My MR was
made in Japan in December '86, and was delivered to the port of Drammen, Norway January
18, 1987. It's first owner purchased it March 24th. After that, two more had the pleasure
of owning it, until I bought it December 23, 1994 (nice X-mas present for myself...:-D).
Modifications
done (in the order they were done):
- Blaupunkt München RDS
radio/CD-player, Magnum bass-tubes behind the seats (28/01/95)
- Total repaint (23/04/95)
- Momo Ferrari Engineering
7"x15" wheels, offset 38 mm (18/07/95)
Click here for picture #1, or here for picture #2
- Yokohama A510 205/50/15
tyres (18/07/95)
- Momo Superanatomico stick
(09/08/95)
Click here for picture
- Momo Champion steering
wheel (18/10/95)
Click here for picture #1, or here for picture #2
- Adjustable air/fuel
mixture via knob on dash (removed when new chip was installed)
- Yellow Koni adjustable
shocks all round (28/03/96)
- Cerwin Vega! AI 42
speakers in dash (04/05/96)
- Replaced left and right
rear fenders due to unbeatable rust in the wheel-wells (expensive
as you'd never believe - $4100/£2500 parts, paint & labor) (11/07/96)
- Momo carbon fibre pedal
set (16/07/96)
Click here for picture
- Janspeed
exhaust - perhaps my best investment yet (15/08/96)
- Tokico springs all round,
lowered 30 mm (08/03/97)
- HKS Super PowerFlow
induction kit (15/03/97)
Click here for picture
- C's short stroke shift
(15/03/97)
- VDO oil temperature and
oil pressure gauges (30/03/97)
Click here for picture
- New clutch; Centerforce
Dual Friction (01/04/97)
- New flywheel; HKS
Ultralight, only 4.8 kg compared to the originals' 9 kg (01/04/97)
- Complete suspension
adjustment, more negative camber! (09/07/97)
- New alarm (18/07/97)
- Chiptuning
by Simco here in Norway. +13 hp on the dyno (29/07/97)
- Red Line gearoil (08/08/97)
- Clear corner lights,
Toyota part no.'s 81521-03011 and 81511-03011 (11/10/97)
Click here for picture #1, or here for picture #2
- Removed the radio and the
Magnum bass-tubes - wasn't ever being used anyway, and the weight went down...:-) Kept the
speakers in the dash for that occasional radio use
- Tilton Brake proportioning
valve - yihaa! Finally proper braking, with close to 50/50 front/rear ratio. Bought it
from Demon Tweeks (10/07/98)
Click here for picture #1 or here for picture #2
- Changed to coolant from
Comma, supposed to lower the temperature compared to a normal coolant, and that's got to
be for the best...:-) (12/07/98)
- Mocal Aeroquip TFE steel
braided brake lines (17/08/98)
Click here for picture #1 or here for picture #2
- Removed the (butt ugly)
sideskirts, and put original MR2 mudflaps on instead - what a relief! (15/04/99)
Click here for picture #1, here for picture #2 or here for picture #3
- TAR·OX slotted front brakediscs - made one hell of a
difference! I got my 20-groove discs from Demon
Tweeks. Swapped the rear discs for new original Toyota discs at the same time, as well
as new studs all 'round (14/05/99)
Click here for picture #1, here for picture #2 or here for picture #3
- Wired the driving lights
properly in time for the bi-annual government control of the car, thanks to Inge for that! (20/06/99)
- Bosch Super-4 sparkplugs -
thought I'd try them for a change, but I guess I'll go back to Toyota originals next time
(no difference) (15/07/99)
- FSE Power Boost Valve to
be able to adjust the fuel pressure (20/01/00)
Click here for picture #1, here for picture #2, here for picture #3, here for picture #4, here
for picture #5, here for picture #6, here for picture #7, here
for picture #8, here for picture #9
- Went for a loooong trip
around Europe (4000+ kms) - not a mod, I know, but still...:-D Had the old thing at 215
km/h on a slight uphill on the German Autobahn - steady as a rock! The moulding above the
windshield came loose, and made a horrible, vibrating sound at 190 km/h. (22/06-07/07/00)
- New tyres, Bridgestone
Potenza S-02 - 205/50/15 (10/08/00)
- Fully adjustable swaybars
by Suspension Techniques front
(installed) and rear (pending) (15/08/00)
Click here for picture #1, here for picture #2, here for picture #3
- Replaced windshield with
mouldings (see why above) and removed some rust around it (08/09/00)
- Finally installed the rear
Suspension Techniques swaybar - going
racing sunday 10th... (09/09/00)
Click here for picture #1, here for picture #2, here for picture #3, here for picture #4
- After the trackday on the
10th, I heard some disturbing noises from the back of the car...it took 5 months before I
had the time to investigate (not a problem, the car was in storage for winter). What I
found was that the bolts for the rear swaybar were too long, causing them to scrape the
wheelwells...ouch... After using a hacksaw on them, this was no longer a problem
(15/02/01)
Click here for picture #1, here for picture #2, here for picture #3, here for picture #4
- Installed Momo Cup drivers
seat (after fabricating brackets...), lost 10 kg on the original seat - a whole trackday
showed it was worth it, I range this among the best improvements I've done to my car! I've
never felt so in control of my car. Thanks to Tommy Guttman and Dave Aucott for the
inspiration (21/06/01)
Click here for picture #1, here for picture #2, here for picture #3, here for picture #4, here for picture #5, here for picture #6, here for picture #7
- After having a 2 Kg Gloria
fire extinguisher rolling around in the front luggage compartment for a year, I came round
to mounting it inside the car, fits nicely in front of the passenger seat (21/06/01)
Click here for picture #1, here for picture #2
- EBC Green Stuff front
brake pads - kevlar high friction compund, effective up to 550 deg. Celcius. Supposedly
virtually dustfree. I wonder if they work any better than stock? I'll know when the
upcoming trip to Nurburgrings
Nordschleife is over...:-) UPDATE: The dust was no less than the standard Toyota
pads...
Click here for picture #1, here for picture #2, here for picture #3
- New ignition leads,
Magnecor 8mm from Fensport (07/01/02)
- Dual A-pillar gaugepod
from Lo-Tek (11/04/02)
- Clear side markers/turn
signals from Autoart via Halfords in th UK (thanks, Chris!), part number TY-305
(30/04/2002)
- Finally found some time to
replace both rear calipers, which had seized. Cost about $400 for two new replacement
calipers...ouch (09/08/2002)
- Changed to EBC brake fluid (307
deg. Celcius boilingpoint) (09/08/2002)
- Changed the HKS airfilter
element in my Super Powerflow - about time too...for fun I ordered an orange element this
time...;-) (09/04/2003)
- Changed the spark plugs
(orig. Toyota) and the oil, as usual, Castrol RS 10/60 (09/04/2003)
- Installed a dual
camerasystem for recording my laps at Nurburgrings
Nordschleife this summer. Two bulletcams, one at the front, one at the rear, and an
ordinary videocamera to tape it all inside. I might include a third bulletcam to film the
suspension working (09/04/2003)
- Made a mount for an Ipaq
(for GPS-mapping) and a Palm (for tracking laps) (09/04/2003)
- EBC Red stuff brake pads
replaced the Green stuff (17/04/2003)
- Adjusted the Momo seat
lower and closer to the steering wheel. I'm now literally sitting on the floor, and in
correct distance to the wheel. Only 1 week till Nurburgrings Nordschleife... (17/04/2003)
- New lap record for the MR2
on the Nürburgring: 9:17 BTG! (02/05/2003)
- The EBC Red Stuff pads
were totally finished after 12 laps on the Nürburgring - had to change back to the OEM
Toyota pads that I was forunate enough to have with me... No more Red Stuff for me!
(04/05/2003)
- Set a new personal max
speed on the Autobahn in Germany - 207 km/h according to the GPS. 230 km/h according to
the speedometer...:-D (05/05/2003)
- Changed the
oil and oil filter, as usual,
Castrol RS 10/60 (13/07/2003)
- MTEC SuperWhite bulbs for the headlights
installed (13/07/2003)
- Bought 2 sets of Ferodo brakepads from
Demon Tweeks on eBay, not installed yet (26/08/2003)
- Went to Arctic Circle Raceway (2000 km!) - drove some 200 km on the track and
came home without incidents! Almost hit a reindeer, though...:-) Tyres are now shot, have
to wait for spring to buy some new... Pictures here and videos here
(01/09/2003)
- Measured camber (25/09/2003):
| Left front: |
-1.9 |
| Right front: |
-1.8 |
| Left rear: |
-1.8 |
| Right rear: |
-2.4 |
- New tyres, Yokohama AVS
Sport 205/50/15 (22/04/2004)
- I've been restoring the
original teardrop-rims, the goal is to put Yokohama A-032 racetyres on
them for track use. The rims need one more layer of paint, but next week
I'll put the 32's on them, and I'm really looking forward to testing
them on the track, late in May, that is (30/04/2004)
- R-tyres mounted on
restored rims! (05/05/2004)
- More on
the R-tyres: Got some hints that I might be running way too high
pressure in them, so I filled them up with 1.6 (front) and 1.7 (rear)
bar, tyres cold. After some laps I measured the pressure again, and it
was up to 2.4/2.5 bar! So while it was still too much, the difference
was breathtaking! Note that it was 30+ (Celsius) the day I tested, the
pressure will vary with the temperature in the air
- Changed the
oil and oil filter, as usual,
Castrol RS 10/60
(13/05/2004)
- Replaced the 'triangles'
by the mirrors, cheap and much, much better than the old, glued ones
(03/06/2004)
- Changed the coolant,
again from Comma. It's been 6 years since I changed it, and would you
believe the old coolant was as good as new? If someone had looked at the
old next to the new, that someone would be hard pressed to point out which
was which. Also changed the draining plug on the top of the engine
(29/07/2004)
- Out of
winter storage. Changed the oil, oil filter, spark plugs, rotor and distr.
cap (14/04/2005)
- Another
trackday at Rudskogen - fun with no incidents! Check out the video
here and the pictures
here!
(05/07/2005)
- Out of
winter storage. Changed the oil, oil filter, spark plugs and brake pads (Ferodo
front, OEM rear) (03/05/2006)
- Changed to
Valvoline 5.1 brake fluid just in time for a trackday at Vålerbanen, check
out the video
here (03/06/2006)
- Changed
the wheel bearings front left and right, and the tie rod ends as well. The
bearing on the right had damaged the hub when it went, so replaced it with
a used hub from an '86 (07/07/2007)
- New
floor mats from Twos R Us (27/07/2008)
- Changed
the oil - Castrol 10w60 - and oil filter - 90915-YZZJ2 (30/07/2008)
-
Installed Trunk Spring Helper from Twos R Us (30/07/2008)
- Changed
the spark plugs (01/08/2008)
- Complete
geo (05/08/2008):
- Front:
Camber -1.3 deg., toe 1.6 (total) - 0.8 per side
- Rear:
Camber -1.3 deg., toe 3.2 (total) - 1.6 per side
- Check
out the documentation here (PDF)
- Had a bit of a battle with the starter motor - it wouldn't turn at all after winter storage. New battery didn't help, neither did better earthing nor banging the starter with a hammer. I took it out of the car, hooked it up to a battery, started the motor and verified it worked. Put it back in, and the car fired right up. Oh well. :-) (24/04/2009)
- Changed the oil - Castrol 10w60 - and oil filter - 90915-YZZJ2 (24/04/2009)
- Passed the bi-annual obligatory checkup with flying colors (27/05/2009)
- New battery, Biltema 44Ah (27/05/2009)
- Finally, my own garage, with room for the MR2 and it's cousins! (24/10/2009)
- Photo shoot for NSK calendar 2010 (26/11/2009)
- Out of winter storage (19/04/2010)
- Changed the front brakepads, Ferodo 2500 again. The old ones had more or less disintegrated! :-D (03/05/2010)
- Installed a tape/radio, kinda fits an 80's car :-) (01/08/2010)
- Changed the oil, oil filter and spark plugs - ready for summer! (10/04/2012)
- The big winter overhaul: Changed the timing belt, alternator belt, water pump, cambelt tensioner, exhaust manifold (had cracked) wrapped with exhaust wrap, restored the cam covers and installed with new gaskets (covers now with bright yellow lettering), replaced the o-ring for the distributor (was leaking oil), replaced the bracket by the rear view mirror, crankshaft pulley (lightweight aluminum from Fensport), installed a Jimi bracket, refurbed the battery clamp, replaced the horn with a proper one, fitted new driving lights, painted the windshield wipers, new wipersreplaced the front grille, reinstalled OEM drivers seat, fitted the MR2 sill treads I|ve had lying around for years, replaced the handbrake lever with a leather one, replaced the door panels with leather inserts, leather gear gaiter cover from eBay, fitted the Sbits shift cable bearing kit and finally changed the oil and coolant - phew! (winter 2012-2013) - a few pictures below, lots more here
- Changed the oil, oil filter and spark plugs - ready for summer! (10/06/2020)
Modifications
pending:
- Cusco rear strut tower
brace - I'm having a hard time finding it in Europe. If you know where I can get it, email
me at skvulp@ohv.oslo.no
- A complete set of
polyurethane bushings from Fensport
- Pro-Bolt Cam/Rocker cover
kit. Purchased, not installed
- More tuning? Might include
porting, cams+++
Other
things:
I thoroughly
enjoy being an MR2-owner once again (I used to have a red '87 with the T-roof between 1988
and 1991). What I don't like is the huge amounts of money I spend on it... My current MR2
has eaten some $17,000 out of my pocket after I bought it (for $14,000)!
It's really expensive being a car-owner in Norway. UPDATE: The $17000 was way back then.
Now I've stopped counting...:-)
I'm the
registrar for the MR2-register
in NSK (Norsk Sportsvogn Klubb).
Being a member (and presently also on the board) of NSK, I get to see a lot of other hot
cars - mostly English (Morgan, Austin Healey, Jaguar, Lotus, MG, Triumph etc.), but also
Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati and a lot of others. I've also been featured in a local
magazine in Norway, Vi Menn, when they tested the mk3. They wanted an mk1 to compare it
to, which they got (click on the pictures for larger versions).
During the summer I drive quite a few laps around Rudskogen
(personal best: 1:14:10) and Vålerbanen (personal best: 1:12:56), tracks NSK rent from
time to time. Nurburgrings
Nordschleife is another favorite, and I managed a laptime of 9:17 BTG with the MR2!
Oh, and
roundabouts are huge amounts of fun in an MR2!
Other than
that, I enjoy immensly driving indoor gocarts. My 'home' track is at Huysman Racing in
Oslo.
Visit my Celica-page!
Or my Elise-page!
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