MR2 Only Magazine Issue 2 (Published 2006) by MR2OnlyMag

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The dedicated magazine for the MR2 enthusiast & community

Inside MR2 London Run • Jap Mountain meet • Jap Show Finale • Driving the Dragon •

Issue 2 - Nov 2006 - (UK) £3.75

12 page pull out • calender & much much more

Meet The Tango

EXCLUSIVE! Border Racing Interview

C2 Power Philsters 269bhp Roadster

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ell, seeing as you guys seemed to like our first issue, and have subscribed, we thought we had better do another issue!

W Modern art or vandalism? all in the name of a little PR... Just a little harmless fun, for the closing season of the UK events scene we did a little self promotion, and went to town with our livery on Steve B’s MR2 Anniversary, Teamshocknicks (issue one cover car) and Reverend Jims amazing eyecatching Ferrari red MR2, certainly did the trick, not to mention got us noticed on the London run. NOTE: NO MR2S WERE HARMED OR DAMAGED DURING THIS BLATANT PR STUNT

Contents... New for 2007 Readers Rides The Tango... P6

Jap Show Finale... P18

2006 MR2 London Run... P32

Jap Mountain meet... P22

L33_ETH’s engine swap.. P50 Wigan MR2DC RR Day... P62

For issue three we are introducing a new feature called readers rides, this is a good place to show off your pride and joy, standard or modded, concourse or extreme, simply send us a couple of your best photos, and a few paragraphs about yourself and the car, and we will feature several readers rides on a couple of pages each issue. Send yours to andyb@ mr2only.com Write or email into us with your views, news, or reviews contact steveb@ mr2only.com

Philsters Roadster... P66

Border Racing exclusive... P72 LuizeGTs Mk2... P76

Plus much much more

Coming in Januarys issue three MR2ROC Dyno Extravanganza, Roadster mega meet at Silverstone Perfornance, where we got to got out on track in SP’s Stage II TTE turbo conversion, truly awesome!!

Thanks go to...

contacts...

SUBSCRIPTIONS & CUSTOMER SUPPORT:PamB - mr2only.subscriptions@ntlworld.com FOR ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES AND BOOKINGS mr2only.advertising@ntlworld.com FEATURES, ADMIN, PHOTO ORDERS OR GENERAL QUERIES steveb@mr2only.com or andyb@mr2only.com EDITORIAL: martin@mr2only.com or Matttheeditor@mr2only.com PRODUCTION, ARTISTS & PHOTOGRAPHY Steve Bishop, Matt Harris, Rich Lee, Luke Reynolds, Andrew Pickford (Photos) GENERAL POSTAL ADDRESS: MR2 Only Magazine,1810 Leek Road, Milton, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST2 7AF, UKContact telephone no. 07738 683128 Partners: Steve Bishop - Partner/Co-ordinator - Andy Bishop - Partner/IT Admin Printed by:- Buxton Press Ltd, Palace Rd, Buxton Derbyshire, SK17 6AE, UK www.buxtonpress.co.uk

all who have helped and supported us, our new distributors, all our contributors, technical guys, all who have subscribed and advertised, Andy Pickford for the excellent cover car photography, Martin Weaver for his excellent feature writing again, Pam B for her grand work on subscriptions and customer services. MR2 Only Magazine is an independent publication, and has no bias to any one company or organisation. Although every care is taken in compiling MR2 Only, we cannot be held responsbible for any errors, omissions or any technical advice given, and any views expressed are that of the contributor, unless written solely by MR2 Only.

Friday 22nd September was a proud moment for the team behind MR2 Only, seeing our ‘baby’ in print for the first time, and things have just got better and better. The feedback has been great, the subs keep growing, and interest and the quality of articles and feature cars we are being sent are a credit to you the enthusiasts. We have spread our wings around the globe and have now successfully established distributors in the U.S., Germany, Holland and Belgium as well as Switzerland. Not to mention the generous help of the MR2board in the U.S. that have set up our very own MR2 Only mag topic forum, so be sure to visit and share your feedback. Issue two has not been without its dramas, firstly victims of our own sucess our ‘home managed’ server self destructed. We then moved to a new host of which we immediately outgrew our bandwith. Thats all sorted now, and we also created our calender contender gallery, the lucky 12 you will see on the centre pages, this brought in some amazing photos, but created lots of extra work for us, and oh we moved home and split our offices which has made us now more efficient but was nevertheless distracting during the production of issue two. Anyway with the guys fuelled by Red Bull, Coffee and Maltesers here is issue two. We have loads of new and exciting stuff in the magazine for the new year, and hopefully the website will have a new look and re-vamp. Anyway thats enough of me waffling on, grab yourself a coffee, or take the mag to the smallest room, and enjoy the read! Steve Bishop Partner/Co-ordinator MR2 Only Magazine

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MASSIVE STOCKS OF PARTS AND TYRES AT OUTSTANDING PRICES... Keeping your MR2 where it should be ON THE ROAD! ORDERS, HELP & ADVICE

01946-518201 - PARTS 01946-518202 - TYRES Secure Online Ordering:

Email:

www.camskill.co.uk sales@camskill.co.uk

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Whats new for your 2? 2.2ltr Stroker Kit by TB Developments TB Developments are offering an excellent 2.2ltr stroker kit that retails at £1500

Each issue we will be featuring MR2 bits and pieces available from the specialists. If you have products you would like featured here email steveb@mr2only.com Don’t forget to check out our specialists section on www.mr2only.com

Kit Contains: • Custom Stroker Crankshaft 91mm Stroke • CP custom stroker pistons 86.5mm bore • 9.0:1 CR • Wristpins • Locks • Rings • BigEnd/Main/Thrust bearings • Rear Main Seal 91mm Stroke gives the best rod ratio to give the best comprimise between revability and torque. The kit uses 86.5mm Forged pistons to ultimate strength compaired to other its which use 87mm pistons to gain an additional 0.061cc with a big loss in block stength. No modifications nessesary apart from 1 bolt hole to the flywheel, these can be supplied by us, Modified and re-ballanced Fidanza lightweight flywheels will be supplied upon request. Crank is a custom ground 5sfe unit to allow fittment to standard size 3sgte main jounrals and the use of standard 3sgte conrods or any uprated item for the 3sgte.

In issue one Chris Derby answered the question correctly, which was obviously Celica gen 7 lights, so there is a bottle of Meguiars NXT wax & Microfibre polishing cloth with compliments of Nick at Team Shock on its way to him.

Replikit Optional Parts • Thermal Coated Pistons • Lightened Crankshaft (6-7 lbs lighter) • Eagle Rods • Crower Rods • Carillo Rods • Pauter Rods • other size or comp ratio pistons • 92mm stroke (2.161cc) • 93mm stroke (2.184cc) Please enquire about prices on optional parts. Kits ordered to specially to your specs, please account for production times more info on www.tbdevelopments.com

Replikit the car customizing specialists are currently building another of their NV WIDE ARCH KITTED MR2s which we are hoping to feature in January, the car is for sale and will include a set of wheels and the exhaust and a colour option with a price tag of around £9000GBP. Replikit also offer several other kits and body styling for the MR2 including their front clamshell that will fit directly onto a TRD wide arch kit. all bodykits are made from high quality fibreglass. The kits are extremely flexible and will enable a perfect bolt on fitting unlike other cheaper kits. Whilst being extremely flexible the kits are also very strong, so don't waste your hard earned cash on cheap bodykits, visit www.replikit.co.uk for more details

Special offer on Strut braces from XS Power XS Power are offering a discount on their front and rear mk2 MR2 strut braces, manufactured by Motoria as pictured, these are an excellent piece of kit, that are both easy to fit and look the part, for T-bar models the cross strut brace

Stainless Bootrack & Accessories for the MR2

CLASSIC CARRIERS Visit : www.classic-carriers.nl & www.classiccarrier.com Fast shipping from Europe & the USA

can also fitted too. XS normalyl sell these for £150 + but are doing a special offer on them at the moment on a pair for £120 all, in, inc next day delivery, XS Power offer many other tuning and styling products for the MR2 and are rather proud of announcing the quickest UK legal Manual Toyota Supra, happens to be powered by their Turbo/manifold and wastegate with a 10.12 quarter mile at Pod. Vist www.xspower.co.uk

www.roguemotorsport.com

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The flag is dropped and they’re away, 8 smouldering stripes of rubber are all that remain on the tarmac where they once stood...

n e e b e You hav

Written by Martin Weaver e. martin@mr2only.com Photos by Andrew Pickford e. photos@lifetime-images.co.uk wad of notes thuds onto the brightly painted bonnet of a car, quickly followed by another three all containing a sweet 10k, this is it, the race is on. This time it’s serious and the stakes are high. With all four cars revving and dumping, nitrous systems purging and drivers sweating its game on. The flag is dropped and they’re away, 8 smouldering stripes of rubber are all that remain on the tarmac where they once stood. The quickest cars are now into, hmm 13th or 14th gear and strangely we’ve seen not a single corner. As Jo’s Orange Mk1 hits 250mph she decides to look up from her laptop (windows media player just isn’t telling her much about the engines output!) Now focused on the road her current 1st position is coming under threat from a proton with a K&N and state of the art valve caps. As the car edges into the lead Jo flicks her Nitrous switch, the sheer force helps her to jump clean over the proton ahead with only minimal damage to the Mk1 – a small piece of floorpan in the passenger footwell has dropped out – what is that all about?? The cars scream over the line, most now well into twentieth gear and strangely all very close together. All that remains is for the Tango Mk1 to claim its owners winnings and make a sharp exit (oh, and it is now magically repaired – nearly forgot that bit!)

The Fast & Furious films are great fun, if you don’t take them too seriously that is. The one true aspect of the story however are the awesome cars that star in them, and I reckon Jo Walker’s fantastic Mk1 would not look out of place alongside them for a second. Purchased in March 2005, the car was

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Jo’s second Mk1, she briefly owned a white one before that ended up being part exchanged for the orange beast. The minute she clapped eyes on the car her mind was almost instantly made up, and so a test drive was arranged. Unfortunately this didn’t back up the picture Jo had in her head, the clutch was

on its way out, and the new wheels that were on the car had not balanced at all and gave an awful wobble at varying speeds. The exhaust had seen better days and the stereo was loose as the console and facia were missing, leaving it rattling around. The seats were wet, ripped and smelly and there was moss growing on the T-bar seals. On the whole then it needed some work, but as most of use know first impressions don’t always reflect the potential that can be hidden in a car. Time for a mechanical makeover Once the car was back at its new home Jo quickly got the dodgy clutch repaired and a new cambelt fitted for good measure, the exhaust was sorted out with new mountings and a custom tailpipe that helped it sit in a much better position With these tidy up repairs completed it was decided that the car was begging for a bit of restoration action, the Mk1 looked

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! d ’ o g an The Tango in stealth mode, prowling the streets for it’s next drag strip victim MR2 Only

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good but could easily look awesome. A full strip down was to follow with any rust being chopped out of the shell, new wheel arches and windscreen top were fitted and the rear bumper had some previous accident damage deleted. Jo definitely wanted to keep the orange colour paint but decided to tweak the mixture slightly. The original finish was a silver flake type which was looking a bit dated, it was replaced with a more subtle and classy pearl effect. Many people think the shade has been lifted from a current production car but Jo is quick to defend the MR2, “The colour is similar to when I bought it but it is NOT the Lambo colour and was orange waaaay before the focus ST. It’s deeper than the Lambo shade, definitely more ‘Tango’” Tango inside Next on the rapidly growing “to do” list was the interior “I had the seats refurbished and re-covered in orange and black leather to my own design, plus the door cards and a few extra bits” Jo recalls. The head unit then saw a new mounting cage and custom water-jet cut facia which looks spot on. The cabin was now in tip top condition and a really nice place to be, so the suspension, brakes, wheels and tyres received some attention. The car has been lowed 30mm on Apex springs and Koni dampers, and the brakes now use Black Diamond cross drilled & grooved discs that are clamped by quality EBC Greenstuff pads. Sadly the new lower ride height caused the 17inch wheels the car came with to foul the arches, so the hunt was now on for a new set of bodykit friendly wheels. After a long spell of window shopping a set of gleaming 16 inch Rota Slipstreams in

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gunmetal grey came along, they were introduced to four Yokohama A539’s and then to the Mk1. The wheel arches are now safe and the car handles much better than it ever did with the 17’s. Not to be left out, the engine received some well deserved TLC next, a good clean and a smattering of colour coded components help lift the bay no end. Some of the parts were even washed in Jo’s dishwasher which worked brilliantly (you read it here first!) An FSE power boost valve has been fitted to aid fuelling and a spanking set of Magnecor leads supply the spark. For that extra bit of shove Jo decided to take the plunge and had a nitrous system fitted, the bottle has of course been colour coded orange and now features a tango label for authentic effect. “I am waiting to finally get it on the rolling road to set it up perfectly and see the output, but with my busy schedule with the mk1 club I have been finding free weekends are hard to come by”, Jo explains. Those weekends could be easily filled as the car has a never ending wish list, future plans for the car include a twin flame kit and a full on turbo engine swap. If money was no object Jo would love to fill the interior with one off stereo builds and a custom dash, but for now she has some orange interior neon’s on order to match those under the car until that Lottery wins comes along. There we have it then, without question the brightest car we have featured so far, it may not be to everyone’s taste and Jo’s nickname for the Mk1 made me smile “I call it the marmite car, you either love it or hate it! – We love it and I am sure you do too!

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Thanks go to Nos Install: Streat Racers, Leicester http://www.streetracersgd.co.uk/ Tel 0116 269 8885 Body Work and Colour: The Works, Leicester - Tel 0116 241 0066 Suspension Fitting, Servicing & MOT Repairs: Blue Streak Automotive (Independant Toyota Specialists), Northampton - Tel 01604 759 966 Wheels & Tyres: Rare Rims - Crediton, Devon www.rarerims.co.uk Tel 01363 777 007 1989 MR2 MK1b T-Bar, 76K, approx 125 bhp std at 6600 rpm Exterior: Full custom colour re-spray in orange pearl, rare style-auto full body kit, window tints, spotlights, micro cruise lights, new wheel arches all round, custom front grille, custom rear spoiler with LED brake light, tinted rear lights, limo-tinted T-bar glass. Under car LED multi-colour multi-function lighting. Personal number plate ‘D16 NOS’ (DIG NOS)

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The aim was to modify tastefully so I could do classic shows as well as modded jap shows, plus some cruise stuff. Got a bit carried away though! My mum even buys me orange things for the car like drinks cooler bags and an orange filofax! and I don’t go anywhere without the obligatory tango doll mascot inside!

Chassis: Lowered on 30mm Apex springs, koni adjustable shocks, black diamond drilled and grooved brake discs, EBC greenstuff pads front, kevlar fast road pads on rear, Engine: Std twin cam 16V 1600 4AGE engine, K&N induction air filter, FSE fuel boost valve, orange vaccuum hoses, magnex performance ingition leads, Wizards of NOS nitrous kit with resprayed orange bottle in rear boot, Dynotune Twin purge kit - vents thru rear engine lid vents illuminated with red LED’s, painted cam covers and accelerator bracket to match bodywork. Custom stainless exhaust with twin exit 3” pipes. Interior: Custom leather re-trim in orange and black, custom brushed steel facia plate with extra switches, Sony xplod cd player, pioneer 10cm front speakers, infinity 3.5" rear speakers, JVC active bass tube behind passenger seat (leaving room to store tbar glass), original t-bar covers behind seats, orange tango doll mascot, ‘Rhons’ custom leather gear gaiter with orange stitching, orange gear lever, momo corsa steering wheel,

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Project mk1 - Putting on a front hen I first bought my car through ebay I though it was just a bit of body work that was needed to get it looking good.

During this time I sourced replacement wings and an early front valence through club members and ebay. I wasn’t going to pay the prices MrT wanted for OEM parts! Both wings sourced were in good condition and I made sure they were completely rust free. The replacement 1a Valence came

Next came the fun part: Getting the old panel off. Dismatling: Of course nothing is complete without the aid of power tools.` With the panels successfully removed, we

Front valance:

A few bits of scrap metal was all that was left:

Off-Side Gaffered: Unfortunately when I got it home we discovered the engine had seen better days and this delayed the restoration project by some time (see previous edition for article). After a few months the front wings and valence deteriorated so much with the rust spreading like wildfire, I landed up doing a temporary fix with Gaffer Tape (Duct Tape), fibreglass and more Gaffer Tape to try and it tidy up.

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“as new” as a mistaken purchase from an IMOC club member who actually needed one for a 1b. I managed to convince a friend to prep and respray all the panels for a pricely sum of £100 at his body shop (out of hours). The quality of work was excellent with no orangepeel effect or other blemishes. Once the panels were returned to me, I gave them a healthy three thick coats of waxoil undersealer in the insides concentrating on the inner lips to prevent any further premature rusting.

looked at areas of the car that could potentially create future rust worries. We patched up and sealed with Waxoil in liberal amounts. Re-assembling was probably the trickiest bit of all. We found we had to remove the headlight assemblies altogether for easy access to the bolts/brackets that hold the nose cone (bumper skin) to the wings. The we replaced all nuts, bolts & washers with new stainless items taking our time not to scratch/damage any of the fresh paintwork or to cross-thread any bolt holes.

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MR2 MK1 Club AGM The MR2 MK1 Club held it’s first ever AGM on the 15th October, at the Gaydon Motor Museum (central to the majority of members). All MK1 Club members were invited to attend and submit items for the agenda, with suggestions of how they would like to see the club move forward. The meeting started with a welcome from the chairman and continued with a brief history of the club - how it was originally formed, the start of the club website, an ever increasing presence at area and national events, and the 10-fold increase in the club’s membership. Mention was then made on the club’s involvement in the MR2 Challenge Race Series. Committee reports were presented covering the accounts and budget proposals, plus discussion of magazine

improvements, new website design, treasurer resignation and election of a new treasurer, events discussion and funding of club regions, and promotion of the club and new club regalia. The website overhaul hopes to include online membership, online ordering via the club shop, and direct access to the forum hosted by IMOC, and changes to be seen by the new year. The magazine improvements are hoped to come into place by the next quarterly March ’07 issue. Following the meeting attendees were entitled to free admission to the Motor Museum. Full details of the AGM will be published in the MR2 MK1 Club December magazine.

MR2 Only’s Project mk1 MR2 Only are pleased to announce that after a month or so watching Mk1 MR2s on Ebay we finally made the leap and bought or first project car. It’s an 87 mk in need of a little TLC, an unfinished restoration project that the intro to didnt project previous owner have mk1 time to complete, some of the rusty areas are cut away and prepared for welding, and all the parts other than the brakes are with the car to re-build.

Then there was the painful bit, trying to get the headlight assemblies back in. Thankfully, Jo’s small hands were welcome help and could get in the tight gaps. Almost done. Just need remove the glue residue from the bumper and lower splitter. We are yet to clean up the rubbing strips and re-fix too… But jobs-a-good-un!

Our plan is to build a track day car that we can follow the progress of the build in each issue of the mag, and take to next years shows, as well as getting the MR2 Only name seen at a few track days, if you have any suggestions or ideas for the project please email skinthespin@mr2only.com

Thanks: • Big thanks to Jo (my No.2 Spanner) who was extremely supportive and quick to duck when I threw my tools (toys) out the cot!

• Chris (LimeyMk1) and Matt (Mr Dix) (Both IMOC Members) for the wings at a damn good price. • The kind IMOC member who sold me the valance • Luke from Castle Coachworks in Northampton who arranged the prepping and spraying.

Back issues of MR2 Only Issue one

While stocks last, we still have some copies of issue one of MR2 Only Mag, just in case you missed it. To get your hands on a copy email:mr2only.subscriptions or visit www.mr2only.com

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The second of our MR2 Driving Roads Features, this time we go Stateside...

TAMING THE DR Writing and photography by Darren Kennedy

Saturday October 21st, 7:00 a.m. There is a low moist fog, and the air has a bit of a chill in it. they are coming by warning you to slow down. If you are really unlucky some poor fool might cross the line into your lane, and let me tell you, nothing good can come from this. Just in the short time we were there, two accidents happened and I almost had one myself while scouting for a good spot to take some photographs. Thankfully, it was just a close call. At the beginning of the Dragon are signs posted by the Killboy.com (they take awesome photos of the dragon and the cars and motorcycles that drive it) crew that say "lane crossing kills." Most read these, but some, like my close call, do not. I'm grateful they were quick enough thinking to get out of the way and back into their lane. I did not want to add to the 'Tree of Shame' and I’m sure he felt the same. The “Tree of Shame” is a tree that stands out in the front of a lodge with parts from motorcycles and cars that have wrecked on the dragon. It is a very unique and cool thing to see. It stands out in front of the lodge as a tribute and a reminder to everyone about the crashes and people who have lost their lives there.

The Weather Channel Predicts clear skies and temperatures in the 70’s today, but sitting here right now that’s pretty hard to believe. The leaves have turned color prematurely this year due to the long summer without rain, but some are still clinging to the trees. The ones that are still up there are beautiful, covering the mountainsides with a burst of reds and yellows and oranges. What a perfect day for a drive. The plan is to leave home with a fellow MR2 owner and some friends and head up Highway 28 to the first meeting spot where another MR2 owner will join us. Then we’ll head to Route 129, also known as "The Dragon" and meet up with some more MR2's for a get together. Hairpins, sweepers and switchbacks The Dragon is an 11-mile stretch of road consisting of 318 curves. Yes, 318 curves! The road is a hot spot for motorcycles and car clubs alike; there are hairpins, sweepers, and switchbacks. All of which will test the limits of any driver. As we pulled into the gravel lot off the side of the road on the Tennessee side where we were suppose to meet everyone, we found that we were the first ones there. Shortly after another MR2 showed up, then another. After a little while, we were tired of waiting for the rest and decided to hit the Dragon. Pulling out of the gravel lot and heading up the dragon was exhilarating. First, second, third ... and off we go into the madness with engines roaring. With 318 curves, third gear is about as high as your going to get it. An occasional straight might allow you to hit fourth gear briefly before you have to downshift for a corner. Dangers of the Dragon With all of the weaving back and forth it is easy to get lost in the drive and forget about some of the dangers of the road. You have to be careful as occasionally a stray tractor-trailer truck might come through because they thought it was a short cut. Motorcyclists will get a head of them most of the time and give you a heads up that

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RAGON Half way through we spotted the rest of the group heading to the meeting spot we had just left. With some honking of our horns, we acknowledged each other’s presence and continued on having fun. Our fun was short lived because after seeing the other group we got behind someone driving much slower than us. Although there are plenty of spots to pull over and let faster traffic by, some people just decide not to. Amazing line up After a little bit more driving we eventually turned around and headed back to meet the rest of the group. Pulling back into the gravel parking area was beautiful; the line of MR2's was amazing. There were nine of us now, ranging from my faded-paint '93 to some nicer turbos. There was even a very nice '94. After meeting everyone and admiring each other’s cars we decided to go to lunch. On our way to lunch one of the fellows had some engine trouble which we only found out about while eating. So, after lunch a couple of people went back to help him out. For me, it was starting to get late and I needed to head home. Luckily, the way home was through the Dragon. I decided to take it easy and stay near the 30mph speed limit of the road which wasn’t too hard as I was in third gear most of the time. By this time, the tourists had gone home and the road was starting to get clear. I Pulled off the road a few times to let some of the stray motorcycles pass, and to check out some of the views. Like the one towards the end of the dragon that has a picture perfect view of a Tennessee valley. Back on the road I couldn't help myself and opened her up again. The Dragon is the type of road this car was made for. A clear road made it so I could really enjoy some of my favorite corners like "gravity cavity" as it is locally called, along with a few others. T-tops off, windows down, a perfect day for one of the best driving experiences of your life Driving the Dragon was almost surreal. Since the T-tops were off and the windows down, I turned up the heater a little to keep that slight chill from getting to me. All in all, it was a perfect day for a drive. The leaves were falling and the weather was perfect. For those wanting to visit the Dragon I would suggest going in the wintertime when there are less bikes out. That will give you a nice open road with only few others on it, to enjoy one of the best driving experiences of your life.

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Written by Andy Bishop e. andyb@mr2only.com Photos by Cumhur Cakmak

f you want a job doing right do it yourself!! That’s exactly what Cumhur Cakmak from Austria did. Well that’s not completely true; with the help of his dad and brothers they turned this 1992 MR2 SW20 into the car you see today.

The car started life yellow, but when Cumhur brought the car in October 2001 the front end had been sprayed black by the previous owner, with streaks across the doors blending back to the original yellow. Luckily the looks of the car were not important and the car was for sale at a good price for Austrian measures, due to the previous owner’s girlfriend becoming pregnant and needing a quick sale of the MR2.

So why a Mk2 MR2? “I wanted to own one car, which was very rare in Austria and here there are not really many MR2’s” explains Cumhur “Also can you tell me any other midship runabout cars that you can buy for small money? I couldn’t! All other midship runabout cars I know are a lot more expensive” Transformation begins Once purchased and back in Cumhur’s garage, work started on transforming the car. There was no master plan, and all ideas for the body styling came during the modification phase. Cumhur explains the process behind creating most of the parts on this car. “All Parts are either modified items or are made from fibreglass by ourselves and constructed using the following

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principle. First we make a 1:1 model out of Gypsum, wood, fibreglass and Styrofoam, then we work on this model very hard until it is perfect (100% fitment and 100% surface quality), When the model is perfect we make a negative form from fibreglass, After finishing the negative form, we make out the positive form from the negative replica also from fibreglass. This part is then ready to fit to my MR2 and can be prepared for the paint job.” It all started with the Bomex style front bumper, this was modified to include two air intakes in the middle and air scoops on the sides. The original bumper fixing

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points were copied because the Bomex bumper comes with no such mountings, these were blended to the newly modified bumper to ensure a 100% perfect fitment. To finish the front end custom splitters were made from fibreglass and fitted to the newly modified bumper. The wings have been widened by one cm at the front and three cm at the rear to

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ensure the 8â&#x20AC;?x17â&#x20AC;? ATS Exclusive line Design Q wheels fit nicely in the wings, BMW Z3 vents have been added to the front wings. Due to the extra width of the rear arches the trim strips needed to be made longer and the fuel tank cap also required modifications to

make it wider to fit correctly. The standard air intakes have also been modified, removing the middle bar making the scoop bigger and also widening the air intake panel.

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The rear bumper is custom made using the original item as a base; extra depth was added to the bottom and round exhaust outlets to complement the Sebring tailpipes with more air vents at the sides. Once Cumhur was happy with the results a fibreglass mould was taken and a new completely fibreglass rear bumper was made. Low rise headlight kit Cumhur fitted a low rise kit to the Front headlights, allowing them to open halfway from the original Position. The rear lights are again custom made, “I would have the LED rear lights from a revision six, but the material was not GFK, they are made from Plastic and the fitment was not the best. So we decided to make them ourselves from fibreglass”. Hiding the currently standard engine is a Ferrari F355 style engine lid, similar engine lids were available but were very bad quality and fitment, this is the reason Cumhur put his skills as a CAD designer to good use and designed a custom one, again making it from fibreglass including a strengthened underside for the mounting points which is also made of fibreglass, as a result the whole lid only weighs 8kg The rear spoiler is a modified item from a 1994 MR2, an extra five cm’s have been added to the height and it is three cm longer than normal, a brake light has also been fitted, a nice subtle touch.

The front hood is a copy of one borrowed from another MR2 owner in Austria, this

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was improved upon though, making it lighter and modifying some of the failures on the original item. The side skirts are modified Posterts, which have been widened at the front and have air intakes added at the rear the same as the front bumper. Work of art The Air intake scoops you see on the car are a work of art, these alone took three months to complete. To start with gypsum models were made, negative forms were then taken from these and then finally positive forms from those. These were then worked on until perfect and how Cumhur wanted them. Next another negative form was then taken and finally the finished positive form was created. “A new generation of scoops were born, which look better, are symmetrical and don't look like rabbit ears! But very hard work!” explains Cumhur. Finishing off the exterior is a set of mirrors from a Celica T18 “US Version”, These were an easy fit on the MR2. Top secret colour mix consisting of 10 coats of paint After all the hard work with the body styling, a paint job was needed that would make the car stand out. The Colour is a top secret mix made up of orange brilliant effect and candy paint with extra depth penetration. With four different components, consisting of 10 coats of paint you have to agree that the paint job is awesome and really complements the custom styling of the MR2.

The magic continues inside The interior has not been neglected and really complements the car perfectly, an OMP steering wheel, black and silver Sparco Torino II seats and silver Sparco four point harnesses have now replaced the blue items in the photos. The gearknob features a scorpion emblem (Cumhur's Starsign) and is the reason for the cars nickname. All the hard plastics parts have been painted in Toyota silver then applied with two coats of clear varnish which really changes the looks of the original mr2 dashboard. The show piece of the interior is a custom made housing for a 7” TFT monitor which has a mirror motor behind it allowing the angle of the screen to be adjusted with the Toyota Carina mirror control button. Linked to the monitor is a glove box mounted Playstation 2 and an additional video input for a navigation system. All the leather has been replaced in a nice shade of silver. 3000 hours man hours All the work on the car has been completed over three years and includes over 3000 man hours of work, but it was all well worth it and the results are simply stunning. So what’s next now that the body styling and interior is how Cumhur wants it? well it's time to concentrate on the engine and make the MR2 go well as well as it looks! Cumhur is planning on an engine swap, fitting a 3S-GTE in place of the original 3SGE from a gen three and tuning it to around 300 BHP. There’s also a few other modifications planned including changing

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the suspension for a set of FW Coilovers and a new set of 5Zigen Pro Racer GN+ wheels in Hyperblack. Business inspired by build After building the MR2, Cumhur, his dad and brothers decided to go into business and have opened a car styling garage called Dream Car Centre. They now offer customers their talents and services which include bodykits, body parts modified to customers wishes, wheels and tuning parts, as well as accident repairs, restorations and resprays.

3000 hours man hours

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Jap Show Finale ngines roaring, tyres screeching, shiny fancy paint jobs flashing past in a blur, as millions of pounds worth of the finest Japanese machinery comes together Fast and Furious stylee, yes thats right we are at Jap Show Finale at Santa Pod Raceway.

After the relatively disappointing turn out (at least for us here at MR2 Only Magazine) at Jap Fest II at Donnington, it was clear to see that everyone had saved them selves for the climax of the show season here at Pod. Jo Walker, events co-ordinator for the mark one owners club coincided their drag race shoot out, open to all the clubs and all marks of MR2s with the Jap Show Finale, so MR2 Only made the journey south for a whole weekend of MR2 Mania. As you will see reading on through these pages, there was a few show stoppers from the MR2 scene, which as we remember, there wasn’t really a time when these cars were’nt re-joining the queue for yet another run down the strip, we got some great shots, we caught Jo in the supercharger head to head with Tim Cartledge in the no 42 challenge car. We saw a 500bhp monster TRD kitted MR2 take a run, not to mention the TWOBRUTAL mark 1.5 turbo, owned by Emma and Stu, getting some stonking times, and totally humilating some of the big muscle Jap cars. Great times from Mike Commons in his black Rogue Motorsport emblazened Mark two, and some great times from a very enthusiastic MR2ROC events organiser Phil Dittum on his first ever drag event

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in his C2 powered roadster turbo conversion. Read on to see the drag strip time results panel, there were trophies for each category awarded on the Saturday afternoon. Day Two Sunday morning bright and early saw the convoy of highly polished show and shine cars through the gate and into their allotted areas, for yes you guessed it, some more shining and buffing. It was a great turn out from the MR2 community with all the clubs well represented and turned out, despite Santa Pod in their infinited wisdom placing the mk1 club and IMOC stand on the grass on the other side of the gates much to Jo from the mk1 club’s dissappointment. Yet another great day on the track, with some different faces from the Saturday making some progressive runs, had our ears blasted by the jet car, (eh?) both times forgetting to cover my ears, a little chilly on the Sunday, so went to buy a Santa Pod bobble hat, and misplaced an expensive pair of sun glasses, so the most expensive Santa Pod hat ever, so if you see me wearing it all the time, you know why!

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e ’06 MR2 Only cars All in the name of a little PR, we lettered my own 10th anniverary MR2 up with the MR2 Only logo and details, Nick from Teamshock our issue one cover car also came forward offering his car to be lettered up the same, as well as WestHam Jim’s Ferrari red MR2, this caused much interest by passers by while we fitted them onsite at the MR2OC stand, no pressure, yeah right!

Drag Day History: This event was one I first set up last year for the MK1 club, and invited IMOC to join us. It was a huge success with around 36 MR2’s, so it was arranged again this year extended the invite to Two Brutal and ROC. Sadly the turnout was poor this year, but the people who came had a blast. I will be doing this event again next year but probably at Shakespeare County. Jo Walker, Mk1club

The efforts paid off, we got some great photos of our MR2 Only fleet, one you can see on page three, nice location Nick! certainly did the trick, got us noticed, and lots of magazines were sold, leaflets handed out by a full MR2 Only team on the Sunday, and an influx of subscriptions followed. Issue one cover car damaged Shame to see the extent of the damage that some mindless idiot who had carved a line all over most of the panels on Nicks (issue one cover car) Celica eyed MR2. Its a shame in todays society how you can’t own and build a nice car and be able to use it. Anyway don’t start me off, the cars in for another paint job, something a little different, so watch this space. Great to meet you all again guys, nice to meet some new faces, and do some talent spotting, (the 4 wheel variety) we did, got lots of potential feature cars we will almost certainly be contacting in the new year to feature. Anyway, pens down, while we take a break from the events season for now, and prepare ourselves for a bigger and even better show season next year.

MR2 MK1 Club 2nd Annual Drag Day results

MK1 Club Trophies: MK1a – Tim Cartledge (Challenge Race Car) 16.22 MK1b – Chris Chambers (Std Red coupe) 16.7 MK1 SC – Jo Walker (Mica Blue T-Bar, 180BHP) – 14.9

Two Brutal Trophy: MK1.5 – Emma Goodall (2litre turbo & NOS) 13.00 Stu - 12.88

IMOC Trophy: MK2 - Mike Commons (MK2 ‘Rogue’ Turbo) 11.97

ROC Trophy: MK3 Roadster – Phil Ditum (MK3 turbo) 13.06

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MR2 Mania, 3 MR2 owners write for MR2 Only about their drag weekend experiences at Santa Pod ...

Rogue Rage... It was the Thursday before the coming weekends Jap Show Final and once again I found myself travelling via train to a little place called Honiley. It’s the home of the MR2 brains that are Rogue Motorsport and 2nd home to my own Rogue built 2.2ltr MR2 monster! The car had been left with them ahead of the weekends fun in order to have the new Garret GT3076 turbo, Rogue manifold, OS Giken twin plate clutch and finally some drag spec springs fitted. Unfortunately the springs didn’t get fitted due to not turning up in time. A road mapping session had also been booked for that evening with the Motec mapping guru, Dave Rowe, in order for

fter spending the night at Hotel l'jiffs, having all of two hours sleep, partying in true TB style then listening to the younger members vomiting after a socalled dodgy Chinese - it was time to get up and make our way to Santa Pod.

Once we arrived, we put up our tents in record speed, as there was no time to waste. Straight down to sign up...so excited!!! Then it was a quick run back to Penelope (my beloved mr2), jump in the driving seat and join the queue. It was a great atmosphere, every-one was chatting to each other and being really friendly. The UK’s fastest MR2 Mk1 Although no one really showed any interest in Penelope, little did they know that sitting next to them was the UK’s fastest MR2 MK1, running a 3S-GTE engine that's used in the powerful SW20 turbo and Celica GT4. Penelope has a Hybrid turbo and huge HKS super dragger exhaust fitted, the boost increased to 14psi giving 300bhp, plus a nitrous system, capable of running another 100bhp. “Ha ha,” I thought. They would soon find out... So, what goes through a girl’s mind as she pulls up onto the start line? Mirror, (to check make-up) looking good, signal, maneuver... Hmm, I think not... Firstly, I look to my left and see a MG Rover, “Pah!!!” I smiled to myself.

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MikeJC’s Rogue Motorsport built 5S-GTE 2.2ltr

the above mentioned goodies to be taken advantage of. Mapping the car in less than perfectly dry conditions, spinning the rears whilst in 4th gear, high in the rev range is pretty damn scary believe me. I discovered the colour of adrenaline that night.………. BROWN! ! ! A couple of days later and before I could blink it was Saturday, I’m at the Pod and sitting in the queue, awaiting my turn to run. Soon and with just a couple of cars ahead of me it’s time to check all is as it should be? Oil temp? check! Oil & fuel pressure? check! Boost turned up? Check! Now time for the burnout before rolling on to stage, creep forward, forward and, 2 yellow lights, raise and hold @

Pull up to the staging lines on the track, put foot on accelerator, hold the revs at 3000...wait for the lights to change to green, lift the clutch and hit the accelerator as hard as possible. At this point, the car grips and you feel like your going to take off! Superb! The most important thing to do now is to change gear at the correct time, so as not to over-rev it. Once into 4th, just give it death and hold on! Then it's all over... Crossing the line at a controversial 12.05 seconds, at 108mph. What a rush!!! Then it's straight back to the queue, ready to play again. Only for some reason everyone wants to see what is underneath Miss

The murder of a Celica GT4 and Subaru Impreza proved to be too much for their owners to handle! Especially when I told them I wasn't running the NOS!

4500rpm, hold it, hold it, hold it…. lights drop, side step the clutch and…….. Stall! 1 nil to my new clutches biting point and an ego bashing 15 second 1st pass (doh!) Onwards and upwards Onwards and upwards from there with the next few runs all in the flat to low 12’s, and terminals ranging between 117mph & 123mph. After examining a few time slips it was clear to see that a lot of time was being lost because of the bad 60ft times being made, 2 seconds + in most cases! Nothing like the times we had seen on previous occasions. We could only attribute this to the fact that the car was

Pitstop’s bonnet! With the help of the TB ladies pushing Penelope down the queue again, and me steering, (it's a hard life), I get ready to race again...(Who needs men, eh?). The murder of a Celica GT4 and Subaru Impreza proved to be too much for their owners to handle! Especially when I told them I wasn't running the NOS! Beaten by a girl in a pink car - I felt good. At 4pm, I was awarded a trophy by IMOC for the fastest MR2 MK1.5. Many thanks! There was just time for one last quick run before heading back to the tent for some light refreshment. More partying and lack of sleep, we had to get up at 7am to sign up.

A quick cuppa, then it was straight off to join the queue. First run, Penelope didn't feel as quick top end? I had run out of nitrous. “Hmm…” But I had joined the queue already, what is a girl to do? I needed a 10mm spanner, so I asked the jet car crew who were only too happy to help, which was nice. So, who would I be up against next? Hubbie! - In another TB member’s 1.5. (It was Podge’s, who drank Santa Pod out of tea.) This was the first time two MK1.5s have raced down the strip head to head. It was only minutes after the pro cars had run, so the crowds were huge. Stu had a bad launch, so didn't stand a chance... (So he says). He crossed the line at 99.10mph in 13.86 seconds. I did a 108mph run in 13.43 seconds. Stu did prove himself worthy later however in Penelope, crossing the line at 110mph, in 12.88 seconds! One of the amazing things about the MR2 is the actual amount of grip the rear wheels get because the engine is over the back wheels. The hardest thing to learn when I first started drag racing was to push the car harder than I normally would on the road - and feel at ease doing it. So what have I learned? Keep a 10mm spanner in Penelope at all times! Can't wait until next time...bring it on. Emma - aka Miss Pitstop.

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running a track aimed suspension and geometry set up which obviously wouldn’t lend itself to drag racing! So back in the queue for one last run and a little experiment with gearshift, V’s rpm points to see if any time could be shaved off? It paid off too with our first ever visit in to the 11’s with an 11.9 second pass @ 118mph. With smiles all round I decided to rest for the day, go out for some wellearned dinner, of course a beer or ten, and make ready for the Sunday… Sunday morning, 6:15am, I awake and make my way to the signing on point in an attempt to beat the queues. But first a little visit to one of the Pods many food stoles to help set me up for the day. Me…”breakfast in a bun & a cup of tea please” Her….”four quid please darlin' ” Me “thank you” I hand over the cash, walk away and take my first bite. Words fail to explain the taste I experienced, Suffice to say that if I had swallowed one mouthful of that bun it would have travelled through my system much faster than any car could have ever dreamed of covering the 1/4-mile at the Pod that weekend! On a brighter note the tea wasn’t bad (lol!) Expectations high After having signed on for my 3 runs I decided that I wouldn’t run until the guys from Rogue Motorsport had shown up as they were bringing along some drag radials, loaned to me by Toni G, thanks T. Expectations were high and to be fair I was pretty confident that we would manage to better the 11.9 sec pass set the day before. So on goes the sticky rubber accompanied by a quick peek underneath as to determine what the little knocking noise was I had heard on the way to the restaurant the previous evening? It actually turned out to be a

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Written by Mike JC

for my 3rd and final run, I have to admit that out of fear of breaking something more serious I just couldn’t commit to an all out launch, and so posted (you guessed it) another flat 12 second 1/4. To sum things up…

I had an amazing weekend all in all and had achieved what I had set out to do by breaking The burnout before my 1st run brought with in to the 11’s with the 11.9. This time was it a loud bang from behind me. The bolts good enough for me to be awarding a trophy had been spat out allowing the engine to from IMOC for having the fastest MKII Turbo on knock against the chassis! the Saturday, and also scored me 1st place in the Jap Show Final, class B. Two Trophies in couple of gearbox to chassis mount bolts that had one weekend, who could ask for more? worked lose, so a few turns of the spanner later Thanks and I was tip top for my first run, or so I thought… A huge thank you is due to all the guys at Rogue Help on hand from the Rogue Battle Bus Motorsport, (www.roguemotorsport.co.uk) for all The burnout before my 1st run brought with it a their help, support and of course having built me loud bang from behind me. The bolts had been spat an animal of 2. They really are top of their game! out allowing the engine to knock against the I’d also like to thank Ansam, (www.ansam.com) for chassis! I still run but decided to launch their support, enthusiasm and in particular little conservatively, managing a low 12 sec 1/4. I then Leo for his geometry wizardry. Great work guys! made my way back to the Rogue Battle Bus (the Here’s to bigger and better things in 2007… support vehicle) to have the bolts put back in only to be told that the threads in the gearbox had been pretty much destroyed in the process. Oh bugger! Brief spec list: 5S-GTE, modified crankshaft, None the less and without admitting defeat the Rogue forged pistons, Corrillo H-Beam rods, bolts were put back in the best they could be and Ferria oversized valves, HKS head gasket, off I went for my 2nd run… Rogue high lift cams and adjustable pulleys, Kevlar timing belt, Garret GT3076 turbo mated Burnout No2 also managed to spit the bolts out to Rogue manifold and down pipe, Tial 44mm again along with pulling the down pipe off this time! wastegate, Radtech charge cooler, Greddy So again a half hearted run up the 1/4, (although Grex oil cooler, Blitz Nur spec exhaust, Sard much louder this time) posting yet another low 12 800cc injectors, Walbro fuel pump, Motec M4 sec pass, then back to Rogues Battle Bus to have Pro ecu, (mapped by Dave Rowe) etc etc etc things made ready for our final run… the list goes on and on… With the car patched up and me sitting on the line

On the first run I was super nervous, the the car to the left was pulled out so I was alone at the line with no idea what was happening. After i restaged the lights changed and I was off. I was in a trance for a second then I realised I was bouncing off the revlimiter and spinning the wheels in first I dropped it to second and sped off. The time was 14.705 Not a bad first ever run, but I hoped to go side by side with someone for a comparison so that was a bit disapointing. My friend Gary who was watching the timings for me and he gave me the result. OK not bad, I knew there was a mistake at the start and I was itching for another go. Second run I lined up alone again. Oh well, I concentrate on the lights, speed off, crunch! miss second gear *Whoops* embarassing but eventually engage it and go. the time for this run was a 15.271 frustrating after queueing so long.

I was in a trance for a second then I realised I was bouncing off the revlimiter and spinning the wheels in first I am starting to get the bug though now and race around for another go. The queue is so cruel. By now it is miles long and I always seemed to get caught in the non moving line, typical. I get to the front and get waved over, spun up the wheels nicely at the pre-stage. I am finaly starting to get the focus. I go through things in my mind, concentrating on getting away quick at the start, the gear changes will be firm and fast I’m making sure I totally focus.

A Civic Type R pulls along side. Finaly some competition. Green lights, and I go, changing each time right on the 6000 revs (peak of my dyno plots torque graph) the wheels screach at every gear change and the car takes off like a rocket. I am running around 12 psi and the car effortlessly swooshes to a hundred. The time for this run was 13.669 with a top speed of 103.71 mph. The Civic Type R is some 1.8 seconds behind. We queue again and he stops for a chat and proclaims his suprise as he intended to beat a stock roadster. :) Final run, after another marathon queueing session I finally get to pull in next to another MR2! but it was just an MK2 na with a paint and body job and sadly no real match for the turbocharged MK3. We set off. This time I let the revs climb a little higher to nearer the

rev limiter. I was experimenting now and I wondered how this use of the extra revs will affect the overall time ? result was a 13.594 so a little quicker but mysteriously a little slower top speed at 102.99 mph. One for me to ponder but took the mk2 na by over 2.4 seconds. Finally I decide to forget the queues and we are off back to the tent to spark the barbee and crack open a crate of fosters. It was very cold we huddled around it a while then went to the bar. At 13.59 my real objective now is to get it to 12s I think its definitely possible, I am looking forward to next year when I can come back and try! Thanks everyone at the event for making it great fun and to Gary for driving the support vehicle and eating my cooking. Philster

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MR2 Club Japan n Norikura Kogen Ig

very October the MR2 Club Japan (T.M.C.J.) gets together in the mountains of Norikura Kogen Igaya for a national meet, which brings out Japan’s most beautiful and stunning MR2’s.

My name is Phoenix and I had the opportunity to take part in this year’s event, which is by far one of the best highlights of my life and I would like to share it with the readers of the MR2Only magazine. The meet started at 9:30am on Saturday, October 7 with MR2’s of all types and different shapes showing up in the Igaya Ski Resort parking lot. Having all the cars lined up by generations was

This was a great opportunity to bust out my personal copy of the MR2Only Magazine and show the Japanese MR2 Owners what’s going on in the UK and North America. They loved it! 22 MR2 Only

no small task for the event coordinators, but they seemed to get it just right by the time the meet started. At 10:00am the Event coordinator, Nekomatasan, gave a welcome message and a run-down of the day’s events. After the greeting, he gave his own personal introduction of himself and his car. Unfortunately with my Japanese language skills being less than par, I could not understand what was said but quietly listened in while we moved down the line of cars. Day one, and 11 MK1’s, 26 MK2’s, and one amazing MR-S showed up to participate in the day’s events. After the introductions it was free time, which for me was great! This gave me the opportunity to

Meet our Man in Japan, Phoenix look at all the MR2’s in more detail and have small talk with some of the owners. Lunch Time finally arrived and we ate at the ski resort’s restaurant. We all crammed into a small room and ate some of the best curry I’ve ever had. I sat at a table with the event coordinator and a few other owners who spoke very little English, but together we were able to hash out some

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national gaya mountain meet

Photography and writing by Phoenix great conversations on MR2’s and the different clubs in Japan, North America, and the UK.

problem with the brake line holder on the strut tower which broke open to remove the brake line.

Being starved, I began to eat and the food was great.

This was a great opportunity to bust out my personal copy of the MR2Only Magazine and show the Japanese MR2 Owners what’s going on in the UK and North America. They loved it!

Once complete, the owner took off for another test run and returned five minutes later quite happy with the feel of his new setup.

I was a little disturbed after eating a few pieces of meat - only to find out it was raw horse.

The MR2 owners couldn’t get enough of the magazine and the “Reader’s Rides”. They were so intrigued as to the different styles of MR2’s in the separate clubs. After lunch was more free time which one owner took the opportunity of having crowds of MR2 specialists in one place to switch out his suspension. 30 minute suspension upgrade It was pretty impressive seeing four Japanese owners change out the struts towers with upgraded TRD Springs and Billstein shocks. Two people on each side tackling the job seemed like second nature to them, and it only took 30 minutes to have the rears done. With the rear of the car back on the ground, the owner quickly took it for a test drive and came back with a big smile on his face. Once parked they lifted the front and completed the job in about 45 minutes, having a little

By this time the day was coming to an end, so the event organizer called everyone together for a group picture and a days closing remarks. From here, most of the group caravanned to the hotel where we all stayed. Parking was definitely interesting since the parking lot was so small, and getting 35 MR2’s into the small area was actually really interesting. It took roughly four ground guides and some impressive and very close corner taking to get as many MR2’s as possible into the little area.

They had a pretty good laugh when I realized what it was that I was chewing in my mouth and I guess the expression on my face was quite enjoyable. After learning that it was Mr Ed that I was eating, I wasn’t too thrilled about finishing it but I did, all but the last piece of horse because a blood pocket popped and couldn’t get past the view I was looking at. Dinner was great and they brought out the beer. We toasted and enjoyed dessert with many

Dining Japanese style After a little time to freshen up in our hotel rooms, we all met up in the hotel’s banquet area for dinner. I have to say this is the first time I’ve ever eaten a true Japanese style dinner outside of the city of Tokyo which is really Americanized Japanese food.

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If you’re ever in Japan and catch wind of a meet going on, do whatever it takes to get there because you will never regret it.

laughs and conversations. After dinner came the party, we moved to a smaller banquet room with seating on the floor and we all got in there to find lots of beer and sake waiting to be drunk. A few people played a game, others talked with each other, and another group brought out their personal collections of MR2 memorabilia. I had to check out the MR2 stuff and it was amazing. MR2 memorabilia One fellow MR2 owner brought his personal collection of original MR2 publications that the dealers handed out to potential MR2 owners from 1985. It was really neat and it felt like I was holding a piece of priceless history in my hands as I skimmed through the Japanese pages of the AW11. After much beer and sake in my stomach, a night full of laughs and good times, I was off to my Japanese room to hit the “ol sack”, which was actually just a mat on the floor. If you are ever in Japan and have the opportunity just for one night (and only one night), stay in a traditional Japanese hotel room. A basic Japanese hotel room is about 10’X 20’ with a straw mat covering the floor like carpet. There is a small removable table in the center with cushions on the floor to sit at… that’s it. I can’t say it’s the most uncomfortable place I’ve ever sat or slept, but I’m gonna have to put it in my top three places not to ever try again. The following morning was a little groggy for me and many other owners due to the beer and sake

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from the night before, but we all got together again in the banquet room for a healthy Japanese style breakfast which included fish, rice, and some really good Miso soup. After spraying our leaf-covered cars off with a garden hose, we headed in small groups back to the meeting area for the second day’s events. Day two Sunday, October 8 was the best day in my opinion. More MR2s showed up to the event than the previous day to include 17 MK1s, 34 MK2s, and the same fabulous MR-S from the previous day. The morning started off like the previous day, with a welcome and day’s events by the coordinator followed by personal introductions. Free time followed where I took the opportunity to take some cars away from the group and took some great pictures. After this picture break from the group, we took our cars back and it was time for lunch. Lunch was the best food I have ever had! It was a Japanese style BBQ where they took slices of meet and cooked them literally in the center of the table. The food included lamb, pork, squid, and lots of vegetables. I ate so much and it was topped off with an interesting dessert I’ve never had or even heard of. It was a Coffee Jello topped with a coffee creamer and it was delicious! We sat and chatted for awhile and then cleared the room while they cleaned up from lunch. It was about 1pm at this time and it was now time for a game. They broke out a Bingo game and it was great fun.

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The white and the Black SW20's are Authentic, TRD replicas custom ordered, straight from the TRD factory MR2's, the Black one was labeled #26 and the guy is the original owner of it. The white one was actually MR2Boards MR2 of the month in June. The white one is believed to have a stock engine, but the black one did have a Border Racing intercooler.

White TRD Widebody Spec

Black TRD WideBody

Authentic TRD WideBody Kit 99 J-Spec Wing W/Carbon Fiber Side Plates Ganador Mirrors Single Wiper Conversion BBS Stern Wheels 17" Front 18" Rear Dunlop Direnza Tires 215/40/R17 Front Tires 225/35/R18 Rear Tires Braided Stainless Steel Brake Lines Ohlins Shocks Mines Springs D-Speed Brake Pads TRD Strut Bars TRD High Response Exhaust System Cyber Stock Indiglo Gauges Carrozzeria DVD/NAV System Recarro Seat Razo Turbo Timer Kenwood CD Changer

Online Name - MM2 TRD Authentic Widebody #26 TRD Spark Plugs, TRD Spark Plug Wires TRD Exhaust TRD 17" Wheels TRD Strut Tower Bars TRD Springs, TRD Shocks TRD Brake Lines Apexi Boost Gauge Apexi Oil Temp Gauge Apexi Gauge Controller Apexi Power FC + Commander Ganador Mirrors Border Racing Gauge holder Border Racing Intercooler Endless Brake Pads Kenwood CD player Momo Steering Wheel Greddy Blow Off Valve K&N Air Filter HKS Turbo Timer

Lots of laughs and jokes and the winners got to pick out a gift from a very respectable table full of MR2 parts which varied from new tires, to books, to air cleaners, to sake.

and picked up a Metal MR-S model that I have not yet had the chance to collect, it will make a great edition to my collection of MR2 models and toys. The game finally ended with a few leftovers which were handed out to people with lots of laughs.

I finally won about half way through the game

The MR2 Meet was coming to a close and we all

This stunning red wide body kitted MR-S is owned by Hide and Kei (online names) from Japan, the car wears a Varis Widebody Kit, Weds Sport Bonnet, Hyper Hotinazma grounding kit, and Weds Sport Racing Wheels, On the handling side of things the MR-S has a TRD Strut Tower Bar and Cusco Coilovers whilst perfornance is enhanced with an Apexi Power FC and Commander

got together for some pictures at our cars again. Some final words by our event coordinator and the meet was at an end. It was a sad time for me because I was having such a great time and was dreading the long three hour drive back to the Tokyo area. It didn’t stop me from taking a few more pictures and saying good bye to some

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great new friends that I met. The drive home was a little slow, only took me five hours to get back since the traffic was horrible on the expressway. I was able to cruise with a few MR2’s until we went our separate ways to our own homes. Tired and worn out from a great weekend, I made it home with some great memories and new friends. No better place to live than Japan with my passion for the MR2 Living here in Japan has given me a great opportunity to meet new people and continue my passion for the MR2. If you’re ever in Japan and catch wind of a meet going on, do whatever it takes to get there because you will never regret it. It was hard at times trying to understand what people were saying, but the Japanese MR2 owners club made me feel welcome and really went out of their way to make me feel like part of them. Special thanks goes out to Nekomata, Totsu, Hebereke, KenSan, MM2, Hide and Kei and everyone else’s name I can’t spell or say. They know and I know that it doesn’t matter what country you are from, or if you can’t speak the language, it’s a little thing that brings us together as a family, and that’s the love for the MR2.

Phoenix - MR2 Only Man in Japan

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More Roadster reading ’d be the first to admit that issue one of MR2 Only was a little flawed with its lack of content for the Roadster, as embarassingly Id not come across the MR2ROC and was touting for roadster feature cars in the wrong place.

We are all disappointed that no roadsters made it into the pull out calender, despite some of the excellent photos submitted, but hey! we can’t be held responsible for that, as it was the ‘MR2 Community’ that did the voting. Im sure you will agree with issue two we have addressed the balance, and as the mag is a mag for all MR2 enthusiasts we feel it important we include plenty of Roadster reading, incidentally we did have many positive comments from mark one owners pleased with the content of issue one, as many expected the mag to be focussed on modified Mk2s.

Cyril & Pams Roadster

I must admit to not knowing as much about the Roadster as I do about the other marks, but over the last two months Ive grown quite a fondness for the little fellas, seeing some excellent tastefully modified examples at shows, seeing the impressive TTET conversion and meeting some roadster owners, the day before this mag went to press we enjoyed an excellent day out at Silverstone Performance for the Roadster Dyno Extravaganza by kind invite of the Roadster Owners Club, even having apassenger lap of Silverstone, driven by Phil of SP, an amazing experience, and a truly awesome car., which will be featured in issue three out in January. What comes as more of a surprise that my father has

MR2-ROC meet

now become the proud owner of a W reg roadster, and Id just like to say a big thanks to the friendly, helpful and knowledgeable guys at the Roadster owners club, when I posted on there for some buying advice, which we found most helpful when looking at the car, Im pleased to report that my father loves his mid engined wonder, and is looking forward to taking the hard top off next summer, and joining us along with our mark one and mark two at some events. We have lots of exciting roadsters lined up to feature in future 2007 issues of MR2 Only magazine, and if you have one that you would like to feature, or a new product or some advice you would like to share with us and our readers, please feel free to email steveb@mr2only.com. If you are new to roadster ownership be sure to log on to www.mr2roc.co.uk and sign up, great bunch of guys, lots of advice, events and discounts, you are sure to find it helpful!

Les - MR2-ROC the pic that didnt go in our gallery, sorry!

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Part two of Tim at TB Developments turbo tuning guide ow the car has been serviced and the operation of its engine has been assured to be all running correctly we can now get down to the good parts – which is tuning and part replacements for some nice aftermarket goodies.

The basics of tuning in the early stages involves pushing the tolerances of the standard Toyota equipment a little further to release more power. The turbocharger, intercooler and cooling system only run at a fraction of their potential so you can raise this level and still keep the car reliable without becoming troublesome. Fuel Cut Defender In the case of the revision one and two MR2 turbo, one of the first modifications is to fit a fuel cut defender. This modification in itself won’t generate any power but sets the stage for an increase in boost pressure from the turbocharger without hitting the dreaded fuel cut. Fuel cut is a safety device included into the MR2 turbo’s factory ECU that offers the engine a safety net against overboost. In the case of the revision 1 / 2, it’s 13psi and with the revision 3+ it’s 18psi. A fuel cut defender is only needed on the revision one and two because of their low value on this safety feature. The revision 3+ doesn’t need one fitted as ideally once 18psi of boost pressure is reached an aftermarket ECU should be fitted to correctly adjust the fuelling and ignition maps, and in the case of aftermarket ECU’s, the fuel cut level can be adjusted using their included features. A Fuel Cut Defender is basically a variable resistor

that reduces the voltage produced by the MAP sensor (Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor) to fool the ECU into thinking the turbocharger is producing a lower boost pressure than it actually is. This works along the lines of, if the map sensor generates a voltage of five volts at 13psi (voltage values used as example) and you want to run 15psi of boost pressure, then the fuel cut defender’s resistor needs to be adjusted to lower the voltage produced by the MAP sensor to the equivalent voltage of 4psi, 1.5 volts for example. This will then create a fuel cut level of 17psi, so when the boost is increased to 15psi you still retain the 2psi safety margin allowed for any overboost before the ECU hits fuel cut and protects itself. These can be obtained cheaply, we manufacture these and retail around the £17 mark. The beauty behind this is on the revision one and two MR2 turbo despite the map sensor telling the ECU its boosting 4psi (for example) lower than it actually is, the MAP sensor is only used to control the on-dash boost gauge (pretty useless anyway) and the fuel cut feature. Adjusting the voltage produced by this sensor will only affect the two systems described above and won’t have any negative results on the car. This shouldn’t under any exceptions be done on a revision three MR2 turbo as the MAP sensor is used in a very different way. With the help of a MAT sensor (Manifold Absolute Temperature sensor) it calculates the amount of air

RUN BY MR2 ENTHUSIASTS FOR MR2 ENTHUSIASTS

entering the engine and rightly injects the correct amount of fuel. Changes to the voltage of the map sensor on a revision three MR2 can cause the engine to run lean, causing potential engine failure. Upgrading the spark plugs Now that fuel cut has been taken care of its time to upgrade the spark plugs to a colder grade set. This once again won’t generate power as long as the original system was in good working order but it’s a safety modification to help prevent pre-ignition from a hotter grade standard spark plug. The colder the grade of a spark plug the higher the rating number increases, so a standard plug temperature is six, making a colder grade seven. A colder grade plug helps because the tip retains less heat, which helps prevent pre-ignition. Pre-ignition in this case refers to when the engine has sucked in its air, and fuel and is in the compression stage of its cycle, as the gases compress the friction between the molecules creates heat which means a hot point in the cylinder can cause the gases to ignite before the spark plugs normal operation. This has a bad effect as the air/fuel ignites while

The TB Developments name was established around 9 years ago back in 1996. Although we’ve been in the business of providing mr2 - tuning products for the last 3 years started back in the summer of 2002. In that time it has grown from a simple parts supply business working from home to an international MR2 Specialist tuning company that supplies mr2 only parts, soon to be obtaining a premises where we can not only sell high quality tuning parts but also offer a full fitting and tuning service.

www.tbdevelopments.com

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We aim to provide the highest level of service possible with excellent customer service and being able to offer a line up of tuning products I would be happy fitting to my own car, not just what makes me the most money.

Tuning Packages Promotional Items Air filters and Intakes Blow Off Valves Body Kit and Exterior Boost Controllers Brakes Components Clutches and Flywheels Cooling Components ECU s & Piggybacks Engine Internals Exhausts and Downpipes Fueling Gauges and Gauge Pods Gearbox and Componants Ignition Coomponants Intercoolers Interior Nitrous Oils and Lubrication Suspension Traction and Launch Control Turbo Fittings and Accessories Turbo Timers and Accessories Turbochargers Wastegates

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standard form, the T-VSV device is used to raise this to 11-13psi (depends once again on revision of car) in factory form. This is also used as a safety device only allow 6-8psi when the engine is cold or limiting boost pressure in first and second gear to counter-act wheel spin.

still being compressed. The mixture produces a greater volume of exhaust gases than its parent molecules, producing a downward force in the cylinders. As described above, the cylinder is still in its compression cycle so you have an engine trying to compress upwards and an expanding gas trying to push downwards. I’m sure you can see this isn’t good and should be avoided as it stresses the engine components like head gasket, pistons and conrods/crank. The idea behind colder grade plugs is if the spark plug retains less heat in the tip, the theory is that the hot object isn’t present to start the chain reaction of pre-ignition.

There are many differing opinions on removing this system, but I recommend, along with all the Japanese tuning companies manufacturing these boost controllers to remove this device as it interferes with aftermarket boost controllers operation and causes fluctuations and spikes in boost pressure. This can easily be done and is free. Many companies have this documented in the installation manuals accompanying the aftermarket boost controllers. When this device is removed the acceleration of the car in first and second gear will greatly increase so please take care not to injure yourself if you are not expecting this. You should also restrain yourself from hitting boost pressure until the car is fully warmed up. The bleed valve device is used by a lot of people but I advice against it and suggest the Grainer Valve instead.

For this level of modification then a normal cold grade seven NGK Copper Spark plug is perfect.

The reasons are because of the way each device operates.

These can be obtained cheaply from most automotive dealers and parts suppliers.

The bleed valve operates by “bleeding” off boost pressure to the turbocharger actuator (control solenoid which operates the wastegate which in turn controls boost being produced.)

You just need to ask for the code of the plug over a fitment for an MR2. This code is NGK 6097 BKR7E and are around the £20 for a four-plug set. These come pre-gapped at 0.8mm this is the distance from the tip of the spark plug electrode to the earthing arm of the main body. This gap is fine for small upgrades but for boost pressures of 15psi and above this gap should be shortened to 0.7mm. This is easily done with a feeler gauge. Fitting a boost gauge A good boost gauge should also be fitted to accurately monitor the boost pressure being created by the turbocharger; failure to do this can lead to overboosting or overstressing the engine, leading to engine or turbocharger failure. Boost Gauges come in many different styles and configurations from simple digital displays to 52mm/60mm analogue style gauges. Most of these can be had cheaply from simple nobranded items for £30 to higher quality Japanese brands in a 60mm gauge format from companies like Apexi or Greddy for the £70 range. Top of the range gauges are Japanese brands like Defi, which are highly desirable but this is reflected in the price at around £200. Although as long as the gauge is of good quality they all do a similar job. Serious power increasing mods Right, now comes the power making modification, increasing the boost pressure. There are many ways of increasing the boost pressure on a turbocharged car; these are usually a bleed valve, grainer valve/dawes device and electronic boost controller. Before a boost controller is fitted, a standard Toyota device should be removed. A device called a T-VSV is used by Toyota as a very basic boost controller. The wastegate actuator on the mr2 turbo ranges from six to eight psi (depends on revision of car) in

backwards against its spring to bypass the grainer valve and reach the wastegate actuator. With the ball bearing in its sealed seated position the wastegate actuator will see 0 psi pressure and remain tightly shut allowing the turbocharger to boost up as quickly as possible. Once the boost pressure overwhelms the spring rate of the grainer valve the ball bearing will move backwards allowing the boost pressure to then reach the wastegate actuator. If the spring rate is set at 15psi for example the 6psi actuator will now open quickly to try and control the boost pressure, once the pressure has dropped to 14.99999psi etc the spring in the grainer valve will then force the ball bearing back into its seat and the actuator will then see 0psi once again and slam shut allowing boost to increase until climbs to 15psi and the cycle continues. This constant opening and closing of the grainer/actuator and wastegate is called a duty cycle. This happens so fast and smoothly that it translates to a smooth boost pressure observed on your gauge. These devices are cheaply manufactured because of their simple design and we retail them around the £17 range. Electric boost controller The last is the all singing and dancing electronic boost controller.

So if the turbocharger is producing 11psi of boost then the bleed valve basically leaks 4psi worth of air away from this signal making the turbo generate 15psi of boost when it thinks its only making 11psi. The problem with this method is that its leaking pressure at all times and doesn’t address the “wastegate cracking pressure” issue. This situation is when the boost pressure of the actuator approaches its opening level say 15psi for example the actuator will start to open venting off pressure to control the boost the turbocharger is producing. The problem with this is that the wastegate actuator starts to crack open early at say 12psi when a signal is always provided. The last three psi isn’t made as quickly as it could when compared to if the wastegate actuator stayed shut until its full 15psi was reached. This can effect the rate at which the torque and power is generated from the engine in that 12-15psi range. The second device mentioned here was the grainer valves also known as the Dawes device. This works not by bleeding of boost pressure but preventing signal boost pressure from reaching the wastegate actuator thus eliminating the cracking pressure issue. This is very similar to how the electronic boost controller works but this regulates this pressure using simple physics over computer control. The system works by a very simple ball and spring operation. Inside the body of the grainer valve is a ball bearing which seals against a seat pushed upon by a small spring who’s pressure rating is adjustable with a bolt at the other end. The signal from the turbocharger comes into the grainer valve towards the ball bearing on its seat.

This works exactly the same as the grainer valve who’s operation has been described above, apart from the ball and spring is replaced by an electronic solenoid and its opening and closing action (duty cycle) is controlled by a head unit which closely monitors the boost being produced by the turbocharger. This is the best method to use although costs a lot more with most units ranging from £250 – £400plus. They basically all do the same thing apart from others having more monitoring features like fuelling duty cycle, battery voltage, RPM, Speed etc. where others have a more flashy interface using simple digital displays to full colour layouts and animations. As to what boost pressure is run is down to the cars owner but I advise the following at this level of tuning. Revision 1/2………………………… 14psi (0.95 bar) Revision 3+…………………………. 15psi (1.05bar) Further increases in this boost pressure will be done after the next step of modifications are completed which included air filters, decat/downpipes and exhaust systems which all help the turbocharger and engine breathe more efficiently, the pros and cons of these systems will all be discussed in the next segment of tune 2. Tim - TB Developments

The boost pressure will try to push the ball bearing

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Halloween Sh Evil Stu

Penelope, Miss Pitstop and Miss Fit

Another fantastic weekend of fun, cars and beer... Event: Halloween Showdown.

the sight of Satan wandering around Tesco's raised more than an eyebrow or two! Perhaps it was wise then, that us she-devils stopped behind to drink!

Driving down to Stratford has never been so much fun! The weekend had a Halloween theme, so in true TB style, Jiff Lemon, Miss Pitstop and Miss Fit, drove down in full fancy dress. Satan and his harem made quite an impression! There were gasps and smiles as we drove through Stratford in Penelope on our way to the raceway, it's a wonder we didn't cause any accidents!

After a drunken five minutes, trying to work out how Jiffs camera worked, myself and Miss Fit were happily snapping away when we heard a voice say, "is this the TwoBrutal lot?" - How did he guess? It was MR2AW11TURBO with bottle of Dooleys in hand. Perhaps that could be the reason why he fell off his chair in shock horror, as he saw Jiff?

7 h

We arrived at 3.30pm and decided to see what was happening on the strip. Shock horror!!! No queue!!!. A Quick sprint back to the car, rushed through scrutineering and registration, then down onto the strip.

Mwhahahahaha...

D s i 1 o i c

Date: 28th and 29th October 2006. Venue: Shakespeare county raceway.

The afternoon temps were low and the track quite damp, so with 277bhp and no LSD, I was finding it hard to get a good launch. Before the track was closed due to dropping temps and poor light, I'd managed five runs with best time of 13.7, crossing the line at 109mph. Then it was time to get the tent put up so we could enjoy an evening of beer and food... Satan slipped out for more supplies Needing more supplies, we sent Jiff (Satan) and the boys to the local supermarket. Apparently,

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w L h S L b a w

After more drinking and some food, it was off to the bonfire, which was a pretty impressive sight and didn't go out all weekend! Miss Fit was very excited to see the firemen turn up to check on proceedings, even asking them if they would like to stroke her little horn(!?!) to which they were more than happy to oblige! More beer and fireworks, then it was off to the Halloween ball where there was a live band and disco! A good time was had by all and it was a relief to see lots of people had made the effort of dressing up in Halloween costumes. We had a corpse bride, Beetlejuice and Uncle Fester present to name but a few! Great fun! Time for bed? nope!

S P p t a

A t t w w r 1 o S m

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howdown

MR2 Challenge Season round-up

Evil Jiff

Written by Steve Vince - MR2 Challenge he 2007 season ended as it had started at Snetterton with “SAM THE MAN” Maher-Loughnan impressing yet again with two mk1 class wins making it ten out of twelve for the season and thereby securing the MR2 Challenge title for 2006. Never was it more justly deserved. Great talent combined with an Irish smile and a touch of humility a rare occurrence these days.

3am means time for bed? Nope! Let's see who else is up?Ah, the drivers of the General Lee! The nice chaps from Surrey were more than happy to share their beer and stories with us! Should hope so too given that Penelope beat the Lee down the strip (ok.... I confess, mainly because Dave (the driver) fluffed the start up and had to limp the Lee down the track, but a win is a win!) 7am, time for bed... Maybe grab a couple of hours before its time to play. Sunday!! Another TB member had come to play! Peebs, has one of the first of an increasingly popular conversion for the Mk2 MR2. Get rid of the asthmatic 2.0litre engine and replace it with a three litre v6 from a Camry!

y e

Definitely gives the car the power and soundtrack it deserves! His runs were quite impressive too - 14.14@95.47mph 1st run, a 14.42@95.96mph 2nd run and 17.45@55.43mph on last run. Ok, so the last one isn't so impressive but it became apparent that Peebs clutch was long overdue a replacement! And my Sunday? Huge queue! Where did all those cars come from? 160 people had entered to run their car down the strip and the weather was positively glorious! Who'd have thought we were in late October? Managed to get in three runs myself, 13.57@109.77mph, 13.55@110.36mph and 13.21@107.62mph, all of them running without nitrous, adding a Toyota Supra, a Celica and a tuned Escort RS turbo to my list of kills!

Had lots of fun! Can't wait until next year... Miss Pitstop x Photos taken by Jiff Lemon and MR2AW11TURBO

Of the other mk1 boys and girls Sarah Wherry probably showed as the most improved driver of the year with the penny having dropped that spinning every other lap slowed you down. She not only clinched the Ladies award for the second year but could well be a contender overall if she keeps it up. Mention should also be made of our other regular lady competitor Karen Philips who improved throughout her first ever motor racing season. Patrick Mortel had a hard time of it towards the end of the season with the emergence of David Litchfield as a contender but hung on to clinch the mk2 class crown. With the number of mk2 ‘s increasing in the last couple of races competition for victory should be a great deal tougher in 2007, and Patrick will have to lift his game to hang on to his title. Visit www.mr2racing.com for more details.

MR2 Challenge Final Standings P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Class A MAHER-LOUGHNAN GLYNN N POOLE CHAMBERLAIN R MORTON STIMPSON WHERRY GRIMES HOWES MAILER O'TOOLE CARTLEDGE O'NEILL BLIGHTON ALMAN GATT B PHILLIPS WOOLFE DUNNETT GILMOUR A PEARSON GATT D BARBER PASCOE GILMOUR H RADFORD FERNEYHOUGH ROSE HOPKINS

233 171 142 133 127 125 119 102 95 77 66 60 57 56 55 55 54 52 50 46 35 25 21 10 7 7 5 5 4

P 1 2 3 4

Class B MORTELL LITCHFIELD STEWART OLDROYD

57 31 30 20

5 6 7 8 9 10

RACE MORPHETT DUKE BROWN SCHULER JACKSON

18 17 8 5 3 1

P 1 2

Class C VINCE LITCHFIELD

6 3

P 1 2 3

Womens C'ship WHERRY PHILLIPS BLIGHTON

43 25 20

P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

MR2 Cup HOWES WOOLFE GILMOUR A CARTLEDGE ALMAN O'TOOLE DUNNETT GATT B PHILLIPS RADFORD SNELLING PASCOE GLYNN P FERNEYHOUGH GILMOUR H BUTTERFIELD ROSE HOPKINS

42 37 36 36 34 30 24 20 17 12 9 8 6 5 4 4 3 2

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The day MR2s took over Report written by run organiser Ant Starr, photos taken by Anna Ruddock, Steve Bishop, Vanilla Coffee and Max Starr ince joining the MR2 community near the end of 05, and having attended various meets and events ranging from Edinburgh, Bristol and Portsmouth, I felt there was a lack of interest in the urban area.

Being a Londoner all my life, I found that people are constantly attracted by what is going on in the Capital. This led me to question the possibility of arranging an MR2 London run. I always asked members why an MR2 London run had not been organised before, but I received much of the same response as I expected, "Too much hassle with traffic and getting lost etc". After discussing the idea with members from the JDM Scene, who have successfully organised a midnight run in London, I decided to take advantage of it and form a route, with my knowledge of the central area. It took approximately two months to organise the run, considering the best route to take and also gathering a large list of possible attendees for the day. Prior to the run, I drove into central London in order to test the route I had planned and to see if I needed to make any adjustments according to the traffic flow at that particular

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time of day. In addition I contacted Westminster Council and the New Scotland Yard Police for permission to have a convoy run through the capital also and to ensure it did not clash with any other events occurring on the day that could cause conflict with road blockage. Impressive 35 MR2 turnout The day started with an impressive turnout of 35 cars at Ace Cafe London. This included the Mr2 Mk1s, Mk1 V6, Mk2 N/A’s, Mk2 turbo’s, Mk3 Roadster & Mk3 Roadster Turbo, MR2 Spyder, Topgun's TRD and MikeJC's 550bhp monster. Members from MR2OC, IMOC, and MR2ROC joined together, all looking ecstatic to start the run. We clogged up the A40 with making our way toward Paddington and then through Hyde Park. Excited by-passers were beeping with enthusiasm and slowed down to grasp the sight of 35 MR2’s, one after another in, red,

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MR2 RUN - OCT ‘06

blue, black, green, yellow, white and Cadbury’s purple. We made a stop off at Green Park on the side road, where we started to attract a lot of attention from all directions. We then proceeded across Piccadilly, and entered the ‘every 200 yard traffic light zone’. To our delight, we attracted an enormous crowd and tourists running to the side roads to take pictures just below the landmark Sanyo sign. The Haymarket echoed with sounds of exhausts humming and dump valves. We made a five minute stop off in Pall Mall (Stop Point #1) again exciting a large crowd of people running over to take pictures. Lost along the way After we left to head towards Knightsbridge the run went from 30+ cars down to 4. Fearing for the worse, I made a few calls and advised some people to head to Tate Gallery (Stop point #2). Eventually, our numbers were back up to 30+ cars again which was a relief. While cruising through Embankment, we

The Haymarket echoed with sounds of exhausts humming and dump valves.

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passed the landmarks of Big Ben, Houses of Parliament attracting more finger pointing and gestures from members of the public. Humming through the tunnel in the city area next to Graham Days screamer pipe was enough to drown out the sounds of a V6 and 10 cars being revved altogether. We rolled across 20mph Tower Bridge through to Bermondsey. Once we arrived at Surrey Quays Centre (Final stop point) we parked up with members that were already there and waited for a few members who lost their way and decided to make their way to the final stop point. As a result the run finished with 30+ cars. I was truly impressed how we all managed to stay together. Finally we made our way into Fatty Arbuckleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for some well-earned grub. Props to Leo, Dave and Jen who helped me organise the run and did their best to keep everyone together on the day. It was a great effort and outcome and due to the outstanding amount of good feedback received, I hope to organise a midnight run in the near future. Watch this spaceâ&#x20AC;Ś.

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1 8 15 22 29

2 9 16 23 30

3 10 17 24 31

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5 12 19 26 •

6 13 20 27 •

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Photo submitted by Cumhur Cakmak

der.skorpion@ultranet.at

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www.mr2only.com

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The International MR2 Owners Club UK Region (IMOC-UK) is a UK oriented community of people who are driving enthusiasts with a love for Toyota's greatest production achievement. IMOC-UK is a free, net-based club where likeminded fanatics can talk about their cars, organise meets and discuss events and modifications with a bias towards what is available in the UK.

www.imoc.co.uk

Photo submitted by Rikki - www.imoc.co.uk www.quantum-capture.co.uk

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Large format canvas prints • reprints from your jpg files Photo submitted by Lee, www.mr2oc.co.uk

www.largephotoprints.co.uk

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Photo submitted by Richard Lee www..mr2westmidlands.com www.mr2oc.co.uk

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Photo submitted by Rob - Reflections www.mr2oc.co.uk

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Photo submitted: Loki Flaming by Kris & Lilly Osheim - KO Racing

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Written by Steve Bishop steveb@mr2only.com kay, right now reading this you are thinking two things, firstly, this ain’t an MR2 and secondly there wasn’t a GT4V6, yes you are right on both counts!

I heard the car drive onto the car park at a recent Midlands MR2 meet, and thought that’s no ordinary GT4, I had to investigate, and had a chat with Tony aka FOURVEESIX an honorary TWOBRUTAL member, along with his pals with two MR2 V6 conversions, one of which Tony and the guys had completed that same day. So GT4V6 I hear you ask, and why is MR2 Only featuring a Celica. Well actually this is no ordinary Celica, and in fact its possibly the only one of a kind in the world, hence the reason we thought it worthy of a story and bend our rules. This particular Celica started life as a standard 1990 Jap spec GT4, 2L 4WD, until Tony, inspired by engine swap forum TWOBRUTAL felt the need to transplant a 3vz-fe, 3000cc, 24 quad cam power plant from the Camry into it. The standard output is 185 in the Camry, but in the Mr2/Celica after modifying the exhausts and removing EGR they put out closer to

220/230bhp. The reason for the difference is that the standard exhaust is a very restrictive item, so once its disposed of and a better designed one fitted, its a whole load more free flowing.

just slotted in perfectly.

Tony has told us that there are loads more to come as the heads are no where near optimised for best flow, estimates of approx 30bhp extra are available from just ensuring these are worked on.

As for the rest of the car obviously the Suspension was upgraded with Eibach sports springs, KYB kayaba dampers, lowered 35mm at front and 30 at the rear.

So how did he do it? How did he create this work of genius, a 4wd Celica with the grunt of a V6 lump? After much research, many hours of trial and error, head scratching, and no doubt blood sweat and tears, the answer was found in a Toyota Rav4 gearbox from a 2003 model, with the longer wheelbase with its all important transfer case. Tony explained to me, that it wasn’t possible to fit the original gearbox from the GT4 due to space limitations and the fact that the transfer case wouldn’t fit the 3vzfe block. This was was the major stumbling block which had stopped this conversion being done before, and there wasnt any help available. The front to rear propshaft didnt need modifying, nor did the left front driveshaft, it all

The right hand driveshaft had to be cut and a GT4 driveflange welded on to complete the driving arrangements, a specialist job carried out by Hartlebury Proptech.

The exhaust is a self fabricated twin three to one manifolds/headers, standard rear box and centre section and a fabricated front section. The brakes are standard at the moment but are soon to be uprated to a modified Camry caliper disc and hub arrangement. The car is wearing Compomotive MO Wheels7x15 with pirelli p6000 tyres. The interior and exterior remain standard apart from little v6 badges on the flanks. For more details on the car or to talk about MR2 V6 conversions log on to WWW.TWOBRUTAL.CO.UK and look for FOURVEESIX, Im sure Tony would be happy to chat, as he is very proud of his amazing creation, and so he should be!

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t’s that age old problem many MR2 owners face, you’ve owned your normally aspirated for a couple of years, spent thousands of pounds and countless hours, on wheels, body kits, paintwork, ICE, the cars in the condition you want it, but you have the yearning for more power... Do you sell, no doubt losing a substantial chunk of the money you have spent, and trawl the classifieds for that mint condition turbo that hasnt been thrashed or crashed, and risk the unknown and possibly won’t be anywhere near as reliable as your trustly N/A. Hold on a minute, there is another way, why not source a turbo lump, and drop it in your N/A? Lee Etheridge did just that, and shares his story with us.

I bought the car from a dealer near Chester in May 05 after I sold my red, R reg rev 5 GT (non T-bar). I'd always wanted a T-bar and this one, a 1998 "S" registered T-BAR, was mint, apart from the odd stone chip here and there, which is expected on any car. It'd had quite a few owners but the mileage was reasonably low (57k) so I was really happy with it. My intention from the very beginning was to get it

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converted into a Turbo but after reading into how much the conversions had cost other members of the MR2 community on both the OC and on imoc I started to wonder whether or not it was worth just selling up and getting a Turbo imported.

The Search begins I started the search for a late spec rev 3 or 4 turbo as I wanted the newest MR2 Turbo I

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could find as after owning a rev 5 I really didn’t want to go backwards and get an older car. I would have liked to have imported an original Rev 5 turbo but they’re like rocking horse poo and also very very expensive and out of my budget so I didn’t really have a choice. After months of searching the internet and emailing loads of different import companies nothing "decent" was coming up apart from the usual overpriced thrashed rubbish or cars that were mint but overpriced. There's plenty of Turbos around but good clean rev 3 or 4 Turbos are hard to come by to say the least and when they do crop up, people want a premium price for them. The other thing that was bothering me about importing was the amount of money I would stand to lose as soon as the car touched British soil. Actual import costs were near £2000 so that would be lost instantly once the car was in my hands. MR2 prices have dropped dramatically in the past year or so and I’ve seen people practically giving mint rev 5's away and no-

one was interested in them. So I started to weigh up the costs, if I sold my car for say £5k (realistic price in today’s market) and imported a mint "standard rev 4 for £8000 I would have to find £3000 from somewhere just to get the car over here and then spend extra money on upgrading things like getting a rev 5 spoiler and engine mods etc or I could just spend the £3000 on getting mine converted. I had 3 grand in mind as that seemed like the average price that people were paying for a basic conversion. That way I had a newer car with the same spec for the same money. Some people say that they don’t think its worth converting as it’s just cheaper to sell up and buy a Tubby, but for me, it just made sense. So the decision being made I started looking out for conversion packages from the usual places like Rogue and 3S but held off on getting it booked in anywhere until I knew I could get the funds together. I also kept my eyes open for crash damaged rev 3 tubbys which I could take the engine out of and get someone to fit it for me and hopefully make things a bit cheaper by breaking the car too. I posted on the MR2OC and on IMOC to see if anyone was selling one and didn’t get much response. Then in early 2006 a member of the MR2OC posted up a thread saying that he was selling a black rev 3 Turbo with 88,000 miles on the clock on behalf of his mate that had written it off within an hour of owning it.

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(Oops) After a bit of haggling on price we agreed on an amount and within a month or so I had the car transported from London to Leeds. At this point I fell rather lucky as my neighbour offered to lend me her garage "for free" to store the car whilst I broke it and took the engine out. This made things a lot easier as I would have had to leave my rev 5 on the street whilst I was breaking the tubby which I really didn’t want to do. After speaking to Peter Gidden of SbITs I decided that I defintely wanted him to do the conversion for me. His knowledge of the 2 is unbelievable and he'd always come highly recommended, plus he's a lot closer to home than the likes of Rogue and 3S. I got loads and loads of advice from other OC members and spoke to Peter at length about what work needed doing to the 3SGTE lump that I had just bought to make it bullet-proof. As I had no history about the car what so ever I wanted to make sure that everything possible was done to ensure that the engine didn’t go "bang" within a few weeks of the conversion

(Or at all for that matter). After being told about the extent of the work that would have to be done to make it bullet-proof I really started to regret buying the car. I use my MR2 as a daily driver and above anything else I just wanted the car to be reliable. I think most people would just have had the basics done like cam belt and bottom end bearings etc done but I wanted to ensure all bases were covered and everything possible was done to ensure the "solidness" of the engine. As cost was also a major factor all this work was looking like a major drain on my finances. GTS Chris to the rescue After talking to various people who had had conversions done already especially Spacey and Juliankv, I decided to sell the engine I had bought and find a better one with service history and lower mileage as it was a safer option in the long run. After a bit more searching I spotted a Rev 3 3SGTE conversion package being offered at 3S with only 40k on the clock. I emailed James at 3S and was really ready to get the car booked in for the work when an ex MR2 owner mate of mine said "why don’t you try phoning GTS Chris to see what he has on offer?". I gave Chris a call and he had what sounded too good to be true; a 1995 rev 3 3SGTE with 47k on it and it was cheaper than others I’d seen. I decided that this was the one and sent payment to Chris within a week. I also

got a few other bits off him too, i.e. downpipe, induction kit, up rated intercooler and a very nice Blitz boost controller. Chris was really helpful and also offered me a bit of discount for buying all the parts from him, which is always a bonus! I put the donor car that I’d originally bought up for sale on various sites and within a few weeks I had a buyer for it and again within another couple of weeks it was being transported back down south to a member of IMOC. I had pretty much stripped the car of all the interior parts and exterior panels and glass and sold the car on as a rolling chassis which realistically could still have been driven as all mechanical parts were still there and the engine still ran well. I sold most of the bits I had stripped on MR2 forums and good old Ebay but have still got a pile of bits sat in my neighbour’s garage. Off to Peter at SBits I spoke to Peter again and booked the car in for the conversion. Chris and Peter arranged a date for the engine and parts to

be delivered to Peter's workshop so he could start work on things like the cambelt and basically preparing it for the conversion. The car was booked in for the first week in August which was around the same time I was due to go on holiday so it worked out well as that meant I wouldn’t need to find a car to get to work etc. Fujitsubo Legalis R I was on the look out for a nice jap style twin exit exhaust for the conversion so when a Fujitsubo Legalis R came up for sale on IMOC for a steal of a price I snapped it up. I couldn’t believe how big the exhaust was when it was delivered but now it’s on the car I think it looks awesome. Nice and meaty and has a nice low rumble. I dropped the car off with Peter and went home all excited knowing that the next time I drove the car it would be a fully converted Tubby. The conversion took a little longer than expected as a few things cropped up that took longer to sort than expected (around three weeks in total). The actual transplant of the physical engine took around 40 minutes and was really straight forward, but the electrical wiring was a bit more of a problem. Things like the fog light warning light came on when the brake pedal was pressed and the rear lights not working at all, all needed sorting. The main problem was the ABS warning light being on constantly, which turned out to be something to do with the non

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ABS driveshafts and hubs that were sent with the engine. The ABS sensor rings from my original hubs had to be pressed into the non ABS ones and didn’t line up properly with the driveshaft. New driveshafts were ordered and the problem was resolved straight away. I have spent more than I originally intended on the conversion but most of the overspend is on the modifications to the engine and if I'd have had a "basic" conversion done it would have cost around the 3K mark. It’s quite funny how you can easily get into the "ah, I might as well have this and that done at the same time" frame of mind and before you know it the mod list has gone up and up and so has the cost of course. As I made some money back from breaking the original donor car and from selling my old rev 5 lump I’ve practically got the modifications for nothing so in the end I've only just gone over my original budget of 3K. Budget One thing I will say to anyone who is considering a conversion of this kind is that you should always budget for overspends as things always crop up that you don’t expect. For instance I had to get a new front engine mount that cost me £60 from MR T as the original one had perished . I know £60 doesn’t sound much in relative terms but when you have 3 or 4 items like that going

The Turbo kicked in my nerves were soon forgotten and I was grinning from ear to ear like a kid that just got his first bike.. There's just no comparison with the n/a, the performance difference is staggering.

wrong the total cost soon starts to escalate. My old rev 5 engine which only had 68,000 miles on it will soon live on in another OC members (Terribleone) revision 1 MR2. Peter is doing the conversion on his car too so the engine is just sat in his workshop waiting to be put in its new home. I thought I’d miss the smoothness and quiet running of the n/a engine but the 3S-GTE is just as quiet. Whoever owned the engine before me really looked after it. Since the conversion loads of people have commented on how quiet the engine actually is. When I went to pick the car up I was unbelievably nervous about driving it home but as soon as I got in and put my foot down

The Spec Engine: Revision 3 1995 3SGTE engine Berktech intercooler Apexi Induction kit Fujitsubo Legalis R Exhaust Walbro Fuel pump (There in case I go for big Boost later on) Blitz SBC i-color Boost Controller Stainless 3" downpipe Exterior: Kei D1 alloy 17" wheels Toyo Proxes T1R tyres all around (215 front and 235 rear) 4 rear break light conversion (all 4

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as side and brake lights with switchable inners for fogs) Light smoke tints on front windows, darker on rear Clear side repeaters Tubby engine lid

and the Turbo kicked in my nerves were soon forgotten and I was grinning from ear to ear like a kid that just got his first bike.. There's just no comparison with the n/a, the performance difference is staggering. Now I’ve had the car for a few weeks and become more confident with driving a Turbo'd car I’ve started to turn the boost controller up and had some real fun with it. Big thanks to A really big thanks goes to Peter Gidden for doing such a fantastic job with the conversion and a big thanks to my girlfriend for putting up with me talking about my car all the time!

Suspension: Standard shocks and springs Front and rear strut braces (Coilovers to come)

Interior: JVC touch screen MP3 player JBL 601.1 amp powering subs JBL 75.1 amp powering components Phoenix Gold 6.5" components 2 x Kenwood Subs 0 Gauge dual amp wiring kit Standard Rev 5 Leather interior

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RUSTPROOFING the MKI byRob RobHawkins Hawkins by

The MKI is the rustiest of the MR2 models, so Rob Hawkins shows how to keep the tinworm away. Rust has got to be one of the major downfalls of the MKI MR2. Just about every owner can recall a rotten sill, A-post or rear arch. Luckily, there are various rust prevention products that can help to reduce the risk of your MKI being transformed into a pile of iron oxide. We’ve used a couple of preventative products from Comma in this feature (see the Product Prices panel for details). The obvious areas to protect are those exposed to the elements, such

as the wheel arches, underbody and around the front of the car. The less exposed areas are also where the problems can start. Rust can start inside a sill or an A-post for example. The following six steps show where to look and how to treat the metalwork to hopefully keep the rust away. Set aside half a day to remove the parts we’ve outlined and treat them with a rust preventative.

Tools Used

Products Used

Crosshead screwdrivers – including angled/bendy Ratchet, short extension and 10mm socket Sponge and water to clean bodywork and inside sill cover White spirit to clean off any overspray of Underbody Seal

Product Prices (supplied by Comma Oils 01474 564311 www.commaoil.com) Wax Seal £6.49 Underbody Seal £5.99 Release Oil £3.99

1. Spray penetrating fluid or release oil over all the screws and bolts that hold the sill cover in position (there should be 13 in total). This extends to two crosshead screws within the front and rear wheel arches. Wait a few minutes, then tr y to slacken all the screws and bolts. Some will probably have seized, so try to avoid rounding the heads.

2. Once all the screws and 10mm bolts have been slackened in the last step, remove all of them and the sill cover can then be released. It consists of two parts – a short section at the rear and a longer cover for the sill. Clean the inside of the cover and the sill and grease the mounts.

3. Spray a wax based solvent such as Comma Wax Seal through the threaded holes for the sill cover mounts. Prod around with a screwdriver to check the condition of the sill. If it’s solid, spray over it with an exterior underseal such as Comma Underbody seal.

4. Remove the offside engine vent cover (two crosshead screws) followed by the rubber gasket (four crosshead screws) and push in the rubber cover inside. You can now get to the back of the rear wheelarch and the rear of the sill. Spray them with a wax based solvent but tr y to avoid spraying over the wiring.

5. Open each door and remove the plastic grille on the slam panel, fitted with one crosshead screw. This provides access to the B-post and top of the sill, so spray around with wax. As with the previous step, avoid coating any wiring.

6. With each door open, move to the A-post and spray wax through the door stop mount. This will help protect the metalwork inside the A-post. Also, spray wax through the drain hole in the bottom rear corner of each door. Make sure the window is wound up when you do this to prevent spraying over the glass.

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twotone2 by martin weaver

Rebuilds – love them or hate them, it is becoming a necessity these days to start a project car absolutely from scratch. The low mileage minters out there are almost completely spoken for and the chances of finding one are almost zero. This means if you have your heart set on owning a mint 80’s motor, you will inevitably need a fat cheque book or will have to be prepared to get your hands dirty – sometimes very dirty! Not everyone can bring themselves to work passionately on a car for months on end – but there is the odd exception. Meet Russ Boreman, he spent almost a year of his life in the garage repairing and crafting the stunning ‘87 Mk1 you see on these pages.

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Disaster Russ originally owned an ‘85 car which he unfortunately crashed just at the point where he was getting somewhere with it, to say he was gutted was an understatement. “Once the realisation sunk in that I had lost my first MR2, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to buy another,” he recalls. A familiar statement! Barely a month later and Russ was exchanging a fistful of Dollars for another Mk1 and this time big plans were in store for it (he just didn’t know it yet!). The ‘87 looked great with its factor y two tone paint job and Russ promptly started to transfer any salvageable upgrades from his ‘85 onto the new car. The freshly rebuilt stock engine and transmission were the first to make the transfer and an uprated ACT clutch was fitted during the swap for good measure. These were closely followed by the Eibach springs and Tokico shocks from the original car. Polyurethane bushes, a rear strut brace and anti-roll bar all supplied by High & Tight Motorsport completed the chassis department.

Subtle mods The metal hard top was then promptly welded back in, adding both extra rigidity to the shell and a lower centre of gravity, removing no less than 11.5 kilograms from the highest point of the car. Once the structure of the body was finished a few subtle body mods were selected to enhance the ‘87’s appearance, including an FX designs front air dam, stock side skirts, an ‘89 rear LED wing and a rare Thomas Design engine cover. The end of the tunnel was now in sight and with a fresh paint job comprising Toyota factory Blue and Silver colours and the original twotone layout, the car was nearing completion and looked great. Once out of the paint shop the whole thing was reassembled to as higher standard as possible and thankfully for the final time. ICE upgrade

Under the hood Engine wise, on top of the standard spec rebuild, a HKS 200mm air intake was added, relocated dual oil filters were fitted, the EGR valve was removed and a custom grounding wire kit was installed. Amazingly, Russ did all the work with a little help from close friend and fellow enthusiast Trevor Scotten. Next on the hit list was the interior, out came all the faded blue parts of the stock trim and back in went classy black items from the old ‘85. There were, as you would expect, a few compatibility problems with some parts due to the difference in revisions, but after a few dozen phone calls and salvage yard visits the new style cockpit was complete. The head unit was also changed but on Russ’s list of priorities this is at the bottom, with the cars dynamics and per formance taking precedence. Labour of love The car was originally from Alberta which is renowned for its rusty cars and unfortunately Russ’s was no exception, as he explains “I wasn’t happy with the look of the car at all and I actually started to hate it. It had holes in the rear fenders I could poke my arm up into!” With the rust really starting to spread the decision was made to take the car off the road in the winter of 2004, and Russ embarked on a huge labour of love “I worked in my garage every weekend and most evenings for 10 months, cutting out the rust and trimming the fender pieces from my old MR2 to make one solid set”, he recalls. The car was a bare shell at this point, and having never attempted any sort of bodywork before, Russ enlisted the help of good friend Curtis Wrobel. Curtis welded the panels to the body and Russ undertook the arduous task of grinding every weld flush.

Along the way, the relatively standard stereo system now also received some attention, including higher quality c o m p o n e n t speakers, a new subwoofer, amplifier and CD changer. The final finishing touch the car needed was a new set of rims, and after much searching each corner received a Hyperblack 5 zigen RSX-6 wheel, 16”x7” on the front and 17”x7” on the rear. That is the story of the ‘87 so far. However Russ tells us he doesn’t think the car will ever be finished. Future plans His future plans include having the brakes rebuilt and painted this winter, and the fitment of custom door panels and interior accent pieces. Partners for life With such a thorough rebuild now at an end Russ absolutely loves the car, telling us, “My ‘87 will definitely stay with me for a lifetime as it’s a huge part of who I am. Everyday I get stopped by strangers admiring the car and it gets many looks, from kids to seniors” With us now entering December I am sure a lot of you will be contemplating next year’s modifications or perhaps even a major strip down like Russ’s Mk1. I hope the fantastic finish applied to this car acts as an inspiration for anyone taking a similar route - Now where’s that socket set?

At the same time it was decided to lose the sunroof. Russ missed the hard top from his ‘85 so much that he wanted it back.

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‘87 Toyota MR2 Mk1 Previous Car: Silver ‘85 MR2 (crashed). Current Car: Third owner, purchased in May 2003. Actual Build date: August ’86. Engine: • ‘85 blue top / 3 rib block engine – rebuilt with new rings, bearing, and seals. • ‘85 transmission with Redline MT-90 fluid. • HKS 200mm intake & adaptor. • Polished intake from AFM to Head. • New Gaskets from Toyota and o-rings from Kbox Engineering. • Magnaflow custom exhaust: 2 _” mandrel bent pipes & stainlesssteel: muffler, tip, & catalytic converter. • Greddy oil catch tank. • Speed-Source stainless steel braided clutch line, extended clutch throughout pin & brass shifter cable bushings. • NGK 8mm spark plug wires. • Denso Iridium spark plugs. • TRD oil filler cap. • TRD fuel cap cover. • TD Billet Dual oil filter relocation kit. • ACT 200cm extreme pressure plate and clutch street disc. • New master and slave clutch cylinders. • Urethane filled OEM front and rear engine mounts. • Custom stainless braided oil cooler lines. • Blue silicone vacuum lines. • Thomas Design custom oil dip-stick extension. • Custom battery relocation to front trunk with Moroso kill switch. • Coles-Herresey positive and negative battery posts. • Custom throttle cable relocation bracket. • ERG removed. Wheels & Suspension: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

5Zigen RSX-6 Rims in Hyper-Black: 16” front, 17” rear. Nexen 3000 Tires 205/40/16-17 Eibach Pro-kit springs. Tokico HP (Blues) struts. High & Tight polyurethane bushings. High & Tight front tie-rod ends. High & Tight rear strut tower brace. High & Tight 16mm rear anti-sway bar. High & Tight first gen. end-links. OEM front anti-sway bar. OEM front strut tower brace - straight version. Urethane filled OEM front strut tops. Supra 712 tires on OEM stock sport alloy rims – winter rims.

Exterior: • Full body restoration, all rust removed, metal panels welded in from my ’85. • Sunroof to Hardtop conversion. Shaved antenna. 25lbs removed from roof. • Two-tone dealership paint scheme recreated in custom paint job. • Blue Pearl Mica (8E3) and Super Silver Metallic (150) paint. • FX Designs FX400 Combat style front air dam with ’85 front bumper cover. • OEM 2 piece side skirts. • Thomas Design custom engine lid (1 of 18) attached to stock subframe. • J-spec Super Edition Power Folding Side Mirrors.

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• • • • • • • • • • • •

J-spec/Euro OEM front parking light assemblies with lenses. J-spec/Euro OEM side markers. J-spec Toyota Badge & OEM TRD Badges OEM ‘91 Camry clear front parking light lenses - optional. OEM sports edition clear rear window visor. Kbox Engineering gasket kits: side skirts, tail lights, & rear window trim. Hella H4 headlamps. PIAA H-208, 55/60 > 125/135 watt, extreme white headlight bulbs. Xenon replacement bulbs – full treatment. Hella / Optilux 1300 4”round fog lamps with 55W Xenon bulbs. Front license plate relocated J-spec style. BCMR2 Club member’s license plate frames.

Interior: • ‘85 OEM black interior: carpet, seats, dash, and trim. • ‘89 OEM black leather steering wheel, center console, and leather wrapped – E-brake handle. • ‘85 OEM grey vinyl headliner for hard top conversion. • ‘87 to ‘85 heater core and climate control cluster swap. • MOMO Super Anatomic black leather shift knob, & Momo Italy – black leather shift boot. • Autometer 2 _” gauges: Volt, Oil Temp., and Air/Fuel Mix. • LoTek dual gauge pillar pod from www.gaugepods.com. • Sparco pedals. • Custom short shift kit (“John ‘O” style). • OEM Mk2 charcoal floor mats. Stereo: • • • • • • • •

JVC CD player – 45x4 watts. Premiere 120x4 channel amplifier. JVC 560 watt 2 channel amplifier. 2 JVC 6 _” door speakers with tweeter relocation/crossover kit. 2 JVC 2 _” rear c-pillar speakers. 2 Alpine 4” dash speakers. JVC 12 disc MP3 CD changer. Pioneer Premiere 10” subwoofer in a custom box behind the passenger seat. • Tsunami large 1 fared capacitor. • Stinger gold-plated audio wiring & fuse kit. Other: • Ampro alarm with motion sensor upgrade & power door locks. • FIAM chrome dual-trumpet air horns. • OEM Mk1 Car Cover. Accomplishments: • • • •

BCMR2 2006 Calendar – Car for the Month of October 2nd Best Toyota – All Japanese Car Show 2006 May 2006 Showcased Car of the Month – www.mr2board.com Viewer’s Choice Award – BC2006

International MR2 Owner’s Club member BC MR2 Owner’s Club member Vancouver Island MR2 Owner’s Club – President

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ightweight wheels are an often under rated and misunderstood genuine performance modification.

If, for the purposes of this discussion, we ignore the effects of rolling radius and offset and the changes they may impose on the geometry of the vehicle and just consider the structure and weight displacement of the wheel we find there are still many often overlooked factors. The first thing to consider is the manufacturing process of the wheel. Usually you have a choice of the following, an aluminium cast wheel, a forged aluminium wheel, a steel pressed wheel, a magnesium forged wheel and of course split rims. The same theory applies to all of them but in most cases (due to cost and the fact they’re as good as anything) the choice is between cast and forged aluminium. Without going in to too many details regarding manufacturing processes forging produces a much more sound structure, which means you can have a similar strength component using less material (and hence less weight) or you can have a similar weight component that is much stronger. In the case of a wheel manufacturers will have minimum strength requirements so they will be made to a minimum weight. I recently changed from cast 17 inch wheels to 16 inch forged ones (shown below). The clearance to the calliper was almost identical between the wheels, even though the forged wheels were 16 inch as opposed to 17. This is because the rim could be made using much less material for the same strength. On the same token I needed 6mm spacers on the 17 inch wheels for the spokes to clear the calliper. I needed only a 2mm on the forged as the spokes contained so much less material (the wheels were the same offset). A steel rim could be made quite thin also, and in some cases can be lighter than an aluminium wheel. Also it’s worth noting that a magnesium wheel may not be much lighter than a forged aluminium one, if at all, and would be quite expensive. The forged rims weighed in at 6.4kg (for an 8 inch rear) where as the 17 cast one came in at over 15kg, saving nearly 35 kg off the weight of the car. This however only tells part of the story. The unsprung mass is reduced, which will allow the suspension to work more as it’s intended to. Also it will improve the ride of the vehicle, the most important factor being the reduction in rotational inertia. This is

Cast 17 inch wheels (ironically) written down as I = MR2 Where I is the moment of inertia, M is the mass and R is the distance of this mass from the axis of rotation, then squared. What this means is if you draw a line from the centre of the wheel to the edge of the tyre, at some point on that line there will be a centre of mass point. It’s likely to be situated on or close to the rim, as this is the point where the mass is concentrated. In order to reduce the inertia you need to either reduce the distance this mass concentration is from the axis or reduce the mass. Fitting the smallest rims possible is a good start, as this formula means that the more you reduce the distance (R) of the mass concentration you square the benefits, making the savings even more than they would appear from the reduction in diameter. There are other benefits when using forged wheels, the impact resistance is improved over cast wheels, which means you can even further reduce the mass in the rim of the wheel in the forged wheel (an impact test is one that will need to be carried out for certification), again reducing the R value. If you ever have chance, see how little material a forged wheel has in the rim area than a cast one, its quite significant. So what does this mean to us in the real world? Well, if you have a big moment of inertia you need more torque to accelerate it, and it requires an awful lot of torque to spin four wheels that weigh nearly 100kg in total. This is torque that could be used to accelerate the car but instead is being consumed by accelerating the wheels. The same theory applies to all rotating components in the car, including flywheels, gears, clutches etc. It is possible of course to have two wheels that weigh the same but if their mass is concentrated in a different way they may have different moments of inertia.

Email your technical queries and questions to:skinthespin@mr2only.com and where possible we will publish them in each issue

Forged 16 inch wheels There is a more complicated formula that relates the difference in inertia between two wheels to dead weight and tells you an equivalent weight saving. However, as a rule of thumb if you save 1kg of dead weight off a wheel it’s the equivalent to saving 2kg of dead weight off the vehicle in terms of improved acceleration. This means that by saving 35 kg by changing wheels I’ve saved the equivalent of 70 kg off the weight of the car, which is significant. In reality its likely to have a bigger effect than that however, as this rule of thumb is for wheels where R is the same but the mass is half, as I’ve gone from 17 inch to 16 inch and the manufacturing processes are quite different its likely R is much less also. The effect of this is the car feels much more responsive (the tyres I have means the rolling radius is the same so gearing effects are cancelled) as the moment of inertia is so much less its much easier to accelerate the wheels. This is especially noticeable as I exit a corner, the car feels much more lively and ready to accelerate, almost as if someone has reduced the turbo lag. I have driven the car extensively on road and track with both sets of wheels and think it’s probably the single biggest (and simplest) performance modifications I’ve carried out. Useful website for more detailed info on formula etc. http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/HBASE/mi.html#mix

To advertise your MR2 specialist parts or services please email: mr2only.advertising@ntlworld.com to enquire about our current special offers and advertising rates If you have an interesting MR2 or an event or story to feature email:andyb@mr2only.com MR2 Only

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Sleek andStunning award winning SW20

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avid Duryea aka Phoenix of the MR2Board.com is a lucky guy, he originally comes from the USA and owns the pristine Mk2 you see on these pages.

D Feature writted by Martin Weaver - martin2mr2only,com Photos by Tyler Green

Now here comes the crazy bit – he lives and works in Japan. Lets just summarise these facts – An American who loves Mr2’s, has a mint example in storage in the USA and lives in homeland of the mark, but, I hear you ask, will he take advantage of living in such a place? You are damn right!! The car is tucked up back in the US in it’s current form at the moment, but David is slowly amassing an awesome collection of parts that you just can’t get hold of anywhere else & if you are lucky we may reveal a couple of his plans later on. Back to the red beauty then, David bought the car from a seller on eBay back in 2004, when he was overseas with the military which meant the car sat gathering dust for 5 months while he was away. David tells us his motives for buying, “I think the biggest reason I went for the car was the look of the MR2 in general. It really appealed to me and since it was a not such a common car, I had to have one. At that time I wasn't big into fast cars, more for the looks, which is why I settled on an NA engine” Upon getting the car home, closer inspection revealed that the seller hadn’t given David the whole story. The paint finish was less than perfect and in places looked like it had been applied with an aerosol. There was also an awful oversized aluminium wing bolted to the rear which was promptly binned, but after a full two days valeting inside and out the car was looking slightly better and David began looking at possible styling ideas for the Mk2. Let the mods commence The first modification the car received was in the stereo

department, after all the car was a daily driver so it had to have a decent sound system. With Kenwood and Infinity supplying the goods the car was introduced to an mp3 head unit, a set of mids, highs, a pair of tweeters and finally a 10 inch sub completing the setup. David was now driving the car every day and did so for around 3 months but eventually it started to get him down and he became embarrassed to be seen in it, “the rattle can paint job went south, the car had a poor lowering job (cut springs) and the engine just wasn't fast enough for me”, he painfully recalls. As winter was approaching David decided for the cars own good, and his street cred he would take her off the road for some attention. Wanting to do a proper job he even bought a second car to become his regular transport, hmm, can you guess what he bought? An 85 Mk1 MR2 of course! Under the hood The engine was the first target for a bit of fettling, from the head up it was taken apart, cleaned and all new gaskets were installed. A new cold air intake, Sautchrome Headers, new ignition components, and a KO Racing Quad Tipped Dual exhaust all found their way into the compartment and although no huge power gains were made, the engine now breathed and sounded a hell of a lot better. On the inside Next up was the interior, prepare for some techie stuff here. The dash was a little boring so David attacked it with fiberglass, with subtle changes and a new found smoothness it looks great – worth all that itching! While working on the dashboard, our man decided to install a 7 inch touch screen, but no ordinary screen, this one is powered by a Toshiba laptop cunningly concealed behind the drivers seat for full on carputer status. David now has fingertip control of his music, video, and GPS navigation in one combined system, very impressive.

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With the purchase and application of a Kroto colour matching gauge layover kit and door trims to match the interior was looking great, and as the car came with a tidy retrim already installed the theme was complete. Handling Attention now moved to the chassis department, a set of KYB adjustable struts mated to Eibach springs were purchased, along with the fitting of an AndrewM front strut Brace and a stock turbo rear cross tower bar the difference was amazing, “the suspension upgrade made a tremendous difference in performance, and the look, the ride and feel of the car, especially in the canyons is superb”, David explains. Not only does the car now drive and handle like it should but it looks just awesome, the ride height, or should I say ride low! makes it look just plain mean. It’s so low in fact that the front sections of the side skirts are just 1.7 inches from the tarmac! Another ingenious touch David has applied are the “Rhino Liner” wheel arch liners, this stuff is usually used to line the rear of pick-up trucks, which means it is virtually indestructible and really easy to clean. Another clever mod that was well worth the time it took to apply. And now for the hardest part Now came the hardest part of the build yet, David decided to sand the car in readiness for paint entirely by hand, a huge task to undertake. The previous owner had kindly moulded the old bodykit to the car which needed hours of work to remove. The new parts selected for the car were now mounted, these included a new TRD widebody wing and a Tom’s Air Scoop to the driver’s side engine bay. The rosso corsa paint was then sprayed onto the bodywork along with a custom red / gold pearl lacquer mix. The leftovers were used on the dash & a few other interior parts.

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Award winner The project lasted from November, 2004 and was finally complete June, 2005, the day before NA2005 (the North American national Toyota

MR2 Meet). It was the first time the car was unveiled and David won best custom interior. Disaster struck Unfortunately with highs there must be lows and just 3 weeks after she was completed, and two trophy winning shows later, a truck crossed the center line on a local byway and hit David head on, destroying the car. Knowing he was moving to Japan pretty soon he decided to go hell for leather repairing the car before he went. New parts were sourced and a complete front end was fitted. A full length crack along the shell was repaired and the whole car was repainted for a second time with another custom mix. Back on the road again, and award winning again With his pride and joy now back on the road, David had repaired the car just in time for a final show. He took the red beast along and beat hundreds of others to walk away with the “best of show – import” award under his arm, a hugely well deserved reward for the massive amount of hard work and dedication he has showed the car. Safely tucked away, awaiting future development Where is the Mk2 now David is in Japan? “She now sits in a special storage facility awaiting my return and all the little goodies I have planned for her next.” He tells us and what about those future plans? Well the car is going to change again and in more ways than one. The interior will see a pair of Bride Racing seats, a four point Roll cage, Sparco Extreme 2 Steering Wheel and a Custom Built Gauge Cluster. On the outside you will see a Bomex engine lid and mirrors, USDM Clear Corner lights, Ganador Mirrors and 94 onwards Tail lights. BEAMS, say no more... The biggest and most amazing project however will be the engine, I won’t go into detail now but I will leave you with two words that say it all, Beams and Turbo! Now you don’t see that combination every day, and if you want to know more look out for the full project in a future edition of MR2Only. Thanks go to... Special thanks to Kris at KO Racing for his knowledge, 14mm wrench, and the wonderful exhaust that he built. Andrew M and Jeff (MRTurrari) for their knowledge and willingness to help me out when I needed it. Tyler Green for his wonderful pictures, my dad for his outstanding support, and everyone at the MR2Board.com, I definitely couldn’t have done any of this without you guys.

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Award Meticulous Details, Ogden, Utah, October, 2004 2nd place, 2 door mild NA2005 (National MR2 Meet), Topeka, Kansas, June, 2005 Best Custom Interior. OC Details Custom Car Show, Salt Lake City, Utah, July, 2005 Best Customization Fall of Evolution Custom Car Show, Ogden, Utah, September, 2005 , Best of Show, Import MR2Board's MR2 of the Month, www.MR2Board.com January, 2006 MR2 of the Month Body Modifications • Bomex Front Bumper • Veilside Side Skirts • Veilside Rear Bumper • Toms Air Scoop • TRD WideBody Wing • 98+ JDM Clear Corners • Custom Tail Lights • Custom PPG Cossa Rosso Paint w/ Red Pearl • Shaved Side Moldings • Molded 1 Piece Body

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Future Body Modifications • Ganador Mirrors • Bomex Scoops • 94+ Tail Lights • USDM Clear Corners Interior Enhancements • R-Speed D-Style Steering Wheel • Momo Steering Wheel Hub • Kroto Gauge Faces • Engine Push Button Start • Recovered Leather Seats • Recovered Door Panels • Turbo CD Box • Custom Fiberglassed Dash • Lilliput 7" Touchscreen • Toshiba Laptop • GPS Navigation

Future Interior Modifications • Bride Seats • Sparco Extreme II Steering Wheel • Recovered Suede Interior • Custom Built Gauge Cluster • Wheels and Suspension • Cam 17" X 7.5 Wheels, Painted • Kumho Ecsta 215/40/R17 • Kyb AGX Adjustable Shocks • Eibach Sportline Lowering Springs • Rubber Lined Wheel Wells • Future Susp./Wheel Mods • Slotted and Powdercoated Rotors • Powdercoat Strut Assembly • Powdercoat Lower Arm • Powdercoated Calipers • Suspension Techinques Sway Bars • H&R 15mm Rear Wheel Spacers Engine and Performance • Nitrous Works Wet 50 Shot • SSAutoChrome Headers • KO Racing Quad Tipped Dual Exhaust • Cold Air Intake • Polished Valve Cover and Intake Mani. Future Mods • Beams......nuff said :)

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ell it all started at Tatton Park Car show in August this year during a conversation with one of the MK1 club members.They asking if we (the MR2 Drivers Club North West) had though of holding rolling road day?

I hadn't but new that Chris Lloyd at Hyper Sport had recently purchased a new 2500 bhp Dyno, so I said I would set something up. After the show I rang Chris and arranged for a day to be booked for 18/20 cars on Saturday November 11, then I logged on to the various forums of all the

MR2 Drivers Club - No Written by Allan Farrimond & Steve Bishop. Photos by Andy Bishop & Allan Farrimond

clubs to publicize the event only to find that the IMOC had a tread running discussing the very same idea, so they very kindly let me take the lead as I had already started the ball rolling.

When we received an invite from Jon Leech to the North West rolling road day organised by Allan Farrimond, once we saw the line up, we jumped at the chance, and with Hyper Sports only being forty minutes from base, even better!

We arrived at Hypersports bright and early to be greeted by Jon and Allan, and introduced to some of the other guys as well as Chris the owner of Hyper Sports and Racing where we got to see their newly installed Dynodynamics rolling road with an impressive power

Well two weeks to go and still places left so a quick reminded out to all the clubs and all the places were filled, great news representation from all the clubs, MR2DC, IMOC, MR2OC, MK1 Club and ROC a truly joint event. Even better news Jon Leech drops me a note saying that the new MR2 Only Mag want to come and write an article, that's were we are now. My thanks to Chris and the crew at Hyper Sports and to all those that turned up to make it a great day event despite the bloody cold weather. PS. Great also to see that Apexi induction kit does as advertised give a good bhp increase 9.9bhp to be precise. Allan Farrimond MR2 Drivers Club Ragional Co-ordinator for the North West

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Name: Allan Farrimond Car: Mk2 Turbo Rev 3 Mods: Standard Expected BHP: Standard Actual BHP: 223.4/RWP 166.6 Owners comment: Happy with that Operators Comment: Boost issues above 5550 rpm, possible boost leak, dump valve 2nd Run with Apexi induction kit fitted: 233bhp/195.7RWP. Delighed! best ÂŁ150 spent so far.

Name: Jon Leech Car: Rev 3 N/A G-Ltd Anniversary Mods: Apexi intake, stainless exhaust, Unichip Expected BHP: 175bhp Actual BHP: 170.5bhp Owners comment: Slightly lower than expected but happy Operators Comment: Good car, good run

Name: Nat Dickson Car: 86 mk1 MR2 Mods: Bosch Super 4 plugs, custom exhaust, K&N filter element, Maplins cat deterrent! Expected BHP: 125bhp Actual BHP: 115.9bhp Owners comment: Pleased nothing wrong with it, it likes revs Operators Comment: 20yr old 111,000 mile car making good power, brilliant!

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orth West Rolling Road Day capability of some 2400 bhp, incidentally the same set up as our rolling road day last issue at Weston Performance. As the cars rolled in and rolled off only pausing momentarily for the guys to refuel on bacon butties (thanks guys who ever bought those) the

Name: Graham Fletcher Car: Rev 2 N/A G-Ltd Mods: Stainless exhaust, K&N induction, Superchip Expected BHP: 162bhp Actual BHP: 138.3bhp/113.4rwp Owners comment: Running very, very, very lean, wait for the V6 next year! Operators Comment: Run terminated, running way to lean

findings of the day were the similar to that of our day at Weston Performance, with most of the mark two MR2s overfuelling and running to lean, the comment coming back from Chris. Slightly different to that of the MR2OC arranged day we went to at Weston that was only mark

Name: Mike Davis Car: Rev 2 N/A G-Ltd Mods: Standard Expected BHP: 158bhp Actual BHP: 145.5bhp/119.1rwp Owners comment: Could do better Operators Comment: Good run, 19 horses down over 15 yrs, not bad

Name: Lee Wright Car: Rev 5 N/A Mods: Standard Expected BHP: 160bhp Actual BHP: 167.7bhp/138.4rwp Owners comment: Well happy with that! Operators Comment: Good solid standard car

Name: Neil Latham Car: rev 3 Turbo Mods: ST205 charge cooler, Blitz induction, blow off valve, Ausie down pipe, Apexi GT exhaust, Blitz boost controller Expected BHP: 290-300bhp Actual BHP: 279.3bhp Owners comment: Another job for the winter, hope to get better next time Operators Comment: Aborted run, dangerously lean after 5000rpm, possible fuel pump and remap required

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An excellently organised event with a great mixture of MR2s, mk1, mk2â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and roadsters including one of Silverstone Performances TTE turbo conversions twos, Allan had opened up the invite to include the MR2OC, IMOC, mk1 owners club and the roadster owners club, and quite pleasing for us, some representatives from each mark turned up, a great strong 20-year -old mark one owned by Nat Dickson, pulled off the rollers, pleased as punch, some great strong N/As with good runs, as well as some impressive spec turbos, some with a few problems, but nevertheless showing great potential when set up right.

Name: JJ and Skye Car: Rev 2 N/A Mods: Apexi induction kit Expected BHP: Standard Actual BHP: 148.7bhp/122rwp Owners comment: Not bad, room for improvement, going to fit an Apexi SAFC Operators Comment: Good run, although overfuelling and running rich

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Another few interesting findings were that a couple of stock or roadsters kicked out slightly above power than factory spec, one of which had the pre-cat removed, also Alan Farimond ran his first power run completely stock whist eagerly awaiting the postman who later delivered his Apexi induction kit, of which he fitted there and then and had a second run, showing a marked increase of close on 10bhp, nice to see the Apexi induction kit does exactly what it says on the box.

Name: Ben G Car: rev 3 Turbo Mods: Custom exhaust, de-cat, Apexi induction kit, Greddy Intercooler, JE dorced pistons, HKS metal head gasket, lightened crank, Fidenza flywheel, Apexi power FC and AVCR Expected BHP: 325bhp Actual BHP: 297.2bhp/251.1rwp Owners comment: At least I could run this time Operators Comment: High levels of detonation, disappointed should see 360bhp

We also got to see a couple of TTE converted roadsters, we met Steve from the MR2OC, absolute bonkers, without any technical knowledge at all, he recently embarked on a home made project of converting his standard 2001 roadster to turbo power, cable ties, and Ikea brackets included, Steve chose not to run the car on the dyno as he is saving it for the roadster extravaganza at Silverstone Performance on the 25th which we will be publishing a report of in issue two.

Name: Joshua Bennett Car: Rev 1 N/A Mods: Remus exhaust, K&N panel filter, Super chip, new ignition components Expected BHP: 161bhp Actual BHP: 161.5bhp/133.2rwp Owners comment: Very happy Operators Comment: Nice smooth power curve, healthy engine

Name: Paul Dickson Car: Rev 5 N/A Mods: Apexi induction kit, Magnex Exhaust Expected BHP: 190bhp Actual BHP: 160.6bhp/132.2rwp Owners comment: Gutted its overfuelling Operators Comment: Has turbo like fuelling, running way to rich

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Just as it was nearly time to go home, and the cold was starting to bite, Philip Reed turned up with his recently converted impressive 2001 TTE turbo conversion by Silverstone Performance themselves, this was an awesome looking roadster, running low boost, Chris commented that 173 bhp was a great result with the car showing great potential with an ECU upgrade, another happy TTE roadster owner. So yet another great day had by all, great to see a mixture of guys from all of the MR2 Owners clubs, showing the true spirit of what the MR2 community is all about, sharing their

Name: Nick Foxton Car: 2003 Roadster Mods: Pre-cats removed, Mark AII intake Expected BHP: 138bhp Actual BHP: 141.8bhp/115.9rwp Owners comment: Very happy Operators Comment: Another great run from a standard car

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experiences, and technical talk, quite a few left smiling, and one or two left with a little of list things to do, but with great potential once set up and running right, thanks again for the invite guys, and look forward to seeing you all again soon. We can obviously only cover UK rolling road days in person, but are you arranging a rolling road day in your MR2 club elsewhere in the MR2 community? why not take us some photos, report the findings, and it would be great to cover it in MR2 Only Magazine, email steveb@mr2only.com

Name: Atiq Tajammal Car: Rev 3 N/A Turbo conv Mods: K&N induction, Performance P1 stainless, Decat, plugs and leads Expected BHP: 300bhp Actual BHP: 262.2bhp Owners comment: Not bad for first run since conversion Operators Comment: Good run, not bad power if running more boost

Name: Nicky Fox Car: Rev 1 Turbo Mods: K&N induction kit, Collins double piston dump valve Expected BHP: 200bhp I hope! Actual BHP: 210.4bhp/176.3rwp Owners comment: Very happy, pleased nothing wrong, quite content Operators Comment: Good run, bit low on boost but good for age

Name: Phillip Reed Car: 2001 TTE Turbo conversion roadster Mods: Standard except for Silverstone Performance turbo conversion Expected BHP: 180bhp Actual BHP: 173.1bhp/143.2rwp Owners comment: Well pleased, as expected, spend some more money now! Operators Comment: Great result, good potential with an ECU

Name: Richard Mowbray Car: 2001 Roadster Mods: Standard Expected BHP: 138bhp Actual BHP: 138.6bhp/113.3rwp Owners comment: Chuffed to bits Operators Comment: Very impressed, rare to see factory power output

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ep, it’s a Roadster and yep it has been modified! Our first modified Mk3 has hit MR2Only pages, and what a car it is too with almost every aspect of it seeing the busy hand of modification, oh and did we mention it’s turbocharged too?

Owner Phil Ditum certainly has some bottle, taking a spanner to a car that’s barely out of warranty, he must be driving one of the most unique roadsters out there, we like!

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and his Girlfriend into the car for a road trip. I can imagine the conversation now - “Honey, do you fancy a trip across Europe, to Budapest maybe?” Girlfriend – “Err, yeah that sounds like fun, oh now just hang on a sec, isn’t Budapest where that turbo

compan…..” Phil cuts in – “Really sweetheart??, you’re joking!!, now where’s that suitcase”

The test drive Test driving the car just over a year ago Phil was reluctant at first to leave his 96 Mk2 Turbo, but having previously done some research on the Mk3 he was becoming increasingly intrigued at the prospect of owning one. The only drawback he could find was a lack of power in comparison to his Mk2. With the owner of the example you see here emigrating to Australia, Phil had almost bought the car before he even saw it and knowing the totally honest reason for sale he was hooked. The test drive was inevitably a bit of a farce but the roadsters awesome handling reminded Phil more of skiing than driving, he could see the huge amounts of potential the car had for a tuning addict! The deal is sealed Moneys were promptly exchanged - what a bargain! The car came with a list of additions as long as your arm and receipts totalling around 2k. Equipped with a complete hardtop kit, H&S exhaust and Apexi induction setup it was clear that the previous owner was only interested in top quality components and Phil fully intended to honour this trend with his future plans. Now with keys in hand and palms starting to sweat at the prospect of what was to come Phil set out his plans and explains in his own words “My quest for modifications began and the ever growing to do list just never shrinks” Sitting firmly at the top of this list was a turbo conversion and after some shopping around tuning company C2 Power were settled on as a supplier (www.c2power.com). A trip with a difference Shortly after, in April 06 Phil packed himself

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We catch up with Phil Ditum and his Mental Mk3 that ran an impres

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And so, with Tom Tom guiding their way, the duo set off on the long trip that would hopefully be a lot quicker on the way home. Arriving at C2 Power impressions were immediately very good as Phil tells, “Gaspar the owner was amazing, nothing was too much trouble and his own roadster was a true beast”. The impressive kit that was to be installed on the Mk3 is superbly manufactured and consists of; Garrett GT28R dual ball bearing watercooled turbo Stainless steel manifold with 3 Sensor outlets (2 factory and 1 for wideband) Stainless steel MR2 CAI pipe with Apexi air filter Stainless steel Turbo to Intercooler pipe Stainless steel Intercooler to throttle body pipe Rear Mounted Intercooler Greddy e-manage piggyback ECU with injector harness C2Power 2.75" exhaust and a high flow catalytic converter Sard "R2D2" blow off valve 400cc injectors Once fitted the car was fired up, thoroughly checked and then taken out on its maiden voyage for a live mapping session. With a few tweaks here and there it was good to go and Phil started the long trip home with a huge grin across his face. “Now it was incredible” he says, “I was running it in as we flew back through the night and the countries of the EU seemed to just swoosh by” The following month Phil added a Profec E01 electronic boost controller and fitted its display screen into the navpod (A Japanese only option usually used to house the Jap sat nav unit)

pressive 269bhp at Silverstone Performance on the ROC Dyno Extravaganza MR2 Only

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the Mk3 got stacks of attention and even tempted a few Mk2 owners to have a look around! which was ordered directly from Japan, it fits into the dash really nicely On the outside Next up was a bit of bodywork attention, the now hard to source El-Creation body kit which eventually came from the USA. The kit was applied with the hope of showing the car at JAE, it made it to the show but Phil wasn’t completely happy as the car still needed some finishing. However, the Mk3 got stacks of attention and even tempted a few Mk2 owners to have a look around! With the new TSW Volcano 17’s, Tein coilovers, Member Braces, an Anti-flex Plate and JIC Magic Strut Bar the chassis is more than a match for that extra power and drives like a go kart. Remap More recently the car has been remapped and tuned at Thor Rolling Road Performance, and what a great job they have done! The power delivery is smoother and the turbo response is instant at 7psi. The torque curve is more like a straight line as is the power plot. Since this mapping and tuning session Phil has ran the roadster on 2 boost settings, 12psi for high boost and about 8psi on the low setting. At a recent IMOC rolling road shoot out the car put down 248 Bhp on the rollers and followed this up with a 13.59 sec quarter mile at Santa Pod raceway.

Nice straight torque curve, dyno plots from Thor Racing

And on the inside Lastly we move inward, the full leather retrim was lifted from a mates car who owned a silver Mk3 but was moving over to a red one and adds a great finishing touch to the project. And the future for Phil’s Roadster? Well there are plans afoot for Aquamist water injection, some additional gauges and a stereo install to improve the already slick interior, oh and Skyline rear lights anyone? Watch this space!

Recent impressive 1/4 mile time slip from Santa Pod

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Phil mixes it up, or should that be mixed up?

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An introduction to TWOBRUTAL.CO.UK the first part of our regular column with tales of swapping and technical information to the masses from the experts...

Go grab a grinder and join us started as my personal engine swap diary site has accelerated into what is now known as TWOBRUTAL.CO.UK. Probably the world’s most knowledgeable resource for all things MR2 swap related.

What

Nik Farmer - The father of TWOBRUTAL.CO.UK and his Mk1.5 REV3 3S-GTE I didn’t intend this to happen it just did, and I am very proud of all of our members who continue to amaze me through their ingenuity, dedication and good banter. I know I’m biased but we are something a little different and original, a community of nonchavs, geeks, professionals, engineers and grease monkeys all contributing with technical articles and info, swap ‘how-to’ documents, swap progression diaries and much more besides. We even have a healthy group of ‘TB Widows’ too who share their thoughts on their estranged hubbies habits’ and hobbies. At TB it’s about grass roots engineering, not about whether your tool kit wallet is the right colour for the year of your car. It’s about turning great cars into fantastic cars. Our members have developed many innovative solutions to issues associated with the conversions and the future can only see more of these. Giving future swappers much needed knowledge and guidance was one of the many goals I set when TB was becoming established. Information for the masses.

So what is a Mk1.5 then?

If it aint broke make it faster.

A bloke called Deno Plumley came up with the first car and the hybrid name. Originally he called it a Mk1 and 1/2 which very quickly was referred to as a Mk1.5 which in itself causes more confusion. Basically halfway between a Mk1 and a Mk2 turbo it comprises the ‘karty’ Mk1 chassis and the out of the box power of a 3S-GTE power plant.

In June 2003 I was daft enough to read with an open mind a ‘how-to’ article written by Paul Woods. The article detailed the procedure for swapping the screamy 1.6 litre 4AGE MK1 engine, with the 2.0 ltr turbocharged 3S-GTE MK2 engine. Innocent reading you may think, but no, this was the work of the devil. A hallowed text that would ultimately see me pulling out a perfectly good engine from my 1987 MK1 and casting it into the spare parts underworld known as ‘Ebay’. An engine I might add that I had just spent time and money on rebuilding. I was under the spell of ‘turbo-charged horsepower’.

Of course this was all a few years ago now and things have moved on. The 3.0 ltr Camry V6 engine is the weapon of choice for a lot of the Mk1 and the majority of Mk2 swaps nowadays. Lots of torque, relatively unexplored tuning potential, cheap to buy and an awesome exhaust note, stick a supercharger on there and you’ve got yourself the car Toyota should’ve made in the first place. Of course other upgrades are vital, bigger brakes, suspension renovation and wider rubber on the back to mention a few. I hope to detail some of these conversion extras in future issues as well as the conversion in its current flavours.

And so it began. I spent every available minute reading up on the Mk1 & Mk2 on Bill Strong’s forum (www.mr2oc.com) before I took things to the next level. I am still astonished by the knowledge that is out there. Now, finding a crashed MK2 turbo in the UK is a task that others should enter into with the knowledge that, like the supercharged MK1, was only ever imported and therefore as rare as rocking horse dump and potentially costly.

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“It’s a fantastic project to undertake. Your hard work, sore hands and grey hairs are rewarded with a huge sense of pride and a smile every single time you push the go-faster pedal.” After a lot of searching; phone calls, emails and browsing, I found my holy grail. A 1994 (Rev3) MK2 turbo that had had a rather substantial front end impact, as do most crashed Mk2s. I panicked and borrowed my fiancés credit card in order to secure it there and then, managing to pick up the rear clip for a feather weight sum thanks to DA Autoparts in Scotland. A few days passed and it dawned on me that I was entering into something that I hadn’t realistically planned, an engine upgrade in a driveway at the arse-end of winter. Nowhere near adequate for serious engineering. The day after the collection saw me poking the lump of car with a long stick in the hope it would some how give me a sign that everything was well and good, it didn’t. I knew I had to do something, but didn’t really know where to start, this was something I had never done before and as it was only the second in the UK very little swap specific info was circulating. Sure I had changed suspension parts, engine parts, and the usual home mechanic stuff; this however was

the very bottom of a very steep learning curve. New home The next few days saw me pulling apart the plumbing, un-sewing the wiring loom and removing everything that didn’t seem relevant. A series of fortuitous events followed and I managed to get my mitts on an old, brick farm building that could fit two cars easily, no running water but more electricity than I could eat. It was my new home, and it felt nice. So, now I had a good working environment, clean floor, bench space, an engine and a car on improvised 1 meter high stands. What followed were a couple of months of hard labour in HM Prison ‘Farm Barn’. The swap started proper and I have never looked back. It wasn’t without its ‘annoyances’. I tried to wire up a 3S-GE ECU to the 3S-GTE loom, had me stumped for a week or two that did. I also neglected to put oil in the gearbox due to my eagerness to do

the first shakedown test. A 60mph lock-up resulted much to the delight of oncoming traffic. There’s a lot to be said for sensible planning and a simple check-list. It’s a fantastic project to undertake. Your hard work, sore hands and grey hairs are rewarded with a huge sense of pride and a smile every single time you push the go-faster pedal. You can’t argue with upwards of 250 bhp and a tonne of Mk1. What was a rusting throwback from the eighties, an underpowered ‘hair-dressers’’ car has been reborn to what is now a seriously rewarding, fast, fun, giant-killing, home-build sports car. Possibly the best bang for your buck money can buy. The 4AGE is dead. It’s a few years since I did my conversion and even now I still find it hard even contemplating parting with the old girl. I probably never will. Maybe I’ll blow her up and stick the video on TB! Written by Nik Farmer TWOBRUTAL.CO.UK Admin

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Award winning new website for the MR2 Drivers Club

World record attempt in 2007 Rumour has it that the TVR club of Great Britain is trying to set a new world record for the most vehicle of a single marque in a single place (250) they are doing this as a protest agaist TVR production being outsourced .... Once they have had there publicity Mick Jones Aka Topgun and Pure together with some of the guys from www.mr2oc.co.uk thought it would be a cool ideas to get over 250 MR2s in one place ..which is easily achieveable as it not just one marque but one Model (Mk1 and 2 and 3 are all still Mr2's).

he Board of Directors of The MR2 Drivers' Club had realised some time ago that the existing club website, that had been developed by Club member Simon Hough, was coming to the end of its run.

The site had given the Club an excellent presence on the Internet for several years, but had started to look a little tired, and was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. In mid 2005 the task of replacing the old website was drafted and a number of companies were approached for quotations and ideas on how they would rework the site. The scope of the task was to combine the existing website and club membership databases into a single entity, to update the face of the website to look bright and fresh, and add a club shop with online ordering. Merging the website with the club membership database would also allow new members to join online; members to update their own personal membership records (after moving home or changing their cars); the clubs regional co-ordinators to have live access to club members (in their region) contact details; and remove the clubs reliance on its own computer system. After several months of deliberation the existing webmaster Chris Acton (who runs his own web development company - Sourcewrite) was commissioned to perform the transformation of the website which went live at midnight on the 30 August 2006. However, the project kicked off back in January 2006 with the design of the new user interface. Initial designs were not quite what club chairman and IT Director Mark Seymour and club secretary Ken Kinnersley (who jointly ran the project) were after. Close collaboration between Ken, Mark and Chris saw the new interface slowly develop over the coming weeks with many late nights spent trying to get the 'high impact but clean design' that was required. Once the graphical part of the design was agreed it was then Chris Acton's job to write the code that would bring together the existing website and club membership databases using Web Substance, Sourcewrite's bespoke Content Management System) along with the new graphical design in such a way that the goals of the project would be met. The initial coding took two months to complete and by mid 2006 the new site was functional albeit a bit buggy at this

stage. The testing phase then started. Many long and late nights were spent testing functionality, security, and report contents. This phase repeated itself as bugs were fixed and the coding of new features completed and added (a positive benefit of the new modular design). Much of the clubs' documentation (members' handbook, club rules etc) all had to be redesigned so that they could be turned into electronic files and attached to the new website for download by new members. As the new website took shape and the stability grew, other club officers were invited to join in with the testing. At a board meeting in August, Mark and Ken advised their fellow directors that they felt the new website was nearly ready to go live. A final push to check everything was working as expected led to the old website being taken off the air over the August bank holiday. The data from the old website and club membership databases was migrated to the new web Substance content management system. The new website went live to the public at midnight on the 30 August 2006. Early indications show the new 'look and feel' has been well accepted by visitors to the site, based on the number of positive comments from club members. Many like the ability to look after their own personal records. The regional officers like the ease with which they can contact club members in their own regions. A large amount of the burden of club membership enquiries has been removed from the club office. Members can now order club regalia and spares online from the club shop.

The venue for this world breaking MR2 Mega meet is to be Rockingham race track in Northamptonshire, UK, provisionally end of September 2007, the guys have spread the word around all the other MR2 Owners Clubs, and at our time of going to press the numbers were fast approaching the 200 mark, and Mick had received confirmation that the application had been received from GWR and was pending. We will be attending this event with all of our team and their MR2s for a photographic extravaganza, visit www.mr2oc.co.uk now and get your name added to the list.

Photoshop

Wizards

Come on guys, we all love messing about with Photoshop, email us your weird and wonderful creations, or wacky and cool mods to andyb@mr2only.com

With the new website in place, the MR2 Drivers' Club now has to look at the future development of this feature rich environment. The modern and modular database driven design has produced a low maintenance site. Many additional functions are available in the admin area that only club officials have access to, including a whole range of reports to ease the administration of the club. The efforts of all those involved in the design and development of the website was recently rewarded at the NEC Classic and Sportscar Show 2006, held at the NEC in Birmingham in October 2006. The new club website was awarded 'Best Website of the Year' (for clubs with under 5000 members) by Classic and Sportscar Magazine, an accolade the club is extremely pleased to have won.

Hugh from www.mr2oc.co.uk â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I grow up I want an MR2â&#x20AC;? Hmmm, wish I had one of those when I was a boy, instead of the plastic police car I had ;-)

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Mr. Tutomu Sashiyama the mann behind Border Racing

A day with

r Man in Japan

An Exclusive interview by Phoenix ou f you’re an MR2 owner, chances are you have seen or heard of Border Racing and their products.

Most have seen the Aero kits which have dominated the MR2 Scene as by far the most popular kits out in the market for our cars. I had the opportunity to visit Border Racing to take a tour and meet the man behind Border Racing and here is what I would like to share with you all. The history Border Racing was started back in 1992 by Mr. Tutomu Sashiyama at the age of 24. He has no

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official education, no certificates, or anything that says on paper he should be working on cars. What he does have is experience. Mr. Tutomu Sashiyama began racing cars at the age of 18. By 19, he built his own RS Formula class race car and proceeded for the next 3 years to race. He did quite well during his racing career to include one major win in Japan, which was a huge accomplishment considering the large amount of competition he faced. In 1992 he felt that there could be more or better parts for certain cars that were not being produced at the time, so he started designing parts for cars that were involved with racing, which was the birth of Border Racing. Every part produced by Border Racing is has been designed and tested by Mr. Tutomu

Bord

Sashiyama. Border Racings doesn’t stop at MR2’s, they produce parts for Nissan, Toyota, and a few Honda’s to include the NSX. Basically anything that is a 2 door sports car, so if you drive something other than the MR2, parts from Border Racing can be acquired from them for your car. Instantly fell in love with the MR2 When Border Racing started, he had the opportunity to drive a few MR2’s and fell in love with them immediately. When I asked him what made him start designing parts for the MK2, he replied “The Toyota MR2 appealed to me because its characteristics of a Ferrari and Lamborghini, but the MR2 was much cheaper and no major aftermarket parts were being

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g n i c a R r e rd produced for the car at the timeâ&#x20AC;?. When he took the MR2 out on a track, he felt that the brakes were not up to par for a performance car, so he designed and tested a new set of brakes for the MR2 which is officially the first part ever made by Border Racing for the MR2. Focus on functionality

donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the space to give you every detail of this car, it would seriously take up most of the MR2Only Magazine, but I can tell you about the major parts and custom work done to the MR2 to give you an idea of what they do to cars to make them the top performer in all aspects of racing.

I feel that Border Racings main focus is Suspension and Brakes. One major thing that I noticed in all their parts, from their products to the actual cars they have, is functionality. Look at their Border Racing MR2, every piece of work or product that is on that car has a certain function, which leads me next to introduce to you the Border Racing MR2. Unfortunately I

Looking at the Border Racing MR2 took me many hours, there are so many little things itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind boggling. It was truly a pleasure to be able to see it in person and check out all the little things that they have done to it to make it more race efficient. The Aero kit of course is the Border Racing Aero kit that many of you

Border Racings MR2

have seen on the roads in England and in the States. But there is so much more to it, they removed the fuel tank out of the center console and installed a fuel pod in the frunk. There are two reasons for this, the first was to distribute the weight of the car more evenly and the second, was so they could run air ducting from the front, to the engine bay for more engine bay air circulation. They even took out the gas door,

One major thing that I noticed in all their parts, from their products to the actual cars they have, is Functionality.

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and fiber glassed on a small air scoop to route more air to the air filter. They upgraded the MR2’s side scoops with carbon fiber scoops which extend farther outward to grab more air. The hood was replaced with a border racing vented hood, and the firewall was cutout to allow air to pass through the radiator and out the hood instead of under the car. With this modification, they turned the radiator upside down and installed a Border Racing radiator relocation kit which drastically angled the radiator for a better airflow. Moving to the Back of the car, was a Border Racing Designed Carbon Fiber Racing Wing. On top of the MR2 was a carbon fiber piece (I don’t know the name of this part) that shifted the airflow above the engine bay that directly flowed with the wing to create better lift. To work with the airflow that settles on top of the engine bay, they designed a fan shroud that directed the air towards the cab which allows the air to literally bounce off the rear window and mix with the air going over, and under the rear wing. From this there is a plethora of small meticulously designed parts that enhance airflow that I just don’t have the space to get into. Extreme engine planned Unfortunately, when I did the interview, the engine was pulled. He didn’t want to talk about it much, but I think they are doing something extreme and I will definitely keep you updated with what they are doing. The interior was really neat to see, aside from it being stripped out for weight reduction, the mass

amounts of gauges that told the driver what’s going on with the engine is impressive. Dash mounted gauge clusters Something I have never seen before is the dash mounted gauge clusters they have designed for the MR2. One of them sits right on top of the dash but does not hinder the drivers view because each gauge is split to each side. The other Border Racing gauge cluster sits on the passenger side of the dash that holds three gauges, which face the driver. The stereo and climate controls were ripped out and replaced with a carbon fiber piece that holds all the switches. Everything was built for the interior by MR. Tutomu Sashiyama for the drivers ease of use and sight. Amazing experience It truly was a pleasure to visit there business front and talk to them about border racing. Their parts are amazing, from the creative intercooler design to the fully functional body styling of the Border Racing MR2 that is produced still today. Border Racing offers many parts for the MR2 to include full suspensions, brake components, engine components like the intercoolers, and of course, the famous styling of the Border Aero Kit and many carbon fibered Aero pieces for the body. If you would like to check out more pictures of Border Racing and all the info I got from them including all their products, please check out the MR2Only forum located on the main page of the MR2Only website.

The NEW Border Racing Rear Brake Kit released next year

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The final question I asked Mr. Tutomu Sashiyama after checking out the Border Racing MR2 is “what is Border Racing going to do next with the MR2 scene and will Border Racing still be around in 10 years producing more parts for the MR2?” He gave me a big smile, ran into his office and brought out a piece of paper with a picture on it. I want you to know that only myself and the Border Racing people have seen this. This is the first time the new product has been shown publicly. So it is my great pleasure to introduce to you the new Border Racing product set to come out early next year, the Rear brake kit. This kit takes the stock rear brake caliper and moves it over to the other side. Then a new caliper, made by Brembo, but designed by Border, is installed in the place of the old caliper. This product is designed to give the MR2 full braking from all 4 wheels which will drastically improve braking power and give the MR2 more of an advantage on a track since it will be able to accelerate longer coming into a corner (or that’s what I think he said, got a little lost in translation there).

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onington, 1st October and another trackday. The early morning walk around the paddock reveals the usual array of fast machinery, Evos and Scoobies (its raining so we won’t see which way they went surely?), 911’s, Elises and a brace of M3’s, nothing too fast then……

Today there is myself and Jon (jonb) in our very similar spec’d MR2 Turbo’s, stripped out track day cars ready for a bit of a tussle, I have done several trackdays at Donington this year and have been tweeking my suspension for a dry set-up, Jon has never driven around here and is also set-up for the dry, so we are fully expecting lots of sideways action and maybe the odd spin! Quickest cars on the circuit The first half of the day was in the pouring rain, not good with very stiff suspension and aggressive geometry. More of a problem was our tyres, both very much dedicated to a dry track. This however didn’t stop us being by far the quickest cars on the circuit during most of the day, both of us overtaking every car on track, including the Evos and Imprezas! Both our cars were suffering understeer, Jons slightly worse as he’s running even more aggressive geometry than

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by Skinthespin

me, and with nearly 300bhp to put down through virtually slick tyres both our cars were a bit of a handful! It was interesting to see also whoever was infront was much more out of shape than the person following, trying that little bit harder to get away and being a bit messy in the mean time. I know I had several ‘tank slappers’ while leading and Jon appeared to be cruising behind, although as soon as we Skinthespin as we caught changed positions it was Jon that looked him on anot 12 Nov, so th her trackday ats where hi like a drift king and I was keeping up on s name com es from then taking without too much bother, its good to see first the lead on a drying track, a hand how much slower sideways really is! definite dry line appearing off we went. Those Lots of cars were spinning off, not least a of you who have driven at Donington will BMW M3 CSL who was not impressed with know how much the grip drops off in the rain, being overtaken by a 13 year old Toyota, who putting a wheel on a wet kerb or on the damp promptly spun into the gravel trying to keep track while doing dry circuit speeds could up, a £40k M3 with serious gravel rash and cause a problem, so need to be very aware of an unhappy driver is not a pretty sight! this. Spin of the day unceremoniously dragged from With me infront again and coming on to the the gravel back straight, wheels spinning at 80+mph as Jon shot off at a pace which took me by we both lean hard on the cars and getting my surprise, pulling time out on me over the first line and power application just right I look in lap. After a lap and me getting my act the mirror to see if I’ve pulled any time on together the gap was staying constant (just!) Jon, to see him spinning off! Maybe he was and I was mighty impressed with the speed trying after all! In the pits Jon later told me Jon was extracting from his car, especially as he was practising sliding his car and just he had never driven around here before the took it a bit too far! day and he wasn’t as experienced with the car as I was. I had had a couple of moments At last a dry line the lap before, drifting onto the wet stuff at After a frustrating few sessions of overtaking 100mph down Craners (and going very ‘quicker’ cars we decided to sit at the front sideways!), so was very aware of what could of the pit lane to get some free space, Jon

With not much money, a bit of knowledge and not much mechanical sympathy you can keep up with virtually any road based car

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Jap fest II happen. Unfortunately I think Jon got a bit carried away on the drying track and going round Redgate for the third time ran wide onto the slippery stuff, of which there was no coming back! Jon ended up well and truly beached in the gravel, wheels spinning helplessly as I drove past! The session was red flagged as Jon was unceremoniously dragged from the gravel. Back in the pits it was wheels off time for Jon to clean the debris from the car while I continued the session on my own, with no one to play with! Completely Dry The final session of the day was completely dry, this was more like it! I went first, and taking no prisoners this time went flat out from the off. There was virtually nothing in the lap times between us, Jon catching me in heavy braking zones and me pulling out a little on him in faster corners, indicative of his slightly better car but my experience on this track. Overall however the lap times were virtually identical, which made for a great tussle, catching the slower cars (M3’s and Evos…..) by lap four or five. With Jon timing the laps (naughty I know!) we were constantly in the 1.26’s and dipped once into the high 1.25’s.

Photos by Luke Reynolds

On October we headed over to Jap Fest II at Donnington, a little disappointing on the MR2 scene, although a good turnout from the MR2MK1 club and the MR2OC displaying their highly polished show cars. Venturing in to the infield for some track side viewing it was great to see a few MR2s putting in some lap time. We found the trade stands lacking with any goodies for the MR2, although I did manage to pick up a CARacture of my rev2 in caribean blue which made my day, the day was not as well turned out as Jap Fest I at Castle Coombe, maybe down to the Midlands location and the fact that many owners were saving themselves for the Jap Show Finale at Santa Pod the following week.

Impressed with the MR2 As always I’m mighty impressed by how much speed you can extract from these little cars, myself and Jon being the quickest cars on track on the day by quite a margin. With not much money, a bit of knowledge and not much mechanical sympathy you can keep up with virtually any road based car, including fast 911’s, Lotus’ and BMW’s finest. Not only can you make these cars show winners but you can make them one of the quickest road based cars on track too, and few people expect you to be over taking them in there 911 too, which make’s it all the sweeter!

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Mr2 Mk2 sub boxes Boxes are made to fit perfectly behind the seat and unlike some other boxes these allow the seat to slide completely back, sitting on top of the standard storage box, leaving the engine lid catch accessible • Choose from 8",10"or a 12" box. • Completly silicone sealed and glued. • Choose from black,yellow,grey. (please contact for custom colours) • Allows the seat to slide fully back. • Proper terminals. • No modification required. • 155mm sub mounting depth (more than all others!) • no visable joints in the carpeting

Carpeted mr2 box. £39.95+£10 postage Full OC members recieve £3 discount

Amplifier pads. Custom made to fit perfectly over your spare wheel. These are perfect for mounting amplifiers and capacitors. Can be carpeted in the same material as the sub boxes or leave them bare.

Blank pad £10+£10 postage Carpeted pad £20+£10 postage

Contact me at the OC by PM, midshipracer @mr2oc.co.uk

or email. racedup1@Yahoo.co.uk Mobile. 07891593356.

Quote MR2only/01/06 when ordering

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