Jaemus's 5th SW20 - JDM 92 GT hardtop turbo

Hey everyone,
 


Decided i'd put up a proper thread for this one, instead of just the youtube series like last time. (Which I may also do).


Spec:

1992 Toyota MR2 SW20 GT turbo hardtop
Super Red II


Mods (as of 15/9/16):
 
Previously Existing:
- Pod filter
- Boost tee ball valve
- Custom catback exhaust, though it looks like 2.5"
- 17" Lenso Project D with Pirelli P1's
- Autometer boost gauge
- Turbo timer
- Kouki taillight conversion - all four lights fitted with dual filament bulbs for brake/parkers
- '98 replica spoiler - filled original 3 piece wing and antenna holes
 
By me:
- Clear front corner lights with custom LED DRLs in the reflector pieces
- 260k ADM speedo replaced JDM 180k
- Man in Dandism rear window sticker
- Man in Dandism floor mats
- New door handle bezels
- New ashtray
- New gear boot
- '13 Corolla leather steering wheel conversion (ZRE182) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq7I1sUxPdo (video of installation on my previous '90 ADM MR2)
 
While I was procrastinating about my V6 SW20 and how I was going to attack the problems of needing a respray, a couple of mechanical issues and what it was going to cost to get it on the road, I saw this car come up for sale. Only slightly more than what I paid for the V6 car, but literally 10 times better value insomuch as it compared as follows;
 
Upsides (GT vs V6)
- Paint near immaculate vs completely destroyed. Seems to have been resprayed at some point in the past as the 3 pielce spoiler holes and antenna were deleted, it's quite a good job apart from some small dings, scuffs and chips it's picked up since. As you do
- Factory turbo vs converted to 3VZ, not that I'm at all against the 3VZ, I love it, but there's something to be said for a car that doesnt require an engineering certificate for rego
- Current NSW rego vs unregistered and, as said, requiring engineering
- JDM (private import - yellow plate, no compliance mods!) vs ADM for a million e-fame points
- 92 vs 90 (bigger brakes, LSD, other updates I've never had the luxury of owning as all my other cars were 90)
- Gearbox E153 LSD vs S54 open diff, and in reasonable condition too
- GT vs Base (leather/seude seats, steering foglights, power steering, etc again more fruit I've never had)
- Hardtop vs Targa (lighter, rarer, less leaky although that was a pretty much leak free targa)
 
Downsides 
- 240k vs 140k. Unknown if its the original engine. Hopefully it's been rebuilt!
- Some dubious mods (matte black snorkel, cheap wheels (but good tyres), very dicey boost gauge and turbo timer install, AFM/pod filter held on with cable ties), but nothing too difficult to sort out
- Leaking heater hose - fixed that straight away
- Missing brake light switch rubber stopper - now fixed, but battery needs replacement now as it copped a beating while the brake lights were stuck on
- Oil leaks at the cam cover / dizzy i think - have purchased lots of seals
- I do miss being able to remove the roof, sometimes, but not when it's raining :)
- Seats need reupholstering. But then, so did the V6 car's ones
 
Here's some photos from before I got it - (different wheels to what it has now, but I got those wheels with the car too - 16" Riverside Stitch mesh)
 



Spotted here at ToyotaFest a couple of years ago!

Here's a couple from my phone after I got it, showing how it currently looks. I apologise for the photo quality, I haven't done a
proper photoshoot yet.
 



 
First Sydney MR2 meet


 
 
Straight away removed the snorkel (luckily the infill panel was included)


 
Half the dash lights weren't working, and the boost gauge was located right in my face which I hated, so I fixed some of this, bit more work to do though


Before




After - still have to attack the lights in the HVAC controls, which only work if you thump them first and remove the boost gauge bracket from the steering column (have to disassemble it for that)
 
So that was, despite much anguish from the better half, an easy decision to snap it up, before first selling the V6. However it took a lot longer to sell the V6 car than I predicted, apparently primarily due to the fact that engineering certificates have doubled in price since i built my first V6 conversion in '08, and now require brakes to be upgraded arbitrarily instead of on merit. This wasn't helped by the condition of the paint, either. But most people who came to look at the car loved it, and then didn't follow up, after presumably going and figuring out what it was going to cost to get registered. In the end I shifted it and the proceeds will go toward improving the GT further :)
 

SW20 No. 74000... #niceroundnumbers #feelsgoodman
 
Plus, I now I finally have a nice garage for it to live in, so I won't have the paint destroyed by the filthy harsh Australian sun


 
Fast forward a few weeks and I discover while boosting in 4th gear that the clutch is gone. I didn't pick it up earlier, my bad for not testing it extensively. I have a feeling the prev owner would have known, but didnt say. But for the price it still isn't bad, it's just inconvenient as I really wanted a car I could just drive for a while and not have plans to immediately tear the guts out of it :P
 
I've collected all the parts I need including an Xtreme HD full face organic clutch and Xtreme 4.7kg aluminium flywheel, and we have this teed up for a couple of weekends from now, so I can get back to the business of driving the hell out of it.
 


In the meantime, i decided to investigate another issue which was hesitating / lack of power when cold. I found the dash cluster had been deprived of it's CEL check engine bulb... always a good sign... so I replaced it to naturally find it was throwing a code, the dreaded code 52. Knock sensor fault.

Not having one on hand, and not wanting to pay 200+ for one locally, I set about replacing the wiring to the sensor first (as I had some sheilded cable, sleeving, heatshrink etc on hand) as this is apparently just as common to fail as the sensor itself.
 

 
Unfortunately this wasn't the problem, and I moved on to ordering the sensor. Somewhat controversial this, I decided to get from eBay some "Genuine Denso" sensors that came up when i put in the part number, and for $50 I could get a pack of two. I figured even if they're dicey, having two is better than paying 200 for one, so I grabbed them. For all I know they could infact be geniune Denso (who make the OEM sensor anyway) but either way, it turned out they work.
 
I did note when uninstalling the OEM sensor that it was only finger tight in the engine block. This could possibly have been the cause of the fault through bad grounding or rattling in its threads - it's a microphone after all (or both) but I decided to carry on and replace it anyway. Code 52 gone, power now consistent at all temperatures. Spare sensor on the shelf. Winning :)
 
Fiddled around a bit with the badges on the rear yesterday as well, first I added the "MR2" emblem between the reversing lights that was missing originally. Got this from Amayma for under $25.
 
The "TOYOTA" badge was about an inch further inboard originally, and I knew this wasn't right. It was offending my sensibilities. So removed both that and the "GT" and while I was at it, hating the matte black they were painted, I sprayed them grey (trying to match the "MR2" emblem) but it came out a fair bit darker. Still an improvement, but I'm considering just spraying them red like normal.
 


 
Then, I added the reproduction 'Man in dandism' japlish sticker on the rear window :) I love this so much, its just so nonsensical and amuses me. 
 

 
Have also ordered the "TWIN CAM 16 turbo" decals in silver for the side mouldings as these were missing too.
 

 
Aaaaand I fitted some clear front corner lights that I already had on hand to try to modernise the look a bit.
 
Then, having fitted those, I decided to bite the bullet and buy something I'd been eyeing off for a while - clear rear indicator and side 'triangle' lenses. These were hiiiiideously expensive, but I figure will be worth it for the unique look. I got the slightly smoked ones so that they blend in a little better with the red sections, rather than being super bright white. Have some other sneaky plans for the taillights when these are put in as well. Hope it's worth the cash!

This is what it should look like:


 
Been playing with a 'scale' 3d printed prototype rear pod too, as I'm also sitting on an Aeroware front lip (like many of us have) and if I fit that, ill want skirts, and if I fit those, I'll want rear pods, which is a problem as I dont really like any of the easily available options, so maybe I can create my own!


 
Stay tuned for updates as the clutch is sorted!
 

Thanks as well to Adam (Professor Veilside) for giving the car a free polish and clay bar as well! Much appreciated :)
 

Cheers guys


Ben

I can't wait for that clutch to be sorted so you can join us on some drives again!
 
I like the look of those smoked side indicator lenses on that white MR2. I haven't seen them before, so I'm keen to see how they look on your car. I dislike smoked tail lights, but it's a totally different story having smoked sides and red main lights. 
 
I like the TOYOTA and GT badges as they look now in grey. 
 
KUTGW mate 

Jaemus
 

Thanks as well to Adam (Professor Veilside) for giving the car a free polish and clay bar as well! Much appreciated :)

Lots of expert supervision going on there. (who is that bloke on the left?) Noice one on getting a hardtop, I always got a nicer feeling sitting in one more than the t-top. 

Its good to see it in good hands Jaemus "Enjoy".

Remember seeing this for sale on toymods congrats on the purchase and nice to see another JDM hardtop turbo 👍😊

Not tempted to go 2GR with this or wrestle 2hardtop's engine off him? Has he got it in a car and running yet? It's a real shame he hasn't come back to this forum to share his knowledge.

Hey Hey! nice pick up Jaemus

The next job was to try to track down the source of oil leaks on the engine. I found a lot of oil just under the cam cover, so I decided to remove it and replace the seal.

It turned out the seal was OK, but the engine hasn't been as well looked after as I'd like, even when considering the 240k on the clock


 

 
Someone's missed an oil change or two somewhere I reckon.

Anyway I changed the seals, and took the opportunity to paint the cam cover, inspired by RobK



Getting it back on was trickier than taking it off. I got it off with the throttle still in place, but to get it back on, considering the sealant packing in the corners of the seals where it makes sharp turns was there, and I didnt want to mess that up, I had to be able to drop it down level, so I had to remove the throttle. Something to remember for next time!
 
I took the opportunity to change the dizzy rotor and cap seal as well. The posts in the cap were a little worn but not too bad, just removed the built up crud off them. 

And I also painted the intercooler hoses black which were an odd burgundy colour before



Just need to get a black silicone coupler at the throttle body to complete the look.