Cleanup of the 1/2 cut...

Well... Finally gotten around to work on the 1/2 cut... First task of the rank was to start with cleaning it up (No, not with soap and water kind!!!!) and removing some of the unnecessary panels, dash, radiator, etc.



First things I did, was to remove the easy and most important components... these were...
- Backtop M/T ECU
- Map Sensor
- Ignitor & Coil

These were stored in a safe place...

Sean, my best buddy, was very keen to assist me with this project, and I certainly could do with a hand. Alas, up to this point, Sean was very busy with work... but he was getting a bit more free time, so ... Cool... :-) I have to admit... Sean, being my best buddy, I confiding a lot of my personal stuff to him. He suggested that I should proceed with this 20v Blacktop engine... as I had a difficult time between choosing turbo charging and 20v BT engine route.

More to follow in next post...

Delivery of the 1/2 Cut AE111...

Finally on the 6th of July, 2007, the delivery of the 1/2 has arrived in the local depot.... Unfortunetly, I couldn't pick it up during the day, but after work, I borrowed my friend's twin axle trailer to pickup the 1/2 cut. This was on a friday evening at night...

Reversed the trailer up my drive way, and left it for the morning to unload on Saturday with the assistance of my Brother-in-law...

Because the 1/2 cut came on a wooden crate, I decided to attach castor wheels under the crate, allowing me to move it around in my garage. Castor wheels were purchased from the local hardware shop and were rated at 200Kg each. 2 were fixed and 2 were swivle castor wheels... On hind sight, I should have gottend 4x swivle castor wheels...

My Mum, Sister, Sister-in-law and Mother-in-law came over to visit... and on seeing the 1/2 cut, call me "Crazy"!!!! Being of non-mechanical background, they are probably right... :-D

Futher on the next post...

... Spotted 20v Blacktop on Ebay... ;-P

Well... It all started when I was surfing ebay, looking for a particular part that had failed on my MR2... My handbrake had ceised up. I've come across an ebay advert advertising a 20v Blacktop halfcut, and a reasonable price. I contacted the seller, and got a reply... from JapImports.com.au!!!! They gave me a quote, including freight charges, which were reasonable.

I called around in the Perth area, and just about every quote I got was about $2-$3K more than the complete freighted package I got quoted from JapImports. By now I gotten to know him as Brad@JapImports, and we got to discuss the details of the 1/2 cut. It was dissappointing to hear that it was an Auto version of the 20v Blacktop, and decided against the purchase. But I still asked Brad if he could quote me on a 20v Blacktop with a 5Spd box, and sure enough he did, which came out to be about $400 more...

Brad did find a 1/2 cut with a 5spd, but unfortunetly, it had a failed gearbox, and on my behalf, decided to let it go. (Phew!) He passed on the info, and promptly looked for another, and found one which was in good condition, with about 68KKms on the clock. Of course from there it all lead into the purchase, with a long wait for the arrival of 1/2 cut from... Japan!!!!!

We finalised the deal on the 29/03/07, and I sent through my payment... Brad did give me the option to bail out several times, but I just couldn't... :D ETA was estimated at about 6 weeks.


Voyage of the 1/2 cut to follow soon... (Next Post...)

History of the MR2 AW11

First off... A bit of a background to the MR2 that I currently drive...

This car originally bought by my wife, Beryl, in 1995, when it was about 7 years old. It had 2 previous owners and had considerable low Ks. It was in mint condition, and it was a blast to drive.

During her ownership, I used to drive a 1989 Toyota Supra, which had a modified the engine, and enjoyed racing it... but soon enough, Beryl requested a 4 door passenger car, and rather than selling the MR2, I decided to sell the Supra, and take over the MR2 instead. The MR2 isn't as fast as the Supra, but it sure is a lot more fun to drive... We regularly describe it as a "Licensed Go Kart".

During my ownership, I have been very dissatisfied with the factory 88 Kw that the MR2 produces, and decided to look at alternative engines or possibly Turbo charge the current engine. After doing some maths, I've realised that a decent turbo setup will set me back a minimum of about $4k... Alternative engines are the 20v series engine, the 2zz engines, 3s engines, etc. None-the-less... at the time, a decent 20v Blacktop would set you back about $5-6K. Hence, turbo was considered... but it never eventuated, although I had bought bits and pieces already. (I never got the time)...

Due to the lack in time, I simply performed the regular maintenance, including repairs, etc.

Until..... (Next post ;-)