on here

regards Brian

oh by the way is this current crisis your fault ha ha

[pistol pete]

Cheers Brian
I do try and post on here as i do stuff. Imocs always been huge part of my car life..