Markstevieandmads Budget Turbo project : PART ONE

[markstevieandmads]

Ordered some "uprated" tbar guides.

Not heard of those before... So are they faster than ordinary or eccentric guides?

Uprated may not be the correct word. Eccentric was the word I was looking for. Supposed to hold the glass better to the seal?

[markstevieandmads]

BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND UPDATE:

Managed to get a bit more done this weekend.

Started by fitting the eccentric t-bar guides I bought from MR2-BEN.
Very easy to fit and doesn't seem to leak (tested with a hose pipe).

So from this:



To This:



Then decided to tidy up my brake calipers as a previous owner had painted them silver bought thought they would look better in a nice bright red.

Started with these:



A quick coat of red hammerite:



While the wheels were off I noticed that the centre caps were flaking so gave them a good coat of plastic primer and satin black.



So the car ended up looking like this



Luckily I haven't had many callouts (im an engineer on call) so managed to crack on and fit my new Bosch S4 battery. (No pics - im sure you know what they look like).
I also decided to crack on and sort the problem ive had with my alarm since I bought the car.
I was getting intermittent false alarms from the viper system and the previous owner had given me a pager for it but it had never worked.
I cracked the pager open and found a couple of bad solder joints so re-soldered these ,stuck a new battery and the pager burst into life!

I then alarmed the car and the pager indicated there was a problem with the front hood switch.
I had previously fitted a new switch and connection when I fitted my new front bumper due to corrosion on the old switch.
After further investigation, I found the front bonnet wasn't making the switch closed as it wasn't reaching it so a quick modification to space the switch out and the alarm now works as it should.
Ive had it alarmed for over 3 hours and haven't had a false alarm yet so fingers crossed that's solved!

I then jacked the car up and fitted my new magnetic "gold" sump plug and washer I got from camskill.


And "abracadabra".....no more leaks!!!

Next job was to wire up my pioneer 6x9s that I bought off ebay and fitted them into a set of 6x9 boxes which I fitted into the rear cubby holes.
After messing with the amp for a good hour I ripped the lot out and decided to just keep the front sony components as it sounded so much better.

So ,pleased with myself for sorting all the problems, I decided to treat her to a quick wash with a bit of cheap shampoo and wax I had in the garage.

Heres some pics:















Few things I noted needs sorting:

1. Rear passenger tyre needs rebeading as the air is escaping. Strange as the drivers side was done recently.

2. Gearbox oil still needs refreshing. Ive got some MTF94 (3l) in the garage but not sure to use this or not.

3. A good,proper, mopping and polish so get it ready for Japfest and the summer.

4.Tax.

[gerbil1028]

I do enjoy reading your thread.

[markstevieandmads]

I do enjoy reading your thread.

Thank you.

Just won a set of supra original 16" alloys for £1.34 and ive got a set of mrd style sideskirts waiting for me off here too....so more to come.

Just want May to come now as cant wait to get her back on the road!

[matt-mr2]

Just won a set of supra original 16" alloys for £1.34

Bargain

Nice write up the cars looking good

[markstevieandmads]

Little update

Surprise surprise....I'm having a problem contacting the seller for the supra wheels I won for £1.34. Not answering to emails or phonecalls. I've reported to eBay but got to wait for a few more weeks before opening a case. Also got to pay via PayPal then claim it back?! EBay's ways always make me wonder how they can still be going.....

Car wise - we are all now roadworthy as got the tax today. Just a shame the weather has been awful otherwise I'd take her out for a blast today.

Still haven't done the gearbox oil but the alarm has been fine though the pagers battery runs out after about 3 weeks. Also looks like the new sump plug has done the trick though I haven't had a proper look.
The tyre that keeps going down seems to be OK at the Mo. Not sure why sometimes it goes down and other times it doesn't.

Anyway, hopefully get the car out for a good blast this long weekend (actually got a.free weekend for a change) and book her in for a polish ready for japfest.

[gerbil1028]

Jealous ur road legal.

[markstevieandmads]

2nd Bank Holiday Update:

No pics im afraid.

As its now taxed and the weather is nice, I decided to have a blast in my toy today.
Now, it hasn't been properly driven since feb so I checked the oil - spot on level, no more leaks. Then I checked the water - spot on again.
So started her up and and took it easy until she was nice and warm then gave her the beans down the dual carriageway and...................

I was disappointed. It seems she stutters and hesitate when coming off boost (a bit like when my d.v was installed) and even though the boost gauge shows the turbo reaching 0.8bar it just gets there a lot more slowly than I remembered. Theres no pinning in the seat like I remember.

I noticed that euro car parts have a deal on at the mo so ive ordered a set of densos platinums (after numerous google searches as well as reviews decided these were best at the mo) and a rotor arm (cant afford a cap at the mo though I do have a spare I got off a guy when I bought his afm).

So come Monday, I will install these and see if it helps. I also remember one of the boost hoses on the turbo would not tighten due to it being knackered so will get this replaced too.

Apart from that, she is running well and the temp gauge stayed where it should. So hopefully, with a polish on Friday, and a quick visit to the tyre place to rebead my passenger rear tyre (as it does go down over a week) we should be good to go for Japfest.

[markstevieandmads]

Little update:

Managed to bolt in my new 1kg powder extinguisher into the boot area. Didn't really want it in the cabin as im not going for the racer look.

Sorry no pics.

Also managed to remove the spark plugs. That spark plug by the throttle body is a pain to reach!

Anyway they came out ok but looked quite worn:



Im guessing its due to the previous owner running a dump valve which made it run rich. Also found a crack on plug 3 though this may have been caused by me struggling to remove it. Ended up removing the lower hotpipe and throttle cable to reach it and get the new one in without damaging it.
I also checked all the intercooler pipes and replaced a couple of the clamps as they wasn't great and a few of them was quite loose. Hopefully another reason why it was a bit slow to reach max boost.
I installed some densos as ive read good things about them.

I did have a new rotor arm to fit but to be honest it started and runs fine though I didn't take it for a run due to the bad weather.

Also got the rear passenger tyre rebeaded as it wasn't sealing properly due to the corrosion.

So ,just a polish on Friday by the locals and then stick this in the window:


Japfest awaits!!!

[markstevieandmads]

Not much of an update:

Well ....ive been and done Japfest and had a great day though I could have done without the 3 1/2hr queue to get in and the on/off weather.
However it did give the car a good run and it performed faultlessly apart from a knocking noise when creeping along at slow speed in traffic.

Heres the best pic I could find (from the japfest website entrance pics):



I drove the car round for a few more days ,using it in the good weather when it came, and decided I better check the knocking noise.
I found 3 of the 5 wheel bolts were hanging on by a thread! So once ive tightened these up - no more knocking noise!

I also gave her another good run to Weston-Super-Mare and back (140mile round trip) and again, she was faultless (even upsetting a Civic Type-r in the process ).
While on this trip I had to pull over and take a pic of the mileage:



A MAJOR MILESTONE!!!

I have noticed that the steering is quite light at speed (on the motorway of course) and reading up on this - it seems to be caused by the kph/mph convertor messing up the signal to the power steering ecu.
I know a STEF delimiter is quite rare (and expensive) so I have bought some UK clocks so I can put these in and rewire the limiter at the ecu end so hopefully this will sort this.
The small problem I have is I currently run plasma dials which I like so im not sure if I can butcher my existing ones on to my new clocks. I also want to change my useless turbo gauge to a batt meter so a bit of jigging is required.

Ive also managed to purchase some MRD style side skirts and TBar bags from John (Torero) ready for my next course of action.

Im now on the look out for some aftermarket alloys, maybe coilovers, front lip and maybe some grafix.

I will explain.....
After attending Japfest, I noticed my car never got much attention (I know - bighead!). So ive decided to do something different with the styling.
I was also gonna get a bigger/louder exhaust but after giving the car a good run it seems loud enough and does sound nice (custom stainless exhaust made by longlife already fitted).

Once the styling is a bit more to my liking I might look at getting a bit more power from my setup.
Its currently only running standard which made my spec list at Japfest a bit boring.
Plans are for either an uprated intercooler or maybe a gt4 chargecooler kit, Maybe get my turbo rebuilt, a rev 3 ecu/fuelling conversion (so I can run my hks bov ) and maybe even a steel headgasket.
If the HG is going to be done then I will get the cambelt done as im sure that's due too.
I also want to redo the brakes (they don't need replacing) and redo the fluid and go for braided lines.

BUT this all costs money which im always short of!
For the moment im just enjoying it as the summer begins. Don't want to count my chickens too soon, but shes running fine, the leaks are sorted and the roof can come off.

Just need to find money for fuel - she seems to be doing approx. 150 miles on about £25-£30 of spirited / motorway driving. It seems to be doing more fuel with the standard bov than with the aftermarket HKS though she does run better / smoother.
I did have an inkling that my brakes maybe sticking but ive checked the wheels after a long trip and there is no excessive heat, brake wear or "glowingness" when I stop.

Hope you have enjoyed reading so far.

[markstevieandmads]

To take my mind off things I thought id do a little update (not really an update but anyway....)

Had a quick check of the brakes and they don't seem to be sticking so that's good.

I left my trickle charger off for about 4 days so thought id plug it in today and it showed the battery only at 11.8v .The charge meter also said it needed a charge so I think I do have a drain somewhere as its a brand new battery. Will check this out over the weekend with my meter.

A quick punt on ebay and ive bagged some bargain Recaros from a guy who broke his Evo IV.
We my newly found welding skills(if you can call it skills!) im hoping to mod the spare standard rails I have on my old seats and make these fit nicely after giving thema good scrub and clean as they have been sat in a barn for a while. I wont say how much I paid.....but it was a lot less than any other recaro seat I have found.
Picked them up Wednesday...

[mr.king]

liking the car mate, nice and clean. surprised i ent seen this about

[markstevieandmads]

liking the car mate, nice and clean. surprised i ent seen this about

Unfortuantely it doesn't get used much. Probably once or twice a week at the weekend.
I also only use it when the sun is out.

I've got 3 kids and a gf so not much room to take them all (lol) and I also have private use of work car (brand new Renault estate)with free fuel so it literally is just my hobby car.

[markstevieandmads]

Time for an update:

Ive been using the car as and when I have time and I have been enjoying it with no problems to speak of.
I took it for a run to Southampton and back and even had a play with a STI Subaru (and won....I couldn't believe it). The Scooby owner was well impressed.

Anyway, I decided I needed to clear my garage and part of this was to fit the evo recaros ive had sitting around.
For the last few months ive been attempting to build some frames from scratch but I just couldn't get the measurements accurate enough or it sat far too high.

So yesterday I decided to approach it from a different angle and 3 hours later I had the passenger side sat in the car bolted down and working fine.

Today , 2 hours later and the drivers side was in.

I did a lot of research on making my own modded frames to fit the evo seats but couldn't find a great deal on it apart from buying £300 rails which is not good for my budget project.

So I ended up using the standard rails from some old seats I had.
I then welded a couple of bars of steel to both rails so they didn't move and upset the measurements when I separated them from the original seats.

I then cut the rails down so it was just the sliding mech left, drilled some new holes in the mr2 rails, modded the evo old rail mountings and bolted on the seat belt anchor points.
I also had to space the rails off the seat ever so slightly about 1/4 of an inch to allow adjustments and chopped and rewelded the seat rail adjuster handle to stop it from fouling.

Anyway, all in so what do you think (yes, they do need a good clean - they have been sat for about a year!)





They look a bit wonky in the last pic but they are not - just the way they are adjusted there.

So, I want to give it a clean before the weekday meet in Swindon tomorrow for a cruise round the Marlborough Downs (see MR2OC).

[markstevieandmads]

Time for an update!

I used the car the latter part of last year and it ran fine. No problems apart from getting another tyre rebeaded due to corrosion. Id love to get these properly refurbished but I also have some nice looking 17s I picked up off ebay that need a refurb so may get these done first. Hopefully these will go well with the MRD style skirts ive still got stacked in the garage.
My plan is to buy some rear spats and possibly a greddy style front lip to complete an updated body.
So apart from the odd wash and wax through out the year the bodywork is still the same.

Interior wise ,I managed to swap the plasma jdm speedo over to my UK version. I also redone the mileage to match the previous mileage on the old unit. I disconnected the mph/kmh converter from behind the clocks as this is not needed for the UK clocks so now the motorway "light" feeling is now long gone.
Unfortuantely this does now mean I have a 112mph limiter at the moment as I have not installed the converter at the ecu end. Now, I have no plans to speed on the UK roads but I have a track session booked at Japfest at Castle Combe this year so I may sort this beforehand (though I maybe hoping I will actually reach over 112mph on the track lol).

In preparation for the track session (and due to a stupid mistake of not screwing the coolant cap on properly) I decided to drain and refresh the entire coolant system.I replaced the coolant cap for a new one from Toyota (£24!) and used some red coolant from ECP. I made sure it has the same ingredients as Toyota Longlife Coolant and made up my own mix. This took a few hours but after several bleeding sessions the temp gauge stays at just under half way on a good long run so I hope this is now rectified.

The car is booked in for an MOT tommorow. Ive checked all the things I usually check before an MOT and cannot find any fault.The car has only done approx 1000 miles since the last mot so I am hoping its not going to need much. It only failed last year on a rear balljoint and had no advisories.
My plan is to then get it booked into the local mr2 specialist that I have been speaking to, to give it a once over, sort a few oil leaks, refresh the gearbox oil , replace the alternator belt and possibly get the cambelt done if funds permit.
If funds permit, Id like to give the brakes a good check over and possibly replace the hoses for stainless braided ones and give the brake fluid a refresh. I may also try a brake stopper and uprated pads. Ive heard good things about carbotech.


I apologise for the lack of photos but I havent taken any as I havent actually done much to the car!

Hopefully I will have some good news tommorow!

[markstevieandmads]

D day......


And it passed! No advisories either! Not bad for a 23yr old car.


So now time to treat her.......
to be continued.......

[mr.king]

Alright mate, are you going up in a convoy to japfest?

[markstevieandmads]

Alright mate, are you going up in a convoy to japfest?

Will do yeah.

[markstevieandmads]

WEEKEND UPDATE:

Ive got a set of older alloys (see other threads) and i am wondering whether to use these for the cars as I want to do something with the looks.

Heres a pic of how they are at the mo with the wheels just held up against the car:


Can anyone do a quick colour change on these for me? Looking for maybe a candy dark red, purple, gold or possibly black to keep it stealth.

Then i put the MRD style sideskirts Ive had sat in the garage for months up against the car to give me an idea.



I will probably get some MR2ben rear PP style spats to match and possibly a rev 3 front splitter or something different. The problem I have is my drive has such a slope that the standard splitter only just clears when it goes in the garage so my options are limited.

[markstevieandmads]

UPDATE:

I found myself with a spare weekend so decided to crack on with the car as Japfest is only round the corner.

Ive bought some new parts to give the car a new look. Ive bought some PP rear spats from someone on here and outrun was kind enough to bring them down with some Ray Vesto 16" Alloys I decided to buy from him to London so it was easier for me to pick up.

As the weather was nice I decided to have a go at a budget refurb for the new alloys as the paint work on then was flaking off.
I popped to my local halfords to take a look at their colours they had available. I was originally going to go for a fiat bronze but they didnt seem to have any "good" colours i liked so it was either going to be Ford Purple Velvet, Ford Electric Orange or a standard gloss black.

Heres some pics as they only had enough colour for 2 alloys:

A quick rub down:


A couple of coats of Ford Electric Orange after white primer:


A few more coats:




A pic with it held up with a bit of sun to show of the pearl effect:


Another pic with no sun...looks a bit dull too me:


Im not so sure about the colour. Also the finish is not very good - however these are going to be my "track" wheels so i am not so bothered at the mo. When i get enough money I will get them done properly and in a different colour.

While painting these I also painted the rear spats I bought. Heres one pic though these were rubbed down and then clear coated for a better finish.
Just waiting for the paint to harden for a couple of days and then I will attempt to fit them.


I also got around to fitting my spare heater controls I managed to buy that has better air con buttons that are not worn.



And also managed to get around to removing the old tax discs and fitting my anniversary sticker there instead:



I also got my japfest track time tickets through for this year.



Money permitted - I have a forum member that has some nitrac discs and carbotech pads for sale that I should be buying. Im also going to go for some braided hoses and new brake fluid so hope to get these fitted before Japfest.

I then have to fit the spats and also attempt to spray and fit the MRD Style skirts I have in the garage.
Ive also got to pickup, paint and fit a new border front bumper I have won on ebay for £51.Then a good polish before Japfest.

I still havent changed the gearbox oil or cambelt yet either so still on my list to get done.