MR2 Opinion?

[hmong337]

Forget what people have to say about it being non-turbo. I drove my current white one for 5 years before swapping in a gen3 3sgte. Sometimes, being non-turbo can be a good thing. Here is what I miss: 87 octane, stupidly easy to maintain (just change conventional oil/filter), short gearing so it scoots along briskly, 31mpg, and you can flog the car reaching threshold limits easily. In fact, my FRS reminds me exactly how my sw20 used to be when it was non-turbo with handling mods. Underpowered and fun to drive without getting too hairy.

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

Originally Posted by LSxJunkie

I do quite love me an SW20, but I'd spend the value of my Mustang building one if I ever did get around to buying one.

Here's some MisterTwo porn.

That red one reminds me or maybe is a local car to me...

[MokSpeed]

Originally Posted by hmong337

Turbo's are nice but these days, it's near impossible to find one that hasn't been beat to an inch of its life or pony up for a mint one. Having owned two sw20's in the past ten years (a 93 turbo and my current car which started off as a 91 na), I strongly believe you're best to go with the cleanest shell. Clean shells are usually non-turbos since they see half the stress as their turbo counterparts due to being powered by a Camry 5sfe. Drop a gen3 3sgte into the car and you've got yourself a pretty capable car. Having owned all three iterations of mr2 engines (usdm gen2 3sgte, gen3 3sgte, and 5sfe) there's no questioning the gen3 is the winner. Again, I'd much rather start with a clean non-turbo than a potentially problematic and stress out turbo chassis.

$0.02 from an mr2 owner.

Do exactly what he says. Then sell it to me.

[zygrene]

Get that car inspected for sure. If it's in good mechanical condition and actually has 53k original miles, it is TOTALLY worth $3500. My good friend just sold his '91 MR2 T-Top N/A for a little over $5000, with 80k original miles and completely stock with a brand new clutch and timing belt.

I drove that car a good bit (borrowed it on a few occasions when my S2000 was out of commission) and really enjoyed the relatively light weight and RWD dynamics. For a car with 130hp and 2800lb, the power-to-weight ratio is terrible, but it will teach you to drive a RWD manual car well without traction control or stability control. Later on you can always turbo the 5SFE or swap to a 3S-GTE (3rd Gen outputs around 250hp) for a reasonable cost. Once you go that route, you'll likely want to upgrade your brakes/wheels/tires to keep up with the power.

I think my biggest complaints with the car were the transmission and steering. The transmission was very easy to shift, but almost too easy. The shifter itself had almost zero resistance when rowing through the gears and didn't feel mechanical enough. But that might be because I'm used to the S2000 transmission, which is probably the best in the world. The steering also felt a bit too light and vague/rubbery, a bit like an old Camry.

[speargunsandracecars]

I'd take it and swap a BEAMS 3SGE in there. NA all the way.

[hmong337]

Originally Posted by speargunsandracecars

I'd take it and swap a BEAMS 3SGE in there. NA all the way.

Although a noble idea with the BEAMS engine, the V6 2grfe is the route I'd go if I was to keep it NA

[speargunsandracecars]

Originally Posted by hmong337

Although a noble idea with the BEAMS engine, the V6 2grfe is the route I'd go if I was to keep it NA

That would be the case if I just wanted MOAR POWWWAAAHHH! But the BEAMS is a spritely little motor that revs to high heaven and Yamaha helped design it. The Camry engine is a little too lethargic for my tastes, despite the power it produces.

[serialk11r]

3S-GEs are hard to get in the US aren't they? If I'm wrong about that, then it's a solid option.

My engine of choice in an MKII would be a K20. I guess that would be my engine of choice in any midengined car really Makes you wonder why Honda didn't make more cars with K20s, or come up with a new K20 with the recent refresh. They could probably make enough money to offset the R&D just by selling it to 3rd parties.

[itsibarra]

Test drove it yesterday, and the car did have some pep to it! As well as feeling very similar to the twins. Checked all the areas that members chimed in on, and the car looks to be in good shape. Owner says it was garage kept all its life and this past year he had a quick tune-up, a/c, belt, and tires done with paperwork accounted for. He said he like my offer of $3k, but I don't think I can pull the $ together by Thurs. which is when he's taking the car with him to see more potential buyers.. If someone close to the Southbay is looking for one, I thought I'd pass it along!!


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[hmong337]

If only I was local. I'd buy that car without a doubt! I would gladly pay $3500 for it too. Around my neck of the woods, a clean na easily fetches $5000. Turbo, $10k. Even if i had the means to buy it, i don't have any parking for it

Good luck.

[dinternetman]

OP is the car still for sale?

I have been looking for a clean base mr2 for years...
would it be ok to pm me the seller info and I can get into contact with him?? please please

[MokSpeed]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

3S-GEs are hard to get in the US aren't they? If I'm wrong about that, then it's a solid option.

There are so many import engine shops nowadays it's not too hard to get. About as difficult as a 2JZ-GTE. It's just getting one with lower mileage that is difficult at this point.