1996 Toyota MR2 Rev 4 NA
Discussion
Hi there, I thought I'd start a thread to track the progress with my 1996 MR2 'Sonic Shadow'
I bought it in July 2013 for £1650, at which point I had just finished a foundation degree and was preparing to go to Uni. Over the next couple of years it was mainly used over the summers when I wasn't in Uni, and then when I graduated in May 2015 it was pressed in to daily service. I used it daily until January this year when I took it off the road. The strain of the daily grind plus the winter use is starting to take its toll with new creaks and rattles appearing regularly, and the sills looking decidedly crusty. Here's a picture of how it's looked for most of the last few months:
|http://thumbsnap.com/tyUUsUIC[/url]
I was also getting pretty tired of using it daily, the previous owner had downgraded to polybushes all round which resulted in awful impact performance. He also fitted an Apexi induction kit that produced a constant drone in my left ear. Coupled with a whistly T-Bar seal after I had to replace one of the glass panels (it decided that would explode one day last summer whilst strapped safely behind the passenger seat.), I was pretty fed up with the 6am commute to work.
So, in January I got a new Fiesta for the daily grind, and stuck the MR2 in the garage. The plan is to start with the front end. I'll strip off all of the suspension and steering gear, clean up or weld any rust on the body and repaint. Refurbish the suspension links and replace the joints and bushes with proper rubber ones - more on this later. Last Autumn I replaced all of the springs, dampers, top mounts and associated components so I won't have to worry about those.
I've only got a single garage, and I knew I'd want to spend time with the suspension off the car, so I bought this:
Its brilliant, allowing me to strip one end off the car, but still push the car in and out of the garage and from side to side. Up onto the dolly:
Started stripping the front end back:
Plenty of rusty areas that will need attention, hopefully only surface rust:
Also made a start stripping the suspension off, left lower arm:
The 'last longer than standard rubber bushes and don't affect the ride quality, no sir, not at all' pieces of turd known as polybushes:
Fit for the bin. The hardness of these things is really absurd, they are pretty much hard plastic. Unfortunately, proper rubber bushes for the MR2 are only available with the arms at rather eye watering prices. Fortunately, designing suspension is my job so I have access to a large database of bushes. Unfortunately, those either seem to be only available in the arms at eye watering prices, or not of appropriate size or stiffness
Fortunately, many suppliers publish catalogues of parts that list dimensions 
So for now I've ordered a selection of bushes that will fit. The downside is that stiffness data is not readily available, so the plan is to either come up with a way of rating them myself, or just wait until the car's back on the road and assess them then.
In the meantime, during my lunch breaks I've started creating a Multi Body Simulation model of the MR2. It will never be an exact representation as there's a limit to the accuracy of the hardpoint measurements I can take, and I can only estimate the stiffnesses of the body and links, but it should let me tune directionally, i.e. better/worse.
Anyway, back to now. Got the polybushes out, split the arm, and then made up some Bilt Hamber Deox-C rust removal solution:
I've used this stuff before and it really is the dogs b
ks. It will take the arms back to bare metal without touching the fresh steel at all. Arms in:
That's all for now, hopefully will get some time to carry on this weekend. [url]
I bought it in July 2013 for £1650, at which point I had just finished a foundation degree and was preparing to go to Uni. Over the next couple of years it was mainly used over the summers when I wasn't in Uni, and then when I graduated in May 2015 it was pressed in to daily service. I used it daily until January this year when I took it off the road. The strain of the daily grind plus the winter use is starting to take its toll with new creaks and rattles appearing regularly, and the sills looking decidedly crusty. Here's a picture of how it's looked for most of the last few months:
|http://thumbsnap.com/tyUUsUIC[/url]I was also getting pretty tired of using it daily, the previous owner had downgraded to polybushes all round which resulted in awful impact performance. He also fitted an Apexi induction kit that produced a constant drone in my left ear. Coupled with a whistly T-Bar seal after I had to replace one of the glass panels (it decided that would explode one day last summer whilst strapped safely behind the passenger seat.), I was pretty fed up with the 6am commute to work.
So, in January I got a new Fiesta for the daily grind, and stuck the MR2 in the garage. The plan is to start with the front end. I'll strip off all of the suspension and steering gear, clean up or weld any rust on the body and repaint. Refurbish the suspension links and replace the joints and bushes with proper rubber ones - more on this later. Last Autumn I replaced all of the springs, dampers, top mounts and associated components so I won't have to worry about those.
I've only got a single garage, and I knew I'd want to spend time with the suspension off the car, so I bought this:
Its brilliant, allowing me to strip one end off the car, but still push the car in and out of the garage and from side to side. Up onto the dolly:
Started stripping the front end back:
Plenty of rusty areas that will need attention, hopefully only surface rust:
Also made a start stripping the suspension off, left lower arm:
The 'last longer than standard rubber bushes and don't affect the ride quality, no sir, not at all' pieces of turd known as polybushes:
Fit for the bin. The hardness of these things is really absurd, they are pretty much hard plastic. Unfortunately, proper rubber bushes for the MR2 are only available with the arms at rather eye watering prices. Fortunately, designing suspension is my job so I have access to a large database of bushes. Unfortunately, those either seem to be only available in the arms at eye watering prices, or not of appropriate size or stiffness
Fortunately, many suppliers publish catalogues of parts that list dimensions So for now I've ordered a selection of bushes that will fit. The downside is that stiffness data is not readily available, so the plan is to either come up with a way of rating them myself, or just wait until the car's back on the road and assess them then. In the meantime, during my lunch breaks I've started creating a Multi Body Simulation model of the MR2. It will never be an exact representation as there's a limit to the accuracy of the hardpoint measurements I can take, and I can only estimate the stiffnesses of the body and links, but it should let me tune directionally, i.e. better/worse.
Anyway, back to now. Got the polybushes out, split the arm, and then made up some Bilt Hamber Deox-C rust removal solution:
I've used this stuff before and it really is the dogs b
ks. It will take the arms back to bare metal without touching the fresh steel at all. Arms in:That's all for now, hopefully will get some time to carry on this weekend. [url]
Yep, saved buying a new tub!
Bit more progress today. Stripped the left front corner off, splitting the track rod end:
Suspension off, heavy old thing; definitely the potential to lose some unsprung mass:
Managed to fail miserably at removing the ABS sensor, so that will probably need replacing. When I do the right hand side I'll leave it in the knuckle and chuck the whole lot in the rust removal solution. Hopefully that will help it come out in one piece.
Other bits and bobs stripped off, leaving me with this:
Cleaned up with the wire brush on the angle grinder, looked like it was free of rust... Not quite, a quick pass with the DA sander reveals plenty of pitting:
So, attacked it with the flap disc in the angle grinder being very, very careful to only work it lightly in the pitted areas. A flap disc is very aggressive and will make its way through the panel in no time if you hold it in one spot. Followed that with another pass with the DA sander and it was looking better:
Still some pitting though, and I didn't want to go at it with the flap disc any more. I'll get some Bilt Hamber Deox-Gel to deal with this. It works the same as the rust removal solution, but can cling to the panels so is good for stuff that won't fit in my recycling bin... like the car!
Speaking of the recycling bin, this is how the suspension arms were looking after soaking overnight:
Cleaning up well, I gave them a tickle with the wire brush in the angle grinder to help the process along:
Then it was back into the solution with some other parts that I'd taken off of the car. Slow progress, but it'll get there in the end.
Chucked on a thin layer of etch primer to stop it flashing off with rust until next time:
This is the passenger side sill that along with being rusty, lost a fight with an axle stand last year
Thankfully someone makes sill repair panels now, so I'll be able to deal with that in due course.
Bit more progress today. Stripped the left front corner off, splitting the track rod end:
Suspension off, heavy old thing; definitely the potential to lose some unsprung mass:
Managed to fail miserably at removing the ABS sensor, so that will probably need replacing. When I do the right hand side I'll leave it in the knuckle and chuck the whole lot in the rust removal solution. Hopefully that will help it come out in one piece.
Other bits and bobs stripped off, leaving me with this:
Cleaned up with the wire brush on the angle grinder, looked like it was free of rust... Not quite, a quick pass with the DA sander reveals plenty of pitting:
So, attacked it with the flap disc in the angle grinder being very, very careful to only work it lightly in the pitted areas. A flap disc is very aggressive and will make its way through the panel in no time if you hold it in one spot. Followed that with another pass with the DA sander and it was looking better:
Still some pitting though, and I didn't want to go at it with the flap disc any more. I'll get some Bilt Hamber Deox-Gel to deal with this. It works the same as the rust removal solution, but can cling to the panels so is good for stuff that won't fit in my recycling bin... like the car!
Speaking of the recycling bin, this is how the suspension arms were looking after soaking overnight:
Cleaning up well, I gave them a tickle with the wire brush in the angle grinder to help the process along:
Then it was back into the solution with some other parts that I'd taken off of the car. Slow progress, but it'll get there in the end.
Chucked on a thin layer of etch primer to stop it flashing off with rust until next time:
This is the passenger side sill that along with being rusty, lost a fight with an axle stand last year
Thankfully someone makes sill repair panels now, so I'll be able to deal with that in due course.
Picked up some Renault Megane RS 250 Brembos:
MR2 brake lines fit straight on:
Compared to the MR2 caliper:
MR2 caliper, carrier, and pads = 5.6kg
RS250 Brembo + pads = 3.9kg
Looking on the Mintex Brake Book, the MR2 275x30mm disc weighs 7.9kg. The Megane uses 28mm thick discs, so it looks like a Toyota Auris 296x28mm disc might work. That weighs in at 7.5kg
So assuming 0.5kg for an adapter bracket and the longer bolts that the radial mount Brembo needs, there's a potential 1.6kg saving in unsprung mass.
When I get some brackets made up I'll also get some made to space the rear calipers out for a larger disc to maintain the front/rear balance.
Also, my brake disc dust shields are completely rotten, so I might make up some lighter aluminium/composite replacements.
MR2 brake lines fit straight on:
Compared to the MR2 caliper:
MR2 caliper, carrier, and pads = 5.6kg
RS250 Brembo + pads = 3.9kg
Looking on the Mintex Brake Book, the MR2 275x30mm disc weighs 7.9kg. The Megane uses 28mm thick discs, so it looks like a Toyota Auris 296x28mm disc might work. That weighs in at 7.5kg
So assuming 0.5kg for an adapter bracket and the longer bolts that the radial mount Brembo needs, there's a potential 1.6kg saving in unsprung mass.
When I get some brackets made up I'll also get some made to space the rear calipers out for a larger disc to maintain the front/rear balance.
Also, my brake disc dust shields are completely rotten, so I might make up some lighter aluminium/composite replacements.
Very similar to my old car! 
What brand were those polybushes? Not all of them are awful. The Prothane ones from the US are decent, I know several owners running them at the moment. They are not rock hard like some of the others like Powerflex. OE ones are only available as part of a complete assembly with the arms AFAIK.
Wilhelm Racing in the US has already done some pretty extensive modelling of the SW20 MR2's suspension dynamics, and has made it publicly available if you want to check it out - http://wilhelmraceworks.com/9-technical-data/10-su...
One thing to note on the sills - if the outer panel has gone, then the inner cavity is likely to be worse. Best to cut the outer off and see what you're actually dealing with first.
If you need any manuals you can find them in my Google Drive link here - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-dpUpxzr96YblRt... - although yours is a 1996, the 1993 manual still applies for the vast majority of stuff. The 3SGE in Rev4/5 UK cars have a few minor differences as well, but again for the most part the Gen3 3SGE RM396E.pdf will cover you.
What brand were those polybushes? Not all of them are awful. The Prothane ones from the US are decent, I know several owners running them at the moment. They are not rock hard like some of the others like Powerflex. OE ones are only available as part of a complete assembly with the arms AFAIK.
Wilhelm Racing in the US has already done some pretty extensive modelling of the SW20 MR2's suspension dynamics, and has made it publicly available if you want to check it out - http://wilhelmraceworks.com/9-technical-data/10-su...
One thing to note on the sills - if the outer panel has gone, then the inner cavity is likely to be worse. Best to cut the outer off and see what you're actually dealing with first.
If you need any manuals you can find them in my Google Drive link here - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-dpUpxzr96YblRt... - although yours is a 1996, the 1993 manual still applies for the vast majority of stuff. The 3SGE in Rev4/5 UK cars have a few minor differences as well, but again for the most part the Gen3 3SGE RM396E.pdf will cover you.
JoeMk1 said:
Hi there, I thought I'd start a thread to track the progress with my 1996 MR2 'Sonic Shadow'
I've only got a single garage, and I knew I'd want to spend time with the suspension off the car, so I bought this:
Its brilliant, allowing me to strip one end off the car, but still push the car in and out of the garage and from side to side. Up onto the dolly:
Hello together,I've only got a single garage, and I knew I'd want to spend time with the suspension off the car, so I bought this:
Its brilliant, allowing me to strip one end off the car, but still push the car in and out of the garage and from side to side. Up onto the dolly:
it could be a bit offtopic, but I couldn't reach the author of this thread.
Does anybody know the source of this beautiful tool for working in single garage, which is shown above?
I am from Germany and looked for it with key words like "mobile axle stand", but I could only a really cheap versions of it, I won't give any convidence.
I would be pleased, if someone could help me.
Thank you very much and regards,
Manuel
HrJames said:
Hello together,
it could be a bit offtopic, but I couldn't reach the author of this thread.
Does anybody know the source of this beautiful tool for working in single garage, which is shown above?
I am from Germany and looked for it with key words like "mobile axle stand", but I could only a really cheap versions of it, I won't give any convidence.
I would be pleased, if someone could help me.
Thank you very much and regards,
Manuel
Hi Manuel,it could be a bit offtopic, but I couldn't reach the author of this thread.
Does anybody know the source of this beautiful tool for working in single garage, which is shown above?
I am from Germany and looked for it with key words like "mobile axle stand", but I could only a really cheap versions of it, I won't give any convidence.
I would be pleased, if someone could help me.
Thank you very much and regards,
Manuel
Just got an email about your reply to this thread, your previous message had gone to my spam folder.
It's a Sealey Transportacar 'Economy Model'
https://www.sealey.co.uk/product/5637194891/transp...
Hopefully that helps you find it!
Joe
JoeMk1 said:
Hi Manuel,
Just got an email about your reply to this thread, your previous message had gone to my spam folder.
It's a Sealey Transportacar 'Economy Model'
https://www.sealey.co.uk/product/5637194891/transp...
Hopefully that helps you find it!
Joe
Yes that helps me a lot. I will try to find a dealer hear in germany with your description. Otherwise I will order there.Just got an email about your reply to this thread, your previous message had gone to my spam folder.
It's a Sealey Transportacar 'Economy Model'
https://www.sealey.co.uk/product/5637194891/transp...
Hopefully that helps you find it!
Joe
Did you pay also the offered price round about 270 pounds?
Thank you very much for your feedback!
HrJames said:
Yes that helps me a lot. I will try to find a dealer hear in germany with your description. Otherwise I will order there.
Did you pay also the offered price round about 270 pounds?
Thank you very much for your feedback!
No worries, I paid £110, but the cheapest on ebay UK looks to be about £155 at the moment.Did you pay also the offered price round about 270 pounds?
Thank you very much for your feedback!
Hard to believe it's been over 3 years since I took it off the road, a bit of a wake up call! I really need to pull my finger out and stop making excuses for not getting on with it!
I still have the MR2, it's moved to a unit that I started renting about a year ago. Progress has been slow, but I have got some jobs done! Front end is all done, rust sorted and fresh underseal. I'll get some pics up at some point. Currently working on the rusty sills passenger side is nearly finished, driver's side is a bit worse. Then there's the rust behind the rear wheels to sort.
Most interesting development is probably that I picked up a Gen 2 3SGTE engine to swap in, which as a matter of fact I brought home from the unit on the way home from work today. Plan is to make a bit of a hybrid between that and my NA engine that's in the car.
Gen 2 block and head
ARP head studs and Gen3 metal head gasket
Gen 3 sump and windage tray (to move oil filter to the sump)
New rings, bearings etc.
Possibly some mixing and matching of cams between the two engines, but this need some more research
GT2860RS turbo with T3 exhaust housing
Turbosmart external wastegate
3" downpipe with high flow cat, and mongoose 3" exhaust
Celica GT4 charge cooler, high flow pump (Johnson CM90) and second MR2 radiator.
Retain TVIS (dual runner intake manifold with valves to increase charge velocity at low engine speeds)
Engine management TBC
Transmission TBC, but likely to be the NA gearbox with a 3SGTE flywheel and pressure plate until it explodes.
I'm not going to be fitting forged pistons, so the ultimate peak power figure will be constrained by that. I'm more interested in having a responsive, flexible engine than a number that sounds good down the pub. Hence the relatively small turbo, celica charge cooler, keeping the TVIS etc.
So, based on the rate of progress so far we can expect all of that to be finished in about 2025
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