Workshop group - Archive

[mr2greasemonkey]

Hey just wanted to start a thread for the Portland area workshop group.

For the newer guys here is the info about the shop group

" We are like a car co-op not a charity, my suggetion would be to start showing up on the weekends and introduce your self to the group, and help out where you can. It's kind of like one hand washes the other. Zai is doing us all a huge favor by allowing us to use his shop space, tools and knowlege as well as hookups for basically free....so dont abuse it. "

The workshop group gets together every saturday. We usually roll in around 10-12 and are here till whenever we decide to go home. Week days we are here around 6-11 pm. If you have an urgent need of help then you can come on a week day, but there will be less of us. Fridays is kinda of a toss up, sometimes we break out early so we can get some much needed sleep, or we keep cranking till dawn. Best thing to do is call ahead to make sure we are here, esp. if you are coming from far away.

Shop address is : 12771 NE Whitaker Way. Portland, OR 97230, so you can map quest it. Shop number is 503-253-3088 , if the line is busy then someone is here. You can IM or Email me at mouabrothers@hotmail.com.

I dont mind all the emails regarding help with everyone's cars. I think it would be best that everyone post so that we can spread the knowledge. The shop is my small business so i'm not here all the time. If you need me to fix your car for you then, it's business so expect to be charged. On the other hand if all you need is help then everything that i have and everyone that i know is available to you at no charge ( cept maybe food and drinks, haha). That usually also includes gettin a helping hand from the rest of the workshop group.

For OEM parts: Broadway Toyota, 503-284-8344. That is the direct line to parts. Talk to Glenn he is the parts manager tell him you know me. If dont know what you need or are afraid of Glenn, haha, then call me and i'll order yr parts for you under my account so you get a discount and all you have to do is go pay for it. Everyone in the parts department there knows me i used to work there years ago, heehee.

For aftermarket parts: Discount Import Parts, 503-659-7444, talk to Scott or Chris for your needs. Again tell them you know me. Scott is more knowledgeable bout the mr2 parts. Once again if you want to get a discount you will need to call me and have me order it it for you. Most of the products they offer are comparable to OE.

For machine work: Bearing Services, 503-222-1366. Talk to Brian he's the head guy there

[MR2Board]

Very cool. Thread stickied.

[Seth W]

just checkin in

[ALLSHOTUP]

I'm not in your area but I have to say that this is a wonderful thing to do. I think that offering your shop , education , tools and frienship is a way to set standards for others to follow.

Eric

[mr2greasemonkey]

We've been at this for almost 3 years now, haha. Mostly toyota and mr2 based, but anyone that needs help is always welcome. I've spread the word, so most of the workshop guys will be registering soon.

[White Rice]

Eric Rasmussen checkin in

[White Rice]

i want to start gathering parts for the tranny rebuild someday. What type of clutch should i go with?

[Seth W]

probibly just a stock exeddy one. call up AP and see what they have, zai's got a discount through them.

[mr2greasemonkey]

Sorry, been awhile guys. Been super busy with customer work. Need to friggin get back to work on my car. Jame's car is on hold, he's in bad physical shape after being mauled by a dog. I havent had the time to fab the rest of my exhaust and the search for my parts is gettin harder since i want a manual ecu. On the bright side, Seth's car is still running good. Lots of people wanting to check it out. Summer came by yesterday, guess he's moving to New Zealand next month some time. So depending on if it's permanent or not, our composite guy is gonna be out of touch for awhile. Vince is making progress on the suspension design. We will be taking some measurements soon off of project91, so hopefully we can start to fabricate the rears this winter. The winter sign up sheet for shop projects has suddenly gotten a few more names on it, haha. David is looking into gettin an alltrac celica. Vince says he's prob gonna be selling his MKI soon. We may just turbo the hell outta his 4age in the 962 and see what it takes to blow it up, haha. The mr2 meet out at the coast was pretty nice, met a lot of people had a nice " one day " off of work. Dustin says the MKII shell is just sittin, waiting for me to do sumthing with it. So i really got to get project91 driveable, haha. I'm trying to talk vince into lettin me use his barn but he needs to make the 962 rollable first. Eric's car is on the list. Looks like possibley a trans rebuild with new synchro's and clutch. Blake is thinking bout buying Vince's car since his 19.1 sec 1/4 mercury has him very dissappointed, haha. Craig stopped by a couple of weeks ago, guess he hasn't been driving his mr2 since he's been off at school. Findley and his buddies are still working out the whole high pwred LED set-up. They look good on his car, so we might get the chance to take advantage of his expertise once they get it all figured out. Haven't heard from Shane lately, so i guess that means his car mkI is still running good.

[MR2Bliss]

I wound up here also. im going to be around now, so i will be more involved.

[Crispin]

Sup peeps?!

Getting to be rainy... you know what that means... junkyard diving in the rain and working on projects for next year! YAY!

[mr2greasemonkey]

We are working on Chris' corolla project again if anyone wants to come check it out and lend a hand. 87 corolla with a 22RTE, hehe.

I'm gonna talk my cousin Seth into making me flat underbody panels. If he stops by today I already have project91 up on the rack so i'm gonna ask him to start making measurements.

Looks like Seth W. picked up a decent MKI for $250 last night. He had to jack two wheels off of Lengs car and then drive down to Corvallis to swap them to be able to drive the car back, haha.

Shooting to get James' car running again this month. Gettin tired of pushin it around, haha. Hope he doesn't blow up this 5sfe cause i'm gettin tired of swaping engines for him.

Chris has a 1mzfe that could use a rebuild. He was gonna put it in his 95 but now he's not sure if he wants to keep the car. He's got most of the parts for the v-6 swap if anyone is interested.

Vince is looking for cheap running 4age's, prefer an SC if anyone has any leads.

[Crispin]

87 Corolla Update:

Well Zai, Dro, and I busted some ass this weekend, stripped a truck, and got the 22RTE stuffed into the Corolla. I am now on to sanding, welding, and painting (primering?) the inside and outside of the car.

I also need a custom downpipe made. Unless I switch to a completely custom exhaust setup/turbo, which I am hesistant to do at this point as I know the engine ran as it was setup previously.

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Originally Posted by mr2greasemonkey

Summer came by yesterday, guess he's moving to New Zealand next month some time. So depending on if it's permanent or not, our composite guy is gonna be out of touch for awhile.

Yeah unfortunately not permanent.
Nah actually I am really excited to get back. I have some big projects in mind.
One of the first will be starting on the CRX. I am working on some drawings but i'm not done yet. Step one will be cutting off the hatch and rear glass and converting it to a pickup. My girlfriend and I want to get dirtbikes so the main goal will be making it able to carry two bikes, riders and gear.
I know, we could get a trailer or something but what fun would that be

Once that is done I will probably focus on getting the MK1 running right.

Eventually though I am begnining to seriously consider taking the CRX a little further. I would like to convert it to a 4X4, lift it about 8" and get some big tires. I think it will make a great offroader.
So far I am considering the honda CRV, and RAV 4. They are small and light (for an SUV), have AWD and longer suspension travel. I started to get excited about using a toyota pickup or 4runner but it occured to me that we would probably need to cut a huge hole in the firewall to fit the trans. Plus the motor might stick out front too much. I really like that idea though because it would be beefy as hell and their easy to find used and offroad parts for.
I am guessing a transverse setup would be easier to work with though. Any other ideas and sugestions are appreciated.
As far as I know the AWD civic makes it an easy swap but it won't have the suspension travel or beef I want.
Goals are
carry 2 dirt bikes
10 inches ground clearence and as close to that as possible in suspension travel
200-300 HP
30 MPG empty
built strong. Needs to hold up to 4 wheeling and hauling
Needs to keep up with the big boys or beat them in the sand, mud, rocks and dirt.
weigh in under 2500lbs including skid plates, front cattle catcher, winch, roll bar, and 30" tires That gives us about 600 LBS to work with.
Cheap
Cheap
Cheap
Cheap
and it can't cost too much.


Now the other thing.
My sister is going to teach me web design and help me set up a site. I want to make a site devoted to our projects. I will also make a new forum. Pete is gone and I don't talk to him much. I can make small changes but don't have the ability to change it much. I would like to get something like that back on track and I think it just needs a little more work than I was able to put into it.
I also think if I make the site clean enough I should be able to make some money advertising and I am hoping to maybe find some sponsors who would help us out a little in exchange for gaining visibility.
I mean if a 4X4 CRX hauling 2 dirtbikes on 30" tires doesn't get attention I don't know what will.
Anyway I will keep you guys up to date as things progress.

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Originally Posted by mr2greasemonkey

Chris has a 1mzfe that could use a rebuild. He was gonna put it in his 95 but now he's not sure if he wants to keep the car. He's got most of the parts for the v-6 swap if anyone is interested.

Vince is looking for cheap running 4age's, prefer an SC if anyone has any leads.

I tell you what, if you guys can get the V6 running in my MK1 vince can have my gze.

[Crispin]

Originally Posted by yoshimitsuspeed

I tell you what, if you guys can get the V6 running in my MK1 vince can have my gze.

We could do that easy, no problem, hands down... but why?

I'd rather see how you do with an I4 running 11:1 CR and a red line of 7200...


hell... thats what I am going to be running when I find the right hardtop MK1.

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Originally Posted by Crispin

We could do that easy, no problem, hands down... but why?

I'd rather see how you do with an I4 running 11:1 CR and a red line of 7200...


hell... thats what I am going to be running when I find the right hardtop MK1.

That 6 would spank your ass

Besides I got boost. I don't need high comp.

Either way V6 or I4 if it ran right when I got back I would be happy.



I need help coming up with a name for my website.

[Crispin]

actually they'd be pretty close modified vs stock

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Originally Posted by Crispin

actually they'd be pretty close modified vs stock

That's kinda vague. How modified? just high comp pistons or fully built?
It doesn't really matter since it would have a turbo slapped on it shortly after I got back.

[mr2greasemonkey]

Hey my sister offered to make a new website for us. She is in college for graphic design. All we really need to do is supply her with pictures and pay for web space. If you are serious, start brainstorming and i'll let her know.