Toyota MR2 Turbo Rev 3 - Third time lucky?

[danllama]

So, I'm hoping those who followed my previous threads will forgive me for passing around MR2's like playing cards, but I promise you I always move them on to owners with good intentions, and I do plan on keeping this one for a while.

My Rev 2 was giving me itchy feet. I'd read and heard a lot on how improved the Revision 3 was. I was set to fly up to Aberdeen for another steel mist grey beauty, but after more probing and photo requests, found much too much rust for the price it was up for. Well the Rev 2 was advertised for sale now so I had to find something. I had actually started looking at E36's and 200SX's when I realised I wasn't ready to leave the MR2 fold yet.

Then I found a Rev 3 that ticked certain boxes - it was in London, and it was well priced, and it was clean underneath. The test drive assured me that I was doing the right thing, so I placed a deposit and started counting the days.

It's not (or should I say wasn't) my cup of tea aesthetically, but with this sort of market you can't pick and choose how your car looks. From what I can tell it's a border front bumper, border rear spats, and unknown side skirts. The alloys are much too form over function Dare RS 18", but at least they are properly staggered - 8" front and 9.5" rear respectively. Offsets are et20. I am almost certain I will have no trouble shifting these on to some scene kids. I quite like the rear and sides, but the front bumper i'm not a fan of, so may swap this back to a standard bumper with an Aeroware lip. I suppose the nicest thing I can say is I hate it less than when I first saw it. That said I HATE HATE HATE the lexus style rear lights, and already have an arrangement to collect some correct lights next week.

Mechanically it is sweet! Feels nice and tight, suspension looks clean, engine and gearbox clean. The cam cover is not as clean as i'd like so i'll need to investigate that.

It has a few modifications - Huge Blitz intake, 3" JP single exit exhaust straight from the turbo, Greddy intercooler and a mechanical boost controller and a Forge bov. Also a samco hose kit to give the bay some colour. There's a nice touchscreen stereo installed, as well as a turbo timer and Momo drift steering wheel.

To the point - this thing GOES. It just takes off. Boost is almost instant and unrelenting. 1st, 2nd, 3rd gears are savage. No more waiting for boost to pick up like in my Rev 2. I quite like the eventual kick in the back the Rev 2 gives, but this is something else!

Nothing else to add at the moment. The car runs great. It's actually everything I was hoping for and more on top. I'll be updating as I go as usual and hopefully it will soon be looking closer to how Mr Toyota intended. Thanks for reading.

Here's some pictures I took at the PH Sunday Service at Brands yesterday

Pistonheads Sunday Service by Dan Jama, on Flickr

Pistonheads Sunday Service by Dan Jama, on Flickr

Pistonheads Sunday Service by Dan Jama, on Flickr

[danllama]

Cheers! Ah I forgot about the air scoop. That will probably be going as well. Not a fan and it increases your blind spot on shoulder checks.

I'm just not into massive rims with stretched tyres...But i do concede they suit the car well and don't ride half as bad as expected.

Edited by danllama on Monday 21st September 17:16

[danllama]

SonicShadow said:

For the most part they are not functional, and actually detrimental to performance. MR2's are designed to take in air from the side vents (for intake and intercooler) and general engine bay cooling air flows from underneath the car and out of the engine lid. If the scoop is not sealed to the intake, then all it's doing is creating drag and stalling air around the intake.

Yes mate this is exactly what i've read. I imagine it's not doing much good as it's NOT sealed to the intake. It also disrupts the nice lines of the car.

Lexus lights are a pet hate of mine, I literally had replacements arranged on the day I bought the car

[danllama]

SonicShadow said:

If it's not sealed to the intake, then at best it's just creating drag while looking awful. At worst, it could be causing higher intake temps as it's stalling the air around the intake. At least it's an easy thing to remove / replace. I know someone that might have a white inspection panel actually - shall I ask for you?

Ooh yes please, definitely

[danllama]

Spantney said:

Hey Dan,

I was looking at Mr2 Tubbys in the classifieds the other day and I thought I saw your Rev 2 up for sale!

Must admit even with the questionable rear lights, scoop and alloys, this one looks to be a pretty tidy example Look forward to see what you have planned!

Cheers, Ant

Cheers Ant, happy to have you along for the ride again!

The paintwork looks better in pictures than it actually is, but mechanically it seems sound so far. No nasty surprises. I need to get it in the air and cleaned/protected before winter.

I've already given the rear arches a good clean as they were full of mud!!! Not sure why owners fail to clean the rear arches but it will only lead to one thing

[danllama]

Oh I forgot to mention there's an EMS boost gauge which are from the states I think, and is a digital gauge that sits in the OEM location. I love it.

Not my dash, I have white lockwood dials:



BTW does -20 vacuum sound about right on idle?

[danllama]

Elesmart said:

Congratulations Dan :-)

Having followed your rev 2 thread with plenty of interest (and seeing it for sale online) I'm not surprised you finally made the switch. Nice looking rev 3 you seem to have found yourself. I'm still considering a rev 3 to move on from my 2. But I just can't bring myself to get rid of mine. I enjoy it too much and it's just too clean!

It's a shame you're so far away from me. I'd offer to meet up for a drive and photo's if you were.

I will again follow this thread with interest.

Elesmart

Thanks mate. My Rev 2 was in great condition. I was in two minds but what pushed me was that my previous rev 2 tintop was modified and it would have cost me more to modify my grey one than to just buy a Rev 3. It just made sense, especially before i became too attached. I miss that colour already though, never been a fan of white. I can tell you if you feel your rev 2 lacks in any areas, the Rev 3 probably makes up for them. It's a much bigger difference than I expected.

Where are you exactly? Are you on the OC and IMOC?

cirian, although they are all imports insurance is very reasonable.

Kaveney: It was you and others going on about the bloody power that made me do it

Edited by danllama on Wednesday 23 September 15:39

[danllama]

JJ, sod the house, buy an MR2

I already have stock inspection panels lined up for this weekend to replace the pod Apart from the point you've made, it also howls at random! Bloody stupid thing.

Been loving the conversation here - would love to drive a BEAMS to compare to my first NA but they are so rare.

Funny you should mention about a mental Corsa van - there was I late on Sunday night, heading home from family. Decide to take my favourite B road home and find myself behind an Astra van just as we enter NSL. So I huff and puff but it doesn't bother me too much as I know the road well and there's a wide, well sighted bend a minute away, i'll just pass him.

Oh no I wont!! Off he goes. He was pushing on through the bends when I was lifting off.

I'm smart enough to know when I've lost and decided to just enjoy the drive

I'll be giving the car a full service this weekend, new plugs, new oil/filter, new fuel filter, new dizzy cap/arm. Then new wheels/tyres. The boost controller is also seized and so pretty pointless. I'm only getting 11psi at the moment which is less than actuator pressure for a Rev 3 I think. So I've ordered a high quality boost controller and will set it to 15psi, which is safe for the cars modifications.

It really is a quick and nimble little thing. Once I have some properly sized wheels/tyres it will be a weapon. Another interesting thing is I went to a big local meet on Saturday. My Rev 2 with standard exterior used to get little to no attention...the chav wagon had pretty much every group of people stopping and chatting. Very strange.

[danllama]

BuzzBravado said:

Not sure, but its irrelevant anyway. If it were too strong (low) it would stall and if it were close to ATM then it would just idle faster. As long as it is idling then its fine.

Thanks mate, idle is bang on hot and cold. Happy days.

[danllama]

Importers seem to have a decent number of rev 4/5 turbos at any time, and they seem fairly priced. When you do see them for sale here they are more times than not the same price as a fresh import.

Hello Kieran, now there's words to go with the pictures! How's the dc2 treating you?

[danllama]

WhisperingWasp said:

I've made the same move as you, albeit forced. I lost my rev2 turbo to an engine fire last year and after a mk3 roadster in between I am now back in a mk2 turbo. It's a rev4 in the "Goodwood Green" colour. You might have seen it on imoc - the one in NI?

As such I've been interested to read your thoughts on the "upgrade". The power delivery is certainly different and the pull to the redline a massive improvement but... I have to say I find myself currently preferring the rev2. I certainly liked the old-school turbo feel of nothing, nothing, everything (then nothing again! ). I also prefered the turbo stall sound to the venting to atmosphere "hiss".

I can't deny that the rev4 is the better car. And think the main thing is that I had my rev2 exactly how I wanted it whereas the rev4 is not quite there yet. Added to that it cost me A LOT of money almost immediately after buying it which I guess I am holding against it at the mo!

The main thing is - irrespective of revision, turbo/NA, etc - they are just the greatest looking cars. I parked up in town the other day and as I turned round to look at the car I noticed that I had parked it under a large tree with autumnal leaves littered around the car and I genuinely thought I want nothing else in its place

Well said WW. Every one I've owned I look back pretty much every time I Park and I've always said there's not many cars I'd rather be in. I know what you mean about the punch of the ct26 but the power is now much more usable. Still not sure which I prefer. What caused your engine to set on fire?

I love goodwood green, any pics? On the subject of blow off sound, the forge bov on mine gives a nice, sharp hiss rather than anything dramatic. I like it.

[danllama]

Very decent rev 2 turbo or very ropey rev 3 if you look hard enough.

[danllama]

cirian75 said:

mmm, be doing insurance quotes

it'll be a UK spec 2.0 NA only, thats just over £500 per year.

the Turbo's go past £1000, gezz, 39 years old, max NCB and a confirmed low crime area of Manchester and they still want to screw me if I go above 175bhp.

Call classicline.

I'm 28, 3 years ncb, ok postcode in London. 600 per year.

[danllama]

Thanks captain.

I think 600 is pretty reasonable to be fair. It was 450 without the mods.

Rear lights I'm picking up tomorrow

[danllama]

Shaoxter said:

I'm in London (albeit zone 4), £370 from Adrian Flux including all mods, 29, 2yrs NCB, limited mileage policy. Only mod which increased the premium was the ECU, none of the cosmetic mods made a difference.

That's a cheeky price! Must admit I didn't call Adrian Flux this year as last year they tried to rape me.

[danllama]

They both look really stunning, and make me miss the stock bodywork look

I have to say, both of my rev 2's were amazingly rust free for how old they were! Also, what were the big costs your Rev 4 threw up?

And yes that was my first NA Still miss that car, even compared to the turbos. I emailed the boy who bought it to buy it back, I was going to store it. But he never replied. Thanks for following

IMG_2993 by Dan Jama, on Flickr

Those BBS's are lovely, perfect fitment, but about £600 too much for me at the moment

Edited by danllama on Wednesday 30th September 20:45

[danllama]

Sounds like she just wanted to see some commitment

I tried to live without a t-bar and couldn't do it. (He says with a wet arm).

[danllama]

Can I have some honest opinions on the alloys please? I was going to bin them off, but I've had a good look and realised there's room on the back for properly fitted tyres. They also don't ride half as bad as expected for 18's. They have a good stagger so lots of grip. No idea what they weigh, but they feel light. I'm just not sold on the looks.

[danllama]

BenWRXSEi said:

They're a bit much IMHO. Personally I'd sell them to some scene kids before you kerb them and go for some 16s

Cheers Ben I do agree I think. Too big and showey. Been looking for some nice 16's or 17's since I bought it though and not coming up with much in budget. I was considering these, what do you think?



They're for sale locally for a good price, and are 17's, 8j and 9j with correct offset. If I bought them they wouldn't stay white.

[danllama]

I've just found some 16" split jdm alloys, collecting tomorrow

New rear lights going on in the morning too, car will be transformed

edit: will have to remove passenger seat to ferry the wheels home. Is it as simple as it looks?

Edited by danllama on Thursday 1st October 20:16