Story time.
I was scooting about in my AW11 the other day and I got to thinking about the first time I drove one of these things. I thought it'd be a fun story to share.
Driving that car, that day, was the day that I really got in my head that I should own an MR2. Hell, really the day I got into old Toyotas, and what my version of being a car guy was to me. Sure, I had obviously had enough drive to look one up on Craigslist and arrange to go look at this thing, all without my Mother knowing, naturally.
It was black, 86 I think? Sunroof pretty sure. I was living in Port Charlotte, Florida at the time, this one was a big of a drive away. Hopped in my family's Geo Prizm (Corolla) and after some miscommunication about timing, met this stranger at his house to sit in this door wedge for the first time.
I remember his honesty about the car, he cared about it, but wanted to be transparent that this is how it usually is, i.e. Didn't hose off the engine just for me to come take a look at it, etc. I didn't know what I was looking at at the time, but I pretended like I did. We went for a drive, I stalled it in traffic (had minimal manual experience at the time), he was patient. It was such a departure from what I was used to, I couldn't believe a car like this existed. My Dad was always into big cars (Impalas, Darts, Caprices), so how in the world could this thing exist in the same worldview?!
After punting this thing through traffic for a bit, he asked if I minded if he drove it back to his place. I didn't, I was embarrassed enough as it was that I could barely drive the thing. So we swap seats, and he talks a little bit about the engine, it's durability, again, I act like I understand, and then be proceeds to really drive it. We're all friends here, you know what I'm talking about.
I was, what was I? I was captivated? Mesmerized? Maybe a little scared? Whatever I was, I was hooked.
We get back to his house, and we chat a bit more about AW11's in general, and he says he's got a ton of literature/docs/whatever about the cars in general. So why not go ahead and enter this stranger's home and take a look? I don't remember what he had, probably magazine clippings? Manuals? Too long ago to remember that part. There was a lot, I think.
We part ways and I head home. It took me quite a few more years to buy my first AW11 (an 85). But I'm not sure I'll ever forget that day. A dorky teenager going to look at a much younger version of a car that just keeps getting older, and having that car blow the lid right off of what you thought you knew about things with four wheels. I appreciate that guy, his patience, and his time. I'm not sure where I'd be in this hobby without having met that person at that specific time in my life.
Maybe someone reading this was selling a 86ish AW11 back there in the 2000-2002 era and remember some lanky kid coming to take a look at it even.
If you are, thanks.
