Just got the LP Monocraft widebody kit. Came from a life of v8's owning various muscle cars. Gas prices has pushed me to look to JDM reliability and fun/practicality. Fell in love with the Spyder and currently k24 swapping it. Keep the content up!! I know this will appreciate in value over time!
I learnt my lesson when I brought my Spyder. Just because I liked the cape green doesn't mean I should have got it! From the day I brought it It was burning oil at an alarming rate, the radiator was shot along with the suspension, the handbrake was binding and not to forget the rusty situation that had developed on the underside. The previous owner only knew how to take it to the garage to have it repaired and they obviously did the bare minimum to get it passed inspection. Drove it for around 4000 miles before ripping it to pieces to slowly put it back together! Got aspirations to turbo the car once it passes inspection. Love your MR2 content! Keep it up!
Just bought mine in Aotearoa / New Zealand. I got the goblin green and didn’t know it was rare colour until I saw your colour list at end of the video, so I’m stoked! We are RHD like Japan and get a lot of Japaneses imports so mine has the “MR-S” badge on it. Thanks for doing this vid.
Wasn't the pre-cats, it was something with the oil return / control rings on the cylinders. The facelift models had 'wider holes' I believe. Oil could enter the combustion chambers on the older models and this in turn would lead to the pre-cats disintergrating exacebating the issue.
About to buy mine for $10k with 60k miles as my daily for college. I can’t wait to go blasting through some mountain roads and tear it up at my college’s autocross!
I saw your video and I liked it, I literally just got 1 cheap it was sleeping for 10 years and was about to be broken for parts. I'm currently looking for parts which it needs so i can get it back and running. Fingers crossed it works.
Bought mine new back in 2004 as my first car. cost me around 20k still got it sat in my garage. Future classic 👌 had no problems with it . Great fun to drive.
@@hakosan86 From what I've seen about 250-270whp is a pretty good number for a stock engine. If I can get anywhere close to that I'm going to be very happy.
Always loved these cars. I had a Celica GTS a long time ago in high school. People were always surprised when they got smoked by a little Celica. I just called it my fwd lotus 😂.
Also bought one three years ago. Saw an RCR review of it and went all in on a 2001 in a neighboring state, 5 grand cash. 15K miles later it's been decatted (after cat failure) with a Celica GTS motor swap and MWR pipes, new windshield, new headlights, new clutch, new brake calipers, new e-brake cable, period correct Sony double din head unit, new gaskets and seals all around, retensioned shift cable, new sparkplugs, new coil plugs, new clutch master cylinder, recharged AC, and a new AC compressor. About to have a Novus front bumper and some taikyu headlight covers shipped once I have the dough to have factory paint restored. Then I'll get the replacement soft top and have the wheels refinished. As cars are getting bigger, heavier, more complicated and less fun, cars like these will be as exotic as unmolested DC2s.
@@itsjuskey.__ Do it ASAP if you have a 2000, 2001, or 2002. Once it starts burning oil, it's only a matter of time. You don't want to be stranded in one of these, especially with blind turns since the car is so small. I'd secure a replacement motor just to have it on standby.
@@12ealDealOfficial YES! Do right away or too late. I learned the hard way and replaced engine....but did go 2zz and it is crazy! MWR is local to me and was a big help.....had them do valve adjustments and purchased swap kit parts. All high quality stuff and easy build.
I had a 93 NA with a sun roof in metallic light blue it was fun to drive I miss that car, but now I drive a 450HP E46 sedan. I hope I would one day run into my old car again so I can buy it back and keep it next time and swap its motor with the 2GR-FE V6.
I bought my spyder 3 years ago for 3k. You can still get a deal but it’s a lot harder. Would have been nice to include the TH-cam channel names of all the footage you yoinked 😉. No one reads the description.
About to buy mine today for $10k with 60k miles. In today’s market, I’d call that a pretty good deal. Granted it’s a pre-facelift, but I got no issue gutting the pre-cats. At least it’ll give me something to do during the summer.
I live in japan and the parts are rather cheap and i got to buy a 6 speed manual with LSD, but im super jealous of how easier it is to 2ZZ swap one in the USA and would trade in a heartbeat.
I have owned one and the prefacelift looks better IMO. The front head lights have more contrast with dark sections and it is slightly lighter. The facelift one has a stupid smile and so looks like an MX5. You need an engine mount adaptor when going 2zz.
Me and my dad had no idea this cat existed until we saw one on the side of the road and bought it. We’ve had problems with the transmission, but when it runs it’s a fun car to drive. Do you have any recommendations on where to get a hard top? I didn’t know you could get a hard top until watching this video. Anyways, thanks and I enjoyed this video a lot!
Thanks for watching! Heres a link to a website if you really wanted a hardtop. They aren’t cheap… midshipgarage.com/products/oem-hardtop-3p0-absolutely-red?variant=3340675645464
got mine a little under two years ago. prices were going up then. prices have continued to go up but I've put so much money into it since it's negated out. 2zz and many other engine mods. people tote the K swap around so much, I'd say keep it toyota. the engine fits in so well, and often can find a cheap one with almost everything from a wrecked celica. or turbo
Dude! My thoughts exactly. I'm fine with engine swaps, but for this over looked car I'd rather keep it toyota. I still have a 1zz in mine but I dream to swap it to the 2zz
I bought my miata right before the boom. Ive pulled up to gas stations and had people offer me nearly twice what i payed. It helps that i keep it super clean
@@Adam-wt5id was about to buy a nb for 3600, but a prelude popped up, and that’s my child dream car. Let’s see how it goes. Still, as soon as I find money Miata is on the list
Couple mistakes with this vid. The pre-cats are a symptom of bad piston ring design for the 2000-2002 models. The rings go bad oil blows by and destroys the pre-cats. The pieces can then go back into the motor or main cat causing more problems. Second, the 2zz swap requires a different mounting bracket and the wiring is not straight forward. You can buy wiring adapters to make it easier. Don't turbo the car if you're doing lap races. The engine bay gets really hot on these cars. Third, It's subjective but the pre-facelift tail lights look better and less feminine then the post-facelift. Also the pre-face lift doesn't have HIDs so it's much cheaper to replace the most likely yellowed headlamps.
actually it is not the precat which kills the engine, it is the engine itself. the piston rings in the preface version had too small holes, which got blocked by bad service (old oil) pretty quickly. resulting in burning oil which damages the precats. good service and good quality oil prevents this issue for long time.
Everything that can go wrong with a SMT happen to me.... Mr2 was my dream car, I live in Puerto Rico so our main language is Spanish and there's a lot that I didn't know at that time. I was able to find a good looking MR2 online 112,000 miles for 7K. Was the cheapest one at the time. I communicate with the seller I saw the car, it look perfect it had a weird transmission but everything work well. Bought the car and seller just explain me a little bit about the transmission, that every time I open the door I was going to heard the pump. Then when I was driving right away I notice a light in the dash, but I didn't pay that much attention. Then a friend when to see my car and that's when we look for the gear warning online. And the nightmare start.... I lose 7k I just drove the car for a month, I start making my research on how to fix it. Took it to 5 different mecanics none of them could do anything and they just told me to sell the car, so my only choice was look for info online. Then I learn everything... 3k for a new smt transmission, I needed a old labtop with a old toyota obd reader to install the new transmission, too expensive for me. Then I had the option to do it manual, but I wasn't a mechanic and shipping the full conversion to Puerto Rico was going to be like 5k. I didn't have a choice to do anything so the car seated until I use it to trade in for another car. Love the MR2, I hate the SMT system. A car like that shouldn't exist in a place like Puerto Rico.
There is a guy with an EJ swap I’ve seen on TH-cam. It’s a really neat swap, but the k swap is cheaper. There’s more availability for it which means you’re chasing down more well known issues.
Bought mine just before COVID, mine wasn’t cheap as it was a low km minter from a dealership but has gone up in value since then. I’ve swapped it to a three pedal manual since and still deciding whether I want to turbocharge or 2ZZ swap the engine.
I bought a 2006 AP2V2 S2000 (Laguna Blue) before the prices went up (2016), but I'd have tried to get the best year of one of these if I'd never gotten it.
I love the Mr2-S and especially with the 2zz swap. It’d be a dream to own one but with these prices it makes it harder haha. Someone wanted to trade their Spyder for my 05 is300 however it’s not bar’d here for California and I wouldn’t be able to have the down time as it’d be my only car sadly
@@zhyde07 Oh I don’t know if he still has it or not. It had a body kit on it with a nice green color. Had the 2zz swap done but only had the stock 5 speed. He said he had the 6 speed swap as well but for a different car. The car was his girlfriend’s but she no longer could use it because she was in an accident.
@@dz_gt500 oh okay thank you for replying! The tag didn’t work last time I think lol. I am considering one but don’t want to have manual or at least as a primary. I would maybe look into the smt first and could do a swap after. But I live in a big traffic area in Texas and would need a decent auto car first if I go for a manual option
Bought mine 6 years ago for $3400. It’s ridiculously modified now but I’ve had people offer me $13,000 recently. With the work I’ve put into it and how much I love it I just can’t sell.
you know.. I really was going to buy a 2000 and 2005 Toyota MR2 Spyder, but my preference on the three generations has changed. Now, I want the 90s mr2 sw20. Why? well.. at first I kind of thought they were meh, but somebody at my job showed up with a 90s MR2 and the more I looked at it, the more I became interested and attached to it. so, one day I couldn't hold my curiosity anymore and decided to ask him about the MR2 since I was standing next to it. one of the major concerns that I have about the spider MK3 is that since I'm kind of a tall person, I think I may feel a little bit "cramped" in the car lol. I know that you can do mods to make the MR2 Spyder a little bit more spacious as I've seen in some TH-cam videos but after the owner of the '90s MR2 let me sit in the car for the first time and I mean this is the first time I've ever sit in ANY MR2, I instantly felt in love with the '90s sw20. I didn't feel cramped at all once I sat in it. since my 2001 Celica GT was towed to the junkyard because the third cylinder blew up on me, I've been looking for an project car to replace the celica and once I sat in that MR2 sw20, I felt like I was in my Celica again. Which brought a huge smile to my face. The owner didn't have a sunroof or a t-top but I'm sure once I find my own sw20 I'll probably have those things installed as I've seen people do before. The whole reason why I wanted to buy an MR2 in the first place is because I want to do a V6 swap with turbo from the 2gr and I know you could do a 2GR swap with any of the three generations. For me though, I just prefer the sw20 cuz it's more spacious to me and it really brings out the Ferrari style look, but that's just my opinion though. I do like the aftermarket support for the MK3 spider though. I know that there is a really expensive kit out there in Thailand that makes these wide bodies for the MR2 spider that makes it look like a Porsche Carrera gt and I like those wide bodies but they're just way expensive. Doing the V6 swap with turbo alone is going to be hitting me my pockets I know that for sure but part of my passion is building cars and racing on the track, so I'll definitely be in on the action when building and putting the car together. My goal is to basically just have a budget exotic car build that I'm going to enjoy for a long while.
They actually never fixed the precat issue on the MR2. They had precats all the way to the last day and the engines that were reworked (better piston rings) never made it to the MR2.
all the other MR2s and the porsches have underbody flat panels which reduce drag. This MR2 is very turbulent under the car and that would be it's biggest downside. Toyota didn't put any money into engineering aerodynamics under the car and cheaped out on it - leaving it bare. It is also an older convertible - so chassis rigidity is very low and makes lots of creaky/noise from the body bending and wobbling back and forth on the highway (drive an ND miata to see what a modern open top chassis feels like for comparison. it's night and day.) The only way to fix this is with a roll cage of some sort. These are the 2 areas i'd invest in the car if I had to buy one: Chassis stiffness and fabricating a flat floor to cover up all those awful bumps and holes underneath. that will at least get it on par with older MR2s. then you can take advantage of it's long wheelbase and have a higher top speed without the body flopping in the wind or wasting gas.
I gutted my pre a few days ago and I started driving the car and at first it was fine but then all the sudden the car started shaking and it seemed like the car was about to turn off so I turned it off and when I turned it on the check engine light was on and i opened the trunk and there was a lot of smoke does anyone know what could be the cause of this. I replaced the gaskets as well and the smoke was coming from the exhaust to manifold section I don’t know if that’s bc it’s burning something off but I was wondering why the check engine light came on all the sudden.
I’m almost positive it’s for every car that was sold outside of the states because even the same car has different safety features per region. In japan you could get one without a passenger airbag which would not comply with US laws making it illegal to own until it’s 25 years old.
@@hakosan86 I looked it up and you are right. But so am I kind of. . . it depends on the standard to which the car was built. Here's what it says on the NHTSA website: "If the vehicle is less than 25 years old and was not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable FMVSS, and/or was not so certified by its original manufacturer, it cannot be lawfully imported into the U.S. on a permanent basis unless NHTSA determines it eligible for importation."
I bought 2 way back when they were cheaper one has a carbon hard top got both for under 10k with each under 50k miles.. Doing a k swap on the hard top one.. 2zz is a waste of time and money today unless your trying to stick to OEM kinda style
Theres that DDRP shop that could probably do that for you but they will charge you an arm and a leg. You should try to do it yourself and maybe watch my videos on it. If you have any questions lmk.
@@godsiege5080 honestly for best fitment japanese made kitsch are your best options but hard to find. Modelodrive makes a decent kit but idk if they still manufacture them. Dont spend money on apr performance or duraflex as these are brittle and you will spend alot to get them to fit correctly. Might as well buy from luxurypart but the wait time and expenses will cost you
@@hakosan86 No swap it with a 2GR V6 which is the Camry's engine also used by the Lotus Evora super car. It sounds amazing almost like a F1 car with the right exhaust set up.
or you can just turn the smt into a real manual transmission lol it literally is a manual transmission just take the hydraulics out and add a 3rd pedal and you can keep the SMT lol..
@@hakosan86 obviously you can find a part for any car in a junk yard idiot. I'm saying if thats the only place you can find parts you have a junk car, something I'm sure you are familiar with
Great advise! I purchased my 01 from a Toyota dealer with only 59k miles and engine was trash from cat failure. Upgraded to 2zz/C60/LSD and now faster than my MK-2 turbo.
ya I bought a GTI about 2 yrs ago but I wanna get rid of it. Everything Im looking for is laughably priced. fuck outta here if you thhink im paying 20k for a 25 yr old car with 110k miles
The biggest difference between the 00-02 and 03-05 is the pistons. That’s a biggest most important thing because the oil consumption is greatly reduced in the 04-05 models.
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mr2 spyder: the car i DID buy three years ago and have been enjoying ever since! hope to see more spyder content, yours is one of my favorites
Thanks man!
Bought a relatively nice one for about 3k a few years ago. It' s 2zz swapped now. Amazing how valuable these have become recently.
I know right! At one time it was the most hated and now it seems to be getting a lot more love
Just got the LP Monocraft widebody kit. Came from a life of v8's owning various muscle cars. Gas prices has pushed me to look to JDM reliability and fun/practicality. Fell in love with the Spyder and currently k24 swapping it. Keep the content up!! I know this will appreciate in value over time!
Your cars gonna be super cool with the widebody and k swap! Thanks man!
I learnt my lesson when I brought my Spyder. Just because I liked the cape green doesn't mean I should have got it! From the day I brought it It was burning oil at an alarming rate, the radiator was shot along with the suspension, the handbrake was binding and not to forget the rusty situation that had developed on the underside.
The previous owner only knew how to take it to the garage to have it repaired and they obviously did the bare minimum to get it passed inspection. Drove it for around 4000 miles before ripping it to pieces to slowly put it back together! Got aspirations to turbo the car once it passes inspection.
Love your MR2 content! Keep it up!
I hope you fix it all up and get it running man! Thanks for watching!
The point is you've kept it. Its a great car
Had my SMT for about a year now, fingers crossed it doesn't decide to stop working anytime soon because I absolutely love the car. So fun to drive!
Drive it as hard as you want and as far as you like. It'll out live you and your kids. It's a Toyota. It'll never break.
@@sha8761 Not the SMT. That POS won't outlive a tuna can opened on a hot summer day.
Just bought mine in Aotearoa / New Zealand. I got the goblin green and didn’t know it was rare colour until I saw your colour list at end of the video, so I’m stoked! We are RHD like Japan and get a lot of Japaneses imports so mine has the “MR-S” badge on it. Thanks for doing this vid.
Thanks for this video. I’m planning on buying one this summer, can’t wait to get one!
Send some pictures of what you get when yo get it!
great video as always, one of my inspirations to buy my mr2 and very glad i did :) Keep it up bro!
Thanks so much bro!
Wasn't the pre-cats, it was something with the oil return / control rings on the cylinders. The facelift models had 'wider holes' I believe. Oil could enter the combustion chambers on the older models and this in turn would lead to the pre-cats disintergrating exacebating the issue.
I love the mr2 content! Keep it up man!
Thanks man!
About to buy mine for $10k with 60k miles as my daily for college. I can’t wait to go blasting through some mountain roads and tear it up at my college’s autocross!
Thats gonna be sick bro!
I didn’t know shit about these cars and always downplayed them. They’re actually sick
Yeah they are actually really cool
The video was very enjoyable to watch !
Thank you bro!
I saw your video and I liked it, I literally just got 1 cheap it was sleeping for 10 years and was about to be broken for parts. I'm currently looking for parts which it needs so i can get it back and running. Fingers crossed it works.
I got my fingers crossed dude! Hopefully all works out for you!
Excited for the mr2 content.
Yeah man I cant wait to start making videos on it again!
Bought mine new back in 2004 as my first car. cost me around 20k still got it sat in my garage. Future classic 👌 had no problems with it . Great fun to drive.
Yeah they are amazing cars!
Great guide. I have a 2zz swapped MR2 and it is a great car. I'm looking to supercharge it in the future if I can find the parts to do it.
That would be so sick! Whats the power numbers your looking to get?
@@hakosan86 From what I've seen about 250-270whp is a pretty good number for a stock engine. If I can get anywhere close to that I'm going to be very happy.
@@randymiller1610 yeah that's a great attainable number! mines already at 220 and its a 1zz
Very informative!
Thanks for watching!
Great guide man! I didn't know about that ugly trd bumper lol.
Thanks man! I appreciate you watching!
Damn that first green in that hardtop looks damn fine
Yeah i love dark green on cars
Always loved these cars. I had a Celica GTS a long time ago in high school. People were always surprised when they got smoked by a little Celica. I just called it my fwd lotus 😂.
Thats pretty much what it was!
Also bought one three years ago. Saw an RCR review of it and went all in on a 2001 in a neighboring state, 5 grand cash. 15K miles later it's been decatted (after cat failure) with a Celica GTS motor swap and MWR pipes, new windshield, new headlights, new clutch, new brake calipers, new e-brake cable, period correct Sony double din head unit, new gaskets and seals all around, retensioned shift cable, new sparkplugs, new coil plugs, new clutch master cylinder, recharged AC, and a new AC compressor. About to have a Novus front bumper and some taikyu headlight covers shipped once I have the dough to have factory paint restored. Then I'll get the replacement soft top and have the wheels refinished. As cars are getting bigger, heavier, more complicated and less fun, cars like these will be as exotic as unmolested DC2s.
Thats so true bro! Sounds like you got an awesome build!
How will you know when its time to gutt the pre cats before you mess up the engine?
@@itsjuskey.__ Do it ASAP if you have a 2000, 2001, or 2002. Once it starts burning oil, it's only a matter of time. You don't want to be stranded in one of these, especially with blind turns since the car is so small. I'd secure a replacement motor just to have it on standby.
@@12ealDealOfficial
YES! Do right away or too late. I learned the hard way and replaced engine....but did go 2zz and it is crazy! MWR is local to me and was a big help.....had them do valve adjustments and purchased swap kit parts. All high quality stuff and easy build.
I got the Electric Green and it's awesome because it looks black from some angles and at night but it's cooler than plain black :D
One of the best colors!
I had a 93 NA with a sun roof in metallic light blue it was fun to drive I miss that car, but now I drive a 450HP E46 sedan. I hope I would one day run into my old car again so I can buy it back and keep it next time and swap its motor with the 2GR-FE V6.
That would be sick!
I bought my spyder 3 years ago for 3k. You can still get a deal but it’s a lot harder. Would have been nice to include the TH-cam channel names of all the footage you yoinked 😉. No one reads the description.
Thats true. Ill do that next time
About to buy mine today for $10k with 60k miles. In today’s market, I’d call that a pretty good deal. Granted it’s a pre-facelift, but I got no issue gutting the pre-cats. At least it’ll give me something to do during the summer.
I live in japan and the parts are rather cheap and i got to buy a 6 speed manual with LSD, but im super jealous of how easier it is to 2ZZ swap one in the USA and would trade in a heartbeat.
Yeah a 2zz swap changes the whole car up! You also got more of an access to hardtops too haha. People would kill for one of those
Goddamn epic car, knew about it ages though
Even after you gut the pre cats is that something you have to keep doing or is it a one time thing?
I have owned one and the prefacelift looks better IMO. The front head lights have more contrast with dark sections and it is slightly lighter. The facelift one has a stupid smile and so looks like an MX5. You need an engine mount adaptor when going 2zz.
I like the pre facelift headlights better. Thats what i changed them out on my facelift mr2
Me and my dad had no idea this cat existed until we saw one on the side of the road and bought it. We’ve had problems with the transmission, but when it runs it’s a fun car to drive.
Do you have any recommendations on where to get a hard top? I didn’t know you could get a hard top until watching this video. Anyways, thanks and I enjoyed this video a lot!
Thanks for watching! Heres a link to a website if you really wanted a hardtop. They aren’t cheap… midshipgarage.com/products/oem-hardtop-3p0-absolutely-red?variant=3340675645464
Always liked MR2... now I love em.lol
Buy one!
Was your kit the internal wastegate turbo kit for $3500 or the external one for $4500?
got mine a little under two years ago. prices were going up then. prices have continued to go up but I've put so much money into it since it's negated out. 2zz and many other engine mods. people tote the K swap around so much, I'd say keep it toyota. the engine fits in so well, and often can find a cheap one with almost everything from a wrecked celica. or turbo
Yeah id probably go 2zz just to stay in the toyota family
Dude! My thoughts exactly. I'm fine with engine swaps, but for this over looked car I'd rather keep it toyota. I still have a 1zz in mine but I dream to swap it to the 2zz
I bought my miata right before the boom. Ive pulled up to gas stations and had people offer me nearly twice what i payed. It helps that i keep it super clean
Yeah dude its crazy how much they are now. I think i might buy a m edition soon
@@hakosan86 better do it soon. I have an nb but i really want a M first gen
@@Adam-wt5id was about to buy a nb for 3600, but a prelude popped up, and that’s my child dream car. Let’s see how it goes.
Still, as soon as I find money Miata is on the list
@@qwertpoiuy430 i absolutely adore preludes. Is it the one with the all wheel steering?
I found an old guy who has one so i might get a deal
You forgot about the 2AR-FE swap. It’s a Toyota 2.5L four cylinder. Frankenstein Motorworks makes all the parts for it to bolt in.
Oh thats sick! Didn’t know about that!
@@hakosan86 It's kinda like the Toyota version of a K, but better. :)
What's better about it out of curiosity?
How can I tell if mine has the 2zz ? I've just bought my car and the guy who had it knew nothing about it and its extremely fast
I bought a 2zz swapped mr2 with a hardtop. Best buy of my life.
Your one lucky dude😂
@@hakosan86 for 10k euro, definetely. Stock MR2s cost this much
Couple mistakes with this vid. The pre-cats are a symptom of bad piston ring design for the 2000-2002 models. The rings go bad oil blows by and destroys the pre-cats. The pieces can then go back into the motor or main cat causing more problems.
Second, the 2zz swap requires a different mounting bracket and the wiring is not straight forward. You can buy wiring adapters to make it easier. Don't turbo the car if you're doing lap races. The engine bay gets really hot on these cars.
Third, It's subjective but the pre-facelift tail lights look better and less feminine then the post-facelift. Also the pre-face lift doesn't have HIDs so it's much cheaper to replace the most likely yellowed headlamps.
Thanks for the corrections!
I think pre-facelift looks cuter (and lighter, plus nicer)
Watched this before buying my perfect mr2. 6speed with a turbo and a hardtop. I just realized I bought it off Hako
This is the only gen MR2 I haven't owned. Had a chance to buy one years back, but didn't really want a convertable.
Hardtop is the answer!
@@hakosan86 especially aftermarket, in US at least. OEM is overpriced, they are even going for 1500-2000 in japan
actually it is not the precat which kills the engine, it is the engine itself.
the piston rings in the preface version had too small holes, which got blocked by bad service (old oil) pretty quickly.
resulting in burning oil which damages the precats.
good service and good quality oil prevents this issue for long time.
Good info!
Just picked up my Solar Yellow MR2 a few months ago, I’m about to put a fresh 1zz in it and rip it
Nice dude! Its gonna be super fun to drive!
Good day. Do you have any nice ones for sale??
Everything that can go wrong with a SMT happen to me.... Mr2 was my dream car, I live in Puerto Rico so our main language is Spanish and there's a lot that I didn't know at that time. I was able to find a good looking MR2 online 112,000 miles for 7K. Was the cheapest one at the time. I communicate with the seller I saw the car, it look perfect it had a weird transmission but everything work well. Bought the car and seller just explain me a little bit about the transmission, that every time I open the door I was going to heard the pump. Then when I was driving right away I notice a light in the dash, but I didn't pay that much attention. Then a friend when to see my car and that's when we look for the gear warning online. And the nightmare start.... I lose 7k I just drove the car for a month, I start making my research on how to fix it. Took it to 5 different mecanics none of them could do anything and they just told me to sell the car, so my only choice was look for info online. Then I learn everything... 3k for a new smt transmission, I needed a old labtop with a old toyota obd reader to install the new transmission, too expensive for me. Then I had the option to do it manual, but I wasn't a mechanic and shipping the full conversion to Puerto Rico was going to be like 5k. I didn't have a choice to do anything so the car seated until I use it to trade in for another car. Love the MR2, I hate the SMT system. A car like that shouldn't exist in a place like Puerto Rico.
I’d like to ej swap one of these, it’d be like a JDM Porsche, it’d be great
That would be so sick!
it would fuck up the weight distribution. 2ZZ is the easiest swap if you want more power or a K20
There is a guy with an EJ swap I’ve seen on TH-cam. It’s a really neat swap, but the k swap is cheaper. There’s more availability for it which means you’re chasing down more well known issues.
Damn I'm falling in love with mr2s after watching this video
Start looking lol!
Bought mine just before COVID, mine wasn’t cheap as it was a low km minter from a dealership but has gone up in value since then. I’ve swapped it to a three pedal manual since and still deciding whether I want to turbocharge or 2ZZ swap the engine.
Id do a 2zz swap! Its more reliable but the only problem is it doesn’t make the cool turbo noises, if you want that.
@@hakosan86 depends if I can find a good 2ZZ to buy, my 1ZZ is only at 55K kms so turbocharging it with a proven kit shouldn’t cause too many issues
@@AnythingEvil78 yeah then go turbo! would be a waste of an engine if you ripped it out at such low miles
I bought a 2006 AP2V2 S2000 (Laguna Blue) before the prices went up (2016), but I'd have tried to get the best year of one of these if I'd never gotten it.
Both are amazing cars! I’ve had both and they both have their pros and cons. You made the right choice thought value wise!
You got any more information about the SMT I've been eyeing out this 03 model and it has the sequential
Yeah go scroll down on my videos a bit and I got videos on it
I love the Mr2-S and especially with the 2zz swap. It’d be a dream to own one but with these prices it makes it harder haha. Someone wanted to trade their Spyder for my 05 is300 however it’s not bar’d here for California and I wouldn’t be able to have the down time as it’d be my only car sadly
Damn man. Even though you didnt get the spyder the is300 is a great car! My gf has one and she loves it.
Do they still have the mr2. What year and spec was it id be considering @d_2jz
@@zhyde07 Oh I don’t know if he still has it or not. It had a body kit on it with a nice green color. Had the 2zz swap done but only had the stock 5 speed. He said he had the 6 speed swap as well but for a different car. The car was his girlfriend’s but she no longer could use it because she was in an accident.
@@dz_gt500 oh okay thank you for replying! The tag didn’t work last time I think lol. I am considering one but don’t want to have manual or at least as a primary. I would maybe look into the smt first and could do a swap after. But I live in a big traffic area in Texas and would need a decent auto car first if I go for a manual option
building the 1zz seems more sensible here in the Philippines for lack of suplus of celicas
What video is the very first opening clip from with the big winged yellow MR2 in the parking garage?
th-cam.com/video/gcBkP4OTIGI/w-d-xo.html
Bought mine 6 years ago for $3400. It’s ridiculously modified now but I’ve had people offer me $13,000 recently. With the work I’ve put into it and how much I love it I just can’t sell.
I agree with you man. I don’t use mine much anymore but I would never sell it
@@hakosan86 insurance is just way too cheap for it too lol if only the insurance companies knew what I actually drove😂
U got a sub bro! My name is erik nice to meet you !
Nice to meet you bro! Join the discord if you wanna talk!
you know.. I really was going to buy a 2000 and 2005 Toyota MR2 Spyder, but my preference on the three generations has changed. Now, I want the 90s mr2 sw20. Why? well.. at first I kind of thought they were meh, but somebody at my job showed up with a 90s MR2 and the more I looked at it, the more I became interested and attached to it. so, one day I couldn't hold my curiosity anymore and decided to ask him about the MR2 since I was standing next to it. one of the major concerns that I have about the spider MK3 is that since I'm kind of a tall person, I think I may feel a little bit "cramped" in the car lol. I know that you can do mods to make the MR2 Spyder a little bit more spacious as I've seen in some TH-cam videos but after the owner of the '90s MR2 let me sit in the car for the first time and I mean this is the first time I've ever sit in ANY MR2, I instantly felt in love with the '90s sw20. I didn't feel cramped at all once I sat in it. since my 2001 Celica GT was towed to the junkyard because the third cylinder blew up on me, I've been looking for an project car to replace the celica and once I sat in that MR2 sw20, I felt like I was in my Celica again. Which brought a huge smile to my face. The owner didn't have a sunroof or a t-top but I'm sure once I find my own sw20 I'll probably have those things installed as I've seen people do before. The whole reason why I wanted to buy an MR2 in the first place is because I want to do a V6 swap with turbo from the 2gr and I know you could do a 2GR swap with any of the three generations. For me though, I just prefer the sw20 cuz it's more spacious to me and it really brings out the Ferrari style look, but that's just my opinion though. I do like the aftermarket support for the MK3 spider though. I know that there is a really expensive kit out there in Thailand that makes these wide bodies for the MR2 spider that makes it look like a Porsche Carrera gt and I like those wide bodies but they're just way expensive. Doing the V6 swap with turbo alone is going to be hitting me my pockets I know that for sure but part of my passion is building cars and racing on the track, so I'll definitely be in on the action when building and putting the car together. My goal is to basically just have a budget exotic car build that I'm going to enjoy for a long while.
I love sw20’s too. Send some pics of your 2gr turbo sw20 when you get it! Have you found any for sale that has caught your eye?
What wheels are at the one on 2:09?
Nice 💥👍
Thanks!
Great video! Just stop blowing my spot please, I'm looking for clean one to swap everything over to (hopefully).
Haha oops. Good luck on your search!
Crazy
Thanks for watching as always bro!
Hey can you leave a link to the turbo kit you used? Thanks
I’ve got a video on my channel about installing it and i mention it in there
They actually never fixed the precat issue on the MR2. They had precats all the way to the last day and the engines that were reworked (better piston rings) never made it to the MR2.
I had one but sold it it was beautiful in red whit original TRD body Kitt I miss it 😭
Will you ever buy another one?
bought mine almost 4 years ago,for superb money value,2.7k Euro with hardtop
Nice find man!
did you go to Go Wheels Up car show in San Marcos?!
I dont think i do. Send me the link to the info for the show
all the other MR2s and the porsches have underbody flat panels which reduce drag. This MR2 is very turbulent under the car and that would be it's biggest downside. Toyota didn't put any money into engineering aerodynamics under the car and cheaped out on it - leaving it bare. It is also an older convertible - so chassis rigidity is very low and makes lots of creaky/noise from the body bending and wobbling back and forth on the highway (drive an ND miata to see what a modern open top chassis feels like for comparison. it's night and day.) The only way to fix this is with a roll cage of some sort. These are the 2 areas i'd invest in the car if I had to buy one: Chassis stiffness and fabricating a flat floor to cover up all those awful bumps and holes underneath. that will at least get it on par with older MR2s. then you can take advantage of it's long wheelbase and have a higher top speed without the body flopping in the wind or wasting gas.
they were always exspensive in canada unfortunatly
Damn that sucks dude
Hahaha i got 1/186 6sl paint! So proud of it 😁
Damn! Thats so sick! Did you have to import it?
@@hakosan86 no, i am from Europe so we did have some here 😅
Oh thats so cool!
@@hakosan86 thanks buddy
I hope the price doesn't go up I've been waiting to buy one but the ones I want are 7k and above
Yeah i know man they are so expensive now… A couple years ago you could get a super mint low miles one for 7k
I gutted my pre a few days ago and I started driving the car and at first it was fine but then all the sudden the car started shaking and it seemed like the car was about to turn off so I turned it off and when I turned it on the check engine light was on and i opened the trunk and there was a lot of smoke does anyone know what could be the cause of this. I replaced the gaskets as well and the smoke was coming from the exhaust to manifold section I don’t know if that’s bc it’s burning something off but I was wondering why the check engine light came on all the sudden.
My only guess would be that there was some debris left in the pre cat and it got sucked into the engine?
@@hakosan86 wouldn’t that kill my engine?
@@hakosan86 do you know what the code p1646 and p1647 means
Join my discord in the description and i can try to help you more. Its hard over youtube
I'm pretty sure you can import one now, because they were sold in the US. The 25 year rule is for cars NOT sold in the US.
I’m almost positive it’s for every car that was sold outside of the states because even the same car has different safety features per region. In japan you could get one without a passenger airbag which would not comply with US laws making it illegal to own until it’s 25 years old.
@@hakosan86 I looked it up and you are right. But so am I kind of. . . it depends on the standard to which the car was built. Here's what it says on the NHTSA website:
"If the vehicle is less than 25 years old and was not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable FMVSS, and/or was not so certified by its original manufacturer, it cannot be lawfully imported into the U.S. on a permanent basis unless NHTSA determines it eligible for importation."
Mike uh not me ka 😂
damn right i should bought one of these years ago... rip
Better buy one now if you want one because they will keep going up!
@@hakosan86 nah they wont. we're about to hit a recession. A never ending inflation isnt how markets work
I bought 2 way back when they were cheaper one has a carbon hard top got both for under 10k with each under 50k miles.. Doing a k swap on the hard top one.. 2zz is a waste of time and money today unless your trying to stick to OEM kinda style
That TRD windscreen banner one has not got a single TRD part on it , besides fake eBay tat.
Hahaha which one is that?
@@hakosan86 The one with fifty three body kits, UK plates .
Ahhhhh i see lol
Should I buy one? I really want one, but the ones around me are all anywhere from $8k-$18k
You should!
I got a 2zz swap with hard top for 16k
ye the car I should've bought when I was 15
Do you know anyone that can do a smt to manual swap in Texas by any chance?
Theres that DDRP shop that could probably do that for you but they will charge you an arm and a leg. You should try to do it yourself and maybe watch my videos on it. If you have any questions lmk.
If you buy the kit from monkey wrench it comes with everything you need and instructions. 1 wire need to be spliced together (neutral safety switch)
@@aundrek7515 thank you
@@aundrek7515 do you know where’s a good site to buy a body kit as well?
@@godsiege5080 honestly for best fitment japanese made kitsch are your best options but hard to find. Modelodrive makes a decent kit but idk if they still manufacture them. Dont spend money on apr performance or duraflex as these are brittle and you will spend alot to get them to fit correctly. Might as well buy from luxurypart but the wait time and expenses will cost you
Well, I don’t wish I bought a spyder 3 years ago, I just wish I hadn’t bought the SW20 I had bought 2 years ago
If you have the money k swap is the way to go. You will never make the power or have the reliability of a 1zz or 2zz
Thats true man. I might go that way in the future
@@hakosan86 No swap it with a 2GR V6 which is the Camry's engine also used by the Lotus Evora super car. It sounds amazing almost like a F1 car with the right exhaust set up.
Thats also a great swap!
Yes.... this is the car I wish I bought 3 years ago not 3 months ago. I payed a lot but no regrets!
Hey man well its still good you got it now because some years from now they will be 2x the price they are now!
@@hakosan86 oh yeah. Love the vid bro
Good info, but we could DO WITHOUT the TWINKEY MUSIC in the back ground, SERIOUSLY!!
Jokes on you, I bought mine 8 years ago and it's now turbo k swapped.
Thats sick dude!
@@hakosan86 Getting dyno'd in a couple weeks! I'll be happy with 400 for now. Car is already a completely different animal.
Lol. Te intro meme hahaha
Hahaha
or you can just turn the smt into a real manual transmission lol it literally is a manual transmission just take the hydraulics out and add a 3rd pedal and you can keep the SMT lol..
If you gotta go to a junk yard to find parts for your car, then you have the wrong car...
I can find parts in the junkyard for the car thats in your profile pic.
Wow! I can hear the weeb noises radiating off of you.
@@DoggosGames I can hear your 150hp turd bucket with a tin can exhaust from here
@@hakosan86 obviously you can find a part for any car in a junk yard idiot. I'm saying if thats the only place you can find parts you have a junk car, something I'm sure you are familiar with
Great advise! I purchased my 01 from a Toyota dealer with only 59k miles and engine was trash from cat failure.
Upgraded to 2zz/C60/LSD and now faster than my MK-2 turbo.
fuck.. now i wanted an mr2 in that super rare green. and get goblin license plates... green goblin mrs
That would be sick! I wanna see this green in person tbh
You have got to be kidding me with this wearing a mask while driving a convertible
People who don't want a mr2 unless its heavily modified shouldnt own an mr2
Ewww, a cross between Porsche and MIATA?!?! Dude! That was the worst insult you can give an MR2. xD
ya I bought a GTI about 2 yrs ago but I wanna get rid of it. Everything Im looking for is laughably priced. fuck outta here if you thhink im paying 20k for a 25 yr old car with 110k miles
I feel your pain man. I want a new car but everything is so expensive and i dont think the prices will be going down
@@hakosan86 theyll go down after the summer for sure at least a bit.
6:31 "pay more attention to the oil in your car" - So you're just gonna ignore the Dipstick? lol...
Thats how to check the oil in a car
Let’s listen to a 20 yr olds advice. He has experience…. Lol, this is comedy.
Lol get lost nerd
The biggest difference between the 00-02 and 03-05 is the pistons. That’s a biggest most important thing because the oil consumption is greatly reduced in the 04-05 models.
This cars ugly
Thanks for watching!
Then why are you watching the video? No one cares.