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I gotta tell you.... wiring will be the absolute easiest part of that job.
I was gonna tell him the same thing. LOL. Like if you have to ask about the wiring, maybe... well you know. On the other hand, the other aspects do not involve any electrical.
 
I saw that and gave it a quick thought(I've seen much worse)...but, if I remember right, it has a salvage title...

This popped up on Houston Craigslist...





 
What exactly would be the hardest part fitting a celicas hood, bumper, fenders and headlights on an mr2? Does anyone have any more info on that spyder or has anyone tried it before? I actually need a new hood, headlights and bumper and ive got the cash to get it done. Real info only, not interested in anyones opinions. I was originally interested in the luxuryparts body kits but if this is cheaper than the $8000 i was going to spend on that then ill going this route.
 
Getting it to not look like crap? All the dimensions of the car are different - width, fender length, wheel position in the fenders, etc. etc. You will spend more $$$ on all the custom bodywork than on 3 sets of proper panels from a MR2.

The only external body part that will bolt right up is the door handles
:D
 
Alright so I bought a celica hood, fenders and front bumper today and my plan was to trim them and weld the parts I need around the mr2s body panels. But now I saw the celica hood bolts right up to the mr2.. the spacing on the hood bolts is a bit different but could be adjusted with a drill.

I decided since the mr2 front end is pretty short I want to mount the celica hood as close to the windshield as possible. The plastic storage bin surround it too thick for the hood to sit low enough so it’ll have to be trimmed or removed. I mounted the celica hood so the tips of the hood poke the plastic a bit. The hood could be mounted further forward which would allow you to better match wheel placement in the fenders but I was planning on cutting mine anyway so I positioned the fenders so that the bumper actually touches the tire(so I cut trimmed the bumper back a bit)

The fenders take a good bit of positioning and trimming and they won’t look perfect since the mr2 door curves in at the top and the celica is more straight and angled. If I redid the project I would’ve positioned the fenders a tiny bit higher and let them stick out above the door similar to how some widebody kits are squared off and sit higher and further out over the door.

You will have to relocate the hood mount or use some hood pins which I opted for. You’ll also need to find a way to mount the front bumper as it sticks out about 3 inches and is about 2 inches higher than the stock bumper mounts even with my hood being pushed as far back as possible. I ended up using a 2” by 2” aluminum L bolted to the factory mounts and let the sides of the bumper where the headlights are sit on top. I also drilled a hole and put a long screw with a bolt securing the middle bumper mount while having some adjustment.

Ran out of time today, had to drive a good bit to pick up those parts
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Made some progress with the celica parts, I’ve already cut the fenders to reinstall my widebody fender flares but I’m waiting on new riv nuts to come in the mail
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Put my front fender flares on, I’m in the process of getting a lightweight hood and an aftermarket front bumper and then I’ll have everything painted.
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Update: I installed the celica c one lip, it sits very low especially on my very low car😅 glad it’s polyurethane. If you notice my hood sits up a bit it’s because I was stupid and test drive the car through the neighborhood to see if the fenders would rub before I installed my hood pins and a gust of wind blew my hood up bending the hood hinges a little.
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You're doing some interesting and cool work on the car, but don't go too overboard on the rivets... or else SIVART will be brought back up. just do a search for him on the forum and you'll understand.
I only put rivets in the spots that had divots and holes where they are supposed to go. I may remove the gold washer in the future.
 
Makes more sense to just buy a seventh generation Celica

80% of what Spyder can do in the handling department, good interior space for the size, much easier to work on and looks better
I mean I bought the celica hood, fenders and bumper for $200 and installed them myself. My old mr2 headlights were ruined so it just made sense. I’m not a big fan of fwd cars and the mr2 is mid engine which is the best possible platform you can have not to mention the ridiculous light weight. It has way more potential than the celica plus it’s a convertible. The one thing I like about the celica is how it looks and the nice trunk space it has. Selling my celica and buying my spyder was the best decision I ever made.
 
I mean I bought the celica hood, fenders and bumper for $200 and installed them myself. My old mr2 headlights were ruined so it just made sense. I’m not a big fan of fwd cars and the mr2 is mid engine which is the best possible platform you can have not to mention the ridiculous light weight. It has way more potential than the celica plus it’s a convertible. The one thing I like about the celica is how it looks and the nice trunk space it has. Selling my celica and buying my spyder was the best decision I ever made.
I chose to get the celica parts the opposite route; engine, trans, & seats. I'm not saying your car is my style, but I can easily appreciate that someone else is putting in that much effort & detail into doing those things. And while it may not be my style it looks better than many of the half assed builds that find their way into SEMA each year.....just color match all those damn rivets!! [emoji854]
 
I chose to get the celica parts the opposite route; engine, trans, & seats. I'm not saying your car is my style, but I can easily appreciate that someone else is putting in that much effort & detail into doing those things. And while it may not be my style it looks better than many of the half assed builds that find their way into SEMA each year.....just color match all those damn rivets!! [emoji854]
I took off the gold a couple weeks ago, I’ve also got celica gts seats. If I could engine swap I would’ve swapped the 2zz into my spyder but 1zz turbo is the best I can do by myself.
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thanks for all the pics, especially the attention you paid to the leading edge of the door skin mismatch, I like the way you cut the fender to overlap the door on the top where the body lines didn't line up.
I'm seriously considering this, seemingly for similar reasons as you, my bumper is trashed, and i need new headlights and MR2 panels are way more expensive than celica ones. my seats and engine are also pretty tired, I might be way ahead of the game to just grab a celica that's been rear ended or something and start dissecting it.

also, that car looks sweet,
If I had seen this a few years ago you could have convinced me lexus made an MR2 twin

edit 2: searched sivart because of this thread. that car had a rough start, but towards the end and with a few less gauges that custom dash he made looked pretty clean
I'm curious what the car looks like now.
 
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