I sold my last MR2 because it was more of a project than I was comfortable with, and now I've ended up with an even bigger project somehow.
About 2 and a half years ago, I noticed an MR2 sitting behind a shop in town that looked like it had been sitting there for few months. I stopped to look at it, it was a 1988 SC, T tops, 5 speed, and the body looked to be in surprisingly good condition. I went in to ask what the situation was with it, they told me that there was a problem with the ECU, and the owner was a friend of the shop but he had been sick and unable to do much with it. At the time, he didn't have much intention of selling it, but told me to check back later. About a year went by, and I remembered the car, and went to go ask them about it. He was looking to sell it now, since he didn't want it just sitting.
Here's the first picture I took of it, just over a year ago.
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And then the pandemic happened, most places in town closed down, I went back home from school since classes went online, and I never got to follow up. I've been back in town for a while now, but never had an opportunity to go ask about the car until yesterday. I decided, what the hell, I'll go ask him what he wants for it.
$300
Yes three hundred dollars
This thing could have been a rusty shell and I'd have taken it for $300
So here's how it looked yesterday when I first got to look around it for the first time.
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Clearly, it has been sitting for a while, and it looks like a squirrel tried making a nest out of some of the firewall liner, but the body is in good condition. There is a little bit of rust by the T tops, inside the door, and on the trunk, but I'm amazed at how solid the body is otherwise. It has less rust than my old car, and most importantly, it's almost entirely complete, and entirely stock. Obviously the battery is dead, and I haven't even attempted to connect any power to it, but I'll get that to soon.
The brakes were seized from sitting, but after dragging it off of the leaves they started to roll again. My friend brought his truck and trailer down and helped load it up.
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The trailer (the big one in the background) was by no means designed for a car this small, but we managed to get it loaded up with a combination of planks and ATV ramps. I forgot how easy it was to push one of these cars around.
And after about 4 hours of fighting with it, we got it loaded up and back home.
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Today, I went over the car with a pressure washer, and almost all of the moss came off like it was nothing. I'm really amazed at how good of condition this paint is in. It seems like there was a pretty good layer of wax on the car, because I could even rub a lot of it off with just my finger.
Side by side before and after
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And now it looks like a completely different car.
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Of course, there has to be bad news. I found out why they told me they thought there was a problem with the ECU. It seems like the seals where the wing mounts into the trunk have deteriorated, and let a pretty significant amount of water into the trunk. All of the lining is covered in mold, so it just went straight in the garbage. The outer case of the ECU has a lot of corrosion on it, and most of the brackets and anything in the trunk that isn't painted is very rusty.
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I pulled the lining out, though, and it appears that there isn't any major rust in the actual pan of the trunk at all. My old car's was almost completely corroded. I didn't get any more pictures since it was starting to rain, but I put a tarp over the trunk and T tops, just in case, pulled the ECU out and took it inside.
Strangely, the inside of the ECU looks almost untouched. There were a few very small spots of corrosion on the solder joints, but I went over those with Deoxit and they cleaned right up. This is either very good news, or means there is a more significant problem in there that I can't see based on visual inspection, but almost all of the components, and connectors on the outside, look near perfect.
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I plan on getting the car unloaded from the trailer tomorrow, changing all of the fluids, and finding out what happens if I give it power. I'm by no means a mechanic, just an enthusiast, so this will definitely be a learning experience, and I don't expect it to be a quick process, but it'll certainly be fun. For $300, I don't really see how I could go wrong, either.
About 2 and a half years ago, I noticed an MR2 sitting behind a shop in town that looked like it had been sitting there for few months. I stopped to look at it, it was a 1988 SC, T tops, 5 speed, and the body looked to be in surprisingly good condition. I went in to ask what the situation was with it, they told me that there was a problem with the ECU, and the owner was a friend of the shop but he had been sick and unable to do much with it. At the time, he didn't have much intention of selling it, but told me to check back later. About a year went by, and I remembered the car, and went to go ask them about it. He was looking to sell it now, since he didn't want it just sitting.
Here's the first picture I took of it, just over a year ago.
And then the pandemic happened, most places in town closed down, I went back home from school since classes went online, and I never got to follow up. I've been back in town for a while now, but never had an opportunity to go ask about the car until yesterday. I decided, what the hell, I'll go ask him what he wants for it.
$300
Yes three hundred dollars
This thing could have been a rusty shell and I'd have taken it for $300
So here's how it looked yesterday when I first got to look around it for the first time.
Clearly, it has been sitting for a while, and it looks like a squirrel tried making a nest out of some of the firewall liner, but the body is in good condition. There is a little bit of rust by the T tops, inside the door, and on the trunk, but I'm amazed at how solid the body is otherwise. It has less rust than my old car, and most importantly, it's almost entirely complete, and entirely stock. Obviously the battery is dead, and I haven't even attempted to connect any power to it, but I'll get that to soon.
The brakes were seized from sitting, but after dragging it off of the leaves they started to roll again. My friend brought his truck and trailer down and helped load it up.
The trailer (the big one in the background) was by no means designed for a car this small, but we managed to get it loaded up with a combination of planks and ATV ramps. I forgot how easy it was to push one of these cars around.
And after about 4 hours of fighting with it, we got it loaded up and back home.
Today, I went over the car with a pressure washer, and almost all of the moss came off like it was nothing. I'm really amazed at how good of condition this paint is in. It seems like there was a pretty good layer of wax on the car, because I could even rub a lot of it off with just my finger.
Side by side before and after
And now it looks like a completely different car.
Of course, there has to be bad news. I found out why they told me they thought there was a problem with the ECU. It seems like the seals where the wing mounts into the trunk have deteriorated, and let a pretty significant amount of water into the trunk. All of the lining is covered in mold, so it just went straight in the garbage. The outer case of the ECU has a lot of corrosion on it, and most of the brackets and anything in the trunk that isn't painted is very rusty.
I pulled the lining out, though, and it appears that there isn't any major rust in the actual pan of the trunk at all. My old car's was almost completely corroded. I didn't get any more pictures since it was starting to rain, but I put a tarp over the trunk and T tops, just in case, pulled the ECU out and took it inside.
Strangely, the inside of the ECU looks almost untouched. There were a few very small spots of corrosion on the solder joints, but I went over those with Deoxit and they cleaned right up. This is either very good news, or means there is a more significant problem in there that I can't see based on visual inspection, but almost all of the components, and connectors on the outside, look near perfect.
I plan on getting the car unloaded from the trailer tomorrow, changing all of the fluids, and finding out what happens if I give it power. I'm by no means a mechanic, just an enthusiast, so this will definitely be a learning experience, and I don't expect it to be a quick process, but it'll certainly be fun. For $300, I don't really see how I could go wrong, either.
