Als MR2 Project

[harrison93]

Bought this a couple of weeks ago after getting the urge for a mid engined top down project (and realising I can't afford a Lotus Elise)





Its a facelift with the 6 speed box but no aircon (I thought they all had it, but the roof comes off so I'm not that bothered!)

Just hit 94K miles, theres been no major problems on previous MOTs just the expected wear.

I've seen a few of these about with turbos, 2ZZ engines and even Honda K20's so I thought it would make the ideal project, not quite sure what route I'm going to go down yet. I like the idea of a Honda K20 but it does seem an incredibly expensive option given how close the 2ZZ is in performance.

I've owned a couple of MG TF's before so I'm not new to the mid engined experience. The K series in them can handle a turbo but the exhaust manifold is towards the front of the engine bay and theres a plastic fuel tank in front of it! So probably best not to put a ridiculous amount of heat there.   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[harrison93]

First job, sorting the roof out:

Cleaned and waterproofed with autoglym's finest:



It says to use half a bottle of this stuff! I've just give it a light coverage about 5% of the bottle and it looks good so I'll see how long it lasts.

Then clean the soft top drains out and mop up the portable swimming pool:

[harrison93]

Got the stereo done at the weekend:



I've wired the aerial relay to the passenger window cut switch (great idea, thanks) and then swapped that and the coin holder round, so the aerial switch is close to the stereo.

I've got plans for an amp and a decent set of speakers next. I have got a 12" sub but there's no chance of that fitting in here!

[manos3003]

I like the idea of a Honda K20 but it does seem an incredibly expensive option given how close the 2ZZ is in performance.

No it's not.


Welcome  s:) s:)  Hope you enjoy your 2 and get some good adventures with it. Keep us updated.

[Call the midlife!]

Got the stereo done at the weekend:



I've wired the aerial relay to the passenger window cut switch (great idea, thanks) and then swapped that and the coin holder round, so the aerial switch is close to the stereo.

I've got plans for an amp and a decent set of speakers next. I have got a 12" sub but there's no chance of that fitting in here!

Kenwood KSC-SW11 fits up under the driver's side dashboard, you don't even know it's up there...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1979scotte]

Welcome.
For me the K20 is far superior especially if you want mental power. Massive aftermarket support.
Quick and easy performance boost go 1zz turbo or supercharger.
2zz is best for a cheap track toy. Especially if you can do the spanner work yourself. Does sound nice screaming it's head off with the right exhaust.
But if you want to hang with the cool kids there is no replacement for displacement get a V6.
Enjoy.

[harrison93]

Thinking of going down the turbo route now, I'm slowly making my way through all the reading I need to do.  :-)

Few photos from a drive the other day:

[harrison93]

I did a compression test today to get an idea of the condition of the insides. I know it wont show everything, but I've got a tester so it was worth doing.

The results:

Dry:   205   195   195   205
Wet:   230   220   220   235

Far better than I was expecting for an engine with close to 100k miles on it.

Makes me think the pre-cats either haven't started breaking down yet or haven't been ingested.

[Ardent]

Hello and welcome
Sadly not seeing the pics, just getting no entry sign, maybe me?
Torque is good

[1979scotte]

Nope no pics here either

[StuC]

+2 no pics.

[harrison93]

Oh! I can see them fine!

Whats everyone using for pictures then? I've copied the link from google photos.

[1979scotte]

Direct attachment or Imgur

[jonbill]

Google photos share link to a page, not an image. Google (photos) don't support embedding images in other sites.

[harrison93]

Gave the brakes a full overhaul the other week.

New discs, pads, braided lines and DOT 5 fluid.

This passed an MOT with no advisories 6 months ago:


Front left pad has been using the backplate to stop the car:




Rear right disk was grooved like a record:
(I've never seen anything like this before, the grooves were a lot bigger than they look)

[harrison93]

Front right caliper bolt needed a bit of persuasion to get it to move:



(Dont ask why I'm using the rubbish jack to support the car and the good one to twist a spanner...  )


I doubt the pretty pattern is going to do much, but it does look good:




One of the fittings got rounded off, so I cut the end off and had to fit a new one:





How they look after a bit of use:



Calipers need painting now (and a wheel refurb and new tyres...)


I'm really surprised at how much better they feel. (probably because only 2 out of 4 brakes were working properly before.

The pedal feels so much nicer, the brakes are a lot more instant and feel really sharp. The pads are nothing special just decent road pads, I don't want to give too much credit to the discs as I honestly don't think a disc can make much of a difference (if anything, there's less surface area on these so they should be worse), so it must be the braided lines that's made the big difference.

[shnazzle]

Love a good brake refurb

One thing; you do mean DOT 5.1 right? Not 5?

[harrison93]

This is the same reservoir as one of the earlier photos after all that heat we had:



Bit of a difference!

[harrison93]

Rear subframe was in a bad way:



This and the brakes and yet it passed its MOT before I bought it with no advisories.....


New frame going in:




Bought a few parts to get the project started off:












The wheel nuts look good on their own, but I'm a bit unsure of they look over the top with the coloured wheels? Might swap them for some black ones.

[Call the midlife!]

Rear subframe was in a bad way:



This and the brakes and yet it passed its MOT before I bought it with no advisories.....


New frame going in:




Bought a few parts to get the project started off:












The wheel nuts look good on their own, but I'm a bit unsure of they look over the top with the coloured wheels? Might swap them for some black ones.

Those Rotas? Look real nice but I tend to agree with you on the colour clash, I don't think it's over the top, just don't think the two effects gel together? But as I always say, your car, your rules. [emoji1303]


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[harrison93]

Got the polybushes on and fitted these the other week:




I did have plans to make some form of hydraulic press by using a bottle jack and welding some steel around it, but I found the hydraulic pullers worked well enough in the end:

[harrison93]

I took it out on a trackday around Three Sisters Circuit near Wigan on Monday.

It's the second time I've been in the MR2 but the first time I went, the car was standard. The new suspension has really reduced the weight transfer when cornering and braking, it's made the car so much easier to drive quickly. I found I was able to drive the car right at the limit of what the tyres are capable of, and when I did push too hard it was easy to catch.

I've added a video of my quickest lap, it would be interesting to compare lap times if anyone else has been here?

The tyres squealing through every corner says more about the quality of the tyres than it does about my driving skill! The new wheels I bought are still awaiting rubber...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em5Ut-iWITc

[1979scotte]

I took it out on a trackday around Three Sisters Circuit near Wigan on Monday.

It's the second time I've been in the MR2 but the first time I went, the car was standard. The new suspension has really reduced the weight transfer when cornering and braking, it's made the car so much easier to drive quickly. I found I was able to drive the car right at the limit of what the tyres are capable of, and when I did push too hard it was easy to catch.

I've added a video of my quickest lap, it would be interesting to compare lap times if anyone else has been here?

The tyres squealing through every corner says more about the quality of the tyres than it does about my driving skill! The new wheels I bought are still awaiting rubber...

Glad you like the meister well worth the outlay and slight loss of comfort IMHO.

@tomaky
Any timed maps of 3 sister you went there a few times.

[tomaky]

I took it out on a trackday around Three Sisters Circuit near Wigan on Monday.

It's the second time I've been in the MR2 but the first time I went, the car was standard. The new suspension has really reduced the weight transfer when cornering and braking, it's made the car so much easier to drive quickly. I found I was able to drive the car right at the limit of what the tyres are capable of, and when I did push too hard it was easy to catch.

I've added a video of my quickest lap, it would be interesting to compare lap times if anyone else has been here?

The tyres squealing through every corner says more about the quality of the tyres than it does about my driving skill! The new wheels I bought are still awaiting rubber...

Glad you like the meister well worth the outlay and slight loss of comfort IMHO.

@tomaky
Any timed maps of 3 sister you went there a few times.

yarp first time i went i was around 50 seconds.
i peaked at a 47 second lap with the R888's they made the biggest difference.

[tomaky]

Looking at it tho, he is doing the full course which is about a mile the course i did is about 1100m.