Toyota mr2 question

Im just wondering if anyone has any experiences or knowledge of mk2 mr2's? a friend of mine is on the look out for one and im just wondering what to look out for? they are old cars and I know a lot now are higher mileage, are the engines and gearboxes anywhere near as strong as the sups? I am sure I read somewhere that rust was the main problem with these, is the correct or are there other common problems? and basically is it worth him pursuing one of these or will it just be a money pit? cheers

Check out IMOC.

mr20c has a really in depth buying guide

just found them now cheers

Im just wondering if anyone has any experiences or knowledge of mk2 mr2's? a friend of mine is on the look out for one and im just wondering what to look out for? they are old cars and I know a lot now are higher mileage, are the engines and gearboxes anywhere near as strong as the sups? I am sure I read somewhere that rust was the main problem with these, is the correct or are there other common problems? and basically is it worth him pursuing one of these or will it just be a money pit? cheers

I just scrapped one today!

You can get them for very little money, but yeah they are old, and they dont seem to have held up as well as our trusty supras.

What revision would he be going for? Also, Turbo - non turbo?

I owned one a couple of cars before the Supra.

The forums suggested above are the best places to look.

Build quality is good just not as good as a Supra, engines can be fiddly to work on and bodywork prone to rust underneath, particularly sills.

Good summer fun though.

I owned a few mk2 tubbies, as said, IMOC is a great forum full of info.

Great cars, good engines and loads of fun.

Arches prone to rusting.

Personally go for anything Revision 3 and newer (1994 onwards).

They are a single, twin entry turbo, so watch out for people trying to sell them as twin turbos.

Black ones are fastest!

Personally, stick the Camry 3.0 V6 block in the stock body and you have amazing car!

Check out Woodsport for more info.

Or, get a mk1 MR2 and launch the 2.0 turbo engine in! Amazing! Is called an MR2 1.5

Personally, stick the Camry 3.0 V6 block in the stock body and you have amazing car!

Check out Woodsport for more info.

 

Or, get a mk1 MR2 and launch the 2.0 turbo engine in! Amazing! Is called an MR2 1.5

Me and you will need to have words once I'm back from Canada. I've been thinking of getting an MR2 for a good wee while

Me and you will need to have words once I'm back from Canada. I've been thinking of getting an MR2 for a good wee while

I could bore you to death with MR2 related tales lol (in fact I can bore anyone to death on just about any subject haha)

I have one as a track car, great fun, but a pig to work on. Generally reliable, and good fun.

I have a Rev 3 N/A which will be going to the scrap shortly if there are no takers! If someone picks it up you can have it. It's a complete car (minus the wheels and rear lights/centre panel) but hasn't been run in a good while. Good start point for someone wishing to go the 3ltr V6 route.

You got any Pics of the mr2 you can link in Mr West

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I have one as a track car, great fun, but a pig to work on. Generally reliable, and good fun.

Love to hate them

he wants as late a version as possible and for now it will have to be a uk spec so non turbo as he only has 1 years no claims and doesn't want sky high insurance

But thanks for all the other info guys ill keep all that in mind when helping him look and ill get him to sign up to IMOC

I work on them day in day out for the past 15years. If you need any help I'm happy to advise

Tim

I had a couple of MR2's YEARS back and there were no problems to worry about back then .. God knows what you need to look out for now ... I pad £9999 for my first one lol

They had this beast there too the day I got mine lol

This was mine with some Supra rims before its respray:

Look at the door sills, they're a common rust area, if its kitted get under the car and see if you can see under the skirts, passenger side is the usual one, but check both. Ask the owner to remove the trim under the frunk (it's just a few easy clips) then check the firewall for any damage, that'll tell you if its had a smash.

Other than that its the usual suspension knocks, smoke etc if its a turbo then check the turbo shaft for play, it should have zero side - side and minimal in - out.

Absolute max boost is 1.2bar on a stock engine, personally I kept mine to 1bar.

As long as the body work and engine is good, you should be okay suspension parts are cheap, it doesn't have expensive wishbones etc

As others have said, the MR2 doesn't have the build quality of the Supra, but it does give you a rush to drive, its less forgiving than the Supra and more on limit of putting you backwards into the ditch at every corner. I never span mine but came close quite a few times on track.

I still have a few MR2 bits in the garage so if there's anything they need give me a shout, I'd be glad to get it out the garage

thanks for the replies guy they are appreciated, they are some very nice looking mr2's I have to say, I've never driven one myself but I've heard they are fun would love the noise of a nice sounding engine right behind me but 18k for a veilside kitted supra, wonder I would get that for mine now? haha

I had my rev1 turbo for 9 years before moving on to the supe.

Was bone stock when I got it, and it went through various guises over the years, where I settled on this:

All done at home in my spare time, was sad to see her go

that is very impressive I have to say, they are very good looking cars. I can imagine it being tough, but you must prefer the supe?

Ive had a couple of mr2's and i must say the rev3+ 3s-gte engine was always bullet proof. i had mine running a full greddy td05 setup running 1.2bar and it never missed a beat great cars even better engines.

Here's my old mk1 and mk2 Rev3 tubby t-bar

that is very impressive I have to say, they are very good looking cars. I can imagine it being tough, but you must prefer the supe?

Thanks buddy

In a word, yes !

Although, they are two completely different beasts. The mr2 is an absolute hoot on the b roads, mine was far from stock in the engine and suspension departments, in fact, far from stock all round really !

But the supra is more heavy duty, feels more planted, faster, and a nicer place to be in

Natural progression you could say..........

Gaz I remember you from the mr2 forums, in fact I had a few pictures of yours saved as wallpapers at the time I had mine!