EDIT: SOLD
The time has come to move on from my V6 swapped MR2 (again). This is a longtime Colorado car that has a pretty interesting history that is detailed below. The swap was completed in early 2018, with the majority of work being done by Nixspeed Racing in Erie, Colorado. I sold the car in 2019 to another local enthusiast, and missed it so much that I bought it back in early 2021. Since then, I've spent a bunch more time and energy tidying up the small details of the swap and getting the car to what I consider to be fully finished.
For those of you with short attention spans, the basics will come first:
Car:
1991 Toyota MR2 SW20
Hardtop
Manual Windows/Mirrors
Manual Steering/No ABS
~165,000 Indicated Miles
Drivetrain:
3.0L V6 (1MZ-FE) from a 1998 Toyota Camry
1995 1MZ-FE Return-Style Fuel Rail
MR2 Turbo Fuel Pump
Woodsport Passenger Engine Mount
TRD Front Engine Mount
Kirkosaurus Rear Engine Mount
Yonaka Aluminum Radiator
S54 Transmission (New diff bearings in mid-2018)
S51 5th Gear Swap
TRD Helical LSD
1993 MR2 Shifter & TwosRUs Short Shift Kit
Greddy/Trust SP Exhaust
Magnaflow Catalytic Converter
Wiregap Wiring Conversion Harness
Moroso Oil Accumulator
Exterior:
Black Paint
1995+ MR2 Taillights & Center Panel
17x7.5" and 17x8" ET31 Advan SA3 Wheels
215/40 and 235/40 Federal RS-RR Tires
Also included: 15x6.5" BBS Mesh Wheels (~12.5 lbs) with Staggered 195/205 width Kumho Ecsta 4x II tires
Hella Sharptone Horns
Suspension/Brakes:
Koni Inserts (new in 2021)
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs
KYB Strut Mounts
TRD Camber Bolts
TRD Front/Rear Swaybars
Full Prothane Urethane Bushing Kit
Inner/Outer Tie Rods (Moog in 2018)
Front and Rear ball joints (OEM Toyota in 2018)
Cyrotech Rotors + Street Pads
Front + Rear Wheel Bearings
Extra Parts that Are Included:
Set of Front/Rear MR2 Turbo Brakes
An extra set of OEM strut housings with Koni inserts
Tons of Misc Spare Parts
MR2 "Big Green Book" and Camry Haynes Manual
The good:
Runs great, starts/idles/drives like factory
Working A/C
Has passed Colorado emissions 4x since the swap
Comes with a fresh CO emissions slip for the new owner
Hardtop w/ full manual package (steering, brakes, windows, locks)
V6 Torque
V6 Sounds
25-30 MPG
Reliable. The car participated in two road rallies this year with no issues
The Needs Some Work:
Front end has rock chips from use
Small dents on the driver's door, driver-side roof, and passenger-side quarter panel
Some larger scratches present on various panels
Driver-side quarter panel has an area of paint where the clear coat had been buffed through. As you can see from photos, it cleans up nicely, but I felt it was worthy to note.
Front Fender has a quarter sized spot where the paint was buffed through
Rear bumper has very thin paint on the top of the bumper
Passenger-side suspension occasionally clunks/rattles over bumps
Slight vibration while accelerating in 2nd/3rd gear under heavy load (unsure why, possibly a CV starting to wear?)
Sometimes throws a P0441 code, likely due to a VSV or gas cap that is going bad
Passenger door lock is not keyed to the car (working on getting this fixed before the sale)
I purchased this car from a local SCCA member in 2017 as a rolling shell. He had blown the factory 5S-FE at a track day, and had then parked the car for ~1-2 years before I picked it up. At this time it was stock save for a larger front swaybar and the Koni inserts.
What attracted me to this particular example was the very rare options that it was equipped with. To my knowledge, this is the lightest factory 2nd gen MR2 that you could buy - a hard top, manual window, manual steering, non-ABS car. It was purchased new by a local autocrosser who competed in SCCA E-Stock competition when this was the car to have. It reportedly won a national ProSolo championship circa-1995 and was autocrossed successfully for a number of years after that.
Included in my purchase were service records and setup notes dating back to the original owner. I have a 1.5" thick binder with these records, in addition to all of the records from my ownership. Also included in the sale are a set of Toyota BGB's for both a 1991 MR2, a 1998 Camry, and a set of OEM Toyota parts lists on Microfiche.
I purchased the car specifically to do a V6 swap, with the intent to focus on weight. Because of this, I chose a 1MZ-FE, which was sourced from a 1998 Toyota Camry that I bought as a complete donor car. This particular engine/year has a few advantages:
It is the lightest V6 swap possible
It bolts to the OEM transmission and uses three of the factory mounting points
All of the emissions equipment is located in the engine bay (only in 1998/1999)
My donor car had a manual transmission, which means no messing with A/T codes in the ECU
The donor had ~134k miles when I purchased it, and I had Nixspeed do a timing belt service along with replacing a few gaskets, changing the spark plugs, and swapping the fuel rail to a return-style rail from a 1995 Camry.
I chose to reuse the OEM S54 transmission, but sourced a TRD Helical LSD off of Ebay along with an S51 5th gear to help lower the RPM's on the highway. Nixspeed did both of these installs, including swapping the correct speedometer gear to retain the correct MPH readings. After driving it for a bit, the diff bearings started to make some noise, so I had them replaced by Seneff Transmission in Fort Collins in mid-2018.
Both of the shifter cables were wrapped in DEI heatwrap during the swap process, and a '93+ shift lever & TwosRUs short shift kit were installed at the same time.
I outsourced the wiring harness to WireGap, and purchased a passenger-side engine mount from Woodsport UK. Nixspeed Racing completed the swap, including helping to fabricate a custom exhaust based around a period correct HKS Sport muffler, and custom-fabbed A/C lines.
The A/C lines wound up not working due to too tight of routing, and I had them re-made by L1 Automotive in Loveland. The A/C is fully fuctional and uses a Denso Camry compressor, drier, and amplifier. It is running R134a refrigerant.
The OEM taillights have been replaced with a set from a 1995+ MR2, including a matching black center panel. These were purchased from a local enthusiast, and are in very nice shape. The car recently got a professional wash, and presents as you see it in photos. The paint is good from ~5', but does have notable rock chipping on the front end, along with some door/body dings and a few larger scratches from it's 30 years of life.
The car has passed emissions a few times since the swap was completed, and has a Magnaflow 3-way catalytic converter. It has a working OBD2 port in the trunk, and all emissions equipment was kept during the swap. It will occasionally throw a P0441 code, likely due to a malfunctioning VSV or possibly a borderline gascap.
I sold the car in 2019 to another local enthusiast, who drove the car minimally during his ownership. It had an attempted break in while parked outside of his house, which resulted in the passenger door lock being replaced, so it is not currently keyed to the car. I purchased the car back earlier this year, as I never felt that I had "finished" it previously. I refinished the wheels, did some additional maintenance and modifications (suspension refresh, oil accumulator, steering wheel, radio) and have enjoyed the car all year. It has been driven ~5k miles in the past two months with zero issues and I would happily drive it across the country.
I am including a fresh CO emissions slip for the next buyer. I make no guarantee about the vehicle passing emissions beyond my ownership or in any other states.
This is a super fun car to drive, and unlike most swaps you can actually use it since it has working A/C.
Build thread available here: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/everyone-is-doing-it-1mz-swapped-sw20-mr2/131313/page5/#post3322509
SOLD
Please message me with any questions/offers or to set up a showing. I have plenty of additional photos for interested buyers!
