The time has come for my to part ways with my 2002 Toyota MR2 Spyder 5 speed manual. I bought this car about a year and half ago locally here in Orlando. It's a central Florida car that has lived around here all it's life so NO RUST! 128,XXX miles. I originally bought this car to do track days at the FIRM or maybe Sebring, so my focus was on brakes and suspension. Due to work and life I've never been able to make it out to an event. Now my son needs a vehicle and we have no more room for another car at my house. SWMBO has decreed he will not be driving the MR2 so it needs a new (loving) home.
Here's a photo from the day I brought it home:
The good:
Mostly original and rust free. Almost everything works and it's been extremely reliable. Very fun to drive. This car is 2200lbs and 130-ish HP. I used to own an Elise and this is 90% of the experience for 10% the price... but with working A/C. 
If you're a person who can't fit in a Miata (I've had 3 NB's) this car is perfect. I'm 5'11" and fit with room to spare. Pretty good on gas too if you're not making long highway runs. It's geared low to be fun, but that means 70 mph on the highway is 3000 rpm in 5th.
The bad:
- The car has a Florida rebuilt title. From what I can tell the car was lightly rear ended since it has a facelift 2003-2005 rear bumper cover. The rear bumper, driver's quarter, driver door and driver front fender were all repainted. All the panels except the rear bumper cover have original Toyota VIN stickers intact. The rear frame rails are straight. I appears they bolted on a new rear bumper bar, replaced the cover, gave half the car a coat of paint and sent it on it's way. There are couple photos in the photo album link below with bumper cover off showing the frame rails and whatnot.
- The hood (frunk?) has some stone chips.
- The engine cover has a few dents
- The rest of the car that was not painted is original paint and somewhat faded. You can really see it only when you compare one of the new paint panels to the original. The original paint is smooth and not sunburnt.
- The top is a little ratty in a couple places
- Needs parking brake cables replaced (I have OEM Toyota parts to go with the car), these commonly rust when the small rubber boots near the rear calipers break down and allow moisture to enter the cables. To replace them you have to drop the fuel tank and I was planning to do this when I installed a Harddog roll bar for track use since that also requires dropping the tank. I just never got around to this job. I don't have the roll bar.
New parts suspension and brakes:
- Custom laser cut breastplate brace (3/8" plate steel, < 20lbs mass)
- Front control arms (Rockauto)
- Sway bar end links front and rear (Rockauto)
- Strut top bushings front and rear (Rockauto)
- Koni Sport (yellow) adjustable strut inserts
- H & R Sport Springs (Tirerack)
- strut boots (Rockauto)
- Porterfield R4S pads front & rear
- Brake rotors front & rear (Rockauto)
- Goodridge SS braided brake lines
- Complete brake system flush with VP Racing 622 fluid
- Dunlop Direzza III tires 195/50/15 front, 205/50/15 rear
Other new parts:
- Headlight assemblies (OEM Toyota)
- Taillight lenses (OEM Toyota)
- Replaced the light bulbs EVERYWHERE on exterior at the same time. I had a mis-mash of old ones that drove me crazy.
- Coolant reservoir (OEM Toyota)
- Engine coil cover (OEM Toyota)
- Timing chain tensioner (OEM Toyota)
- Racer X MR2 Spyder Shifter Bushing Kit
- Various body clips missing when I got the car (OEM Toyota)
- Radio antenna boot (OEM Toyota)
- Battery (diehard gold less than a month old)
- New windshield
Interior:
- Original leather seats reupholstered with a kit from Ebay
- Awful faux carbon fiber dealer installed dash kit carefully (and successfully) removed
Looking for $7500; willing to deal a little bit, but I have about $9000 in it. I'm OK with losing some money, just not all of it.
Here's a link to a Flickr photo album that has about 70 pictures, hopefully everyone has access:
I'll attempt to take some "beauty shots" of the car tomorrow and add them.
If you have any questions feel free to email me at mblommel AT gmail dot com or gimme a text or call at 321 278 7682.
Thanks,
-Mike
