Discussion
Hey everyone 
For a fair while now I've wanted to get into track racing but also start learning more about cars and trying to do some DIY. A mate of mine from work also wanted to get involved and has experience of working on cars so we have purchased this between us:
A 1994 Rev 3 MR2 G-Limited. For the bargain price of £450.
Doesn't have any MOT (just expired last week) or tax, however we are hoping to get it back on the road, with some minor improvements for a LOT less than shed money. Its a bit tatty on the inside and has a few dings on the outside but everything seems to work okay and all the mechanical bits seem to be in good order! Along with turning it into a track hack I'm sort of looking forward to tidying it up a little as well as I personally think for a 20 year old car, she is still a good looker.
First jobs on the list are to get it MOT'd, taxed, insured and back on the road! Previous MOT certificate had an advisory for having play in the tie rod end ball joint but nothing apart from that so fingers crossed. Oh and a bloody good clean as its absolutely filthy
Will also be placing some orders this evening for new tie rods & ball joints for the front, as well as fluids and filters to give the old girl a much needed service. I look forward to updating this thread with progression however rest assured it will be slow, painful and probably not very much at a time as I have much to learn!
Cheers
Ant
For a fair while now I've wanted to get into track racing but also start learning more about cars and trying to do some DIY. A mate of mine from work also wanted to get involved and has experience of working on cars so we have purchased this between us:
A 1994 Rev 3 MR2 G-Limited. For the bargain price of £450.
Doesn't have any MOT (just expired last week) or tax, however we are hoping to get it back on the road, with some minor improvements for a LOT less than shed money. Its a bit tatty on the inside and has a few dings on the outside but everything seems to work okay and all the mechanical bits seem to be in good order! Along with turning it into a track hack I'm sort of looking forward to tidying it up a little as well as I personally think for a 20 year old car, she is still a good looker.
First jobs on the list are to get it MOT'd, taxed, insured and back on the road! Previous MOT certificate had an advisory for having play in the tie rod end ball joint but nothing apart from that so fingers crossed. Oh and a bloody good clean as its absolutely filthy
Will also be placing some orders this evening for new tie rods & ball joints for the front, as well as fluids and filters to give the old girl a much needed service. I look forward to updating this thread with progression however rest assured it will be slow, painful and probably not very much at a time as I have much to learn!
Cheers
Ant
Edited by Spantney on Tuesday 2nd July 20:11
Edited by Spantney on Tuesday 2nd July 20:12
Absolute bargain!! I had one of these, same model, and loved it. +1 for MR2OC and IMOC.
There is some valuable info in the MK2 Useful Information forum.
Also there is a nifty trick using silicone sealant & cling film to fix a leaky t-bar roof, don't spend the £180 (it used to be this much) on the replacement rubber seals.
There is some valuable info in the MK2 Useful Information forum.
Also there is a nifty trick using silicone sealant & cling film to fix a leaky t-bar roof, don't spend the £180 (it used to be this much) on the replacement rubber seals.
Just thought I would put a little update in this thread. The MR2 is back on the road!
Got it insured last week on a modified car policy through Flux - paying less for this than I am for my Abarth! Had it's MOT on Saturday and I was extremely surprised and happy as it passed without any remedial work needing to be done. It did however get 4 advisories, 1 each for corroded brake hoses on the left and ride side, 1 for a front brake imbalance and 1 for a knocking sound coming from the top front O/S suspension mount. MOT pass meant it got taxed later that evening and I took it out and stretched it legs on some nice B roads. Another nice surprise is that the seller listed the car as having 149,000 miles on it, however it seems the Odometer is still in KM's which means its got something like 94,000 miles on it. Result.
I am absolutely loving the go-kart like feel to the car, and the engine behind your head just begs for more! Me and my mate have given it a decent service with a full oil change, new K&N hi-flow oil filter installed and also a K&N Panel air filter. Doing this seems to have livened the old girl up a bit aswell
Got a few jobs that need doing now though. I have ordered some Aeroquip braided hoses for the car, which will hopefully be fitted next weekend, along with a new Exedy clutch as the current one is slipping a bit. I have heard MR2 clutch replacement is a b
h of a job but its all part of the learning curve I suppose! Next thing on the shopping list is some new brake pads and discs to try and sort the front brake imbalance, but may have to look into replacing/fixing the calipers should new discs and pads not fix it. Also we are on the lookout for coilovers now to get rid of that annoying suspension knock - just plucking up the courage to spend £600 on new coilovers for a £450 car
I have attached a few poor quality phone camera pics as I've given it a bit of a scrub now too! Cheers, Ant.
Got it insured last week on a modified car policy through Flux - paying less for this than I am for my Abarth! Had it's MOT on Saturday and I was extremely surprised and happy as it passed without any remedial work needing to be done. It did however get 4 advisories, 1 each for corroded brake hoses on the left and ride side, 1 for a front brake imbalance and 1 for a knocking sound coming from the top front O/S suspension mount. MOT pass meant it got taxed later that evening and I took it out and stretched it legs on some nice B roads. Another nice surprise is that the seller listed the car as having 149,000 miles on it, however it seems the Odometer is still in KM's which means its got something like 94,000 miles on it. Result.
I am absolutely loving the go-kart like feel to the car, and the engine behind your head just begs for more! Me and my mate have given it a decent service with a full oil change, new K&N hi-flow oil filter installed and also a K&N Panel air filter. Doing this seems to have livened the old girl up a bit aswell
Got a few jobs that need doing now though. I have ordered some Aeroquip braided hoses for the car, which will hopefully be fitted next weekend, along with a new Exedy clutch as the current one is slipping a bit. I have heard MR2 clutch replacement is a b
h of a job but its all part of the learning curve I suppose! Next thing on the shopping list is some new brake pads and discs to try and sort the front brake imbalance, but may have to look into replacing/fixing the calipers should new discs and pads not fix it. Also we are on the lookout for coilovers now to get rid of that annoying suspension knock - just plucking up the courage to spend £600 on new coilovers for a £450 car I have attached a few poor quality phone camera pics as I've given it a bit of a scrub now too! Cheers, Ant.
Great to see she is on the up.
Brake imbalance is likely to be a seized piston caliper. Replacement refurbished calipers £55 on ebay! Just fitted one myself last weekend along with all new discs and pads from camskill. Very easy job, about 3-4 hours all in at a leisurely pace, although i'm scared to bleed the brakes in case a nipple snaps off
Great that she passed the MOT. Am I right in thinking that this is just before the Cat Converter rules were brought in? (mid '95 iirc), so would have had the easier emissions test?
Brake imbalance is likely to be a seized piston caliper. Replacement refurbished calipers £55 on ebay! Just fitted one myself last weekend along with all new discs and pads from camskill. Very easy job, about 3-4 hours all in at a leisurely pace, although i'm scared to bleed the brakes in case a nipple snaps off
Great that she passed the MOT. Am I right in thinking that this is just before the Cat Converter rules were brought in? (mid '95 iirc), so would have had the easier emissions test?
danjama said:
Great to see she is on the up.
Brake imbalance is likely to be a seized piston caliper. Replacement refurbished calipers £55 on ebay! Just fitted one myself last weekend along with all new discs and pads from camskill. Very easy job, about 3-4 hours all in at a leisurely pace, although i'm scared to bleed the brakes in case a nipple snaps off
Great that she passed the MOT. Am I right in thinking that this is just before the Cat Converter rules were brought in? (mid '95 iirc), so would have had the easier emissions test?
Thanks mate Brake imbalance is likely to be a seized piston caliper. Replacement refurbished calipers £55 on ebay! Just fitted one myself last weekend along with all new discs and pads from camskill. Very easy job, about 3-4 hours all in at a leisurely pace, although i'm scared to bleed the brakes in case a nipple snaps off
Great that she passed the MOT. Am I right in thinking that this is just before the Cat Converter rules were brought in? (mid '95 iirc), so would have had the easier emissions test?
Cheers for the heads up. If they need to replacing then so be it, just trying to keep things as cheap as possible!
Well she went through the MOT completely stock but from what I've read I think MOT rules for Cats apply to cars post '92 so this would fall under that bracket. Will look properly into decats though when I have some more money to spend on it.
Cheers.
I used to have a rev3 turbo I still miss it now.
Loads of good forums online mr2oc and imoc plenty of good guides to help you if you get stuck.
If I remember correctly imports were 95 and on needed a cat but not sure with the new mot rules?
I fitted some osram night breaker front bulbs which made a huge difference. Enjoy it!
Loads of good forums online mr2oc and imoc plenty of good guides to help you if you get stuck.
If I remember correctly imports were 95 and on needed a cat but not sure with the new mot rules?
I fitted some osram night breaker front bulbs which made a huge difference. Enjoy it!
Hi All
I'm the other geezer that's in on this car. After discovering a slippy clutch, a replacement was ordered and we had a crack at it over the weekend. Unfortunately didn't get as far as had hoped due to a number of inhumanely tight bolts.
This was where progress stopped
New clutch in but when we went to put the box back on, wouldn't go all the way home. Guessing the friction plate isn't quite centred so hoping for good weather until we can both get back there to have another go at it.
I'm the other geezer that's in on this car. After discovering a slippy clutch, a replacement was ordered and we had a crack at it over the weekend. Unfortunately didn't get as far as had hoped due to a number of inhumanely tight bolts.
This was where progress stopped
New clutch in but when we went to put the box back on, wouldn't go all the way home. Guessing the friction plate isn't quite centred so hoping for good weather until we can both get back there to have another go at it.
I've done one before when I had a hard top Rev 3 in NZ. It's actually not too bad, even without a hoist.
The only thing that stopped us from getting it done in one weekend is the corrosion that UK cars get. In NZ the only trouble I had was with exhaust studs when doing the cambelt, here.... Everything is impossible to get off. Had to remove the whole hub assembly because the drive shaft is seized into the hub, had to get bigger breaker bars and extensions to remove bolts that could be easily done with a ratchet back home. Just all took its toll on the time we had available that weekend. You don't need to take off as many things as people tell you online. No need to drop the subframe or any of the exhaust, if you disconnect the line to the slave cylinder you don't have to take that off the box, very few wires and hoses need disconnecting.
Just those bloody tight bolts!!! (Tony knows my rage at those X-D)
The only thing that stopped us from getting it done in one weekend is the corrosion that UK cars get. In NZ the only trouble I had was with exhaust studs when doing the cambelt, here.... Everything is impossible to get off. Had to remove the whole hub assembly because the drive shaft is seized into the hub, had to get bigger breaker bars and extensions to remove bolts that could be easily done with a ratchet back home. Just all took its toll on the time we had available that weekend. You don't need to take off as many things as people tell you online. No need to drop the subframe or any of the exhaust, if you disconnect the line to the slave cylinder you don't have to take that off the box, very few wires and hoses need disconnecting.
Just those bloody tight bolts!!! (Tony knows my rage at those X-D)
Hey all, there is slight progress on this. New clutch is in the car and its back on the road
We had to realign the friction plate as it was obviously misaligned last weekend and was preventing us from getting the gearbox back on. Once that was done we managed to get everything back on reasonably easily, pushed the engine back up into place and reattached to the mounts. Bleeding and replacing the clutch fluid was quite tricky however after a bit of trial and error Cam managed to find a technique which did the job.
Unfortunately it seems we are going to have to find and purchase a rear passenger side hub assembly as the one currently on there is a bit fubared but this car still owes us less than shed money and its running very nicely now so no complaints really! finished off the day with a nice drive to stretch the old girls legs.
[URL=http://imageshack.com/i/mydwr3j/]
[URL=http://imageshack.com/i/0kpiftj/]
[URL=http://imageshack.com/i/17r9xfj/]
[URL=http://imageshack.com/i/fv1p1oj/]
We've already got some braided hoses to be installed so I think that will be our next job as well as replacing the front suspension top mounts so I'll update the thread once those are sorted.
Thanks very much,
Ant
We had to realign the friction plate as it was obviously misaligned last weekend and was preventing us from getting the gearbox back on. Once that was done we managed to get everything back on reasonably easily, pushed the engine back up into place and reattached to the mounts. Bleeding and replacing the clutch fluid was quite tricky however after a bit of trial and error Cam managed to find a technique which did the job.
Unfortunately it seems we are going to have to find and purchase a rear passenger side hub assembly as the one currently on there is a bit fubared but this car still owes us less than shed money and its running very nicely now so no complaints really! finished off the day with a nice drive to stretch the old girls legs.
[URL=http://imageshack.com/i/mydwr3j/]
[URL=http://imageshack.com/i/0kpiftj/]
[URL=http://imageshack.com/i/17r9xfj/]
[URL=http://imageshack.com/i/fv1p1oj/]
We've already got some braided hoses to be installed so I think that will be our next job as well as replacing the front suspension top mounts so I'll update the thread once those are sorted.
Thanks very much,
Ant
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