Adrifto,
Congratulations on your mods and improvements. Looking good.
I note your wheel/tyre combo.
Your speedo will read slow with those tyre sizes ie you will be going faster than speed indicated on your speedo.. Please take that into account to avoid the boys in blue. You can check actual speed with phone ap or GPS.
cheers & happy motoring
Steve

Shaz
Love seeing a well loved forum owners car go to another person who will carry on the work.
 
Where are you located?  Or did I miss that in the extensive post?  If so, sorry.................
 
Keep in mind that we have MR2 Nationals in Canberra in October & it would be great to see you there.

Thank you for your kind words! I am located in Sydney. Definitely very keen on both Nationals and the Wakefield challenge, will just have to see how it lines up with uni and finances. Have a mate with an aw11 who I'm sure would make the trip with me. Thanks again for your welcome :)

Groper
Adrifto,
Congratulations on your mods and improvements. Looking good.
I note your wheel/tyre combo.
Your speedo will read slow with those tyre sizes ie you will be going faster than speed indicated on your speedo.. Please take that into account to avoid the boys in blue. You can check actual speed with phone ap or GPS.
cheers & happy motoring
Steve

Thank you very much. Yes I used the offset/diameter calculator extensively when looking around for wheels, I believe my 'new 100' is around 106 km/h, though I always have Waze running which gives a pretty accurate speed and keeps me under the limit.

The car looks great, really like the new air intake. 
Good luck with future evolution of your car.

B24
The car looks great, really like the new air intake. 
Good luck with future evolution of your car.

Thanks! Your car is an inspiration

Very tidy car! Looking forward to seeing your modification progression. The Volk wheels look fantastic.

Lumix
Very tidy car! Looking forward to seeing your modification progression. The Volk wheels look fantastic.

Thank you! 
They were really such a great find, one of my favourite additions so far.

Geeeeez, your "P-plater budget" definitely differed from mine at that age haha.
 
Duck tape and spray paint was about the extent of what I was building at 20.

Well, it certainly has been a while. 2019 saw me cooped up at uni to complete my Bachelor’s of Mechanical Engineering, though I still managed to make some time for this glorious yellow machine. Work on the car was slower than expected due to priorities in my honours year, though I am still happy with what I was able to achieve throughout the year. That being said, 2020 will be the year where this car truly begins to shine.
 
I mean, that’s the plan anyway…
Before I could install the intercooler I wanted a way to monitor my AFR, so in went an AEM wideband gauge and sensor.
The removal of the stock downpipe was nothing short of a mission, and due to my limited financial position I had to reuse the cast downpipe, now with a bung welded in to the top elbow. The goal is to go to something stainless in the future but I am not sure what is out there that can replace the whole catted downpipe assembly. Catless isn’t really an option but that’s all I can see on offer, e.g. the Berk 3^rd gen Catless downpipe. Any opinions would be great, as my current options seem to be fully custom, or even slotting a cat down into the b-pipe wherever it can fit.
Yes that is a boss coffee can, I have had many of my mates steal this idea since I installed it.
After many hours swearing at the OEM fan shroud, the TCS motorsport intercooler kit was installed, adding a level of cooling and reliability to the engine, as well as a splash of shine to the engine bay. I added to this with a 1320 performance X brace, which seemed to stiffen up the rear end a touch (or it was placebo, same thing).
I tried countless times to get my cool old Greddy turbo timer to work, using an off the shelf HKS wiring harness and some wire rearranging. However no matter the orientation of wires I could deduce from old wiring diagrams, every time the timer kicked on the car would engage the starter motor, making a horrible grinding sound as the starter fouled on the flywheel. I shut the car off immediately every time but in the fear of causing any actual damage, I left it uninstalled for now. From my research I might need some sort of a starter kill relay, though if anyone has any ideas for that it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to Dylan at Gorilla Industries and a spontaneous 50% off sale from an eBay seller, all pieces of my body modifications are now in my possession. Dylan was able to source me a brand new US Racing front lip, and a set of replica Greddy rear spats came from eBay. Mounting and fitting the shocking condition replica Greddy side skirts has taken more time than expected, though the aim is to get all the kit parts painted in the next couple of months. I am leaving all mods reversible so at any point I can return to a factory condition, if desired.
The annual trip to the World Time Attack Challenge this year was made even sweeter as I was able to see one of the builds I have admired and followed for years, as I imagine we all have. 

As my front discs were starting to fade I opted for some clean DBA replacements, with the Project Mu pads still having plenty of life. These discs have been a great replacement, and lines and proper fluid are next up before I hit the track.
New old school Momo Corse horn button!
Now for the biggest purchase of 2019, perhaps in terms of cost and anticipation. For years I have ogled the BBS series of wheels as a seemingly unobtainable brand of wheels. While a lot of the models are used heavily within the stance and hardparking worlds, the LMs have always been my dream wheel, with their motorsport influence and timeless styling. I have seen them work flawlessly on a variety of chassis, though it was the now-2gr swapped aggressively styled demon from the great apex attack blog that completely sold me on them as the end-goal wheel for my own MR2.
After checking prices for new and used LMs in the proper 8/9 stagger on gumtree and various sites, I quickly humbled myself and realised this would be a dream to brew for a few more years. I had searches saved in hope, however it was just slightly annoying seeing sets come up for the dear prices they rightly command. Then one day a set came up for sale.
The catch? They were located in Perth, with myself in Sydney, and they were in a fairly tired condition. The not catch however was that they were listed for a tidy $900, and the seller even offered to cover the majority of the shipping. $950 and 2 weeks later, my very own set of LMs arrived on my doorstop, on the exact day I finished uni.
Now I concede that my current wheels are extremely period correct and there is genuinely nothing faulting them, and I may be over-romanticising what is just buying some crusty wheels off gumtree, but these wheels have been quite special to me for many years now, and the feeling of unwrapping a set to call my own was great. Furthermore they present an opportunity to undertake a full rebuild and cleanup, which should make the final product even more rewarding.
These shinies will be earned, not bought. (although I technically did buy them but.. nevermind)
Here’s one mid-restoration with the face reverse mounted. Center caps will be in the mail soon.
 
I was slightly sceptical about the combination of yellow and gold, but with some inspiration from the Porsche world and the first test fit, I was sold. The combo might not be for everyone but I can definitely see how it’s going to look and I am a big fan.
I also managed to squeeze in a spot in a music video that is yet to be released. Flat fee bookings that take 1/3 of the time expected make my wallet very happy!