Project MR2 - The full story: Past to present
- N!GHT Brand
- Jan 10, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 1, 2021
The MK2 MR2 has been a dream car of mine for say around five years. I would constantly be watching videos and saving pictures of them all the time. When me and my friends or family spoke about cars the MR2 would always be mentioned and I would say to them: "I will own one, one day."
Fast forward to the 5th of Feburay 2019, I purchased my very own 1994 MR2 mk2 GT t-top, with the 3SGE engine inside. It was a bit surreal. If we take a few steps back to a couple of days prior to the 5th. My partner had found this really clean MR2 on Gumtree. (Not to mention I would scout the marketplace weekly for these cars, but just wasn't in a situation to buy yet.) He sent me the details, it was a 1994 REV 3. So it had the benefit of the upgraded suspension, ABS, power steering and strengthened rear strut towers. Something that the previous earlier revisions lacked. (insert snap over steer joke here.)
Here are a few screenshots that i had of the advert:
By the looks of the advert the car was ready to roll out! Prior to my purchase the car was on 165k miles. It had the sills and arches cut, sealed and welded from rust, all re-carpeted, new catalytic converter, new radiator, thermostat, coolant flushed, brake fluid flushed, new front wheel bearings, up-rated springs on the front and cam belt done at 154k miles.
My only concerns with the car was that it had a sticky idle, rear quarter had been hit and smashed in and had A LOT of aftermarket wiring. All these things could easily be solved.
I bought it.
So yeah, I had to get the car, it was a steal of a price. The money spent on this car was more than they were selling it for. Especially with 90s JDM cars on the increase in price and desirability. I had to bite the bullet now before it was too late.
We drove the car back with no issues at all. (Apart from Alex not being able to turn the heater off in the pitch black interior- he roasted alive.)
However shortly after purchase being winter and the weather getting steadily worse, cold and overwhelmed by my purchase I put the car into storage for 4 months to absorb the fear of owning a classic and somewhat a project car.
It was such an incredible feeling to say I owned this car, I was very proud to say that this little car was mine. Looking back on this image from 2 years ago from this date that I write this blog it still is a bit crazy and I only wish to keep this car forever and to hand down to my generations of family in the future.
Fast forward 4 months the car came out the garage, was taxed, insured and parked on my drive for the first time since owning it!
At the time I usually I drove the car on the weekends as this is was my only free time; I loved every minute of it. I also took the car to its first local show/meet to find another little 2 there! Correct me if I'm wrong (the owner) but I am sure this was a REV 5 body and had some sort of previous revision engine swap inside or engine rebuild. Nevertheless, I felt as cool as ice driving my 90s sports car around. Especially being a female I had a lot of looks and smiles from the general public..
That was until I bought a fat after market exhaust. (God help me.)
Prior to the exhaust, while the car was in storage I did a bit of general maintenance on the car, checked fluids and changed the spark plugs and air filter. The MR2 became loud but fun. Who doesn't love setting car alarms off and turning your car on at 8am in the morning to wake your neighbours up? Apart from the noise, the look of this system really tidied up the rusty old back box.
COVID19 Lockdown 1.0 March 2020
Then the MR2 went into the garage to have its wiring issues sorted out. At this point I was reluctant to even begin or work with electrics as I worried about messing something up.
The mechanic sent me these two images across and then it made me realise why exactly I didn't want to solve this issue alone. The car has multiple aftermarket systems installed here is a small list, Engine start button, alarm and security system, fobs, key pad on windscreen to keylessly unlock the car, subs, amps you name it. Personally i wanted the OEM plus look and functionality. I asked for all the useless bits to be removed, leaving me back to the original Toyota locks and security. I was very sick of the alarm going off every second and not being able to start the car because the immobilizer had switched the electrics off to the engine. (Great security feature, but VERY ANNOYING!)
On a side note, removing all this useless wiring somehow sorted the sticky idle issue and stalling issue. So that is a bonus!
Sump repair & Kouki light restoration
Being a 24 year old car at the time of purchase it was bound to have a few oil leaks which is understandable. I had held off a service and oil change on this car until I found the time and motivation to drop the sump. As from visually inspecting it back from when I first bought the car it was quite apparent that there was a leak around this area. I planned on replacing all parts and gaskets so why not start here?
The sump was a pain to drop, but after a few hours of swearing and plying it came off. We cleaned it up, resealed and stuck back on. Then the fresh oil and oil filter was also added too.
Not to mention I drive this car only a couple of times a month, so was not putting huge mileage on the engine and so was safe to leave the oil change a bit later!
Note: 10/01/2021 I have nearly owned the car 2 years and have only put on 2k miles for a good understanding of how little I drive the car now.
If you're familiar with MR2s the Kouki lights are the favourite and must have when buying one of these cars. I was lucky enough to have them on the car from when it was purchased so all they really needed was a cleanup and restore to bring the glossy look out.
As mentioned earlier in this post back to the start the car had some body work and cosmetic flaws. Small rust spots and bubbling and also not to mention the dent and caved in rear quarter.
Winter time 2020 seemed to fall in with my schedule and availability to get this car done ready for the summer time and not to let the winter salt eat away at the rust any more than it had already.
Being very friendly with the bodywork shop it was no issue to book my car in and get it done ASAP. It is also great to be able to leave your prized possession with someone you can trust
I ended up getting the following repainted:
Front Bumper
Front lip
OS/F Wing
NS/F Wing
Roof
T-top Channels
Lower NS Door
NS/R Quarter
Petrol Cap
Both Rear pillars
Being excited to see fresh paint is a different feel. If you know, you know.
After paint myself and Alex rewired and tidied up the wiring harnesses for the side lights & indicators. We had to switch the connectors over as early UK MR2s had different connectors and the new lights connectors did not match the old ones on the car.
The crystal look gives the front of the car a cleaner look. It also brings good contrast to those JDM yellow fogs!
So here is the car after paint!
And to this date, after looking for 2 years I still need those two missing JDM side mouldings for the front bumper.
Ps. If you're selling them DM me on Instagram - @a19lxh or email in nightbrandofficial@gmail.com
Note: 01/03/2021 - I now have a pair of trims!
Furthermore the build and progress of this car is all structured out in my mind. The aim of this car is to be a marketing tool for N!GHT Brand and to have it sitting pretty on a show stand if we all eventually come out of lockdown!
Alloys are lined up, followed with a new set of rubbers, side skirts and suspension upgrades. This is just the start! Not to mention the continuous maintenance of this classic. From two years ago this car has doubled and nearly tripled in value from the purchase price in 2019. I only wish for these to become even more rarer and more wanted as the years go by.
So from here on look out for N!GHT'S MR2 roaming the streets of Essex.
If you're interested in following a more personal view of the build follow - @a19lxh
And of course follow our Instagram to see more photo shoots - @nightbrandofficial
Thanks for reading, stay safe.
Written by: Alisha O'Dell Howard
10/01/2021
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