From the Past: Trend Setter - Toyota, MR2 - TunerZine.com

From the Past: Trend Setter
This pristine Toyota MR2 doesn't follow the trends, it sets them

Posted:  Dec 19, 2007
Type:  Feature Car, Toyota, MR2
Rating:  100%

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Photos: Josh Mackey Words: Josh Mackey

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Looking back towards trends of the past, it’s ironic that this article spoke about them. This vehicle was first shot by Josh Mackey back in July of 2005, and we wanted to show off trends and styles that existed over two years ago. Needless to say, this MR2 feature has stood the test of time and its styling and power still rivals completely built vehicles of today.

The general direction in which something tends to move, that is the definition of a trend. Like your favorite hyper color t-shirt, or those awesome flannel shirts you used to buy when you listened to your Pearl Jam CD. Trends are something you see in this industry every year, whether it’s Altezza style tail lights, or those new JDM tail lights you just bought. Ian Shoel’s 1991 Toyota MR2 of Team Menace has seen the blunt of some of the major trends, but you can’t exactly call it “trendy” as he didn’t follow what you would normally have seen. Can you believe this Grand Prix White MR2 once had a mix of candy paint, airbrushed flames and S15 headlights? I believe that’s what you would call the trend where everyone wanted to mold different lights onto their car, you remember that year? The year you could find Nissan Skyline headlights on Civics and in extreme cases, the other way around.

Ian, owner of Premiere Autowerks in Seattle, WA has decided to take this newest trend of clean body lines and a focus on horsepower to another level. Ian took a break from operating his shop to show me his pride and joy that had engulfed his life for the past seven years. The exterior of the car is where we start; Do Luck USA based in Kent, WA was called upon to give the MR2 its sleek lines and aggressive look. A complete Aero Wivern kit, which includes the front and rear bumpers, side skirts, spoiler and air ducts were fitted to the car. Giving the car a bolder look, and shaving some extra weight was the Border Carbon Fiber hood. To match the hood, the vented Phoenix Power Carbon Fiber trunk lid was bolted on, once again to save weight, but also to funnel that precious cold air that all high horsepower engines need. Ensuring that Ian stayed with that bold look, IS300 JGTC side mirrors were added, and to complete the clean line theme, the door handles, trim moldings, reverse light, trunk key hole and gas cap were shaved. Moving the gas cap to a better location is sometimes a trick, but Ian moved his to the driver side quarter rear window vent. To complete the exterior, Ian hunted down a pristine set of 94-95 MR2 taillights.

Normally, most owners don’t pay attention to certain areas of the car as much as the exterior, but Ian is a different case. He put just as much time into the interior as he did the exterior, starting with his black Bride XAX II seats. A full range of Sparco parts were quickly assembled onto the car that vary from the Flash 5 steering wheel, shift fnob and custom harness bar. To keep him firmly planted in his car he, quickly installed some Takata Racing harnesses, giving it a nice contrast of green on black. A well built car isn’t complete unless it has an arrangement of gauges inside the car to ensure proper engine management. An array of Blitz I-D gauges and electronics line the interior of the car, from the boost controller, power meter, turbo timer, boost gauge, oil pressure, and exhaust temperature. With all of that, you wouldn’t think he’d have room for his 10lb chrome NOS Bottle, but there it is - mounted securely between the seats. Auto Design carbon fiber dash quickly accented the interior along with NR Auto White Faces and a set of Razo Aluminum pedals. Ian likes to save the best for last however, a full gunmetal leather and black suede interior by Superior Auto Trim (www.superiorautotrim.com) covers the inside from head to toe, setting this interior apart from the competition.

With all those gauges, you would think that this MR2 would be putting down some serious power. Well, you’re right. After much debating about what direction he wanted to take his car, he was able to locate a 1998 3rd Gen J-Spec motor from Japan. The car isn’t short on the list of power modifications either, starting out with a complete range of HKS products. Helping the motor produce more power is the HKS Super Dual Dragger exhaust system with a Works Power 3” down pipe and HKS mid pipe. The head of the motor is secured with APR head studs and the HKS metal head gasket. Helping the engine run stronger and harder is the HKS Fuel Cut Defencer and sequential blow off valve. Ensuring that Ian has his settings right, he has his setup tuned through his A’PEXi Super AFC mounted inside the car. The madness doesn’t end there, Blitz once again came into play with their steel intake. Cold air is essential to any turbocharged motor, so a GReddy intercooler was added to provide cool air to the turbo, and two 12-inch Perma Cool electric fans were added to keep the operating temperature of the motor down.

With all that power, a good clutch was needed to control it. The ACT full race 6 puck was installed making sure that planting the horsepower to the ground would not be an issue. Having a powerful motor usually doesn’t always mean having a clean engine bay, and we’ve all seen how ugly they can get, but Ian made sure he didn’t leave anything out. Making sure the motor stood out just as much as the rest of the car, he had his firewall heat shield, inlet pipe, throttle body and the brackets for his intercooler pipes chromed. This well built motor hasn’t been dyno’d yet, but it is estimated that it will be pushing high 300’s, flirting with low 400hp when it’s all said and done.

With that serious power, comes a serious commitment to keep yourself on the road, and to help with that is a clean set of Ro_Ja Formula 7 Wheels, 18x7 in the front, and a wide 18x9 in the rear. The stickies wrapped around them are a set of Toyo T-1S 215/35/18’s front and back. Tanabe Sustec Pro-Series II coilovers give the MR2 its low drop. Matched with the coilovers are the upper pillow ball mounts, TRD front and rear sway bars and JIC Magic front and rear strut bars. To complete the suspension, a precision big brake kit was added, that utilizes Wilwood calipers. TRD stainless steel brake lines are used to insure proper brake fluid control.

As you can tell, this MR2 production is not only one of a kind, but a complete project at its best. After going through many different phases and transformations, it’s safe to say that this MR2 has gone well beyond setting trends. It’s set a statement that many followed for years to come.

SPECS

Engine:

3rd GENERATION JAPANESE SPEC. 3SGTE MOTOR, CT 20B TURBO , AUSSIE 3 INCH DOWNPIPE, JE FORGED PISTONS 8.5.1 RATIO, EAGLE RODS, 5 ANGLE VALVE JOB, PORT AND POLISH, FERREA VALVES 2MM EXHAUST/1MM INTAKE, FERREA VALVE SPRINGS, HKS METAL HEADGASKET, HKS FUEL CUT DEFENCER, HKS SUPER SEQUENCIAL BLOW-OFF VALVE, HKS SUPER DUAL DRAGER EXHAUST SYSTEM, HKS MIDPIPE EXHAUST, APEX-I SUPER AFC, BLITZ I-D SERIES DUAL SBC BOOST CONTROLLER, BLITZ I-D SERIES POWER METER, BLITZ I-D SERIES FATT TURBO TIMER, BLITZ I-D SERIES BOOST GAUGE, BLITZ I-D SERIES OIL PRESSURE GAUGE, BLITZ I-D SERIES EXHAUST TEMP GAUGE, BLITZ STAINLESS STEEL AIR INTAKE, DENSO IRIDIUM SPARK PLUGS, HOSE TECHNIQUES SILICONE VACUMM HOSES, NITROUS EXPRESS SYSTEM , 1-10lb. CHROME NOS BOTTLE, GREDDY OIL CAP, CHROME PLATEDFIREWALL HEAT SHIELD, CHROME PLATED INLET PIPE THROTTLE BODY, CHROME PLATED BRACKETS FOR INTERCOOLER PIPES, GREDDY INTERCOOLER , 2 12inch PERMA COOL ELECTRIC FANS, ACT CLUTCH FULL RACE W/ 6 PUCK DISK

Exterior:

GRANDPRIX WHITE CUSTOM PAINTED BY AK AUTOWORKS, DO-LUCK AERO WIVERN FRONT BUMPER, DO-LUCK AERO WIVERN REAR BUMPER, DO-LUCK AERO WIVERN SIDE SKIRTS, DO-LUCK AERO WIVERN SPOILER, DO-LUCK AERO WIVERN AIR DUCTS, BORDER CARBON FIBER HOOD, PHOENIX POWER CARBON FIBER ENGINE LID, JGTC IS300 SIDE MIRRORS, SHAVED DOOR HANDLES, TRIM MOULDINGS, AND GAS CAP, CUSTOM RELOCATED GAS CAP (RELOCATED TO THE DRIVERS SIDE QUARTER REAR WINDOW VENT), 94-95 MR-2 TAIL LIGHTS, SHAVED REVERSE LIGHTS AND TRUNK KEY HOLE

Interior:

RECARO TOM CAT KEVLAR RACING SEATS (2 OF 100 MADE), SPARCO FLASH 5 STEERING WHEEL (new), SPARCO SHIFT KNOB SHIFT KNOB (new), RECARO RAILS and MOUNTING BRACKETS (new), FULL GUNMETAL LEATHER AND BLACK SUEDE INTERIOR (new), GREDDY RACING SHOULDER PADS, AUTODESIGN CARBON FIBER DASH , NR AUTO WHITE FACE DIALS, RAZO ALUMINUM RACING PEDALS

In Car Electronics:

KENWOOD DN-1 HEAD UNIT, MTX 1501 MONO BLOCK AMP, MTX 560 4 CHANNEL AMP , CLARION VMA6491 6.4 COLOR LCD MONITOR 2, CUSTOM AMP ENCLOSURE, 2 12” MTX SUBWOOFER, INFINITI KAPA 5.25 MIDS and 2inch TWEETERS, INFINITI KAPA 2 WAY CROSSOVER, SONY PS 2, COMPUSTAR (SS) ALARM

Suspension, Brakes, Safety:

TANABE SUSTEC PRO-SERIES II COILOVERS , TANABE UPPER PILLOW BALL MOUNT , PRECISION BRAKES BIG BRAKE KIT, WILWOOD CALIPER , TRD STAINLESS BRAIDED LINES, TRD FRONT AND REAR SWAYBARS, JIC FRONT AND REAR STRUTBAR

Wheels / Tires:

RO_JA FORMULA 7 WHEELS 18x7-inch FRONT and 18x9-inch REAR, TOYO PROXES 215/35/18ZR FRONT AND 245/35/18 REAR

Sponsors:

AK AUTOWORKS, TOYO TIRES, DO-LUCK USA, PRECISION BRAKES, RO_JA MOTORSPORTS, WILWOOD, NX, VALVOLINE

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