Kobra's 1992 SW20

[Kobra]

Hi guys, I'm new here, and I thought I'd introduce my new car.

Last week I picked up a 1992 G-Limited Hardtop with only 98,000km.
The car was just imported from Japan, and is in very condition for it's age.

Currently I'm just planning to fix a few of the small issues up, and then possibly start thinking about doing a Beams engine swap.

[KWAFA]

Nice. I was watching this 2 on Trademe.

In my personal opinion, I would keep the original engine especially since it is such low KM.

They only think I will change if I was you is to put on the '92 rims. But then again i am a bit of a purist!

[Benckj]

Welcome aboard. Nice to get such a low milage car delivered here. Still plenty of these left in Japan.

[JasonFriday13]

Nice score. In my opinion keep the original engine for now. There's no point putting in another engine if there are no problems with the current one.

[Kobra]

You're probably right. If I decide to I want more power later, I will probably just get a GT.

Currently the only issues I have with the car are:
Electric mirrors - horizontal adjustment doesn't seem to work. Probably just the switch.
Adjustable steering column - tilt works, but the telescoping seems to be jammed.
Shift boot and knob are a bit worse for wear. I'm trying to find a nice leather boot, and a (TRD?) knob.
Front plate is attached in pretty ghetto fashion. Wanting to get a standard front bracket.
Front toyota badge has been removed, want to get a replacement, a screaming chicken maybe?

No idea when the Cambelt was last changed, so I'll probably do that on the weekend.

Also trying to find a Bosskit so I can mount my Momo Monte Carlo wheel.

[GDII]

Very tidy SW20 you've got. Not many around in that condition in red.

Shift boots from hollyshaw on trademe are good. Different stitching colours to pick from.

What type of TRD shift knob are you after? I bought the bigger one a while ago but they aren't cheap new. Even with a discount. But it was worth the price.

I assume you've done a cam belt in an MR2 before? They are fun to do with the engine in place but can be done.

[Swampy]

Very nice paint. I have a red one too, complete with orange peel and overspray (on the goddammned numberplate!) so I am jelly!

Be aware if buying a knock-off TRD gear knob on TM. I learnt the hard way, bought one which came with a threaded adapter (wrong size) and failed to fit.

Would be sweet if you bought the same kind and drilled 3 holes for grub screws. 12mm IIRC plastic sleeve/adapter will be needed if you plan on going that route.

Good luck!

[Kobra]

I've helped my friend pull the head off his AW11, and I've done cambelts on other FWD Toyotas. I know the SW20 is a bit tighter, but I think it shouldn't be too much trouble.

I couldn't find the knob I wanted on trade me, so I decided to order a billet aluminium shift knob from TwosRUs.com, one of these bad boys in metallic grey:


I also ordered a new leather shift boot on amazon:

[GDII]

Very nice paint. I have a red one too, complete with orange peel and overspray (on the goddammned numberplate!) so I am jelly!

Be aware if buying a knock-off TRD gear knob on TM. I learnt the hard way, bought one which came with a threaded adapter (wrong size) and failed to fit.

I bought mine direct from Toyota so no issues there.

[buttercup]

Very nice

[Alsw20]

I've been reporting those fake TRD and Momo gear knobs on Trade Me for a long time. Nothing gets done about it.

[Kobra]

New TwosRUs shift knob and Momo horn button just arrived from the U.S. Sadly, my shift boot is still in the post.


I managed to find a boss kit at Repco that somewhat fit. I just had to modify it to fit around factory horn connector and steering position sensor ring (steering fogs). So now I have my Momo Monte Carlo wheel mounted nicely.


I want to get some new wheels, and Enkei RPF1's look good. Although they are reasonable expensive to acquire.
I may just end up taking my current wheels (Evolution Stitch 17's), filling in the fake split rim bolt holes, and then painting them gunmetal grey.

[Swampy]

Very nice. I have a very similar MOMO steering wheel but with a black and yellow horn button. Slightly off-centre though

Interesting that your 'ECON' button by the A/C hasn't faded/chipped yet (to be expected with your mileage). I never knew it said 'ECON' - any idea what it does?

[GDII]

Very nice. I have a very similar MOMO steering wheel but with a black and yellow horn button. Slightly off-centre though

Interesting that your 'ECON' button by the A/C hasn't faded/chipped yet (to be expected with your mileage). I never knew it said 'ECON' - any idea what it does?

ECONomy mode

It just makes the A/C run for shorter periods of time effectively making it not as cold. Fuel economy haha.

[Kobra]

A wee update on the MR2, the shift boot arrived, and mounting it to the factory boot's old bracket wasn't too much trouble. I think I could've done a better job if I bought the right glue the first time around, but I'm happy with the final result.





The car finally hit 100k about 2 weeks ago:




I installed a rear X-brace that I got from another forum member:

The brace has since been repainted


The tachometer also started reading low a few weeks ago, I hit the rev-limiter at indicated 3500rpm or so, and the car was apparently idling at 100rpm.
So I did some research, and found out it's a very common issue with the capacitors dying from old age/heat. Went to Jaycar to get some replacements, as most people recommend to go bigger on the voltage, I got some 10uF 63V caps.
Reading online, I found that my car being a '92 was suppose to have a speedo cable, and that can be a bitch to disconnect. But when I pulled the cluster, I found I didn't have a speedo cable at all. JDM car thing maybe? Anyway, replacing the caps was pretty straight forward, the job took me about an hour total.




The old capacitors looked fine, but I measured one afterward at 1.3uF, so it had clearly failed.