well, I got my hillclimbing car!

[blutura]

some of you may remember the thread I started a couple of weeks ago: need advice on a second car (runabout and hillclimb)

well, I picked it up this arvo.

I'm now the proud owner of a 1988 Toyota MR2.

so far, I'm happy to report its a tonne of fun (almost literally, as it weighs in at 1050kg) to drive and it sticks to the road round corners like the proverbial poop to a blanket.

for the uneducated; its a 1.6L 4 cylinder coupe, with the engine mounted midship, behind the 2 seats, and its RWD. Only makes 88kW, but then its only got a little bit of weight to shift. 5 speed manual, 45/55 weight distribution and it redlines at a touch over 7500rpm.

best part is, I can drive it hard and it will still give me better economy than I get from my EL when I'm gentle with it!

i'll post some better (daylight) pics after I give it a wash and polish tomorrow.

[RSgerry]

Excellent stuff. you will have a lot of fun hillclimbing in the car. also give autokhanas a go as they arent about outright speed and give you a great chance to get to know your car better. i am playing in a hillclimb on the weekend and rain is forecast :-) just need to remember to brake a bit earlier. which reminds me, spend some money and get good brakes. i could have brake pads for my RS for $30, but the ones i am running cost $200, but you notice it when you stand on the anchors...brilliant fun. enjoy your new toy...you will be hooked :-)

[The Monty]

Good stuff man.I have always wanted a hillclimb, ghymkhana type car for those fun days that I hear about so often.

[Rev28K]

Fantastic! That shouldn't break the bank. It has great potential and is a very good base to start from.

[vegabass]

And wouldnt be hard to fit a supercharger or turbo from the same model!

[klawsterfobik]

i used to do a motokhana with a guy that ran a supercharged model of one of those... he'd steer through the corner, and hold on until he got to the next basically, then jump on the brakes steer through the corner, and hold on for dear life again.

Brilliant stuff to watch. I hope you have a lot of fun with it

[EvilChief]

i can see a SC16 or GT25 coming up :p

in the process of putting a 4agze with a custom HKS T25 setup into a corolla ... mhm can you say axel tramp :S

[blutura]

ok, here are the better pics. The paint came up pretty good after a bit of a wash and polish, I'm thinking I might get it professionally cut and buffed though, just to give it that 'new' shine.

sorry dial-uppers, but these pics will probably take a minute each to load.

the front


the back


the donk


I'm not planning on modding it in the short term, just want it to be reliable and fun, but down the track, I've got some ideas. A quick google on this model finds that there are plenty of engine options. The toyota 20 valve 4 banger will fit in, theres a factory supercharger that bolts straight on, theres several turbo systems that do the same, or theres the 'twincharger' setup, which utilises both a supercharger and a turbo at the same time. You can even shoehorn a toyota V6 in!

some guys are getting over 400HP out of these little suckers and doing quarter mile runs in the 11's! there is definitely a lot of potential locked in there.

oh, and if your wondering about the essential details, I paid $5000 for the MR2, its got 212000 kms on it, but it has a full service history and has been very well looked after. I'm the 3rd owner, and the last owner had it for 15 years, and always garaged it, so I'm hoping it will be good to me for another 200000 kms, if I'm good to it.

[ebxr8240]

Don't worry about the 20V ..Buy the 4AGZE engine and fit a turbo...

[Venomous]

Hey, mad little car. How much did she set ya back?

[blutura]

Originally Posted by XR8 Guy

Hey, mad little car. How much did she set ya back?

u might wanna read the end of my last post. ($5000)

[XRated]

Neat little pick up mate. Looks like a fun toy car I wouldn't fancy working in that little engine bay though. What times do they do stock?

[blutura]

Originally Posted by XRated

Neat little pick up mate. Looks like a fun toy car I wouldn't fancy working in that little engine bay though. What times do they do stock?

I think they do 0-100 in around 8 seconds stock. Not that quick, but its more of a cornering car than a drag car.

The supercharged version does the 0-100 sprint in about 6.8 seconds and it had 108kw, but also weighed an extra 100kg.

[Martyvan]

Originally Posted by blutura

I think they do 0-100 in around 8 seconds stock. Not that quick, but its more of a cornering car than a drag car.

The supercharged version does the 0-100 sprint in about 6.8 seconds and it had 108kw, but also weighed an extra 100kg.

But you could purchase an off the shelf S/C or Turbo engine and just drop it straight in.........

Originally Posted by Martyvan

But you could purchase an off the shelf S/C or Turbo engine and just drop it straight in.........

Theres heaps of aftermarket bits for these engines.

[blutura]

I've been thinking about get it dyno'ed, just to see how much power its currently making. Does anyone know approximately how much a dyno run costs? I'm in the Sunshine Coast area, QLD, if that helps.

[The Monty]

Go to RDP at Clontarf. I think for a Dyno run its $55 or this month for members its $30. Your best off sending a PM to dynosteve.

[Steffo]

Nice buy. The AW11 MR2 is a very good car.

You know the Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine will fit? That's the current Celica motor, also used in the Lotus Elise and Exige. 141kW 9000rpm 1.8 4-banger

[blutura]

you serious?

when you say it 'fits', how exactly do you mean? I'm pretty sure it would take a lot of work. Wouldn't all the wiring be different? Would a different gearbox be needed?