A new ride joins the stable

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J

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
I have finally fallen in with the MR2 owners crowd, officially.

I just picked up a 1991 NA MR2 for my fiance's engagement present.

I am quite tired, so here are the main points:

The bad
-Needs paint
-Needs the rocker fixed
-Needs ignition coil and wires
-A few niggly little issues

The good
103k miles!
Brand new drilled/slotted brake rotors with EBC pads, can lock 'em up no problem
Basically no rust underneath (I think it must have come from the south)
17in wheels/tires and the 14in stockers
Came with some aftermarket parts I am going to sell
Suspension is stock and in good shape
The interior is in amazing shape except a few tears on the driver's right bolster (very common)
My fiance loves it (most important aspect of buying a 3rd car!)

Black2NA thinks he can make the paint way moar awesome in the interim while I/we work out a good paint scheme. Probably won't be going harlequin again though.

Pictars:

P9DzTDm.jpg


bqrOqgD.jpg


lLqTeVS.jpg
 
B

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
Nice, always liked that body style, beats any of today's crap where the friggin headlights end up halfway up the fender..
 
C

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
Great car.. I have a buddy who has an 86. Saw it just yesterday in fact. They are pretty rare in these parts.
 
J

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
J

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
manimal said:
great score dude!

Congrats on the car too :p

How soon is the big day?
Click to expand...

I think the car will get inspected and 100% road legal by the end of the week. :D

Srsly though, getting married next summer.
 
J

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
FuzzyDunlop said:
haha. yup!

Should be the most reliable MR2 on our board without turbo.

Technically, you could still be a member of the No BOV Club...
Click to expand...

Lulz. That's the hope, my wallet really doesn't need a another modified car to be tweaking.

I was actually looking for an MR2 a few years back, which is how JLee and I met in the first place. I wound up getting a Miata for a variety of reasons at that point. I had considered a Miata for my fiance, but I already have one of those, so getting another Miata that was less modified/stock wasn't too appealing. Going back to my original plan of an MR2 worked out well for her car: safer, power windows/mirrors, more comfortable, uses 87 octane (hun, why is the knock like turning my car into a rave?) and can be sealed up against the rain with one person (Miata has no rag top, only a hardtop that takes 2 people to attach and doesn't fit behind the seats). But this time around, with my turbo power needs satisfied for the moment, I could spring for the considerably less expensive NA MR2 instead of a S/C or Turbo MR2.
 
V

Vdubchaos

Lifer
Nov 11, 2009
10,408
10
0
Those are very nice, good ol days of Toyota.

There is # of MINT Turbo around my area and I love the way they look. They always catch my eye (unlike MANY of today's cars)

Awesome cars!!!

Keep us posted on the project
 
J

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
Will do.

Already fiddled with the exhaust header flange last night. About half of the bolts had 0 torque on them. I cleaned the studs, put anti-seize on, and re-torqued them. Hopefully that gets rid of the exhaust leak.
 
exdeath

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
So radial engine swap? Or V12 Merlin swap? 48 chainsaw engine swap? Whats unique for MR2s these days?
 
J

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
jlee said:
And you didn't even stop to say hi? :(
Click to expand...

Derp, Canada, not California. Driving NH to California in two hours would be impressive.

My futzing with the exhaust manifold fixed the exhaust leak, but the long tube headers that free up a little power in the higher RPMs make it sound drone-y like Black2NA predicted. Not sure what to do with the exhaust yet.

Tires are high performance all seasons of some inexpensive brand. 215/40-17s all the way around. My fiance, who drove it for the first time today, commented that she felt it would be way easier to spin than the Miata. I was shocked that she could tell! Anyway, going to drive them off, then likely use those 17s for a winter setup on my speed (got some free 17in winter tires) and buy some nicer wheels for the MR2.

@Bradly1101, Previa FTW!
 
J

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
Changed the coolant. Turns out mixing green and red antifreeze = sad time. Oops.

I am convinced Toyota developed lifetime antifreeze so they wouldn't have to change MR2 coolant.

Everything is all set now though, and my garage floor definitely won't freeze any time soon.
 
B

Black2na

Senior member
Nov 25, 2010
629
1
0
yeah way to derp
convo went similar to this

JCH: topped off MR2 with green coolant. think there was red in there is that gonna cause issues...
Me: Yep.
JCH: GR888
 
B

Black2na

Senior member
Nov 25, 2010
629
1
0
and for the record David Hawkins of twosrus (MR2 parts store) and myself really did a number on james saying he needed and MR2. not to mention a cheap one that david had really perked his interest! but after writing out the budget for a few hundred more he could have a complete car and much less of a project! so bam this car was purchased!
 
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