[stwd]

Hi everyone,

since early 2019 I've owned a green MR2 - bought it because the car was constantly talked about for at least a year on a different website, every time someone asked about a lightweight car 5 people went "buy the third gen MR2". So I started searching and found my little green one, sold to me with crumbling precats and oil issues for a bit less than was common at the time. I swapped the engine for another used 1ZZ and apart from the P420 code popping up now and then I've had no engine or drivetrain issues ever since, really unusual for a car that's this much fun.

So far, this is what's been done to my car:


Pictured here:

• Replaced the pre-facelift rear bumper inserts with the unpainted facelift ones

Not pictured here:

• The swapped engine
• A lightweight flywheel
• A motorcycle battery in place of the original one
• A huge scratch at the bottom of the side skirt from when I thought the car was safe to go over some gravel but wasn't
• Approx. 500g of corn stored inside the air box by a rodent, removed during the engine swap to save some weight

Pictured here:

• Replaced the headlights with new ones
• Had the wheels painted graphite black semi-gloss

Not pictured here:

• Koni Yellow inserts + H&R springs
• Snelbaard's breastplate and FMB
• Snelbaard's front dome brace, lightweight edition, less than 4lbs
• The spare as well as all the plastic parts having been removed
• The wiper fluid reservoir and pump having been removed

Especially proud of that dome brace since I've worked on the design and simulation of it - I think it was around 300 iterations. We chose to aim for TRD bar levels of rigidity and load capacity and when driving around with the first prototype it sure felt like we succeeded


Pictured here:

• Had the seats reupholstered with some cool fabric I found
• Replaced the door card fabric insert with my own one to match the seats

Pictured here:

• A custom shift knob I 3D printed
• A mysterious red wire (seems to be that the previous owner fixed the driver side window switch not working)

Not pictured here:

• My MR2 giving me a CEL with the P420 code right before taking a photo, out of spite
• A fist-sized hole in the carpet conveniently covered by the driver side floor mat
• The radio not working since the radio fuse pops right after replacing it

I took these photos a day before preparing for winter storage - for next year there's some work coming up: Fix the radio, rip out the carpet and paint the floor with some Upol Raptor (~400g/sqm compared to 600g/sqm the lightest carpet I checked had), put in a small wiper fluid reservoir, maybe adjust the engine's valves if the noise annoys me enough - but I'm sure more projects will pop up.

All that being said, I love the car. I never expected its looks to grow on me that much and I never expected it to be this much fun even after getting used to driving it. I'll be reading through tons of posts here, especially the ones dealing with weight savings since that's my goal with the MR2: Make it as lightweight as possible without straying from the factory styling too much. An unusually light weekend car if you will.

Looking forward to discussing things with all of you!
- Stefan

 

[phattires]

Welcome aboard .... I seen this hack on youtube the other day . If I ever get that code I'd try it ;

 

[stwd]

Thanks! I might try that since the only other option I know of is a spacer on the downstream O2 sensor, and that will 100% be found during the mandatory bi-yearly inspection. The main cat seems to be working though, I tested for exhaust leaks and a clogged cat twice with no result, and the car passed smog two months ago with near perfect values.

 

[gmhndg]

I did the lacquer thinner on my rav4 that had a p0420 only after 3 hours of continuous highway driving. Haven't taken the rav4 on another long trip yet, but can confirm it didn't destroy my engine.

 

[DaWaN]

Always nice to see cars from Europe on this forum!
Where are you located? I really need to throw my ZZW30 around the Nordschleife next year, I think it should really shine there.

As for the P0420, I would start with checking for exhaust leaks. Especially the two flexible parts of the catalytic converter are suspect. FA1 VW338-094 are a perfect fit.
Otherwise get yourself a Mini VCI cable and techstream software for proper diagnostics.
I would not pour lacker thinner in your gas tank (that would only really help in case your injector are dirty and those are better cleaner/serviced outside of the car).

 

[Solennel]

Welcome!

I will always love that color.

Speaking of - what is the color code?

I used to have a snapshot of the production info plate from my donor clip, but have since lost it.

Cheers!

 

[stwd]

If I remember correctly, the color code is 6S1 "Green Mica Metallic"

Where are you located? I really need to throw my ZZW30 around the Nordschleife next year, I think it should really shine there.

In Augsburg, southern Bavaria. I've never been to the Nordschleife so I can't tell you what it's like, but I can wholeheartedly recommend the "German Alpine Road", 250 miles of nothing but serpentines, small villages, mountain views and the likes, very scenic. Especially recommend driving there with an MR-S on a tuesday or wednesday when no one else is around.

 

[DaWaN]

Oh I will put the Deutsche Alpenstraße on my list then, I also want to visit the Kehlsteinhaus when I go to that area next time.

Last year I drove my MR-2 all the way down to Venice and mostly enjoyed the roads in Austria (Großglockner Hochalpenstraße was the main highlight).
I know Bavaria is also really beautiful so I feel a little bit guilty just blasting through it on the Autobahn at high speed...

 

[arc_III]

Welcome! If only we got that awesome green here in the states... As I've been searching for hardtops I did, however, find someone in the UK selling one in that color if you're after a hardtop? Here's the link to the eBay listing:

mr2 roadster hardtop | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for mr2 roadster hardtop at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

I lucked out and Full Speed Tech had a black hardtop come available which will arrive next week. If only they were more abundant here in the United States as they are over there in Europe...

I was going to suggest the O2 sensor spacer since they do work (did that on my VW's that come with CEL's from the factory haha) but if they visually inspect then the thinner option is something to try! Best of luck!

 

[stwd]

Thanks! I bought a black hardtop last year after searching for months, and when I mounted it I found out that I much prefer driving with the top down, so now it's collecting dust... I'll give it another year but if it remains unused I might as well sell it.

Last year I drove my MR-2 all the way down to Venice and mostly enjoyed the roads in Austria (Großglockner Hochalpenstraße was the main highlight).
I know Bavaria is also really beautiful so I feel a little bit guilty just blasting through it on the Autobahn at high speed...

Ah, sometimes you have places to be and when the Hochalpenstraße is part of the route you just want to get there fast.

 

[pwnzor]

Welcome aboard, I really like what you've done with the interior. The cloth on the seats and the matching door cards really sets the whole thing off

 

[pwnzor]

It occurs to me - what if you had matching floor mats that continue the stripes from the seats....?

 

[stwd]

I have some of that Pirelli fabric left over, so next year I'll give it a try and just drape a small patch across the floor to see what it looks like, very interesting idea!

 

[OchoPiernas]

I have some of that Pirelli fabric left over, so next year I'll give it a try and just drape a small patch across the floor to see what it looks like, very interesting idea!

Great looking car! And thanks for your help with Snelbaard’s brace, I hope to buy one soon.

Floor mats might be a bit too much, but it certainly warrants a trial. Another option for your leftover fabric would be to make a custom shifter boot. I think that would look exceptionally nice.

 

[stwd]

Nice idea! I'll keep thinking a bit about how to drape the stripes across the shifter boot, they're quite large and might not look like stripes at all. But definitely worth trying.