I've been lurking for the past while as I've been researching the MR2, as I have an option on what appears to be an unmolested Mk2 rev1 3sge MR2 in pretty good nick.
.The car was imported from the UK to Ireland by a mate of mine last year, and he is selling it on as it doesn't get driven enough and it takes up space from the restoration of his beloved Morris Minors and Beetles.
So I've been given first refusal on it. It has been for sale for the past few months but with the local economic climate there are few buyers out there.It's a red t-top, 115xxx miles, original motor, full service history until it was imported, and cared for by a competent mechanic since its arrival.
- The roof seals are good, but the doorframe window seals need a little bit of care especially on the driver side rear near the base of the window where I can see through the airgap.
The bodywork is clean, appears to be uncrashed.
There is a tiny dot of rust where the rear of the t-bar meets the roof.
The power aerial doesn't work.
The passenger side doorswitch doesn't activate the internal lights.
It needs new speakers, but there is already an aftermarket HU in place, and it needs the proper brackets to join the DIN case to the dash.
The front foglight screws are rusted solid and will need drilling out.
It currently has Wolfrace 16x6.5 wheels all round, shod with 195/45R16 yokohamas.
The leather interior is in fairly good nick, the suspension is tight, and there is a little rattle from an intake manifold heatshield.
The brakes are great, the pads were recently changed for'green' pads but they bite well from cold.
Fuel economy is as expected, about 340 miles per tank with spirited driving.
The engine revs nicely to about 7500 when warm.
The oil light goes out about 2-3 seconds after starting, and it starts pretty much on the first turn from cold, without smoke.
Oil levels look stable.
It has the sunshields and the t-top bags as well
I've calibrated the speedo via GPS, and I
've worked out that the correct wheelsize to match GPS and speedometer reading is a 225/55R16 on the rear. What are the opinions of this?Have many people rebuilt door seals with the trick of black silicone sealant and clingfilm, Is this a viable
'cure'?The car is beginning to show the standard Toyota red fade.
What is my best route to fixing this? Claybar, and lots and lots of waxing? I've searched for this answer and gotten some conflicting answers. A respray is too expensive for this car right now, and I don't want to go through the thin paint with a motorised polish if possible.As for fixing things like the foglight and stereo stuff, I can happily play at changing out those items and replacing them, as well as putting little LEDs inside similar to the Audi lights pack or a BMW rear view mirror.
There appear to be a few loose connectors in the engine bay but I think these are related to the alarm
/ immobiliser installation. Most importantly, the other half likes the car and likes driving the car, so I'm waiting for today's government Budget to see whether I can afford to get this as a second car.
..
Down the list of priorities