i came across this CL ad for a 92 mr2 turbo but i know little about the cars. any good? thoughts? i still like the look of a mk1 better but i'm getting about a 2% return of emails through CL so i'm looking at nearly anything.
i came across this CL ad for a 92 mr2 turbo but i know little about the cars. any good? thoughts? i still like the look of a mk1 better but i'm getting about a 2% return of emails through CL so i'm looking at nearly anything.
From what I remember, they are supposed to be pretty sweet handling, capable cars.
But due to low volume sales, have a very weak aftermarket.
There's plenty of aftermarket for it, just not eleventy billion options for custom made catch cans to perfectly fit the contour of your engine bay like there is for a Civic or Evo. 
The 93+ is better, but that one looks VERY clean and tastefully done.
They're quick, handle well, look good, have amazing brakes and a good interior.
The T-tops will probably leak. If it doesn't have t-tops, it's rare.
They're really standard Toyota fare. It'll probably leak something at this point, they aren't the EASIEST thing in the world to work on depending on the job, but they aren't awful either.
At their core, if they're cared for, they're pretty reliable and i've seen plenty of examples go well past 200k miles.
timing chain? do those pics look like real ones or plucked from the internets? i asked for more so i suppose we'll see. is that a fair price point? with skinnies and good snow tires would they be capable/fun in the snow like i'm hoping?
Wow, that one looks really clean. Rare to see one that isn't all cut up/hacked to bits.
WilberM3 wrote: timing chain? do those pics look like real ones or plucked from the internets? i asked for more so i suppose we'll see. is that a fair price point? with skinnies and good snow tires would they be capable/fun in the snow like i'm hoping?
I'd bet that they're real pics. The market is starting to drop out on the pre-93s. (No lsd, slightly different exterior, different sway bars i think)
It's a timing belt.
Price is fair if it's as clean as it looks with those mods as well.
As for winter use, yeah, they're definitely useable if equipped for such use. 
Did you ever hear back on this one? Looks SWEET. I'd rock that in the winter! Hellz yeah.
miatame wrote: Did you ever hear back on this one? Looks SWEET. I'd rock that in the winter! Hellz yeah.
Seriously, 29 minutes is WAY too long to wait.
They're awesome. That one looks nice. Big change for '93 was reworked suspension, especially the rear. Said to "cure" the snap oversteer issue in the early ones. Big front bar does that too. Meh. 3SGTE can make a load of power pretty easily. Plenty of after-market support for anything you would really want to have.
Hard to tell for sure, but that looks like a sunroof car.
I had one for about 2 months. Bought it wrecked for $500, sold it (still wrecked) for $750.
They are lots of fun. Kind of a pain to work on, but I didn't own it long enough to learn the tricks. My T-tops didn't leak, but the wrinkled front end might have knocked the rest of the car straight. I'd buy a clean one for that kind of money.
From back in my MR2 mailing list days, people would crank the boost with some cheap alphabet soup addons and get 300 at the wheels. More than that and you'd need a different turbo, I think.
"Upgraded CT26", "rebuilt engine", "gutted cats" has me wondering on the mechanical condition. Keep in mind that Toyota cats have no effect on performance, unless, say, you ran the motor so rich that they melted solid on you and you had to gut them instead of replacing them. That motor is quite tough. What caused it to need a rebuild? Run it too lean with too much booost? Who rebuilt it? I trust no rebuilds but my own. "New paint" has me wondering if it was wrecked.
A 2nd gen MR2 won SCCA SM2 (auto-x) a few times in the past decade or so, at least once with the Toyota V6 swapped in and at least once with a built turbo engine. They've also done well in lots of road racing competitions. I owned one for about a year and it was a great car, though I found the driving experience it to be a little lifeless compared to other similar cars (it was bone-stock though).
I owned a '91 back when they were new, and used it as a DD for about 7 years. At that point I pulled the motor and rebuilt it, mainly due to a hose leak at the back of the motor. It was really in great shape inside after almost 150k miles. Anyway, condensed version is that I did a few easy mods and got about 300hp at the wheels while I was at it.
Quick synopsis is that make sure it is not abused. Turbo motors don't like neglect in oil changes (synthetic is better), cool downs and warm ups, and good gas. Along with other routine stuff, they will last a long time.
'91's and '92's need a little help suspension wise in stock form. Mine was very lift throttle tail happy when the tires got half tread in back. In fact, in the rain, going straight, it could swap ends if you hit a deep enough puddle. However, once I added better shocks, springs and bushings, it was a totally different car. Very controllable an easy to drive.
These days finding a good one is tough, most have been poorly modded into oblivion, and many have rebuild titles due to flying off the road backwards. Check carefully and do a vin check.
All in all a really nice car, just do your homework.
And yes they have a timing belt, and yes they are a PITA to change.
If the engine's dead, swap in a Camry V6 with the TRD supercharger kit 
Bolts right in.
Was that the Hose From Hell (HFH), Dave? I've heard about that one. Of course, on the Esprit, they are all HFH's, not just the one.
Seriously, buy it.
There's a one owner MR2 Turbo on a Toyota lot on the east side of cincy right now. I've taken a look at it, its really nice. Unfortunately, being a dealer, they want way too much for it.
lizard wrote: Just a cautionary note, go in with eyes open. It doesn't look like it has T-tops and there were only some ridiculously small number (like < 10) brought to the US without T-tops.
Not true, there are plenty of hard tops, you just have to wait a while to get a good one.
There were very few '95 Turbo hardtops...
Dr. Hess wrote: From back in my MR2 mailing list days, people would crank the boost with some cheap alphabet soup addons and get 300 at the wheels. More than that and you'd need a different turbo, I think. "Upgraded CT26", "rebuilt engine", "gutted cats" has me wondering on the mechanical condition. Keep in mind that Toyota cats have no effect on performance, unless, say, you ran the motor so rich that they melted solid on you and you had to gut them instead of replacing them. That motor is quite tough. What caused it to need a rebuild? Run it too lean with too much booost? Who rebuilt it? I trust no rebuilds but my own. "New paint" has me wondering if it was wrecked.
the email i sent asked most of those questions. stuff like that makes me skeptical.
lizard wrote: Just a cautionary note, go in with eyes open. It doesn't look like it has T-tops and there were only some ridiculously small number (like < 10) brought to the US without T-tops. There was one similar posted on CL in Charlotte, NC about 2 years ago with similar pics. It's been a while so I won't claim those are the same pics, but definitely similar. The ad claimed it was a hard top. Once you contacted the seller, the owner had to go overseas, the car was in storage in CA, and some relative needed a "refundable" deposit of $3k to get it out of storage for you to see it, etc.
unfortunately it'll be hard to get a feel for this car until i'm fairly committed as its in the atlanta region and i'm north of boston. so if there's good communication perhaps i'll have to bribe a local grm'er with some beer yea, ive seen that stupid scam once looking for a car for my gf.
I'm in Atlanta, know mr2's a little bit, and like beer.
Besides, I was already hopped up about looking at old bmw's for Strike_Zero, but he already found a 780 lickety split.
In other words, beer isn't really necessary, but I'm not going to argue.
lizard wrote: Just a cautionary note, go in with eyes open. It doesn't look like it has T-tops and there were only some ridiculously small number (like < 10) brought to the US without T-tops.
Uuuuuh. No. Hell, I've seen more than 10 without T Tops. I passed on a sunroof car when I bought my '91 N/A 'cause I wanted T Tops.
Dr. Hess wrote: Was that the Hose From Hell (HFH), Dave? I've heard about that one. Of course, on the Esprit, they are all HFH's, not just the one.
It was the hose from hell. It was the second time that it went. First time was no fun at all, so I thought it might be just as easy to pull the motor! That was an expensive thought.
As to numbers, there were a LOT more NA hardtops than turbos. Turbo hardtops are few and far between. I've probably seen more than 10, but everyone I've encountered was a special order car. Sunroof turbos are also very, very rare. I've also known a couple that have had roof replacements to turn it into a hardtop. Almost all turbos were sold with t-tops, and almost all had every option in the Toyota catalog.
Most turbo hardtops were ordered for competition use, and ordered without leather, power windows, mirrors, cruise, ac, etc.
Of course that have been numerous NA cars that were "converted" to turbo specs, so you have to do your homework. There is more than a motor change between the two cars.
By boss had a non-turbo red one and it was very reliable (except for the red paint). Lasted over 200k with no mechanical problems.
I'd assume the one in the add had the same issue with the fading red paint and at least needed a respray. Especially to look as good as it appears.
Clay wrote: By boss had a non-turbo red one and it was very reliable (except for the red paint). Lasted over 200k with no mechanical problems. I'd assume the one in the add had the same issue with the fading red paint and at least needed a respray. Especially to look as good as it appears.
Likely this. Toyota didn't figure out how to paint cars red correctly until about 1994.
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