Talk me out of this MK1.5 MR2!

This. Looks amazing.

89 MR2 MK1.5 2.2 turbo

"Up for auction is a very rare low mileage 1989 MR2. This vehicle has less than 87,000 original miles on the chassis. The paint and interior leather are ORIGINAL and in excellent condition. It still has the original AM/FM/ cassette stereo with sub (dash speakers have been replaced). It is very unusual to find these cars in this condition with low miles. This car has been an adult owned summer toy that is stored during the winter in a heated and dehumidified garage. What makes this car truly special though is the conversion to a mark 1.5. This professional conversion removed the original 112 horsepower 1.6 liter four cylinder from the first generation MR2 and replaced it with the 200+ horsepower 2.0 liter turbo four from the second generation MR2. This particular car features a 300 horsepower version built from the ground up. There are about 2,000 miles on the engine. It is based on a 3rd generation JDM 3SGTE. It has been stroked to 2.2 liters, features forged pistons, valve work, electronic boost control, and an upgraded turbo. It has been prepped for water injection with a port in place to receive the nozzle and an LED wired into the dash. A custom 3" stainless steel turbo back exhaust is fitted and features all mandrel bends. There are two mufflers and a high flow CAT all by Magnaflow. It sounds great without being too loud. The JDM transmission features a factory Toyota limited slip differential.

All work was performed by the most respected professional shops in the MR2 community. The conversion was performed by Speed Source in Illinois, and the engine was built by ATS Racing in Texas. This car can almost pass for new and is as reliable as a stock MR2. A/C and cruise control all function normally. "

Its black and the reserve is too high? All I got.

If you don't buy this then I will never speak to you again. Ok I have never spoken to you so I guess that isn't must of a threat.

I have always thought this was the perfect configuration. Light with good reliable power and to find one in that good of shape is rare.

Hmmm....tough call.

I will slap you! $9000 is a little steep for that car.

Nine large is a bit much, but yeah, you need that.

Ummm...Solid built engine. Light chassis. I'm surprised no engine shot. I know speed source does good work but I'd love to see it.

Don't buy that one. Buy a solid chassis and build your own so you know all of the details.

No, too expensive and on top of that a 4agte car can be built from scratch for almost 1/3 the price and be just as good and you would know the work put in.

It is just way too expensive, i've seen mk1.5s for less and it would be silly as well because you are spending $9000 for a MK1 Mr2 with a MK2 engine when you can get a built turbo 2ZZ W30 which is a better car, lighter, with more support and aftermarket for this price.

MK1 is a $5000 or less car. NEVER pay more.

MK1 n/a maybe with blown motor and all engine parts, 4agze motor, megasquirt pnp, matrix garage turbo parts.... if you want a turbo MK1 go that route. If I had the space I would be building one right now but I have no driveway and a small garage in this pos hoa i live in. There is even a basemap on the mspnp site for a gt28 turbo build. It's probably one of the easiest na->turbo projects that exists right now. Everything to do it is available and cheap.

Jerry, What are you going to do with it?

The $ is the only reason I didn't bid. The $5400 car I hesitated on (& lost like hours later) I could afford, this was a little out of my range and still not at reserve.

@cghstang - I'm looking at a new/newish car next year, probably Spring when I can enjoy it. I was thinking new to 2-3yrs old, but all the new models are kinda "meh" to me. Thinking if I could find a really good condition MK1 or possibly MK2 MR2 I could do that & keep the xB for backup and bad weather.

It's priced too high and it'll make your gas disappear...that's all I can think of.

bmw88rider wrote: Ummm...Solid built engine. Light chassis. I'm surprised no engine shot. I know speed source does good work but I'd love to see it.

The eBay auction has a link to more images, but I can't hotlink (I tried). The engine looks REALLY good.

Flickr

Finding a clean chassis to start with is getting harder and harder, took me 2 years after finding a wrecked donor to find a suitable chassis (granted I was stuck to dealing within the confines of the challenge budget) but good clean stock cars are fetching up to 5k these days! The swap is a huge pita, granted you can use their mounts and jig an simplify the process a bit. Their position places the engine as far forward as it will go which results in even worse driveline angle. The shifter is super vague, the rear weight bias gets old in a hurry. The 3sgte is a horribly packaged motor making it a huge pita to service even when it's on the bench. You have a ton of one off tubes and hoses to make it all work. You end up with lots of dead ends from the stock chassis harness hanging around. If i built another MR2 i'd find a good clean solid chassis, and turbo it.

I see no rust on the body anywhere, it must be a Photoshop job. A rust-free AW11 is like finding Elvis riding the Lock-Ness Monster.

pinchvalve wrote: A rust-free AW11 is like finding Elvis riding the Lock-Ness Monster.

Hahahaha so true!