(Insert stripper name here), my 1988 Toyota MR2 AW11.
Hi guys,
I'm probably the youngest guy on here (22) and it's my first time posting so go easy.
This is my 1988 Toyota MR2 AW11. I've owned it for about 5 months now. Purchased for $5.3k. It's currently on 389xxxkms, i bought it on 388xxxkms so i obviously haven't driven it much, i'll explain later on. The best thing about this car to me is that it's 95% rust free. This is because the car was previously registered in Brisbane which i think is where it spent most of it's life, so the sun has saved this car to some extent, but has also damaged it in some ways too. The previous owner in Brisbane i believe had taken decent care of the car, however in the time from when it was last registered until now, it has been pretty neglected.
Here's the things that have been sorted since I took ownership.
- Right side window regulator and motor have been changed - the window couldn't wind itself up, the gear on the motor was missing teeth and so was the regulator gear too so both were changed.
- Left side window motor gear changed - it was making that cracking noise on it's way up. I think just about every AW11 owner has changed at least the gear by now.
- All the suspension bushes were changed to Superpro Poly ones
- New rear tie rod and rack end change
- New front end links
- New front indicator lens, i forgot which side.
- New door handle bezels
- Rebarreled the spare barrels that came with the car and installed.
- Oil change to 5W-30 full synthetic - it does consume very little and doesn't leak anywhere except the dizzy which is apparently normal.
- Timing and idle corrected - it was timed @12deg, corrected back to 10. Idle set down to 800.
- Installed the correct spark plugs - managed to get the BKRP5E11 i think? The proper platinum NGK ones for only $5 a piece from Supercheap. They were on clearance so i bought 3 or 4 sets. I had to travel over Melbourne to grab all the last ones though.
- New O2 sensor - the old one was shot, my brother and I drove the car around rich which ended up washing all the oil off the piston rings, fouling the plugs which left the car running on two cylinders at some point. On a side note, the car has probably been running longer on less than 4 cylinders than it has been running on 4 if that makes any sense. Pretty sure running rich also screwed the cat too but i think it sorted itself out with the new sensor.
- Fuel filter change - it broke down on the side of the road when my brother took it out. The fuel tank is definitely full of rust, evident when it got changed and the 'fuel' looked like Milo. On a side note, i did put a full tank of 98 in it, which has detergents. So i'm guessing the detergents worked because it wasn't long after that the fuel filter completely **** itself. Here's a photo of it getting towed.
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- Changed the headlight retractor relay - not sure if you guys have experienced this but the headlights go absolutely spastic and go up and down forever until you turn off the lights. Had to change that. It did play up a little even with a changed relay but hasn't played up since.
- Changed various globes and bulbs when they went out.
- Changed the dizzy cap to a second hand one off another AW11 which was in better condition than the one currently on.
- Changed the ignition coil - I'm not sure if the ignition coil was the same one from the factory (impressive if it was), but i took the car out one day to the city to have dinner and started it afterwards. When i set off it ran on 3, so i was told to change it and i did. Hasn't had any problems since.
- Given it a decent clean and wash in and out, but the paint is just horrible so i'm not really bothering anymore. The previous owner had a dog and there's stains all over the seats so i tried cleaning that but no luck. Will have to call in the steam cleaners at some point.
- Got an alignment - it really really needed one.
- Bought an original key - needs to be cut.
That's all i can think of right now, but so far, it's cost me a fair bit to get all of that done.
Come to present day, here are my plans for it at the moment:
- Timing belt kit which i managed to get for only $20 on clearance at Repco
- GMB water pump i bought on eBay
- Alternator belt - haven't bought it yet
- Clutch Kit - needs to be installed, the current one is slipping pretty badly if you push it hard.
- Clutch master and slave cylinders - currently being sorted as we speak. It was leaking but got really bad last week. I topped it up the day before and the next morning there was none left.
- Touch up and try to correct the faded red paint and a-pillar trims. Mirrors too. I've been thinking of plasti-dipping the pillar pieces and touching up the red paint with a small touch-up kit that you hook up to the air comp.
- Install the eyelashes, i bought oem screws from Toyota for it too, $15 for both sides.
- Get it steam cleaned.
- Fix or find c-pillar trims - it's too bloody expensive to buy good condition ones.
- I really like the JDM/Supercharger lights so i'd love to get my hands on a pair for a reasonable price at some point.
- Fix the SSR wheels on the car, pretty sure they're not round. After alignment there is still vibrations in the steering wheel from 90.
There's heaps of stuff but again, that's all i can think of for now. A respray is a must in the future and a fresh set of rims and tyres. The offset is incredibly hard to work with, but i like deep dish wheels so it's an almost impossible task.
So obviously, you can see that is project is pretty huge and it's going to need a lot of work. I'm a broke uni student so I imagine that this is going to take another 5 years until I get it where I want it. I imagine that this is probably the worst AW11 you guys have laid eyes on hence the (insert stripper name here). I'd appreciate any advice you guys can give, and any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll be sure to keep tabs on this thread and read all of your comments too.
Thanks :)
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