MR2 Only Magazine - Issue 13 - (Previously published December 2009) by MR2OnlyMag

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

No Scoobies, Evo’s, GTO’s or FTO’s... MR2s only...

Erik Wilson a true hardcore Spyder enthusiast with not one but two stunning modified MRS Spyders

The

Evolution

Rob Butcher’s quest for perfection saw his car transform from N/A to turbo power, performance with looks to match

Issue 13

December 2008

£3.75

MR2ONLYISBACKINPRINT! Following the launch of our first ‘COME BACK’ digital version in May 2020 by popular demand we also launched a printed limited edition. MR2 Only is The Magazine for all MR2 enthusiasts, whether you’re passionate about the AW11, SW20, or ZZW30, issue 1 has 112 pages featuring some of the finest examples from around the world!

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Inissue1... Our leading cover cars are Nathan Freke’s 900bhp Drag Strip Slayer, currently the World’s Fastest MR2, crossing the famous Santa Pod gantry in a missile speed 8.71s @162mph. We also feature the late Luke Bliss’s stunning 2GRFE 3.5l. After Luke sadly passed away, his brother and friends completed the build of Luke’s car to his exacting requirements found in his notebook, a car he never had the chance to build as he was so busy with customer’s MR2s. A fantastic story. John Toh’s Marlboro Retro Racer, Inspired to build a track/race car? the level of attention to detail on this HKS 2.2L Stroker widebody is an inspiration. TOYONDA - K-Swap Lover? - Armandito Racing III Armando Morales shares the story go his 400hp Honda powered MR2 Dream Project - 2ZZ Turbo. Jason Bonoan’s turbo charged 2ZZ. Simply stunning. 10 years on we return to Russ Turnbull, and feature his amazing Supercharged 3.5L 2GR. Stanced 2 Perfection, Patrick Langenkamp’s wide body needs no introduction the images speak for themselves. Just awesome.

Double Trouble - Kenny and Simon Williams show off their 2 4th gen 3SGTE swapped AW11 Mk1.5’s. Close Enough Racing - Justin Gaujenieks track monster turbocharged 2ZZ, and his plans for the next Time Attack Series Once in a lifetime MR2 - Georgia and Matt Gresham’s AW11, an MR2 that’s part of the family. THE GULF... Dave Purdue’s turbo charged 1ZZ with rare Damd kit and distinctive Gulf livery. An MR2 Story... IMOC and MR2DC Director Scott Barton tells his story of long MR2 ownership, and friendships. Blast from the past... We catch up with Vix and Phil Cutler and Humphrey, with the trial and tribulations of a Toyota Sprint Series competitor. History repeating itself.. the story of my very own Revision 3 Turbo, and its 4 year restoration story. A love for restoring lost causes... Graeme Notley extensive Mk1 Supercharger restoration. The Zircon Evolution - 12 Years on - Rob Butcher shares his story of the ups and downs of MR2 ownership

PLUS,allofyourfavouriteMR2specialistsandtheparts andservicestheyoffer.

CONTENTS:

ISSUE 13

Worried... Steve’s fear of Dyno’s caught on camera!

ynics wondered whether MR2 Only Magazine would sustain even a year in publishing before running out of content. How wrong they were, 13 issues in and the feature cars just keep getting better and better with this being yet another cracking issue full of stunning cars, with lots more in the pipeline for 2009. After the highs of JAE back in the summer of this year came the low. In fact the worst of all lows. Yes, for those of you that even bothered to head to Santa Pod for Jap Show Finale, were met with folk heading in the opposite direction, home, a complete washout spoiled by torrential rain. Team MR2 Only attended in force only to call time early and head for shelter without so much as a photo or report to offer, what a disappointment after last year’s show. On a more positive note, my good friend Johhny G got to mix business with pleasure taking a trip to Vestfossen, 45 minutes from Oslo, to experience first hand a much TWOBRUTAL documented Mk1 V8 that can only be described as a monster and in his own words a “sensory overload”, see page 53 for full report. On behalf of the team we would like to say a big thanks to all those who posted their photos into our 2009 calendar. Myself and the team agonised for hours wading through the excellent entries, trying to pick a balance of each mark. Whilst the final 12 being stunning, please don’t despair if we didn’t pick yours, as we’ve already earmarked dozens of MR2s for future features that will keep us out of trouble for much of next year. The winners should receive their Muk Junkie goodies in the next few weeks. So what do we have in store for you this issue? We have the Zircon Blue revolution, an absolutely stunning Rev 2 MR2 owned by Rob Butcher which started life as an N/A. I met Rob personally two years ago at a dyno day, where Rob was experimenting with ECUs in search of more power, before taking the inevitable plunge to a full turbo conversion. Rob’s

MR2 recently was the MR2.com’s car of the month and quite deservedly so. Representing the Spyder, Roadster, Mk3 or whatever you call it, depending which part of the world you are reading is Erik Wilson, a true hardcore Spyder enthusiast owning not one but two modified MRS Spyders that will no doubt be an inspiration to many. Now onto something completely different, which must be the only one of its kind, a normally aspirated engined Mk1 MR2 producing close on 200hp. What lies beneath? BEAMS power of course. Sebastien Bizier of Quebec City proves that sometimes thinking outside the box can really pay off, he has what can only be described as the perfect track weapon, balancing handling and power without compromise.

Rob Butcher’s Zircon Evolution

14 32 SPYDER LUST - Erik Wilson’s stunning Spyders

From Ireland we have a joint feature of two striking white highly engineered MR2s by Momentum Motorsport Steven Revels and Paul Donaldson, both cars pushing the boundaries of MR2 Turbo tuning whilst every inch the show car. Last but by no means least, as far as features go, is the TRD replica which we have been following over the last few issues, the end result is stunning, and there’s lots more planned for the car for the new year by its owner Carl. Highlight of the last few months has to be the MR2OC dyno day at Weston Performance in the West Midlands, organised by Kieren Briscoe which has to be one of the most well orchestrated dynos I’ve attended with an impressive 22 MR2 turnout made up of Mk2 N/A’s, Turbos, and V6s along with Mk3 N/A’s which gave me a chance to take along my Mk3 Turbo to see what power it was achieving, 209hp at the flywheel with 9psi boost, not to be sneezed at, with some room for improvement as advised by tuner Greg from Weston. As well as stunning feature cars, we have the conclusion to the racing season from Maurice Stoner and Vykki Hoult albeit in brief this time, more to follow on in issue 14. There are also many club event reports and the first part in a ground up restoration of a Mk1 MR2 which will be documented over the next year in instalments, courtesy of owner and enthusiast Terry Woodward.

Sebastien Bizier’s BEAMS powered Mk1

Momentum Motorsport powered duo owned by Steven Revels & Paul Donaldson

Arne’s Mad V8 Mk1

There are so many exciting treats in store for the next year I really want to share them with you now, but we have to draw a line and put this issue to bed sometime. We hope you continue to enjoy reading MR2 Only Magazine and carry on subscribing. Have a great Christmas, take care, and drive safe, and we’ll see you all again in 2009! Steve Bishop - Editor, MR2 Only Magazine

SUBSCRIPTIONS & CUSTOMER SUPPORT:- PamB - mr2only.subscriptions@ntlworld.com FOR ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES AND BOOKINGS: mr2only.advertising@ntlworld.com Tel: 01782 544854 FEATURES, ADMIN, PHOTO ORDERS OR GENERAL QUERIES: steveb@mr2only.com or andyb@mr2only.com FEATURE CARS: steveb@mr2only.com or Mark Thorpe: email: admin@seventh-heaven.net READERS RIDES: Richard Lee: email: mr2only@mr2westmidlands.com PRODUCTION, LAYOUT ARTISTS & PHOTOGRAPHY: Steve Bishop, Rich Lee and Mark Thorpe GENERAL POSTAL ADDRESS: MR2 Only Magazine Ltd, 40 Malstone Avenue, Baddeley Green, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire ST2 7NN Contact telephone no. 01782 544854 Directors: Stephen Bishop, Pamela Bishop, Andrew Bishop Printed by:- Buxton Press Ltd, Palace Rd, Buxton Derbyshire, SK17 6AE, UK www.buxtonpress.co.uk

78 Caught red handed - TRD Replica

THANKS GO TO... All who have helped and supported us, distributors, club contributors and all who have subscribed and advertised. 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 responsible for any errors, omissions or any technical advice given, and any views expressed are that of the contributor, unless written solely by MR2 Only.

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Written by Erik Wilson, photography by Nicole Leigh www.nicoleleighphotography.com

I knew I no longer needed 400 whp to have fun. I relished a good drive with the top down on a fall day. Good music and the canopy of trees reflecting off of the raised hood bulges that lead into those big quirky head lights.

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Erik Wilson, a 31 year old guy from Dublin, Pennsylvania found himself needing to reinvigorate his lust for cars and he found just that when he bought a Spyder, but one just wasn’t enough, Spyder lust was in his veins and he needed more, two in fact and in his own words he became a “Spyder enthusiast for life”. I was raised in a “car guy” atmosphere right out of the egg. My Dad was and still is a huge car guy. My grandfather on his side raced Jaguars through the 1960s and my grandfather on my mother’s side was a backyard mechanic of the likes not many have seen. He quarry raced Dune Buggies, frequented local racetracks and was always a sportscar fan until his last days. So it was only natural that I have been a car guy for as long as I can remember. My first car was a 1987 Ford Escort GT....which I modded. Just lightly until I realized that it was only an Escort. I then had a 1986 300ZX which I modified, and then a laundry list of Eagle Talons which were all modded to some extent. I drove and modded Talons/Eclipses for almost 15 years and needed a breath of fresh air.

I had always liked the looks of the MR2 Spyder and the allure of the mid engine and rear wheel drive was just what I needed to reinvigorate my car lust. I looked for about 6 months to find the 2000 Solar Yellow Spyder that I have now owned since 2004. At the time it was still my daily driver and my play car was a 400 wheel horsepower awd Eagle Talon. As time went on I realized I no longer looked to my play car on the weekends for a quick romp through the back roads but it was sitting flat spotting the tires while I used my Spyder for daily drive duty and for the fun stuff. In 2005 I lost my motor due to oil starvation under sustained high lateral G’s and decided to build a 2ZZ to swap into the car. With my daily driver down, I decided to sell the Eagle Talon and pick up another Spyder to take over the now empty daily driver role. Spyder lust was now in my veins. I told my family and friends that I was not going to modify the Black

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Spyder and it was just going to be used to get to and from work and to pile miles on for vacations and road trips. That mentality lasted about a month. I added a bunch of bracing, fabbed an intake, and started shopping for more mods. So, now I own and drive and modify two 2000 MR2 Spyders and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The first mods that I did to both cars was bracing. As with any convertable the cowl shake was pretty pronounced and it bugged me. 3.0 Racing’s breast plate was the first mod to be bolted to both of my cars. After that I braced both quickly and then moved onto breathing mods like your basic intake and exhaust. The ownership experience is my favorite part of the car. From the moment I tossed the car

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into my first corner I knew I could never go back to heavy AWD cars. I knew I no longer needed 400 whp to have fun. I relished a good drive with the top down on a fall day. Good music and the canopy of trees reflecting off of the raised hood bulges that lead into those big quirky head lights. The darty and immediate response that the car relays as you connect corner after corner. You can’t help but enjoy your time behind the wheel. Hence the often used phrase “Permagrin” I was told that it could only be used as a sunny day car. That it would have to be parked in the winter and only come out when it is nice. I say “Permagrin” is a year round phenomenon. The community around the car is also great. Being that the car was sold in much lower numbers then most common cars the

community is smaller and tighter knit then most that you will find. I like that more than the large faceless communities that surround popular cars like the Miata or the Corvette. This is where having two Spyders really comes in handy. I get to experiment with both and fill out my ideas on two different cars. On one hand I wanted a car that shows off the simple roadster lines and mentality. With the black car I wanted something that stayed true to the roadster roots. I wanted to keep the drop top. I wanted to hear the car via the intake and exhaust setup. I wanted it to be tight and light on its feet with the right suspension mods. Most of all I wanted it simple and reliable. For the yellow car I wanted something a

little more in your face. A little more JGTC in its looks. Something I could wind out to 9k and feel my heart race as the open exhaust screams. Something that I could take to a track or AutoX and raise a few eyebrows. I didn’t care if it was ultimately reliable as long as my pulse quickened with every turn of the key. It is the car I can tinker with; take apart and not worry about putting it back together again in time to go to work. The one I can experiment with on the exterior and try new things. I have had very few problems along the way. My largest one of course is the motor spinning a rod bearing after charging around a 280* highway offramp at the limit. I didn’t really need an excuse to do a 2ZZ swap anyway. It just quickened the time table. The only other problem I have had was that I gapped my

rings a bit too tight on my first motor build and under prolonged high rpm usage the rings bound necessitating a re hone and re ring of the 2ZZ. Knock on wood, these cars have been very very good to me. A big thanks goes to Spyderchat.com. What I know of the Spyder I know because of that board. Secondly I would like to thank Ryan aka 2.0L1ZZ for showing me that you can think outside the box with this car even if it isn’t accepted. It is for fun and no one can dictate fun to us. We aren’t old guys driving Miatas just yet.

Most of all I owe my father for setting me on this path from the start. Future plans. -Yellow Spyder is getting a certified cage this winter so I can get it out on a road course to stretch its legs. It will also be getting a freshened bottom end this winter as well as a lot of powdercoating under the hood. Wider wheels and tires are in the words for spring. -Black Spyder will be getting an 03+ front bumper cover as well as a BRS AutoDesign front lip this winter. Other than that the car is perfect and I am just going to pile miles on it.

I also owe alot to my place of employment JNZTuning.com. Through JNZ Tuning I have been given access to parts, knowledge, and most importantly tools and a lift.

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YELLOW 2ZZ-GE (12:1 Wiseco pistons, 2ZZ shot peened rods, Piper Stg. 2 cams, Supe rtech valves,Eibach valve springs, ported head, port matched intake and exhaust ports) Overbored 2ZZ throttle body Apex’i PFC with Datalogit Walbro 190lph fuel pump LittleRocket swap header Moroso oil pan JNZ Tuning catless race pipe JNZ Tuning 3” custom intake JNZ Tuning battery relocation with Odysee PC680 battery custom full 2.5” twin muffler exha ust NGK copper spark plugs

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6spd manual transmission swap with LittleRocket shifter shaft ACT HD clutch kit Fidanza light weight flywheel Seibon carbon fiber front lip ARC carbon fiber side intakes VIS racing side skirts VIS racing carbon fiber frunk lid 2003+ rear license garnish Sparco SS hood pins OEM hardtop in black (soft top dele te) Carbing front strut tower bar Carbing rear lower chassis brace Carbing front lower chassis brace 3.0Racing mid chassis brace

CHE short shifter with Arachnaform shift knob NRG 330mm black suede racing steering wheel NRG wheel hub adapter NRG fiberglass back racing seats Sparco 4pt harness AEM wideband air/fuel ratio gaug e Autometer SportComp II tachome ter Ksport Kpro coil-over suspension Whiteline front and rear sway bars Flik FTD wheels. 16x7 front and rear. Falken FK452 tires in staggered fitment.

BLACK JNZ Tuning Intake with AEM dryflow filter JNZ Tuning downpipe Team Moon dual outlet exhaust Gutted OEM header CHE short shift kit with Voodoo knob. Superpro polyurethane suspension bushing kit Tein SS-P coil-over suspension Cusco front chassis brace Cusco rear chassis brace 3.0Racing mid chassis brace 3.0Racing front strut tower bar

16x7 front and 16x8 rear Rota Slipstream wheels with Toyo T1R tires in staggered fitment. Bama wind deflectors and taller wind screen. 2003+OEM rear license garnish 2003+ side intakes Sparco Sprint5 racing seats for the driver. (red) NRG 330mm suede racing steering wheel. Sparco wheel hub adapter

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Unusual, unconventional, but inspiringly unique... ...are just a few words that would describe Sebastien Bizier’s AW11 Mk1, unusual? Well, its unusual to see a Mk1 MR2 in Quebec City. Unconventional? Because Sebastien did not choose the obvious engine swap path, he dismissed the 4AGZE engine he had at his disposal; neither did he choose the obvious Mk1.5 aka 3SGTE? not even a V6 lump, oh no, Sebastien thought outside the box and opted for the near 200bhp normally aspirated 3SGE red top BEAMS not just an engine but a piece of engineering art, making this special Mk1 the only one of it’s kind I’m sure you will agree UNIQUE. Sebastien’s love for MR2s started at the age of 18 whilst looking for his first car, working in “valet parking”. One day, a Mk1 owner handed him his keys and from the moment he sat inside, he knew it was for him and so began his love affair with the AW11. His search began for that little sports car and soon he struck lucky with a rusty 1986 Mk1 for $1200 with an extra engine and 4 extra wheels wearing snow tyres. That was it, Sebastien was hooked. Unfortunately ownership of the first Mk1 was short lived as it was involved in an accident, so the search began for another one whilst running a Sentra hatchback and nothing came along until the following summer, Mk1 number two was a freshly painted super white with some tasty looking wheels but unfortunately Sebastien was never satisfied with this car and, it turned out to be a money pit, fixing one thing after another. Undeterred, the search began again and this time a 1989 much cared for Super Charger, super white with leather interior and only 112,000km, perfection, but again disaster struck when unfortunately Sebastien lost control of the car in a bend and toppled it. For many of us that would be the end of the road for Mk1 ownership, but not for our Sebastien. His search began for another Mk1 to transfer all of the desirable parts from his wrecked SC. With Quebec suffering harsh winters all Mk1s seem to have suffered from the tin worm, so the search took him south and a red 1988 Mk1 N/A was sourced and imported. After owning the SC, the N/A just wasn’t enough. So came decision time. The obvious route would have been the SC engine from the salvage, but no... How about the conventional Mk1.5 route that many Mk1 engine swappers have done before, using the 3SGTE lump, no again, so what does lie beneath? The unconventional, and not so obvious, BEAMS red top! So why did Sebastien choose the BEAMS engine? Well, although he like the power of the supercharger, on track he preferred the feeling of the normal aspirated engine and at about the same time a friend of his had just transplanted a BEAMS into a Mk2.

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within? Written by Steve Bishop, photos by Sebastien Bizier

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197bhp BEAMS powered AW11

“Extasia, - this is the feeling that the car gave to me first time I ride the BEAMS!” Out there in Quebec nobody knew what a BEAMS engine was, of course meaning (Breakthrough Engine with Advanced Mechanism System). The red top engine itself was sourced from a 1998 Celica SS-II, breathing through a big K&N induction kit and running through a 1991 MR2 Mk2 5SFE transmission. The car rides on Koni/Eibach suspension from his former SC to keep all of that extra power down on the track with stopping power provided by slotted and drilled Brembo discs and uprated Hawk HP+ front pads with PBD MetalMaster rear pads at the rear, all in all making this a serious track lapping machine. 22

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The interior is finished with full leather, again taken from the SC, and is complemented with a TRD racing wheel and TRD gear knob, and in car entertainment provided by a Pioneer AvicD1 GPS/sound system. The man who performed the swap is Stephane Lacroix, the MR2 Guru for Eastern Canada who commented that despite the BEAMS swap not being the most complicated swap he’s done, it is one of his proudest, due to the fact that it is well and truly unique. Sebastien loved the result, a crisp handling Mk1 with a normally aspirated engine producing 200bhp, excellent power delivery

and an amazing sound, all of this without changing the balance of the car too much and so the car was named Extra short for Extasia, Sebastien comments “this is the feeling that the car gave to me first time I rode the Beams!” Now Sebastien owns a 2004 Hyundai Accent GSI as a daily drive, so future plans for his BEAMS Mk1 include a wideband and probably a Power Enterprise Camcon Ti to manage the Air-Fuel efficiently, because there are issues with too rich AFR. Once the running side of the car is perfected, Sebastien plans to turn his attention again to the handling with coilovers to get a firmer ride and New R

compound tyres on wheels for track racing. A new exhaust is also planned to provide the sound he is looking for Sebastien comments “For now, I’m not looking to increase power, more a case of fine tuning. I’m not a guy who always wants more HP, what I want is a fun drive. So If I could reach the usual 170-175 WHP for beams, I’ll be satisfied. If the fine tuning didn’t provide me that kind of power, I will be looking for a better way to provide much colder air to intake and a bigger exhaust”. Sebastiens Mk1 recently won the MR2.coms Showcase in October 08, with its flawless looks, crisp AW11 handling all to that 200bhp BEAMS soundtrack, Quite deservedly so, I’d say.

Specification Toyota Mr2 1988 T-top 1998 celica SS-II beams red top engine 1991 mr2 mk2 5sfe transmission 1988 mk1 sc shifter cable 1998 modified front exhaust pipe 1991 mk2 Na muffler 1991 mk2 NA 5sfe axle Custom front and rear engine mount speed source right and left motor mount Custom wiring harness made with both celica SS-II 1998 and mr2 1988 N/A harness

Power/Leather interior Pioneer Avic-D1 GPS/sound system TRD racing wheel TRD shift knob SS brakeline Slotted and Drilled Brembo rotor Hawk HP+ front pad and PBD MetalMaster rear pad Dot 5.1 brake fluid K&N Big air filter.

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G y Johhny Written b

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MR2’S IN MOTORSPORT

8th November 2008

BRANDS HATCH

With Jurno -

Maurice Stoner Photos by -

Woolfie Plum

he MkI drivers from the Red Dragon Race & Track Club MR2 MkI Series gathered in their hordes sporting their motor homes and their latest wet weather gear because this, the last round of the MK1 racing series was very, very wet! Brands Hatch is a true drivers’ circuit demanding maximum concentration, ability and car set up. A number of drivers attended the test day on the Friday prior to the race setting up their machinery in what was predominantly a dry day only to find that race day was as wet as you can get. Two drivers in particular, Nick Winter, car 28 and Lee Barton, car 80 from France, were having their last ever race and their first. This was to prove ironic ….. more later. Ross Stoner, in his now very familiar orange 22 car, completed the test day feeling that a great deal had been achieved in what was a newly built car after having the original 22 car written off at the previous meeting at Cadwell Park, only to find that all the Friday settings had to be altered to accommodate the change in weather. Lee Barton brought his unraced car and spent the test day setting it up and was pleased with its sub 59sec lap times but like Ross, had to change settings to suit the wet conditions on race day. Adam Lockwood, car 51, team car to Ross’s 22 car, only had to finish in the top 5 in both races to secure the Series as top driver which he did, but not without a minor mechanical fault which occurred thankfully after he had taken the chequered flag ….. much to his relief! Qualifying saw 20 cars take to the pit lane all fired up and ready to go knowing that it was not going to be easy given the wet track conditions. The first few laps saw all drivers feeling their way and finding where the best grip was situated. Some drivers didn’t and found the grass and the famous Brands gravel. It was during qualifying that one of the worst looking accidents of the season occurred when Nick Winter, car 28, hit running water on the 56

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exit of Paddock, spun off into the barrier and whilst climbing out of his car, Lee Barton, car 80, slowed under the yellow flag, hit the same running water and slid uncontrollably into Nick’s stationary car, collecting Nick in the process. Fortunately, although both drivers were taken to hospital, their injuries were not as bad as was previously thought but both cars are destined for that great scrap heap in the sky. Roger Pullan, car 13, fell foul to gearbox failure putting him out of the day’s racing. Pole position went to Dave Thomas (winner of the Snetterton meeting) in car 60 with Sam Mayer-Loughlan, Johnny White, Liam O’Toole and Adam Lockwood taking the next four slots. With the weather forecast for Race 1 showing no change, it was going to be an interesting race to say the least with some of the quick drivers occupying the middle grid. The accident in qualifying meant that the race schedule was running slightly behind and the light left quite a lot to be desired. Having said that the cars made their way onto the grid and completed the green flag lap and lined up for the start. With the drivers staring down the main straight towards the infamous Paddock

Bend, the red lights came on; the engine revs rose, lights out – race on! All drivers put pedal to the metal and raced towards the first corner trusting the car in front not to brake too early as all they could see was a wall of spray. This said, all cars made it through and up to Druids Hairpin and down into Graham Hill Bend. Within 2 laps the leading five cars had pulled a small lead on the chasing pack with some of the quick middle grid drivers finding it difficult to pass some of the slower cars in front of them, which allowed the gap from the front runners to extend to a point where within 7 laps there was half of the main straight separating them. Arron Pullan provided a spectacular end to his race when his engine blew entering Graham Hill Bend producing a sheet of flame from the rear of the car, which saw Arron exit the car like an Olympic sprinter and take refuge behind the barrier! The next lap saw Sam Mayer-Loughlan pull out with mechanical problems. The rest of the race continued without incident and saw Dave Thomas in the 60 car take the chequered flag closely followed by Johnny White, Adam Lockwood and Liam O’Toole. Race 2 started in the same conditions as Race 1 but because of the better finishes of the quicker middle grid qualifiers and the demise of Arron Pullan and Sam MayerLoughlan, it meant that these drivers were moved up from their original Race 1 positions, which saw Alex Gassman, Rob Jefferies, Gareth Newton and Ross Stoner occupying the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th slots. The race started with all drivers suffering the appalling spray scenario but thankfully all made it into the first corner albeit more tightly bunched and thundered their way up the hill into Druids. Jason Jesse, car 37, on the third lap spectacularly rolled his car on the exit of Paddock into the famous Brands

gravel! putting the car back on it’s wheels and with Jason making a rapid exit from his badly damaged car. Meanwhile, the leading bunch were making their break for freedom with Dave Thomas leading with Liam O’Toole, Adam Lockwood and Ross Stoner fighting for the first four positions which is how the race finished but not without a few dramas behind them in particular the second place man in the first race, Johnny White, spinning out and rejoining the pack. Other casualties included Sarah Wherry leaving the track after the exit of Druids but she controlled her car to finish. Paul Barker, car 16, nudged a barrier but survived to finish bringing his car home along with Gareth Newton, Rob Jefferies, Nick Reed and John Tyers. Krish Kumarasinghe, having visited a barrier, brought the car home rather worse for wear minus it’s entire front end! The Woolfe car, not having its best outing, having found the Brands Hatch grass more appealing than the black stuff!

A sad day for two of the drivers and a lucky escape for one of them and the fact that the Series lost three cars. Apart from Nick Winter’s 28 car, all will be rebuilt for the 2009 season. It was always Nick’s intention to make this his last race but not in the way he planned it! The weather inflicted more pain as the drivers packed for home but most came away with a satisfied day and the racing was close and considering the track conditions ….. skilful. With the end of the MR2 Mk1 Racing Series brought to it’s conclusion there will now be many cars re-fettled for the new season over the winter. The Series has enjoyed a great year and the gap to next March will seem like an eternity, but rest assured when the new season starts we will be there. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a successful New Year! ….. JURNO

rands Hatch saw what was possibly the worst accident that the MR2 Mk1 Racing Series had experienced when Nick Winter, car 28, in what was his final ever race in the series, spun off the track at the bottom of Paddock Bend after hitting running water and crashed into the barrier. Lee Barton, car 80, in what was his debut race, whilst slowing under yellow flags hit the same water and spun onto the grass and collided with Nick Winter as he was exiting his crashed car. Nick, who had to be resuscitated at the scene, was later taken to the Darent Valley Hospital along with Lee Barton. Nick was diagnosed with having severe pelvic bruising and broken ribs. Lee sustained bruising to his ribs and concussion. Lee was discharged Sunday morning after being kept in overnight for observation whereas Nick was detained at the hospital for several days but is now at home in Gloucestershire and recovering well. Both cars were write offs but unlike Nick, Lee is determined to rebuild a new car for the 2009 season. We wish them both well and a speedy recovery …..JURNO

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MR2’S IN MOTORSPORT

59th Birkett Relay Race 2008

MR2 Championship Racers Unite to Compete in Season Finale!

he Birkett Six Hour Relay Race is a unique event in the UK’s club motorsport calendar. Teams of four to six cars and drivers compete in a race where completing the most laps doesn’t automatically mean you’ve won the race. In order to allow as diverse a range of cars as possible to compete together on an equal footing, a system of handicapping individual cars is implemented. Named for it’s founder, Holly Birkett, the 750 Motor Club’s annual event occurs at the end of the season after all of the Championships have been concluded. It’s popular with drivers who regard it as very much a social event and while the racing is as ever hard and fair there’s a more relaxed attitude around the paddock. It also provides an opportunity to race with friends from the respective series rather than against them. In 2007, a team of six MR2s and drivers from the MR2 Challenge entered and finished an incredible third overall and sixth in class. Since becoming the MR2 Championship in 2008 the growth in popularity has been such that this year there were no less than four separate MR2 teams! The first team was made up of six Mk1 MR2s driven by Arthur Gilmour, Jon Grimes, Toni Gladding, Hugh Gilmour, Dave Block and Bob Howes. They were christened “King Arthur’s Samurai” in honour of Arthur Gilmour’s Championship class victory. The remaining three teams were each made up of five Mk2 MR2s selected from the Championship standings in order to provide a balance of ability across the teams. The “Ginger Ninjas” consisted of Mark Jessop, Dominic Jackson, Alan and David Henderson, and Dallas Jackson. “Rogue’s Troopers” were made up of Steve Lumley, Patrick Mortell, David Litchfield, Elliot Dunmore and Matt Marsh with “Stigs ‘r’ Us” comprising Alric Kitson, Anthony Day, John Wilson, Marcus Mahy and Dave Cross. All of the teams were sponsored by mycarcheck.com, the UK’s fastest growing car data checking company, and Team Rogue Racing – the driving force behind 60 58

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MR2 racing in the UK. A carpeted area in the garage was set aside for hospitality with hot drinks and food available all day. Two screens showed trackside camera footage and live lap times. Team Rogue also supplied each team with a manager who would implement the teams’ strategy. King Arthur’s Samurai decided that in an effort to minimise the stress to their cars they would each run in half hour stints. The Mk2 teams did not share their concerns however and each driver was to run one fifth of the race distance each – around one hour and twelve minutes. With fifty five teams participating, qualifying was organised into fifteen minute sessions with a driver from every team out in each. Each team selected their starting driver and at 11:15 the race began. The Ginger Ninjas were the first team to run into trouble when Dominic Jackson accidentally passed another car under yellow caution flags. This led to a stop go penalty where he must return to the pits, stop and then proceed back out onto the circuit. Unfortunately, Dominic thought he had three laps in which to pit for his penalty and when he eventually came in was instructed to exit his car while the clerk of the course explained that he should in fact have come in straight away. In the confusion the Ninjas released their next driver, David Henderson, but did not score any further laps until Dominic had returned from his penalty – this cost them two laps. David Litchfield and Anthony Day put in solid consistent laps for their respective teams with Stigs ‘r’ US up in thirteenth place by the 1 hour mark. Arthur Gilmour handed over the baton to son Hugh with only a minor contact incident with a

With fifty five teams participating, qualifying was organised into fifteen minute sessions with a driver from every team out in each. Caterham to report. Confusion reigned when the team disappeared momentarily from the lap timing screen, only to reappear in two separate places. A swift word with the timekeepers and all was resolved. David Litchfield handed over to Elliot Dunmore, who would race without incident for the duration of his one hour and twelve minute stint. Dave Cross, taking over from Anthony Day was not so fortunate running into the back of another car twenty minutes in. Erring on the side of caution he brought his car into the pits for inspection releasing John Wilson. Toni Gladding put in an incident free thirty minutes for the Samurai, but the Stigs fell foul of a failed clutch bearing on John Wilson’s car. Unable to limp home further than the pit entrance he had to push his car to the garage to release Alric Kitson and subsequently collapsed in a heap against the pit wall! Dominic Jackson went out to finish his stint for the Ginger Ninjas with David Henderson encountering no difficulties during his. It wasn’t to prove Dominic’s day though and a trip through the gravel brought him in slightly earlier than planned. Dallas Jackson replaced him but returned almost immediately with a wheel vibration issue. This put Mk2 Champion Mark Jessop in the driving seat. Jon Grimes was next out for King Arthur’s Samurai and had to contend with an oil slick from a BMW around a quarter of the circuit. This marked the first of the three safety car periods for the race and ever the team player Jon cut his session short to take advantage of the slower field for a driver change. Dave Block then completed the Mk1 team’s line up and while he had to cope with both of the remaining safety car periods they were thankfully short. Elliot Dunmore handed over smoothly to Steve Lumley who lapped quickly and consistently. Towards the end of his session it started to rain with a corresponding drop-off in lap times across the field.

The rain played a hand in the Ninja’s strategy as well with Mark Jessop running for just half an hour and Alan Henderson just twenty minutes. Dallas, Mark and Alan would go on to complete the race with no further problems. King Arthur’s Mk1 repeated their earlier rotation and their strategy of resting cars and drivers seemed to pay off with no incidents or failures. Alric gave way to Dave Cross to finish his interrupted drive who in turn handed over to experienced endurance racer Marcus Mahy to bring the Stigs ‘r’ Us team home. Lumley passed the Rogue’s Troopers’ baton over to Patrick Mortell who saw initially high laptimes tumble on the drying track. With one hour of race time remaining the team were now lying fourth overall and in with a genuine chance of a podium finish! The Rogue’s managed to leave their on-track drama right until the last minute when Matthew Marsh’s MR2 chose three laps before the end of the race as the ideal time to dump it’s coolant. Steve Lumley was hastily despatched to take the chequered flag. In the dying minutes Stigs ‘r’ Us found themselves on the same lap as the Ginger Ninjas meaning that Alan Henderson and Marcus Mahy were racing for position. Mahy managed to stay comfortably far enough ahead that without more time the Ninjas never really had a shot at passing. After six hours of racing Rogue’s Troopers headed the MR2 teams in 10th place with Stigs ‘r’ Us in 32nd, the Ginger Ninjas in 37th and King Arthur’s Samurai in 41st. Anthony Day posted the fastest MR2 lap at 1:44.10. All the teams agreed that the event had been an enormous amount of fun, and a welcome counterpoint to the frantic action of a Championship round. Thanks to team managers Will Worthington, Matthew Wishart, Kris Romney and Phil Plastow. Also to sponsors mycarcheck.co.uk and Lyn, Mel, Rowland, Alasdair and Doran from Team Rogue Racing.

At the three hour mark Rogue’s Troopers were leading the MR2 teams in 19th place with Stigs ‘r’ Us in 41st, King Arthur’s Samurai in 46th and the Ginger Ninjas in 53rd.

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MR2’S IN MOTORSPORT

27th September 2008

Snetterton

his was the final round of the 750MC MR2 Championship and with Mark Jessop and Steve Lumley vying for the Championship lead; it was going to be a close and interesting meeting. With the weather behaving itself but with relatively low track temperatures, the drivers faced decisions on tyre pressures and set up. With the usual top contenders on board for the Mk2 brigade, Arthur Gilmore, Jonathan Grimes and Hugh Gilmore representing the Mk1 contingent with only Arthur Gilmore in a commanding lead. Mark Jessop and Steve Lumley were only separated by 13 points in the Championship so a good qualifying was essential. Qualifying saw some interesting lap times which were only marginally down on the 2007 season and saw Phil Wilson taking the pole position followed by Alan Henderson, Steve Lumley, Anthony Day and John Wilson making up the next four slots with less than a second separating all five. Mark Jessop, who desperately needed a front row grid slot could do no better than 14th; some three seconds down on the pole man’s time of 1:25.30. Matthew Marsh, picking up 6th position on the grid is perhaps the surprise of the meeting after some disappointing showings in the previous Championship rounds. Alric Kitson, an early star at the beginning of the season, failed to show

his promise by taking 9th on the grid. Of the Mk1 drivers, Jonathan Grimes, in his 79 car showed some blistering form to take 19th position out performing 4 of the faster Mk2 2litre cars. Hugh Gilmore marginally out performed Arthur Gilmore by 2 tenths of a second to line up behind Jonathan. David Block, Nick Reed, Ben Rowe, Robert Howes, Jeff McCall and David Rowe taking the next 6 places for the Mk1 entrants. Race 1 saw pole sitter Phil Wilson, Alan Henderson, Steve Lumley and Anthony Day charge off the line heading into the infamous bomb hole followed by John Wilson, Matthew Marsh, David Litchfield and David Bryant with the hard charging Alric Kitson snapping at their heels. With middle pack runners swapping positions and with Mark Jessop starting from 14th on the grid making his way through the pack at an alarming rate but Alric Kitson was forced to hold station only making up one slot from his starting place finishing the race in 8th

position. Meanwhile Steve Lumley who started from 3rd was soon challenging for the lead and managed to drop Phil Wilson and Alan Henderson to take the chequered flag in style. Alan Henderson, who started 2nd on the grid maintained his position after dropping Phil Wilson in earlier laps leaving Phil to bring his no.12 car home in 3rd spot. The hard charging Mark Jessop, obviously free from his qualifying gremlins, finished a highly credible 5th only narrowly missing the number 4 place which was held by John Wilson, one place better than his qualifying 5th place. John Wilson’s form has improved from his early season and narrowly missed a podium finish. Race 2 was to see Steve Lumley holding the pole position followed by Phil Wilson, Alan Henderson and Anthony Day taking the next three positions, with the number five finisher in the first race, Mark Jessop, starting from 12th. Alric Kitson, now started from 10th behind David Henderson and Patrick Mortell whose 2008 season has not gone quite to plan but nevertheless managed to start the race in 8th slot; an improvement on his starting position of 11th. With all starters in position and having completed their green flag lap, they eagerly awaited the start, so with engine revs rising and the red lights out the first three rows were committed to an all out drag race into the first corner with the next rows hanging on to the

front runners. Mark Jessop once again carved his way through the field from 12th position picking off Anthony Day, Alan Henderson, David Weaving, David Henderson and David Litchfield in the process to bring his car home in a well earned 3rd. Meanwhile at the front, Phil Wilson and Steve Lumley battled for the first two positions with Phil Wilson bringing his no.12 car home to take the chequered flag closely followed by Steve in the 58 car. This meeting decided the 750MC MR2 Championship for 2008. Arthur Gilmore, who had consistently campaigned his Mk1 in this series brought his car to the chequered flag as the first of the Mk1 finishers, which meant that he had now accumulated 186 points to take the Class A Championship win over Jonathan Grimes with 144 points and Hugh Gilmore with 138 points. Mark Jessop did enough over the two races today to take the 750MC MR2 Championship Class B award with 163 points over Steve Lumley with 150 points. Alric Kitson taking 3rd with 113 points, an achievement worth noting as Alric is classed as a novice in his first year. We wish all the Championship winners a hearty congratulations and look forward to the 2009 season with possibly some new faces coming through but with a plethora of the old campaigners …..JURNO

eesside is the furthest even for us so we packed up on Friday and headed up to Yorkshire for a brief stop at my parents. As I am still not driving, we had to just take one car again and as it was so far we would only be taking one set of tyres. The weather forecast looked showery and as this is an evening event, probably wouldn’t dry up. However we decided the Toyos were up to the job and decided to keep them on. Phil knew he only had to turn up to win the class championship anyway so the wrong tyre choice wasn’t going to be so detrimental. Saturday morning arrived, cold and windy although dry and we set off on our journey to Teesside Autodrome, which was fairly uneventful.

Phil Cutler

Simon Marsh collects one of his Championship trophies from Lisa Ingram (Miss Scotland finalist!)

Phil Cutler receives his event trophy from Barry Cross (who isn’t a Miss Scotland finalist)

Matt Hopkins

Steve Lawson

Teeside Autodrome Final round, 25th Oct 2008 Once there, the organisation was a little different due to a drift event and a karting event being on, so we had to park up and sign on in a different area, and while Phil was getting Humphrey ready for scrutineering, I watched the drifting which looked interesting! We also met up with Matt Hopkins who was looking forward to his first event in his recently purchased Mk1 MR2! The event was a little slow to get started due to the fact it was a dark event, so we had to wait for the light to go. The drivers had a break after their two practice laps and during this break the rain came down! At 6:15 they were ready to start the timed runs, it looked very dark and rather wet. Additional lighting on car was allowed as long as it would pass an MOT. Phil had replaced Humphrey’s

Phil Cutler

standard lights with the ones we use on our road cars which are slightly more modern. I retired to the rather useful café to watch the laps, which had a good view of the chicane and final fast corner. The track layout was the same as the summer event, which may have helped the drivers in the dark. The whole event ran smoothly and they were really getting through the runs with many drivers appearing to spin at the chicane, which at least meant interesting viewing for us spectators! Matt span on the final corner on one of his early runs, however Phil managed to keep the car pointing in a generally forwards direction. Phil’s times for the day were good, ranging from 56 seconds to just over 60 depending on the conditions of the track. We noticed that the

John Middleton

Report written and contributed by Toyota Sprint Series Participant Vykki Hoult, photos taken by Andrew Cliffe

super Starlet had entered however so we didn’t expect a first place in this round! The Starlet was back in full form and had a fastest lap of just over 54 seconds, finishing 6th overall! Matt managed to improve well on his times, his fastest being a 66. It’s a difficult first event but he hopes to compete next season in full. (So do I!) Simon Marsh won his class again, and was 4th overall on the day with a time just over 54 seconds. Mike Rawlings was runner up in his class with a time of just under 57 seconds and this got him to 13th overall. As expected, Phil received the runner up trophy for the day, but did really well to finish 10th overall. As this was the final round, the championship results and prizes were also given out. Phil was class winner for the championship with 327 points. This amount of points

Mike / Bob Rawlings V6 MR2

Christian Timms

also meant he beat both winners of the classes above ours, (for engines above 1600cc n/a and for below 1600cc with turbochargers) and finished 8th overall! A great result for our little 120bhp car, up there with cars stating horsepower of 200 and above. Simon Marsh finished a fantastic 3rd overall and won his class with 389 points. Mike Rawlings was runner up in his class with 310 points (one point off winning!!), and this got him 11th place overall. Just as an aside, I finished 46th (out of 50) with 91 points! The only people below me had not done as many rounds. Never mind eh? We have plans for Humphrey over the winter, so this little episode is certainly not over yet. We will be back next year with more power, who knows where that will get us?

Steve Lawson’s MR2

For more info, event dates and reports visit www.toyota-sprint-series.com

b u l C s r e n w O 2 R M

T A y a D d a o R g n i e Roll c n a m r o f r e P n o t Wes

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Turbo... 3 k M a & s A ’s, Mk3 N/ 6 V 2 k M , s o k2 Turb M , ’s A / N 2 k M

MR2 Only Magazine www.mr2only.com

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down too both again – to meet you t ea gr – e car despite ad D ures from th fig od go d an a laugh bda. the Cat/Lam n’s was led by Ia V6s – which e 0ft/lb th 20 to – b on /l Now e of 233 ft ur fig hp. ue rq to 20 pressive 8b storming 1 lly factory with his Rev and Bob’s im k m e ar running virtua rp th M d 00 to an 19 so from e to give ial note al ve much mor lour – 148bhp power. Spec I hope about t variation Both cars ha ! ious green co impressive! ea e! or gr ry ur gl Well a little a ve a fig d c in be ha ti d e ill as te w W nt in y. ch fa s pa da hi a od w e is m th r of g result year old ca the cars on with differin good! out of an 18 and models my car is as s. of MR2 marks so a magazine article was am gh in B e th Mk2 s t of on en le si power – the as the batt of the differ and conver wn to the big you an idea Then there w do ning. Chris ve ly un gi al st fin to lly e d ua m An s – eq welco te’s 2 Rev 5 N/A w BHP as Pe s out there! turbos. s Dad by a fe cars and mod hi u ed yo pp pe pi ho st – ju d ot an ea o sh si as es w ertor sed Rev2 mad we had – Al Catalytic conv te!! s as totally the 3 Mk3s cently purcha w re /A as it N s w g v’ e f in th of Ke er t of Pe id rs e Fi 9bhp cons t for the titl ounded him 20 t gr ou e d Rev3 ea it bl gr ire ta a ed qu ec n pp ac w sp re Ally scra eve put do Mk2 so recently St s al hi ’s s e’ in ag Le M hp y h 6b nl ic or O good 13 – lots m e to stock. R k3s looked whilst MR2 s put down a 5 made a althy 257bhp turbo. All 3 M ui he ev s Lo R a hi h as 98 e it w w th 19 Ryan’s Rev2 o n s Turb power ru n’s Ryan in hi I will own in k next year! ya d r in R ca an th , I on e 1 ti ately at on ev en R th r! is m at looking ca come from Must also ough unfortun fantastic – th is one good as well – thy 168bhp. on the day th n at r al w th ed ca he do – er o ve ff by si si su oo es es o Turb ng his Sc one impr future!! Al out of Dad for bringi is going to be u’ll get more – at o yo th to re t e su bu rc – fo I’m but out in d N/A nice figures owners were t his lovely re ev 3 . Carl brough The Mk2 N/A ith his ’96 R ne w tu a ke h Lu it w an it e th and and none mor 12 years old tally stock – MR2 Only Magazine www.mr2only.com 63 N/A that is to

MR2 Owners Club Rolling Road Forum Username: Howlin_Mad Name: Kieren Car: 1994 Mk2 Rev3 3L V6 (conversion) Mods: Pipercross Viper Filter, Fidanza Flywheel, Japspeed tubby exhaust, Port & Polishing, Walboro 255 fuel pump BHP: 158 Ft/Lb: 173 Dyno operators Comments Running extremely rich causing big power loss - check engine sensors

if running right. Richie Summers’ Rev3 was the surprise big power entry of the day running 284.5 bhp – an extremely good figure. Steve C also made good figures from his gorgeous looking black Rev3 Turbo. (I want your wheels!!)

Forum Username: Ilogik Name: Alessio Gallo Car: 1999 Mk3 Mods: Induction kit, Kakimoto GT Exhaust, Pre-Cats removed BHP: 141.3 Ft/Lb: 135 Dyno operators Comments n/a

One other mention must go to Kieron in his home built DIY tubby conversion. 248 bhp and 245 ft/lb from a home built DIY N/A to tubby conversion – and running right will easily see 300 bhp – hats off sir!

But the day went to Matt and his Rev 4 Turbo – 295.5bhp and 280 ft/lb. A great looking car and power to match.

Thanks for reading – and hope to see you all at the next one! Kieren

Forum Username: Rev4turbomonster Name: Matt Robinson Car: 1997 Mk2 Rev4 Turbo Mods: Downpipe, XS Power Intercooler, Apexi Air Filter, HKS SSQV, Apexi AVCR, Japspeed Exhaust BHP: 295.5 Ft/Lb: 280 Dyno operators Comments Like the colour, good figures - an E-Manage could help with fuelling

Forum Username: Boystoys Name: Kieron Hill Car: 1991 Mk2 Rev1 Turbo (conversion) Mods: Downpipe, Japspeed Exhaust, Dastek Unichip, HKS FCD, HKS Induction, Evo type BOV, Forged Pistons, MBC BHP: 248.5 Ft/Lb: 245 Dyno operators Comments Aftermarket Intercooler needed, sort out fuelling & setup HKS FCD

Forum Username: Neptune Name: Carl Ensor Car: 1994 Mk2 Rev3 N/A Mods: Magnex Exhaust, K&N Air Filter, Magnecor Leads BHP: 144.4 Ft/Lb: 135 Dyno operators Comments Running rich - check Cat & Lambda

Forum Username: chris Name: Chris Bingham Car: 2000 Mk2 Rev5 N/A Mods: Blitz panel filter BHP: 156.1 Ft/Lb: 136 Dyno operators Comments Addition of a better exhaust will increase flow

MR2 Only Magazine www.mr2only.com

ad Day AT Weston Performance Forum Username: djrys2 Name: Ryan Newell Car: 1992 Mk2 Rev2 Turbo Mods: Greddy Turbo/Intercooler, Mines ECU, Apexi Air Intake, Boost Controller, Down Pipe, Custom Exhaust, Bailey BOV BHP: 220 Ft/Lb: n/a Dyno operators Comments Running far too rich

Forum Username: Ry_B Name: Ryan Barratt Car: 1998 Mk2 Rev5 N/A Mods: Japspeed Exhaust inc De-Cat, Apexi Induction kit BHP: 168 Ft/Lb: 136 Dyno operators Comments n/a

Forum Username: Allycat Name: Alison Macfarlaine Car: 2003 Mk3 Mods: TTE Exhaust BHP: 137.2 Ft/Lb: n/a Dyno operators Comments n/a

Forum Username: Poohbear Name: Bob Car: 1992 Mk2 Rev2 3L V6 (conversion) Mods: Apexi Air Intake, Port & Polish, Mongoose exhaust BHP: 208.6 Ft/Lb: 215 Dyno operators Comments

Very strong engine, pulls well through the rev range, but fuelling drops off sharply above 5K revs. Camry auto ecu was cutting the fuel - piggy back or standalone ECU and some mapping would cure it and release some more horsepower. Owners comments: Really pleased with the result was expecting 200 bhp so 208.6 bhp was a bonus, with the hope of more to come after the new manifolds go on + maybe ECU & mapping next year.

Forum Username: steve_Mr2only Name: Steve Bishop Car: 2003 Mk3 Turbo (conversion) Mods: Hass Stage II intercooled turbo kit, Garrett GT28R turbo, custom exhaust, Sytec vent-to-atmos BOV, E-Manage, Profec E-01 boost controller, KrankVents, RPS clutch, RPS lightweight flywheel BHP: 209 Ft/Lb: 206 Dyno operators Comments Must be a lot of fun. Some improvement could be gained with a different intercooler, and altering fuelling when coming on boost.

Forum Username: Mr_Wedge Name: Ian Wedge Car: 1993 Mk2 Rev2 3L V6 (conversion) Mods: Mongoose & De-Cat, Link G3 ECU, Induction Kit, N/A Gearbox BHP: 200.3 Ft/Lb: 233 Dyno operators Comments Could do better with mapping, running slightly lean

MR2 Only Magazine www.mr2only.com

MR2 Owners Club Rolling Road Forum Username: SteveC1210 Name Steve Car: Mk2 Turbo Mods: BHP: Ft/Lb: Dyno operators Comments

Forum Username: Rover76 Name Mark Beard Car: 1990 Mk2 Rev1 N/A Mods: K&N Air filter, Mongoose Exhaust BHP: 148.1 Ft/Lb: 137 Dyno operators Comments Running rich at the top end

Forum Username: Pete0609R5 Name:Pete Bingham Car: 1999 Mk2 Rev5 N/A Mods: Standard BHP: 144.4 Ft/Lb: 128 Dyno operators Comments Knackered Cat drawing power - renew complete system

Forum Username: Vargas Name: Kevin Car: 1992 Mk2 Rev2 Turbo Mods: Japspeed Exhaust BHP: 209 Ft/Lb: 218 Dyno operators Comments Nice strong engine - plugs, boost controller, fuel pump & De-Cat should see 260bhp

Forum Username: RichLee Name: Richard Lee Car: 1995 Mk2 Rev3 Turbo Mods: HKS Filter, Greddy SMIC, Blitz BOV BHP: 257.6 Ft/Lb: 254 Dyno operators Comments Runs slightly lean when boost kicks in, then tails off rich. Good power.

Forum Username: KoLaBoTtLe Name: Richie Summers Car: 1993 Mk2 Rev3 Turbo Mods: Greddy Intercooler, HKS SSQV BOV, Nur Spec, Downpipe, Fuel Cut Defender, Blitz DSBC BHP: 284.9 Ft/Lb: 278 Dyno operators Comments Too much boost on first run

MR2 Only Magazine www.mr2only.com

ad Day AT Weston Performance Forum Username: 19Luke90 Car: 1996 Mk2 Rev3 N/A Mods: Standard BHP: 172.4 Ft/Lb: 142 Dyno operators Comments Good run

Name: Luke Stannett

Forum Username: Mixer72 Name: Louis Car: 1991 Mk2 Rev1 N/A Mods: Air Filter & Exhaust BHP: 136.9 Ft/Lb: Dyno operators Comments n/a

...the day went to Matt and his Rev 4 Turbo â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 295.5bhp and 280 ft/lb. A great looking car and power to match.

MR2 Only Magazine www.mr2only.com

Written by Johnny G

ello and welcome to the murmers from TwoBrutal. These last few weeks has seen a bit of activity over on our side of the ‘net. Looking back, it’s hard to know where to begin. A lot of the comments have again been about my engine and bodywork build, but that’s for another story.

We’ve already touched on Arne’s Mk1 V8 in this issue; so really we don’t have a lot to talk about. Or do we? Hmm.... Well, let’s start by saying that this is not going to be as funny as the next one; after all, we have the TwoBrutal Christmas Party coming up in Leeds in early December. This is always a great night, or two nights in this case. Paul has his usual pint, Mrs Woods sips her JD and coke, Nik tries to reach the bar, Jasper gets comfy and wakes up, still drunk, 16 hours later. Me? I’m a saint and hardly touch a drop - and if you believe that.... Moving forward, I suppose we can mention the guys over at Woodsport, who always pop up with something unique, their last Mk1 V6 conversion being no different. We’ll get the basics out the way, the owner was called Chris and his name on TwoBrutal is CMUX. Right, that’s that done. Now into the interesting bit. Chris’s car was a fine example, concourse condition Mk1 - and he wanted it to stay that way, he also chose to have the alloy 1MZ-FE engine rather than the iron block 3VZ-FE, the benefits being, weight and more power. The downside: Cost. To preserve his concourse condition, he insisted that no firewalls were cut or moved - as is the given normal condition with a Mk1 swap. Woodsport, being the guys they are, rose to the challenge. Paul scratched his nose, had some inspiration and fabricated new jigs and mounts to move the engine slightly further forward in the car, meaning now rear firewall had to be cut. Now, add that to a nice Mk2 NA box, a 1000kg car and an engine producing around 210bhp and 205lb/ft and what do you have? ... you can insert your own joke about speed here. Suffice it to say, Chris was very happy and the chaps at Woodsport have another satisfied V6 customer.

Home builds.

On the home builds, we’ve seen some tuning on the 3VZ-FE from Norway with the GT35R turbo kit, running MegaSquirt, that’s running at 0.6 and slowly rising over the winter. He’ll be updating his threads as soon as something happens - I spoke to his mapper on my recent trip to Norway and he was mentioning that the car was entertaining! Ninjasdaniel, or Daniel to his friends, is well underway with his Mk2, 1MZ-FE and TRD Supercharger conversion, following in the footsteps of our very own featured MRV6 (Phil) from the UK, who has had a feature on his car done, back in the early days of MR2Only. Daniel knows what his targets are - 272bhp at 4psi. Speaking of MRV6, he’s finally decided on his ECU people. It’s only been two years. He might even get it mapped soon - we might have that article in the Christmas issue. 2010.

STOP PRESS: It’s been mapped. Suffice to say, Ryan from 2BarTuning has surpassed himself, again. Phil’s created a whole new thread on it, very much worth a read about how his car is transformed.

Heads

FourVeeSix from TwoBrutal is continuing to set the standard in the headporting; gaining lots of flow from the stock heads, making his services a must for the new and old swappers alike. The increase in flow needs to be seen on a graph to be appreciated. He is always happy to take your questions and explain what he does. His photos and insights really show his experience in this field. The V6 market really is moving forward here.

Flaps

Every man’s favourite topic - and Two Brutal men are no different (well, Owen is, but we don’t talk about that) - is flaps! Goldy (Si), has been working on a nice little box of tricks in his spare time. It is currently in the final stages of testing, it is a controller for a flappy paddle kit he has developed for Toyota A series 4 speed electronic automatic gearboxes, this will fit the Mk2 and Camry - and possibly the Mk1 at the moment. The kit currently replaces the ecu control of the gearbox but it should be possible to have a switchable system so auto mode can be used or flappy paddles. This will allow V6 swaps into Mk2s as it removes ecu control of the gearbox, thus fixing the shift point problem that currently exists with using the Mk2 gearbox with the camry ecu. Paul Woods has been helping out testing the box so will be able to fit them for people or as part of a swap, when Si finally puts them to market. Who says Innovation can’t be “Brutal”?!

Charity

On a more serious note. Our very own Shugsta (Hugh) is taking part in a very honourable charity event. During Movember (the month formerly known as November) he is growing a Mo (as in Moustache, see Flanders, Poirot, etc). That’s right he is bringing the Mo back because he is passionate about tackling men’s health issues and being proactive in the fight against prostate cancer. We are fully supporting him over at TwoBrutal - if you would like to, please donate via www.movember.com/uk - his registration number for sponsorship is 1397331. All donations are welcome. As always, pop over to our little corner and make yourself at home.

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MR2 Club of Greece - Sunday 19th October 2008 - Written by Eva

One day trip to mount Parnassos

Meeting point: 09:30am first tolls Kifisia, Athens.

Greece is not only about sunny weather, beautiful islands and superb beaches. There is also the mainland full of mountains, rivers, lakes, small villages and from time to time, misty weather… We had planned our trip weeks ago and hoped that the weather would be fine but Sunday morning came and the weather was giving us a hard time with clouds gathering over the Athenian sky, but that did not stop us. Not at all. After an hour once we had gathered, we headed up

north. Our destination was Arachova city on mount Parnassos near the ancient oracle of Delphi about 160 km from Athens. The scenery was breath-taking, the roads twisty and spirits were high but the further north we got, the gloomier the clouds were and the weather finally came in and it started to rain. So we stopped for a coffee about 30 km from Arachova in order to re-group. Fortunately the rain stopped after half an hour and we continued to Arachova and further to Livadi where we had booked a tavern for lunch. Actually we took over the entire tavern and tables were set all around, so everyone was going from table to table. The food was excellent although I am not sure if most of us enjoyed it because of the laughter and the fun.

–

On our way back we stopped at Arachova where we had a hard time trying to park in the narrow streets. Although the winter season has not officially started yet and the ski resorts are still closed, Arachova is one of the favorite weekend spots for those who live in Athens; lots of people were walking through the town chatting and buying local goods. We had another coffee, chatted a bit, re-grouped and started our journey back to Athens. All said and done, we had a great time, lots of fun and it proved very clearly once again that when entirely different people meet who share a common interest and passion, everything else just fades away… One car, one life…. MR2

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Ocean Shores, Washington, USA

2 the Beach

2 The Beach is a fantastic annual

MR2 event which is held every September in Ocean Shores, Washington, USA. It is one of the most exciting MR2 events to attend if you are in the Pacific Northwest region and it attracts MR2 owners from surrounding states, Canada and even Mexico. With ocean side hotels and fantastic roads, this event becomes more popular every year. Lyle Beach, a proud MR2 owner himself, started this three-day event back in September, 2001. It begins with a bonfire party on the beach on the Friday night, which often ends up going late. MR2

owners gather on Saturday morning for a hearty breakfast and then everyone is off to the show and shine where owners showcase their MR2s.

in a picture, but we manage to do it. Beach bonfires are a huge highlight of this event and this is how Saturday evening startsâ&#x20AC;Ś

The best part of the day is the amazing, yet challenging afternoon drive on the Moclips Highway -a quiet countryside road that follows the shoreline. After this, everyone meets for lunch and to chat about the drive at the Lucky Dragon, a Chinese food restaurant owned by a fellow MR2 owner. Once our bodies are refueled, we meet at a nearby parking lot for a group picture where prizes are awarded. It is always a challenge to fit up to 50 cars

The following morning everyone meets for breakfast before heading back home. Some of us have long drives ahead, but we smile all the way back. So if you want to participate in a great MR2 gathering and meet some fun and crazy MR2 owners, 2 the Beach is one event you should not miss! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where great memories are made! Written by Matt Key

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2008 IMOC-UK - 24 Heures

Du Mans event

Photos and article by Michael Sheavills

uestion? What does the summer mean to me, lazy evenings sitting in the garden with a cool beer, burning sausages and burgers on the BBQ, em, no, staying up late into the early hours of the morning watching live streaming from the Big Brother house, em, definitely no, well what? Continued from issue 12.... ‘’ MAD ‘’ Friday 13th June 2008 Traditionally know as ‘’ MAD FRIDAY ‘’ and rightly so. This is one of the highlights of the trip and the reason some people come to Le Mans. Basically all the car clubs and a lot of people who have come for the racing descend down at the circuit around lunchtime for fun and madness, all car related. We witnessed car burnouts over soapy water, drag starts and some amazing road cars including a Jaguar VX220, Ferrari F40, De Tomaso, and loads of other Ferraris, Lambo’s, Porsches and some nice vintage stuff. We even saw that some Brits had come over on a DENNIS fire engine, where did they get that from, mad! Following all the crazy happenings at the track we headed for a tour of the pit lane to get up close and personal with the cars, teams and drivers. After a superb day at the track we headed back to the Chateau to get ready for a car show that the owner of the campsite Dominique puts on for all his guests, traditionally on the Friday evening. We really did let our hair down on this night and had a brilliant time. We managed to get a few of our cars entered into the Concours De Elegance show, we didn’t win, this went to a beautiful Ferrari. Never mind, maybe next year.

Saturday 14th - Sunday 15th June 2008 Race day came at last and the excitement around the camp was thrilling, we headed off back to the circuit and parked in pre booked parking right in front of the main entry points and start/finish line. The atmosphere before the start was electric, very special; I’ve been to a lot of high profile moto racing events but there’s nothing like Le Mans. The race itself was superb with the Peugeot HDi team giving the Audis a good run for their money and unfortunately the Peugeots couldn’t maintain their lead due to pit stops for fuel and Audi won again followed by team Peugeot. I really could go on for hours talking about the race but onr thing

worthy of mention was the trip at night up to Arnage corner and Mulsanne at 3am.You can drive up to theses parts of the circuit around the back roads and get to see the race and the cars from a different perspective, amazing to see the cars come into Arnage, a fast 90 degree right hander, brakes glowing red in anger and then power away through the gears up to 185mph before braking hard for the 155mph Porsche Curve, unforgettable. We arrived back to the car in the car park around 4.00am and had a cheeky 3 hours sleep whilst listening to radio Le Mans, essential if you want to keep up to date with the race itself. Sunday morning 7.00am and I’m awaked by the sound of race cars thundering around the track. Where else in the world can you experience that? We had a quick breakfast and then headed back into the circuit to see the rest of the race unfold. We tried to get to as many spectator viewing areas as possible and to be fair Le Mans is great for that, there are some superb vantage points and close to the track if you look hard enough, for me sitting up on the bank at Tet Rouge watching them come out of the chicane and up and under the Dunlop bridge, special to say the least. After a long 2 days down at the circuit we all headed back to the chateau for a well earned shower and cold beer. That night Jhiss from the French DC organised a run out to a small village called Ecomoy where there was a bunch of Ferrari owners meeting up. There must have been about 15 MR2s that headed up there that night, really nice run out through the dusking French countryside. We arrived in a beautiful and quiet Ecomoy and headed to a restaurant for dinner, again Jhiss had pre organised this. During dinner the Ferrari boys were giving rides around the village in their cars and they weren’t tootling either, absolutely crazy stuff. Apparently we were told the police stay away from here on this night as it brings people to the village and they don’t want to stop it. After dinner we were asked by the restaurant owner if we could all line up our MR2s outside the restaurant so he could take pictures. We had a brilliant night and an amazing, long weekend, priceless.

Monday 16th June 2008

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Again this day was free time, most chilled out and re energized their batteries, some went off shopping and visited Le Mans and its cathedral and some took advantage and visited the Le Mans zoo which itself is a good day out. As this was our last day together we all had a nice meal and decided we had to drink all the alcohol as there wouldn’t be room to take any back with us. I can barely remember how

the night was but I’m told it consisted of a bottle of snaps, several beers and some brandy; needless to say there were a few fragile heads the next day trying to pack away their tents.

Tuesday 17th June 2008 Well that’s the end of another truly great Le Mans trip, for some it was time to head back to Boulogne for the ferry back to the UK but for some, another part of the trip was about to unfold. Myself, Joanne, Shane, Susan, Jinxy, Deb, Saj, Gemma, Alam, Pete, Reema, Mark and Dan stayed on for the optional bolt on trip that we organise every year for the die hard people who just don’t want the fun to end. This year we chose a trip up to the historic island of Mont St Michel on the north eastern side of France where we stayed for 2 days before Mark and Dan’s amazing tour of the Normandy beaches. For me this was a very pivotal part of the trip and one which I will not forget in a hurry. After touring the Normandy coast and visiting the D-Day landings of Utah and Sword we ended up in Dieppe for our last night before travelling back on Friday 20th. On reflection this is one of my favourite holidays ever and certainly the best MR2 trip I have been on. This year was our 8th tour to Le Mans and plans are already well underway for LM09, visit our very own website for more information on next year’s spectacular trip, it’s early days buy if you want to experience this for yourself you need to act now. Thanks to everyone on the trip who made it one to remember. Michael Sheavills www.lemans-24heuresdumans-tour.co.uk

CLUB SCENE

MR2 vs. Supra Letchworth Garden City Meet

ecently, I was talking to some of the regional reps on the MR2OC about the subject of organising events and meets for the owners and how difficult it can be to gather everyone in one place when they are all available. In my self assured manner I made a throw away comment that went something like this….. “How hard can it be really? You only need to think of something a bit different that will wake the owners up and take notice; then you can appeal to a wider section of the MR2 owners in your area and potentially draw in some unseen diamonds of Japanese automotive excellence.” Hmm, not the smartest thing to have come out of my mouth without thinking the consequences through first! The reply was light hearted and yet challenging enough for me to listen. “If you can prove yourself and get a great and different event under your belt, I will make you a regional rep.” So, I began to think and throw ideas around in my head about what I could do. That evening as I got out the Meguiars and waxed my baby on a balmy August evening I had an idea. I decided to hold an event in Letchworth Garden City and with the help of Amy (catwoman!) the plan came together. We decided to combine two meets and if we could pull it off, it would be

unique and exciting and a potential MR2 magnet. The MR2 vs. Supra meet was born. The date was set for 14th September at The Two Chimneys in Letchworth. The pub was scouted out and the venue was booked with excitement and the event was posted for the OC to see. The list of attendees grew as owners found our agenda intriguing with the addition of a bit of friendly banter and competition between us and the Supras. I pulled into the deserted car park and gingerly put up the MR2OC banner to direct the throngs of MR2s I had been hoping would attend to our parking. In the distance I could hear a low murmuring of cars and while I nervously waited for someone to turn up, the murmur became a rumble and started to get louder and throatier. I began to feel a twinge of excitement in the form of butterflies in my stomach as the rumbling sound transformed quickly into the roar of ct20b turbos and Jap-Spec exhausts. Into the car park they came and wow!, bit by bit I counted 17 gleaming MR2s, t tops down in the hot sun and all of 4 Supras (and all of those silver!) As the MR2 owners greeted one another with familiar hand shakes and back slapping, ‘the others’ congregated between their twin turbo Supras and

surveyed the glorious sight of Toyota perfection before them……the MR2s! 17 cars in all the colours you can imagine. All of them with paint work like glass (the OC must be a major part of Meguiars 3 stage business by now) and with fierce looking wheels and exhausts. We even attracted one solitary Mk1. I took some time to chat to its owner Kate about her very tidy car. Kate has owned the car for two and a half years and apart from its weekly wash and wax has not touched a thing. Preferring to preserve the car in A1 standard form it is clear Kate is very proud of her stunning car. In recent years, Kate’s 2 has won ‘runner up’ in Kenilworth Japanese Classic Car Show in the pre 1990 un modified class, of which she is rightly very proud. In this area of England it is quite rare to find many female MR2 owners, so it was lovely to see all 3 of the OCs South East lady owners at one meet. Coorganiser Amy Binks brought along her outstanding Caribbean (tropical) blue rev-3. Along with the very well cared for paint work, Amy has resisted the attempts of her boyfriend to modify her car and has instead opted for the ‘standard beauty with a few subtle mods’ tack. Clear side repeaters and indicators are the only ‘upgrade’ and rightly so as they accent the stunning blue paintwork and spotless 15” flat spoke Toyota alloys.

Weaving my way through the lines of cars, one in particular caught my eye. A stunning aquamarine (green) rev-2 complimented to jaw dropping effect with Bomex bumper and side skirts and Autopista spoiler. Also set into the unusual green car was nestled a set of HID headlights with Raybrig lenses.

Talking to the car’s owner Damien (baboon) he tells me that the car has just literally rolled out of 3’s service centre for mounting the fierce looking body kit the day before the meet. Damien is totally happy with the job that has been done and gives me the guided tour of his ride.

“James and the body shop he uses have done a quality job on my car” he tells me with pride and they have. This car is stark contrast to Amy’s car sitting next to it and it is not for the shrinking violet. The rev-2 N/A is standard under the lid, except for a well executed manifold and cam cover paint job and

the addition of a Blue flame exhaust with decat which gives the Mk2 a fantastic rich throaty sound. With a man of Damien’s stature a sound suspension set up is a must and his Bilstein B6 shocks, Eiback (25mm) Prokit, after market camber and castor adjusters

Damien (Baboon) Rev-2 N/A

tuned and set up by Wheels-inMotion; this makes for a low, smooth ride while still being forgiving over speed bumps. To complement both styling and suspension set up, Damien is running 17” gold Rota D1 drifts 215/40 (7.5j) front and 245/40 (8.5j) rear.

Body: Bomex front bumper and skirts, Autopista spoiler, 4300k HID headlights, Raybrig lenses, Rev3 lights, clear indicators and side repeaters Engine: Blueflame exhaust with Decat, Painted cam cover & manifold Suspension: Bilstein B6 shocks, Eibach prokit springs, lowered by approx 25mm from standard, TRD top mounts, High & Tight ProThane Suspension Bushes, Motoria strut braces, Standard strut braces Suspension set up & tuned by Wheels in Motion with aftermarket camber and castor adjusters Wheels: Rota D1 Drift in Gold with polished rims (7.5J front 215/40/17 Goodyear F1 & 8.5J rear 245/40/17 Falken FK452) Interior: Full leather interior, Retrimmed gear knob and gaitor by Rhon, Momo Millenium steering wheel, Sony MEX-1HD head unit with 16GB hard drive built-in Premium sound system, 12” Audiobahn Subwoofer behind passenger seat, JBL GTO amp

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CLUB SCENE

As I move along to take in the other cars that have turned up today I come upon the Supra owners gathered around their cars looking slightly out of place among the throngs of MR2 owners. All 4 of the Supras are silver and with the exception of 1, are owned by more ‘mature’ drivers. Once again I give in to my own selfish desire to look at the cars and gather ideas for my own project and I continue my tour of the cars on show today. The usual suspects include Doeboy, Oddshoes, Markandlyns turbos; mine, stevenb’s and Mark’s n/a’s and every evolution from G Limited to GTE. This is the part of the meet I love the best. I really enjoy looking at the cars and the personalities their owners have given them. Often the owner’s personality is vividly reflected in the cars styling and performance and I have enjoyed trying to do this to my own car and with the help of these people my car has slowly begun to transform into my vision. It’s clear to see that all the owners take pride in their cars and enjoy the drive they have in them. Soon it’s time to enjoy some top grub in the venue and halfway through the meal one of our absent members who has been at AFR’s tuning and performance day makes a surprise appearance. Tony le frog is happy to find his car is pushing out a tad under 200bhp and is a totally stock tubby. After finishing our meal we all go outside to prepare our cars and ourselves for the drive I had painstakingly planned. Steep, fast hills descending into long flat Bedfordshire b roads in some of the most picturesque countryside I have known (apart from Yorkshire). I looked behind me to see a half mile long line of MR2s playing cat and mouse, overtaking and playing with each other and I got a feeling of satisfaction and of elation. Knowing I had done it! I had organised an event with a difference that had been enjoyed by everyone and had brought into the fold some new owners and their cars, immaculate and unique to the MR2OC South East. It was stressful and nerve wracking too. Amy and I put in a lot of hard work but it was worth it for the day. We will, no doubt, be doing it again soon and now I appreciate just how hard it is to organise an event! The moral of the story is…………..MR2s rock! Mrsmrt (Sammi)

www.mr2oc.co.uk Regional Events Diary The MR2 Owners Club has been one of the leading owner’s forums for MR2s for the past four years. A fantastic community of knowledgeable and approachable individuals, headed up by a team of dedicated MR2 enthusiasts and owners. On this site you will find it all! From the ‘know your 2’ section, including comprehensive tutorials on how to do absolutely anything to your car, be it mk1, 2 or 3; to the project pages, technical and discussion forums to the photography club, you will find a warm welcome and many friends. In addition to the wealth of information and support available to members, both new and old, www.mr2oc.co.uk has one of the most active social scenes in the world of MR2 owners clubs. www.mr2oc.co.uk would like to invite the readers of MR2Only Magazine to join them at any one of our upcoming events around Great Britain. Warm Regards, The www.mr2oc.co.uk team. Scotland Regular Monthly Meets are held at the address below on the first Sunday of every month. Pirnhall Inn Sunday December 6th 2008 Glasgow Road Sunday January 4th 2009 Whins of Milton Stirling, FK7 8EX Scotland’s Christmas night out will be on Wednesday 17th December, at 8pm, in Roca Blue Thai Restaurant, Perth. Wales Monthly meet 14th December in Swansea Monthly meet 25th January in Brigend Wales Christmas drink 19 December in Swansea town centre North West January’s monthly meet will be held on Monday 12th January 2009 from 7 - 7:30pm at Premier Travel Inn, Warrington. The North West’s Christmas meal will be held on Saturday 6th December 2008, the venue is still to be confirmed. West Midlands Midland’s monthly meets will be held on the 3rd Wednesday of every month, 7.30pm at the Harvester, Swindon Road, Kingswinford, DY6 9XA. December 17th, 2008 January 21st, 2009

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Midland’s Christmas Meal will be held on December 10th and more information can be found at the following address www.mr2oc.co.uk/ Forums...01250.html There will be 2 Wales runs. One will be in May and the other in August.

South West Region The South West region holds its monthly meets every third Sunday of the month. Sunday 21st December, 2008 Sunday 18th January, 2009 For Details of South West Meets please visit mr2oc.co.uk/ForumsPro/.../f=63.html South East Region The Milton Keynes meet is held the fourth Saturday of the month at the address below from 2pm. The Caldecote Arms Bletcham Way, Caldecotte Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK7 8HP The Essex meet is held on the second Monday of the month from 7 pm at the address below. The Horse and Groom Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3RU (01245) 420245 The Hemel Hempstead meet is held on the first Tuesday of the month from 7 pm at the address below. Red Lion Pub Water End, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 3BD The South East Christmas meet will be held on December 12th details to be confirmed. There is also going to be a Supra & MR2 meet on Sunday 14th December from 1pm at The Two Chimneys, Stotfold Road, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6 4JS.

INTERNALS

Our regular guide to turbo tuning from Tim @ TB Developments We follow on from last times tune 2 article by continuing to look at uprated engine internals. The last article was based around the pistons and their ﬂaws and their performance counterparts, this month we’ll go into the rest of the engine with the conrods, fasteners, bearings and crank.

s we started with pistons it seems logical to follow the downward progression and move on to conrods. When it comes to forged engine builds the standard conrods are an optional upgrade really as the standard items are very very strong and have been used in 600bhp+ builds on numerous occasions, so why bother upgrading I hear you ask; well with this strength comes a bulky and heavy design and this is where improvements can be found. When doing a full engine build using the standard conrods its always wise to check for length as rods can stretch with age, they can also bend and twist so best to make sure they’re all straight and true. It’s also an advantage to balance them as far as static and rotational balance. The other wise upgrade is the bearing cap studs, as these are the only weak item in the rod and these can be upgraded to an ARP item which is a lot stronger and will resist fatigue. So after seeing the above and the time and effort involved in getting them in a perfect condition and the price of balancing and adding the ARP bolts it’s easier to just purchase an aftermarket set of performance rods which are much lighter, come perfectly straight and true, there’re balanced and come with ARP fasteners as standard, and all for a similar price. When it comes to brands, people have their favourites but in my experience we’ve always used eagle rods. Which are nice and cheap, good workmanship on them and have been used in our drag car approaching 1000fw/hp without an issue, so yet to find a reason to go with another brand of more expense

the bearing caps into the engine and contain the bearings for the crank. With increased power levels, the downward force trying to push the crank out the engine also increases. On the MR2 the crank is held into the engine by bearings and caps secured by 2 bolts per cap. ARP replace these bolts with studs which offers a greater clamping force, also as the standard bolts fatigue they are more likely to lose their clamping ability and be more susceptible to stretch. Once the bolts start to stretch, the caps will lift increasing the crank/bearing clearance leading to excessive wear, knocking or a spun bearing. It’s quite rare for them to snap completely on the crank but that’s a different story for the conrods. They are more likely to snap which would lead to a retaining cap coming away and a conrod leaving the rod stationary with a violently rotating crank. Contact is inevitable which leads to a lot of damage and usually the complete destruction of the engine, with conrods being forced through the outside of the block not being uncommon.

Then this finally leaves us with the crank. Again this is another item that thankfully Toyota over engineered, with the standard crank previously used in 3sgte engine builds in excess of 700-800bhp with a very little failure rate.

Bearings, well they’re a funny one as there

are companies out there that advertise these performance bearings with all the weird and wonderful metals and coatings but in reality the journals should never really touch the bearing when the engine is operational as there designed to retain a surface of oil and the journal rides on that cushion, hence the clearance value for installing new bearings. This is very much like the standard turbo.

Moving down, uprated fasteners or as most people just called them ARPs. ARP is actually company names that makes uprated bolts and studs for engines and have become “the name” in uprated items. Normally retained to head, mains, rod and flywheel bolts they can provide studs to do anything you wish. Within the bottom ends it’s advised to replace the main studs, these are the bolts that hold

of oil to ride on but can take some abuse when using a very heavy duty clutch with a high pressure clamping force, as when the clutch is depressed the clutch pressure plate is pushed inwards along with its connected flywheel and hence the crank against these thrust bearings. This isn’t something that needs to be addressed when selecting bearings and the stock items are more than capable of doing the job but it’s something that you should be aware is happening.

The only time when journal touches the bearing is during the few split seconds of start up and even then the bearings aren’t completely dry and retain some oil, albeit not high pressure from the previous engine running session. Although saying that; performance bearings are a lot cheaper than genuine Toyota items and companies like Clevite, ACL, King to name a few will happily provide you with everything you need. This is true for the 2 main types of bearings, the Mains (holds the crank to the engine) and the bigend (holds the conrods to the crank) but there is another type of bearing called a thrust bearing. Its job is to control the lateral movement of the crank in the block. Again these have a cushion

There are upgrade options out there like a TTE billet steel crank but I personally don’t see the point until you’re passing a proven fail point of the previous component and this just hasn’t been found consistently yet on the stock item. With it being over engineered it is also extremely heavy for what it is so many manufacturers a lightened version which basically means skimming down the excessive material around the journals and counter weights. Although this can be difficult to get right, there is more to removing the metal and just rebalancing the crank, removal of metal from certain areas can effect the crank’s strength but also its wear characteristics on the bearings. For example, if you slab side the counterweights it will remove a lot of material and weight without effecting the strength but it will also affect the loading of the bearings which can wear out quicker. For a performance race or drag engine, lightening the crank outweighs the increased wear time as the engine will be regularly stripped anyway but on a road going car its best to leave the crank alone or at least keep weight reduction to a minimum only removing a small amount from the sides of the counterweights and on the journal slopes

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INTERNALS where the metal is excessively thick. The other option in cranks is to use a stroker crank, the stroke of the crank shaft is how far it will pull the pistons down the cylinders, so in the factory 2.0ltr item that has a 86mm stroke, the pistons move down the bore 86mm. A very common upgrade is to use the crank shaft from the 5sfe n/a low performance engine which is a 2.2ltr and a 91mm stroke. Apart from a few simple modifications it’s a straight forward upgrade and many companies offer the needed stroker pistons in a forged option as well. In factory form the 5sfe engine uses a 87mm piston to obtain its 2.2ltr capacity but while 87mm pistons aren’t ideal in a 3sgte you can use the crank shaft with a 86mm piston and still obtain a 2.1ltr engine which is very common with the Japanese drag races seen in the mid 90’s as you keep the maximum wall thickness yet still obtaining a greater engine capacity. There is another way to safely obtain 2.2ltr on the 3sgte and this is to use the 5sfe crank shaft but when the journals are being ground down to the 3sgte size to offset grind them to give a 93mm stroke instead, coupled with a 86.5mm piston instead (which will still give very good wall strength) this will obtain a 2.2ltr capacity, This is what companies in America like Chico Race Works do and ourselves in the UK. But for ultimate wall thickness you can always use the 5sfe engine block as well as the crank and keep their standard sized 87mm piston but in a forged option instead. This is becoming a popular option for tuners now who want to increase the capacity of their engines but testing on the 5sfe block is relatively new compared to the 3sgte and although some very high power figures have been obtained, a failure point for this block still hasn’t been conclusively found.

Project Mk1 Restoration by Terry Woodward

Offside front repair The trusty AW11, aka Mk1 MR2 offered looks and technology that was way ahead of it’s time, but unfortunately with our wet climate and winters in the UK, corrosion has taken its toll, with many examples tragically heading to the crusher. BUT, there are an increasing amount of Mk1s being saved from this ill fate, which takes a lot of time, skill, devotion and enthusiasm, one such guy is Terry Woodward, who contacted me some time back who has been undergoing a floor up restoration along with some tasty modifications on his mk1 for the past 4 years, and had photo documented each step which we will be covering over several issues, which may just inspire youe to help save one or two more of these modern day classics. First off I gave the car a good wash underneath with a power washer then took it into the garage to strip it down. I took the weathershield, wing and door off so that it gave plenty of space to

inspect and do the repair. The car had already had a patch welded into the door shut by a previous owner which had gone rusty again so I ended up cutting this out aswell (picture - Step

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Below is a picture of a custom lightened crank where it’s been machined purely for race use, the counterweights have been slabbed off and profiled at the end until nearly all the material has gone. In addition the excess metal from the journal area has also gone.

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9). Then using an angle grinder and an ultra thin cutting disc I cut out the rusty sections (pic - Step 4) and cleaned up the surrounding area with a die grinder. There was rust behind the sections iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d cut out so I cleaned them up with the die grinder and treated the area with liquid Jenolite rust killer. Then I cut a piece of sheet steel roughly to shape and welded it around the curved part of the pillar (pic - Step5). Then it was a case of working it around the pillar and trimming a piece off the end and welding it up. (pics -Step 6/7) I made up a piece to fit into the hole where the previous repair had been and welded that in too. (pic - Step 11). Then all the welding was cleaned up with an angle grinder (pics Step 9/10/11/12) Next I rubbed down the whole underneath of the wheelarch, pillar, etc and treated any rust with the Jenolite and gave it a couple of coats of Zinc182 anti-rust primer (pics Step 13/14/15/15). Then the next day rubbed it all down to give it a key for paint (pics - Step17). Then in the area of the wheel arch not covered by the weathershield I gave it a couple of coats of white stonechip (pic - Step 18/19/20). And masked up the car and painted the whole area gloss white. Which you can see in the rest of the pics! Job done!

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MR2 Only Magazine

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MR2 Only Magazine