Just Some Advice

[Floctu]

Hi all,

Ive found myself wanting an MR2 MKII and have been looking around. At first the 2.0 turbos looked like the one to have but I do not think i have the money to get a good one.

An opotunity has come up to get an M reg 2.0 GTI 16 im not sure on much else, after reading a few sites there seems to be different revisions etc all i know is its that and has T-Bar roof. The guys says its 200bhp, i was wondering what would be recommended to do to the car on a low-ish income. Should i save for a chip, if so which one or is there another route or both? also what do i need to know before hand about this car and what to do with it.

Would appreciate anything you can tell me, about buying the car, what to do with car if i do and anything i should be thinking about.

By the way its a nice Caribean blue I believe :).

Ok thanks.

Mike

[JappyBeast]

Welcome to the club!

Caribean blue MR2's are well sought after and look lush!

If the guy is teling the truth about it being 200BHP then it must have had some work done to it already.

[Floctu]

Welcome to the club!

Caribean blue MR2's are well sought after and look lush!

If the guy is teling the truth about it being 200BHP then it must have had some work done to it already.

ok when i speak to him again tomorrow what should i be asking, Ive asked the basics that you would on any car but I want to be a bit more specific tomorrow before i make a decision, also any idea what sort of price you would pay?

Thanks for replying so quick, as its kind of urgent for me I really appreciate it.

[JappyBeast]

The best way for a price is to look on Auto Trader and have a butchers for a car of simillar age.

Find out all the mods it has had done to it, as standard they are pretty much bullet proof, dont be suprised if the T-Bar dribbles a bit, they all pretty much do. Non turbo's are fine cars with bags of pull in the higher rev range.

Make sure that the temp guage sits at half way when running at temperature.

Other bonus points are original Toyota tool kit in the front, T-bar card inserts and T-Bar storage bags.

Service history and the last time the cam belt was changed would help.

[Floctu]

The best way for a price is to look on Auto Trader and have a butchers for a car of simillar age.

Find out all the mods it has had done to it, as standard they are pretty much bullet proof, dont be suprised if the T-Bar dribbles a bit, they all pretty much do. Non turbo's are fine cars with bags of pull in the higher rev range.

Make sure that the temp guage sits at half way when running at temperature.

Other bonus points are original Toyota tool kit in the front, T-bar card inserts and T-Bar storage bags.

Service history and the last time the cam belt was changed would help.

ok not sure on toolkit but he showed me the storage bags etc for T-Bars. Service history was checked and done frequently and cam belt and engine management system was changed with in last 4 years cant remember the date.

I had a quick test drive in it, didn't dare put my foot down though as didnt wanna make some stupid mistake. I did a quick change down into 4th though and it accelertated quick from 70 which felt good.

Temp guage seemed ok but only had car out for a few miles.

Just cant wait to get it/one so I can drive it or more importantly working on it.

Ill get the rest of the details tomorrow, I have a price in mind which is in his acceptable range so hopefully I be able to post pics of it soon as mine :)

[Floctu]

By the way any ideas on what i should be looking at first to upgrade it if it hasnt already got it. also at a later stage how much work and money is needed for a turbo conversion?

thanks

[JappyBeast]

Good choice in colour if you get it, and you will have no problems selling it on again if you choose to.

Turbo conversions are very costly, if you are thinking about it already then I would just buy a cheaper/older turbo now and dont go down the n/a route.

Turbo conversions done professionally at www.revision6.com cost around £3000 !!!

I understand that there is a bloke on www.imoc.co.uk that does it in his workshop for £1500 but couldnt tell you if he still does them as it was a while ago I enquired about it.

Dont get me wrong, there is a strong crowd of Tubby owners on here and all of them will tell you to just get a turbo but there is nothing wrong with the n/a version, they are still lots off fun, especially in the wet!!

I have had my n/a for 5 years now and it still puts a smile on my face when you are gunning round in 3rd gear!

[Floctu]

Good choice in colour if you get it, and you will have no problems selling it on again if you choose to.

Turbo conversions are very costly, if you are thinking about it already then I would just buy a cheaper/older turbo now and dont go down the n/a route.

Turbo conversions done professionally at www.revision6.com cost around £3000 !!!

I understand that there is a bloke on www.imoc.co.uk that does it in his workshop for £1500 but couldnt tell you if he still does them as it was a while ago I enquired about it.

Dont get me wrong, there is a strong crowd of Tubby owners on here and all of them will tell you to just get a turbo but there is nothing wrong with the n/a version, they are still lots off fun, especially in the wet!!

I have had my n/a for 5 years now and it still puts a smile on my face when you are gunning round in 3rd gear!

hehe yeah, i been lookin for a turbo ut not really had much luck on a decent one. Being only 21 the n/a might save me some money on insurance too. although any money i save now wont make up for the rising fuel costs!

[Floctu]

You know any good sites for mr2 performance parts like induction kits, airfilters... anythin along those lines? google wont seem to find me any :( also is it worth etin a chip? never done that before but heard that for the gain in power on most cars its worth the money.

[Floctu]

hang on just looking at revision6 should of checked first.

[Floctu]

Oh something i just remembered.

Whats a quick way of Knowing which revision the car is. can this be worked on year?

[JappyBeast]

10/89 - 12/91 (Revision I)

1/92 - 10/93 (Revision II)

10/93 6/96 (Revision III)

6/96 - 11/97 (Revision IV)

11/97 - onward (Revision V)

Yeah, lots of cool stuff on the Rogue Revision 6 website!

[Jesus]

Nothing wrong with NA MR2's. You'll probably find it more fun than the tubby!

You're going the right way about it. Get the NA for a two or three years then move to the tubby.

I went straight to the tubby 8 years ago (when I was 22 :( )... thought I was the Stig and knew how to drive (as I'd had some really quick fwd cars up to that point), but a few fishtails off roundabouts put me in check.

First rear wheel drive sports car I'd driven. Treat it with respect. If you're looking at keeping the car a while then it's worth doing some sensible mods... but you don't need to mod the MR2. You'll have plenty of fun as it is. Why do you want to mod it? You won't get as much bhp per pound with a normally aspirated car as you will a turbo car. It takes quite a bit to make a big difference in an NA.

Welcome to the club though. Listen to Jappy's advice.

[Jesus]

A quick check for revisions (although be careful as it doesn't take much to replace lights and spoilers!)...

Rev1 and 2

Rev 3 and 4

Rev 5

...although that last one is mine which is a Rev3 with Rev5 spoiler.

[Floctu]

Thanks guys thats helped me a lot.

Seems im looking at geting a Rev 3. can't wait I just hope its as good as it looks and still got some guts in it.

I really appreciate the help. Ill let you know how the buy goes.

Mike

[Floctu]

Hi all

I brought it, well put my deposit down,need to wait a few days to pay final amount but its mine!

So happy can't wait to polish it!

Heres some pics:

[Jesus]

Very nice. Good colour. My mate Fizz had a tubby in that colour before he went soft [cue abuse]. ;)

There's no better way to know how good condition the body's in than a good wash, chamois, wax and buff.

Thanks for the PM. Take care in it. Be prepared to spend more money on fuel in the first month than you do after that!

I've had mine 8 years, yet I'm in a position where I could afford to buy what car I like to replace it with... but I still have mine. Big grin factor. I don't drive mine daily now which makes it even better when I do get to take it out.

Be careful in it. The back will go out easily if you're not used to rear wheel drive. Don't drive it like a front wheel drive car.

[Floctu]

By the way

All the things jappy asked me to ask for are all there.

The 200bhp was confirmed by a receipt for and Engine Managment System and tested on a rolling road. This should save me some money in the future haha.

Last cambelt was changed at around 86k miles now at 116k, anything to worry about?

Cheers

Mike

[Steve-O 2006]

Be prepared to spend more money on fuel in the first month than you do after that!

LOL he is not joking as well. I put £40 in my Turbo the first day I was out in it and only got 105 miles!!! :o :o

Last cambelt was changed at around 86k miles now at 116k, anything to worry about?

not realy, they only need changed every 60 - 70 thousand miles so its still got plenty of life in. Plus the engine is designed so that if it does go it doesnt damage anything

Have fun :D, a good mod I think is to put the raised turbo engine lid on and lower it :)

[Floctu]

Have fun :D, a good mod I think is to put the raised turbo engine lid on and lower it :)

Do you have a picture of what the turbo engine lid looks like? so i can see the difference.

Cheers

Mike

[Steve-O 2006]

Have fun :D, a good mod I think is to put the raised turbo engine lid on and lower it :)

Do you have a picture of what the turbo engine lid looks like? so i can see the difference.

Cheers

Mike

yup, heres a picture of the lid on my turbo -

[Floctu]

ok is it a straight swap? i noticed on rogue site they have turbo engine lids under used parts, if i just get one of those for £60 abd get it sprayed, is it as simple as that?

[T600]

Good choice of pics Jesus. I like the red one, which I guess you found here :)

dont be suprised if the T-Bar dribbles a bit, they all pretty much do.

Not all of them - mine never lets in a single drop; not that it goes out in rain very often, but it has occasionally been caught in bad storms and it hasn't leaked at all.

Nice car Floctu; looks very clean.

But tubby lid on an N/A IMHO that's trying to make it look like something that it isn't, but each to their own.

[JappyBeast]

Nice lookin car!

Glad you bought it and welcome to the club!!

Get some clear front indicators for it, brings the front end up to date more!

[Jesus]

Good choice of pics Jesus. I like the red one, which I guess you found here :)

Thanks... and yup!

I agree about the tubby lid too. Don't do it!