jsnhrl's 92 MR2 - building the dream

I've had my MR2 since 2008 and I was a fairly regular poster under the username chunkmo when i first got it, but haven't really been active for the past 4 years. Times have changed and I felt that username was a bit immature, so i've created this account to start fresh. 

It all began when my mates were getting into cars around the age 18-19. I remember trying to narrow down what I wanted for my first performance car. RWD, turbo, 2 doors, Japanese - that's what it had to be. I dont know why but thats what resonated with me the most. I wasn't even looking when I came across the SW20 by chance. It checked all the boxes and I couldn't get over how amazing it looked! Mid engine was the selling point for me. There were dozens of other cars which fit the bill, but this was unique. I lusted after an SW20 for about a year and a half until I saved enough to buy it outright.  I hunted high and low until a good one finally came up on carsales in Bundaberg - a mere 5 hours drive away. I still have the original ad.
 

 
I contacted the guy shortly after this ad went up, but he decided to keep the car and took the ad down. A month later it was back up for sale and I organised to have a look at it. As I was still living at home at the time, in a moment of adolescent deviance I bought the car while my parents were overseas (who weren't very supportive of this whole "fast car" business). Drove up and back in 1 day with a mate. I still have the very first fuel docket I filled the car with (although the text is fading, i tried to sharpen it up)


 
Shortly after arriving home


I started going to club cruises and doing general maintenance on the car for a year or two. Like a lot of owners who buy stock examples, I was set on keeping the car in pristine stock condition.... Until the exhaust sprung a leak and started sounding a bit rough. I drunkenly purchased a berk exhaust in a group buy as a bribe for myself to get my fitness sorted (which worked, but that's another story).
 


 
And spent the better part of a weekend fitting it all in

 
Right around this time, my car had major electrical problems which cost me thousands to get fixed and left me a bit bitter about trusting other peoples handywork. I'm going to do as much work as possible on my own - 3rd parties never get it exactly how I want it. I eventually got it back on the road, my mate bought an AW11 and times were good.



In late 2010 I got sick of the working conditions with my job, so I decided to ditch everything and go back to uni to change careers. Because I basically had no money as a student, the MR2 was the last thing on my mind. I basically stopped driving it (fuel costs), stopped posting and reading car related articles (too much temptation). I still did intermittent things like fixing some little niggly things like the rain guard and plastic clips here and there. But for the most part, the car sat undriven in our lock up garage for 3 years.

2014 gave me a new career and I spent the first 7-8 months deciding what I wanted to do car wise. I started looking for another car to drive and/or modify. Dozens of cars tickled my fancy, but I could never shake the idea of parting with my beloved MR2. So I made the decision to stick with it. I started acquiring parts to make it into the car i've always dreamt of.
 
First I bought a whole lot of Toyota gear, trying to update a few worn out bits... 

94+ lights, stainless sills, new wipers, clear front indicators, solid front side mouldings and some other little bits and pieces.
 
I was on a roll, which quickly turned into a bunch more parts




 
So i'm thinking it's looking pretty good now. Some of you may recognize the wheels.


 
I figured that the aesthetics of the car was coming along pretty well, so I got myself an early Christmas present (thanks Dylan) to bring the performance up to par.

 
Now that i've got some cashflow going, i'll be able to participate in forums again. I'll be sure to keep this updated. 2015-16 will probably involve 2.2L, GTX3067 and E85 if everything goes to plan. So thats how i'm building my dream MR2...

Yep, those are totens old RE30's. The rubber on them is getting a bit old and brittle, so i'll replace them before I start driving it regularly again. Might splurge for some Toyo R888's

Love your car, will keep checking this thread :) 

Keep the updates coming... We all need inspiration lol

About the front tyres, you can only go up to 40 profile for 17s or 35 profile for 18s. If the rolling diameter is larger then you will have tyre scrubbing issues when you steer, as described.

275's are hugeeee for the rear!

looking forward to seeing it on the next run!

Got my tyres mounted Saturday.  215/40/R17 and 275/35/R18. I can now turn to full lock!
 

 
I spent the rest of the day cleaning stuff up and making sure all the little nuts and bolts were properly secured, changed the oil and gave her a wash; ready to go for Sundays club run.
 
All was going well until about half way through the run when there was a cyclist on the road. The cyclist was on the outside 1/3rd of the road, and there was oncoming traffic so we had to slow down pretty rapidly because we couldn't get around. The AW11 2 cars behind me locked up their brakes, hit the AW11 behind me who slid into me.
 

 
Although my car could have easily continued the run, I decided to go home. Mostly because the bumper was fouling on the exhaust and didn't want to cause a fire from continued driving. Luckily my parents place was only about 20km away so I started heading there to assess the damage.
 



 
The reo bar was snapped in half, exhaust mount and exhaust hanger were bent, boot and bumper pushed in, boot lid jammed shut, numberplate bent. As far as crashes go, it was fairly minor.
 



 
I did some fairly quick triangulation of the boot and it seems like the drivers side chassis rail is bent in by about 3mm. I'll take it to a smash repairs shop to get it properly checked out for structural damage - hopefully nothing major comes up. After I've sourced a few broken bits and I should be back on the road.
 
WTB: Passenger exhaust mount
WTB: Rear reo bar
 
PM me if you're in Brisbane and have these

:-( I'm a cyclist (mountain bike however) myself but this sharing the road with cars in close proximity is beyond my compression from a self preservation point of view.