konrad Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 My neighbor is selling 1992 Toyota Mr2, NA, 5spd. Car was very well maintained, he is the 1st owner, 160K, no leaks, original clutch, recently replaced alternator, breaks, and struts. Asking price, $1800, seems reasonable and I know he took good care of it. I don't know much about those cars, I heard that cooling system could be problem if not flushed regularly ( he told me if was flushed every 60K). Should I jump on it? It would be a great weekend car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymesbry Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 go for it, i miss my SW20.. the coolant system is interesting, but i wouldnt say that would be weakness... probably just like oil leaks and what not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franklin Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Not many around. Do you want or need another car ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KartRacerBoy Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 It's 1800 bucks. Unless it runs poorly, go for it if it seems clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 If you don't want it, where are you, I might want it. I have been on a mid-engined sports car kick, mentally, for a while now. I am serious, if it isn't half a world away. Are you within a day's drive of Iowa? It isn't a turbo MR2 for that price, is it? nawww, couldn't be. Is it at least a stick shift, though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konrad Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 I don't really need another car. I would be strictly fun, weekend car. Car was never abused and I know he took a good care of it but it's still a 17 year old car and things might start falling apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KartRacerBoy Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 If you're that iffy over $1800, you don't want the car and shouldn't do it. Sounds like you've decided and you want someone to talk you into it. If you can't take an $1800 hit if the car dies on you, you shouldn't be doing it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 yup. You are right. It also happens to be one of the very few reliable, affordable mid-engined sports cars built in the last 30 years. I can completely understand not wanting to take on that task, really. I can completely understand handing off that task to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymesbry Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 hrmm nothing ever really fell apart in the 3 years i had my turbo Mr2.. especially being N/A it should last forever. just make sure the T-Tops dont leak.. and youre all good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 I would say get it if you can take a 1800 dollar loss if the car dies. Its not gonna be a dd so you wont have to worry about transportation, just can you afford a 1800 dollar loss. I too have been thinking about getting a cheap weekend car. So much so i have posted that i am looking for a car so that if a deal comes up to good to pass up i will force myself ot jump on it lol. so far i have gotten some nice deals sent to me but as of late this was sent to me. Its a turbo 91 3200obo he said it has 120kmiles. And the car is from IL, which should be a days ride from iowa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 1800 is a price I could probably scrounge together. almost twice that is a bit harder to come by right this minute, without some more strategic fiscal planning, and making an effort to save for that purpose, above the regular budget. But that is a pretty darn good price for an MR2. I like the 94+ tail light conversion, and the car looks good. But I still don't get why people like to fit wrong-offset wheels on cars. My legacy's summer shoes fit VERY close to the fenders, but they do fit inside, and they don't rub. Those stick out of the fenders. A sharp bump I would think would either damage the tires, or the fenders, or both. The wheels don't even look that bad, but they do not fit properly. That is an instant change, and more expense. Very tempting, and the price is pretty good for a turbo, if it is in good shape, mechanically. but might be just a tad over the fiscal line for me, as an impulse buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 I would take this car myself if everything mechanically worked well during test period. But i have never worked on or even thought about working on a MR2. I dont have the time i used to so im really also looking for a car i have done alot of work on in the past. Like the 240sx, maybe a 944 and even the DUH DUH DUHHHHH a AWD DSM has crossed my mind lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Makes me wish my work gave bonuses. Ever. But even if they did, now would not be that time, with the economy as it is. I am actually losing purchasing power every year, as merit pay increases are frozen out, and cost-of-living increases are a joke, compared to the real price of goods and services going up for the last year or so. Unfortunately that means that I have to make sure the real bases are covered, before toys, and the savings account is not *that* large to absorb a $3k hit for a toy car. 15-1800 would be a stretch but maybe worth it just for it being such a good deal to pass on, for a type of car that I do eventually want anyway. But man, if i had a bit more lee-way, I would probably be seriously looking into that black one, if I could afford to write a check for it, plus some new wheels and tires, and whatever else it needs for right-now driveability. The MR2 is actually pretty easy to work on, by most reports. It basically uses a Corolla-GTS or Celica Turbo (3s-GTE) engine, mounted behind the seats, instead of in the front of the car. It has a side-mount intercooler on the turbo motors, that intakes from the passenger side, and the airbox draws from the driver's side. Some people even swap various Toyota V6s, some even supercharged, into the car from Camrys or even Lexus ES and such. I think some have even tried transverse Lexus V8 swaps, but I am not sure if they were finished... I think that is probably a LOT more fabrication. I think someone actually put a transverse Northstar Caddy V8 into a 1st Generation MR2... A 230-ish horsepower V6, plus some power tuning to the 300hp range in a mid-engined package well under 3000lbs is quite the little corner carver. If I were super-fabricator-capable, I would try to figure out how to put a tuned EJ257 turbo subaru boxer and transaxle (or a Porsche/VW Transaxle conversion) under an MR2 like that. Lower CG, less weight than a V6, longitudinal drivetrain, and even more power... But by the time I would be able to do that, skills or money-wise, a Cayman would be attainable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Its not the engine im worried about. An engine is an engine i have taken apart many DOHC 4 bangers, its basically everything else on the car. Mid engine drivetrain and wiring. #1 on my list is a 240sx, by the time i was 16 i had already swapped an auto out for a manual, 2 rear ends and 3 engines in 3 different 240s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Wiring probably wraps around the car a bit further, otherwise it is probably pretty similar architecture to other toyotas. The MR2 was built to a price point, so it uses parts-bin stuff wherever possible from other toyotas of the same vintage, to keep things simple, inexpensive, and reliable. A front-engine transverse transaxle is the same, it is just moved to the rear between the simpler, non-steering suspension. The front suspension is just suspension arms and a steering rack. FWD stuff, without the drive parts. Probably no harder, possibly simpler than dealing with a transverse FWD/AWD layout like a DSM, which is basically FWD with a rear-drive added on. The MR2 is FWD transplanted into the space where the rear seats would have been. The fuel tank is a bit buried in the car, and there are coolant tubes going from the front to the rear, through the center tunnel, but there is no exhaust or driveshaft there. just shifter cables from the shifter rearward. The exhaust is short, wraps under the engine, and the rest of the exhaust is under the rear trunk. The engine wiring harness is probably the same as any front-drive Corolla or something, just behind your seating position, and the interior wiring harness extends forward from the engine harness, rather than behind. Even the ECU is in the rear trunk, just behind the engine, just like a front-engined car having it's ECU under the dash, or under the passenger footboard panel. Actually, the car probably has fewer parts and pieces than a front-engined, rear-drive car, and what parts it does have, except the cooling pipes, are probably smaller/shorter-run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 You should man up and get one then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymesbry Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 REGULAR maintenance in the MR2 is extremely easy, everything is very easy to get to, the only thing that was hard was a turbo swap.. but thats just because i got lazy because my back was hurting. Mine ran like a champ, changed oil and spark plugs every 4000 miles.. gotta love copper plugs.. so yea i would just worry about the t-tops leaking, leaky valve cover, and the car being a TIRE EATER! and try to find some stock 93+ rims, nice and elegant. 05GT Guru - Wow you must love your 240's.. I had a zenki S14, and now that i think about it.. man that car was such a POS in USDM form, not enough power, bad suspension, bad stereo, a RETARDED trunk, looked wimpy exterior wise, ugly cloth seats, and mine seemed to eat wheel studs.. oh well and the brakes were terrible.. LOL especially when i went from the 240 to the MR2.. wow what a difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 REGULAR maintenance in the MR2 is extremely easy, everything is very easy to get to, the only thing that was hard was a turbo swap.. but thats just because i got lazy because my back was hurting. Mine ran like a champ, changed oil and spark plugs every 4000 miles.. gotta love copper plugs.. so yea i would just worry about the t-tops leaking, leaky valve cover, and the car being a TIRE EATER! and try to find some stock 93+ rims, nice and elegant. 05GT Guru - Wow you must love your 240's.. I had a zenki S14, and now that i think about it.. man that car was such a POS in USDM form, not enough power, bad suspension, bad stereo, a RETARDED trunk, looked wimpy exterior wise, ugly cloth seats, and mine seemed to eat wheel studs.. oh well and the brakes were terrible.. LOL especially when i went from the 240 to the MR2.. wow what a difference! Lol it seems you hate 240s. IMO a proper setup 240 looks better than the mr2. As for the power i agree they were under powered but not as bad as the n/a mr2. Ill probably just buy one with a black top already in it, there are like 8 of them around here going for 5k or less and those engines make 280hp before the mods most of these guys have added. Thats more than enough power for me and what i plan on doing with this car in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymesbry Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Lol it seems you hate 240s. IMO a proper setup 240 looks better than the mr2. As for the power i agree they were under powered but not as bad as the n/a mr2. Ill probably just buy one with a black top already in it, there are like 8 of them around here going for 5k or less and those engines make 280hp before the mods most of these guys have added. Thats more than enough power for me and what i plan on doing with this car in the near future. LOL well not really hate.. just pissed off when all my buddies were like YEA get a 240 they're good to mod.. turns out I gotta mod EVERY damn thing on it to get it to perform.. hah I do agree though a proper set up 240 will beat an MR2 for probably 99 percent of the drivers out there.. now the 1 percent that actually know how to really drive the MR platform, i think they could do it.. but thats few and far between. I knew i was scared as hell in the MR2 at the limits.. wow 5K and they have black tops? The S14 one or S13? i thought these were 210 for the S13 and 225 for the S14.. I wish i could have one here, they sound totally sweet.. and i already had an 3SGTE, might as well own another classic engine, the SR20.. too bad Cali Cops just kill it for me.. so i guess i may never get one again.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 The 280hp ones are the s15 sr20det, alot of cars swapped with these alos have the 6 speed. Infact 2 of the ones for sale for 3800 and 5400 have 6 speeds. The 3800 one had a front end collision, the FMIC, radiator,bumper,headlights and hood all need to be replace. But i could get it running with headlights for under 1k, it just might not have a front bumper and or hood lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymesbry Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 omg they put in the S15 motors in like nothing now eh.. i remember back in the day that was the holy grail of the swapping... (well except when people got the crazy idea to do the RB20's and CA18s) i know they had problems getting the speedo to work or something like that.. thats awesome.. what state are you in? probably a hell of a lot easier to get those things passed than here in good ole cali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Wisconsin, my family has land up north where we store alot of the family cars, boats, snow mobiles,atvs,bikes, things like that. And the DMV asks us to register cars where the spend most of there time or are stored which happens to be in forest county. A county so far up north that they dont require emissions from the couple thousand people who live in that county. Not to mention if the car is pre 96 they dont require emissions testing anymore The holy grail now for drag guys anyway is the RB25 swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymesbry Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 ahh so theyre still messing around with the RB25s eh.. i owned mine right before the 240 got big.. (1999-2001) so i remember our debates would always be KA24DET vs SR20DET.. oh man.. do people still try to mess with the KA or did they finally figure out that the pistons are even worse than ours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05GT Guru Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Its very rare that people do just because it cost the same amount to turbo a KA as it does to swap a sr20 in with probably lower miles than your KA lol. But people have had good results when just straight up building the KA. A friend of mine just finished his KA build last spring, after about 3 years of work. Its a sick ass car, dont remember exact numbers but it was in the upper 500rwhp. And yes i have been in those debates myself lol, that was like senior year and feshman year of college Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymesbry Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 oh well just reminscing about the good ole days.. hah i remember being SO EXCITED when they came out with the KYB AGX shocks finally.. i think i got like the second set in the US.. hah then the damn car gets stolen 3 months later.. ugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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