Everyone Is Doing It! - 1MZ Swapped SW20 MR2

Sorry for the lack of updates, it's been a busy few weeks (not working on the car).

Just some small stuff happening today, but stuff that made me feel a lot better about the project. It's more manageable now that my garage is clean and I have a clear(er) path. First, I got the engine on a stand:

After that, I helped a friend pull his 1MZ that he is swapping into an AW11. His swap is going to be much, much more difficult than mine. Glad to have an SW20!

I also learned that the E153 from the Camry does NOT have a new clutch. In fact, when I pulled the transmission, the clutch basically turned to dust. Oh well - I'll probably sell off the E153 and just use the S54. It's lighter, doesn't require me to change axles/hubs, and I already have a good clutch for it. Much simpler.

Plan for this week is to finish pulling the ECU/body wiring/tachometer from the Camry and finally get half of my garage back. I'm also shipping out my harness to WireGap next week, so that's a big step forward. It's coming along!

Any word on the canton oil pans.  I am in for sure.

It's been a bit of a process. They don't have a 1MZ in their shop so I'm having to relay pickup location/pan clearance, etc to them via phone or email, and that has proven to be challenging. I may purchase a new pan ($40), mark it up, and send it to them. 

So...this build just got a whole lot more interesting. Meet the newest addition to my garage:

Yes, that's a homebrew supercharger manifold for a 1MZ engine. The seller claims that it came out of the TRD shop and was a prototype for their OEM kit, but despite the TRD sticker I don't buy it. I suspect someone had it made and the story has grown as it changed hands. 

Still, it was way, way, way cheaper than a full Toyota 1MZ supercharger kit, and even piecing everything together it should make for a fun car. I should receive it next week, so we'll hope for the best from a condition standpoint!

Did you ever get the motor in?

I love scope creep! Will you try to get the little light and a "Supercharged" indicator on the dash a la the AW11 4A-GZE?

Awesome!

About 13-14 years ago there was a local dude that had a 93 ish Camry 2 door V6 with a blower and a 5 speed. That had to be the baddest combination ever for a Camry. In the back of an MR2 it's even better.

Love these v6 swap MR2s, especially at the right price.

I have a friend in Rhode Island that i met over old turbo dodges, and he surprised me when after not talking for a while i found out he had picked up a v6/5spd camry AND a TRD supercharger to go with it. I much prefer the earlier 92-~97? body style but im still a bit jealous.  Putting that drivetrain in an mr2 is some 'next level E36 M3'. 

That 'TRD' blower looks like an Eaton off of a GM3800 V6 with a custom airbox adapter- but since that adapter looks so well made, i'd still fiddle with it. [quote]From BTD: After that, I helped a friend pull his 1MZ that he is swapping into an AW11. His swap is going to be much, much more difficult than mine. Glad to have an SW20! [/quote]

Oh yeah, the 1MZ is tight in the AW11s bay, but at least the spark plugs are still accessible! I've joined the legion of 2GR worshipers and the loons who smash it into the AW11 are absolute madmen.

This is AWESOME.

That Microfiche, and everything else that came with it...total score.

I love toyota's and debated buying a na mr2 with a blown motor, and swapping my wrecked 99 camry's 5sfe into it.

I wound up going with a manual 4cyl camry that looks a lot like your donor car.

It is definitley a bucket list car for me as well, and i will be following along.

Keep up the good work. 

Looks more like a supercoupe tbird m90 to me. 

I'm a pretty big fan of the 2gr after owning one of the fastest ones that's not a Lotus, but i think these 3.0/3.3 swaps hit the sweet spot as far as price/return. Knowing that i bought a 300hp 996 911 for 12k and trying to add up a 2gr swap into a decent condition car tends not to add up even though i may end up with a car that's just as cool and fast for marginally less money. It's not enough less to make sense for me personally. A nice condition $4k 3.0L SW20 on the other hand is WAY down the price ladder and if it pans out you end up with a totally sweet car that you couldn't buy outright at 4k and delivers a lot of the performance of more expensive cars you could have bought anyway.  

Plus i like the fact that Toyota could have built it. It's neat to build 'the version they should have built'. After all, if bench racing ideas wasn't fun, it would never lead to actual projects. 

Supercoupe owner here. That doesn't look like an SC M90 to me: The snout looks too short, and doesn't appear to ahve a boss for a third mounting bolt.

Here's one from an SC:

Whew! Sorry for going dark the past few weeks - it's been a busy time around the BTD household. This project is still very much on, and I love that there are so many people interested!

Time to catch up on some comments: 

@RossD  I love scope creep! Will you try to get the little light and a "Supercharged" indicator on the dash a la the AW11 4A-GZE?

That's actually brilliant, and something I hadn't thought of. I would have to figure out mounting, but possibly a project for down the line.

 @Girthquake That 'TRD' blower looks like an Eaton off of a GM3800 V6 with a custom airbox adapter- but since that adapter looks so well made, i'd still fiddle with it.

Oh yeah, the 1MZ is tight in the AW11s bay, but at least the spark plugs are still accessible! I've joined the legion of 2GR worshipers and the loons who smash it into the AW11 are absolute madmen.

I reached out to Magnuson who confirmed it is a 3rd gen(?) MP62 unit that was manufactured by Eaton for them. I also got confirmation from a TRD director that Magnuson was a company TRD asked to build some prototypes of the units. Combine that with the fact that my wastegate says "Engineering Prototype" and is made by a company in India that only makes car part prototypes, and I think there may be some legs to this supercharger story...check out how nice the inside of this thing is:

@midniteson 

This is AWESOME.

That Microfiche, and everything else that came with it...total score.

Keep up the good work. 

Thanks! All of the documentation was a big reason I bought it. I've actually been in contact with the previous owner (Kevin Bailey) who confirmed that the car won both a Solo2 and a ProSolo national championship in 1997. He's trying to dig up some old pictures for me to put in the file for the car. Super cool!

@Vigo I'm a pretty big fan of the 2gr after owning one of the fastest ones that's not a Lotus, but i think these 3.0/3.3 swaps hit the sweet spot as far as price/return. Knowing that i bought a 300hp 996 911 for 12k and trying to add up a 2gr swap into a decent condition car tends not to add up even though i may end up with a car that's just as cool and fast for marginally less money. It's not enough less to make sense for me personally. A nice condition $4k 3.0L SW20 on the other hand is WAY down the price ladder and if it pans out you end up with a totally sweet car that you couldn't buy outright at 4k and delivers a lot of the performance of more expensive cars you could have bought anyway.  

2GR's are the big daddys of the MR2 swap world, that's for sure. Unfortunately, a bit out of my budget. I agree that the 3.0L like mine is a nice middle ground for those who want to have something different than your bog standard 3SGTE swap.

NOW! More updates:

Lots of parts ordered.

• Early 1MZ return-style fuel rail
• Lots of gaskets/hoses
• Gates Timing Belt Kit
• Southbend Stage 2 clutch kit (V6 Flywheel, Turbo Pressure Plate, N/A clutch disc)
• Magnaflow #51236 Catalytic Converter
• Wiregap Conversion Harness
• TRD Helical LSD
• H&R Sport Springs (too low, but for $80...meh)
• '94+ Taillights & Center Panel

I also decided to use an S51 transmission from a '98 4-cylinder Camry with the S54 bellhousing. The S54 has notoriously short gearing (55mph in 2nd gear, ~4000-4300 RPM at 70mph in 5th) and I wanted something more livable, particularly with the extra power. There were lots of options to consider (E153 conversion, 5th gear swap, etc) but in the end this was the cheapest and easiest way to do it. I get to use the axles that are already in the car, my LSD fits, it has better synchros, and the transmission cost me a whopping $250. 

The S51 has gearing similar to an E153, so hopefully it works out well. We shall see!

Part of the reason I've gone quiet on this is because I'm not actually working on it anymore - a shop is. I had a hell of a time getting the crank pulley bolt out (it took an oxy/acetlyene torch and a snap on air impact), and then got annoyed working on the car in my cold garage on the weekends. It felt like I wasn't making any progress. 

So, I asked around and found a local shop (Nixspeed Racing) who specializes in MR2's. The owner has owned and done a 1MZ conversion on his own car, and offered what I thought to be a fair price to complete everything. So, off it went. I'll get as many pictures as I can, but they won't be as detailed as before unfortunately. 

The positive is that the car will actually get done. No stalled projects here. One of the main reasons I sold my '67 Msutang was to fund this swap, so I'm all in. It's going to be emissions legal and clean. 

And finally, I ordered some wheels. Usually this wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm SUPER pumped for these. They're rare and in Perfect MR2 fitment. I present to you...

Super Advan SA3

17x7.5 +31 (front), 17x8 +31 (rear)

The plan is to run 215/40/17 tires in the front with 235/40/17 tires in the rear. I love, love, love these wheels and I think they fit the character of the car perfectly. Yes, some people will give me hell about the three spokes, but my car, my rules. 

Here's a teaser from the previous owner's MR2 (in Poland):

The car will be running and driving within the next three weeks, so stay tuned for more updates. Once it's up and running, I'll be working on getting an oil accumulator installed along with working A/C. Then, lots of events (including Radwood 3, since I'm obligated to be there for my work anyway)!

Anyone that gives you guff about the 3-spokes is wrong and doesn't know MR2s. Three spoke wheels are right at home on an MR2.

dculberson said:

Anyone that gives you guff about the 3-spokes is wrong and doesn't know MR2s. Three spoke wheels are right at home on an MR2.

I had a set of SA3Rs on my Galant VR4. People either love them or hate them. If you are in the love category then just ignore everyone else.

 Yes, some people will give me hell about the three spokes, but my car, my rules. 

That's the spirit!

I actually think they look great. If it were me personally id put a slightly shorter tire on them and lower the car more vs the PO's pics. 

Vigo said:

 Yes, some people will give me hell about the three spokes, but my car, my rules. 

That's the spirit!

I actually think they look great. If it were me personally id put a slightly shorter tire on them and lower the car more vs the PO's pics. 

My car will be lower than the PO's car, so no worries there! 

I've found an exhaust locally that I'll be running, an old GReddy unit. The build is moving quickly...

Houston, the eagle has landed!

Engine is in and mounted, shop is working on wiring/plumbing/etc over the next few days. Shouldn't be long until we all get to hear some V6 noises...

Love it, had a 91 Turbo MR2 back in the day, this one with the V6 and supercharger will be a supercar! Can't wait to see the final product.

Yep, very cool.  I'd love to do this to my AW11.  In for updates.

Updates time!

First things first is getting the engine running. the shop is still working on the final details (there's so many), but the Yonaka radiator is in along with AN fittings for the fuel lines that are mated to the stock filter:

Then we got the ECU mounted along with the OBD2 port. There's no requirement for where it needed to go, so it's in the trunk for simplicity. The carpet was cut so that there is access to the port if needed.

Then came finalizing the exhaust. I'm using the factory 1998 Camry M/T headers and most of the factory Y-Pipe. We chose to add a better flex joint to the Y-pipe and then mated it using a 2.5" flange to the muffler system. The catalytic converter is welded to the muffler pipe - I would have preferred it be welded the other way around, but this way allows me to drop the whole engine just by removing the muffler. It's an EPA approved Magnaflow cat, so fingers crossed that emissions will be a breeze.

The muffler had some rust, so the topside has some patchwork as you can see. I don't know what brand it is, but its obviously aftermarket with resonated tips. Can anyone shed some light?

Got the '94+ taillights mounted as well. She's finally looking like a finished car!

That looks good. Starting a project with a car that clean is so much more convenient. Are you going to get the car running and reliable in NA form before messing with the supercharger, or are you doing it all at once? 

BTD said:

Updates time!

First things first is getting the engine running. the shop is still working on the final details (there's so many), but the Yonaka radiator is in along with AN fittings for the fuel lines that are mated to the stock filter:

 

Then we got the ECU mounted along with the OBD2 port. There's no requirement for where it needed to go, so it's in the trunk for simplicity. The carpet was cut so that there is access to the port if needed.

 

Then came finalizing the exhaust. I'm using the factory 1998 Camry M/T headers and most of the factory Y-Pipe. We chose to add a better flex joint to the Y-pipe and then mated it using a 2.5" flange to the muffler system. The catalytic converter is welded to the muffler pipe - I would have preferred it be welded the other way around, but this way allows me to drop the whole engine just by removing the muffler. It's an EPA approved Magnaflow cat, so fingers crossed that emissions will be a breeze.

 

The muffler had some rust, so the topside has some patchwork as you can see. I don't know what brand it is, but its obviously aftermarket with resonated tips. Can anyone shed some light?

 

Got the '94+ taillights mounted as well. She's finally looking like a finished car!

 Those rolled dual walled tips look like the HKS turbo exhaust from the early 90's before they were doing their Hi-power and Dragger stuff.

Those rolled dual walled tips look like the HKS turbo exhaust from the early 90's before they were doing their Hi-power and Dragger stuff.

@crankwalk ^ That looks like it! Now to sleuth down the actual model name that HKS used...

JeremyJ said:

That looks good. Starting a project with a car that clean is so much more convenient. Are you going to get the car running and reliable in NA form before messing with the supercharger, or are you doing it all at once? 

Thanks! That's one of the main reasons I purchased this chassis - known history and a very clean (albit in need of a wash) starting point. Reliability is my #1 priority, as I plan to DD this in the summer months. So I'll be sorting out any issues in NA form first and then adding the supercharger down the line. 

The SC needs rebuilt anyway, so that will be a whole project in and of itself.