Halfrican

edit* I bought the car last night, and its a 92 not a 91. The paint isn't as good as I was hoping, but hey its a 17 year old car. It's sitting on steelies, but shifts and runs great. I'm still looking to paint it (white) and was wondering what that would cost?



I'm purchasing a 1991 non turbo MR2 on wednesday for my first daily car. I know there's no way I'm going to leave it stock so I thought I'd get some input from people on here so I can know what to really look into.

~Needs Replacing?
- Drivers side headlight shines, but won't flip up (motor gone bad?)
- Paint "chip" a few inches across, (Good touch up places?)

Audio---(I'm not completely set on having the best audio in the world, so the kenwood system the previous owner installed will suit me just fine)

Motor---

~Interested in a way to cool it better (intercooler? Cold air intake?)
The motor has about 115 K miles on it, so my plan is to run it until it dies in effect and
swap a turbo motor into it later on, but I enjoy the gas mileage for now during college.

Wheels---(sitting stock right now)

~I think the pattern is 5X114.3 so a set of deep(ish) dish wheels picked up used would
serve my purpose.
~Along with wheels, I want to drop the car so it would sit nicer, what's the difference (pros cons) of coilovers vs. springs?



Any shops that can shoot me a quote on what these items might cost just pm me, I'll post pictures of the car later tonight : ) thanks for looking, hoping for some good insight.

Ps, already joined an Mr2 forum for research.

Halfrican

ok so ... the headlights dont come on at all unless they are on bright? and the drivers side tailight dims???? what's going on???


Previous owner says he'll pay for the cost to fix it, since he didn't know it went that far....****

ProbeGT-ZE

Early 90s Toyota's were known for bad paint jobs. What color is it?

Run it until it dies? I guess you'll never be swapping in that turbo motor of yours...That's a 5SFE engine. As a Toyota Tech I've seen those things pull WAY over 300k miles so it'll definitely last you for a looong time.

The hitch is that your car is a '92, Toyota hadn't made the suspension tweaks to the car just yet so it tends to be very, VERY tail happy. Yes, the pattern is 5 x 4.5. Make sure you decide on your suspension before buying wheels because if you get too low an offset your wheels might contact the coil over. Coilovers are good, but get a quality set. I had D2s on my AW11 and I loved them, others will say otherwise but that's my personal opinion. My current car has JIC Magic FLT-A2 coils on it and they're AMAZING, tons better than the D2s but also 2x price. Do lots of reading.

As far as your electrical problems, check your grounds, then your alternator. I hope it's not the alternator as the engine needs to be lowered to remove it.



Any shops that can shoot me a quote on what these items might cost just pm me, I'll post pictures of the car later tonight : ) thanks for looking, hoping for some good insight.

Ps, already joined an Mr2 forum for research. [/QUOTE]

The Wok

5S-FE MR2 will blow around 180-190k.

Halfrican

White..looks like the front end was wrecked/replaced and painted in someones private garage or something..shits piss poor ..rest of the car is sun damaged slightly with normal scratches, very small chips two of which have a little rust..nothing major though but understandable for a 17 year old car. Car would probably need to be sanded down and bondoed (sp?)...But i like white on the car...



I guess that works, I'm not swapping till after college, and we'll see if I even still reaaallly want the car till after then. I love it as of now..



That's exactly what I heard on mr2og, found out first hand yesterday when I "tested" it out in an empty parking lot. I'm lookin at an mr2 that's being parted out and wondering if I shouldn't scoop up the aftermarket suspension (can't remember brand off the top of my head) and the exhaust while im at it (mines rusted and original )



I know ... NOTHING ... about electrical stuff, I would be able to do the suspension/wheels/body via myself and a buddy, but there's a chance I might have to take it to toyota to do this for me. Thing is, the problems go as follow.

- Drivers side headlight doesn't pop up, but works on normal and bright.
- Passenger side headlight pops up, but normal doesn't work...bright does.
- There are two fog lights installed on the front, but don't work? or im just ignorant on how they work.
- Drivers side brake light is out
- Passenger side running tailight is out (one of them)

There's also one thing that somewhat bothers me..not majorly but I don't like that the handbrake won't hold the car if I'm even on a slight hill and I wanna park it...no idea what the cost on that would be. Taking it to a dealership if I can't find an alternative.[/COLOR]


Thanks for all the info man




Edit...the brake light is out. since its a 92 I have to replace the entire headlight don't I? Shouldn't be to hard of a fix right? Only problem is the motor on the left highlight is what I think is keeping it from coming up.

Halfrican

I've got 114 on it right now, and a two hour drive one way to lyncburg on holidays...then food and movie runs while im actually there..so no biggy.

Halfrican

Update--- went to auto zone yesterday. Guy referred me to bap geon? or something, i've never heard of it.

The whole headlight would have to be replaced, but i still don't know what to do about the motor problem? Ideas? And I know Toyota would have the parts...but at what price yah know?

ProbeGT-ZE

I guess if you're beating the shit out of it constantly yes, that applies.

ProbeGT-ZE

It'd be best to have someone test the electrical systems on it. I can help but I'm not sure what day just yet. Where are you located?

MR ED

for ebrake cables go to rockauto.com, it's at times a problem and you just need new ebrake cables. Installation is easy