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

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yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

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

Post by yokomomr4bx »

Ok, not sure on the text limit here so this may be over a few. Thought it would be good to finally join this forum after so many years of MR2's and reading advice here, time to give a little back if I can, and share the story of the two MR2's I have owned.

First one was a rev 2 turbo in a pretty dire state, but it was cheap and I was desperate to get in one.

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First jobs were a change of suspension, curiosity (mostly budget) meant I went for D2 coilovers.

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Around that time I also fitted a new half shaft bearing and carrier, manual boost controller, fuel cut limit riser (homemade), decated it with a berk tech and fitted my first set of proper tyres, Toyo T1R's. There was also some home-brew gauge mounting going on in the centre console.

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Shortly after I thought it would be a great idea to powder coat many many parts black. So I did just that, removed as many pieces as I thought would be noticeable and had it all powder coated.

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It seems very obvious now, but at the time I saw shiny parts and couldn't wait to assemble it all so didn't even run my finger on the inside of the intake manifold. And so begins what happens when you literally run sand through your engine...

First you drop the engine out on its side because you forgot in the rush to remove the firewall mount (coincidently at this angle the cams will clear the subframe by about 2mm, and the engine mount is strong enough to act as a hinge to entire the thing).

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On to the stand and off with everything.

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And when I say everything I mean absolutely everything, all valves out, reground, head skimmed, new rings, I just sanded off the wear/scoring to the top of the piston as this wasn't too bad. It is worth noting thought that after one assemble of the short block I wasn't happy with the condition of the bores even after honing, so I got a second hand block (yes with matching caps) to reassemble with.

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SO there you have a rev 2 3SGTE fully rebuilt with many many new (genuine standard) parts, clutch, all main and thrust bearings, oil pump, cam belt, water pump, I can't even remember now how many new parts went into this! But the end result was this...

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I was pretty happy with this, a lot of hours on the engine and bodywork both external and internal had paid off. However, after about 1000 miles it was reduced to this...

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I will doubtless explain reasons for this in a later post. That concludes MR2 number 1 which was mostly all engine work. My second post will be about the MR2 I bought to replace this one and the project takes a different route entirely.
Last edited by yokomomr4bx on Wed Jul 13, 2022 10:02 am, edited 10 times in total.
MR2 Turbo Boy
Posts: 1052
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 8:03 pm
Location: Definitely NOT at Pete Gibbens garage

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by MR2 Turbo Boy »

Welcome on board, buddy.. :thumleft:

Await the next chapter.. :mrgreen:
yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

Tale of two MR2's (part 2)

Post by yokomomr4bx »

Ok so that first MR2 was a great ride, no fiddling around with deciding what air filter to put on or what exhaust tips looks good, that was straight in, do something stupid, then fix it. This post is no different.

We left with the pile of what I salvaged off the red one. In short the engine died from oil starvation. I will never know where and frankly I couldn't care less now (though I do distinctly remember driving home from work sensing that it had one last drive left. Sure enough the next day I began driving it in, oil light didn't turn off and it began to seize above 1500rpm. Oil was gold with metal, turbo shaft had as much play as a broomstick in a train tunnel). Not one to linger on losses I sold it for £60 to a friend I work with and bought a new snap on trolley jack. Still think thats a win because I use the jack everyday and it does remind me. Anyway, time for a new MR2, and this time we'll definitely go for the REV 3, some of you may recognise it in the guise I purchased it in...

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I won't go into all the details on this, but it was a great looking car...so naturally I crashed it. Stormy weather, diesel spill, hydroplaned, lights dazzled me, sneezed, pick one, it happened and the tail was pretty badly smashed in.

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I had two options, get a mint rev 3 shell and drop my engine in, or, get a mint rev 3 shell to rip panels off. I know full well, and did at the time, that swapping the engine would have been the easiest, I could have done that in a weekend, but where's the challenge in that, I wanted to try bodywork. So I got a gorgeous rev 3 n/a delivered up from Southampton and set about taking it apart.

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Now this is the only part of the tale where I will say I wouldn't recommend this, taking apart bodywork to the outer skin is not an easy thing. You have to drill through all the layers from the inside because you want the outer skin perfect so you can put fresh spot welds into it. This whole process is tiring and logistically exhausting, remember you have a wreck of a car that barely rolls etc, and all your panels and bare shell of your actual car, and all the pieces that make that car stored somewhere. Everything comes off. And then you have to get it all to the bodyshop (and back without a scratch).

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Whilst all this was going on I had the great idea to hydro dip my wheels and mirrors in sticker bomb, thought it would look great, and it did..off the car!

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These are now sold, the wheels you will have seen at japshows over the years on a matt black 200sx. The mirrors went out in to the void on eBay, hope whoever has them is enjoying them or has recoloured them.

For time scale, this is now 6 months in.

7 months in and the car is finishing paint.

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And then the rebuild!!

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I really wasn't happy with the look of these wheels or mirrors, so I reverted back to the old powered coated wheels from no.1 and stock mirrors. You'll also notice I went back to stock on all bodywork except for the carbon bonnet and headlamp covers (wing was sold).

So here's what she looks like now...

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Avia speedshop, can't recommend them enough for a proper set up.

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Its not done, it really really needs proper wheels (It had great wheels - I just ruined them). I've known this since I did the bodywork, I'm just really struggling to decide on what to get. Aside from 245 rear and 205 front ad08r's I'm lost, RPF1's would be nice, Rota Torques maybe...

I'll leave it with this, after all this work I had never had a proper day of driving the MR2 in anger, but this summer I got married and for our honeymoon we toured down to the south of France and back up again in the MR2. She covered 4500km in two weeks, pushed 130kph on French carriageways in 300/400km stretches with no let up, stuck in 35 degree traffic in Antibes and Cannes...not a single thing went wrong, temp gauge didn't budge (and it does work). A/C has never been regassed since owning it and it was icy cold the whole trip. Truly an incredibly versatile car that I won't be getting rid of anytime soon.

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Last edited by yokomomr4bx on Mon May 20, 2019 9:20 am, edited 4 times in total.
yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

Post over

Post by yokomomr4bx »

If you are stuck on anything that I will have gone through during any of these builds please don't hesitate to ask, I have a vast photo stock of pretty much every stage.
Last edited by yokomomr4bx on Mon May 20, 2019 9:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
aussieGT
Posts: 1249
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:17 am
Location: Staffs/Stoke

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by aussieGT »

Thats a new level of insanity to me, and I have seen some insane things!

Great result though.
craig
Posts: 43936
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:44 am

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by craig »

:shock:

Lot of work!

Car looks good now mate. :thumleft:
ashley
Posts: 7628
Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 8:08 pm

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by ashley »

Nice- love the dedication, I can relate :thumleft: :thumleft:
yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

Flocked dash and wheel progress

Post by yokomomr4bx »

So the latest is...the carbon fibre bonnet has gone, along with the headlamp covers, and the car has been back at the bodyshop for the past month. Work this time is to obviously spray the new standard bonnet and headlamp covers. I'm having the washer holes in the bonnet welded up as I quite like my scuttle placement. Side strips are being resprayed as when I fitted them the first time I bent them a little and there was a hairline crack, plus I wasn't happy with how I had mounted them anyway, so all to be resprayed! The quarter panel i had put on from the UK car had started to get a little rust in the sill and wheel arch so I'm having that sorted straight away. Basically it's having a full freshen up all around. In the meantime I decided I would have the dashboard flocked I'm so tired of glare on the screen. I also have finally made progress with the wheels I have chosen, R32 GTST fronts and GTR rears. I brought a set of both and then split them and sold to some lucky fella for £250. Anyway, here's some photos. Anyone got good recommendations for wheel colour?

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I took lots of photos of the dash removal and disassembly and wondered about making a guide but I wasn't sure how many people would actually use it for the effort of making it!

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Last edited by yokomomr4bx on Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
craig
Posts: 43936
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:44 am

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by craig »

Good stuff mate. Cars looking good. R32 wheels look great on a stocker :thumleft:

Colour wise, I'd go black or anthracite. 8)
Nic
Posts: 1910
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:26 pm
Location: UK

Re: Flocked dash and wheel progress

Post by Nic »

yokomomr4bx wrote:Anyone got good recommendations for wheel colour?


These are mine powder coated satin black.

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Nic
[email protected]
MR2 Rev 3 GT Turbo
yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

Re: Flocked dash and wheel progress

Post by yokomomr4bx »

Nic wrote:
yokomomr4bx wrote:Anyone got good recommendations for wheel colour?


These are mine powder coated satin black.

I've had black for a few years now, quite like the anthracite idea. Just out of curiosity, did you have any trouble with the spacing of the R32 wheel setup with standard struts, also could I ask what the sizes you are using? I haven't even tried them for fitment yet or decided on tyres.
Rob66
Posts: 625
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2004 10:12 pm
Location: Sussex

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by Rob66 »

That flocking looks great. Wheel colour wise I would go Anthracite or maybe stay Silver.

PS. Have you sold the black wheels? :D
outrun
Posts: 352
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2014 12:44 pm
Location: Sunderland/Durham

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by outrun »

That's some impresssive spot weld drilling!

Nice choice of wheel. I too bought two sets of both and sold one on.
Mine are some bronze Fiat colour that I loved.

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Rev 2 GT - Forged Rev 3 Conversion
yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

Wheels

Post by yokomomr4bx »

Thanks outrun. Do like that bronze colour a lot, I've got a funny feeling the mrs said she hates bronze wheels...not that that should sway me haha!

Rob66 the wheels will be for sale, they had a set of firestones put on 500miles ago which are such a great winter tyre for the price. I would be looking for somewhere in the region of £400 though so I can offset the cost of new tyres again.
Rob66
Posts: 625
Joined: Sun Dec 26, 2004 10:12 pm
Location: Sussex

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by Rob66 »

:thumleft: I'll keep my eye out quite fancy some darker ones on my white Rev 3.
yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

Difference in wheel weight for GTR/GTST

Post by yokomomr4bx »

Bit of a curiosity because I hadn't seen this info anywhere else (or maybe I haven't looked hard enough)...

Weighed each wheel to see for myself the difference in weight between forged magnesium GTR and standard alloy GTST.

GTR (16x8) - 7.7kg
GTST (16x6.5) - 9kg

Weights to the nearest kg. Quite impressive really to have a weight saving of 1.3kg for a wheel that is about 23.7% larger than the GTST.
yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

Bucket seat and wheels

Post by yokomomr4bx »

Finally got round to finishing painting all the new wheels, taken a few months annoyingly. Only taken a photo of one of the rears as the other three are buried deep and safe in a cupboard under the stairs until tyre time. They are not black, its a BMW colour Sparkling Graphite.

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Also got round to fitting up the base mount bucket seat frames I made up at the end of last summer. These are not designed to be in the car for daily driving, nor are they suitable for a quick swap...(so what are they for!?). Note that there are no restraint attachment points on these at all, 4 point harness plates are in the bulkhead and floorpan. Aside from acceleration, all heavy weight loadings, under braking, will go through the harness to these points.

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Particularly pleased with retaining the factory-ish look with still being able to bolt the boot/fuel release assembly in.

Anyone eagle-eyed will also note a new Quaife nylon gear knob, which is such a pain to fit (thread pitch not available for REV 3 (and others?)) needless to say this is no longer a threaded gearshift! Great gear knob though, highly recommend.
yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by yokomomr4bx »

Belated update on the summer and autumn.

Car is still looking pretty good considering the abuse I've been giving it...

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Had a bit of a run in with a hire car when out for the day, thankfully the driver left his number and was an absolute gent and it was all repaired. Shout out to Paul who supplied the tail-light for me, true rep of the community.

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As of yesterday I have finished restoring a pair of cobra seat rails I got hold of recently. These fit perfectly and are much better than the fixed arrangement I had before.

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Still haven't managed to get the R32 wheels on, the front wheels need truing unfortunately, another winter project, so for the time-being they remain ornaments in the lounge!

Work for the spring will be fitting a new off-side sill, will get a chance to see how well the offerings from MR2-BEN are, certainly can't beat the price.
yokomomr4bx
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:06 pm
Location: Cardiff

Re: Tale of two MR2's...Wilhelm Raceworks geometry kit finally fitted

Post by yokomomr4bx »

Been a while since an update on here. And not much has changed...yet. I have, however, managed to get my mitts on a Wilhelm Raceworks geometry correction kit from Alex over in Montana. As you can see below, the kit is all manner of goodness that I look forward to fitting and aligning!

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I thought I would post them while they're still new and shiny and not fitted, though I will also take photos with each component fitted so people can see how they compliment each other.

I've also been giving the engine bay a spruce up with some crackle black paint on the cam cover, turbo heat-shield and a few of bits and bobs, will post those photos when the final pieces are painted.
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