Tale of two MR2's...Berk Technology exhaust fitted

[Ryan S]

Berk is the nicest sound in my opinion. Has a somewhat subaru sound to it. That being said mine is extremely quiet from inside the car.

[yokomomr4bx]

This thread is long due an update. I'll split it into two parts as I need a decent day of weather to get photos of a lot of the progress.

Firstly, I had two new sills fitted. I entrusted a bodyshop to do this work for me this time and while it has been done succesfully, I have reservations about how the work has been performed. I won't won't commit these issues to be eternally recorded online but suffice to say I'll be redoing the work in couple of years and the whole car now needs a respray to bring it to the standard I've previsouly attained. Nevertheless, here is a shot of one of the sills.



I had (thankfully) completely stripped the interior before taking it to the bodyshop. Before fitted everything back, I finished lining the under-carpet panels and various rattly/flimsy plastic trims with acoustic absorbing mat. This really makes a huge difference for how solid the interior feels and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering. I also got hold of brand new door seals which have also made a huge difference to wind noise and general road buzz. These seals are top quality and for anyone wondering (as I was), they come with the plastic push pins to retain the ends!







The old radiator had been in a bad way for years and this was a good opportunity to fit a Gravity item I have had sat on the shelf for too long. I also cleaned up the fans and generally organised the front end of the bodywork. In addition to the new radiator, I had also asked the bodyshop to spray up a new front bumper (stock) as the old one had been in a hit and was slightly deformed. I also replaced the front crash bar with a non-damaged/modifed one. After fitting the bumper, with a unmodified crash bar I was able to finally install the front fog lights properly, which has been on the job list since I first got the car! During front bumper fitting I also got hold of new undertray and wheel arch liner bolts and trim clips which were very satisfying to use and make the front end servicable. I also got hold of the front bumper splash guards and top trim (above the radiator) which have also never been fitted during my ownership. Finally, new crystal sidelights finished the front end rebuild - I think this is the third set of crystal front lights I've had now.









Moving on to the back of the car and the lower chassis braces, forward of the engine, were corroded (of course) and so I replaced them with the stainless versions suplied by MR2 Ben. On the whole these fit fine but I think they need a touch more twist in the front to get them to fit perfectly. I also had to grind down one of the ends corners as they were unfinshed and razor sharp.



Nothing much to report on the engine other than a new PCV valve grommet as the old one was like plastic! I will be changing the cambelt in the coming weeks/months and may/may not take photos for another update depending on what else I do at the time.



Finally, I recently got hold of a set of Koni damper inserts from a kind soul on eBay. Not sure if anyone else saw this listed but I jumped on it as I've been wanting these for years and it was extra sweet to get them for half price, despite being brand new/unopened. I didn't take photos of fitting these as it's the same process I've previously shown a few years ago when I fitted standard KYB dampers.



The hype about Koni dampers seems to be true. I have them paired with H&R springs assembled in Rev1 rebuildable strut bodies with only one bump stop donut. I have only driven it once with the damper setting set to 180 degree off the softest setting. From my perspective, I haven't tried anything in this car which could rival the control these have over small ripples and general bad road surfaces. Not sure yet how they will fare on larger/longer suspension extending/compressing loads on A/B roads, but I suspect will be great once set up fully. Combined with the Wilhelm Raceworks geomtry kit, R32 GTR/GTST wheels and Yokohama AD08R tyres, I'll go out on a limb and say this might be as good as a road going MR2 Turbo could get, while maintaining daily driveability. To top it all off, I also got hold of a new OMP half dish suede steering wheel to give the cockpit a new heart and a bit more of an aggressive feel. Once the weather improves I will take some more photos of the interior and exterior, but for now that's the overdue update.

[wilkie senior]

Hi good to see some updates on members cars

the sills I would do some scraping off there sooner rather that later I discovered all sorts with necessitating over £3500 re work!!!

Question for you what paint did you use for the calipers

good on you for keeping going please do keep updates keep the forum alive if we can

[wilkie senior]

Little update, very little has taken place since buying our first house recently, however I have been working on the brakes in the evenings. I kept suffering with partially seized pistons on both front brakes. So I ordered up a new set of pistons and seals to rebuild them. I took the opportunity to repaint the calipers and carriers in a nice shade of metallic purple. The brakes had previously been painted purple and it looked quite good against the great bodywork, so I wanted to stick with that! I also got some neat TRD stickers which I've seen a few people put on and think it looks very smart.







If it's not clear from the photos, these were stripped before painting and then reassembled with all components new except the brake banjo bolts. Certainly happy with the result, just need to do the rears now!

love the look