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1991 MR2 NA to Gen4 Turbo Build

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:06 pm
by Gen4SW20
Hey guys,

This is the journey of me and my '91 MR2 that I got for free. Starts with a buddy of mine from Dover, DE that used to own it. He was driving home one day and he wasn't the best at maintaining his cars so the engine threw a rod out the side of the block (#3). It sat at his house for a few months as he contemplated what to do with it. In the meantime he bought an Evo IX MR. He called me one day asking what he should do and I jokingly told him if he ever decided to just get rid of it that it would have a good home with me here in VA. About a week later he calls and tells me that I can come pick up the car.

At the time I was working on this:

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It was a very minty '88 MR2 NA. The AC worked wonderfully and it even had factory cruise control. I was very, very reluctant to sell this car as it was in amazing condition. I had built an AW11 before:

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I always, always wanted to build an SW20 though. So I rented a trailer up in Dover and towed the car home. It was rough...

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I tried to buff the paint out in hopes of salvaging it:

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After a while though I decided I'd have it painted.

I ordered an Aeroware Lip and Spoiler and GReddy skirts for the car. I also installed Tein S-Tech springs and Enkei RPF1s in 17x8 +35 and 17x9 +35.

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Aeroware Wing, turbo engine lid and the rollers (5Zigen GR+ Pro Racers) before being towed to my friend Devo's shop (Baddline Customs and Collision).

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Here it is in the shop being stripped down and the bodywork being started. The engine's out at this point.

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The wing wasn't a perfect fit so Devo molded it to the lower deck half that mounts to the trunk.

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He sent me a teaser shot of the trunk lid that night too.

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Re: 1991 MR2 NA to Gen4 Turbo Build

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:25 pm
by Gen4SW20
A few shots of the doors being sprayed:

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Trunk lid in the sun:

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The body being prepped for paint:

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A few in progress shots:

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Outside:

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Doors back on and some of the small bits being painted and drying:

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Here's a few shots of the engine while I was prepping it. I changed everything on it aside from the head gasket and the valve guide seals. The engine had around 100k km on it when I picked it up but whoever had done the timing belt before I got it didn't install the timing belt guide washer on the crank sprocket so the belt walked back and forth and had almost torn in half when I got it. It has a 2.5" Downpipe from PrimeMR2.com that I got along with their install kit.

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I kept the NA transmission due to the higher costs of procuring a turbo transmission set. I've seen the S54 handle upwards of 350hp drag racing and I didn't intend on making more than 300whp anyway so it fitted my needs. I also had a spare to boot from my 1MZ swap plans on my AW11. I got an ACT Street disc that was resplined for the S54 along with a Sachs OEM pressure plate and throwout bearing.

It has the PrimeMR2 intercooler piping and they also supplied core, block off plate, fan shroud and intake for the entire setup. The fuel line is from them as well. All of the engine's tune up parts were bought from Lithia Toyota of Springfield or from TwosRUs. The exhaust I got on eBay (Motoria). It also has Kirkasaurus polyurethane engine mount inserts and Prothane Polyurethane suspension bushings. I installed an NGR Type-S BOV even though it's not really required.

Engine in!

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The wiring harness was made by WireGap Inc. and was a completely plug and play affair. I had to get an MSD tach adapter but the wires for it were already added and labeled. I had a strange issue with several CELs and the engine rev limiting at 2500rpm for a while. After about 2hrs on the phone with Doug (owner of WireGap) I discovered that the ECU casing had been dented ever so slightly and it was making contact with the circuit board. It was odd because if I mounted the ECU in the stock location it had problems but if I held it in my hand flat on the floor...no problems!

Here's the car when I took it home and mounted the front lip and skirts:

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Eventually the Phoenix Power rear spats were installed and I did a photoshoot at the beach.

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I was ranked 11th out of 150 cars at a random car show I attended:

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Re: 1991 MR2 NA to Gen4 Turbo Build

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:26 pm
by Gen4SW20
These are the most recent shots of the car:

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Re: 1991 MR2 NA to Gen4 Turbo Build

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:37 pm
by kitsune
beautiful car!

Re: 1991 MR2 NA to Gen4 Turbo Build

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:41 pm
by corollafrs
made it seem so simple. i love it.

Re: 1991 MR2 NA to Gen4 Turbo Build

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:48 pm
by Gen4SW20
Simple is how I wanted it to be. I wanted a daily drivable car with around 300hp on tap. Icing on the cake is I average about 28mpg.

Re: 1991 MR2 NA to Gen4 Turbo Build

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 3:02 pm
by Clouds
It looks so nice! :D

Re: 1991 MR2 NA to Gen4 Turbo Build

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 3:35 pm
by Gen4SW20
A few more from a recent car show. I won best paint!

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Re: 1991 MR2 NA to Gen4 Turbo Build

Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2014 3:40 pm
by Gen4SW20
Newest shots of the car. Not too much changed, just been driving the crap out of it. I put 33k on it in 2013 alone and averaged 29.3mpg LoL

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