Mk1 And Mk3

[DBSS Gohan]

Ok, 2 big questions here... I have an 88 MR2, with a pretty good engine, great interior.... But I drove it around for a while... and my clutch went out, and I heard how difficult and expensive it is to replace one so I said... Maybe I should sell it and get a brand new car. So I said to myself.... the MK3 looks pretty good... My style of car... lets take a look. So my first question is, How do I sell my 88 MR2? Its got a great interior, a decent engine.. its still got a few leaks that I couldent fix, but most of them have been fixed. So where can I sell it? Is eBay a good choice? And does anyone think it will sell? Anyway... My second question is.... is the MK3 reliable? I went to look at one some time ago... and the guy at the dealership and I were trying to figure out how to open the engine compartment... And he pulled a little covering.. and the thing popped right off. Scared me half to death, another snap tite car. My biggest problem is, I dont have much information on the MK3, What can be done with it... how much HP can it push by putting in a few hundred bucks? What does exaust and intake and such push it to? And my most important questions... Does it give reliable transportation, Does the car fall apart on you like the one I saw at that dealership? (That one was used, I havent gone to check out brand new ones yet) And the other most important question.... If the clutch goes out on a new one... is it as difficult or as expensive as to replace as it is on the old one? Is it like that with all Mid engine cars? And does anyone have stats on the new MR2? Quarter mile times... 0-60 times... I want to find out as much info on it as possible before I make my final decision... Thanks in advance...

--Gohan

[Yarisboy]

You should shift your MR2... don't expect more than £1000 though if it's not drivable.... and £1000 is an optomistic figure, more like £600 perhaps? Without seeing your car I don't know.

Try www.imoc.co.uk and check the 'for sale' section to see what's going on in the world of mk1's. Should give you a more accurate figure for your car.

(You can also sell at imoc too ).

Besides that eBay is a good place, so is www.autotrader.co.uk .... just do some research before setting a price for your car, and if you want a quick sale then set the price to sell!! take a few hundred quid less than what you wanted if it means getting rid of it!

Now the mk3, I saw a gorgeous one of these at my local dealer, had twin tail pipes & red interior.. was really really nice.

My impressions of the mk3 were that it was solid, and being a toyota you can expect years of painless service as far as the mechanics of the thing go!

What you can do to the mk3 is simply a matter of how much money you have!

the standard 0-60 is around 8 seconds in the book, so call that 7.5 on the road.

Now add an efficient induction system, and a cat back exhaust and you can expect that 0-60 to fall to around 7 seconds.

You could get the tte supercharger (if that's out yet?) or get a custom turbo done for it.... all depends on how much u want to spend!

If you really wanted a unique Mk3... try and get an engine transplant from the VVTi-L 190bhp corolla/celica! The mk3 is CRYING out for that 190 engine, and it would make it the car it always should have been.

I wouldn't like to speculate on the 0-60 for the mk3 with the 190 transplant, but the celica 190 does it in 7.4! and the mr2 is a much lighter car... so you can make your own judgements

Sam

[GSB]

The mk3 is the natural evolution of the mk1. The mk2 piled on a few pounds, and gained a lot of power in its turbo form, but lacked the lightwieght agility of its predecessor. The mk3 brought all that back in spades.

Not only that but the mk3 is quicker than the mk1 too!

Build wise, the snap together construction of modern cars works in your favour here, as all panels are bolt on, and some can be ordered pre-painted direct from Japan if you need them. The mechanicals are straight out of the corrola, so no real worries there - clutch changes should be both easy and cheap.

Also bear in mind the mk3 came top of its class in the JD Power survey of consumer satisfaction.

For performance increases it all depends upon how much you want to spend. A decent exhaust will yield a about 3hp, I had one made for mine (link in my signature line below) but there are now several off the shelf options available. Most CAI's do nothing for the car, as it's aerodynamics make getting cold air into the engine better than the stock system can, very difficult. The only one proven to work is the PPE engineering one. next you could add a Unichip, which for £400+vat (including about 5 hours of rolling road time) will boost output to about 159bhp with a very healthy increase in torque. Or you could go for free flowing exhasut manifold and de-cat (the mk3 has 3 cats!) which will yield the same sort of results. The casting is pretty crap in the cylinder head, meaning that theres a lot of room for improvement by porting and polishing.

For serious power there are 2 options. A turbo, (superchargers wont foit without cutting into the firewall, whcih would mean losing theconvertible top) or an engine transplant. There are several options for the turbo, but its not long before the "official" TTE kit comes on sale, read more in the links below. As the previous poster has stated, the 2ZZ-GE engine is begging to be put in, and whats more it fits in with minimal modification to the car. Both these methods shoudl see you with 200bhp in a car that wieghs less than a tonne.

Links to pages of interest, and specialist advice below...

The MR2 Roadster Owners Club Forums

Spydermagazine - Loads of articles on modifying your mk3

Mk3 Performance Parts list with Links - Very Useful

The TTE Turbo kit report - MR2ROC

Unichip independant Dyno test for mk3 MR2

SpyderChat - US Based Owners Forum