My long-overdue MR2 'build' thread.

Just over 2 years ago I FINALLY got around to buying another fun car, my second (technically third) SW20 MR2, turbo.

Back on September 21, 2001 I bought my first turbo MR2 and fell in love. But I neglected it and didnt have the money and NEEDED money for college so I sold it in 2010 and was back in school a few months later. Then I graduated and started teaching. And then it was time to treat myself, I needed another car. It was between a E91 bmw wagon and MR2, as I was wanting something 'different.' MR2 came up first, a great deal on a turbo model needing some TLC but a good runner and it was mine. Again, just over two years ago.

Because of what I just posted on a local forum (not a car one), Im going to go out of order, but I'll get back around to trying to log the progress and then get on track as there are more things coming THIS WEEK (like, they're here, just got to go on now). It was just easier to copy/paste all the image links at once this way. And I know yall like pictures!

So, tonight I finished up the intercooler swap. Here are pics.

Bad pics, sorry. Just not great lighting in this part of garage...Got to figure out how to fix that sometime, maybe a 4' LED light in between the two bays. Anyway. 

Before and after pics of the intercooler change out. 

Also, this was the first time I really got to use my chromebook cart from the school as a rolling garage cart. It's got a great height for messing with parts, locking wheels. And it was the nice price of free.

I'll post more tomorrow morning at work, but here is a pic from VIR this summer and then me with car with my newest GRM shirt!

So, my MR2 history.

So on September 21, 2001 I bought a 1993 Turbo MR2 from a local consignment dealer. It was a second owner car, first was a Marine stationed in Germany and it came with all the paperwork of his purchase and services while in Europe. Pretty cool.
 

Here it is pretty stock - here it is with the first set of non-stock wheels, Motegi MR12 (thought it was neat that the name was similar to the car name lol, but I loved the design)

Im in the middle, black shorts and black tee


Here it is just after that picture, on the dyno.

Put down 160/160, stock (again, minus the 17" wheels). Stock crank hp/tq is 200/200
 

Overtime I added other things - different radio (Pioneer), APEXi intake, APEXi blow-off valve, CRW downpipe and 3" exhaust, no cats.
Two more sets of wheels - Lexus IS300 wheels and Kosei K1
Bumped up psi from 7-8 to 15psi, fuel cut defender, turbo timer etc
Nothing wild, but it should have been closer to 200/200 at the wheels.

Had the car 9 years, sold it in 2010
When I sold it it looked much like this, but different wheels
 

I can look back and say that I liked the car for the time. For the time (time being my age as well as the 'tuner' scene of the era (mid 00s) it was a 'cool' car. Not my style now with the fiberglass front end (authentic BOMEX bumper, had to wait a month for it to be shipped from Japan), non-traditional paint scheme etc. But I loved that car.


I sold it because I wasnt driving it much due to my job and it was needing stuff, I just didnt have the money at the time to do it back right. I needed to pay for college, so that money went to pay for going back to school. For that reason, it was wise to sell.
That said, I miss it. I had SO many great times in that car. Took a bunch of road trips, dates, random drives with friends, pulls down the dragstrips (Farmington and Rockingham, mostly), or just a nice country backroad drive.
 

September 8, 2019 I picked up my current MR2

Before I got it I had already ordered a few things like a new stereo (pioneer touch screen double DIN), some capacitors to fix a failing tachometer.

Got it home and tried to install radio and didnt have the right harness. So that was a hold up of a few weeks as I had to order one from England. And then that didnt come in correct, needed some modification. So I started cleaning and getting to other things.

Paint is bad, drivers side seat not great, was missing some various things like the shift boot etc, but it ran wonderful and I was happy to have a project.

It came with some stuff, too!

- stainless steel brake lines, previous owner has them just didnt install.
-struts and springs: new parts came with the car, will just take a weekend to put them on.

And I got to work on two small projects that needed fixing

- fix mirrors: a common on early 90s Toyota cars was that the clip that holds the spring in the mirror pops off. It makes the mirrors fold in when under very hard acceleration, and then forward under very hard braking. Again, wont cost anything, but will take time
-mounting the boost controller - I just need to get a small clamp and it'll be done. 2 bucks max

Were you at the ccrscca event at zmax this weekend? Or earlier this year? I swear I've seen the car.....

Dusterbd13-michael said:

Were you at the ccrscca event at zmax this weekend? Or earlier this year? I swear I've seen the car.....

No, I wasnt. Im in the Winston Salem area, go to some various Cars and Coffee etc around the triad. 

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

No worries! You seem to have a twin running down here.

You're always welcome down this way. Let me know if you need anything! Im only an hour or so away 

Dusterbd13-michael said:

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

No worries! You seem to have a twin running down here.

You're always welcome down this way. Let me know if you need anything! Im only an hour or so away 

Youre around Charlotte? I dont get that way too much, honestly, just dont have much going on that way, but will let you know next time I do. More pics and stuff coming later when Im home again (cant access imgur from work where photos are uploaded to)

Near-ish to Charlotte. Out in albemarle. Bout 40 miles east. 

Dusterbd13-michael said:

Near-ish to Charlotte. Out in albemarle. Bout 40 miles east. 

I know Albemarle - pine tree BBQ (I think that's the name) is good. 

So I got the car and it ran (drove it home about 90 miles). But it needed some work.

Got the radio put in - now I had tunes...but one of the speakers (passenger door) wasnt working. Ended up pulling BOTH the speakers, replacing with larger pioneer units, and replacing a wire in the harness on the passenger door.

The tires on the car when I got it (original 14s) were old and not very sporty (just some all seasons), so I hunted for a set of stock 15s off he 93-97.  Found a set in Raleigh area (NC) for cheap. Tires were old, but barely touched (falkens up front, BFG in rear - guy had mounted tires and then pulled the wheels off car and put in his garage for years), so i drove out to the Triangle and got them for 150.

I did little things - bought a 93 shift knob and shifter to replace the stock units, put on got a shift boot from Toyota to replace the...well, my car didnt come with one.Bought a bunch of small things to replace broken or missing items - ashtray, the radiator panel up front and so on. Replaced the steering wheel with one out of a celica/matrix from early 00s. Also checked and saw my pads were getting very low, so I ordered some EBC greens. While in there, I got new rotors and installed the stainless lines that came with the car, put fresh fluids in.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/jNwHCuu.jpg[/img]

In the summer of 2020 I signed up for a track day witih SCCA, so I pulled the suspension and installed the cheap oem replacement strut inserts and some 93 springs that came with the car. It was my first time doing this sort of work and so it took a long time, but Im glad I did it myself and am about to (11/18/2021) do suspension again. While in there I upgraded to some urethane bushings, too.

Did my first track day at Charlotte in July (ish) of 2020

Earlier this year (2021) I found a STEAL of a deal on some 17 inch SSR A2 Integral wheels up near Boston. All done, shipping and paying the man to box them up - 300 dollars. Or maybe it was 350. Either way, I was stoked.

Because of GRM mag, I got some Falken 660 rubber for it

Old v New

Since that point:

Picked up some parts from a guy in NYC, including a Racer X intake box. It was a PAIN to install, with the 4" pipe...I regret that bit. But Im happy now it's in.

Put on the AlexW rain guard delete pieces - just small steel pieces that you mount the rubber feet to on your engine lid. It's a 20 dollar part, but it really does help if you dont have/removed your rain guard...mine didnt come with one.

This week I discovered that the PO had given me the little pieces to cover the throttle cable assembly and cruise control assembly (where all the cables come together in the engine bay) - it's two plastic pieces that I had no idea that I had till I was searching for something else - risers for the strut bar. Those riser pieces were something that came on some of the JDM cars, act as a washer to lift the strut bar up for clearance of intercooler piping. Right now Im in the process of painting those pieces and they'll go on when I do suspension starting tonight.

Guys, Ive done a lot, some small things with no pics, but it's like Im out there once a month (not THAT much) doing something in the garage. Buying parts constantly. Some are cool...some are just needed.

And I love it.

I'll document my suspension upgrade and it'll be more 'real time' than this thread has been.

Koni inserts, TRD springs

Stoked.

Bought these from a local - he put it together and then got a deal on some coilovers, so all this is new (minus the springs) - on Saturday. But been working on the intercooler so I havent started this phase yet.

While the car is in the air (14" lol, no lift, just jackstands) Ill also install the 93+ lip that I picked up a while back.

Oh, last 'old' post for today in this. I think yall will get a kick out of it.

As I drove this car more I realize how much I love a cupholder. Ever try to drive a straight drive on a curvy road with a cup of coffee? If freaking sucks.
When I was 20 I didnt care about freaking cup holders, I cared about the speed, the styling... Now Im 37 (or was when I did this upgrade, 39 now, copy/pasted from local site). I care about a cupholder.

So I had an idea a while back, tonight I got to it.
I had ordered from ebay or amazon a cheap little flip up cupholder. It comes with adhesive strips and two screws. Well Im not keen on drilling holes in my carpet or any part of the body for a dang cupholder.

So I took some kydex and made a bracket for the cupholder.

With all/most projects - everything starts with cardboard, a sharpie, and something to cut the cardboard. Tonight some good shears.

Then to trace onto kydex. Cutting with my scroll saw. Used heatgun to form the kydex to fix everything, lots of trial and error.
Busted out the dremel to clean certain parts of it up.

Saturday - jacked car up, wheels off, cleaned them (why not, let them dry as I continue)
TIME FOR SUSPENSION
 

I love these things...even better because of the solid deal I got. Period correct, just wish they were 8" in the back (thats what she said!)



 

Time to get rid of the old



 

The MOOG end links I bought are just too thick, it's up against the body in the rear, so I had to order a set of end links from PrimeMR2 up in NJ. I really hope they're here in time.
I lost one set of brake pads for the rear, so I ordered a set of pads from Oreilly's, supposed to pick up today...I'll do them tomorrow though.



TODAY/SUNDAY

Fronts completely done - as Ive stated before, Koni 5 way adjustable struts and TRD 'soft' springs (vs their hard, racetrack oriented). I say completely - I still need to lower the car and then I can torque down the lugnuts, they're on now, but there is THAT one thing left

Driver's rear strut is on, but waiting on the end link, Passenger's side Ive removed the 'old' stuff (only a year old, honestly) but not put the assembly back in yet. I was filthy and hungry. Was in the shop at 8:15 and came out around 11:30. Some snags here and there, nothing major though.

Rear brake pads changed. Almost everything buttoned up. Today/tonight my end links arrive and I'll put those on (two bolts each), then the two lower bolts - one being camber - on the struts, tighten the 3 on each on strut and done. 

Sounds simple. But we've been there before...

what sizes are the 17s? they look decent with the 660s

R32Jordie said:

what sizes are the 17s? they look decent with the 660s

 

only 7"

hybridmomentspass said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mainly commenting in approval of your taste in music

But my stepdad did have a 1990 mr2 turbo that he autocrossed all through my childhood, so this does bring back some good memories.  

mjlogan said:

hybridmomentspass said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mainly commenting in approval of your taste in music

But my stepdad did have a 1990 mr2 turbo that he autocrossed all through my childhood, so this does bring back some good memories.  

Good dudes, Ive known Blake for a really long time, was in a 'crew' with him back when the scene was, well, the scene. 

Man, six months since this has been updated. 

Nothing wild. Lip is on now. Downpipe just arrived in the last few days (Berk), so that's got to go on soon. Getting closer, now, to the big brake upgrade Ive been eyeing...but have to get past the wedding and honeymoon, first, which is coming in just over 2 weeks. Still needs paint. But it's still nice to drive and does well on long trips. Just went to upper VA last week for a quick trip - 31mpg on the highway heading up, mid20s on the backroads home. Trackday at Roval last month, looking at doing VIR in two months. 

Nice to see another SW20 thread on here! Progress is progress just keep at it. I'm documenting my SW20 build as well if you wanna check it out.

I posted a thread with caliper weights yesterday - I currently have three monoblock calipers, two of which have been used on the SW before with custom brackets.

I really want the AlexW kit, and it's what Im planning on, but the idea of a 'cheap' brake upgrade is tempting. Did a lot of searching around yesterday (with more to come).

Yeah, progress is always good and there's been little things here and there, but nothing major :(

It's wild that I bought some 300zx calipers (fronts) on Friday and, likely, placing order for brackets for them today. Wasnt part of the plan - is that normal? Do yall just do stuff spur of the moment and unexpected? Maybe it's my poor-ness of not having a lot of spare money to put towards the car, but I usually plan ahead so much. 

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

Do you mind me asking where you're ordering the brackets? I was looking into the 300zx setup for my sw20 as well and couldn't find a vendor who still sold them.

Mustard said:

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

Do you mind me asking where you're ordering the brackets? I was looking into the 300zx setup for my sw20 as well and couldn't find a vendor who still sold them.

Delta V in Australia. I reached out through their facebook and theyve been very prompt with replies. 

If youre thinking about going this route, and if you think it'll be soon, maybe we could order together/have them shipped together and then one of us just ships to the other. It may be cheaper, just a thought. Shipping is 50 bucks for, likely, a 1lb package ha

As far as this goes - they sell the brakets and hardware, you have to source your own rotors and calipers, as well as a brake line. For their rears, they recommend using the later (22v) model MR2 rear with enlarged rotor. I asked this morning (midnight for them) about if thy do anything with the nissan rears, I could go and pick up those from the junkyard if needed (hoping it's still there ha). 

Lexus front rotors, RX8 fronts on the rear. Im curious if Supra fronts could be substituted for the LS400 (or is it 430...) fronts. Would have to check some measurements. 

hybridmomentspass said:

Mustard said:

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

Do you mind me asking where you're ordering the brackets? I was looking into the 300zx setup for my sw20 as well and couldn't find a vendor who still sold them.

Delta V in Australia. I reached out through their facebook and theyve been very prompt with replies. 

If youre thinking about going this route, and if you think it'll be soon, maybe we could order together/have them shipped together and then one of us just ships to the other. It may be cheaper, just a thought. Shipping is 50 bucks for, likely, a 1lb package ha

As far as this goes - they sell the brakets and hardware, you have to source your own rotors and calipers, as well as a brake line. For their rears, they recommend using the later (22v) model MR2 rear with enlarged rotor. I asked this morning (midnight for them) about if thy do anything with the nissan rears, I could go and pick up those from the junkyard if needed (hoping it's still there ha). 

Lexus front rotors, RX8 fronts on the rear. Im curious if Supra fronts could be substituted for the LS400 (or is it 430...) fronts. Would have to check some measurements. 

Yeah let me look into everything they offer and if it looks what im after I'd be interested to share shipping! I need to look into the rear set-up as well as I had not given it much thought.