MR2. Silly money pit or awesome autoX monster?

So I just found a 1987 MR2 with a "glass pack exhaust, bad clutch and turbo stickers" that the current owner just wants to get rid of.

He has a new clutch kit to throw in with the deal and the car hasn't been driven for a couple of years.

$400 and I can tow it home with a good title. Now the question is, my miata is proving to have a lot of problems becoming the perfect autocross/DD car as one demands too many sacrifices of the other. How silly cheap can I go stupidly fast in the MR2? If it's only going to be a track/time attack car the process should be easier, yes?

mr2s are great, do it.

Doooo ittttt

It's the wrong MR2 to go stupidly fast in unless you're planning an engine swap. For stupidly fast without an engine swap, you're looking at a 2nd gen turbo in good nick. Good luck finding one.

They're a PITA to work on, the AW11 isn't as bad as the SW20 turbo and there isn't much of an aftermarket anymore. I like them, but I'm getting fed up with my SW20 rather rapidly at the moment.

At $400 you can't lose money. Worst case you should be able to sell two parts and recoup your money back.
As for fast, it is not the fastest but if you are not that experienced then just about anything has more capabilities that you will likely use anyway.

How about DD the MR2 and track the Miata. My '88 MR2 was a much better DD than my '90 Miata. Or, the MR2 is also fun on track.

Depends on the rest of the MR2 besides the clutch and turbo stickers. Hasn't run in a few years? Hmm. I've noticed aftermarket support is not very nice for the MK1 cars. But, if it runs and $400 makes it go, you can't lose for $400.

Jerry wrote: Depends on the rest of the MR2 besides the clutch and turbo stickers. Hasn't run in a few years? Hmm. I've noticed aftermarket support is not very nice for the MK1 cars. But, if it runs and $400 makes it go, you can't lose for $400.

This ^^^. AW11s can rust something fierce, so be careful not to buy a flintstoned one. Even at $400 that would be a waste of money.

BTW, aftermarket support these days is pretty crap for all of them apart from the Spyder, and even that one isn't too great.

Depends on how serious an autocross car you want. Dollar for dollar and mod for mod, the Miata seems to be better at the moment. But if you just want to have fun, that shouldn't be a problem at all.

Want to build a stupid fast aw11, well honestly its pretty easy. Contact speedsource buy there motor mounts and rent there jig, then buy a gen 3 or gen 4 3sgte and swap it it.

mr2oc.com is the best source for mr2 info

4age is a great motor too, was in the toyota atlantic series cars so there are some goodies available. There was also a factory supercharged version. Also there were later iterations of the 4age that had 20v heads and itbs stock in japan.

BoxheadTim wrote: It's the wrong MR2 to go stupidly fast in unless you're planning an engine swap. For stupidly fast without an engine swap, you're looking at a 2nd gen turbo in good nick. Good luck finding one. They're a PITA to work on, the AW11 isn't as bad as the SW20 turbo and there isn't much of an aftermarket anymore. I like them, but I'm getting fed up with my SW20 rather rapidly at the moment.

It's not wrong for going stupidly fast. 4AGTE builds are a dime a dozen, you have megasquirt pnp, and manifolds as well as downpipes are available to buy from matrix garage for either mitsubishi or garret turbos. You don't have to fabricate a thing. Go to frozen boost and get a air-water intercooler while your at it as well.

It's the right MR2 to go stupidly fast for cheap on. I tried buying a MR2 turbo and nobody would even talk to me for less than $7000 offer. When I did offer around $7000 they would bail on me. Importing a Skyline cost less. Meanwhile if I had $7000 to spend on a AW11 I could build a 350whp 4agte car with a 6 speed transmission swap. The only question would be to bolt in a GZE bottom end or do a proper build.

Don't swap a 3sgte in. It's unnecessary.

Its likely going to cost a bit more than $400 to get this running well. Since you have to pull the engine for the clutch... you might think about adding power (stock 4AGE is only 112hp @ the crank!)

Compression bump is the cheapest power adder - 9.4 is stock, you can get to 10.0 with a thinner gasket, and freshly machined deck and head. Once you've bumped compression you can consider adding a small cam (256 duration)

They're heavy for the size. Great cars, but check for rust. PITA to work on is all relative...I don't think they're too bad, once you're resigned to dropping the engine to save your back.

a $400 MR2 that's not rotted out with rust is a no brainer. The 3SGTE swap isn't worth the effort imho, the 6 cylinder swap is a better choice after having done the 3s and seeing a clean v6 swap. If I were to build another I'd do a 7a build with a turbo and megasquirt. I think I could make one lighter and as fast as the 3s I built.

Do it! For an autocross car, you don't need a big power number to terrorize your local club. You just need to fix the driver.

But for a "dual" purpose autocross and track car terror, you may need to add boost or an engine swap to have enough power.

I was in your shoes last year. Picked up an 87 T-tops that needed a little work. I had the same intentions as you. Track rat and beater, etc. Saw the light 2 months ago, sold it and bought a Miata (2 of them).

Aftermarket support and replacement parts are scarce, you can't just get them at the junkyards, etc.

For 400.00, it's worth the gamble, but don't get into it too deep. You might be at 2K before you have it all sorted out. I was able to cut my losses early and came out unscathed.

I'd say, sort out your Miata and be have fun, but be careful with the slippery slope.

Good luck..

All I heard was AW11, minor problems, $400. You buy that right berkeleying now. Do you know what I would give for that opportunity? Like 5x as much money for one thing. And I wouldn't even blink.

It's not cheap to get big power out of a 4AGE. Boost is probably the cheapest way and it's not that cheap.

I'd say +1 for the V6 swap being the cheapest overall way to make them silly fast.

I still don't see how an engine swap is cheaper than a turbo build.

GZE pistons, matrix garage manifold, mexican exhaust shop fabricated exhaust, mspnp, and intercooler. Probably would cost the same or less as the V6 swap especially if you use someones discarded 16G or GTRS. That and the fact you wouldn't have to wire anything, cut anything to make it fit, and that you wouldn't have to fabricate anything and you could still have AC, etc. Even if it's not cheaper it would be WAY less work with WAY more upside.

Really you don't even have to use GZE pistons. You could use the stock ones and make like 220whp which is more than any V6 swap would make. However if you are going to do an engine swap you probably would have the ability to put GZE pistons in and that is probably an extra potential 100 hp. At that power this car isn't laggy either. The 4age is really great on boost.

http://www.matrixgarage.com/store/turbo-manifolds-downpipes-oil-drains-and-other-parts-turboing-4age-0

They are low mounted for MR2 fitment.

Rust is your enemy here. There are no front fenders left, and rears are a cut and weld affair. You can buy a surprising amount of new parts to get the MR2 running however, and spares are still out there if you look.

I bought a $400 '85 MR2 and it cost another grand to get it on the road with a decent suspension. You can find $1,400 Miatas with upgraded suspension, a roll bar, and no rust of you look hard enough. And you can slap on a supercharger when you want to go faster. So you have to really like the MR2. And then you will loose to Miatas.

pinchvalve wrote: Rust is your enemy here. There are no front fenders left, and rears are a cut and weld affair. You can buy a surprising amount of new parts to get the MR2 running however, and spares are still out there if you look. I bought a $400 '85 MR2 and it cost another grand to get it on the road with a decent suspension. You can find $1,400 Miatas with upgraded suspension, a roll bar, and no rust of you look hard enough. And you can slap on a supercharger when you want to go faster. So you have to really like the MR2. And then you will loose to Miatas.

+1

There is far more potential in a Toyota A lump then in either of the Mazda B lumps.