GDII's SW20 MR2

[GDII]

Photo update after the 3SGTE TRD muffler install.

 

[Michel4AGE]

Looking great ! SW20 will never get old haha

 

[GDII]

Looking great ! SW20 will never get old haha

Thanks. Yeah you are right, so many people can't believe this car is 28.5 years old and is an 80s design.

 

[Katiegan]

Thanks. Yeah you are right, so many people can't believe this car is 28.5 years old and is an 80s design.

Crazy to think your MR2 and my Scirocco are the same age when you compare the designs.

 

[GDII]

Crazy to think your MR2 and my Scirocco are the same age when you compare the designs.

Yes but your car was designed initially late 70s to early 80s. This MR2 was a complete model change where yours is just a continuation of the second GEN design.
The design, if VW decided to release the 3rd GEN straight after the 2nd GEN would have looked a bit more curved.

 

[Bram Turismo]

It's a very special design in my opinion, simply timeless. Toyota at its best as far as I'm concerned. And you're doing a great job of keeping it in top shape!

 

[eiriksmil]

Yes but your car was designed initially late 70s to early 80s. This MR2 was a complete model change where yours is just a continuation of the second GEN design.
The design, if VW decided to release the 3rd GEN straight after the 2nd GEN would have looked a bit more curved.

Yes, the Scirocco II really competed against the AW11. And even the AW11 was more modern, being designed in 81 and debuting in 84 while the Scirocco II was a heavily redesigned A1 debuting in 81.

Plus, Japan was really ahead in the 80s because of the economy of the country and good exchange rates. The SW20 truly shows this, as timeless as it is.

It also helps that you keep it absolutely perfect (atleast on a screen on the other side of the globe!).

 

[GDII]

It also helps that you keep it absolutely perfect (atleast on a screen on the other side of the globe!).

Hmmm, shall I document all the imperfections on the body? That would be an interesting project for me.
Yes the camera and screen does hide a lot of damage. You can click on the images for high res and start spotting.

 

[eiriksmil]

In this day and age of 'Internet builds' it's easy to forget that we all see and know our own imperfections, while the cars you see on the Internet look abolutely mint! Having said that, I would then also have to document all my cars' imperfections and I would probably lose big time!

 

[Punknoodle]

Life's way too short to worry about little imperfections.

 

[GDII]

I just cracked 99,000km in this MR2. I bought it at 156,000km at 18 years old, it is now almost 29 years old with 255,000km and counting. The original engine only made it to 230,000km before burning 1 litre of oil per 300km so I replaced it with a $200 engine with 380,000km. This engine now has 400,000km on it. Still a bit smokey but far less oil consumption.

This my not be the OG speedo but I changed it to read what the JDM 180kph speedo read when I swapped it out to this NZDM one.

 

[Bram Turismo]

And to top it off, it still looks fresh and fantastic! Keep taking such great care of it mate, I wish I had a buddy with an MR2, still one of my favourite cars way back from the Gran Turismo days...

 

[GDII]

And to top it off, it still looks fresh and fantastic! Keep taking such great care of it mate, I wish I had a buddy with an MR2, still one of my favourite cars way back from the Gran Turismo days...

You should see it today. I haven't washed it in months and as there are water bans in place I'm not really allowed to either. It's very dark right now with all the dust and I've driven it in some very short periods of rain and that's not been enough to wash off the dust. It's going to have some nasty water spots, I know it.

 

[GDII]

This may or may not be the reason the GEN4 3SGTE swap is on hold.

This beast that I designed is coming along nicely. Not too long to go now before it's finished enough to move in. Thanks to a few people in the local MR2 club for helping with some parts of the build, it's been a big help.

 

[GDII]

A MASSIVE thank you Hive Posters for this epic custom work of my car in its current format. He got the brakes, wheels, tyres and exhaust just right.



10 points to whoever can spot the 4 other unique mods.

 

[eiriksmil]

Probably GDII grade mods like a JDM side light and a splash guard from another generation MR2 I love your attention to detail I guess front lip and and rising sun decal if you count that as well

 

[MaxAttack]

Lovely example you have there! Prayers are with you that you will not snap oversteer into a wall, especially once engine weight and CoG is presumably different, have heard this can be disastrous! Simple solution: Never lift!

 

[GDII]

Probably GDII grade mods like a JDM side light and a splash guard from another generation MR2 I love your attention to detail I guess front lip and and rising sun decal if you count that as well

It is a JDM car so the side lights are not a mod. You'll have to clarify the splash guard thingy hehe.
5 Points to Eirik for the rising sun and front lip!

Lovely example you have there! Prayers are with you that you will not snap oversteer into a wall, especially once engine weight and CoG is presumably different, have heard this can be disastrous! Simple solution: Never lift!

Thank you, too ba it's super dirty at the moment as it's not been washed for 5 months.

I've not had snap oversteer, just lift of oversteer and a compression lock down shift event on cold tyres. I know these cars, I've owned it for almost 11 years now. My suspension is set to be more neutral than OEM and is has the 92+ JDM or 93+ USDM rear subframe so it's not quite as twitchy. Yeah, brake before the corner then apply power and keep adding until you are flat.

 

[MaxAttack]

It is a JDM car so the side lights are not a mod. You'll have to clarify the splash guard thingy hehe.
5 Points to Eirik for the rising sun and front lip!


Thank you, too ba it's super dirty at the moment as it's not been washed for 5 months.

I've not had snap oversteer, just lift of oversteer and a compression lock down shift event on cold tyres. I know these cars, I've owned it for almost 11 years now. My suspension is set to be more neutral than OEM and is has the 92+ JDM or 93+ USDM rear subframe so it's not quite as twitchy. Yeah, brake before the corner then apply power and keep adding until you are flat.

Have always wondered what the fixes are among enthusiasts, of course not driving like a loon always comes first

 

[GDII]

Have always wondered what the fixes are among enthusiasts, of course not driving like a loon always comes first

Driving style. You need to drive them differently than other cars. Smooth is best, drive like a loon and the fence post shows up where it shouldn't.

 

[SVX]

Modifications I can think of the top of my head:

Wheels
Red calipers
Drilled rotors
TRD exhaust
Rising sun decal
Gen 5 speed flap
Lip
Carbon vinyl on mirrors, door sill, rear valance and lip

 

[Korza]

Modifications I can think of the top of my head:

Wheels
Red calipers
Drilled rotors
TRD exhaust
Rising sun decal
Gen 5 speed flap
Lip
Carbon vinyl on mirrors, door sill, rear valance and lip

@GDII hurry up and add a 3SGTE swap to the list.

 

[SVX]

@GDII hurry up and add a 3SGTE swap to the list.

If he doesn't hurry up, he'll feel the wraith of VTEC soon enough.

 

[GDII]

Modifications I can think of the top of my head:

Wheels
Red calipers
Drilled rotors
TRD exhaust
Rising sun decal
Gen 5 speed flap
Lip
Carbon vinyl on mirrors, door sill, rear valance and lip

That's 12 points to you Sir. Or should I say SiR. It's kinda cheating as you've worked on the car and know it very well but I'll give them to you anyway.

@GDII hurry up and add a 3SGTE swap to the list.

The cost of sourcing a 3SGTE and all the plumbing is a bit out of reach right now. There seem to be plenty of ST215 Caldina down your way being wrecked but the engines go for silly money.

If he doesn't hurry up, he'll feel the wraith of VTEC soon enough.

Haha you know your VTEC is faster than my ACIS anyway! Wrath has already been felt. Maybe we turbo your one instead?

 

[Korza]

The cost of sourcing a 3SGTE and all the plumbing is a bit out of reach right now. There seem to be plenty of ST215 Caldina down your way being wrecked but the engines go for silly money.

Its surprising the number of Caldina GT-Ts and GT-Fours there are here in Christchurch. Pretty much see them everyday.

Haha you know your VTEC is faster than my ACIS anyway!

My VIAS will be fastest.

 

[GDII]

Its surprising the number of Caldina GT-Ts and GT-Fours there are here in Christchurch. Pretty much see them everyday.

Big import scene I guess. The GEN4 is fast in a Caldina that is quite a heavy car so it's going to be a big upgrade with up to 150% extra power.

My VIAS will be fastest.

Yeah but you have 50% more displacement. That's cheating, at least @SVX has a smaller engine than me and is still faster.

 

[eiriksmil]

It is a JDM car so the side lights are not a mod. You'll have to clarify the splash guard thingy hehe.

Splash guard, speed flap, etc

 

[GDII]

Splash guard, speed flap, etc

Yip, well spotted!

 

[GDII]

So I have neglected this poor thing over the last 8-9 months, only feeding it fuel and oil. Driving it every day to get me to work and back home. Building a house really takes over.

Then one day you realize there is far more oil dripping off the engine than there used to be.

That never used to be this big....

Oh you dirty thing!

And this is really bad. Oil all over the muffler from it flying off the sump.

So I think I need to do some oil seal replacement as I neglected to do this when I put the engine in last time. Serves me right for not doing it then.

And this morning he refused to start. I have a feeling it's a fuel pump based on how it tried to start. Cranked, fired, gave up on life. Attempted to start again and just cranked. Took out a spark plug and it was dry. EFI fuse was fine. I'll do some more testing when I get home to determine what I need to fix. It's been so reliable over the last while. Don't neglect your MR2 or it will make your life hard...

 

[GDII]

So I bought some seals and a new alternator belt to replace everything on the cam belt side and the distributor. So pretty much a cambelt replacement exercise to fix these issue. Not ideal but I have done it twice before, just need an extra hand to assist.

New alternator belt as my one is old and slips when it gets wet. Also squeaks and that bugs me.

SW20 MR2 Alternator Belt APK820

SW20 MR2 Alternator Belt 99364-20820

SW20 MR2 Alternator Belt 99364-20820 APK820

Oil seals

GEN2 3SGE SW20 MR2 Oil pump shaft seal 15165-70010

GEN2 3SGE SW20 MR2 oil pump o ring 15188-63010

GEN2 3SGE SW20 MR2 distributor O ring 90099-14090

3S Front crank seal 90311-42026 This is universal for all 3S cranks, 3SGE or 3SGTE.