Capt Slow wrote: FWIW
I have a buddy who has a mk1 MR2, it doesn't seem as fast as it ought to be, the car seems to have some brake balance issues (the front wheels lock up if you even look at the break pedal), and from what my friend says its endemic to all first gen MR2s
I don't know if it would be competitive in the stock categories
Of course is car has all kinds of issues...
I disagree totally on the brakes. I raced one for many years, including building an IT car, and never had brake lock up issues other than what a rear heavy design brings you. You have to have a good working system, and balance your braking with proper pads. In fact, it could out brake just about every other car out there. You have to also be careful on your spring rates, and make sure it can transfer a little weight to the front under braking. A lot of people go too stiff and it can't get any weight on the front for braking or grip for turn in. What the car lacks is torque, and that's why the 2nd gen cars are better at autocrossing, that and they put their power down better.
If you want to go play and be competitive in a MKI MR2, you need to look at DP. The other classes aren't real kind to it, but its a ton of fun to drive.
As for the original post, the 318is is down on power a little compared to the Mini, but it still handles well. If you want to be competitive on a national level, you're going to have to spring for good (read very expensive) shocks and learn how to tune them, as well as the other tuning parameters of the chassis. And given the age, a good, to the limit engine rebuild would probably also be required. Don't under estimate how much better a car will run with a fresh rebuild, especially a good head.
I've also thought about this as a choice for a car, but it would probably take another $4k to $6k (something like Ohlin shocks, VERY lightweight wheels, and a good rebuild, not to mention new bushings, etc.) to really make it run anywhere near the front of a national grid. That's still a lot less than a new Mini though!
