Model: Toyota MR2
Year: 1989
Mileage: 136,610
Tax: End of July 2013
MOT: July 20th 2014
Location: Just outside Banbury, Oxfordshire (M40 jn 11)
Price: £1900 ono
Contact details: PM me on here
Reluctant sale of my much-loved MR2
I have owned this car for ~5 years now, and have enjoyed my time with it immensely. I bought it with ~122k miles and have averaged about 3000miles a year in it... the 4 previous milages on the MOT cert are;
2013: 136607
2012: 131118
2011: 130092
2010: 126889
If you want a peek at the build thread, it's here: retrorides.proboards.com/thread/42164/1989-toyota-mr2-mk1-wheels?page=1 But I've not had time to update it with the more recent work.
In case you don't know about these, it has a mid-mounted 1.6l 16valve twin-cam engine (the legendary 4A-GE, that was also found in AE86 Corollas, Corolla GTis etc) that from factory put out circa 120bhp. This feeds the rear wheels through a 5spd close-ratio transaxle, and has an enthusiastic, revvy power delivery. Despite the sporting pretensions, it's practical – I've camped at the Gathering in it for 3 years now, as well as taking it for big weekly shops and on various weeks away. Many parts are still available from Toyota and there is excellent club support from various forums.
This one was registered in 1989, and was spec'd with a sunroof (stiffer shell and less prone to leaks than the T-bar option) in Mica Blue metallic - widely regarded as "the best colour" in mk1 circles. Pop the sunroof off (it stows on factory brackets in the front boot), point it at a B-road on a sunny afternoon and enjoy. Alternatively, put some Depeche Mode on the stereo and meander through the city at night, pop-up lights shining and '80s nostalgia wafting out of the airvents
Since it has been in my possession (I.e. over the past 5 years/~15,000miles), I have treated it to many replacement parts:
Replacement transaxle out of 89k mile car to cure bearing noise
New clutch
New KYB front shock inserts
New front ARB droplinks
Recon steering rack
Replacment throttle position sensor
Pads and discs all around (rears were earlier this year)
Replacement radiator (earlier this year, a small bit of flying debris put a hole in the original)
Replaced brake master cylinder (earlier this year, original was weeping)
Repair of corrosion and preventative work in heater air channels in forward bulkhead. It's a water-trap and horrible to get to!
NSR arch professionally repaired (corrosion) with metal, not plop! (other side has had a whole new quarter panel at some point and looks fantastic, I only realised this when pulling the boot trim out to get to the rear light clusters!)
Replacement drivers side electric window motor
New battery last Christmas
Replacement pop-up light retractor relay
Regular servicing with fluid and filter changes
I have put my own twist on it, but always kept in mind that I wouldn't do anything that would prevent it from being able to be returned to standard condition one day. Notable changes include:
Banded Vauxhall steels (14x7.5 et12 front 14x8.5 et3 rear) with 185/55/14 tyres. Unbanded 5th one as the spare. Driftworks tapered tuner bolts in matching black.
"Supercharger" JDM spec rear lights and centre panel with square plate.
Square front plate with offset bracket
Black leather Lotus Elise bucket seats on modified MR2 runners (at 6'2” I was too tall for the stock seats. These are BRILLIANT!)
Despoilered bootlid
Stubby aerial
Jimi-bracket (replacement throttle cable bracket, have a google)
A couple of coils snipped off of each corner (not excessive) to close down the arch gap and stiffen things up.
Rich-spec exhaust (a modified Scorpion stainless steel MR2 system, one of the tips got knocked off in the field at the Gathering last summer so the second was removed and custom upswept tips fabricated. Satin-blacked it to make it a bit more subtle... Nice noise and tone, not too boomy)
CD/radio cassette out of a '90s Camry (took me ages to hunt down the right one that would plug straight into the stock loom)
Pioneer/Alpine replacement speakers
(Pictured is my Abarth 2-spoke steering wheel, this won't be included, instead an excellent condition original MR2 blue leather steering wheel will be fitted. I'll chuck in the aftermarket boss incase you want to fit your own wheel though).
Spares available:
Aftermarket steering wheel boss
5x original "Teardrop" alloys, some with possibly usable tyres
Original bootlid with spoiler
Original rear lamp lenses
Really high quality Stormforce fitted (model specific) cover – weatherproof, breathable, fleecy-lined. Not cheap but I had it laid up over a couple of winters and wanted it protected!
I've still got the complete megadrive install set aside that is featured in the build thread. Removed it as I wasn't using it and was going to eBay seperately. Will chuck in if it goes for asking price, or £60 the lot otherwise.
I've also got a thicker (19mm) rear anti-roll bar off of a mk2 turbo, a well regarded upgrade for the mk1. Complete with polybushes and fitting brackets, I never got around to fitting it. Will chuck it in if it goes for the asking price.
Negative points:
Small area of blistering behind NSR arch:
Front bumper scraped OSF - this happened a few months back, I returned to the car in a public car park and somebody had obviously pulled out of the space next-door and cut across too close. There are lots of these getting broken in this colour so a bumper skin from a breaker would probably be the easiest solution.
Various dings/dents/scratches - this is a 24 year old car. That said, sit it out on a sunny day and it absolutely gleams - the paint is gloriously deep. The pictures can't really capture that (though I tried), but I hope you can get the impression of the overall condition.
Reason for sale:
I'm in my final year of veterinary school and needed a more vetty car to be getting around in - I've now got a Volvo V40 for that. Life as a final year vet student is very busy and I've not got enough time to enjoy the MR2 anymore. I'm also in the process of looking for a post-grad job overseas, so this would have to go then anyway. I thought I might as well offer it up now so someone can get some enjoyment out of it over the summer!
Overall it's a decent example of an appreciating and iconic model that'll keep you in touch with your inner driver! It has a fresh ticket for peace of mind, and if you come and get it before the end of July and you can drive it home with some tax remaining.
PM me on here with inquiries. Car is viewable just outside Banbury. Happy to pick you up from Banbury station if that works.
Year: 1989
Mileage: 136,610
Tax: End of July 2013
MOT: July 20th 2014
Location: Just outside Banbury, Oxfordshire (M40 jn 11)
Price: £1900 ono
Contact details: PM me on here
Reluctant sale of my much-loved MR2
I have owned this car for ~5 years now, and have enjoyed my time with it immensely. I bought it with ~122k miles and have averaged about 3000miles a year in it... the 4 previous milages on the MOT cert are;
2013: 136607
2012: 131118
2011: 130092
2010: 126889
If you want a peek at the build thread, it's here: retrorides.proboards.com/thread/42164/1989-toyota-mr2-mk1-wheels?page=1 But I've not had time to update it with the more recent work.
In case you don't know about these, it has a mid-mounted 1.6l 16valve twin-cam engine (the legendary 4A-GE, that was also found in AE86 Corollas, Corolla GTis etc) that from factory put out circa 120bhp. This feeds the rear wheels through a 5spd close-ratio transaxle, and has an enthusiastic, revvy power delivery. Despite the sporting pretensions, it's practical – I've camped at the Gathering in it for 3 years now, as well as taking it for big weekly shops and on various weeks away. Many parts are still available from Toyota and there is excellent club support from various forums.
This one was registered in 1989, and was spec'd with a sunroof (stiffer shell and less prone to leaks than the T-bar option) in Mica Blue metallic - widely regarded as "the best colour" in mk1 circles. Pop the sunroof off (it stows on factory brackets in the front boot), point it at a B-road on a sunny afternoon and enjoy. Alternatively, put some Depeche Mode on the stereo and meander through the city at night, pop-up lights shining and '80s nostalgia wafting out of the airvents
Since it has been in my possession (I.e. over the past 5 years/~15,000miles), I have treated it to many replacement parts:
Replacement transaxle out of 89k mile car to cure bearing noise
New clutch
New KYB front shock inserts
New front ARB droplinks
Recon steering rack
Replacment throttle position sensor
Pads and discs all around (rears were earlier this year)
Replacement radiator (earlier this year, a small bit of flying debris put a hole in the original)
Replaced brake master cylinder (earlier this year, original was weeping)
Repair of corrosion and preventative work in heater air channels in forward bulkhead. It's a water-trap and horrible to get to!
NSR arch professionally repaired (corrosion) with metal, not plop! (other side has had a whole new quarter panel at some point and looks fantastic, I only realised this when pulling the boot trim out to get to the rear light clusters!)
Replacement drivers side electric window motor
New battery last Christmas
Replacement pop-up light retractor relay
Regular servicing with fluid and filter changes
I have put my own twist on it, but always kept in mind that I wouldn't do anything that would prevent it from being able to be returned to standard condition one day. Notable changes include:
Banded Vauxhall steels (14x7.5 et12 front 14x8.5 et3 rear) with 185/55/14 tyres. Unbanded 5th one as the spare. Driftworks tapered tuner bolts in matching black.
"Supercharger" JDM spec rear lights and centre panel with square plate.
Square front plate with offset bracket
Black leather Lotus Elise bucket seats on modified MR2 runners (at 6'2” I was too tall for the stock seats. These are BRILLIANT!)
Despoilered bootlid
Stubby aerial
Jimi-bracket (replacement throttle cable bracket, have a google)
A couple of coils snipped off of each corner (not excessive) to close down the arch gap and stiffen things up.
Rich-spec exhaust (a modified Scorpion stainless steel MR2 system, one of the tips got knocked off in the field at the Gathering last summer so the second was removed and custom upswept tips fabricated. Satin-blacked it to make it a bit more subtle... Nice noise and tone, not too boomy)
CD/radio cassette out of a '90s Camry (took me ages to hunt down the right one that would plug straight into the stock loom)
Pioneer/Alpine replacement speakers
(Pictured is my Abarth 2-spoke steering wheel, this won't be included, instead an excellent condition original MR2 blue leather steering wheel will be fitted. I'll chuck in the aftermarket boss incase you want to fit your own wheel though).
Spares available:
Aftermarket steering wheel boss
5x original "Teardrop" alloys, some with possibly usable tyres
Original bootlid with spoiler
Original rear lamp lenses
Really high quality Stormforce fitted (model specific) cover – weatherproof, breathable, fleecy-lined. Not cheap but I had it laid up over a couple of winters and wanted it protected!
I've still got the complete megadrive install set aside that is featured in the build thread. Removed it as I wasn't using it and was going to eBay seperately. Will chuck in if it goes for asking price, or £60 the lot otherwise.
I've also got a thicker (19mm) rear anti-roll bar off of a mk2 turbo, a well regarded upgrade for the mk1. Complete with polybushes and fitting brackets, I never got around to fitting it. Will chuck it in if it goes for the asking price.
Negative points:
Small area of blistering behind NSR arch:
Front bumper scraped OSF - this happened a few months back, I returned to the car in a public car park and somebody had obviously pulled out of the space next-door and cut across too close. There are lots of these getting broken in this colour so a bumper skin from a breaker would probably be the easiest solution.
Various dings/dents/scratches - this is a 24 year old car. That said, sit it out on a sunny day and it absolutely gleams - the paint is gloriously deep. The pictures can't really capture that (though I tried), but I hope you can get the impression of the overall condition.
Reason for sale:
I'm in my final year of veterinary school and needed a more vetty car to be getting around in - I've now got a Volvo V40 for that. Life as a final year vet student is very busy and I've not got enough time to enjoy the MR2 anymore. I'm also in the process of looking for a post-grad job overseas, so this would have to go then anyway. I thought I might as well offer it up now so someone can get some enjoyment out of it over the summer!
Overall it's a decent example of an appreciating and iconic model that'll keep you in touch with your inner driver! It has a fresh ticket for peace of mind, and if you come and get it before the end of July and you can drive it home with some tax remaining.
PM me on here with inquiries. Car is viewable just outside Banbury. Happy to pick you up from Banbury station if that works.