Learn me MR2's... 1st Gen & 2nd Gen

I've always loved those little cars. If I were to get one, I'd have to get the supercharged version or the 2nd gen turbo. I know the supercharged engine has some dumb clutch system hooked up to the blower. Can that be axed?

Give me info, please.

Rather than a supercharged version, I much prefer the early car with a 20v engine swap. It's almost a straight swap after the wiring harness is modified, and it's a lot more easily attainable and puts out a lot more power.

After having one of every MR2 specification, that is by far my favorite example. Some assembly is required however in most cases.

I've drive a 20 valve version - fantastic!

I can't answer your question about the clutch system, but I can give input about the cars. I've had 3 MK1s and one MKII, all the NA versions.

Don't overlook the NA versions, especially the early years...'85 and '86. They aren't rockets by any stretch, but they are bullet proof go carts. Handling is fantastic in stock form and with some mods, they can really attack an autox course. I've driven an SC MK1. It was fun, but they're heavier and you can notice it. Don't have a lot of experience with the turbo MKIIs, just know a good one is getting pretty pricey these days.

My favorite MR2 I ever had was an '85. Complete stripper version. No factory a/c, no power anything, tin roof. Plus it had enough rust to make it even lighter.... Awesome car.

The MK1 has a list of known problems, you can find them easily on the MR2 boards. Headlight motors, wiper switch, e-brake, etc...

Klayfish wrote: My favorite MR2 I ever had was an '85. Complete stripper version. No factory a/c, no power anything, tin roof. Plus it had enough rust to make it even lighter.... Awesome car.

found our quote for the magazine next month...

I have an 87 that started life NA and is now powered by a late 4agze (Corolla SC engine). It's a blast. The off idle power with the blower is great on tight autox courses and when dicing thru traffic. The arguement of 20v vs SC is endless, to each his own. My SC creates the same power as 20v, but more torque but more weight. The factory SC cars were often laden with all the other options that added weight and had a longer ratio gear box.

MK2 turbos are neat, and look fantastic. It's hard to find one that hasn't been beaten to hell and back. If I found an original example of one for a reasonable price, I'd get it.

The SC version was only made for '88 and '89 in limited numbers of about 1000 units per year. All SC version had t-tops.

Here are pictures of the '88 SC that I owned from 2000 - 2004. Bought for $3k with only 68k miles on it. I had it for 4 seasons and about 20k miles. In that time I invested about $1k in (shocks, tires, etc for stock autocross.)
I sold it for $4,200 before the rust became too evident (free car.)
It was a fantastic little car.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/152690475OkNbSU

The 20v 1987 MK1 I had was a good car and pretty fast. I was about the first in the US to put a 20v in a MR2 with a factory ECU.

I had a SC. It was a blast. There's a light on the dash that says supercharged (or something) when the clutch was engaged. I drove a tank of gas without the light coming on and got about 30 mpg, but boy was it boring. Normally I think it was closer to low 20s and was a lot more fun.

I typically got like 22mpg in my SC with it's tiny little 10 gal tank.
Of course, I have to admit, I never learned that it could be driven in a way that made the "light" not come on.

Fun little engine! The perfect little commuter car. Plenty of low power available on demand.

I drive a '91 (MkII) N/A with T Tops. I race it in SCCA E Stock autocross. I really enjoy it. I I were talking about a car just to enjoy, I'd prefer a MkI. They're getting difficult to find in good condition.

Just a note about the MkII Turbos. In my experience, it's much easier to find an N/A that hasn't been abused. These cars, even the turbo's, are inexpensive enough that younger folks, sometimes with ideas about "mods" I may not agree with, can scoop them up. The result is a lot of cars in questionable condition.

The good news, related to that, it seems this is "prime time" for the MkIIs with regard to parts. Unfortunate as it is, a lot of them get wrecked, or messed up so badly they end up being parted out. If you head over to mr2oc.com you can always find about anything you need for a good price. So if one wanted to "build" the car they want, this is a good time to do it.

But an N/A MkII set up for E Stock is a wonderful car for very little money that you can have a big load of fun with. Something to think about.

Good luck,

Ed

I've always liked the cars. There's a really nice one I could prolly get for $4k, but I don't have that money laying around. Dunno, just thinking out loud.

Some demonic influence told me that swapping in a Camry V6 to a MkII MR2 is not hard. True or not?

Xceler8x wrote: Some demonic influence told me that swapping in a Camry V6 to a MkII MR2 is not hard. True or not?

I know a guy here who did it. Depends on what you mean by "not hard". It's way doable and has been done enough times that it's well documented.

http://turbohightechperformance.automotive.com/69052/turp-0410-project-mr6-toyota-mr2/index.html

"We achieved our goal of 600 rwhp in Part 6."

It sure looks factory once it's done.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: "We achieved our goal of 600 rwhp in Part 6."

Xceler8x wrote: Some demonic influence told me that swapping in a Camry V6 to a MkII MR2 is not hard. True or not?

Some are easier than others, but pretty much everyone toyota V6 has been done by someone or another.

That includes the dude that swapped in the 3.4 litre 4runner lump and then strapped two turbos to it.

Xceler8x wrote:

fast_eddie_72 wrote: "We achieved our goal of 600 rwhp in Part 6."

Take a look around.... there's MUCH more insane power numbers coming out of these cars. There's a few of them in the 800whp area. I know of two that did it with the turbo 4 banger.

Well, it would weigh less than an Enzo. I think they have, like, 650 Horsepower. So I'm guessing I could make do with that. As long as it had a sweet Veilside body kit.

Really sets of the car's lines, I think.

Oh god. I barfed.

i still think an 85 or 86 with a mild turbo would be about perfect... toyota changed duspension for 87 supposidly better for track but worse for autox

look at the mkI.5 swap also (3sgte into a mkI)

i miss my mkI :(

Errrr, I would not say the 20v puts out more power than the supercharged 4AGZE. In fact, it has quite a bit less torque. It's way cheaper and easier to get 160+whp from a GZE just via some pulleys, gruntbox, and some supporting exhaust mods. That said, the SC engines are getting harder to find and the superchargers aren't rebuildable. Also, SC axles are hard to find as well. In addition, the E51 (SC) tranny is also supposedly about 50lbs heavier than the C52 NA transmission. They're interchangable, but C-series aren't known for their stoutness.

In the end, an SC is going to be more powerful (at least for the $$), but 20v swapped into a sunroof or hardtop chassis is going to be a lot lighter, and perhaps easier to keep alive in the long run (20v parts availability in the states not withstanding - there is some help on that from Lithia Toyota in Springfield).

Just look out for the tinworm on MK1's. Check out under the frunk lining, and rear wheel wells (under trunk carpeting). I'd also assess how rusted the suspension bolts are. Unless it was owned by a responsible enthusiast, almost all of them need a complete suspension rebuild - bushings, tie-rod ends, balljoints, not to mention struts.

Also, people complain about the aftermarket for these cars, but it hasn't been a problem for me. Just less craptastic bling to sort through. I'm of the opinion that I don't need a bunch of Tein, JIC, Buddy Club, coilovers to choose from, Konis, GC sleeves/springs, and a decent assortment of aftermarket springs are fine with me. Stuff like exhausts have to be custom made, but most of the time it isn't even as expensive as the pre-made stuff (like Greddy). I do wish there were some header options though.

If you're an autocrosser, I'd take a real hard look at the NA Mk2, as they're classed favorably in E-stock.

Happy shopping!

poor little smallport... no respect

fast_eddie_72 wrote: Really sets of the car's lines, I think.

It set off everybody in this rooms gag reflex

MkII's look best with no spoiler in my opinion

+1! I agree with no spoilers.. that is hot

My MK1 advice is to buy a rust-free example, no exceptions. Even if you only see minor rust, the floor pans are probably shot, the bumper supports, the rear trunk recesses, the base of the door openings are ready to go, and about ten other places. Fly to Phoenix and drive it home.

If you do go for a rusty one, parts are not that hard to source. Front fenders just bolt on (if you can find them) but rears are cut and weld jobs. Everything else is available somewhere.

My suggestion would be to avoid the really cheap examples, and find one that someone else has done some work on. For example, I am probably going to sell mine come spring and I'll never get back what I put into it. I don't mind because it was a labor of love and I enjoyed the experience, but the next owner will get a deal and only have to focus on more performance mods or a 20v swap.