New to the MR2 car scene

Are you interested in the AW11? or SW20? Your biggest challenge with these cars won't be the swap but finding one worthy of a swap and getting it ready for the additional power. Check out boostedbois on youtube, they have 2 k swapped SW20s both making outlandish amounts of power (way more than you should hope for at 17).

Just because I'm curious what will you budget be? Once I find out which chassis you are talking about I'll move this thread to the appropriate subforum and we'll continue from there.

SW20, I've got about 6k right now and im making about $500 a month working.

When I'm looking one what are things I want to avoid or look for? does the mileage that they chassy has endured matter that much?

Watch Bob Pham's videos on youtube, he puts a lot of good information out there. What part of the country are you in right now? If you buy a NA car which is what I would recommend you'll have some extra in your budget for repairs and you'll have a lot less problems from the start. Do not buy a cheap turbo car.

I'm in the pacific northwest, all the SW20s I've been seeing on marketplace are turbos.

Good luck on your search

If you do end up looking at turbo cars realize they're more trouble than the 2.2 NA, expect to have more oil leaks, maintenance, and parts to have to replace. You have to run the highest octane gas you have available either 91 or 93 and they aren't fuel efficient cars.

Keep the engine stock, I know the temptation is there to modify it but wait until you get more cash flow and or a second reliable DD car. The more you modify or change on these cars the less reliable they become, especially on the gen2 3SGTE you shouldn't put too much money into that engine.

You can post listings for cars you want to look at maybe we can help judge their condition

I'm lucky enough that there is an extra car that my family has the is "my" daily. how much should I expect to pay for a NA vs a Turbo?

You need to set your expectations on the condition of this $5,000 MR2. Are you willing to have dents, rust, peeling clear coat, 200k miles, leaks, no a/c? I don't know what the market is doing in your area so I couldn't tell you what you should expect to pay.

if the car is in good shape body wise, is 200k miles to much? its a toyota but how long does the engine last reliably?

beside going about buying a MR2 the main reason I came to this forum was to get some insight into how the wiring would work in a K24a2 swap. I've heard that using a Hondata ECU and a wiring harness from a k20a2 seems to be the best fit to get the engine working. but how do I go about hooking up the body harness or how would I get them to communicate?

also how would I get fuel to the engine, can i just put in a fuel pressure regulator and connect the two? i assume its more complicated.

New N.W. member on here as well, I causally looked for an mr2 for about 5 years. Finally popped on a nice one, when it came up. 1986 mk1 67k no rust central Oregon car. If your in the i5 corridor any sw20 will be seriously dicked with, and at your price point probably needs a new engine. If this is a project you have the mechanical aptitude to pull it off I'd say go for it. But being that I'm 30 years your elder and have owned scirocco's, integra's and built 80`s toyota crawlers. I'd go to the dealership and put your money down on a brz/86, and build your credit before you pour 10k into a hole. You'll look way cooler to your friend's if you buy a house at 25 than 35!

holden59 said:

if the car is in good shape body wise, is 200k miles to much? its a toyota but how long does the engine last reliably?

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No, if the car has been maintained I wouldn't let 200k miles slow me down. Both turbo and NA engines will probably need a gasket and seal overhaul, timing belt, and water pump, I really wouldn't expect the turbo engine to last to 200k miles but the NA engine is sure good for it.

Basically you're biting off more than you can chew with this K swap idea, swap kits alone cost a few thousand and they're still not perfectly complete. I wouldn't go taking on debt at 17 but I would look at buying a RSX or civic si.

thank you for your time and imput