1992 Toyota MR2

This car started off as a little bit of an orphan. The previous owner had a young child and with a family at home, he could no longer warrant an MR2 so she was placed in the care of someone we considered to be a friend.

Unbeknownst to either of us, the car was desecrated for parts, broken ones installed in their place and left to grow moss and mold in the corner of a yard for over a year.

I swapped my ZZW30 MK3 MR2 for it as I had wanted to come back to another SW20 for well over 3 months since having to let go of my last one.

This car wasn't a love story at first. It was born from a friend's betrayal and the lies he told me about the car. From it being "all good to go" to being stuck at the side of the motorway at 1am in winter weather, over an hour away from home, it was a nightmare I never saw coming.

I eventually got it fixed and was able to drive home the same morning, albeit exhausted and cold and that's when I noticed it didn't handle right.

After examining the car the next day, I found thousands in parts either broken or missing entirely! Like the rear sway-bar and droplinks. No wonder the rear kept stepping out over bumps.

Fast forward to after that issue was rectified, the first engine blew up after a failed headgasket took the engine with it. With help from some friends, I replaced the engine only for that replacement to fail within 96 miles.

This prompted 6 months of downtime while I sourced parts, fluids and an engine to which eventually I did but it took a lot of time, effort, favours, blood and money to make work and in the meantime between all of this, I was used by someone I was deeply in love with at the time.

It caused me a lot of pain, yes and it took me months to heal from it but I realised that there was something to be learned from that experience. I learned that even if someone hurts you, there is still something to take away from that. They hurt you but the joy they gave you at the time was just as real. The hand they offered when you were down was still genuine.

That's how Sunpuppy came to be. The name is an ode to that person's username when we first met, I turned a name that hurt me into a platform to heal from. This then prompted me to begin creating the vision for Sunpuppy. The mental health focus, the slogans, the designs and plans in my head.

Now we're here a year later, 2 engine swaps, £5000 deep, countless hours of blood, sweat, tears and heartache.

The story of Sunpuppy has only just begun and if mental health is something important to you, just as it is so important to me, then follow the Sunpuppy project and remember this:

It's not weak to speak. It's okay not to be okay.

• Cold air intake
• High-Flow Exhaust Manifold
• Japspeed Backbox

• JDM Kouki Taillights
• Likewise shift knob
• Polished Strut-Brace (Front)
• Polished X-Brace (Engine Bay)