FuzzyDunlops Toyota MR2 MK1.5 build thread.

[FuzzyDunlop]

FuzzyDunlops Toyota MR2 MK1.5 build thread.

PHOTOBUCKET CAN GO BURN IN A FIRE. I will update this thread as best I can with imgur.

Ok boys and girls,

The first thing you may be asking is “what is an MR2 MK1.5?”
Simple. Its an First Generation MR2 (1985-1989 Mark 1) with a Second Generation MR2 Engine (1990-95 Mark 2). Hence a MR2 Mark 1.5

This swap has been done numerous times by people way more capable than I. There is a list of about 50 cars from all around the world with this swap already. After about 60+ hours of research on the subject (and much more to do) I am confident that I can pull off this build.

First thing first: lets buy some cars!

This little beauty is a ‘86 N/A. The engine is blown but repairable. Although that didn’t matter to me I still used it as a point to haggle the price down a little. I searched for about 3 months for a clean-ish MK1 that has little to no structural rust. Harder done than said. This is the best I could do, and for $600 Canadian, the rust that’s there is acceptable!

I think I can either repair this or cut it off completely and put on fender flares. - the latter being the most likely due to the wider tires I will eventually need lol.
[photo of rusty fender gone]

Dirty dirty engine. Will be gone soon.

To most it looks like a piece of crap. And it is. It needs a little love, but is structurally sound.


Now for the organ donor.
This poor bastard was totalled about 3 months ago. 1992 MR2 GT-S (imported from Japan) The owners dad was trying to get rid of it for a while but kept running into “tire kickers”. When I called him he was so frustrated with idiot buyers that he told me that he is willing to let this go for $250, and will ship to my door for $250. I nearly fell out of my chair. “SOLD!” I told him. A second gen clip from Japan can run a guy around $2000 - this is robbery.

Looks pretty good huh?

NOT

The kid who was driving is OK, and is just starting to walk again. Ouch.

BUT here is the reason for the purchase
A 3SGTE Twin Entry Turbo. Stock they put out 220hp, and are easily modifiable to reach 300 (look at Jlee's thread found here )

Good low KM too (100,000km is about 62,000miles)

And here they are ready to be mated together.

The shopping list
ENGINE MOUNTS: Speed-Source.net makes good mounts and have a jig I can rent to make sure they are welded into the correct position. $500
DRIVESHAFTS: 87-91 Camry outer CV joints attached to the Turbo inner shafts make a perfect fit. $160
A2W: frozenboost intercooler with copper piping to a heat exchanger up front. Possibly the one linked below to create the shortest distance between turbo and throttle body. $600???
SHIFT CABLES: shortened and welded ‘92 cables FREE
TURBO: stock for now - possibly upgrade later FREE
ALTERNATOR: Toyota 4AGE alternator with a Toyota 5SFE bracket $20 at pick’n’pull?
BRAKES: Ill use as much of the ‘92 stuff that I can. Master cylinder, booster, callipers etc.
FUEL PUMP: Walbro 255lph


For now the goal is to leave the engine at stock, get it running in the car, and then Ill drop it out and possible rebuild, upgrade, etc.

Actually scratch that… for now the goal is to move to a house with a double garage so I can park my DD and work on this at the same time. Lol!

Wish me luck, probably wont update till I move in about 2 months or longer.

 

[jlee]

Tagged

Minor correction, though - I started with a turbo car, not n/a. I just went with a bigger turbo.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Tagged

Minor correction, though - I started with a turbo car, not n/a. I just went with a bigger turbo.

o rly? huh... how did I screw that up... Here all along I thought you made your own turbo system. Its ok, youre still my inspiration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GceFwYv8sZk
minus the whole love bit

 

[jlee]

o rly? huh... how did I screw that up... Here all along I thought you made your own turbo system. Its ok, youre still my inspiration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GceFwYv8sZk
minus the whole love bit

:awe:

 

[manimal]

man I love you guys!!! I may plan a trip out your way someday just to see them! I know I waxed poetically about my love for mr2s in the past but your project has me droooling.

 

[SuperSix]

Whoooo! Love the build threads..

 

[bbs lm-r]

Nice, lookin forward to some progress pics.

And sorry for my ignorance, I kinda kept up with your other thread, but, what happened to your silver MR2? Or do you still have it and just wanted another project?

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Nice, lookin forward to some progress pics.

And sorry for my ignorance, I kinda kept up with your other thread, but, what happened to your silver MR2? Or do you still have it and just wanted another project?

yup I still have it. In fact I worked on it a little last night. Replaced the starter motor and solenoid because it was randomly not engaging. no problems with that now.
Also I replaced the fuel rail because mine had a stripped threads at the cold start injector banjo bolt and was leaking ever so slightly (fuel leak = baaad). I had temporarily fixed it with some JB weld, but vibrations loosened that up. No more problems there.

Its in tip-top shape now. Took it out for a spin and it runs just dandy. Ill be driving it around for fun while I work on the MK1.5. For now, its in storage until the snow is gone (March- ish).

I had started another thread called "next years project ideas" and this thread is the official start of 'next years' project.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Bookmarked. Looking forward to the progress! Congrats on purchases that cost so little!

 

[satyajitmenon]

lol @ thread tags.

 

[jlee]

yup I still have it. In fact I worked on it a little last night. Replaced the starter motor and solenoid because it was randomly not engaging. no problems with that now.
Also I replaced the fuel rail because mine had a stripped threads at the cold start injector banjo bolt and was leaking ever so slightly (fuel leak = baaad). I had temporarily fixed it with some JB weld, but vibrations loosened that up. No more problems there.

Its in tip-top shape now. Took it out for a spin and it runs just dandy. Ill be driving it around for fun while I work on the MK1.5. For now, its in storage until the snow is gone (March- ish).

I had started another thread called "next years project ideas" and this thread is the official start of 'next years' project.

Heh, I had to replace the starter in my Mk1 as well. And then again when the replacement failed (a day or two before the warranty expired, no less!).

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Bookmarked. Looking forward to the progress! Congrats on purchases that cost so little!

I know, I have been incredibly lucky with the purchase prices. I could have probably bought a cheaper MK1 but this one is in the best shape structurally and was not priced in the quadruple digits.

Heh, I had to replace the starter in my Mk1 as well. And then again when the replacement failed (a day or two before the warranty expired, no less!).

Doh! good thing its an easy two bolts out, two bolts in. Took me all of 5 minutes - actually, it took me longer to jack the car up high enough, so that I could get under it, than it took me to change the starter. Tight squeeze in there though. These things were built with chopsticks and you need small hands to easily work on them: I dont have small hands so they bleed often.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

Friggin AWESOME! Both you and JLEE have been making me itching for a mk2 MR2 project car.. and I live in California! Bookmarked/saved/etc... I guess there's less and less need to look @ the TCL forums these days with these crazy guys

 

[jlee]

Friggin AWESOME! Both you and JLEE have been making me itching for a mk2 MR2 project car.. and I live in California! Bookmarked/saved/etc... I guess there's less and less need to look @ the TCL forums these days with these crazy guys

It is possible to do a CA smog-legal V6 swap, and you could always just stick with a stock turbo motor too!

Link requires registration, but it's a great forum and worth the time.

Edit: ah you're in SD...I'm planning on getting out there one of these days; I'll try to remember to let you know.

 

[NutBucket]

Smog legal, oh what fun. At least these are all pre-OBD2 cars we're talking about. Wait, is the V6 out of an OBD2 car?

 

[jlee]

Smog legal, oh what fun. At least these are all pre-OBD2 cars we're talking about. Wait, is the V6 out of an OBD2 car?

Here's a snip from the thread:

Link to CA DMV engine change guidelines: http://www.autorepair.ca.gov/StdPag...cations/Engine_Change_Guidelines-Jan_1994.htm

Some key exerpts from the above link:
"Our recommendation is to rebuild and reinstall the original engine, transmission, and emission control configuration." Note the word recommendation.
"Remember, these are guidelines for performing engine changes -- not certification procedures."

When performing a swap that you want to be CA legal the most important part is that the swap functions as it would in the original vehicle it came in, in my case a 2000 V6 Camry. It's obvious from the get go that you aren't going to be able to just bolt everything on in the same location it came off the Camry--the completely different fuel tank setup makes this impossible. I'm sure each state ref is different, but know that they don't have all day to poke through your vehicle. My inspection took about 40 mins and the ref didn't even rack the car (not sure if they're even allowed to). Your engine and exhaust are also going to be piping hot when you arrive for your inspection. Searching for a VIN on your swapped engine is not going to be easy, though I've heard some refs might still try.

 

[exdeath]

Smog legal, oh what fun. At least these are all pre-OBD2 cars we're talking about. Wait, is the V6 out of an OBD2 car?

What do you mean? OBD2 is awesome. All they do is plug it in and whatever your computer tells their computer is it. No popping the hood, no looking under the car, no sniffer, nothing else.

You can get away with alot more with an OBD2 car than you can a non OBD2 car. The tech can be choking on fumes on your catless race car as he hands you your "OBD2 PASS" slip and says you passed. Getting a catless or modified car or whatever to pass a sniffer is 100x more challenging.

 

[jlee]

What do you mean? OBD2 is awesome. All they do is plug it in and whatever your computer tells their computer is it. No popping the hood, no looking under the car, no sniffer, nothing else.

You can get away with alot more with an OBD2 car than you can a non OBD2 car. The tech can be choking on fumes on your catless race car as he hands you your "OBD2 PASS" slip and says you passed. Getting a catless or modified car or whatever to pass a sniffer is 100x more challenging.

Yep. OBDII FTW...

 

[NutBucket]

From what I know about smog legality here in CA, if you install an engine from OBD2 car into a car that doesn't have it, you need to transfer the entire OBD2 system.

Basically the engine (including emissions system) needs to function exactly as it did in the original car which includes the OBD2 system. You must run the stock ECU. Good luck with that.

It was much easier in the pre-OBD2 days since car electronics weren't nearly as integrated. The engine swap I did in my early 90's Accord was plug-and-play and the guy I sold it to had no trouble getting BAR sticker for the swap.

EDIT: And in Cali your car gets sniffed and visual inspection no matter what. And don't forget we have dynos for smog checks as well. The only way to avoid the rollers is by having an AWD car.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

wow am i ever glad we dont have smog checks, etc.

I asked a local inspection place what all they check and they said "as long as the safety equipement is there, they dont care what kind of engine is underneath." In other words, safety belts and lights, LOL, everything else is fair game. - geeze, I could run mufflerless and pass an inspection (though I may get a "Public Nuisance" ticket).
OBD2 LOL

 

[jlee]

From what I know about smog legality here in CA, if you install an engine from OBD2 car into a car that doesn't have it, you need to transfer the entire OBD2 system.

Basically the engine (including emissions system) needs to function exactly as it did in the original car which includes the OBD2 system. You must run the stock ECU. Good luck with that.

It was much easier in the pre-OBD2 days since car electronics weren't nearly as integrated. The engine swap I did in my early 90's Accord was plug-and-play and the guy I sold it to had no trouble getting BAR sticker for the swap.

EDIT: And in Cali your car gets sniffed and visual inspection no matter what. And don't forget we have dynos for smog checks as well. The only way to avoid the rollers is by having an AWD car.

Dude, I just gave you a link to a thread where it was done. I'm not sure what you're arguing about.

When performing a swap that you want to be CA legal the most important part is that the swap functions as it would in the original vehicle it came in, in my case a 2000 V6 Camry.

 

[NutBucket]

I registered for MR2OC to check out the thread....waiting for "approval". Anyway, I do admit that I misread your post a bit and I failed to take into account that they kept selling MK2s through the late 90's. It is perfectly reasonable that if you start with a on OBD2 car and swap and OBD2 engine to be able to maintain the functionality of the OBD2 system which would be required for smog legality.

I was thinking that someone swapped that '00 V6 into a pre-OBD2 car.....a whole different bag of worms.

 

[roguerower]

Marked for another awesome build. I'm going to have to go back and catch up on your other MR2 build.

 

[jlee]

I registered for MR2OC to check out the thread....waiting for "approval". Anyway, I do admit that I misread your post a bit and I failed to take into account that they kept selling MK2s through the late 90's. It is perfectly reasonable that if you start with a on OBD2 car and swap and OBD2 engine to be able to maintain the functionality of the OBD2 system which would be required for smog legality.

I was thinking that someone swapped that '00 V6 into a pre-OBD2 car.....a whole different bag of worms.

All Mk2 MR2s sold in the US were pre-OBDII - he added an OBDII connector. I never said it was easy, haha

 

[NutBucket]

LOL ok. Makes perfect sense now.