Need some help from those who know MR2

[julienkaddikt]

I came across this car on a local forum, it looks like a really good deal but I've always been heasitant about previously owned turbo cars, and cars with imported engines. I'm going to look at it on friday and other than cold starting the motor, driving it to check out the clutch, looking for any sort of smoke is there anything about these motors that i should look out for, or anything about the car that i should look at specifically?

here's a run down on the car, what it has and has had done.

Nautical Blue 1992 Toyota MR2 Turbo T-top
Vin: JT2SW22N1N0057416
Original turbo car
Original Texas car so no rust
Unknown chassis mileage
JDM Gen 2 motor from JHOT
Veilside Andrew 5 wheels, 17x8 front and 17x9 rear (I think)
Front BF Goodrich G-Force Sport 215/40/ZR17
Rear Pirelli P-Zero Rosso 255/40/ZR17
heat
airbags
power windows, locks and mirrors
abs car but I have it disabled
tint
dvd player w/ screen
aftermarket speakers
Leather door inserts
Cloth seats
JDM t-top visors w/ bags
JDM tail lights
JDM H4 bulb housing headlights
JDM motorized foglights
New floormats
Gas strut deck lid prop
94 front lip

Maintenance:
New Autozone alternator with lifetime warranty
New battery
New thermostat
New a/c drier and expansion valve
Converted to 134a
New Samco silicone radiator hoses
New speedo gear and cruise assembly
New vacuum lines
New brake pads and rotors
New inner and outer tie rods
Just aligned
New cap, rotor, and wires with lifetime warranty
New spark plugs

Performance:
JDM Sheepdog? blow-off valve that sounds very nice
ATS polished throttle body inlet
Custom Greddy-style intercooler kit with sidevent plate and slim electric pull-through fan
Hardpipe intake
Autometer 30psi boost and oil pressure gauges installed in a-pillar
Apexi turbo timer
Short throw shifter (not shortened height) w/ chrome knob
Shifter bushing kit
SS clutch line
93 turbo brakes
Urethane suspension bushings
XS Power, Phoenix Power knock-off, 3" downpipe to muffler dual exhaust
Walbro in-line fuel pump
In-tank pump and in-line pump both rewired via relay and bigger wire
Aeromotive adjustable fuel pressure regulator and liquid-filled gauge
Trust? front strut bar
Chrome rear X-brace
Manual boost controller set at 15psi
AGX and Eibach suspesion I think


Includes:
Good extra transmission. The transmission that is currently installed in the car has a bad speedo gear but I havn't bothered to change out transmissions because the clutch is still good.
Wheel center caps. I don't have them mounted because I don't care for them.
Bunch of nice tires
Fuel filter
Passanger side window because the one currently in the car has some scratches
Tubular manifold with t3 and wastegate flanges
Extra 3" downpipe
smoked bumper lights
Valve cover
Some speakers I ordered

Can include for extra money:
SARD top-feed fuel rail
ATS CT27 turbo that needs rebuild

photo's:







any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated

[MR2Jedi]

How much does he want for it? What turbo does it have? Engine bay looks pretty ragged, unkept, neglected.

[julienkaddikt]

5500

[TheEngineer]

good deal. I love how the guy doesnt even know what half the stuff is in the car. He obviously didnt do any of the work to it and baught it like that. Also i hope they dont have a strict emmission control laws there because being a JDM swapped motor it doesnt have the EGR setup.

And i dont understand what that huge black hose is going over the spark plug wires just after the dizzy. It looks like it comes off the FPR. And also why does he have all these fuel mods with no turbo upgrade.

Seems like the car has been hacked and peiced together but with some love im sure it could be nice.

[SilvertopRyan]

Unless you really know the history of a car with a swap and can tell it was done right, I wouldn't use it for daily driving when you have to rely on it.

When we swapped a new engine in mine, it ended up with a few issues. Biggest one being the coolant was routed backwards through the engine... Things like that are from ignorance, but I took care of them when I swapped in this motor. I ude the blacktop for daily use and it's great!

[mr2tim]

Good advice from Ryan, unless your really up to speed as a top notch mechanic and are throughtly familiar with diagnosis of JDM vs OEM problems this is not your car. There appears to a trainload full of options that need to be understood and checked before purchase as well.

If you are hellbound for the purchase make sure your AAA Towing is up to date and don't drive further than 5 miles from your garage.

As Ryan noted 20 yr old cars are NOT reliable transportation.

Supercharzed Toyz Raczing
South Florida

Originally Posted by SilvertopRyan

Unless you really know the history of a car with a swap and can tell it was done right, I wouldn't use it for daily driving when you have to rely on it.

When we swapped a new engine in mine, it ended up with a few issues. Biggest one being the coolant was routed backwards through the engine... Things like that are from ignorance, but I took care of them when I swapped in this motor. I ude the blacktop for daily use and it's great!

[tHa kNiGHt FaLL]

I didn't know there was an SW22....

I like how he doesn't know the chassis mileage and the question marks next to the performance parts are good too

[moogleX]

in the US there was only sw21 for NA and sw22 for turbo