AW11 (maybe Challenge Build)

Dusterbd13 wrote: to clean a tank: gab a handfull of lug nuts. put them in the tank, tape over the holes, and shake it like a morracca. flush with water. repeat. a lot. also can get them boiled out for like 50 bucks by webster radiator up in concord.

nice! lugnuts I've got. Thought it'd be alot more than $50 to get it boiled out so I may just borrow the truck and take it over there to get it done the legit way.
Do I need to get it recoated or anything afterwards or is that included or what? Thanks!

recoating was extra, if i remember right. been a while. call for current pricing. coating prevents re-rusting, but for some reason i just dont like it.

and ive had good luck with lug nuts and time.still hasve a few filters to change afterwards, but it works when other options are not availible.

Por-15 offers self cleaning and coating kits

hmm so the recoating is not really necessary?
I may try out the lug nut deal as well, and I'll look into the por15 as well
thanks guys!

I cleaned out the inside of my 280z's gas tank with a gallon of phosphoric acid I pick up at Home Depot. It removes the rust and leaves zinc phosphate coating. I decided not to seal the inside of the tank because I've seen a few peel off plus I was afraid it would clog the pickup screen since mine is built into the tank.

About tank coatings, the US made Kreem brand seems to be completely ethanol intolerant, while the German made stuff is ok. POR15 seems to be the most highly regarded when used properly.

I have no experience with this in general, I've just read all this from 50+ people on the ADVrider board who've used both. For me, I'd go with Greg's suggestion and see how it works out.

Corry a even better solution would be to buy my MR2 i'll sell it to you for 700$ and all it needs is a motor. It has BC racing full body coilovers, poly bushings, braided lines and the 87+ brake upgrades and lots of other stuff. Even has a good gas tank and new fuel pump lol

In reply to Caleb: That's a great deal for a sorted chassis with a decent suspension. IIRC the coilovers alone are more than that new.

In reply to Matt B:

lol yea Matt the coilovers where 1100 shipped after having them custom sprung and revalved.

Caleb wrote: Corry a even better solution would be to buy my MR2 i'll sell it to you for 700$ and all it needs is a motor. It has BC racing full body coilovers, poly bushings, braided lines and the 87+ brake upgrades and lots of other stuff. Even has a good gas tank and new fuel pump lol

oh man but how long will this deal be around? I know for sure I'll have a couple grand when my tax money comes in.
If you'll give me a few weeks to save then it sounds like it'll work out

Matt B wrote: From your description, I'm 99% sure that the bars were a custom fab job. So few companies even make parts for these cars anymore that it is highly unlikely anyone would sell something with such limited use/market.

This is my pain. I've owned my 87 for about exactly a year now, but it started in much better shape. $2000 on craigslist and it's whole life was in FL (no rust!!). Happy to see another MR2.

I'm going to be taking pics tomorrow of stuff I'll be parting with to fund my purchase of Caleb's car lol
seats, interior trim pieces, etc.
Anyone think of anything they need? It is an almost 100% complete 86 man trans car.

What condition are the taillights in? Mine leak due to a missing mount post, but the replacements I got are more scratched up than I'd like.

I'll take some pics tomorrow night for ya, as I honestly can't remember

Noy going to be able to get Caleb's mr2, so I'm going to concentrate on this one. sadly that means the tails will not be for sale in the foreseeable future
The original plan was to put a fuel pump in it and start it up, drive it around and find other things to fix while it's apart.
with no clutch, no brakes, and engine and trans leaks, there isn't really a point lol
Going to try to get to pulling the engine next week, along with some other things, to get it torn down to basically a bare shell.
still gotta figure out how to get the stuck front wheels off as well...

Thinking about 87+ big brake kit, front splitter to put a little more weight on the front at speed, removing all ps and ac lines and equipment, all emissions stuff, mspnp still, rebuild 4a (maybe with gze internals) with some exhaust driven motivation, suspension yet to be determined (going to be studying the autox forum on mr2oc), and some (maybe just 1) cheapish containment seat(s)
stock dash, but gutted.
doors gutted, window net on driver's side, lexan panel on pass side. lexan windshield and back glass.
aluminum sunroof delete panel
stainless lines since I have to go through the brake and clutch systems anyways
probably end up getting new masters/ clutch slave

goal is just 200 to the wheels, 1800-2000lbs.

No worries on the tails. I have some anyway. While Caleb's car would've been a fantastic starting point, it's good to hear another shell isn't going to the crusher.

I'll be interested to see what you do with the turbo setup. I've been weighing the options between different swaps or doing a "budget" turbo 4AGE. So far the math isn't working out in the turbo's favor, but I'm pretty much a noob in the forced induction area. I imagine the cheapest way would be to use the GZE internals, ECU, & injectors with a low boost setup. The biggest cost seems to be the turbo itself though (duh) and I'm having a hard time justifying the money compared to just dropping in a 20v for a little over a grand and a lot less headache.

I'm a turbo noob too, but I want to learn efi tuning on this car, and adding in something else (boost) is just going to challenge me more.
I don't plan on getting this thing "done" anytime soon, but it will hopefully be getting something done to it every week so I can keep it foremost in my mind and not get discouraged.
May also look at 2zz swaps and 2gr, but I think I want to stick with a 4a (possibly 20v, probably 16v)

The 2zz would be a great motor for the chassis, but I've never seen one in an AW11. Most mk1 owners are pretty much cheap asses, so it's probably due to cost.

The 2gr is the most powerful 'yota motor that can be made to fit without major mods to the passenger compartment firewall, but it also ain't cheap. If you're interested in the v6 route I'd look at the 1mz as well. They're less than half the cost for 2/3rds the power. I have a local mr2 buddy that swapped one in using Chinese food delivery money (he's in college).

The 20v motors are pretty much an easy button imho. They use the same mounts and don't add any appreciable weight. You get a 40-50whp top-end increase for a grand, give or take a few hundred depending on silvertop vs blacktop, tranny, etc.

That said, the 4A motors will never have the area under the curve that the 3S/5S motors have. Adding around a half liter of displacement obviously has its advantages. Most people swap in the 2nd or 3rd gen turbo 3SGTE, but I'm kinda interested in the BEAMS 3SGE because ultimately I like a linear power band and I'm not sure I want to deal with the plumbing or heat management of the turbo motor. Another that most people look past is the 5SFE. It's not really an exciting motor at all, but it's DIRT cheap and a significant power bump over the 16v 4AGE. A few people, including the owner of mr2oc.com, Bill Strong used them in their AW11 Lemons car. Don't quote me, but I believe that the S-series motors only require one mount to be relocated in the mk1 chassis.

Have you ever considered a bike engine?? It would save at least 200 lbs over the stock units and produce similar results power wise. Might blow your challenge budget though. I only ask because we have been talking about doing this to my AW11 with my CBR900RR motor.

In reply to singleslammer:

One snag with a bike engine is torque. While the engines make plenty of torque for a 300lb bike and a 200lb rider, the same torque in an 1800lb car and a 200lb driver will be significantly less exciting.

If you are shedding weight and you get ride of some exterior trim, I would take these pieces from both sides for a reasonable fee.

I have a rear sway bar (OEM) and a new coil (MSD? Accel) and a used but operational fuel pump (oem) that I could sweeten the deal with. Mine may be going bye-bye come spring, so I might have a set of rims/tires at Challenge Prices if you are interested.

pinchvalve wrote: If you are shedding weight and you get ride of some exterior trim, I would take these pieces from both sides for a reasonable fee. I have a rear sway bar (OEM) and a new coil (MSD? Accel) and a used but operational fuel pump (oem) that I could sweeten the deal with. Mine may be going bye-bye come spring, so I might have a set of rims/tires at Challenge Prices if you are interested.

I'll definitely be in touch with you about that! My car is without a rear sway bar, so any trim pieces you need I would trade for either the oe fuel pump or the bar? And I could definitely use wheels as well. The rs3's I have are 15" so I've been trying to stay with 15s for that and for aesthetics lol
I find out about my promotion and raise tomorrow so I'll know better what I can spend and when after tomorrow.
according to the odometer this thing has less miles than my 2010 DD (77xxx if it's correct and original), and the paperwork in it from rego is from 94, which I'm guessing is the last time it was on the road, so the mileage makes sense lol. That said, it probably needs a new coil, disi, etc etc as well, no point in not replacing them when the engines out and getting refreshed anyways
a 3sgte would be awesome as well though, haven't looked into them as an aw11 swap too much, but it's one of my dream engines for sure.
Must. Do. Research!

singleslammer wrote: Have you ever considered a bike engine?? It would save at least 200 lbs over the stock units and produce similar results power wise. Might blow your challenge budget though. I only ask because we have been talking about doing this to my AW11 with my CBR900RR motor.

oh, and the torque thing is the only downside I can think of, but I'm not going to be able to do the challenge with it anyways because I will be using all my off days to go to South America with the wife this year

an 88 mr2 just shoed on the charlotte craigslist for parts only. in the parts section. thought of you when i saw it.

In reply to corytate:

No Torque would be a small problem but when you start comparing charts and take the reduction gear into consideration it is fairly close to a small 4 cylinder. Would it be as easy to launch as a 1.6L, probably not but 12K RPM!!! That works for me.