Early 2009 and I have to admit I am struggling…since as far back as I can remember my Dad has always done all the work on his cars himself. As a trained engineer he certainly has the right mindset for it, and was a keen amateur rally driver in his youth, racing a Mk II Escort he’d built and prepared himself.
As a result I have always worked on my own cars, albeit it with a bit (lots!) of help from Dad…but the point is, we’ve always been 'hands on do it yourself' types when it comes to restoring, repairing and building cars.
The trouble I was having now was that I had decided I wanted a ‘special’ car in my life, but that inadvertently meant I had placed the car high up on a pedestal, and was too nervous of my own abilities (or lack thereof) to jump in with my usual style and work on it myself. That’s why I had gone to specialists for help, and at this stage was still relying on them to progress the project….which is incredibly frustrating when things don’t go right!
I was really struggling with the project being out of my own direct control, I can handle set-backs and issues, but at least when it’s your fault you can kind of control it...and I was sorely missing that control…
So the obvious answer was to buy another project car that would be fully within my own control…and hence the arrival of a second Toyota MR2…a 1995 JDM Anniversary Edition:
This one was a lot cheaper, a bit rough around the edges, and in naturally aspirated flavor. Perfect to jump into with both feet with little fear of breaking anything, or losing money through any mistakes I might make. There were some initial grand plans of racing it, but I’ll be honest- my main priority was being in control again…although there were some tangible advantages to this project:
- It would allow me a low risk opportunity to rip into an MR2 and work out how they go together, how they break, and how to make them handle first hand.
- It would also give me a lower platform to thrash and work out how to drive this mid-engined set up with little fear of visiting the gravel, after all- less power, and a bit rough round the edges- a bit of gravel rash could only improve its looks! I was hoping this would stand me in better stead for keeping the more powerful version on the road / track when (if) I ever got the chance to drive it hard.
So onto the new project- there were a few obvious issues to sort out, such as the dreaded steering wheel wobble at anything over 50mph, and a rear wheel bearing making a bid for its freedom. So I proceeded to jump in and rip out the rear suspension and brakes, which I fully stripped down, replaced the bearings, ball joints and bushes in (opting for poly bushes). I also rebuilt the brakes, replaced the pads and disks opting for the legendary Carbotech pads with stock disks, and added stainless steel braided brake lines.
Things soon got out of hand, as they do, and I found myself in possession of a brand new set of Bilstein B6 shock absorbers (being an upgraded, stiffer shock than the stock units, but still permissible in the rules of the MR2 race series), which I built up with Tein springs (super hard spring rates, and reasonably lower than stock ride height).
These were coupled with upgraded TRD top mounts (being made of a stiffer rubber compound). A bit of a theme emerging here- everything you can do to increase stiffness within certain bounds, and so reduce body roll through the corners, as well as increasing stability as the chassis can’t move around as much...
I also forked out for a set of adjustable Anti Roll Bars (ARBs) from Whiteline, again being within the race series regulations, and from what I understood a must for tweaking the handling of these cars, the idea being to alter how much the front and rear ends of the car roll in corners in comparison to each other, and so how the car behaves in various parts of the corners.
All the while I was pulling everything off the car and replacing or refurbishing as I went, an easy (if time consuming), and immensely satisfying process…the car was starting to look half way decent underneath its slightly tatty exterior, and I was certainly learning a lot about how they are built.
At this stage I had completed the rear suspension, with the front still to do and I cracked, I couldn’t resist a quick blast down our private test track to see how different she felt now…and I was instantly rewarded, despite the front end still requiring attention. She felt properly planted on the road, and actually wanted to be thrown into the corners- really confidence inspiring…this car was going to be a blast on the track!
Next up I began to add lightness to the car (i.e. stripping out everything not required to make it drive round a track), this being one of the cheapest and most effective modifications you can make to any car that you want to throw round the bendy stuff. So out with the interior, carpets, headlining, seats…well everything! Even the sound deadening they apply at the factory to keep out road noise, which I’ve been challenged on the benefit of bothering with on several cars I’ve owned, but you would be amazed how much this stuff weighs once you have it all out of the car in one place.
Then a full available weekend to spend on the car had me lined up to tackle the front suspension…same idea as the rear, everything out and refurbish/ replace as required as well as replacing the shocks, springs, ball joints, ARBs and brakes as well as installing poly-bushes.
After bolting all this in the car, it was off to the test track for another sneaky preview prior to a full wheel alignment, and I remember being supremely happy with the change in handling as well as basking in the feel good factor at having done all the work myself…I was starting to realise that these cars really aren’t that different to the cars I’d done in the past.
At this point I lost some time on the project as the ‘other’ car was finally on the road (for a while), and I was distracted by actually getting to drive it a bit(!) However, in the time I did make for the project (mainly when it was raining and I didn’t dare drive the other car), I was making progress.
I continued on the weight loss regime, the cabin being fully stripped, so I moved onto the back end: so the boot was stripped empty, with all bracketry and locks removed, and the webbing removed from the interior of the boot lid. I added some cheap boot pins to keep it closed in the absence of a lock, no worries about security on a car that was designed purely for fun!
That said, I then proceeded to achieve a clean MOT, and actually use the car as a daily driver for a few months as a means of properly shaking her down, and identifying any further issues that might need attention. The main culprits being the need for a new exhaust, and the apparent beginnings of a slipping clutch when you really gave it hell…more to follow on that next time.