Dirty_Den

I drove my friends' today and it was fun. Started me toying with the idea of getting rid of my present tintop (a Micra) and getting one of these (possibly a T bar) as a tintop to use alongside my Caterham. Just wondering if I could get by with two 2-seater cars.

I understand that rust is a bit of an issue with them (especially around the rear arches) but are there any other real issues?

Anyone got one themselves or had one? What sort of abuse/mileage can they take? Are the engines stressed at all?

Cheers,

Den

fatherpierre

Try www.mr2dc.com

Click technical forum and post a question. Very good site.

Mice_Elf

I have one of those - an '88 - the rear arches are a problem, but the engine is sound and the rest of the bodywork is fine. She was sat for over a year and started first time - only issue was a seized handbrake cable..

They are good cars.

RB5320

I owned one for 7 years and didnt regret one day of it. Yes, rear arches do rust, only other area is the windscreen surround.
Mine never let me down in 7 years. The engine took a hell of a lot of abuse and was still sweet at 120k miles. I must admit that the car rarely got serviced - just the occasional oil change whenever I felt like it.
Basically the car was fantastic and I could not fault it. Very cheap to run and never failed to put a smile on my face. Buy one.

Steve

RAF1

iTrader: (5)

Yep..
Had one a few years ago - wicked cars - and nowadays you can pick up a 88/89 for around the grand figure...
PLUS rear wheel drive in the wet.... oh what fun.

Popping out of fifth gear was a problem on most early toyota's
MR2's and the Corolla GTi's 85/91.

Other than that mechanically sound as a pound.

Dream Weaver

I run a MK2 and love it - would never swap it ever!!!

Dirty_Den

Guys - thanks for all the replies. I've run a Honda previously so I expected the MR2 to be much the same. What are the cost of parts etc like? The Honda cost me quite a bit until I found a local independent specialist instead of using a main dealer, so I'm mindful of expensive Japanese parts - the attraction of my present tintop is that everything is so cheap.

Are spares freely available from motor factors, or am I looking at main dealers mainly?

And what's all this business about having to use a special Toyota coolant in them?

Den

Dream Weaver

Den

Pasrt can be bought cheap from independants and also from Fensport. My local garage did me a full service on my MY94 Mk2 and the total cost was £100 with bits, including a new fanbelt, and reversing switch.

Just had cambelt done for £160. This is for a mk2 but prices are similar.

The coolant you talk of is Toyota Forlife. When I bought mine I had the whole system done, and topped up with ForLife. It isn't cheap at £36, but it lasts for life, hence the name.

Should be a nice red colour when you go to view some.

The Zohan

We had a Mk 1 87 T Bar which we ran for around 3 years. Apart from a battery, new tyres and exhaust it was fine, great fun to drive, cheap to run.

Paid £ 3250.00 for it, sold it 3 years later for £ 2750,00 not bad depreciation!

Some parts are a bugger, MR2 specific - the throttle cable costs around £ 90.00, only Toyota have 'em so you pay that or no throttle. Check the cam belyt has been done, cannot remember the interval although there should be a sticker on the cam cover/engine lid.

rust and accidient damage are things to look out for.

Great value for money and a damnm good drive!

RB5320

Most parts readily available from independents. Still worth checking dealers for prices though as sometimes I was pleasantly surprised. I had to change the front struts and from memory, they were about £60 each (this was 4 years ago). Not too bad.
Unfortunately I was unaware of the Toyota coolant so always used water and antifreeze with the result that the heater pipes corroded. Took nearly 2 days to replace them and numerous skinned knuckles. These cars are a real bitch to work on. Worth the effort though

RB5320

Cambelt change every 60k miles I think.

Dirty_Den

Cheers all. Might well go for it, if I can get rid of the current tintop easily enough.

Just a question about the cambelts - they aren't an engine out job are they? Looked in the engine bay of my friends' car - there's naff all room to do anything in there!

Den

The Zohan

Den

I do nopt believe they are an engine out job, just a ramp and nimble fingures, think you take thee rad out to give more access, nmay be completely wrong.

some later ones have leather interior which is oice!

RB5320

no need to take engine out for cambelt but it is a real pig to do. you need to remove various ancillaries to get access and even then there is hardly any room to work. I would never do it again - get a quote and let someone else have the hassle. if you get a rough idea of how much it costs then just haggle the price down on whatever car you buy, unless its already been done.

steve

RB5320

by the way, it has been 4 years since I got rid of mine, but pretty sure the rad was in the front!!! I would therefore not recommend removing that to change the cambelt.

AR911

Cracking little cars these. I've got one for track use.

The suspension goes a bit soft so uprating to Koni's/stiffer springs all round and putting on a bush kit helps.

Excellent handling but fairly low power, 120bhp, can be frustrating out of slower turns as there's just no torque. They can be tuned but cost per bhp can be very high compared to a Scooby!

I'm looking at selling my track car and my road car and replacing both with an Sti7.

There is a supercharger conversion for the mr2 but it's not cheap. www.fensport.co.uk.

Good luck.

carl

Or you may be able to pick up a already-supercharged MR2. There's one for sale on the Bookatrack website, but it's an auto

Scot123

I had one as well. Konis, 205s back and 195s front; the handling was nothing short of amazing. Many times I've seriously considered buying another one and turboing it. Maybe one day, just maybe...

mozzaITA

wasnt there a forced induction one made??? i thought they brought out a supercharged one for some strange reason??????

maybe im thinking of somthing sombody done in an old magazine

fatherpierre

Supercharged MK1 was available in Japan and USA, just as the MK2 Turbo was. A few S/Cs have found there way over here though.

Dirty_Den

So what should I expect to pay for a late T-bar car, preferably with something like 80-90k on the clock? (I do a fair number of miles in a year, so I'd like one with lower than average miles)

I went to a Japanese classics garage near my work on the way home, as they have Pulsar GTIs, old Celicas etc there, but the guy said he won't touch the MK1 MR2s because of the rust problems.

I guess I also need to be sure in my mind that I can live without a 4 seater - think I could do it - and get rid of the current tintop if I decide to go for it.

Den

fatherpierre

For a G reg minter you're looking at £3-£4k.

There are loads for sale on www.mrdc.com, in the market section.

AR911

You can get them way cheaper than that if you look around 2nd hand dealers.

Not a popular car 'cos of the 80's styling so you can often pick up trade in bargains. I paid well under 2k from a dealer and although I had to pay about 500 getting it serviced/MOT'd it was still a bargain. High mileage isn't a problem - rust only really bites into the rear wings where there is some foam insert.

The owners club tend to be a bit fetishist about them and so sometimes ask for silly money.

cletterridge

I've driven loooaaads of different cars now, and I've yet to find one that feels as nice as my Mk1.

Buy one without rust and you're laughing (they're rare, but they do exist!). Here's how much they cost to run...

http://www.benerridge.freeserve.co.uk/costs.htm

Chris J

Hi,

My dad is a techy bod in the Mk1 register, a club just for mk1 mr2s, and so if you have any specific questions then drop me a mail and I will see if he can help. He's got a supercharged one, which is very cool , but I'm not allowed to drive it anymore due to insurance problems

Chris

Dirty_Den

Guys - thanks for all the replies and comments - really appreciated. I've slept on the idea, given it thought and decided that I probably can't really get away with running two 2 seater cars after all, as much as I like the idea of having an MR2.

Oh well, I'll have to borrow my friends' MR2 often.

Den