Ah, the Toyota MR2. Ever since driving a couple of the MKI versions from the 1980’s, I’ve had the Toyota MR2 creeping around the back of my mind. So when the opportunity presented itself to pick one up for cheap, I couldn’t pass it up.
Sometimes referred to as Mister Two, the correct meaning behind the MR2 is “Mid-ship Runabout Two-Seater”. That’s a bit of a mouth-full, so I get why Toyota opted to abbreviate.
Stats:
- Year: 1993
- Make: Toyota
- Model: MR2 (MKII, SW20)
- Trim Level: NA (non-turbo)
- Engine: 2.2L Inline 4 cylinder, 5S-FE
- Horsepower: 135 hp at 5400 rpm
- Torque: 145 ft-bls @4400 rpm
- Transmission: 5-speed Manual
- Drive Type: Rear wheel drive
- EPA Mileage Est (City/Hwy): 19/26 mpg
- Mileage: 209,000
- Where purchased: auction (clean title, donated vehicle)
- Purchase Price: $1,100
This Toyota MR2’s History
I stumbled upon this particular model at a salvage auction in Kansas City when I was browsing for M3’s. It was a clean-title car that had been donated to charity and claimed to be a “ride and drive”, which meant that it would at least move under its own power. It was covered in snow in the pictures and was a complete gamble. Still, I figured it’d be worth the risk and snagged it for about $1,100 by the time the dust settled.
Body and Paint
The amount of leaves piled up in every corner of the exterior attested to several years of outdoor living, and the faded paint backed up this suspicion. Still, apart from one corner of the passenger-side rocker, there was no rust and the body appeared to be straight.
Paint-wise, it needed help. It was apparent that someone had repainted at least some of the body panes, as evidenced by significant differences in the amount of fade and clear-coat pealing from panel to panel.
Engine and Drivetrain
The engine and drivetrain appeared intact. It would start up and run, but upon further investigation we discovered that it had no alternator. The tires were old and cracking, but still held air.
Interior
The interior was complete, apart from an after-market radio straight from the multi-color, flashing light early 2000’s. It even had the two factor bags that came with the car for stowing the T-tops behind the seats. It also had both the T-top removable headliners/sunshades. The seat leather was torn and brittle. There were no cracks in the dash or any other significant damage to the interior trim.The carpet showed signs of staining, most likely from leaky T-tops.
1993 MR2 First Impressions
Overall, I’m pretty excited about this MR2. It’ll take some work, but has strong bones and a lot of potential. It’s a fun driver that gets good gas mileage and looks great. Plus, it has the advantage of being a fairly rare car; according to MR2wiki, only 1,742 units were made for the USA/Canada market in 1993. And post-1993 cars are the most desirable, due to a significant number of design improvements initiated by Toyota that year.
Plans and Inspiration
The debate now is how much work to do to it. Should I do a clean stock refurbish or go crazy and completely rice it out? The latter is fun but not really my style. And my budget for this project is pretty slight given that I still have the Cayenne to rebuild and the E36 M3 that just rolled in.
Instagram and Pinterest are evil temptresses when it comes to the MR2, and I’ve found no shortage of inspiration cars. Here’s a few that are well done. I most likely won’t be quite as aggressive or as spendy as these builds, but they’re still fun to consider.
Trevor
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