Seeing as I have joined here and taking a regular look of the forum thought I would post some photos and background into my new MR2 and my passion for Japanese cars.
I got first MR2 around 1999/2000 when I was at university
(a MK2 REV2 G-Limited T-Bar). I got into MR2's as my step-dad was in the motor trade and during the boom years of the Japanese imports back in the late 1990s turn of the millennium used to earn some spare cash picking up cars from Southampton docks, Tilbury docks, Felixstowe, etc. My first MR2 should have been a turbo as it was a REV1 dark green turbo I first got a drive in.
It was bloody quick but a bit rough and I had a nice MK1 MX5 at the time and didn't fancy it. Instead I waited till our agent in Japan found the black G-Limited which was a nicer car.In between the MR2s I also tried since or before other Japanese cars like Civics, S2000's RX7's FTO's and the MK1 MX5s.
My real passion is for the MK1 MX5 and since that time in the late 1990's I have owned over 60 and currently have 6 of them in various forms.Overall IIRC I have had 3 or 4 MR2's before all G-Limited apart from my last which I sold in 2004 which was a REV2 turbo.
It was special as was resprayed Nissan Skyline blue, had some great looking deep dish split rim alloys, bomex front bumper and Red Honda S2000 leather seats.
I bought from a Japanese guy in Eastbourne who had freshly imported it. I got it with a mate 50/50 share till he bought a Supra and I bought him out. Back then it was a bit of a whore as all my mates got a ride in it and picked up a few trophy wins amongst supposedly faster cars. I sold it as got a decent company car and went sensible. Hindsight I should have kept it as for myself and my mates we still talk glowingly about that car. For now my MX5s as gives a flavour of the projects I have done.
....My silver Tuckin 99 FM2 Turbo.
I have owned this longest of my roadsters as had it since 2007. The Tuckin99 N2 arches are taken from the moulds Tuckin99 bought from Mazdaspeed back in the day as originally these were design and built by Mazdaspeed for track cars. Alongside the Tuckin99 N2 arches the FM2 Turbo kit I fitted gives it a fair bit of get up and go as making about 250bhp.
My second longest owning roadster I have owned twice.
I bought it back originally in 2009. It is nicknamed the Corns Roadster as it is believed to have been worked in Japan by Carmake Corns, a specialist tuner. When I first bought the car it was pretty ropey and a few friends wondered what I had done. However it was a 2008 import, essentially solid but shagged mechanicals. In my first duration of ownership I changed the diff, gearbox, had it resprayed, added new parts from Japan plus a lot of other mechanical parts. I sold it around 2011 to fund a RX7 habit but bought it back in 2012 as the chap I sold it too kindly stuck to a gentlemans agreement to sell it back to me if he ever wanted to get rid. In the second round of ownership I replaced the worn carb'd engine with a forged engine built by Tomei Racing in Japan mated to a Mazdaspeed supercharger kit. It is essentially a noisy, track car as is stripped out, caged, etc. It is not massive power as only 5psi and just over 200bhp. However the driving experience is great fun and the engine is almost v-tec like with the forged engine.
My third roadster is more marmite then the last two.
It is a Pitcrew Roadster I started to build from scratch end of 2012/2013 based from a Eunos Roadster S Limited. It went a little over budget and along the way I fitted it with IRTB's and with the amount of shipments from Japan I had going on at one point I am surprised I didn't get a visit from customs. Likewise my contacts in Japan must have wondered what the crazy Englishman was doing with all those parts!
My fourth roadster I bought start of 2015.
It is a R Limited Eunos Roadster. Before I bought this R Limited I went through 2 others in short succession trying to find the right one to restore. This one was a 1 owner 2006/7 import, all original and very little signs of rust. In my ownership I fully re-sprayed the car, replaced the dash with one in better condition, fitted newly trimmed seats while I have also carried out various service/maintenance works
My fifth roadster is a 1990 red roadster that was a impulse buy from Gumtree one Saturday afternoon mid-2015.
I saw it for sale and recognized it from a old member on MX5Nutz. It was memorable for the 13' Hayahsi Superstreet wheels. I bought it as spares/repairs from down in Cornwall (unseen) and had it trailered back home as it was a non-runner. Its plus point was the wheels, the fact it was a low mileage (49000 miles) and a 2009 import so solid. However it hadn't been used in over 2 years following mechanical and electrical issues.
My last roadster at the moment.
It was a car I remember from back in the day on MX5Nutz as was imported by Suffolk Mazda in 2007/8 and had lots of nice parts from Japan (work wheels, HKS parts, T-House Clubman front bumper). It looked a cool little roadster. By the time 2015 came round it was looking rather sorry for itself living in Kent with all the nice parts gone apart from the T-House front bumper. Luckily it hadn't been used much so was still solid but missing parts, shabby paint, etc. I carried out mechanical and maintenance work alongside a full respray while have added my own idea for nice parts from Japan to restore this car back to something the old owner in Japan would hopefully not be dismissive of.
So I had been looking on and off for a MR2 Turbo prices for the last 6 months.
As a mate said as been chatting about another MR2 for quite a while it was an itch I needed to scratch. I had put an offer on one which was accepted and then the seller sold to someone who offered more while I also agreed a deal on another one after Christmas only for the seller to phone me 2 days before collecting that he didn't want to sell. I started to feel it wasn't going to happen. However there was another recently that had been gaining my interest and I contacted the seller to see what could be done.The plus points was it being a 1995 Rev3 GTS Turbo Tin-top version.
It had also only done 80,000 miles with MOT's and history back to when it was imported. For me it had some juicy JDM parts already fitted and as you can see I like my genuine JDM parts which this car ticked the boxes with. Importantly I also liked the wheels as go through quite a few alloys on cars trying to get the right look. The slight negative was the Rev3 engine had been changed at some point for a Rev2 turbo engine although this had been refreshed and when done the following work below done. So the details on the car are as follows:1.
Freshly built engine fitted done 8k since build using ARP bolts, cometic head gasket, ACL race shells, new valves, etc.2.
Recent new starter motor.3.
Recent new alternator.4.
LSD gearbox and shafts.5.
Rev 3 turbo and management rebuilt CT20B turbo.6.
Full turbo back Blitz NUR Spec Exhaust.7.
Smart e-boost controller - 9/10psi, 13/14psi, 17/18psi. 8.
New grooved discs with yellow stuff pads all round.9.
Goodrich flexi brake hoses. 10.
HKS lowering springs.11.
Border front bumper.12.
Rear Subframe and trailing arms, anti-rollbar, inlet manifold all powder-coated white.13.
New Polybushes for anti-roll bar.14.
HKS side-mount intercooler.15.
HKS Blow off valve.16.
Green cotton air-filter.17.
550cc injectors.18.
TRD ball-type leather gear knob.19.
Full leather seats in good condition.20.
Firewall behind seats dynamatted and under seats.21.
Super Advan RC Limited Rally 17" alloys22.
Both sills have been replaced. 23.
Front arches have just been undersealed.Some photos.
For now plans are limited as it has emptied my pockets to buy it.
The car looks better in the photos but does need some TLC - speedo not working, slight bit of rust on rear arch. However I think it has potential and on the whole seems solid. My plans are limited for now as I have bought this car on a tight budget. However as better weather arrives I start working on it and hopefully get it up to a similar standard to my mx5s. Thanks for looking.
