GDII's SW20 MR2

  • Thread starter GDII
  • 777 comments
  • 104,869 views
Thank you Toyota for a timeless design... Although I do think Japanese '90s sportscars all look timeless in general :P
 
Mike Rotch
I had to read that twice as the car condition looks 1/10th of that, and the car hasn't dated that much in my eyes.

I feel old now :lol:
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Haha yeah it was pretty good when I got it, then I wore it out, then I fixed it up. I'm only 2 years older than this car.
 
Teaser of more to come.

DSCF4067_zpsskoj9gg2.jpg
 
Some awesome shots at a great location mate 👍 Third from top is the pick.

I walked past a ropey one of these in a local parking lot today....gosh, the roofline is really low. A new Mazda 3 was towering over it! I never really realised how low slung they are.
 
Mike Rotch
Some awesome shots at a great location mate 👍 Third from top is the pick.

I walked past a ropey one of these in a local parking lot today....gosh, the roofline is really low. A new Mazda 3 was towering over it! I never really realised how low slung they are.
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The SW20 is quite a small car. They are only 1240/1235mm tall stock. The newer models had lower springs but I believe they are even lower than that. The new Mazda 3 is 1455mm so that is 210mm difference which isn't huge but the way the cars are designed makes it feel way lower. The Mazda is also 410mm longer and 100mm wider.

You Clio is taller and wider but quite a bit shorter than the MR2 even though yours is a small car. Small cars these days are no longer small.
 
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GDII
but the way the cars are designed makes it feel way lower. The Mazda is also 410mm longer and 100mm wider.
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Could have sworn it was more emphatic then that, but must just be low and long vs short and (slightly) taller optics

Small cars these days are no longer small.
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For sure. I had the old MCV20 camry shape and someone parked a new corolla sedan next it once....looked very nearly like like-for-like dimensions. The new Polo is like the Golf 4 etc etc. One could probably but a Mk1 Clio in my boot :lol:
 
Mike Rotch
Could have sworn it was more emphatic then that, but must just be low and long vs short and (slightly) taller optics
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And that is just comparing overall dimensions. The bonnet of an MR2 is very very low compared to a front engine car like the Mazda 3. And the back where the engine and boot are located is also very low. The hgihest point on an MR2 is very short bit in the middle of the car where that Mazda is far taller for far longer.

Mike Rotch
For sure. I had the old MCV20 camry shape and someone parked a new corolla sedan next it once....looked very nearly like like-for-like dimensions. The new Polo is like the Golf 4 etc etc. One could probably but a Mk1 Clio in my boot :lol:
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That's true. The Mk1 Clio is a small car. Your MCV20 Camry is still 400mm longer than the new Corolla but I get your point.

Going back to when the Toyota Corolla first came out as the 1966 KE10 model compared to the current 2017 NRE160 model the size increase is quite substantial.

1966 KE10 sedan
Length: 3855mm
Width: 1485mm
Height: 1380mm
Wheel Base: 2285mm

2017 NRE160 sedan
Length: 4400mm
Width: 1695mm
Height: 1460mm
Wheel Base: 2600mm.

Even the new Vitz which took over the name of 1961 UP** Publica, KP** and EP** Starlet line grew a lot.
The Vitz/Yaris is now 245mm longer than the KP Starlets. The new WRC car with it's massive aero package is 140mm longer than its road car version. :lol:
 
Inb4 cruises every weekend with your mate :lol:

Damn, man, you've done such a fine job on your MR2. It looks like the previous owner of your mate's MR2 did a very fine job on maintaining his MR2 as well!
 
Bram Turismo
Inb4 cruises every weekend with your mate :lol:

Damn, man, you've done such a fine job on your MR2. It looks like the previous owner of your mate's MR2 did a very fine job on maintaining his MR2 as well!
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Thanks man. It's been a long road but well worth it.

My mates car has quite the history. Imported here at 13,000km in early 90s. Owned by 1st NZ owner for a while then sold it. He wanted it back so found it again and bought it. Owned for another 16 years then at 130,000km sold it again to my mate. It's had a repaint but as most people know these cars don't last too well with their original paint. But the repaint has been done extremely well compared to every other MR2 paint job I have seen so looks amazing. Needs a light polish to get out the fine scratches but that's it. The interior is mint with a factory MOMO steering wheel. Sure is a joy to drive but the CT26 turbo runs out of puff past 5.5-6k so a little disappointing on power even though I have my slow as 165hp NA to compare it to. Great ride comfort so overall a very nice car and he picked it well. Only mods that I can see are revised intercooler pipes and a venting BOV.

When I go turbo I want to gain more power than the 225hp the GEN2 puts out. A GEN4 3SGTE will do that for me. Can easily get 265whp from it with minor intake and exhaust mods. The factory output of those engines is 265hp at the flywheel so that is plenty for me.
 
Gen 4 is the way to go. My friend is sending his out to TCS motor sports this week for his. They are not using the original intercooler. Apparently upgrading it and moving the location gives it a extra 50hp.

I visited a shop yesterday in California. All the sw20's here are getting the gen 4 swap. It's the most common swap apparently.
IMG_7755.JPG

IMG_7756.JPG
 
Stop taking all the GEN4s!!!!! I need one! Well I need a low KMs one. All the GEN4s here have on average 240,000km on them.

That's so cool though seeing all those getting GEN4 swaps. I hope he isn't using the S54 gearbox as they don't hold power very well but lots of swaps in the US use them. An E153 and turbo hubs is what I'll be using.
 
GDII
It's not really a beach as it disappears at high tide. Just just north of Porirua at the inlet to the harbor.
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Oh right I roughly know where that is. I've got mates that grew up in Johnsonville, so I know the area a little.
 
A small update on the Demio.

A lot of newer cars seem to have bespoke radios/CD players and no longer use the standard DIN slot system. This is the case with this model of Demio so I needed a solution to be able to connect my phone or other media to it. You can get DIN slot dash panels for these cars but no point messing with this car as it is far too nice.

Luckily Mazda have an external input to the stereo system for a CD changer so it is very easy to buy or create a plug and play solution to allow AUX to be installed.

I found a unit that does more than just AUX. It has Bluetooth, AUX, USB with charging and Hands Free calling with a remote and microphone. It allows control with the factory buttons on the stereo too which is great. All for far cheaper than an aftermarket CD player. CDs are sort of old now so not much point having it. The factory CD player keeps spitting out the CD each time I start the car so that was getting a bit annoying.






This plug has a few wires that hook up to the back of the stereo that allow for inputs and controls. A simple AUX would only require 3 wires from a 3.5mm plug and a loop of wire to activate AUX like the photo below.

2zfizwi.jpg


You just plug in the wiring like factory, put the stereo back in and you are done. Great sound and control over music on your phone with Bluetooth.
It doesn't look any different to what it started out as.


That the is external input shown on the screen. It thinks it's a CD changer though. :sly:
 

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