Beast stuff

One of the most interesting cars in the Southeastern U.S. is “The Beast,” owned by Jim Griffin of Birmingham, Alabama. Jim purchased the 93 MR2 Turbo from Sunshine Toyota in Battle Creek, MI in July of 96 with 9,700 miles on the odometer. One of the first modifications made to the car was a mechanical boost controller followed by changes in intake, exhaust, wires, and plugs. Jim had the good fortune of meeting another MR2 enthusiast in Birmingham, Kerry Wood, and together they planned many of the early modifications. Innovative ideas and performance modifications have made “The Beast” a near legend among MR2 lovers the world over.

Moment of purchase in Battlecreek, MI

There is an interesting side story to where the name "Beast" came from. An IMOC member was riding in the car one day and heard the strange sounds the intake and BOV were making. They make a low growling, rumbling sound when you let off on the throttle. He said, "That sounds like some kind of beast." From then on, we always called it The Beast!"

Body and Suspension

One of the first visual modifications to the car was the addition of an Aeroware kit installed by Fancher Auto body in Pelham, AL. Window tint, alarm system, remote door locks, and Valentine One radar detection were next. The Racing Hart C2's, 17” by 7.5" front and 8.5" rear wheels, 215/40 front and 235/40 Toyo Proxi tires, Tokico 5 way shocks, Stillen drilled rotors, Metal Matrix pads, stainless lines and TRD strut tower bars help “The Beast” to grip the road or track

Real Modifications Begin

Click here to read about the first set of engine modifications made to the Beast.

Sport Compact Car

During this time Sport Compact Car was busy developing the MR2 project car. Jim read every issue watching their mistakes, learning from their successes and avoiding spending money on things that didn’t work.

Jim feels that one of the most important issues in the design of a great car is balance. "Too many cars being built today are only interested in maximum performance without regard to the life of the car. Balance between power, suspension, brakes, comfort, looks, and longevity is what it's all about for me. Unless you are racing every weekend, why build a car whose engine is on the ragged edge of failure every time you punch it?" With that philosophy in mind, The Beast project is an exercise in building a well rounded car. "It's important to get the fuel right. Stock pistons, a lean running engine and high boost are not a good combination."

Ultimately Jim contacted Alamo Autosports and met Brice Yingling, its owner/manager.

Further Developments

During the next 3 and a half years some progress was made. Jim was in and out of hospitals recovering from a devastating aircraft accident which resulted in 15 operations and the installation of three different artificial “titanium” ankles. As the ankle began to improve, Jim was able to get down to the garage and work on new projects such as the refrigerated air water intercooler, brake cooling ducts, external oil cooler, front mounted heat exchanger, mini shift light, flush mounted head lights, and many body aero mods.

Trunk Mount Intercooler

This has now been removed and replaced by a refrigerated air/water intercooler.
This information will remain on the site to assist those building the TMIC.

Aquamist water injection system - August 2000

Next, in order to take advantage of the large hole left from the trunk-mount intercooler installation, Jim decided to install an engine oil cooler. This required making custom aluminum brackets.

Oil Cooler
The oil cooler was temporarily removed on 01-05-02 and replaced by a standard filter. A new location is being studied.

The following page contains some recent engine and engine compartment photos showing the trunk-mount intercooler plumbing, the powder coated cam cover, the modified strut tower brace, the BOV venturi, and much more.

Engine Photos

The home of the Beast
We moved to a smaller house with a much bigger garage.
That's the way it's supposed to be anyway, right?

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Flush-mount headlight installation

Many visitors to this site have questions about the flush mounted head lights. Before you e-mail or instant message me to ask questions, please read the lights section. If you still have questions, feel free to get in touch. Currently I am far too busy with other projects to make more kits. I do plan to make more Lexan lenses for sale later this summer. I might suggest buying the "Street Weapon" fiberglass bottoms and using my preformed, convex Lexan lenses. Of course, everyone knows that these are for off road use only.

Future projects

Project 1 (12-15-01): Engine repair, replacement of pistons with lower CR 8.3 to 1 custom JE thermal coated pistons. Completed Feb. 05, 2002

Project 2 (12-30-01): The car will have two optional looks, one for meets and one for local driving.

Local driving look: 98 Toyota wing, Border hood, Phoenix Power bumper, Bomex
mirrors, stock engine lid.

Meet look: Phoenix Power Bumper, Phoenix power front and rear wings, Phoenix power
engine lid, Bomex mirrors, stock front hood.

Project 3 (3-25-02) Bumper/ Hood alignment and paint by Impatient Creations. Paint buffing and new clear coat. Rear
Phoenix Power wheel flairs (mounts behind the rear wheel and balances the front bumper).

Project 4 (4-12-02) Dyno work in Atlanta. Haltech adjustment for correct A/F.

Project 5 (4-20-02) Sparco black leather seats, 4 point harness (red), change to black carpet and interior.

Project 6 (7-15-02) Move oil cooler to better location to reduce engine compartment heat. Oil cooler was removed and a stock oil filter is currently being used until a better cooler location is found (05-10-02).

Project 7 (10-25-02) Air scoop for bottom engine area. This will be a metal or fiberglas scoop designed to deliver more cool
air up through the engine compartment for better cooling.

Project 8 (11-25-02)

Prolog: In any major car project there is always someone who has made a major contribution to the body of work. Jimbo Barrett has helped me do much of the truly heavy work, pulling the engine (three times), replacing the clutch (three times), and a number of other items. I want to thank Jimbo for his help over the past 4 years.
Jimbo's talents are well known throughout the MR2 community as he has probably rebuilt and built more MR2 engines than anyone in the Southeast. Contact me (ace123jim@aol.com) if you need his services.

Jimbo Barrett and Jim at Hoover Toyota
(Click to Enlarge)
News Note: Jimbo Barrett will be introduced at the speakers forum at SE2002. Anyone needing major engine service or other MR2 mechanical work is welcome to meet with him after the speakers forum. Jimbo is a master Toyota mechanic and specialist in MR2 repair.

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