Potential Project: AW11 Mr2

For the last 3 months, I've been noticing this red Mr2 with half tarp in front of my Son's school. Ever since, I've been thinking of a project, but SWMBO doesn't think I need one.

Yesterday, I get off work early and go pick up my Son, with the hidden agenda to knock on the owner's door.

Here's what I find:

Owner states he bought it as a project a few months ago for his daughter to eventually drive. He opted for another car. He is a Porsche guy that has a 914 project and a 944S he's working on. I asked him what was his price. He said $1,500.00. It's an 87 with 181K miles. He said that a friend was looking at it this weekend to see if he's gonna get it. I gave him my contact to let me know if his friend comes through or not.

My take: Car started right up, and idles steady, Interior is in tact, needs some body pulling on driver's side panel, and rear 1/4 panel. Owner states that engine leaks oil, and he was quoted 400.00 for a timing belt replacement and water pump etc. I didn't test drive it. He says it's lacking power. (Clutch?) Engine area looks clean. If his "buddy" doesn't come through, I might offer him $600.00 for it..

Thoughts?

My plans..... Rally-X and possible DD for gas mileage. Maybe a nice little Go-kart for Auto-X too..

Thanks in advance...

DO EET

That's a nice price for mid/rear engine goodness.....

JoeyM wrote: That's a nice price for mid/rear engine goodness.....

Agreed. I paid much more for mine.

I paid $2000 for mine. This is a steal if the test drive is acceptable!

If it's really a running/driving aw11 with a couple of fixable body issues then even getting it at his asking price wouldn't be too bad. That front fender is a bolt-on affair, but they're getting tougher to find. What's wrong with the rear quarter? They're part of the shell, so you have to patch them. It can be tough to find front lip spoilers as well, but not impossible. You just have to be patient.

Spoke to the owner today and made an offer. He asked that I come by Saturday Am to drive it and see.

Will follow up this weekend.

Best of luck! I would love to find one of these for that price

Sweet! I'm picking up a project this weekend too! Hope your test drive goes well!

Fingers crossed! I want to say the roof spoiler, front lip and mudflaps are pretty rare bits.

DuctTape&Bondo wrote: Fingers crossed! I want to say the roof spoiler, front lip and mudflaps are pretty rare bits.

Nope, not terribly rare, depends on the year. That front lip is standard issue on 87-89, roof spoiler is common, as are the mud flaps.

All that being said, for under 1k, that's a good price. Look for rust in the frunk, and behind the sideskirts in front of the rear wheels. Low power could be a lot of things, but at that mileage, the headgasket should be replaced if it hasn't been already. Most go at about 120-140k. Other than that, look for vacuum leaks.

I picked up an 87 in 2008 for $500 with 110kish on it, and it's been the most one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned.

Decided to give the guy a call this evening and went by with my Son to "check it out". That's what we told my SWMBO.

Took it out for a drive and it was really sluggish, (didn't give it much time to warm) but the trans shifted pretty tight. Clutch a little high, brakes decent, steering tight. A few mis-fires, etc. Once it warmed up, it got a little better. Idle was steady.

Pulled over into a CVS and popped the engine bay and looked for leaks, and did notice the smell of oil coming from under the distributor cap area. Looked under and saw the oil dripping like crazy. Couldn't see the area from underneath, but I suspect the oil-pan gasket.

All and all, I felt it was a good candidate to take home. Handled tight, interior great, seats perfect, (manual windows). Drove back to the owner and negotiated a price we were both happy with.

Owner mentioned that the fan stays on after he drives the car, and he disconnects the battery to turn if off. I suspect a resistor or sensor gone bad. When it got home, I disconnected it.. Noticed a rear pass 1/4 pannel with some rust and previous bondo work.. That's about it for the rust. I'm thinking of just sanding / priming it.. Everything else, even in the frunk, and hatch was all in tact. Tool bag, jack, front bra, all inside panels were great. Muffler rusted a bit..

More pics tomorrow.

The addiction begins.

I'll start with the oil leak, then fresh plugs.

In reply to M3Loco:

I'm just going to put this out there. Project MK1.5. Take one part MKI MR2, add one part 3SGTE (MKII Turbo engine), shake well and SHAZAM!

In reply to shoult:

Yeah... Come help! LOL..

I'll just see what the NA can do for now. Got potential!

(Chanting) "We accept you, one of us, one of us, we accept you one of US!"

Jerry wrote: (Chanting) "We accept you, one of us, one of us, we accept you one of US!"

Thanks... too bad there aren't any Rally-X locations in Atlanta..

Any suggestions for hesitation, loss of power upon take-off? And where to start with the drip, drip?

oil could be(likely) coming from base/bottom of distributor... known to be a problem. Low power could be many things... TVIS inop, low comp, stuffed filter, or exhaust. besides it being a mid 80s low on power original engine.

4AG engines can be built to all kinds of extremes... careful machining, and a few carefully chosen parts can wake up an old tired 4AGE easily to 20%-25% gains while retaining the stock management.

oldeskewltoy wrote: oil could be(likely) coming from base/bottom of distributor... known to be a problem. Low power could be many things... TVIS inop, low comp, stuffed filter, or exhaust. besides it being a mid 80s low on power original engine. 4AG engines can be built to all kinds of extremes... careful machining, and a few carefully chosen parts can wake up an old tired 4AGE easily to 20%-25% gains while retaining the stock management.

Roger... I'll take a look tomorrow morning when I jack it up and start removing bottom pieces.

The "Only" rust spot that I found was behind the rear passenger wheel, in between the wheel and the rear light.. I'm going to pound it out and see. I read it's where it starts. Besides that area, I'm good.

Thanks for the advice..

My woefully minor knowledge would say muffler/cat clogged, air filter? Unless you're just comparing it to a modern 300HP car, then yeah, it's a tad lower.

While you're inspecting for rust I'd remove the frunk and trunk liners to make sure you're not dealing with more than what's obvious.

Also, I didn't realize you were in da' ATL as well. There are a few of us MK1 guys from mr2oc.com that have gotten to know each other, swap parts, etc. We also get together with MR2 peeps of any generation for mountain runs, car shows, or whatever. I've found them to be a good group of guys. The meet threads can be found in the regional sections on that site.

Welcome to the club of rust & leaks!

With that mileage, I would drop the motor and swap in a new longblock, new belts, hoses, clean up the head with new seals and gaskets and then drive it for another 150,000 miles without touching it.

Brotus7 wrote:

DuctTape&Bondo wrote: Fingers crossed! I want to say the roof spoiler, front lip and mudflaps are pretty rare bits.

Nope, not terribly rare, depends on the year. That front lip is standard issue on 87-89, roof spoiler is common, as are the mud flaps. All that being said, for under 1k, that's a good price. Look for rust in the frunk, and behind the sideskirts in front of the rear wheels. Low power could be a lot of things, but at that mileage, the headgasket should be replaced if it hasn't been already. Most go at about 120-140k. Other than that, look for vacuum leaks. I picked up an 87 in 2008 for $500 with 110kish on it, and it's been the most one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned.

Oh, I just figured since they're always the first things to go on the ones I've seen in the JY and seem to sell well on eBay. Steering racks too.

$500? damn man that's an awesome deal. I used to see them around $1000 pretty regularly but they seem to be climbing steadily pricewise locally.

Nice pick up, OP! Hope the rust is just in the area you found.

pinchvalve wrote: With that mileage, I would drop the motor and swap in a new longblock, new belts, hoses, clean up the head with new seals and gaskets and then drive it for another 150,000 miles without touching it.

Might just wind up and do that if upon further inspection, the engine is on it's last leg. Or I might just put a 20V in there.. I hope I don't have to drop it to just freshen it up. I'd really like to drive the snot out of it this summer.. Thx..

Matt B wrote: While you're inspecting for rust I'd remove the frunk and trunk liners to make sure you're not dealing with more than what's obvious. Also, I didn't realize you were in da' ATL as well. There are a few of us MK1 guys from mr2oc.com that have gotten to know each other, swap parts, etc. We also get together with MR2 peeps of any generation for mountain runs, car shows, or whatever. I've found them to be a good group of guys. The meet threads can be found in the regional sections on that site. Welcome to the club of rust & leaks!

Thx... I'll look you guys up.. Maybe I can have a "Fix it" day at my house.

UPDATE:

AW11 Project is for sale. Pics above.

Newborn baby is taking too much time lately and won't be able to dedicate the winter to prepare this vehicle for DD/Fun duties. Interior is in great shape. TTOPS are good, glass is good. No rips etc. Prefer just to get in a beater that I can just drive without the work.

Rust is only at the rear 1/4 panel. Where they mostly rust. I have the fix.

No specific advertisement yet, just putting it out there to GRM folks first.

So far, I've bought: - Rust FREE Rear Passenger 1/4 pannel - Extra front bumper - Extra Steering wheel - Front/Rear Brakes - Front Bra - Speedo Cable - Passenger door mirror - Rebuilt the Distributor - Replaced the oil cooler lines - Replaced the Oilpan Gasket

Looking to get what I've put in: $1,350.00 Located in Marietta, GA. TXT: 678-571- triple-8,7