Just got free Aw11 as new track project.

HellRaiser275 · 08-22-2009, 05:55 AM

Hello, I just joined the site, I wanted to say hi!

I just took an 85 AW11 MR2 off the hands of an acquaintance of mine for free with the prospect of it being my first major car project. The car is great, other than the 279k miles on the clock, big hole in the exhaust, blown shocks, and a tinge of blue smoke, the car is beautiful. It starts right up, shifts well, and the AC even works.
I intend to build a dedicated track car out of it, I have my WRX for the street. The MR2 will be towed to the track so I'm not worried about stripping it down completely.

Could anyone point me in the right direction to info about track setups, or possibly complete writeups on making a track car out of an AW11?

Kerry Phillips · 08-22-2009, 08:29 AM

Hello and welcome to the forum.

U might want to advertise your location and or contact some local MR2 forum members, in addtion there is a meeting in Stone Mountain Georgia (atlanta suburb) Sept 7th.

About the tinge of blue smoke, if it occurs on startup, that is about normal. The valve seals are known to be a little leaky.

Have fun, but remember safety when working on a 25 year old car!
Kerry

Jackstand Queen · 08-23-2009, 01:23 AM

The SCCA categorizes the Mk I Mr2 as slow and heavy. And its not very competitive with newer cars being so much faster than the cars of the late 80's.

However, you sense the potential in the car. You know the mid engine is pure advantage.

So what you need to do is up the power with a turbo or SC swap. Lighten it hundreds of pounds. Mod the suspension some, and do a bunch of brake, bearings, balljoints, axles, maintenance. You will learn to hate Miatas because they are stiff competition darnit. Well, just call the male Miata driver's "Biff" and the female ones "Muffy".

You could also swap in a 2.0 liter turbo in from a 2nd Gen. Mr2. But that takes a lot of work, skill, knowledge etc.

328FTW · 08-23-2009, 01:56 AM

My first mkI n/a was quite successful against fwd hondas and mitsi mirage etc etc. The basic formula is to gut everything to the 9th degree since it is dedicated to racing. Cut brackets and replace the seats, remove unneeded wiring basically if you don't need it to race don't leave it in the car. Put a short light exhaust on it straight out the back/side, they have a tendency to backfire once you do that sometimes. A set of slicks on some light wheels and your good to go.

Later on you can get shocks and springs or coil overs, the mr2 may be a porker but it is stiff I've driven hondas and they twist like crazy in hard corners and the later model hondas are heavier than a mkI anyway (except the civic). Also the mr2 comes standard with awesome adjustability for toe and camber compared to other cars so it can be set up really well.....or really badly lol. The mk1.5s also run on children souls, little demon cars I really want to get the turbo on mine so it can really fly.

GrandpaGofast · 08-23-2009, 10:25 AM

"Well, just call the male Miata driver's "Biff" and the female ones "Muffy".
I love it.
GP

Jackstand Queen · 08-23-2009, 10:48 AM

328FTW has a lot of miles on the racetrack under his belt. He does his own maintenance and upgrades. Unless I'm mistaken a lot of his racing is done on a short dirt oval track. He's kicked more Honda ass than I have. Sigh . . . .

He has a 2.0 liter 2nd Gen turbo engine in one of his MkI track cars. And all the native women in New Zealand (where 328FTW lives) believe it is powered by the tortured souls of small children. Even the local witch-doctor is scared of the car.

Q: What did the cannibal say to 328FTW as they walked past each other in town last week? The cannibal said "Passed your cousin the other day 328".

328FTW · 08-23-2009, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackstand Queen

328FTW has a lot of miles on the racetrack under his belt. He does his own maintenance and upgrades. Unless I'm mistaken a lot of his racing is done on a short dirt oval track. He's kicked more Honda ass than I have. Sigh . . . .

Would be right, that and gravel/tarmac sprints gotta love loose surface racing

Here is a honda I dealt to because it revved at me

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackstand Queen

He has a 2.0 liter 2nd Gen turbo engine in one of his MkI track cars. And all the native women in New Zealand (where 328FTW lives) believe it is powered by the tortured souls of small children. Even the local witch-doctor is scared of the car.

Q: What did the cannibal say to 328FTW as they walked past each other in town last week? The cannibal said "Passed your cousin the other day 328".

I'm not turbo just yet I'm trying though needs a downpipe and tuning the 3sge still hauls a$$ though, I need 34 hour days to get everything I want finished done.

HellRaiser275 · 08-23-2009, 02:00 PM

Thanks for the entertaining replies.

I know the car is heavy, but I'm not building it to win races yet, just to have fun on track with. I'll probably build a spec miata later on when I decide I'm ready for wheel to wheel action.

Can someone throw me good suspension info? Its what my car needs the most. I don't know if I want to immediately sring for coilovers if there's a decent spring/shock combo that someone can reccomend for me.

Jackstand Queen · 08-23-2009, 06:11 PM

Miatas are a dime a dozen. The Biffs who drive them are made from cookie cutter molds. On a given race day there'd be a half dozen Miatas, and perhaps no Mk I. Run with the pack, or beat the pack with the lone MkI.

The beater you have could be made into something that could beat spec miatas. Its just a diamond in the rough.

As to suspension advice, read through a hundred pages or so of posts in the suspension/braking sub-forum of this website. That should give you a lot of recommendations, brands, and criteria to think about.

markie1969 · 05-27-2010, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HellRaiser275

Hello, I just joined the site, I wanted to say hi!

I just took an 85 AW11 MR2 off the hands of an acquaintance of mine for free with the prospect of it being my first major car project. The car is great, other than the 279k miles on the clock, big hole in the exhaust, blown shocks, and a tinge of blue smoke, the car is beautiful. It starts right up, shifts well, and the AC even works.
I intend to build a dedicated track car out of it, I have my WRX for the street. The MR2 will be towed to the track so I'm not worried about stripping it down completely.

Could anyone point me in the right direction to info about track setups, or possibly complete writeups on making a track car out of an AW11?

Hello, I am a big mr2 fan and at this moment I have 8 parts cars that are mostly complete as well as parts from ones I have parted out and crushed. I have a JDM 92 2ND GENERATION 3SGTE COMPLETE OTHER THAN WIRING HARNESS THAT I WILL SELL, I ALSO HAVE A JDM OUT OF AN 89 WITH THE HIGHER HORSEPOWER THAT ALREADY HAS THE INTAKE PLATE ON IT THAT DOES AWAY WITH THE BUTTERFLYS. EMAIL ME FOR ANY PARTS YOU MAY NEED. markwbullins@yahoo.com

zx10r203 · 05-29-2010, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HellRaiser275

Thanks for the entertaining replies.

I know the car is heavy, but I'm not building it to win races yet, just to have fun on track with. I'll probably build a spec miata later on when I decide I'm ready for wheel to wheel action.

Can someone throw me good suspension info? Its what my car needs the most. I don't know if I want to immediately sring for coilovers if there's a decent spring/shock combo that someone can reccomend for me.

It will all depend on how much you want to spend.

Here is a great package deal and you can order custom spring rates:
Twos R Us - Parts for Toyotas from Club MR2

This is what I was going to go with but my car is a daily driver and the coil overs are pretty harsh for everyday driving in the crappy California unmaintained roads!!

08-22-2009, 05:55 AM	#1 (permalink)
HellRaiser275 No Skills Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Just got free Aw11 as new track project. Hello, I just joined the site, I wanted to say hi! I just took an 85 AW11 MR2 off the hands of an acquaintance of mine for free with the prospect of it being my first major car project. The car is great, other than the 279k miles on the clock, big hole in the exhaust, blown shocks, and a tinge of blue smoke, the car is beautiful. It starts right up, shifts well, and the AC even works. I intend to build a dedicated track car out of it, I have my WRX for the street. The MR2 will be towed to the track so I'm not worried about stripping it down completely. Could anyone point me in the right direction to info about track setups, or possibly complete writeups on making a track car out of an AW11?

08-22-2009, 08:29 AM	#2 (permalink)
Kerry Phillips Cage Fighter Join Date: May 2006 Location: Chattanooga, TN area Posts: 299 Thanks: 0 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Greetings Hello and welcome to the forum. U might want to advertise your location and or contact some local MR2 forum members, in addtion there is a meeting in Stone Mountain Georgia (atlanta suburb) Sept 7th. About the tinge of blue smoke, if it occurs on startup, that is about normal. The valve seals are known to be a little leaky. Have fun, but remember safety when working on a 25 year old car! Kerry

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08-23-2009, 01:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
Jackstand Queen Cage Fighter Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 840 Thanks: 75 Thanked 64 Times in 60 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	The SCCA categorizes the Mk I Mr2 as slow and heavy. And its not very competitive with newer cars being so much faster than the cars of the late 80's. However, you sense the potential in the car. You know the mid engine is pure advantage. So what you need to do is up the power with a turbo or SC swap. Lighten it hundreds of pounds. Mod the suspension some, and do a bunch of brake, bearings, balljoints, axles, maintenance. You will learn to hate Miatas because they are stiff competition darnit. Well, just call the male Miata driver's "Biff" and the female ones "Muffy". You could also swap in a 2.0 liter turbo in from a 2nd Gen. Mr2. But that takes a lot of work, skill, knowledge etc.

08-23-2009, 01:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
328FTW Crazy Nasty Honey Badger Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 5,236 Thanks: 24 Thanked 266 Times in 239 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	My first mkI n/a was quite successful against fwd hondas and mitsi mirage etc etc. The basic formula is to gut everything to the 9th degree since it is dedicated to racing. Cut brackets and replace the seats, remove unneeded wiring basically if you don't need it to race don't leave it in the car. Put a short light exhaust on it straight out the back/side, they have a tendency to backfire once you do that sometimes. A set of slicks on some light wheels and your good to go. Later on you can get shocks and springs or coil overs, the mr2 may be a porker but it is stiff I've driven hondas and they twist like crazy in hard corners and the later model hondas are heavier than a mkI anyway (except the civic). Also the mr2 comes standard with awesome adjustability for toe and camber compared to other cars so it can be set up really well.....or really badly lol. The mk1.5s also run on children souls, little demon cars I really want to get the turbo on mine so it can really fly.

08-23-2009, 10:25 AM	#5 (permalink)
GrandpaGofast Have tools, will cob it. Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Mid Atlantic USA Posts: 148 Thanks: 35 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	"Well, just call the male Miata driver's "Biff" and the female ones "Muffy". I love it. GP

08-23-2009, 10:48 AM	#6 (permalink)
Jackstand Queen Cage Fighter Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 840 Thanks: 75 Thanked 64 Times in 60 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	328FTW has a lot of miles on the racetrack under his belt. He does his own maintenance and upgrades. Unless I'm mistaken a lot of his racing is done on a short dirt oval track. He's kicked more Honda ass than I have. Sigh . . . . He has a 2.0 liter 2nd Gen turbo engine in one of his MkI track cars. And all the native women in New Zealand (where 328FTW lives) believe it is powered by the tortured souls of small children. Even the local witch-doctor is scared of the car. Q: What did the cannibal say to 328FTW as they walked past each other in town last week? The cannibal said "Passed your cousin the other day 328".

08-23-2009, 02:00 PM	#8 (permalink)
HellRaiser275 No Skills Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Thanks for the entertaining replies. I know the car is heavy, but I'm not building it to win races yet, just to have fun on track with. I'll probably build a spec miata later on when I decide I'm ready for wheel to wheel action. Can someone throw me good suspension info? Its what my car needs the most. I don't know if I want to immediately sring for coilovers if there's a decent spring/shock combo that someone can reccomend for me.

08-23-2009, 06:11 PM	#9 (permalink)
Jackstand Queen Cage Fighter Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 840 Thanks: 75 Thanked 64 Times in 60 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	Miatas are a dime a dozen. The Biffs who drive them are made from cookie cutter molds. On a given race day there'd be a half dozen Miatas, and perhaps no Mk I. Run with the pack, or beat the pack with the lone MkI. The beater you have could be made into something that could beat spec miatas. Its just a diamond in the rough. As to suspension advice, read through a hundred pages or so of posts in the suspension/braking sub-forum of this website. That should give you a lot of recommendations, brands, and criteria to think about.