UG students should get their #MR2sday on with this cheap runner!

"SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie" (sidewaysondirt)
11/18/2014 at 18:31 • Filed to: mr2sday, aw11, mr2

Lemons project, cheap transportation, fun weekend ride, whatever. It has some damage that the guy tried to shoot around, but if it runs, why the hell not? It's dirt cheap. $700, so less because craigslist.

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DISCUSSION (20)

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
11/18/2014 at 18:56

Great car to turn into an autocross machine or get it back on the road as a daily.. but they're sort notorious for blowing up at Lemons. The mid-engine flaw is they aren't the best at keeping engine bay temps down.

rockingthe2 > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/18/2014 at 19:06

cut the trunk firewall, remove engine lid, add scoop on trunklid to direct cool air. boom, fixed.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > rockingthe2
11/18/2014 at 19:19

Yep. Doing this on mine.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > rockingthe2
11/18/2014 at 19:20

I'd go with larger side vents, coolant over flow tanks, oil-cooler radiator, baffled oil-pan... and bring a few sets of rear hubs.

that said, I'd rather see an MR2 back on the road instead of being molested into a lemons car.

rockingthe2 > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/18/2014 at 19:39

I like seeing them driven, if an MR2 dies on a racetrack rather than neglect, I consider that a win.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > rockingthe2
11/18/2014 at 20:07

I suppose you can beat on it till it throws a rod and then swap a 20v in there. or K20 if you want to piss off the purists.

rockingthe2 > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/18/2014 at 20:43

gen4 3sgte!

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > rockingthe2
11/18/2014 at 20:46

shh. don't bring the price up. they're currently in my price range for a potential swap next year.. the harder part is finding a late model E153 with the LSD.

rockingthe2 > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/18/2014 at 21:50

DOOOOOOOO EEEEEEEETTTTTT!

As for the trans, there was one around NoVA for $75, I shit you not. I missed out on that one sadly, I would have picked it up in a heartbeat. You CAN find them fairly reasonably, just not often.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > rockingthe2
11/18/2014 at 22:19

that would have been awesome. even if I spent $250 on shipping the damn thing to Australia it would have been more than worth it.

rockingthe2 > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/18/2014 at 22:48

You might have had to turn it upside down to install it though, and that could be a pain! Those things are heavy!

On another note, are you familiar with a guy on the forums called "Mandalay" and his build thread?

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > rockingthe2
11/18/2014 at 23:08

nah the shipping boat flips it upside down when it crosses the equator so it's all good.

that's the supercharged beams sw20 right?

I've been a longtime lurker on the Australia boards but I've never posted.

rockingthe2 > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/18/2014 at 23:40

how thoughtful of them!

Yes, it is. I saw it on mr2oc or mr2.com

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > rockingthe2
11/18/2014 at 23:44

I think it's the cleanest engine swap I've ever seen. Even better than the paul woodsport ones (which is high praise because they're almost perfect)

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/19/2014 at 08:09

While I like seeing them on the road, most of them are too far gone to be worth restoring. If it were a nice one going for that price, I would totally say "save it" and suggest it as someone's first resto-mod. I don't think that this is the car for that, though. It would make a killer track rat for cheap, though.

rockingthe2 > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/19/2014 at 10:41

The level of detail that guy had was incredible.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > rockingthe2
11/19/2014 at 19:25

I'll admit that every time I'm down in Melbourne I keep an eye out for it. big city though :P

They do the National trackday meet back in my hometown in January.. though it's always right on my first day back from the compulsory shutdown period which sucks. I'll see if I can scam an extra day and go spectate.

If not I'll send my dad in my car and he can take pictures for me.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
11/19/2014 at 19:32

how much do they go for in the states?

if that was going for $700 here I would have bought it already, I could replace the bent panels, headlight and starter for much less than what I could sell it for.

Even with the paint it'd sell for $2k an upwards so long as it ran fine.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/19/2014 at 20:20

I find them dirt cheap all of the time. I can find ones that can be picked up for a grand or so and driven home within 200 miles of me on maybe a biweekly or monthly basis. That being said, I live in Florida. They don't rust as badly here as they do up north. Apparently, cheap beater ones are harder to come by the farther north you go.

rockingthe2 > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
11/19/2014 at 20:24

I sincerely hope that one day i will be able to build an mr2 to that level.