So I drug the MR2 out last week..

[wolf_walker]

And started messing with it..





I forgot to take any cool pics, sue me.


I hadn't really evaluated this car till now, the Wife has had it a few years and never driven it much.
Sat for a number of years, rats have been in it, not driven, etc, etc.
So it was interesting.

240K, no rust of note, at all really, straight body other than a slight press in ahead of the front pass side tire.
Dash isn't cracked, all the seat adjustments work (nice!), the factory sub under the drivers seat even works.
Looks like the head has been off, and the trans shows red RTV on it and shifts well and is quiet.

Tires are crap, brakes rusted from sitting, I put an alternator on it, lubed the noisy idler pulley on the
supercharger.  Found the supercharger dipstick(finally), spent twenty minutes trying to figure out how to
get it out, found it with no oil at all showing.
Did a little reading and bought some royal purple 5w30 syn for the time being, filled the charger up.
Changed the oil and filter, put six gallons of premium in it, an air filter and plugs and did a coursery
check for vacuum leaks(didn't find any), and looked it over for worn bushings/joints/mounts, anything,
nada.  Some weeping oil here and there but that's it. 

It starts instantly, no smoke, quiet, doesn't overheat, all the fans work, rev's quick, stuck a gauge
on the charger and it taps 6psi instantly and is quiet, so I guess it survived not having oil.
Interestingly, the charger is clutched like an AC compressor, LED in the dash comes on when the ECU
kicks it in, which is most of the time being a 1.6L.  It's a spunky little car, drives like a gokart, as tired as that
saying is. 

What shocks me, well not shocks but plesantly surprises, is just how well the car has held up for it's age
and mileage, that and the basic engineering quality.  I wish VW could have managed this.
I haven't looked at a Corrado up close like this, but my recollection of a mid to late 80's Jetta
does not compare favorably.  Bit of apples to oranges I know, and maybe it's just the mid engine
and something different, but still..

Plus it's a ***ing riot to drive.


So, it's a keeper I guess.  We have to do some title/registration magic with the state but that's just money.
I'm glad the car survived, and kinda bummed the NA cars are so much slower.
Almost makes me want another sports car, and reminds me what a POS the 986 Boxster is
considering all the advantages it had.

Wonder what a Fiero is like... 

[bajacalal]

I've always thought the mr2's were seemed chintzy by Toyota standards. I've never owned one but I've driven a few and the engine drone got to me after a while too and the car seemed very lightly built overall. I really like that body style though. It's soooo 1980s!

Fieros seem a lot more solid I think, and were more favorably reviewed by the press at the time which described them as feeling much more controllable and comfortable. The thing is they were designed by GM in the 80s... so a lot of them wound up with the absolute garbage 2.8 liter motor which came in the S-10 (or the old pushrod 4 cylinder that would have come in the same pickup), automatic transmissions and ugly interior colors. But engine swap possibilities abound, with the supercharged 3.8 liter from Pontiacs and the Quad-4 being popular options along with even some v8 conversions. The later models are apparently better, more like a proper sportscar than a converted econo-box, with the last year of production supposedly being the best they made.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ib-jB58GEg

[homerj1]

The car looks great!  I was looking at buying a  MR2 a few years ago, but didn't have the money.

I always thought that the mr2 was the funky, yet reliable and less fashionable cousin of the Fiat X19.

I had a friend who had a 1976 x19, it was a crazy ass underpowered, yet gokart handling ride. With the Fiat issues......

[wolf_walker]

I don't have any point of reference with the Toyota, and not much seat time in this one.  I saw a TDI swapped Fiero online yesterday browsing around.. :-)

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[bajacalal]

Fiat X1/9s are fairly common around here. MR2 is a much better car though, in pretty much every possible way.

[homerj1]

Fiat X1/9s are fairly common around here. MR2 is a much better car though, in pretty much every possible way.

I guess the cool part is that everyone is trying the mid-engined thingamadealie..

Considering the year difference - Fiat 1974 vs Mr2, the Toyota wins.

But the Fiat has the classic Gruppo Bertone feel and design.

[wolf_walker]

I wouldn't kick the fiat out of bed, but I suspect repair / resto cost and resale go to the other guys.

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[bajacalal]

Having owned a Fiat, they're remarkably cheap cars to own, if you're doing the work yourself. Prices are going up though, and the supply of them (and parts I would assume) is going down. I used to own a 124 Spider. I bought it for $300 with a failing transmission, replaced that and sold it for around the $2000 I had put into it. A lot of the parts were very cheap, and of Eastern European origin, and I found the quality to be acceptable. Very little was of Chinese origin. It was a fun car but the engineering and build quality left something to be desired.

[wolf_walker]

I've looked at spiders and MG's and such pretty recently. One large drag is I'm in CA, so smog for anything that isn't ancient.

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[bajacalal]

Smog exempt is 75 and older. Mine was a 75. I guess I have a hard time seeing an 80s car as a true classic but we are coming to that point. Much time has elapsed since then.

I had considered doing a FI swap to the spider, which I think would make it a lot more drivable. Biggest problem was the electrics, go figure, and temperamental carburetors. There was like a 30% voltage drop between the battery (in the trunk) and the rear tail lights, the current had to do a full round trip back there, through the ignition switch and many connectors. It was honestly a fun car but the open top convertible genre just isn't for me. If I had kept it, completely rewiring it with a better designed system (I couldn't believe the wiring on that car was designed by someone who called himself an engineer) that might have actually made it a good car.

If you want Italian, I would suggest an Alfa though, much better resale value than the Fiat, and nicer cars overall. GTV prices have gone through the roof in recent years, and I think that the Alfa Spider is soon to follow. A '75 had a poorly regarded mechanical fuel injection system (which sounds funny considering the kind of cars we drive) but I think a fuel injected motor swap, from a later Alfa, into a pre-75 car would be a huge upgrade, albeit at the expense of originality.

Both were way ahead of their time for the era despite their problems, featuring 5 speed transmissions, twin cam engines, rear disc brakes and good handling.

[wolf_walker]

Seems like most of the Alfa's and 124's and such I come across cheap are smog era.
I'd love to megasquirt an old Triumph or Alfa, I even see those kinda cheap still,
but I don't think BAR will be ok with that even if they run cleaner. 

I really want my AAZ in a Scirocco, and was told it is possible to arrange an inspection
and have a title re-classed as a diesel somehow, but I'm sure it isn't cheap.
And naturally there aren't jack for Rocco bodys out here somehow.
I swear there are more Caddy's than anything else, there's at least six inside
fifteen miles of here.

I dunno, I'm bored.  Maybe it's motorcycle time finally.
Playing with the MR2 has made me mechanically restless. 

[rs899]

I bought a brand spankin' new MR2 when they came out in '85. Paid an astounding $12,700 for a red one with sunroof.  Loved that car, until I needed to work on it.  IIRC it had 22 coolant hoses and I changed 21 of 'em.

When it failed to start in '96 I unloaded it to a friend.  Bad move, as it was a pretty easy fix.  I think the Fieros are crap- then and now.  These were very well built for the time.

[8v-of-fury]

I really want my AAZ in a Scirocco, and was told it is possible to arrange an inspection
and have a title re-classed as a diesel somehow, but I'm sure it isn't cheap.

That sucks..  I just re titled a Jetta from gas to diesel, and it was a free form online sent to my governments emissions department. Done.

[wolf_walker]

Yeah, California is a beautiful place with a lot going for it. Unless you want guns and 80's cars apparently.

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[rs899]

^^ You CA guys can probably build yourself a "halfway house"  car rehoming business.  I can't tell you how much I drool over BMW e24 and e28 CL ads in CA, but the costs of spiriting one away from there are fairly high.  Any takers?