My Tom's project-updated 3/3/2010

[mattymr2]

ive been a member on here for nearly a year and have just completed fitting and spraying a full toms replica bodykit so i thought it was time for some pics.

heres the full thread of my progress

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


when i got my rev 3 turbo it was completely standard apart from some full leather seats.

i rebuilit and painted all the calipers and replaced the discs and pads with performance ones. replaced the handbrake cables steering wheel and gear knob. new floor mats refurbed the standard wheels few other repairs ahd the clutch replaced, full service etc

ive since added the usual exhaust, air filter, intercooler mods and a few extra little bits ready for more boost. new wheels aswell!

i replaced the stock strut braces and have some tein s lowering springs ready to go on. im also hopefully getting some gauges and a decat fitted next week.

theirs still a spoiler and air scoop to go on, and a few touch ups here and there but generally im pleased with the way it looks....

[mr2-wouter]

Very nice m8! About the same mine looks, although mine still needs a bit of paint

[MRV6]

Nice looking car mate, nice and clean!

[tonigmr2]

Shiney clean!
T

[HighwayStar]

Gorgeous looking car Matty. Liking the spoilerless Toms idea... white and spoilerless is the new black! If it were mine I'd put orange indicators at the front but hey, being individual is what modding is all about isn't it.

R.

[mattymr2]

yeah i like the orange lights ive got a set of them too!


its not spoilerless now...........i sprayed it yesterday and fitted it today...



couldnt have it sat in the garage anymore

[HighwayStar]

What spoiler have you put on then? Pics?

R.

[Fletch]

Pretty sure i drove past this car the otherday when it was parked up in leamington, looking very nice indeed with the added spoiler on. Air scoop on aswell if i'm correct??

[marc GT Turbo]

looks great , very rewarding when you do the work yourself

[rev3kid]

very nice indeed matey all thats missing is my tom's carbon fibre spoiler as it would look out of this world on a white car

[Martin F]

Awesome mate, well done,

[mattymr2]

very nice indeed matey all thats missing is my tom's carbon fibre spoiler as it would look out of this world on a white car

its alright i painted and fitted my toms spoiler the next day!

pics pending

[HighwayStar]

Might just pop to Skywalkers and have a gander in the flesh.....

R.

[mattymr2]

Thought id do a bit of an update as its been a while.

unfortunately last year my AVC-R boost controller stopped working correctly and started overboosting. i think i hit a peak of 1.4 bar before noticing. the car hesitated and misfired and after a trip to rogue it was confirmed as a cracked piston ring

my choice was to break it, or get the engine rebuilt.

i was heartbroken. the car had always been warmed up and cooled down. the oil had been changed 3 times with fuchs fully synthetic in 2years and less than 5000 miles.

After doing so much work on the car myself i decided the best thing would be to source a low mileage second hand engine and fit it myself...


i was determined to stick with it. i still hadnt had it on the road for a full summer in the 2 years of owning it and hadnt attended any track days,drag strips....

after saving up and finding one i began by taking my old engine out. i borrowed an engine crane from a friend and got started.


removing the old engine was fairly painless and took about a day and a half with a friend to pass tools.




when i got the engine with the gearbox manifolds etc still attatched i realised wot i had got my self in for.








i started to remove parts, bagging and labelling parts and placing them in order around the garage.

i had a number of parts powdercoated and began cleaning all the parts that came off. i also cleaned and painted the new engine.

i replaced any gaskets i came across and also changed the cambelt as the engine was out. The leads distributor, rotor arm and plugs were all brand new as they'd only been replaced a month before the engine gave up.

it went together surprisingly easily with very little problems. the only difficulty i did have was getting the gearbox back on by myself, but the less said about that the better.they are heavy.

pics of it ready to go in









getting it bk in took about two days because i was on my own. all the fluids were replaced with fresh ones.



to my joy it started first time, although the excelerated cable was at full stretch and the engine nearly hit the red line so i switched off imediately to see what was happening. after that had been adjusted i took her for a spin. eveything was going smoothly till my radio started goin off and on. then my lights dimmed and the engine stated spluttering. i managed to get home and turned the engine off. i tried to start it and nothing happened. it was like the battery was flat. it had just been replaced so there was no way it was a duff battery.

after a bit of head scratching i checked the voltage on the battery and confirmed it was the alternater not charging.

i started looking for a new one and thought about what a pig of a job it wass going to be to re[place with the engine now back in the car.
i thought id have a quick feel around just to make sure everrhting was still plugged in etc.

sure enough afta a quick feel around i felt a connection clip in and everything was sweet.

heres some pic of it in








while the car was off the road its been treated to some brand new HSD coilovers and trd front and rear antiroll bars. i aslo had my genuine 16" Tom's wheels refurbed and fitted with new rubber.
it now drives like a different car compared to the 17" wheels and bilstein/tein s spring combo i had before.

its been bk on the road since january now and everthing is running sweet.

i cant wait to get to a few shows this year as i bitterly missed them last year due to my engine failing.

i still need to get my avc-r check out as when ever it is turned on it does not control the boost...

[pistol pete]

good work there sir..
had you ever taken an engine out before..

it looks good the new one.... enjoy the track days this year

pete

[Smithmyster]

Agreed it looks Sweet mate!!!
Well done.

[mattymr2]

no. i had never done an engine swap before. ive done brakes, electrics, suspension and bodywork. was about all i had left apart from gearbox and engine rebuilds. wish id became a mechanic now....

[pistol pete]

no. i had never done an engine swap before. ive done brakes, electrics, suspension and bodywork. was about all i had left apart from gearbox and engine rebuilds. wish id became a mechanic now....

sounds pretty much same as me ~

i have now done cam belt electrics engine out of a mk1 ( but not mack in was scrapping it) and done suspension

leaves me with full eingine swap and clutch
well done sir done a great job there and looks great too

[Martin F]

well done mate, You must be feeling quite proud of yourself, cars still looking well sweet

[jimGTS]

brilliant job with the engine change!

love the colour of the cam cover...

great work!