Thanks for the welcomes chaps, (waves to Olie!) , Kev sorry it has taken so long to make a start on this, there never seems to be enough hours in the day here but i should be able to make good progress shortly.
The reason for choosing this engine over the 2gr-fe is that i really do feel the 2gr is too heavy for an Elise, i know MWR built one but we know how much the 2gr affects a Mk1 Mr2 in the handling dept (we have built the only two Mk1 Mr2 2gr's in existence), and while they are phenomenally quick cars i do feel that the handling is somewhat compromised. Part of that is the need to use the E153 Mk2 Mr2 turbo gearbox which itself is also heavy, i feel the Elise must concentrate on weight more than anything.
The 1mz-fe is a fantastic engine, forget BHP numbers, they really don't matter, this engines party trick is its torque delivery which is spread right across the rev range and kicks in fully from 2500rpm right to the redline, no lag, no stirring up and down the box, just drop the pedal in any gear and go. The best bit is the weight, it's the lightest V6 in the Toyota range and in our Mk1 and Mk3 Mr2's you cannot feel any upset to the handling at all (Olie will testify!) , apart from it wanting to have an overwhelming urge to kill you with massive amounts of oversteer when you apply the power too greedily on corners! Apart from that it's fine
We are in unknown territory on this build, i don't even know if i can make it all happen yet, same goes with many of the first time builds i've done before, but let's just say i've never failed to complete any conversion, it should be interesting times ahead.
I want this conversion to be a lightweight affordable torque-monster for Elise owners, with tuning options available too, part of using the Mk2 Mr2 NA gearbox means we can add an LSD (torsen type) and also carry out an extended 5th gear conversion for better motorway cruising and a higher top end, it's also a fairly light transmission, probably only a few kilos heavier than the K series box, i'll weigh both and let you know. We will also be having a nice equal length supported driveshaft arrangement, which makes a big difference over the unequal set up.
Regarding costs, i can't release any details yet until we know what we are faced with on this build, let's just say because Kev has been brave enough to give us his car as a test mule he is getting the deal of a lifetime which can never be repeated, but the cost of this conversion to Joe public will be considerably less than any other conversion package out there.
This thread will be as detailed a build as i can manage, let the games begin!