1997 Toyota MR2 SW20R Bathurst
Hello everybody.
Been on these forums for a long time but I don't really post much. So I thought I'd use this opportunity to show you my car. This is my 1997 Toyota MR2 SW20R Bathurst.
Growing up, this was one of my dream 90's Japanese sports cars. I've always loved the shape of the SW20 and in my eyes, the fact that they were mid-engined increased their coolness factor 10-fold. So come 2015, this model was posted for sale by another member (Rizza) and I scored this for an absolute bargain. My first sports car.
When it first came into my possession it was pretty rough. It had a lot of hail dents, the paint was pretty poor (still is), ran on really bad tyres and the suspension was pretty much rooted. The aim of the game for me was to keep it as original as possible whilst giving it the needed upgrades to bring it into the 21st century.
Along the way, I got rid of the cheap pod filter and installed the factory air intake. The hail dents were removed and the front bar resprayed. The worn aftermarket headunit was removed along with the barely-working speakers and replaced with the factory headunit and a set of Alpine speakers in the front and rear.
Performance wise, I've added:
Koni F+R inserts
Lovells F+R lowering springs
Whiteline F+R anti-roll bars
SuperPro adjustable F+R endlinks
Goodridge braided brake lines
Cusco F+R strut bars
Ultra Racing under-chassis brace
Wheels are Enkei RPF1's. 17x9 with Kumho PS71's on the rear and 17x8 with Kumho KU39's on the front.
Other additions include spherical shifter bearings and solid shifter mounts.
Despite 5 years of ownership, this is still an ongoing project. The front end has a clunk over bumps which I suspect is due to the springs not being wrapped and therefore binding with the spring perch. The car came with a replica B&M short shifter which I really dislike. It's as notchy as anything and shifting is massive drainer. I've since acquired an OEM 93+ shifter from PrimeMR2 which I still need to fit. The roof also leaks, for which I've ordered some magic grease to see if that'll help my issue. It'll slowly get there. I've attached some photos below, and yes that's also my GC8 WRX.
I still have a great time every time I hop into this thing. It's as slow as anything, but a car this slow will help me perfect my race craft before I hop into something much more powerful. You gotta walk before you can run!
post edited by SW20R. - Wednesday, August 05, 2020 3:45 AM