MR2 MK2, Full restoration, 2GR-FE Engine
Discussion
This is a build thread that i didn't expect to be writing myself.
My brother Luke was an MR2 specialist for over 15 years. He started a company called Pacific Works which then merged to become Driftlimits Performance. Luke knew pretty much everything there was to know about MR2’s and established a very loyal customer base quickly.
In March this year, we lost Luke very suddenly. For the last 9 years or so Luke had a dream to make his perfect MR2 however it was always difficult when there are always customers cars to work on! Over the previous year, Luke got a clean rev 3 and had been acquiring parts to make this perfect MR2. Luke wanted every single bolt on this car to be new and also wanted it to be powered by a 2GR-FE Toyota 3.5l V6 engine.
I can pretty confidently say when this car is finished, it will be one of the cleanest MR2's out there. Luke wouldn't have it any other way.
Spec will be (Im sure i will forget some things)
Engine
Toyota 2GR-FE (325bhp and 285lbs/ft)
Woodsport Manifolds/ Cat pipe
ECU rev limit raised to 7200 rpm
Running Gear
VS Work wheels 17”. Satin black face, gloss black lip, Gold bolts
Powder coated Subframe, Arms, Braces, Mounts etc
Powder coated adjustable ARB’s
All new genuine suspension arms, rod ends, etc
BC racing Coilovers
New Brake callipers
New brake dust shields
New Hubs
Custom Brake lines
RCA’s
Full Superpro Polybush Kit
Every bolt/mounting bracket Zinc coated
Body
Kei Office Front Bumper
OR
Abflug Front Lip
OR
Aeroware Front Lip
Air walker Side Skirts
OR
Greddy Side Skirts
Veilside Rear bumper (Modified)
Do-Luck Rear Spoiler
Interior
Full Alcantara with Stitching
Anyway here are some pics showing where we are up to on the build
Car, Looking a little sorry for itself- Stripping underway
Shiny parts.
Engine
Trial fit of body parts Do-Luck spoiler and Veilside Bumper (Intercooler obviously not included for the NA engine). We’re going to modify the bumper to make it a little different.
Air walker Sides
Wheels
Sill replacement
Starting to prep the underside for fresh Primer, Seam Seal and then Bed Liner. May well Soda blast the underside for ease. Its almost a bare shell currently, but no pictures..
And lastly, the colour. Its not going to be black! All to be revealed soon.
More updates as they happen.
Julian
My brother Luke was an MR2 specialist for over 15 years. He started a company called Pacific Works which then merged to become Driftlimits Performance. Luke knew pretty much everything there was to know about MR2’s and established a very loyal customer base quickly.
In March this year, we lost Luke very suddenly. For the last 9 years or so Luke had a dream to make his perfect MR2 however it was always difficult when there are always customers cars to work on! Over the previous year, Luke got a clean rev 3 and had been acquiring parts to make this perfect MR2. Luke wanted every single bolt on this car to be new and also wanted it to be powered by a 2GR-FE Toyota 3.5l V6 engine.
I can pretty confidently say when this car is finished, it will be one of the cleanest MR2's out there. Luke wouldn't have it any other way.
Spec will be (Im sure i will forget some things)
Engine
Toyota 2GR-FE (325bhp and 285lbs/ft)
Woodsport Manifolds/ Cat pipe
ECU rev limit raised to 7200 rpm
Running Gear
VS Work wheels 17”. Satin black face, gloss black lip, Gold bolts
Powder coated Subframe, Arms, Braces, Mounts etc
Powder coated adjustable ARB’s
All new genuine suspension arms, rod ends, etc
BC racing Coilovers
New Brake callipers
New brake dust shields
New Hubs
Custom Brake lines
RCA’s
Full Superpro Polybush Kit
Every bolt/mounting bracket Zinc coated
Body
Kei Office Front Bumper
OR
Abflug Front Lip
OR
Aeroware Front Lip
Air walker Side Skirts
OR
Greddy Side Skirts
Veilside Rear bumper (Modified)
Do-Luck Rear Spoiler
Interior
Full Alcantara with Stitching
Anyway here are some pics showing where we are up to on the build
Car, Looking a little sorry for itself- Stripping underway
Shiny parts.
Engine
Trial fit of body parts Do-Luck spoiler and Veilside Bumper (Intercooler obviously not included for the NA engine). We’re going to modify the bumper to make it a little different.
Air walker Sides
Wheels
Sill replacement
Starting to prep the underside for fresh Primer, Seam Seal and then Bed Liner. May well Soda blast the underside for ease. Its almost a bare shell currently, but no pictures..
And lastly, the colour. Its not going to be black! All to be revealed soon.
More updates as they happen.
Julian
Essentially it will be a weekend car, used in fair weather only. Ill take it to a few shows etc. Need to find space to store it alongside my own car! It will be a car that i will never part with. Worth far more in sentimental value than anything else.
Yeah im not too bad with the tools. Its nice to have a full commercial garage to use, helps a lot. Also getting help from his friends and coworkers.
Yeah im not too bad with the tools. Its nice to have a full commercial garage to use, helps a lot. Also getting help from his friends and coworkers.
Edited by Jbliss on Thursday 1st November 23:34
Sad to hear of Luke's passing - remember chatting to him a few times back in the day.
Looks like a great project. Seem to remember lots of these engines were bought over from the USA as they were first used in the Camry & could be had from written-off vehicles relatively cheaply.
One question though... Supercharger ?
Looks like a great project. Seem to remember lots of these engines were bought over from the USA as they were first used in the Camry & could be had from written-off vehicles relatively cheaply.
One question though... Supercharger ?
So the car has been stripped a bit more
Frunk completely stripped and loom removed, All brake pipes, coolant lines, clutch line etc removed from underneath.
Interior and Dash removed.
Next step is to finish the last bits of stripping, remove the rest of the underseal and get it off for the underside to be epoxy primer, Engine bay and frunk painted in the new colour and lastly the bedliner. This will allow us to install everything and get the new engine and running gear in whilst not having to worry about damaging the fresh paint.
Once that is done, it will be going in for body prep and paintwork.
Lastly, we had a chance to trial fit some of the front bumper options.
I think we know which one we prefer and what flows better with the sides, rear and spoiler but what do you all think?
Kei office
OR
Abflug
Frunk completely stripped and loom removed, All brake pipes, coolant lines, clutch line etc removed from underneath.
Interior and Dash removed.
Next step is to finish the last bits of stripping, remove the rest of the underseal and get it off for the underside to be epoxy primer, Engine bay and frunk painted in the new colour and lastly the bedliner. This will allow us to install everything and get the new engine and running gear in whilst not having to worry about damaging the fresh paint.
Once that is done, it will be going in for body prep and paintwork.
Lastly, we had a chance to trial fit some of the front bumper options.
I think we know which one we prefer and what flows better with the sides, rear and spoiler but what do you all think?
Kei office
OR
Abflug
Edited by Jbliss on Saturday 3rd November 18:36
Edited by Jbliss on Saturday 3rd November 18:39
As a serial previous MR2 owner (back in the day), this should be great! I briefly owned a 2GR-FE Mk2. Needed the final 5% of niggling issues resolved, but my situation at the time meant I had little time / space to complete, and sold back to its original builder. There's "faster" engine options out there in the form of modifying the turbo engine, but really nothing compares to a powerful NA V6 with instant torque in every gear, pushing a relatively light (~1250kg, by modern standards) car down the road.
I personally prefer the clean OEM look of the Rev3 + models, with just some nice staggered wheels, but I'm sure this will look great.!
Also, sorry to hear about your loss - I do remember Pacific Works from the past on IMOC. Good to hear the build means something more than just a collection of parts..
I agree. The 2gr v6 doesn't offer as much power as you can get out of a 3sgte, however its the instant torque and power delivery that make it a really nice driveable car. Sure, we could put a supercharger on this one, but not for now.
I know what you mean in regards to a more 'stock' look. i go back and forwards depending on the car. I think at the moment with all the kit in gelcoat it stands out quite a bit, but in the final colour which is going to be dark, it will look more subtle. Picking a colour is one of the hardest things, you just cant tell how its going to look when its all done.
There was never a doubt that the car needed to be finished. Seeing Luke's excitement at getting new parts for this build alone made me want to do it as somewhat of a legacy.
I know what you mean in regards to a more 'stock' look. i go back and forwards depending on the car. I think at the moment with all the kit in gelcoat it stands out quite a bit, but in the final colour which is going to be dark, it will look more subtle. Picking a colour is one of the hardest things, you just cant tell how its going to look when its all done.
There was never a doubt that the car needed to be finished. Seeing Luke's excitement at getting new parts for this build alone made me want to do it as somewhat of a legacy.
Jbliss said:
There was never a doubt that the car needed to be finished. Seeing Luke's excitement at getting new parts for this build alone made me want to do it as somewhat of a legacy.
I'm sure whatever look you go for the finished car will be worth it.
I always liked the TRD & TOMS front ends as they retain a bit more of the original look.
Jbliss said:
Not entirely sure what the donor vehicle was from. The engine was in another MR2 which was converted by Paul Woods of Woodsport.
OK OP, thanks for the reply.Good luck with the work, never met Luke myself but his reputation in the MR2 community is golden and I'm sure he'd be proud to see this project come to fruition.
Do you mean the wheels currently on the car? if so thats what the car came with so we just left them on for the build process.
The Work VS-XX will be going on at the very end.
A small update today, stripped all the running gear off the car and carried on stripping all the underseal and seam sealer. Wheel wells are tricky since theres lots of tight corners. Its coming along nicely though and should make a good base for the primer and bedliner.
The Work VS-XX will be going on at the very end.
A small update today, stripped all the running gear off the car and carried on stripping all the underseal and seam sealer. Wheel wells are tricky since theres lots of tight corners. Its coming along nicely though and should make a good base for the primer and bedliner.
Look forward to seeing what you do with the project.
I think I was the first to do the 2GR swap at home in the UK. Prior to that they had all been specialists doing the conversions. The engine in my eyes is the perfect blend of power and driveability. Without been too much for the chassis, but still more than capable of giving you a proper scare.
The next thing on my list would have been either sorting the gear ratios, or changing the box for the 6 speed that they fit in the Evora. 1st was almost pointless and it could have held a much taller final gear.
The initial fire up after so much work was a fantastic feeling. I went OEM+ and lined the whole interior with Alcantara. Spent ages sourcing the correct staggered BBS LMs, Recaro seats, custom LED lights etc etc.
If you need someone to do the retrim, Edgeautomotive Interiors did mine and he did a great job. Since then he has gone on to win lots of awards for his work.
To this day I still miss mine and if I could have fit 3 people in it, it would still be in my garage right now.
I'm sure yours will be a fitting tribute to Luke.
I think I was the first to do the 2GR swap at home in the UK. Prior to that they had all been specialists doing the conversions. The engine in my eyes is the perfect blend of power and driveability. Without been too much for the chassis, but still more than capable of giving you a proper scare.
The next thing on my list would have been either sorting the gear ratios, or changing the box for the 6 speed that they fit in the Evora. 1st was almost pointless and it could have held a much taller final gear.
The initial fire up after so much work was a fantastic feeling. I went OEM+ and lined the whole interior with Alcantara. Spent ages sourcing the correct staggered BBS LMs, Recaro seats, custom LED lights etc etc.
If you need someone to do the retrim, Edgeautomotive Interiors did mine and he did a great job. Since then he has gone on to win lots of awards for his work.
To this day I still miss mine and if I could have fit 3 people in it, it would still be in my garage right now.
I'm sure yours will be a fitting tribute to Luke.
Daniel- I love the Kei front, and had one on my own mr2, but i dont think it works as well with the rest of the kit on this one.
Diesel, Yeah im looking forward to getting behind the wheel!, although im certain this will be a fair weather car only.
Uggers, Sounds like a great car! I had a chance to drive a 2gr 2 and it was great. Nice drivability as you said.
Interesting re the gearbox. Did yours have the increased rev limiter too?
Coincidently i did get in touch with Edge Automotive as i like their work. The quote he gave which was an estimate was quite a few thousand which makes it impossible right now. We'll see how the rest of the car stacks up first!. Thanks, Luckily Luke had already acquired all the parts and had made a plan so its just down to me and the guys to execute what he wanted.
Diesel, Yeah im looking forward to getting behind the wheel!, although im certain this will be a fair weather car only.
Uggers, Sounds like a great car! I had a chance to drive a 2gr 2 and it was great. Nice drivability as you said.
Interesting re the gearbox. Did yours have the increased rev limiter too?
Coincidently i did get in touch with Edge Automotive as i like their work. The quote he gave which was an estimate was quite a few thousand which makes it impossible right now. We'll see how the rest of the car stacks up first!. Thanks, Luckily Luke had already acquired all the parts and had made a plan so its just down to me and the guys to execute what he wanted.
Jbliss said:
Interesting re the gearbox. Did yours have the increased rev limiter too?
Coincidently i did get in touch with Edge Automotive as i like their work. The quote he gave which was an estimate was quite a few thousand which makes it impossible right now
I went with an original brand new blank ECU to bypass the immobiliser problems so standard rev limit. It would have been nice to hold a few less revs at cruising speed. Did make for a rapidly accelerating car that upto 100mph probably had the measure of my RS6. But then runs out of revs. Those sorts of speeds aren't really needed unless you are tracking it.
It's a shame Edge are more expensive but he is in quite high demand but I will be having my final 'special car' trimmed out by him fingers crossed.
This was my build thread, but photobucket has probably destroyed most of it now.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
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