SW20 Garagefind(ish) fix up.

[Sancho]

My friend and I got wind of a car in a garage we might like to try out, it's been there since 2003 unused since it had an engine issue which wasn't fixed. The prev owner bought a spare transaxle and engine to fit to the car but never completed it, and now has to sell the building so it had to be removed ASAP.

So we did.

Here's how we first saw the car..





got it on the trailer ready to take it back to our workshop!! someone's cut both rear tow hooks off so we couldn't put it on properly.




Got it back, and gave it it's first wash in over 15 years.... not the best photo lol.



Got it inside on the lift and started pulling the engine out as it was completely seized!!!



A good reminder that whilst your car may have 140,000km on the odometer it still is 28 years old



aaand got it to this stage before giving up on sunday night! what a mission..



Good thing we have a spare!



and just in case you forget what specs your car has they conveniently put them on each door.



That's all for now, next steps are to pull each gearbox off and work out which one is better then chuck this spare motor in and see if sitting for 15 years has broken that one too. Doesn't seem to be seized which is a bonus!

[mknz]

Do you smell that PRIME opportunity to gen 4 swap if both engines are stuffed?

Looking good, get a towel at least for the top of the bootlid though.

[GDII]

Awesome find. A great candidate for a full paint restoration. Love the stickers on the doors.

[Sancho]

Thanks!

yeah after we get this engine running or at least back in we're gonna give it a nice cut and polish and see what comes up like. it has a few dings everywhere and it's covered in storage scratches from people storing boxes ect ontop of it.

I noticed looking at other MR2's on here that ours has this cute non-standard boost gauge?



ps we know nothing about MR2's or Toyotas.

[ClanFever]

Maybe that's the HKS part?

Is the rego on hold, or do you need to go through the re-vinning process?

Really awesome find, looking forward to more updates. Hopefully it's back on the road soon!

[Sancho]

I think so, the POWER D by HKS sticker is coming off haha. too much engrish.

Yeah it's had a dead rego since 2003. Not too worried. Re-vin will be a while away but I'm planning on taking this to a few club events hillclimb/autox ect and see how it goes. will be different from the Subaru's I'm use to.

Definitely keeping this up. I suspect it may have an aftermarket LSD in it as it doesn't feel like a VLSD when turning the wheels but i already have the box out so i will take a peek!

[GDII]

It will be very different. Going from mad understeer to massive oversteer! Trick to driving these things is smooth inputs, brake before the corner and apply power as you go through and exit the corner. Being a GEN1 they are a bit more twitchy and tail happy than the later models. Good for autocross though.

[Spykerwolf]

Good progress so far. Looking forward to see how it looks and sounds when you guys are finished

[Benckj]

Hope it all comes together for you and as a result you end up with a decent car. I see your in Otago (Dunners) so if you need any assistance with parts or advice give me a yoodle.

[Sancho]

Thanks Guys, I think we will need some good advise to put this back together. Back at it this evening!

Started by removing the gearbox from the seized engine and giving that and the subframe a decent degrease/wash so they are a bit nicer to handle when they go back into the car!


Doing some research online suggests this maybe a TRD 1.5 or 2 way LSD? certainly does not feel open. that's with both axle stubs removed.


Now onto getting this engine ready for the good gearbox, definitely just a standard open diff transaxle motor seems fairly clean but will give it a wash tomorrow.


and this is how we give up for the night lol, crap everywhere!! hopefully ready to slot this motor back in this weekend is the plan!


also if anyone knows, we noticed the LSD trans is quite firm to turn either axle shaft by hand when it's in neutral, but the open is easy, is this most likely because the trans is fitted with an LSD and you're turning more parts of the gearbox by hand even though you're just spinning one wheel vs the open where you are likely just spinning the spiders?

Cheers! Looking forward to actually driving an MR2 as I haven't driven one at all!

[Benckj]

Hope your going to do some basic maintenance on replacement engine before you install. HFH and HFHOE are well worth doing as is any leaking oil seals, clutch and new DP. These engines are hard to work on in some areas when installed. Where about are you located?

[GDII]

That looks like an early gearbox open diff. If the hole in the centre is pencil sized it's LSD, if it's a lot bigger than that which it seems to be it will be an open diff. If you spin the input shaft the outputs will spin opposite ways. The GEN1 was never offered with the Viscous LSD either. If you can check in the speedo sensor hole the ring will most likely be blue.

Also you can check non LSD axles here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hELEmjt5Y4k
However most if not all aftermarket LSDs use the non LSD axles.

[Sancho]

Hope your going to do some basic maintenance on replacement engine before you install. HFH and HFHOE are well worth doing as is any leaking oil seals, clutch and new DP. These engines are hard to work on in some areas when installed. Where about are you located?

I was planning on removing it later to do the timing belt and water pump after confirming it runs. Doesn't seem overly hard just to drop the motor. I'd like to do those hoses though, as they are in annoying places even with the motor out!

the spare hasn't run in 15 years and I can't see any signs of leaking but you know, i can guarantee it's dried up and will leak as soon as it starts being used.

DP=Downpipe? Where can I find one? I was planning on just gutting the Catalytic converter. It has some form of custom made cat-back on it.

I'm in Mosgiel (the car is in our industrial lockup down Factory rd)

That looks like an early gearbox open diff. If the hole in the centre is pencil sized it's LSD, if it's a lot bigger than that which it seems to be it will be an open diff. If you spin the input shaft the outputs will spin opposite ways. The GEN1 was never offered with the Viscous LSD either. If you can check in the speedo sensor hole the ring will most likely be blue.

Also you can check non LSD axles here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hELEmjt5Y4k
However most if not all aftermarket LSDs use the non LSD axles.

Looking at our actual open diff box, the hole is larger than the hole I posted. It's really hard to take a photo of without the phone constantly wanting to focus on the seals lol
It also has the "non lsd" axles so if anything it's aftermarket.

[GDII]

True. If you remove the speedo sensor you might be able to see the diff head and see the difference between the 2 housings to confirm.

[Sancho]

Ooh, that's a good idea. I'll do that. I'm curious to find out what it is at least.

Thanks!