MK1B....

[Richard Motion]

Sooo, bit of a back story...
After more years of sport motorcycle riding in this wicked province of ours then I care to admit to,
I've decided to take a bit of a break ( new speed enforcement laws helps)
Riding a super sport on the street, just doesn't hold the same allure that it once did. So how do I get he same thrill without he inherent dangers and fines? Hmmm no race tracks near by, don't make enough to go to Spokane regularly, let's try Autocross... Yeah, that will do it! It's close, it's cheap.
What to get? Yeah, the Miata is the perfect car... But.
Hey, Toyota and Yamaha are sisters, I like the latter ( pays the bills) . What do they have ?
Don't wanna be all Fast and Furious... Wanna still travel some. Yeah that SC I drove in forever ago, that's cool, wonder if any kicking around?
So 4 months on the lap top looking, 1st gen Celica's cost too much! 2nd Gens too rare. I pulled the trigger and bought a Kijiji advertised MK1 almost sight unseen. Dead of winter roads miserable I can't make it to lower mainland I have a non car buddy go check it out... He couldn't even test drive as can't drive standard... D'Oh!
Gave the guy deposit, waited for roads to clear then went and got it... Figured worst case scenario I could part it out to you guys and get at least some of my money back.
No real room to work on it there it sits, -10 12 outside it sits. Where to start? New air filter? Check. New plugs? Check. (Can buy them through work so let's put iridiums in) can't change oils yet hmmm,m.
Now it's March, weather breaks think it needs a test drive.
Wow! For buying it sight unseen, I'm pretty impressed( whew) pulls a touch to the right... Air pressure ? Yup pulls a lot less now.. Still some though.. Car seems to have sat almost 4 years so blaming crap tire for now. Steering while not super precise isn't overly loose.."let's go down Westside road..." She says.... At a pace I would call 5/10's I REALLY LIKE THIS CAR!
200 Kms later we are home and I only have a couple of questions
With the Iridium plugs, seems to idle close to 1500 RPM and once driving the oil gauge shows what I would call 7/10's
Are these normal? And is oil temp or pressure?
Thanks in advance

[immorality]

The oil gauge is for pressure. The idle can be lower, and there's lots of reasons why. Do a search here, mr2oc & mr2.com. Get all the basic maintenance out of the way, and since it's an old car look for worn out bushings, shocks, brakes, seals.

[jrider]

I had a similar high idle issue. And through a bunch of research it seems the most likely culprit is air in the coolant system. For me it was actually when I replaced my coolant overflow tank which had a hole in the cap that it seemed to get better.

[Richard Motion]

Thanks for the info.
I have a full maintainance schedule planned now that the weather has turned and don't need 12 layers to work in he garage.
Think I'm gonna go with the if it needs replacing a more performance orientated part will do.
Was fortunate enough to receive a full prothane kit with purchase ? So we'll just call that step 2.
Pads, rotors, calipers and lines seem fine for now but will get " race spec" sort of attention 1st as I might prefer stopping power over GO.
Handling on Westside Rd was fairly spot on, that is going to require a bit more testing and seat time to see where improvements need to be made.

Haven't looked at it, but as a side project also received a spare block with car. Don't know if it's of the 3 rib design or 7 yet.
That will be a long term goal. Thinking NA 150-160 hp or as close to while maintaining reliability.
Got a buddy with a SC Cooper that suddenly finds itself wearing a target