Hoagy5's MR2 story - so far!

[hoagy5]

Started with this MR2 back when I was 21, look at how shiny she was!
On 72,000 miles and totally clean. Standard except for a K+N.



This is what she was like after a year or so of ownership, clutch had been replaced, front calipers had seized getting rust all over the wheels, and had generally suffered from use. Good fun though.



Stated looking after her a bit better and got her tidied up. Wheels were refurbed and some lowering springs fitted. This pic is from one of the southwest IMOC meets years ago, we went down to Exmouth. Probably 2007ish!



Took her for a trip round Europe, The alternator failed in heavy rain on the way to the ferry. Bought a Transit battery from the AA man so we didn't miss the boat, and it lasted till I got to a Toyota dealership. Bought a new Alternator and drove it up on a high kerb and changed it myself as I couldn't really afford to pay for a 300euro alternator AND fitting! This was the only time I have ever broken down in an MR2.

The picture is at the Nurburgring and we did have a go on the track



Further along in the trip, this is right up in the Austrian alps. Really a must for any MR2 owner. We carried on down through to Italy then across to Monaco and back up through France. Stuff for 2 people including camping gear for a 3 week trip will fit in an MR2. 5000miles in total and average fuel economy worked out to 50mpg.

[hoagy5]

Started doing more Motorsport, this was from a monthly event called SW-PC sprint, it was on westonzoyland airfield. 20 cars in an Autosolo style, so against the clock on a tight handling track. My N/A MR2 did really well, often beating much more powerful cars, but I would normally come away with 1st in class.



Started doing MSA sprints, this was Castle Coombe Pegasus sprint.



Another shot from Pegasus sprint. By this time I was quite heavily into sprints, track days, test days, and had discovered R888 tyres

The car now had Tein S-tech springs, KYB adjustable dampers, TRD ARB's, my own trick air intake and brake cooling ducts, EBC redstuff and grooved discs, braided lines, and a few things to make it lighter.

I was beating the Nissan Pulsars at the Westonzoyland sprints now too, thanks to the lightning turn in speed of the MR2 and the ability to put the power down so quickly.

In late 2009 I had to make a hard decision, although I loved my MR2 and had great times in her, I decided I would sell her to get a 4x4, and a track only MR2, so I could move forward with the motorsport.

So this car was sold to someone at work who liked it and gave me strong money for it.

[hoagy5]

Unfortunately the car only lasted a week with the new driver. RIP at 153000 miles, 81k of them driven by me, I was pretty upset, but it was not all bad news, as I bought the wreck back for £200, with all the nice bits still on



Won this Rev1 3s-fe for £260 on ebay, complete with coilovers. Picked it up from an RAF base in Gloucester.



Took what I needed from this, and got rid.



Scrapped this sorry looking engine, and started the reshell. It also had a nasty blue interior which I was not too keen on.



Reshelling in my Dad's garage whilst he was on holiday hehe.



Lightness was a key part of this build.



I was probably asleep here!



We got there in the end. And it was pretty slick. I had taken SO much out of the car it was just over 1000kg with fluids.

It felt very fast, and I ran it in the Westonzoyland sprints for a year, but without the success I had been hoping for. the brake balance wasn't right, and the suspension wasn't right, I just couldn't bond with the car. It was fast on bigger tracks such as Coombe and Llandow, and felt good, but I had had problems with a leaking sump and the oil pump when putting the engine in.

As the car had no MOT and was trailered everywhere I just couldn't get to grips with towing it in a 4x4 which I drove daily, then getting in the MR2 and trying to nail quick sprint laps. It needed to be roadworthy again

[hoagy5]

So over the winter I had use of my friends workshop for a couple of weeks, so I replaced the sills, refitted the heater (a heater is ESSENTIAL, as if you go to a trackday and it is wet, you can't see!!) and did a lot of jobs to tidy it up, refitted the Tein spring suspension and scrapped the coilovers. Got her up to spec to compete at Gurston Down hillclimb in the roadgoing class.



She was starting to perform well again, and as I could use and test her on the road, I was starting to bond with the car again.

Did the test day at Gurston and got on really well, got down to 42 seconds which was faster than I had been up in my Dad's Morgan +4 (I have the hill record at Gurston for +4 Morgan)

Took her up to Llandow for a test day, on the M4 on the way up the engine was making a squeaking, when I got to Llandow I checked oil and found I had none left. Bought some from the local garage and went on track. lasted a few laps before my friend Pagey (with the red MR2) was starting to catch me and soon overtake me! Next thing there was a lot of banging and clattering from the engine and I pitted, it sounded pretty fatal.

That was the end of the rev2 engine which had taken me so far, we managed to drive out of the track and down the road 1 mile before she threw a rod through the block. Failure down to me not priming the oil pump after I took it apart the year before I am sure.



I had picked up another MR2 a few weeks before the engine failure at LLandow, another Rev2 in black, non runner, which turned out to be a seized alternator, cut the belt off and she fired up and ran.

This was my replacement engine and spare shell. The engine was taken out and swapped into the blue one, alternator swapped etc, and I was back on track for my season at Gurston. The picture ^^ shows Coombe performance car action day, the replacement engine was up to scratch




The car was going well at Gurston down, times were getting lower and lower, eventually got down to 39.66.



The hill record for Roadgoing class is 38.50 though, so I still had a long way to go. My launch time was fast, as were the other 2 splits, I was losing out on the long drag after the last corner to the finish. I need more POWER! (and torque).

[hoagy5]

Got the MR2 out again in February 2012 for the last SW-PC sprint. Numbers had been dropping for a year or so and it was becoming impossible to fill the required spaces to pay for the rent of the airstrip.



She did well though, and was 2 seconds clear of the next fastest car in a 40 second sprint I thought it was pretty good. Turns out removing the front anti-roll bar makes a lightning turn in into... well a faster lightning turn in



I still needed more for Gurston down though so a plan was developed. Bought this S13 for a good price, and I thought I could have a go at Drifting, whilst doing the upgrades to the MR2, I was also fed up with using an ancient 205 D as a daily, although it was a fun drive, girls are unimpressed by beige G reg 205's even if they do have a sliding sunroof!!



The flaw with my plan was that drifting turns out to be fun. A LOT of fun.



So the MR2 project was coming along slowly. Very slowly. And there was a lot of drifting.



Spent last year trying out different drift tracks around the country, and this year I have been competing in the Open Drift Championship (ODC).



The S13 and drifting are both hungry for time and money. and tyres, lots and lots of tyres, and lots of petrol. Drifting was not the cheap alternative to Hillclimb I thought it would be.



I got a workshop to store all my stuff and work on my cars, and have just finished the season of ODC, I got in the final at Pembrey, qualified 23rd out of 125 entrants.



This is the black 'spare' shell that I took the engine out of for the Hillclimb car.



If you have read all the way down to here well done! This last pic shows the state of the blue car at the moment. The engine has been trial fitted in the blue car but will end up in the black car as it has powersteer and will soon have ABS, As far as I know no one else has this particular 3S-GE in an MR2 with standard management and standard intake (I mean without throttle bodies or forced induction). To take the drifting further I need a road car, so that's why I am gonna push to get the Black car finished.

Thanks for reading

[ashley]

Good write up- I enjoyed that, thanks for sharing!!

What is the new engine for your blue two?

[matt-mr2]

Is it a beams engine ? Great writeup

[hoagy5]

It is indeed a BEAMS Blacktop engine from a Toyota Altezza RS200

[craig]

Nice write up mate

Shame about the fate of your blue '2.

[ashley]

It is indeed a BEAMS Blacktop engine from a Toyota Altezza RS200

Nice!

[DAN_REV1_TURBO]

H709 GBJ that`s my old 3SFE!lol! You saved it from scrap then!!

I bought the car from a lady owner in about 2005 in Ratby Leicestershire, I ran it to work and back for a couple of years, I spent thousands on it just keeping it roadworthy and to get to work and back. I had standard suspension parts, brakes, exhaust, headgasket done, also window tints were done at Protint, loads of stuff back in the day. Did it still have an old black folder full of receipts? It developed a few more issues toward the end of my ownership, and I sold it on here real cheap still with tax and m.o.t to a member called Teccyjim who was in the RAF, he said he was either going to just use it as a run around or get rid of the FE and stick a decent lump in.

It was burning a bit of oil and had an intermittent charging issue and I had already bought my Turbo and needed it gone ASAP. Some idiot had also smashed the wingmirror off and we had to temporarily glue it on so he could drive it home.

Anyway, it looks like it is having much more fun thesedays!! Better than driving to Northampton and back everyday! Really pleased to see that it still lives, or bits of it will live, lol,and is in the hands of an enthusiastic IMOC member! Great stuff!

A couple of pics of it at the top of my member profile and the old for sale thread, though rather unimpressive having seen it on track in your pictures, very cool! Still a little more history. >>>

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic. ... 80&start=0


http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=83531

[Magic Beans]

Nice write-up and an interesting read

Seems like you've had quite a journey so far

[hoagy5]

Thanks for the great response!

I have piles and piles of other pics, mostly track day pics, and I have a lot of in car video too, I will put some up when I get a chance!

D4N_V_U, really cool to see some pics of the blue car before I owned it! I still have the black folder full of paperwork, it had a private plate as well at some point IIRC! I remember thinking at the time of stripping the engine out it was a shame because A lot of money had been spent! I am not sure if Jim ever drove it... I wish I had remembered the mileage from when I bought it. Did it have the JIC Magic coilovers when you owned it?

The window tints are a cool part of this car feels really secure in the cabin. I had to replace the sills in 2011 but apart from that the body is still tidy.

Theres nothing wrong with the blue car, the only reason I have stripped it back again is because I wanted a nice road shell to get a good feel for the Beams engine, and I want power steering and needed rev 2+ wiring to fit the ABS and splice the Beams loom into.

Plus when you have an Aluminium panel for a sunroof and rear deck its pretty leakey and noisey and if you put anything nylon or plastic in the boot it melts into a pool of plastic!

I was planning to either cut it up or give it to a lad I know who wants it, it only needs the Rev2 engine putting back in really, but I will get some more pics as it progresses. I'm not gonna be able to cut it up now!

The other funny thing is that I spent a lot of time in Coalville, Used to go up there for 2 week blocks 6 times a year at Stephenson college, for my apprenticeship from 2004-2010.

[DAN_REV1_TURBO]

I still have the black folder full of paperwork, it had a private plate as well at some point IIRC! I remember thinking at the time of stripping the engine out it was a shame because A lot of money had been spent!

Haha the private plate was D4 NVU. Yeah I spent a few quid in my ownership everything standard except a decat due to how expensive my local Toyota dealers were for a new cat.

No it did not have coilovers when I sold it mate, nor a spoiler it was a plain FE bootlid, I guess Jim did a bit of tinkering.

The other funny thing is that I spent a lot of time in Coalville, Used to go up there for 2 week blocks 6 times a year at Stephenson college, for my apprenticeship from 2004-2010

Ha! Weirdly enough, I live two roads down from Stephenson college and throughout that time period the car would have been rolling around the area and parked nearby, small world eh.

[hoagy5]

It happened. She's off to be recycled



I need space, and the blue car has done a good job, but I have too much on to save it

Here's a little video of a wet trackday at Llandow, I like this one because it is just before the engine failed.

http://youtu.be/HtveNt5EQ-E

And here is one of what she was really good at, powering up Gurston Down hillclimb (excuse poor edit skills on last run)

http://youtu.be/gNwhC4nMfKU

So I have been cracking on with the Beamsy now I have space back in my workshop, couple of pics of adapting the inlet to fit in the MR2 engine bay.



It would be better to just cut the bulkhead to let it clear and have the throttle body on the other (normal for RS200) end, but I can't cut the bodywork about because of class regulations.



Here's my Dad braving the cold to give me a hand, what a legend.



More progress tomorrow hopefully. Got to fab up some brackets to hold the intake in position.

It is going to be a bit experimental seeing if Beamsy will run properly (and make its power and tourque) with the plenums extended. It may mean changing the ECU so it can be remapped. Or it may mean throttle bodies. I hope not because that will kill the budget. So for now I am gonna put it together and get it running like this.

[hoagy5]

And off she goes to the crusher...

[ceejay]

Nice write up dude.. shame about the first mr2 looked real clean.. but looking forward to the beams engine getting fitted soon!

[DAN_REV1_TURBO]

And off she goes to the crusher...

Off to the scrap heap in the sky! It had a good life! Good luck with the new project mate.

[hoagy5]

She had one of the better lives any 3SFE had for sure!

Made the intake bracket:



And sprayed it a nice MAN truck bumper grey.



Need a rear and possibly a side one too though.

[hoagy5]

So I have been getting on with the MR2, been at my workshop the last 3 weekends, got a fair amount done.



Got some tyres. Managed to get 20 in/on the S13 and another 20 in the golf.



Spent a day burning some of them!



Attempted to fit the engine using the tried and tested 'bread trolley from co-op and jack the back of the car right up' technique.

It ended badly, so after an evening in A+E having my little finger repaired, decided to invest in some more equipment.



Got it in a lot easier this time. Wish I had got the crane long ago. Would have saved many many hours.



As you can see clearance is an issue. The brackets need a bit of adjustment. Most of the wiring is in place, but the exhaust vvti solenoid and crank sensor cables are too short due to the wiring loom being the other way round. As they are shielded cables I don't want to cut and join them so I am trying to find some longer ones.



I made these engine mounts out of normal ones and urethrane compound, you can get the urethrane from RS components, its not very much. Hopefully they will be stiff enough as I have very little strut tower v intake cam clearance, this is no different to a Red top beams though so should be ok.

For the front engine mount I used a powerflex one, as you can get powerflex stuff from euro car parts so I get it on trade



The engine crane is extremely bloody handy as you can lift the car up to a great height by bolting the chains to the strut towers, made connecting the pipes, clutch, gear linkage etc. much easier. I have a great big axle stand under the subframe as well for safety.

Other than that the fuel tank is in, handbrake mechanism fitted, radiator fitted and I put some aluminium mesh in the radiator grille as I had some spare from the green MR2. Laquered it this time to hopefully prevent it corroding so fast.

Next jobs are fuel lines and wiring. I will need to run an adjustable fuel pressure regulator as the Beams needs high pressure at the rail and the regulator was in the tank, it was a return-less system, well, the regulator won't fit in the MR2 tank so I will have to run a return. Plenty of spare ports on the rail though and I have lots of rev 2/3 fuel lines to choose from.

I also need to sort out an air intake, and it needs to accommodate the MAF sensor.

Just realised how shocking my pictures came out, will try harder next time