In September 1996 I purchased my 1986 Supercharger from a guy who was reluctantly selling it as part of a divorce settlement.
The MR2 was ex-Japan entering New Zealand in 1987 and I was to be the seventh New Zealand owner.
I’d never driven an MR2 until the day I test drove it and the first impression I remember was the acceleration and the second was that it turned left like it was on rails but oversteered really badly when turning right. After I returned from the test drive I had a good look under it. Being a Panelbeater I suspected suspension, possibly body misalignment and sure enough a close inspection revealed a poorly repaired radiator support crossmember and an application of underseal so thick it dripped off everything.
I seized the opportunity and pointed the damage out and the possibility of more to the owner and made a cash offer. He muttered something about his continual run of bad luck but accepted my offer and cheered up a bit when I produced my plastic bag of cash!
The next day with all the paperwork completed I owned an MR2 and for the next six months until the warrant ran out I enjoyed its power and acceleration taking left turns with gay abandon, but making sure I had a firm grip with both hands on the steering wheel ready to wind in oposite lock in right hand turns.
I’d brought the MR2 to have one last fling at motorsport. Three chidren and a mortgage nearly behind me I’ve decided to prepare a vehicle for motorsport on a strict budget.
I chose an MR2 as I’ve always wanted a mid engined sport car and the availability and reliability of TRD parts was a big attraction. I’ve decided to leave the mechanicals basically standard and use my fabrication skills to prepare the car and make any improvements I can and avoid paying anyone to do work on it within reason.
My budget and preparation is aimed at club speed events and the following is a parts shopping list I’ve identified as must have for this level of racing:
STAGE ONE of preparation has concentrated on a serious diet for my MR2. Basically everything you don’t need for motor racing has been removed from the vehicle and put up for sale to help finance the above equipment. Some original body parts have also been removed and will be replaced with fabricated lighter weight items.
STAGE TWO is currently underway and involves checking and aligning all body dimentions prior to seam welding and the fitting of the roll cage.
As previously mentioned my MR2 had been crashed at some time and when the front panels and all that underseal was removed it was obvious the panelbeater who carried out the repairs was not equipped, skilled or paid enough to carry out a quality repair. The left inner guard, strut tower, rail and door hinge pillar had not been correctly aligned causing the left front suspension pick up points to be all slightly out of alignment when checked against the factory body dimensions.
My employer has let me put the car onto our chassis alignment plant to square everything up.
I hope no one ever needs these but they might come in handy if you do have a prang or want to check a suspect MR2 over prior to purchase. The following is the official factory body dimensions taken from the factory body repair manual. Getting any of these dimensions within 3 millimeters is considered acceptable. (I have not included these pics due to lack of space, but if anyone wants them, just let me know and I’ll send them out to you - Ed).
Gavin Love
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