Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

I am back in the turbo game.

Vehicle: 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo -Sunroof model
Purchased mileage: 160,603
Modifications at purchase and installed (not all correctly installed):
VIS carbon fiber hood
TRD short shifter
Greddy turbo timer
Greddy electronic boost controller
98+ JDM shift knob and shift boot
1994+ tail light conversion w/2 center pieces 1 carbon fiber that isn't installed (and will be for sale
EMS digital boost gauge
Bilstein shocks
EBC greenstuff pads rear
Apex-i intake
Kenwood speakers


This vehicle is destined to be my good weather daily driver and supplement my trucks gasoline addiction. I don't want to sell my pick-up, but it is now being moved to a towing/road trip/winter vehicle.

The MR2 will be modified in stages. I really have no end goal for it, just to have fun and enjoy it. This summer it will be the daily driver and my autocross toy. It has some modifications that disqualify me from the stock class, I will leave them in place for now and run in the novice school and decide if I want to setup the car to be class specific, or build it to whatever I choose and just race for fun.

Stage 0: Righting what is wrong -Started

Currently it needs some wiring help, a stereo, some interior plastic pieces replaced, reverse lights installed, new tabs, new tires, fluids changed, tires (new but s/w cracks from underinflation) and just the car needs a good bath. The paint is 20 years old and shows, I will be buffing it out and seeing how it comes back. If I decide to make this a long term project, it will be painted during one of these winters. There is only 1 small spot of rust I've found so far and that will be dealt with in the next few weeks.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Stage 0 Pictures:
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...m/mr2_back.JPG
As I found it. ^^
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/.../mr2_front.JPG
Other side as it was being looked over for purchase. ^^
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/..._pass_side.JPG
Best picture I have so far. ^^
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/..._ride_home.JPG
How you get a questionably running car with expired tabs home. ^^
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...ium/engine.JPG
The blank canvas at home. ^^
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...river_side.JPG
At home. ^^
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...river_side.JPG
At home other angle. ^^

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

sounds fun gl with build

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

moar piktars! I love these old school MR2's!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Always liked the look of these. Congrats on the purchase. We need pics!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

just found out a cousin of mine has a turbo mr2 with the jdm engine...supposively it's pretty "quick" with just the jdm engine?? not sure but these cars do look pretty nice.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

That looks like it's in pretty good condition for the age. I've seen a lot of these with paint in much worse condition, living on it's last leg. Glad to see this one went to a good home!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Looks like a good start, that hood has to go though. Also, red tends to fade the fastest of any colors, but usually buffs out pretty well if there's enough paint left. The nice thing is they are super light and you can put a lot of tire under the rear.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

I *love* these cars, I wanted one sooo bad...then I got a dsm instead :P

I can't wait to see what you have in store for it!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Sweet!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

My 85 MR2 had the same "pink" paint job when I bought it too. I took some red color back wax to it and it buffed up real nice. Mine has quite a bit more rust than that and way more miles.

Good find. The diamond in the rough. I know you'll have fun with it. There are a few MR2 forums around if you have questions about things. There are some very knowledgable guys around town here. There just isn't a lot of posting going on in the midwest forums though. Not a lot of action going on with them.

Can't wait to see this thing this summer. Well, gotta go get back to work on hunting down my oil leak on mine.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Should be fun! Just add pics and info as the thread progresses, no need to save the first few posts...nobody will go back and look at the beginning once this gets a few pages in anyway :D

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Awesome! I love this generation of MR2. Definitely a car I'd like to own some day.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Good call, thanks for the free thread clean-up :).

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Sweet! No need to worry about mods yet, just make sure it's safe and show up and have fun. (and save gas)

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Congrats on the new purchase!

I've always wanted one of those as well, sound be a fun car

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

I've got one as well. Very fun to drive. I guess I should make my own project thread as well.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Very nice. I agree with hill, get rid of the hood.

I've also always liked the way these cars looked.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

I've always liked these cars. I remember Sport Compact Car built one of these like to 600hp or more.

FWIW for AutoX, your CF hood will put you all the way into the Super Street Modified class where you'd be competing against heavily modified cars on R-Comps. If you put a stocker back on, your higher-than-factory boost will put you in Street Prepared which is a bit more restricted but still very competitive.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Congrats on the purchase, looks like it should be a fun project!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

This was my favorite car for all of high school, but i just couldnt afford one back then. I remember people on the forums always bitching about the "hose from hell"

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

My buddy had a NT one back in 1997 when I got my first DSM, I was surprised how much smaller the MR2 was inside than my Talon. Cool car, should be a lot of fun.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Lol. That sure wasn't fun to replace.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

I have not checked the HFH on this one yet, I may start working on it tonight if time permits.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

There is also the hose from hell on earth which is another coolant hose next to the hose from hell. You'll have to remove the oil cooler and the bracket. When I did mine, the bracket threads got stripped. Went to the dealer and they said there are only 5 left in the US and they are in Cali. Another place that coolant tends to leak are the 2 heater aluminum lines that runs from the engine to the heater core. Toyota no longer has them in stock. I re-looped mine because I won't be needing heat for summer. Hopefully you don't have any of these problems.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Well stage 1 for wiring is nearly complete. I've decided I am going to go back at the turbo timer harness here tonight and hook up the speedometer feature as I'll be putting in the reverse lights and have the trunk all torn apart anyway (ECU is in the back).

The problem was multifaceted as to why this car was a wiring nightmare.
1) The grounds were not consistent or even "grounded" some ground wires for different items were run to locations that wouldn't ground to the chassis.
2) The previous owner did not believe in soldering connections, using crimp connections, or even making a solid twist. It was a half of a twist to sometimes 2 twists for a connection with electrical tape holding it together.
3) Instead of cutting the wires to length, I think it was cut wire, then install, then cut more wire because it was short, and then install. For the boost gauge, it took 7 wires connected to ground the gauge and to run to the recall button to see max boost pressure.
4)Turbo timer power wiring was installed to the factory harness with a install harness, but then the auxiliary and 12v constant power hookups were routed back and also spliced into the ignition harness at the key cylinder. I wonder why this vehicle had 30amp ECU and ignition fuses instead of the factory 7.5amp...
5) The stereo wasn't "removed" it was stolen. The driver side rear glass is new Toyota without the "warning stereo will not work if removed sticker" that they all have, the driver side door class is scratched from a screwdriver, the molding is gouged, and there were glass bits all over in the vehicle. Thankfully the stereo wiring seemed intact for the most part as the previous previous owner must have done that and the speaker install (professional hookups to the factory wiring, just had to tap into the adapter harness for the new stereo.
6) Items "routed" through the rear bulkhead/firewall weren't threw a grommet and were chaffing against the exposed metal.

On to the pictures.
In the first two shots, we have the interior pre me getting started, except I have already moved the turbo timer and boost controller to where I want them. When I got the car the turbo timer was in the radio "hole" and the boost controller was in the glove box.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...prewiring2.JPG
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...prewiring1.JPG
The wiring pulled out of the hole
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...pre_rewire.JPG
Here is what I found when I traced the wires to the firewall.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...rewallfail.JPG
This is what you use to fix this problem after you file the burr away that was behind the vacuum line (couldn't get a picture) and clean up the hole.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...52/grommet.JPG
Installing the grommet.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...et_install.JPG
How it should have been.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...ewallfixed.JPG
Mid wiring chaos.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...mid_wiring.JPG
This is how you setup a grounding solution for future use!
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...g_solution.JPG
Mounting the Greddy bits into the single din holder.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...ing_greddy.JPG
Wiring completed
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/..._completed.JPG
Interior completed
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/..._complete1.JPG
Interior completed 2.
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/..._complete2.JPG

I also took and remounted the left front foglight as zipties are not the proper way to deal with stripped screws, but a drill can fix those screws. Fixed a few blown fuses and took it out for a spin, car runs great! Now to check vitals and work on the list below.

Parts here left to install:
-94+ reverse lights
-valve cover gasket
-fuel filter
-oil change
-SS clutch line
-SS brake lines
-Synthetic brake fluid

Items still to fix:
-Speedometer wire from ECM to turbo timer
-License plate lights inoperable
-Driver side seat worn, need to figure how much I want to spend on covers

Items coming in the mail/need to pick up and install:
-Wheels possibly (waiting to hear back from the owner as to when to meet)
-Aluminum Radiator
-Radiator to pipe hoses
-Aerocatch hood pins
-Trans fluid

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

You put the turbo timer back in? :D

Clean work, looks good. My Evo has one, that sucker is coming out when I get to it.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

I will bump this for you since I want some updates!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

I like the look of interior! Sweet ride!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Interior looks good!!!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

You sure do love wiring, don't you? :)

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Update from 4/5, didn't post it here as no pictures loaded, will add later.

Update:
Slow going, but found another reason why you should inspect vehicles 100% prior to buying them, (or just trailer them home and expect the worse like I did)

The vehicle was advertised in having "new" brakes. While the pads are new appearing, the job wasn't done correctly (big surprise). Found BOTH caliper slide bolts missing from the Driver's front caliper. Meaning on my sweet 5.8 mile test drive , if I would have had to panic stop, there is a good chance that caliper would have ejected itself from the rotor and braking would have been a null and void idea.
Good thing I decided to install the stainless brake and clutch lines while I have it apart. My thoughts were that a 20 year old vehicle should probably have them changed with a brake/clutch fluid flush...I didn't expect to find nearly disconnected brakes.

Things accomplished that I will show pictures (since last update):

-Engine bay cleaned up, valve cover gasket replaced
-Spark plugs replaced, 1 stage colder, gapped to .030" and indexed
-Valve clearances checked, all within spec except on exhaust valve that is to tight, I am chalking that up to carbon and letting it buck
-Multiple vacuum lines replaced that were torn/brittle
-Extensive cleaning of intercooler system sans intercooler itself
-SS brake lines
-SS Clutch line
-Aluminum radiator installed
-Clutch fluid flushed
-Brake fluid flushed
-Coolant flushed
-Fuel filter changed

On Deck:
-install 2 new caliper slide bolts
-fill coolant with custom distilled water+water wetter+ 50/50 coolant mix
-oil change, 10w30 valvoline synthetic and purolator filter
-trans fluid change, custom blend of Shockproof liteweight and syncromesh
-Install Aerocatch hood pins
-clean air filter/air intake
-clean up last intercooler pipe and reinstall piping
-install and route catch can
-Get new tires installed
-Install camber bolts
-Alignment

On the plus side, minus the ugly body the mechanical aspects of the car are coming together and it should be roadworthy this week pending any other “interesting” finds.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Today's update:

I drove it to work.

Things left to do:

-rebleed brakes, spongy wouldn't begin to describe this mush. I will have to try it with the car running so the ABS pump works, I think I got air in there :(
-Install hood pins
-Figure out why that damn turbo timer isn't working. Think its a setting, just haven't looked at it.
-Install new wiper blades
-Detail this pink pig and see if I can get some of these dents pdr pulled
-get tires installed
-alignment

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Well the next item on the list, after getting the brakes bled and tires on (last weekend) was to start "de-pinking" the car. The paint was heavily oxidized.

I've snapped some before and current shots. No wax on the car yet, and all work done by hand, my rotary buffer or DA polisher haven't been touched. Before I chewed up pads and heavy buffing compound, I decided to see what can be done with the following:

1. Wash vehicle through Kwik Trip Car wash (best one without wax applied)
2. Mother's California Gold Claybar using Mother's Quick Detailer as lubricant
3. Meguiars Ultimate Compound, applied with 4.5" terry cloth hand pads
4. Meguiars Deep Crystal System Polish, applied with 4.5" microfiber hand pads

Still to come:
-2 Stage Wax with DA polisher (really helps "set" the was in to the Polish)

The area's I've "worked" have been the roof, rear engine cover and side covers, trunk lid, spoiler, and the A and C pillars. They are done through the above 4 steps
Still need to do:

• Front Fenders
• Doors
• Rear panels
• Front Bumper
• Rear Bumper
• Carbon Fiber Hood (this will be a learning experience as the clear is kind of nasty, I may use Mequiars Crystal System Paint Cleaner as it isn't as abrasive as the Ultimate I've found)
• Mirrors (missing a lot of clear, may just buy red ones off a crashed mr2 and call it good)
• windows cleaned

Keep in mind, this is 20 year old, factory paint that has been through a lot of neglect. The hail damage coupled with the missing paint made me not worry about getting it perfect to the naked eye. This car is about making improvements from previous, not perfect. Over time things will be sorted out.

Total time invested so far:
-6 hours
Best time savings:
-Running it through touchless car was instead of spending 1+ hours washing/drying car

Before shots after putting engine back together:
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...re_detail1.JPG
(Notice the heavy heavy oxidation on the trunk lid, the roof and everything "up" is the same above photo left side, below photo right side)
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...re_detail2.JPG
Before shots outside:
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...r2_upload2.JPG
During shots:
Left side -After claybar + Ultimate Compound. Right side-After Claybar only
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...r2_upload4.JPG
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...r2_upload3.JPG
Current condition (done minus wax):
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...tage_2_-2_.JPG
(Yes my ceiling is sheetrocked and mudded/taped but not painted)
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...st_stage_2.JPG
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...r2_upload6.JPG
(If you look closely you will see reflections of: Weed wacker, plywood, shelf, few buckets full of fishing gear)
http://www.mitsustyle.com/photopost/...r2_upload5.JPG
(Notice the ladder, garage door opener)

Not perfect, but at least what paint is left is shining again! :banana:

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Looks good! It's amazing what some time and effort can do for a paint job. I can't wait to cut and buff my 1g.

Personally, I prefer 3M products to Meguirs. I highly recommend trying them out if you already haven't.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

That is awesome. It gives me some hope with my car.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

She shines up real nice!

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Nice work on the shine, but you really could've saved yourself a bunch of time by just buffing it with a high speed buffer, the end result is exactly the same. Looks good, should be fun for summer if it ever arrives.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

I agree with Steve that it would have been a lot faster to just use a good heavy cut compound on a high speed buffer, then use a good swirl mark remover and add some polish and wax, good to go. You probably could have done the whole car in the same amount of time it took you to do that little bit.

Re: Readmittance to the Game, 1991 MR2 Turbo
 

Looks good! X2 on electric buffer, thats all I ever use.