Ive been looking at all those ones for a while now guys= I have a limit of $10,000 though guys most of those are a bit over that. Yes that Red Hardtop ( Link 5) is very nice but too expensive for me, at least with a hardtop I wouldnt be constantly battling Targa Leaks but the hardtops are allways too $$$ for my liking.

chase_ d  you said that particular one was $7000 previously, its now $12,500!, that noise under acceleration doesnt sound good,may well be heat shield vibration but could  be something much more sinister!?.
Still dunno if I should chance buying that Orange one, drove wonderfully but the leaks in particular water on the panel behind the seat is concerning as it's probably coming in through the quarter glass window!? not only that, if the leak has been there for a long time: which I suspect it has then surely the floor will be rusted too.

 The White one in link 4, I tested on the weekend, it makes an awfull rattling noise when idling that owner says" Goes away after the car is warmed up!!?" I found that it was hard to shift gears and the clutch friction point down very low and clutch hard to push in. The owner then had a drive and shifted/ operated the Gearchanges fine, the Orange MR2 shifted a million times smoother in my opinion.

Floor probably wouldn't be rusty
Unless it soaked right through all the sound deadner.
Chances are its not rusted.

That Orange one has been for sale for some time, it could be the buyer trying to twist your arm to commit to a sale, or he has finally  found a buyer. I have met the owner before on a previous cruise. Seemed like a nice bloke.
 
Number One in that List, have you seen that? Actually looks quite nice - I was actually contemplating buying it.
 
MR2s do come up, I picked mine up for less then $5000 but has higher km and has and still does need work put into it, but as would 95% of mr2s that usually end up on the market.

I wouldn't bother with considering putting wheels as negative, just think of it as a blank canvas.
 
I am 90% the orange one had an engine transplant too.
 
As you can tell none are perfect. They are at the end of the day a 20 year old car.
 
As for price of parts, I cant comment personally, many people have good luck sourcing bits from the states or through some of our forum sponsors for great price. Labor on the other hand can add up quickly if you get a mechanic to do the work for you.
 
Aircon can be as simply as a damaged hose/seized compressor all the way to having been completed stripped.

As stated earlier the MR2 shares the same stud pattern as Skylines, Silvias (200sx/S15) and many other jap RWD cars so finding wheels are easy. I do agree with you on wheels affecting a cars appearance.
 
Many wheel discussion threads on here.
Many people choose 17s.
 
When the time comes, this website is a great resource.
http://mr2.gordaen.com/wt_calc.php
 
 

All those part you mentioned and more can be replaced with the motor in the car. Timing belt job etc is doable with motor in.
Some parts are removed from the bottom and some from the top.
Only if you were doing all of them or multiples at the same time would you drop the motor as it would be quicker (cheaper) labour wise.

the timing belt etc can be done with engine in. But Like most cars I advise doing the water pump, alternator etc.

Cost me a touch over $2k.

Find a car with one done recently...like mine :)