So this is my first post on here.. can't believe I haven't found this forum before now!! I can't stand the current insta story style builds and stuff on FB where it's here today and vanished tomorrow. And much prefer to read a forum so you can see a build progress. And some of the stuff on here is absolutely incredible so hats off to those with far more skill/budget/patience/vision than il ever have haha
I'm a J fan, always have been (except my first car that was a 68 mini with a 1.6 vauxhall engine in) that car was reason alone never to have anything British again . As fast as it was!
Did the mx5 turbo thing (several times including a 280bhp all singing all dancing rocket), an s14 200sx before rot boxes started fetching 5k, and a r33 skyline that disappointed me a bit (never meet your idols or summat like that)..
I then came away from the cars for a bit, raced bikes for 8 years with some success (and some fairly huge crashes)... nearly died nearly bankrupted myself etc etc...
Fast forward to 2 n half years ago. I'd decided to hang the leathers up for last time after a trip in whirlybird made me reassess what was important and needed something to play with at home.. bought an mx5 to turbo again as I know em like back of my hand but didn't have the love I used to have for them (I'm too tall to be comfy, and too old to fit eBay coilovers and a bgw)..
I then started looking at other rwd stuff that was cheap enough to modify but comfy enough to have a run out in weekend without needing 2 days off work to get over it.. always liked the look of is200s but with the standard engine there dog slow... However I had seen a few that had had the early non vvti 1uzfe fitted or the later vvti engine but with the auto box to keep all the vvti working as it should.
Set myself the challenge of building the first vvti manual converted is200 in UK and to my knowledge I did it. Complete with all the clocks working vvti working and a healthy 300bhp on tap.. ought to mention I gave myself a ridiculous deadline and did the full build from buying the donor car to driving it home (was built on my parents drive mainly in rain) in 12 week!!
Ran the car for a bit and it behaved faultlessly, like the car lexus should have always built. Fast enough to scare modern stuff yet comfy and behaved when I wanted it to! then life happened as it does. a house came up for sale with a decent garage in a place I wanted to live and at ripe old age of 29 decided we ought to get out of rented and onto property ladder.. and as per usual all the toys had to go to fund it starting with the newly built lexus
Fast forward 2 n half years, various house based disasters more expense and a first child thrown in for good measure and begining of this year I started longing for another project.. and having done the vvti V8 is200 the next step was surely a turbo version... Now with the added complexity of no spare time and little spare money (houses children and the Mrs all help reduce both of them) this was going to be a longer project haha
I'm a J fan, always have been (except my first car that was a 68 mini with a 1.6 vauxhall engine in) that car was reason alone never to have anything British again . As fast as it was!
Did the mx5 turbo thing (several times including a 280bhp all singing all dancing rocket), an s14 200sx before rot boxes started fetching 5k, and a r33 skyline that disappointed me a bit (never meet your idols or summat like that)..
I then came away from the cars for a bit, raced bikes for 8 years with some success (and some fairly huge crashes)... nearly died nearly bankrupted myself etc etc...
Fast forward to 2 n half years ago. I'd decided to hang the leathers up for last time after a trip in whirlybird made me reassess what was important and needed something to play with at home.. bought an mx5 to turbo again as I know em like back of my hand but didn't have the love I used to have for them (I'm too tall to be comfy, and too old to fit eBay coilovers and a bgw)..
I then started looking at other rwd stuff that was cheap enough to modify but comfy enough to have a run out in weekend without needing 2 days off work to get over it.. always liked the look of is200s but with the standard engine there dog slow... However I had seen a few that had had the early non vvti 1uzfe fitted or the later vvti engine but with the auto box to keep all the vvti working as it should.
Set myself the challenge of building the first vvti manual converted is200 in UK and to my knowledge I did it. Complete with all the clocks working vvti working and a healthy 300bhp on tap.. ought to mention I gave myself a ridiculous deadline and did the full build from buying the donor car to driving it home (was built on my parents drive mainly in rain) in 12 week!!
Ran the car for a bit and it behaved faultlessly, like the car lexus should have always built. Fast enough to scare modern stuff yet comfy and behaved when I wanted it to! then life happened as it does. a house came up for sale with a decent garage in a place I wanted to live and at ripe old age of 29 decided we ought to get out of rented and onto property ladder.. and as per usual all the toys had to go to fund it starting with the newly built lexus
Fast forward 2 n half years, various house based disasters more expense and a first child thrown in for good measure and begining of this year I started longing for another project.. and having done the vvti V8 is200 the next step was surely a turbo version... Now with the added complexity of no spare time and little spare money (houses children and the Mrs all help reduce both of them) this was going to be a longer project haha