Resto-Mod of a 1987 Toyota MR2 by Turbowned

7 minute(s) of a 28 minute read

I had to order a new sleeve for the rear because one of the coils got damaged in shipping, but not a big deal. I also got the weld rings so I can eliminate the spring perches, and I just bought Cusco front camber plates as well as T3's upper hat system and front/rear RCA's. Hopefully I'll be able to tuck the front tires under the flares now.

Here's a little teaser from last weekend at an ADSI event with the rear wheels installed:

Fixing a rubbing issue on the right side. With a hammer!

Also got a ride in an Elise that day and all I can say is "wow!" It's like a much more refined MR2, with a much lower seating position. And no carpet.

9/23/2011

These wheels do need hub-centric rings, yes. Luckily the ones included with my Kosei K1's were a direct match.

I just finished installing the Cusco camber plates, T3 upper hats and RCA's this weekend. I cut out the fender arches in the front and have begun on the rears. I'm going to need larger flares for the front since they stick out a bit even with max. negative camber. I had to use different bolts in the camber plates because the ones provided by Cusco were too long and interfered with the upper hats. I'm also going to need a serious alignment. The toe got all thrown off by the RCA's and camber plates, so I'll have to tow it to an alignment shop.

Meanwhile, I picked up an AE86 Corolla GT-S coupe, and have begun tearing into that to make into my (hopefully reliable) winter beater: http://forums.club4ag.com/zerothread?id=98140
I plan on keeping it as stock as it is now so I can keep any spare $$ for the MR2 and eventually my 240Z... that poor neglected Z

In other news, I got hired for sales at Audi instead of Lexus so unfortunately no more parts at cost+10%, but hopefully I'll make enough commission that it won't matter! I've been in between jobs this week and the spare time has been a blessing for both car projects.

Here's some pics of me cutting out the wheel arches. I used a 3" cutting tool that I bought at Harbor freight - it did an excellent job. I then sanded the metal smooth to (hopefully) avoid cutting myself. I'll obviously need to rust-proof them soon.

Making marks of where to cut:

Zip! gone.

Working on the left side:

And here it looks with the wheel fitted (no proper alignment yet). The wheels just barely clear the front spoiler and side skirts. I actually had to replace the bolts fastening the front of the side skirts with thick zip-ties so they wouldn't rub. Looks pretty goofy but it'll have to do until I can afford real staggered-fitment wheels.

9/30/2011

I've been very busy but here's a pic of the car after getting it all buttoned up (for now):

12/13/2011

Welp, not much to report lately. Snapped a sway bar mounting bracket, and the engine started running like crap again even after I replaced the cap/rotor and plug wires. I got a new windshield! Sadly it's not the $900 OEM Toyota one, but it'll do

I'm getting a brand spankin' new 2012 Audi S4 6MT on a company lease for the next 6 months (read: holy freaking crap I'm so excited!!!), so I can take the MR2 off the road and hopefully get some more work done to it. I'm shifting focus to finishing my AE86 project so I can do a little drifting in the spring and then sell it in the summertime. Then, MOAR MR2!!! Stay tuned

6/22/2012

Sold the Corolla - that was a mistake of a purchase!! Just put the MR2 back on the road today, and by "on the road" I mean I got an inspection sticker, LOL. I managed to replace the capacitors in my 20v ECU and it seems to run a lot better, but I still want to go stand-alone eventually. I also ordered two rear wheel bearings, rear sway bar end links (so I can finally mount my ST rear bar), left rear brake caliper, a fuel filter, and beefed up front sway bar brackets. I'll be getting a low-mileage C52 to replace my crunchy old one, then hopefully hitting up some auto-x events ASAP!

Awww yeahhhh

7/19/2012

Small update: On the "resto" side, I just got a low-mileage C-52 gearbox from California. It looks practically new! Thanks to trdhawk for that one! I'll be installing my Kaaz LSD finally

On the "mod" side, I've decided to build a 7AGTE 20v from scratch. I just picked up a Garrett GTX2863R dual ball-bearing, billet compressor wheel turbo, TiAL sport 38mm external wastegate, 4AGZE 8.9:1 compression forged pistons, and am about to get Crower 7A forged rods. Following that I'll be getting 550cc injectors, Supra TT fuel pump, liquid-to-air intercooler, custom MRP turbo manifold, and some sort of programmable EMS. Once I've amassed all the parts I need, I'll take my 20v head and mate it to the built 7A block and get everything together and tuned. I'm shooting for 300-350bhp; wish me luck!