Toyota MR2 (Mk3) | Shed of the Week
The MOT is imminent, and it needs a little TLC - but Shed-money MR2s won't be around forever...
Ah, projects. The things that we all like the sound of, but that most of us know full well will never be brought to fruition. Comic genius Peter Cook once asked a guest at a literary drinks party what he was doing at the moment. 'I'm writing a novel,' came the reply. 'Ah yes,' retorted Cook. 'Neither am I.'
There we have the eternal curse of the project. Mark Twain noted that the secret to getting ahead was getting started. Unsurprisingly, given his busy lifestyle, Shed has many unstarted projects on the go. Some of them are now so ancient that they are no longer worth pursuing, like the Betamax tape cabinet for the living room, the coat peg assembly for his Batman suits, and the plywood 8-track centre console for the Series II Landie. Having cleverly not started any of these projects, Shed is now happy to count them as wins. The Landie console never really reached a point of relevance because the foul groaning from the 2.0-litre diesel engine was too horrendous for anyone to be able to hear any music in it anyway.
The key point about car projects is that some are voluntary, but others are forced upon us if we wish to continue to enjoy a vehicle. This gen-three W30 MR2 fits into that pigeonhole. It looks OK from a distance but it will need time, effort and money spending on it. Judging by the volume of significant work that's already been done on it, Shed reckons that last phrase will have been used just about every time its V5 has been signed over to the next mug - sorry, owner.
No, that's harsh. These are great little cars when they're not dissolving underneath you. The MOT on this one is due in just over a week's time. Looking back through the record we see that February 2020's test resulted in major works being carried out on marginal front braking and excessive structural corrosion in the offside rear. At some point between that test and the next one in Feb 2021 more sweat and swearing went into de-rusting a front crossmember and solidifying both rear spring mounting points. Some front suspension bushes were replaced in that period too.
The car passed the Feb 2021 test at 102,000 miles with advisories for steering play and slight underbody corrosion. What new and interesting maladies it might have accrued in the twelve months and 7,000 miles since then will soon become known. Shed's take on it is that successive owners have tried to do right by the car but the most recent one has seen the writing on the wall and is trying to cut his or her losses. Who knows or cares. The point is that this could be your chance to excitedly 'take on a project' and then resignedly sell it months or years later when you have finally accepted that the remedial work is going to be a bit harder than polishing the top of the dash.
The good thing about this March 2003-registered Midship Runabout is that it looks like the facelift model, which should mean the six-speed box and the less borkable engine. Shed is channelling PH's Matt here because he (Matt) admits to lusting after a six-speed MR2 in the first lockdown. As we now know, he forgot all about that project and bought a 3 Series BMW instead. Typical.
Anyway, the selling dealer has kindly provided us with a clear and comprehensive set of images to work with. We're told about (and shown) new rear brakes - braking componentry of one sort or another having popped up on just about every MOT report since 2007 - and the Avon tyres look nice and chunky. The peeling lacquer on the nearside rear wing will upset a perfectionist, but there's nothing wrong with the hood that a few roughly-torn lengths of bright yellow gaffer tape can't put right. If you can't stand that idea or can't accept the hood as it is, posh new aftermarket mohair jobbies can be easily picked up on tinternet, as long as you find handing over between £700 and £800 easy.
The inside looks clean apart from some predictable wear to the driving seat bolsterage. The next owner will probably want to bin those rusty old locking wheelnuts pretty sharpish if it's not already too late. MR2s are not great cars to have a puncture or any sort of breakdown in, on account of how there is nowhere to stash useful tools, or anything at all really apart from perhaps a small sandwich. Even then it would have to be a thin one with just the merest whiff of fish paste applied and no lumpy bits of salad sticking out.
When he wasn't talking about projects Mark Twain had many a wise word about to say about gullible people and those who gulled them. 'All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure,' he said. He also said that a gold mine was a hole in the ground with a liar at the bottom. Nowadays we might call that a money pit. This MR2 could be a pit, or indeed a pendulum. Sorry, something's gone wrong with this metaphor, but you'll have to sort it out yourself as Shed has wandered off to the workshop to consider - though not necessarily action - possible next steps in his long-running and as-yet-unstarted Amstrad PCW 8256 refurb project.
I've always wanted to A/B mine with an Elise to see if I could live with the difference daily.
I can't see why a dealer would sell it. Surely the buyer would MOT it and then get their money back if the result is too horrific?
I'm far too tempted.
Wife had one in the same colour back in the day as we fitted in it better than an MX5 (Both of us 6ft+, not pie related. 
) Brilliant little car, albeit a bit tight for baggage for more than a weekend away.I can't see why a dealer would sell it. Surely the buyer would MOT it and then get their money back if the result is too horrific?
I'm far too tempted.
Wife had one in the same colour back in the day as we fitted in it better than an MX5 (Both of us 6ft+, not our related. ) Brilliant little car, albeit a bit tight for baggage for more than a weekend away.I do think I prefer the handling characteristics of FR to MR (hence I now have an MX5) but that's probably because I'm a bit ham-fisted.
Seem a couple now on track days which have had the Honda engine fitted and a few tweaks to tie everything in and they were outstandingly quick with sweet handling to add in.
I would pass on this example as a new roof is at least £600 and in all likelihood a bit more. There is generally little point trying to source one from a breakers as they are all likely to be sh@gged and it's a fair bit of work. That's before you even get onto the mechanics and bodywork. Worth spending a little bit more for a more loved example,
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