Donato's Track Rev3

[Donato]

i always get a little excited when i see you have updated this

Your making me blush

Want that mani!

There was a Fujitsubo manifold on eBay a couple of days ago that ended at £50. I kinda of wanted it as a spare but missed out of the ending of it.


In other news, I've just sent my deposit over for a Wilhelm Racewerks Geometry kit. Which consists of this:



This will help massively with the handling of the car, especially with how low I want to run it!
Just a couple of months to wait now until it arrived on my doorstep from America

[ashley]

Don't forget to factor in the couple of weeks it will take to clear customs


Good choice

[Donato]

Don't forget to factor in the couple of weeks it will take to clear customs


Good choice

And import fees. YAY

[Donato]

Weekend progress!

Began Saturday by fitting my exhaust manifold, down-pipe, de-cat and back box with all new gaskets, nuts and bolts I'd ordered from Toyota & MR2 Ben. Took a while, but it's all on. Then was the worrying first time start after 2 months of not running. Battery booster on and she cranked first time.

Very quiet, almost stock sounding on idle. But very brutal high up into the RPMs! Actually love it.

Then decided to trial fit the Enkei RP01s. They sit extremely well I think. Admittedly both car and wheels need painting, but it's a beaut! So then, moved the car around the drive under its own steam. Doesn't seem like anything is seized, happy days.





And then, under its cover it went.

That T-Bar life!

Then set about removing the Dynomat that was left over from the other day. Also trying to tidy up some wiring that's previously been bodged.

That's pretty much it! Next thing to do is replace the front radiator. Till next payday

[matt-mr2]

It's looking good

Would look better with a rev5 wing












I have one sat in the garage if your interested

[mattm117]

Looking good!

I bet you cant wait to get out in it again.

[Donato]

It's looking good

Would look better with a rev5 wing

Cheers

I don't think it's wild enough to pull off a combat spoiler

Looking good!

I bet you cant wait to get out in it again.

Cheers

Yeah, It's going to be a while though

[Donato]

Purchased a new induction kit courtesy of JM-Imports. Power Enterprise Air Impulse II

It looks epic. Very mis-matched colours witch i like. Come complete with fitting kit & gaskets.

Can't wait to fit it. Weekend job i think!









Even came with a Japanes newspaper and contact number

[Donato]

Annnnd in the induction kit went. It was fairly straight forward. Remove all of the old air-box and resonators. Which is a bloody lot! And fit new shiny parts.

Before:




After:








And the old units that were removed. I must of saved a good few kilos from all bits removed!



I was well impressed with the kit. Had all the right fittings to let me swap over sensors and piping. Didn't managed to start it though as the battery is beyond goosed

[matt-mr2]

It's looking good

Are you going to fit a cover to the filter to try and stop heatsoak?

[Donato]

It's looking good

Are you going to fit a cover to the filter to try and stop heatsoak?

Cheers. It's not something i've considered to be honest. But when the car is on the move, i can't see there being an issue with heat soak due to the placement of the filter. I'm no expert though

[Donato]

Managed to difuse the cheap aftermarket immobiliser system from the car. Took me a good few hours with maksing tape and a pen, making sure i removed the right wires just incase But i eventually removed it. What a pig of a job!
I can now actually just turn my key for the car to start!



I also removed the bing and the bong relays from the ignitoin. Fustrated me so much when working on the car with the keys in the ignition and the door open and all you can hear is; bing - bing - bing - bing

That extra bit of weight saving right?

[Donato]

So i've managed to move my car into storage for a good few months. Which means i can crack on with some real progress.




So, first things first, sort out the leaking radiator. Whipped it off and drained all the coolant. The lower rubber bushes were completely perished
I've ordered up replacement parts. Stoney Racing aluminium radiator, fan & shroud and also silicone hoses. New genuine thermostat, 15L of the red stuff and also 2 new lower rubber bushes. Took a big hit on the wallet! But it needs it.

I found a couple of surface rust spots behind the radiator. So i purchased some Hammerite underseal and set to work. Decided i may as well remove the wings and give the underside a couple of coats too.







I'll be removing the suspension in preperation for my geometry kit, but also so i can underseal the full arch. I still need to give it all one more coat before i can put it all back together.

[Donato]

Also purchased one of these from America. Will help me massively trying to bleed the coolant after a full change! Lisle Spill Free Funnel.

[Donato]

Stoney Racing radiator & hoses arrived, as well as the spill free funnel from America. So it was time to get it all mounted ready to bleed. Had a bit of a mare trying to line up the new hoses and getting the radiator in right. Spent a good few hours trying to do so, gave up and went out to TGI's I'll give it another go when i've got more time and patience!

Before;




New radiator bushes;




After;

[ads]

Love what you're doing with this car - can't wait to see what performance can be wrung from an n/a especially in terms of handling with all the proper suspension kit you're fitting

+1 for fitting some kind of metal heat shield to air filter, even if it's a token one as per the Apexi cone filters , also wonder if you could move it a bit nearer side intake - sucking hot air will hurt your power output and you'll still hear the induction roar if it's partially shielded

[danjama]

Here is some advice from experience - even where your kit is positioned, it will suffer from heat soak after an hour or two in 30mph driving. Experienced it myself and it's not enjoyable. Try and extend it lower down and towards the intake vents, and if possible shield it too. Just my 2p.

[Donato]

Love what you're doing with this car - can't wait to see what performance can be wrung from an n/a especially in terms of handling with all the proper suspension kit you're fitting

Cheers. Speaking of which, the kit has just landed at the post office I just need to wait for the dreadful slip telling me how much money I owe!

+1 for fitting some kind of metal heat shield to air filter, even if it's a token one as per the Apexi cone filters , also wonder if you could move it a bit nearer side intake - sucking hot air will hurt your power output and you'll still hear the induction roar if it's partially shielded

Here is some advice from experience - even where your kit is positioned, it will suffer from heat soak after an hour or two in 30mph driving. Experienced it myself and it's not enjoyable. Try and extend it lower down and towards the intake vents, and if possible shield it too. Just my 2p.

I'll have to have a serious look into the heat soak issue. At the moment it's at the bottom of my list. Once the car is back on the road i'll see how I get on. I know of a few different users who have never complained about the position and heat soak.

[Donato]

Progress; Car is up and running! Radiator has been bled, not flushed as that will happen when the timing belt & waterpump are changed over. I've had it ticking over for 30 minutes or so and it idles nicely! The radiator and silicone hoses were an absolute PITA to fit. On and off so many times. But it works nicely and the fans are super quiet when they come on.

The from suspension & knuckles are off the car waiting for me to find some balljoints to fit the geometry kit and and put the suspension back together. Then do the same to the rear. Then pray that i can fit the wheels to the kit It's going to be a tight squeeze with the roll centre adjusters in place!

I've found out that that my steering rack is leaking, so i need to look into that and investigate as to wether i need a replacement or not.

I've ordered up some new interior bits. Just the dash trim because i've got a couple of holes in mine currently from removing the immobiliser.

The charcoal canister has completely been removed as well!


I also have a GT wing resting in position, which after holding it up against the car, i'm not too sure on now

The only major things that are holding me back now are the brake overhaul and also the wheels & tyres! Then i can have it on the road!

[ads]

Well done

Really looking forward to hearing how the car performs, especially the handling dynamics

Re. steering rack, if you're going to get it replaced may well be worth considering a non power rack ?

I have one and prefer it because of the lower weight ,which is in line with your weight reduction philosophy

I think you might need to re drill the mounting holes as they would be different ? Never done this so not sure, my car came with the rack as OE fiitment


Otherwise if you're in a hurry to get the car on the road just fit another power steering rack

Good luck with the rest of the build