Long time MKI owner, new member

[q-authority]

I'm not normally much of a group joiner, but I guess I'll jump through a few hoops if that makes initial posting easier. FYI: it was suggested that I post via the Introductions forum, but all I could find was Check-in. I'm assuming they are one and the same.

I've had an MR2 since they first came out it '85. I always wanted a good rear engine car, but the Porsches and others were too expensive repair wise. When I saw the first article about the MR2 I knew it was the car I wanted.

That being said, I just wish I had had more diligence in the care of my first one. Even though it was still running when someone sideswiped me at about 180,000 miles, it had long since deterioated somewhat engine wise. That being said it was a great car to learn on and I had managed to upgrade the suspension quite well and foretunately, did manage to remove most of these parts before letting the insurance company have it.

As I had been extremely jealous when the t-tops had come out, since I had had 3 MGB's prior to the '85 and missed the open air top, I diligently searched for and eventually found an '87 red t-top with decent mileage. Red also being one of my favorite colors that these beauties come in. I promised to dedicate myself to its proper maintenance. Many years and miles later, I have learned a tremendous amount regarding these cars and how to set them up (what you can and can't do / what you should and shouldn't do).

Alas, I may finally be letting go of the '87 as I finally managed to track down a very low mileage '89 SC (62,500 miles) last year. It pained me greatly to drive it all the way back home to the Seattle area from Oklahoma as that added about a years worth of mileage. Since then I have researched about every possible currently available modification for them, and spent days at a time on each part deciding which ones were wothwhile and which ones weren't. This is a once in a lifetime project for me and I am going all out on it, somehting I could never have afforded to do before and probably will not ever again. I have just received what is probably the last of the parts I need and will start in on the project very shortly.

In short I have always wanted to build/modify a car the way I wanted it from the factory. Fast, reliable, and great looking, with quick, sure handling. Therefore, at this point I am limiting the type of mods I will do. Rule #1 is that whatever goes on must be able to be restored to stock without major modifications. The only exceptions are that I may have to drill one or two very small holes, here and there for installing some pieces, but they cannot be of great notice if the parts are removed. This allows for a lot greater range of mods than you may think. The only real issue has been the size of the oversized crankshaft pulley. I will be starting out with a 160mm from Nonstop Tuning, but also managed to get a mint condition 175mm Nevo pulley, which I would die to use. The problem, however, is that one needs to completely remove the stock timing pointer to make room for the Nevo pulley and no seems to be offering a real fix for this (@#*^#@!!).

Anyway, the list of items I will be using is too long to list here. However, as time permits I will be creating a website where I will hopefully be detailing the complete process, with pictures.

In the meantime, if anyone wishes to discuss such efforts or has questions in general, I would be happy to discuss them. Additionally, I will try to browse the current threads and post where appropriate.

MR2's rule! In particular, MKI's!!

[kanga]

NICE!!! welcome to the board!!! got any pics?

[q-authority]

I've actually got a few jpegs that I copied from the ad, where I found the car. I have never posted pics online before. Can you give me the shorthand on what to do and where to post and or link them? I just got a new camera for taking pics to post later on, as I start installing things, so any initial help would be greatly appreciated.

[kanga]

here you go

How to post a picture

[q-authority]

Well, I read the link you pointed me towards. Thanks!!

Now how do I know if the pics are actrually attached to this post?!

Ah, yes! Preview the reply and there they are (after some modifications to shrink their size a bit)!

[Everett]

Welcome! Beautiful car.....cant wait to see how it comes along. Very clean MKI!!!

[Davis]

What a beauty! Welcome aboard!

[q-authority]

Thanks all! I'm extremely anxious and nervous about starting on everything now. It was one thing planning it out and getting the parts, but now that installing things is getting under way, I've got that 'knock on wood' feeling.

It was the picture of the engine compartment that got me to fly half way across the country to look at and buy it. I was a bit disappointed when I found a few issues that of course were not mentioned in the ad and could be seen in the photos, but I wasn't in the position to sit around and haggle.

The body and paint overall are in great shape although I'm starting to think the ad pictires were taken well before the car was sold, as there were some minor blemishes that don't appear in the photos. The engine, on top, looked evry bit as good as the picture. However, the exhaust was completely rusted from the collector on back. Fortunately, almost all rust was pretty much contained to relatively easily removable parts in the back undercarriage.

The interior was in very good condition and the front trunk looked as though it had never been used. It even had a mint stock jack and tool kit, which will only be used for emergency purposes so as to keep them around for a very long time. The jacks must almost be extinct now.

The best part was that it never used a drop of oil on the entire drive home, so despite some lackadaisical maintenance by the last owner, the engine appears to be in very good shape.

The person I bought it from was probably getting rid of the car because he was finally going to have to put some money into it. He had not done the original 60,000 mile valve clearance check, the spark plugs had been replaced with some cheap aftermarket platinum plugs that I discovered had almost no electrode left, and the car still had the original spark plug wires (as they are all dated 1989) and possibly cap and rotor. It's amazing that it ran as well as it did. He thought the clutch was starting to wear, but the clutch pedal just needed adjusting.

However, it got just over 30 mpg on the drive back, cruising at about 75-77 mph with cruise control in 4th gear. Even with all the steep grades that I hit the supercharger rarely kicked on unless the grade was exceptionally steep or I took it off cruise. I really appreciated the slightly higher 3rd and 4th gears on the SC. For practical everyday driving I think they're great, although the race enthusiats may not.

The last thing I'll mention for now are the few collectible items the owner gave me, a mint MR2 SC sales brochure and some mint or near mint articles and ads for the car. I have a feeling a previous owner got and passed these on to him, but oh well, they're a very nice touch and I've added a few pieces myself since then. Knock, knock, knock on wood!!

[kanga]

wow nice car dude... very very nice find