My 1990 Toyota MR2 SW20
I'm starting a build thread/ log so i can record all the maintenance i've done to the car and so i can look back and remember all the good times i've had with it. I've owned quite a few Japanese imports in the past, but most of them were All-Wheel-Drive turbos. Last year i bought my first rwd car(s13 240sx) and i got hooked! Unfortunately my 240sx had some rust, and even though it was fairly minor i have no experience with bodywork/ welding (yet). I decided i would sell the 240 and look for another summer only car that was rust free! This was at the end of summer, so i picked up a cheap little miata to slide around in for the winter and once spring came i set out looking for a car. I looked at quite a few options and the MR2 seemed like the perfect fit! I was surprised at how cheap and underrated/unknown they are compared to some of the other Japanese classics.
Entry#1: Finding The Car
I gave myself 1 month to find one locally, and if nothing good came up i was going to import one from Japan. After looking at a couple of poor condition mr2s, one that was up to my standards finally popped up! It was a 1990 with 88,000kms. This was the ad on kijiji. No price listed and no information about the car.
Some photos from the first time i saw the car:
The owner was an older gentleman who had owned the car since 2007. He had receipts for the maintenance he had done and sounded like he took great care of the car. From 2009-2014 the car was parked at his sisters garage but it was still being driven occasionally. From 2015-present it sat on his pad under a car cover. He explained why it didn't get driven a lot but i'm not gonna get in to all of that. He seemed really honest and answered all the questions i had. He even let me bring a jack and inspect the underside. Overall it was exactly what i was looking for, Low kms, not winter driven/ no rust etc... So on April 28 2017 i bought the car!
Picture of the car in my garage:
The owner had warranty on the battery so i got a new one for free. He also included oil and a filter (Castrol synthetic 5w40) so when i got it home i did an oil change and replaced the spark plugs.
Couple of other pictures
Entry#2: Sensor and Springs
The first week of owning the car i replaced the Water Temp Sensor and installed some brand new H&R Lowering Springs that i got a great deal on from a friend of a friend.
Old Vs New Springs
I got lazy and didn’t disconnect the brake lines, so i couldn't pull the strut all the way out. Looking back, it would've been a lot quicker if i had disconnected the lines.
Everything was reassembled and got torqued down
Entry#3: More Noise
A few days later i decided the Fujitsubo exhaust was too quiet so i went to my local muffler shop and had them weld a little single exit pipe (I still have the Fujutsubo in case i get sick of the droning)
While there, i also snapped a quick photo of the underside. Looks pretty clean
The old stereo was missing the faceplate, so i installed a new one i got on sale from Visions! The car already had Alpine Type R speakers, and even though i don't care much for stereo systems i appreciate how nice it sounds!
IMG_1740
Rolled Over 88,888kms
Entry#3: Ignition and Cooling System
Even though the ignition components only had 20,000kms they were 10 years old and the car hesitated under acceleration.
I replaced:
Sprakplugs- Denso PK20TT
Distributor Cap and Rotor - Bosch
Plug Wires - Denso
Thermostat - Stant
The rotor took me around 2 hours to replace because one of the screws was stripped so i had to use an extractor to get it out
I had symptoms of a bad t-stat so that got replaced as well. I don't really trust it because it looks cheap so i ordered another new one (better quality) just to be safe(I still have to put it in)
Replaced the bleed valve because it was leaking
Bled the coolant. I didn't bother flushing it because it had fresh fluid put in 7 years ago and it looks fresh. I don't think it went bad just from sitting but maybe someone can correct me if i'm wrong.
Entry 4: New Wheels
(This took place while i was doing the ignition/cooling system maintenance)
My moddex wheels were stained from sitting for a while and i wanted 17" wheels. I found a good deal on a set of Enkei RP-01 so i drove down to Calgary and picked them up!
Specs:
17x8 +35
17x9 +38
They changed the appearance of the entire car and look great in my opinion. I'm not a huge fan of teal but it's grown on me a little. I'm thinking of painting them white.