For some reason this car reminds me of the intro to the song Stellar by Incubus, probably just a lost thought or dream from a time closer to the initial production run of the MR2. The song playing right now in the background is when I get my hands on you by the new basement tapes. What has happened to band names? I supposed after X amount were used in the English language you run out of real creative possibilities. Catchy tune though. THIS IS A NO RESERVE AUCTION.
This car is the 2nd to last, or 3 out of 4 of my car collection, that I am selling off. First went the 1997 3000gt VR4, 2nd was the 1993 Integra GS-R, and the last will be my 1994 Toyota MR2 Turbo w/3rd Gen Swap that will probably sell for more than double what this daily driver will. This car has been my daily weekend toy for a while now. I actually like it more than the 94 specifically because it holds no punches, it just IS. I’m not worried about it, it is not worried about me, it just works and so do I. Originally this is the car I was going to do the 3rd gen 3S-GTE swap into but then I found the caged 94 already swapped and left this car stock as a DD. Technically this car weighs less than the 94 since it has manual steering, no ABS, and a hard top shell instead of T-Tops, though it does have a pop up/removeable moonroof so as to not be as boring as a full hardtop. I wanted to own an example of each great Japanese car from the 90’s, once I realized that was a pipe dream beyond what I have space for I’ve decided to build a race track instead. Yes I said it, and I know that makes no sense but it does to me and that is all that matters so I’ll say goodbye to my 4 first and last entries to that collection. Below is all of the details, obviously I like to hear myself type so please read through everything I like to be thorough if you have any questions or I miss something please feel free to shoot me a question I promise I’ll respond promptly most hours of the night. Again this is a non-abs, manual steering rack, hard top w/moon-roof non turbo car. About as light as the SW20 ever got.
Interior: Interior wise this car is 7.5/10 easily, nothing except the floor mats and the original shift knob really show wear. The cloth seats are in overall good shape as cloth is much more durable than old Japanese sourced leather. The drivers seat shows some wear but no big tears or anything, the drivers floor mat has a spot worn down which is common of any car actually driven with shoes on. Everything works electronically, all the gauges, switches, knobs, lights, radio (has upgraded quality speakers and cd player), etc…. I mean it is a Toyota what do you expect, no hinky english/german crap to just count the days until it breaks. The moonroof doesn’t leak a bit, the carpet is near perfect, the dash is perfect, the headliner is perfect, overall it could use a professional detail but a vacuum cleaner gets it 90%. Heat works great, A/C needs to be converted to r134a if you want it. No other known issues.
Exterior: Exterior wise I’d give it a 6/10 maybe higher or lower depending on how picky you are. It is a 24 year old car that has actually been driven so there is that. Its Carfax is pretty darn clean, no title/mileage issues and only one minor accident way back when it was only 2 years old. Car spent most of its life in Kentucky. There is some spider webbing to the front bumper along with some touch up paint due to bumping into something at some point. The emblem missing I would assume is from that same deal but you can buy brand new oem toyota emblems on ebay for $25, it just never bothered me. Rear bumper has the same spot where I actually bumped into the garage like a blind old woman. Car has some previous paint to the right quarter which was professionally done but otherwise all paint is original. The drivers door has a couple touched up rust chips. No clear coat fading anywhere! Has a scratch on the left quarter and aftermarket fiberglass rockers to replace the original ones that had some rust spots and were removed. The car is otherwise rust free, and no structural damage from wrecks or anything. It is what I originally wanted, an overall lightweight solid true lightest of the MK2 MR2 straight chassis ready to accept and hold bigger power than what it started with. Overall the car is almost totally original and looks great. Everything works like headlights, tail lights, turn signals, windows, doors, trunk, hood, engine lid, etc….
Mechanical: Mechanically the car is 9/10 easy. It doesn’t need anything really, has a fairly new battery that stays charged from being driven. Brakes are good, transmission is good, clutch is good, engine is good, no weird issues, suspension is good, steering is good, cooling system is good etc…. Trans shifts into every gear no issues, no grinds pops or anything. Engine fires right up hot or cold, no noises, no smoke, no check engine light, no issues other than a minor oil leak but again it is a 24 year old car. It leaves maybe a drop or 2 from sitting in one spot for a week. Never have to add oil in between oil changes, the coolant was recently flushed, timing belt was done about 30k ago. Freshish plugs wires cap rotor etc… Just had an oil change, only thing I would recommend is doing the transmission fluid as I don’t know if it has ever been done. The clutch is probably original, but it still feels fine engages middle travel like normal. Suspension is in good shape, though I would do an alignment I’ve never done one but I can feel it hasn’t had one in a long time though it tracks straight etc... Tires are fine, plenty of tread to pass inspection. It has a nice Godspeed catback exhaust (not some welded up meineke special), that is the ONLY modification. Sounds real good for being a 5S-FE camry 2.2L engine actually. Never overheats, no corrosion to the cooling system or wiring, nothing really to worry about. The only work I’ve ever had to do to it is replace the idle air control valve. The e-brake does need to be adjusted. It has pretty low miles for a 1992 and the mechanical category really shows that, not much else to say because it is stock and runs/drives fine.
That’s everything, I am hungry and I think my pizza is done or at least it smells done so I’m going to go now. Don’t forget to hustle as hard as you hate; otherwise you are just spending most of your time hating stuff, and do you really want that on your tombstone? I want pepperoni on mine.