MR2 turbo questions!

ramirez

ramirez

ramirez

Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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Altrincham
I've finally sold my Prelude so am now looking at getting an MR2 turbo to fill the void. I have around £5k but don't really want to spend any more than £4K unless it's definitely justified (in terms of handling mods, not too arsed about power.)

Theres a dealership in Warringon which has 3 in at the moment, ranging from 1992 J plates to 1993 K's. All are between 3 and 4 k. Am I right in thinking these are Rev 2 models?

I really want a black one preferably with a T bar roof. GT or GT-S - all I can see on the trader are GT-S models, whats the difference?

Would I be best getting an excellent Rev 2 turbo for my money or a slightly less excellent Rev 3?
 
Have a look at http://www.btinternet.com/~netsurf/mr2t/mr2tfaq.html for revision info.

10/89 - 12/91 (Revision I)
1/92 - 10/93 (Revision II)
10/93 6/96 (Revision III)
6/96 - 11/97 (Revision IV)
11/97 - on (Revision V)

The GT is the higher spec of the two. It has folding mirrors, steering fogs, half leather/alcantara seats etc. You quite often find GTS cars with most of the options anyway so don't worry too much about it. Some insurance companies are funny about the GTS for some reason, they don't have it on their databases.

Personally I'd go for a Rev 2 over a Rev 3 for your budget. Although there are some Rev 3's for 4k they're absolute sheds and will be money pits. Your best bet would be to try to find a well looked after one on one of the owners club sites.
 
Yeah I was gonna say actually my insurance company don't have GT-S listed - just GT (import.)

Not sure what to do regarding that - If I get a GT-s do I just insure it as a GT import and make them aware?
 
The specialist Jap insurers should be ok but it's best to check beforehand, I know of several people that could get insured on a GT but not a GTS (despite being essentially the same car).

Sky are meant to be good, give them a go.
 
I found some online places that charged a hell of a lot more for a GT than a GTS, it was in the hundreds! I think I was using Tesco or Priv for those quotes. Virgin also gave me a decent quote the other day, and no interest in monthly payments is a nice touch.
 
eidolon is spot on. I'd try and hunt around for a rev3 for that kind of money as the prices are cheap at the moment but come the spring you'll be lucky to pick up a dog of a rev3 for that kind of money. Rev3s are a bit more reliable than the rev2s. Steel headgasket, map sensor instead of air flow meter, better injectors, no TVis, 20bhp more. But it all depends on what you are gonna do with the car?

Insurance wise I heard Sky are pretty good, I'm with Elephant for £835 which for my age is pretty good.
 
hmm im with Admiral atm, they can quote me for the 'GT t-bar turbo import' as well. I'll see what they say when I ring em.
 
Be carefull with insurance companies and the GT. The problem this that there exists both a UK GT which is a normaly aspirated 2.0L 16v, and the JDM GT which is the 225ps Turbo (245ps for Rev3+). Norwich Union screwed up my GTS insurance when I first took it out (insuring it as a UK GT), though I think they do list the GTS now.
 
I have a Rev2 T-Bar MR2 Tubbie at the mo m8 and it's awesome :cool:

Kinda fell out of love with it over the winter mainly because of the crappy crappy weather & was thinking of changing it for something newer but went out today and had an absolute blast with the T-Bar off too. Went head2head with a 350bhp Scooby earler and more than held my own (am currently running 280bhp/282lb) so she's a hell of a mover too :D

Also m8 I'd stretch as MUCH as you can for a decent Rev3, its got muchos improvements all-round and has extra power to boot!

Am back in love with mine thats for sure!! :)
 
Wonder where the pics are taken as the gates don't look like a house, unless it's a really big flash place :)

I love the way people say in ads "Turbo Timer, S/S exhaust, no mods" :rolleyes: I know they aren't exactly massive mods but still :P
 
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I suppose people are concerned about performance mods like boost increases etc. as it indicates that the car might've been driven hard whereas non-performance stuff like BOV/exhaust/air filter probably indicates that it's less likely to have been thrashed.

I also defy you to find a single MR2 turbo with a standard exhaust!!

(yes I know that exhaust/filter could be classed as performance but in reality we're talking a couple of BHP, not 40+ like a boost increase)
 
eidolon said:
I also defy you to find a single MR2 turbo with a standard exhaust!!
Click to expand...

Mine had one when i got it, completely standard ;)

it's currently in the garage gathering dust if anyone wants to prove Steve wrong :D
 
lol, yeah tallbloke had a standard exhaust when he got his aswell - very rare

obviously we've both fitted decats & proper exhausts now :)
 
Mine also has a standard exhaust, but only because the 5Zigen system dissolved into a pile of brown dust over the space of a couple of years. Utter, utter rubbish.
 
eidolon said:
Damn you!! That's the first one I've ever known to have a standard exhaust!
Click to expand...

Mine too :) In fact my tubby is totally standard except the steering wheel, gear nob and ICE. I'm really trying hard to resist doing some cheap and easy mods to up the boost. If I can keep it standard then I think it will be very rare before too long.
 
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