Everyone... meet Tegan :)

So here I am, starting the next chapter of my motor vehicle escapades :) Let me start of by giving you a bit of a prelude as to how this chapter began. 

I inspected a car on the same Saturday that my last chapter ended, and while it was the first one I'd physically seen in person or driven, I knew I wanted one. I had to have it. Although I wanted to put an offer in straight away, I knew I had to wait until the shenanigans with Stacey were finalised. With the news that old mate had gotten home safely and in one piece, I decided to contact the seller and see what I could do.

What ensued was one of the easiest negotiations I have ever been involved in. Based on what I saw, and what I gathered from just talking to him, I knew he wasn't going to budge much on price. I put forward an offer, he came back $200 higher (which is what I was shooting for anyways) so my exact words were 'You sir, have a deal'. His reply? 'Glad to hear it - it's yours. I hate negotiating'. Love it :) Thanks to the issues with Stacey upon selling her, I was not in a position to purchase it straight away - I would have to wait 2 weeks until my next pay check came in. I explained my situation, which he was more than OK with, so I put a deposit on it to secure it.

Move forward 2 weeks and I'm trying to fit in a time to put the rest of the money down and pick it up. I normally get paid on the 15th of every month - however in this case the 15th fell on a Sunday. Due to the fact that most companies run Mon-Fri, payroll has to compensate accordingly. This means I had nothing in concrete as to whether or not I'd have the money on Friday or Saturday (I've had both, banks are weird). The other thing to keep in mind was I had a wedding that I was very heavily involved in that also fell on the same weekend. I checked with the bride and groom as to if I could shoot off Saturday morning, and with that confirmed I confirmed a Saturday morning pick-up with the seller.

Cue Saturday morning, and I went down to pick up this :) a 1994 SW20 Toyota MR2 Bathurst Edition. 180,000 k's on the clock, manual (of course) with a 2.0 litre normally aspirated 3SGE engine (read: non-turbo engine of awesomeness). It has a targa top, which means the roof consists of 2 removable panels, providing a convertable-esque feel without losing structural rigidity in the car. It's also a 2-seater, meaning it's not going to win any practicality awards, but that's the point of owning 2 cars - flexibility. The 'Bathurst Edition' badge gives me the added benefit that both power steering and ABS had been deleted, which for those that know and enjoy cars know that this is a good thing. 

Anyways, back to the story. Due to my prior commitments with the wedding, it was literally a case of driving it back home, getting back into my other car and heading back to the bridal house to get ready for the wedding - I effectively had all of 20 minutes with it and that was it. Not the end of the world by any means, as the wedding was certainly something I was looking forward to :) but difficult none-the-less.

Fast forward to lunch time Sunday (after an absolutely awesome ceremony, reception and chill-out session) and I come home to...

... this. Not a bad sight if I don't say so myself! Kim had decided to clean up the garage and get both cars in. Can I just say, I don't actually remember the last time we had 2 cars in the garage - so strange! Alas, it was finally time to go sink my teeth in and have a proper look at what I purchased.

For those that don't know, an MR2 is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car made back when Toyota knew how to make a decent car. It was often called the cheap man's Ferrari as it was designed to make good quality performance and handling accessible to the masses. Long story short, they succeeded and produced a fantastic little pocket-rocket that eats up corners like nothing else. (Note: the ding just above the tail light is one of the things that helped drop the price).

Can I just say, I'm getting rather fond of pop-up headlights. Something about lights turning on with an accompanying mechanical movement just appeals to me - a bit of fanfare if you will, making a mundane task that little bit special :) 

Now in most cars you open up the bonnet and you find an engine... not with this car. Instead you get a spare tyre and not much else. Consequently, the bonnet gets renamed to 'frunk' or front-trunk. 

The engine is actually back here, behind the driver. Mid-engined means the engine sits between the front and rear axles. Given the placement of it, it does mean it's going to be a tad challenging to work on, but there are numerous benefits that make it worth it. The main one is a better weight distribution (meaning the car is more balanced). This improves the handling, as well as stability, traction and ride quality. Effectively you end up with a car that provides one of the most rewarding driving experiences around.

Here's the heart of the car just in case you're wondering. It's not a massive engine, nor an overly powerful one, but this cars strength lies in its ability to handle corners, not go quickly in a straight line.

Thankfully the engineers at Toyota were kind enough to factor in a boot, which is big enough to fit 2 sets of golf clubs if required! So not all practicality is lost :)

I had originally intended to go over it with a fine toothed comb once I got back from my responsibilities and completed some others that had been missed due to being away the whole weekend (i.e. laundry), but the day was too good to not consider just taking it for a drive with the roof off for the first time and seeing what it's all about.

Regardless, I wanted to be able to enjoy some decent tunes (and super cheap auto had a sale on), so I decided to tackle just a couple of small things to start making it mine. I grabbed some stuff to install my old head unit - wiring harnesses and a pocket specifically designed for this car, which meant it would be all plug and play vs. identifying each and every wire and soldering them individually. I also took the opportunity to grab some new windscreen wipers, and some spare oil in case of emergencies.

You can see why I thought new windscreen wipers were a necessity... the old ones were haggard and in dire need of replacement! The uni-blades are something I've done to every car, and although its about $25 more expensive than a standard wiper refill (normally only $5), it's most certainly worth it.

Being made in 1994, the factory audio solution was a tad... shall we say, dated. Rocking a cassette player and an (optioned) CD player, I wasn't going to get my iPod integrated anytime soon. Also, who even uses CDs anymore these days?

Surprisingly there was still a tape in it! I hit play, and lo-and-behold, some old-school rap/hip-hop. Not bad.

The panelling was pretty damn easy to remove, using more clips than screws. There was a fair bit of dirt and gunk behind it so we took the opportunity to vaccuum it out and get a start on the essential cleaning process. Thanks to the wiring harnesses, installation was a breeze - neither Kim nor myself could believe how quickly we were able to install it all!

Here we have the finished product. Can I just say, Toyota knew how to make the driving position a pleasant place to be. The way the centre control panel is angled towards the driver, and how the centre console sits so high... I also like that it doesn't look dated - just classic :) 

The rear lights had a bit of hazing on them, so we decided to attack them with some Plast-X - a fantastic product offered by Meguiars which is great at improving the look of plastic. The light on the right shows what we were working with, the one on the left shows the difference we were able to make. It really is the little things that make a big difference :)

In the spirit of little things that wouldn't take much time I also attacked the exhaust pipes with some metal polish. Have a work in progress shot to see what I'm talking about.

Can I just say, I rather like the look of this tail end :)

It became that time to go take her for a drive. You'll notice 2 things in this photo - what a targa top is, and there's a massive grin on my face =D Kim and I were off to see first hand what I'd just bought.

An hour and a half later I felt we'd appropriately broken it in... and can I just say, what a car. It truly is a car to be enjoyed and driven. The way it feels on the road, the way it handles, the noise that it makes and the fact that noise comes from behind you... what's not to love :) We also decided the car was a female, and henceforth shall be known as Tegan!

So now I've had some time to go over it? Let's have a look at what I've gotten myself into...

The good:

• The car handles well, and has excellent road-handling capabilities
• Driving without a roof is an absolutely amazing sensation
• She's been very well looked after by her previous owner(s)
• Plenty of tread on the tires, and all fluids are in great condition
• There are hardly any of them on the road, which is important to me
• I honestly believe I've got a car that I can enjoy and take pride in, something I've missed since owning Edna

The bad:

• Major service due in 20,000 kms (including timing belt)
• Paint will need some work as it's a bit faded
• Engine blows a bit of smoke under hard acceleration, but can be sorted while the major service is done
• Driver's seat needs re-bolstering

All in all? I look forward to the path that lies ahead :) This is going to be a great car and a fantastic project. What I want out of it is a clean car, one that is tidy and commands respect. Nothing ridiculous, nothing outrageous, just something sensible. Game on :)

I'll leave you with this parting shot - not a bad way to spend my first day with Tegan :)