mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

I have been looking for a clean MR2 for a couple years now and have wanted a red NA T-bar since they came out in the 90's. I waited for the right deal and found this one. I bought it from the original owner. She told me that her and her son were out and about in the summer of 91 when her son spotted the car at the Toyota dealership as they were driving by. They turned around to look at the car and they both fell in love with it. The woman went home and told her husband about the car and he went and bought it for her the next day.The woman said her and her husband enjoyed the car until he passed away a few years ago. She said that the car sat a lot because it was hard for her to drive it after his passing and the family finally convinced her to sell it. She said that she had a few inquiries on the car but was waiting for the right person to come along and buy the car. After the test drive, her and I spoke at length about many things and after our conversation, she said that I was the right buyer for her car. She felt the car would be in good hands and she then gave me all of the maintenance paperwork and sold me the car. I did not argue and paid her cash on the spot. I did promise her that I would always take care of the car and not abuse it. She asked if she could visit the car over the summer and I told her that she was welcome over to drive it any time.

So, this car really was owned by an old lady. You hear those stories, "oh it was owned by a little old lady and never abused etc". Well, this really was haha. It wasn't abused per say, but the maintenance schedule was not followed. She did have anything that broke fixed however, but at an rate its a fantastic car. The car came with all of the original manuals and warranty booklets, radio manual, purchase agreement, window sticker etc. Its a very complete car. One I will cherish it for many many years. Its absolutely one of the finest cars I have ever owned. Here are a few pics:







Brought the car into work tonight and got it on my rack to check for any issues:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Here are a few more pics of the car parked at work:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Here's the new shift boot installed:



Pic of the cluster showing the mileage:



Still has the factory cd player:



Still has the original unused spare:



T-top covers are still in place and in perfect shape:



Interior is still in nice shape:



All of the original paperwork, manuals, purchase agreement, window sticker, original title, and wheel lock bag:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Bought a new valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals from work last week and picked up new plugs yesterday. So I figured it was time to replace the leaking valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals.

Everything came apart without issue:



Got the head surface and all of the hardware cleaned up and then I cleaned the valve cover and installed the new NGK spark plugs. I reinstalled the valve cover with a new Toyota gasket and Toyota spark plug tube seals:



Got it all back together and she's ready to go:



Next repair is the distributor o-ring. I want to make sure that's taken car of as well. Then I am going to install new accessory belts which I bought and a new boot kit for the left side cv shaft. Always something fun to do!!

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

i see you stay on the prowl. you have the quite the collection going. this is a wonderful addition to it though. i had a '91 Turbo - probably the fastest car i've ever owned for myself - and at some point i am determined to get another one. i suspect this little number will provide you with many, MANY good times. as a car, they are dead reliable and a few little quirks aside, those S-series engines are pretty bulletproof. when you said "Its absolutely one of the finest cars I have ever owned.", i'm not sure you yet understand how true that will be, but i think you will one day. it is certainly the case with my experience. enjoy it.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

I've always wanted one of those myself Dave, nice find.

In fact this one in the Atlanta area caught my eye just recently, looks like a twin to yours:

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/5338564942.html

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

Yup, just a rear engine Toyota corolla. the engine is ROCK solid. I've always lusted after the first generation MR2. I like the boxy interior. Its what I imagine the cockpit of an x wing would look like.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

diabolical1, yeah I'm always on the hunt for different cars. I like having a variety of things to go with my 7's and my 8. Wanted a second gen MR2 since I was in high school. I remember seeing them here and there on the road and always wanting one in the worst way. I couldn't pass this one up. As far as it being an excellent car and reliable, I can say that reliable it will be. I have owned my 92 Camry SE with the V6 and a 5spd manual trans for 11 years. I rebuilt the car after a crash (that's how I bought it) and its been dead reliable. Never left me stranded. Zero mechanical failures. And I work the car here and there. The MR2 handles exceptionally well but feels less stable than my RX-8. Its to be expected though with the mid engine and the early design series two suspension. It is one hell of an awesome car though!

Ray, if you get the chance to own one at a fair price, go for it. Don't settle for an automatic though and find a t-top model. You can pm me and we can go over some of the stuff to look for if you decide to buy one.

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

not quite. yes, the AW (first generation) had a lot in common with the Corolla. however, the SW (second generation) is actually more mechanically related to the Camry and Celica, than the Corolla of the same vintage.

admittedly, i haven't driven my Rx-8 anywhere near as hard as i had driven my MR2 at times, but i can definitely see why you would say that.

7aull

iTrader: (2)

She is a beauty Dave. Right color too! Sweet to get a car, esp a sports car, from the original owner. And this one has a great story.


Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

I had been looking for the right one. This fit the bill to a tee! Great story, great life with the previous owner, a car that was appreciated and well cared for.

Changed the original belts today... Wow...they were bad. It was really cold yesterday and they were squealing. It was more than time. Been fixing small things on it all day. Really enjoy the car.

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

1987 toyota MR2


Damn, you got me looking now.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Go out and drive a few. Avoid the ones with the automatic trans and avoid rusty ones if possible. These cars have a lot of soul much like an SA/FB. They are reliable, handle well, and look fantastic, again, much like an SA/FB. If you look around you can find great deals on these cars this time of year.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Replaced the belts yesterday. They were not good. The were original and hard as a rock and full of cracks. Not a terrible job to do ,just a little time consuming for doing it the first time.

I also replaced a tail light bulb and buffed the tail lights. They were cloudy and faded. They look fantastic now.

Tried to figure out why I only have sound on the front right side speakers. The left rear speaker works but its pretty garbled. No sound out of the door speaker or tweeter on the left side. I removed the door panel and checked the wiring and connectors. I also rested for sound with another speaker. Nothing. I wonder if there's a bad amp or if the radio itself is failing. Same result with the stereo or the cd player.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Hey Dave, aren't you due for your 10 Rotor?

You should talk to one of those lazy moderators and get them to do their job.

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

PICS of the "old lady" that owned it...lol!

erick31876

iTrader: (8)

Nice car dave, great story, and great find

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Lol, I didn't take any pics of the car with Jan. If she comes to visit the car this summer then I will get a picture of her. I did however find a pair of her glasses the other night under the passenger seat. I took this pic and sent it to her son asking if he would like me to mail her the glasses back:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Took this pic the other day after I got back from lunch. Was walking back into work and turned around and grabbed a pic of the ol girl:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

I needed to do some work on my 92 Camry SE yesterday so I backed the MR2 out of the garage and I saw that the two cars looked great together and decided to take a couple pics of them together and thought I'd share them in this thread:

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Ok Dave, when did this become the MR2 forum anyways. LOL!

I'm kind of partial to the MK1 MR2s, so 80s and boxy. Its interesting to see how similar the lines
are on the 2 cars. Those rear taillights almost look swapable.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Had the MR2 out for a bit after work yesterday and took a few pics while I was out. Thought I'd share them with you guys. The MR2 really feels like an FB in a lot of ways and I appreciate it even more because of that.

hcaulfield57

iTrader: (1)

@mazdaverx713b: Really nice looking car. Interesting, because when I was looking for my first fun car, I wanted to look at a turbo SW20 MR2, but never got the chance. Ended up buying a 91' 300ZX Twin-Turbo instead. That car is now sold. When I was looking for my second fun car (wanting something NA and reliable) it was between an SA/FB RX-7 and an AW11 MR2. Almost looked at a MR2 but never got around to it.

I'm curious how the MR2 compares to the SA/FB RX-7 in terms of "feel". There are obvious differences in terms of specs (anyone can look that up), but how do they compare to drive? My RX-7 is the only sports car I've ever driven (my Z was more of a GT car), so I like hearing about different things.

Qingdao

iTrader: (3)

I went rear engine too.

1971 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.


Although honestly I think I won't be keeping it for long. Its not a real rough and tumble car. Its a single sheet of metal for the hole body; so any body damage is a bear to deal with. I got a VW bug with the deal for the Ghia. I'm thinking SAND RAIL!!!

ACR_RX-7

iTrader: (1)

My best friend has a red MR2 like yours, but he did a 1MZ-FE V6 swap into his. It's a very fun car to drive with loads of V6 torque. It's still NA and doesn't break any power records, but it's a very neat car.

Not sure if linking to his build thread is allowed, but if you google search "1MZ-FE into my MR2" on the 6GC forum, you will find it.