1991 MR2 / Gen 4 3sgte swap / 94+ body conversion

In reply to Flynlow (FS) :

Thank you! While looking back it has moved quickly, during the process it certainly has dragged on lol. Of course. So here is my process for getting metal parts cleaned, prepped and painted...

1. Fine wire wheel everything to remove corrosion, scale and rust
2. Do a final pass with maroon Scotchbrite pads to refine the finish 
3. Always prime first with a direct to metal or aluminum primer
4. Usually 3-4 light light coats to ensure I get a thick coverage and avoid any runs

I can also shoot you over which paints and primers I use if you're interested as I feel it gets me a close OEM finish.

Mustard said:

In reply to Flynlow (FS) :

Thank you! While looking back it has moved quickly, during the process it certainly has dragged on lol. Of course. So here is my process for getting metal parts cleaned, prepped and painted...

1. Fine wire wheel everything to remove corrosion, scale and rust
2. Do a final pass with maroon Scotchbrite pads to refine the finish 
3. Always prime first with a direct to metal or aluminum primer
4. Usually 3-4 light light coats to ensure I get a thick coverage and avoid any runs

I can also shoot you over which paints and primers I use if you're interested as I feel it gets me a close OEM finish.

 

Awesome, thank you!  Yes, please do...if sending me a PM doesn't work, let me know and I'll try to send you an email through the forum.

Looking forward to seeing it re-assembled and hearing the first drive report.

In reply to Mustard :

You should just post the paints/primers here. I'm sure other people (like myself) would like to know what you used too.

In reply to manwichmakesameal :

I'll do that!  When I head to the garage this evening I'll recap all the paints I use when trying to get the "OEM" look.

This will be a smaller update but still progress being made.

Whoever the PO of this car was had decided they wanted to rip out the oem sound deadening and replacing it with some Asphalt based type that left a mess and was failing. I had debated Dynamat or Kilmat and wound up going with Kilmat. Onto the photos...

Currently I've only done the rear firewall and footwells but I have debated removing the oem on the gas tank tunnel and fully covering that as well. I just need to decide if all of that effort will be worth the outcome...

And I finally have a windshield! it took 3 appointments before I could find a mobile glass shop that could even locate this glass. They also found me a second piece which i will likely buy and store just incase.

The wait for the final pieces to leave paint has been brutal now that I'm ready to just complete the exterior and take a break!

Big things below!

So I have finally gotten the car almost 100% assembled. I found a few small trim bits that need replace or mounting points reinforced before install (Just 30 year old brittle plastic. To start I painted the rear exhaust divider / grill as they come black from the factory and the black provide a good contrast.

and onto some mostly assembled shots!

I still need to adjust the headlight covers to make them flush with the bumper and hood but overall it's looking like a normal car again. While in the garage I also couldn't help myself in mocking up a portion of my Budget BBK. I'm adding a before photo to truly show the size difference.

This car has tested my patience for the last year and a half as well as helped me broaden my skillset which in the moment wasn't very fun has proven to be incredibly rewarding.  I'm over the moon with how the exterior has turned out and it has honestly surpassed my expectations.

I will still say buy the best car to start that you can afford. This has been a fun and rewarding process overall but its very exhausting and I likely could have had a chassis with good paint with what I have into mine now.

To leave this on a bit of a cliffhanger I'll leave this photo below...

Let me know what you think is coming next!

Well with no guesses I'll just keep updating ha!

So this car was originally a blue interior car and I took a took a fair bit of time tracking down mint examples of some of the higher wear interior items yet nothing could make me "love" the color. I had eyed up multiple sets or blue LX Recaros but not being sold on the interior color I always got cold feet. interior shots below once I had it fairly "Clean" beyond the dingy faded carpet.

No matter what though I was always on the hunt for a full black interior swap which is harder to come by these days as car values have drastically limited Part Outs. Luckily we have a DMV (DC, MD, VA) Mr2 group chat and someone reached out offering me a screaming deal on a full black interior minus the seats. A vendor does offer Leather replacement seat covers so I went that route as well.

The interior being from a 93 car it had a gray headliner and some other roof plastics so I fabric painted the Headliner. I still need to tackle the sun visors and see if I can locate black plastics for the headliner (Ie. Dome Light and Rear View Mirror).  As well these dashboards are known to lift and this one had plenty of lift. I got these vent covers which sandwich the dash back down and it came out great. I would prefer the OEM look but black dashboards are hard to come by in perfect shape.

And just some mostly finished interior shots. The seat covers certainly weren't fun but thankfully youtube has a really good walk through. They still need steamed to release some wrinkles but they look very good over all.

Overall Im super close to being finished with the interior and exterior and can begin the swap. I still need to get my flywheel resurfaced and use a Time-Sert on a pulled exhaust manifold thread. Then I can convert my transmission from rear shift to front shift to suite the mid-engine layout and get this in place as well.

Blue interior locks it into a specific time period. Black is timeless. 

Love the black interior. Soooo many of these had that blue interior. A buddy had a blue on blue '91 and it was a lot. 

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

Blue interior locks it into a specific time period. Black is timeless. 

This is the best way to put it. The Blue keeps it feeling very early 90's.

crankwalk (Forum Supporter) said:

Love the black interior. Soooo many of these had that blue interior. A buddy had a blue on blue '91 and it was a lot. 

Blue interior is already hard enough to love... I believe that's the aquamarine pearl which I do like but blue on blue I couldn't do.

Let me know if you are interested in getting rid of some of the blue interior bits, I am looking for some. TIA!

I don't dislike the blue, but the black is better.

I did a similar conversion on much of my Rx7s interior, and if you pay attention to prep work it can look good and last a long time.

In reply to racinjason :

Sorry to say I actually already sold the entire blue interior before purchasing this black interior.

Greddy shiftknob? What's the chances youd part ways with that?

I had one on my first MR2 (93 turbo) and miss it...except for when it's in direct sunlight

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

So I actually bought this knob as I had one on my very first Eagle Talon. However you can still buy this shfitknob new which is what I did. Linked below!

https://shopgreddy-com.myshopify.com/products/14500570

So I've been insanely busy with work recently but then decided to take a week off and see how far I could get with this swap.

First some goodies I've snagged. I managed to find a NIB Greddy Profec Type-S Boost Controller which is considered by many to be on of the most reliable.

I also had a friend of a friend recommend a local hobby shop (Not for Hire) to turn my flywheel and they were awesome folks. Offered to do machine work for me when the time for a motor build commences. 

Once I had my flywheel I was ready to convert me E351 Transmission to a front shift shaft and begin assembly.

Here is the aftermarket shaft from Wilhelm Raceworks and the oem shaft.

and here is before the conversion and after.

Once this was completed it was time to finally install the Flywheel, Clutch and Transmission. I just went with an Exedy OEM replacement as I've heard and see great results for the power level I'm aiming for.

Now, Mating the transmission was a bit of a nightmare. Being this wasn't intended for this engine I had to clearance multiple areas to clear the wastegate, cooland pipes and more. It took far longer than I was hoping but at the end of the day it's on!

Which leads us to the final photo of the empty engine bay... (Sorry the photo isnt the best)

All of this leads to the most anticipated bit.. At least for me, which is getting the swap in the engine bay for the first time.

I had someone show me a much easier way to getting the engine and trans under the chassis and aligned using a motorcycle jack from Harbor Freight which was a life saver.

And all bolted in. With this new method I had the motor installed in under and hour which was such a pleasure.

and where I will leave this for now with most of the piping and lines installed.

I still have so many little things to tackle as well as awaiting my modified harness to arrive. As I get some items completed that you can actually see I will continue my updates.  I am beyond excited to drive this thing finally and hopefully work out enough growing pains to hit an HPDE event this summer and/or some AutoX events!

Car looks absolutely fantastic!  Love the progress. 

Not sure how set you are on intake choices, but if you wanted to isolate the intake air from the engine bay a little better, I installed a CF airbox and have been very happy with it:

Nice work!

In reply to Flynlow :

I've toyed with a closed filter box but also debating going with an different turbo set & intercooler setup and this area would house the new intercooler so I've stayed on the fence!

In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :

Thank you! I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel slowly but surely.

Updates?

Also, I have the RacerX box - love it!

Inspirational, now I want to go out an clean an engine compartment or refurbish some stock pieces.  

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

It's still on going and I'll have a few posts with updates this weekend. Sadly I've hit a few roadblocks in the final few steps with this thing but I have NOT stopped working on it.

Expect some updates soon!