Hello people! I've been wanting to get a nice summer car for a while now and the MR2 checks pretty much all the boxes - MR layout, topless and the pop-up lights. While an SW20 turbo would be really nice, the prices are kinda crazy and I prefer the looks of the old Lotus - I mean AW11. I just recently acquired this blue (pearl or mica, I'm not sure) one, 150k km, for around 4k €, and I'm looking for some info on these models. Mine is dated december 1986 and I think it's mostly MY 1987, with a mix of some old parts.
Some parts I've spotted, that differ from the '87 update:
- "16 valve" on the engine cover is in blue lettering. They either used a left over cover, or it's a blue top. I wanted to count the ribs but I can't find them (yes, I'm very clueless).
- instead of the battery meter, there's the silly economy gauge
- there's no side skirts or mud flaps (and the owner doesn't remember if they were there originally)
I don't have much to go by, but it says in the documentation the car was originally bought in Switzerland, before getting registered here in Slovenia by the 2nd owner and now I'm the 3rd owner. Supposedly it has 117 HP, so I'm thinking it's #5, FRG, from this list (could be #4 or #6 too): https://toyota-europe.epc-data.com/mr2/aw11l/ . Though I find it weird that they'd put in 4AGELC here in Europe.
Overal she's in pretty good shape, a bit banged up on the bumpers and fenders, some rust in the usual places, the engine needs new fluids and filters, but starts right up and runs without problems. What's frustrating is I want to do the regular service as soon as possible and enjoy the car a bit, but the packages with parts are getting delayed right now with the virus situation.
To be on the safe side I only rev it to around 3k RPM (it sounds nice) and drive as little as possible. I did have to make a 3 hour, 200km trip to get it home and had no serious issues. What I've noticed:
- the oil gauge indicates ok, it's nearly always above the half mark, or near the first mark above it. Oil level is fine, the fluid is getting a bit dark brown, but doesn't have any kind of bits in it. The cap is also clean.
- the coolant gauge is a bit weird. It starts way below the C mark and then climbs to about 1/4th mark and sometimes goes slowly down to the C mark. Either it's not calibrated properly or there's something with the cooling system, or the thermostat that prevents the engine from warming up properly. I've noticed the overflow tank cap is pretty deteriorated and has a small hole in it. Also the fan in the passenger side grill doesn't seem to be spinning (but maybe it's only supposed to at certain times). The fluid doesn't look too bad, it's moderately brown and doesn't have any oil or rusty bits in it.
- the brakes are pretty stiff and the pedal has very little travel. When I turn the key, the brake warning light is the only one that doesn't come on, so I'm assuming one of the brake cilinders has failed, or the booster. The brake warning light does come on when I pull the handbrake.
- the car sometimes shakes slighlty in neutral, more pronounced when I press the clutch and likes to stall in reverse.
- the gear lever doesn't pop-out in fifth, but yanks quite a bit when I depress the gas pedal, which makes me think there's a C50 transmission in there.
A few more pics, here is the VIN, but it has some silly squares printed where there should be letters:
No Toyota sticker, the front bumper is in poor shape and needs replacement:
The sills are pretty rusty and the previous owner "fixed" them with a spray can:
The passenger side mirror is taped on and and I can't see anything while driving because it points outward too much:
Some rust above the windshield:
The back of the car:
Front fenders are quite rusted - on the driver's side I can push it in with my finger:
The engine bay and some stickers inside it:
The overflow cap looks quite cooked:
There's this small metal bit at the top on each side. I think most people just paint it black:
Previous owner "repaired" some of the upholstery - it was probably blue-ish originally. The cig lighter is underneath there somewhere. Also the small light in the compartment is always on when I drive at night. Should it turn off if the lid wasn't broken?
More of the interior. I think the wheel was redone too. The light switch doesn't really go into position 3 (lights up and off) even when I push it in.
I'm not sure if these models came with shaders for the roof or not:
The 2nd set of wheels, made in Germany, not sure if these were on originally:
This was under the hood. Another one is mounted, but looks different, isn't connected and doesn't have the pump.
For now the plan is making sure the engine works properly, so I can rev it out a bit, plus I need to get some new tires. Then fixing the rust and the paint during the winter. Suspension is going to need some work too - I think I heard one of the shocks hissing already.
And then I have this silly dream of making a trip all the way to Cadwell park one day. I don't know why but I just love that track in rFactor!
P.S. I had to write this on my phone on mobile network because the site just throws "access denied" on my home network .