MR2OC January 2009 MR2 Of the Month

1988 NA MKI
Owner: Galen Hackman
Boardname: galenhackman

Galen Hackman
Akron, PA

Description & Mods:

May 2007.Acquired the car for $300 from my mechanic, who had traded it in 2 years prior with a miss in the engine. The car at sat outside behind his shop for two years. The car was running, but missing on one cylinder, had significant rust in front and behind each rear wheel, and had some water damage from sitting in an area where there was a bit of high water. Odometer showed 137,000 miles.

I did all the work myself, except for the head work and the wheel alignment. My goal was to keep it original, with just a few minor modifications (CD player and cold air intake mod, and some Twos R Us upgrades).

May to Thanksgiving, 2007 I pulled the head and discovered #4 piston was blown. Out came the engine for a full rebuild (the #3 piston was also cracked). New pistons, rings, bearings, seals, clutch, water pump, hoses, belts, etc. Flushed the entire cooling system (removed radiator to flush and repaint). Rebuilt the brake system (took 4 new calibers, in addition to rotors and pads). New starter and fuel pump (both these died while the car was in my shop). I sand blasted the wheels and repainted them and had my mechanic install new Firestone Indy 500 tires in the original size. I added the Twos R Us short shifter kit, trunk and hood supports, new brighter white halogen headlights.

I fired the car up on Thanksgiving Day 2007, got it inspected, and drove it some until after Christmas. It ran sweet.

January to May, 2008 Back in my shop, I cut out the rusted parts and welded in new pieces which I either cut out of some panels I bought from a guy online (and got ripped off, but that’s another story) or, about then, Twos R Us began carrying the body repair sections and so I got a few of those. The rubber trim triangles were long missing, so I got some from one of MR2OC guys. I patched up a bunch of other small imperfections in the body. (This was the first major body work I have ever done, and it was obvious after the paint that I need to practice a bit more). I got everything primed up. I also gutted the interior, put extra sound padding under the carpet, pressured washed the carpet and seats and reinstalled everything. I installed a OEM Toyota radio from a 90 something Toyota that has a CD player. Also replaced the subwoofer with an OEM since the original had been water soaked. I also replaced the Instrument cluster with a used one because the trip odometer did not work. The new mileage showed 119,000. In May I got a $450 Maaco paint job, which surprisingly is not too bad. I added the stripe on the side. (I initially installed one of Monza’s quad exhausts, but the internal baffles began to rattle within a 1000 miles, so I pulled it off and sent it back. They replaced it, but I sold it on ebay and installed a stock muffler for now. My wife likes the quiet!)

Comments:
Looking forward to racing in the SCCA ITB class in 2009. It looks like there will be a great turn out of MR2s with the change in class.

Congratulations from the Moderating Team of the MR2 Owners Club Message Board!