geemannz's 1997 SW20
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This section of the forum is a great resource if you're looking for ideas, and it's a cool way of obtaining technical information that may otherwise not have been posted. (Members can use the Search functionality at top right of the forum to speed up finding things) Please respect others' contributions and don't diss anyone - keep comments helpful, factual, positive and polite. One thread per vehicle or owner please - don't start lots of threads about just one car. And if you need assistance with your car and want to host a spanner day, please use the appropriate section of the forum: http://mr2.org.nz/phpbb3/viewforum.php?f=35 Thank you.
This section of the forum is a great resource if you're looking for ideas, and it's a cool way of obtaining technical information that may otherwise not have been posted. (Members can use the Search functionality at top right of the forum to speed up finding things) Please respect others' contributions and don't diss anyone - keep comments helpful, factual, positive and polite. One thread per vehicle or owner please - don't start lots of threads about just one car. And if you need assistance with your car and want to host a spanner day, please use the appropriate section of the forum: http://mr2.org.nz/phpbb3/viewforum.php?f=35 Thank you.
- geemannz
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2018 11:00 pm
- Stomping Ground: Waikato
- Prime Mover: Looking for an MR2
- First name: Gareth
geemannz's 1997 SW20
Hi all
A few months ago I picked up my first MR2. 1997 with about 220000kms on it when I bought it.
Picked it up for around 2000. Unfortunately I figured out why it was cheap when I started driving it home on the Waikato Expressway.
Temperature Spiked up to red and coolant was boiling over. Turned out to be a partially blown head-gasket causing problems with exhaust gasses getting into the coolant.
Lesson learned: Take cars for more than a 5 minute test drive if possible.
I decided to go for a new engine so I could re-do the timing kit, oil seals, some gaskets, timing kit and water pump, while still having a semi-drivable car to get to work and tech, and to limit car down time.
Fast forward a few weeks, a lot or work, and a few questions on the forum, I got the new engine in the car and got it working again!
Except the engine was leaking oil like a sieve. Turns out using RTV gasket maker in lieu of a proper gasket wasn't a good idea as it was leaking from where the oil pump housing meets with the block.
Another lesson learned: Don't cheap out on car parts.
A good thing about doing all this work is that I am now reasonably good at working on SW20s now. I have a timing belt change down to half to 3 quarters of a day and i'm reasonably confident with most jobs on it now.
So far that's where my MR2s story is at. Still to do is:
- Fix the damned oil leak
- Tidy up the interior
- Get new shifter surround and shift boot
- Get new drivers seat (or fix rip in current one)
- Fix water leak in passenger side window
- Fix deteriorated paint (haven't decided exactly how I am going to do this yet)
- Refill A/C refrigerant
- Get 94+ tail lights (previous owner replaced the originals with pre-94 tail lights
I started cleaning up the interior today, mostly focusing on the roof liner, which the previous owner had gotten grease, oil and whatever else onto.
It Started out like this:
Through the use of a rag and an amazing substance known as brake cleaner the roof liner turned into this:
So there was a huge improvement on that. I'm looking forward to getting this car back up to scratch and hopefully having a reasonably tidy example of an MR2 at the end!
A few months ago I picked up my first MR2. 1997 with about 220000kms on it when I bought it.
Picked it up for around 2000. Unfortunately I figured out why it was cheap when I started driving it home on the Waikato Expressway.
Temperature Spiked up to red and coolant was boiling over. Turned out to be a partially blown head-gasket causing problems with exhaust gasses getting into the coolant.
Lesson learned: Take cars for more than a 5 minute test drive if possible.
I decided to go for a new engine so I could re-do the timing kit, oil seals, some gaskets, timing kit and water pump, while still having a semi-drivable car to get to work and tech, and to limit car down time.
Fast forward a few weeks, a lot or work, and a few questions on the forum, I got the new engine in the car and got it working again!
Except the engine was leaking oil like a sieve. Turns out using RTV gasket maker in lieu of a proper gasket wasn't a good idea as it was leaking from where the oil pump housing meets with the block.
Another lesson learned: Don't cheap out on car parts.
A good thing about doing all this work is that I am now reasonably good at working on SW20s now. I have a timing belt change down to half to 3 quarters of a day and i'm reasonably confident with most jobs on it now.
So far that's where my MR2s story is at. Still to do is:
- Fix the damned oil leak
- Tidy up the interior
- Get new shifter surround and shift boot
- Get new drivers seat (or fix rip in current one)
- Fix water leak in passenger side window
- Fix deteriorated paint (haven't decided exactly how I am going to do this yet)
- Refill A/C refrigerant
- Get 94+ tail lights (previous owner replaced the originals with pre-94 tail lights
I started cleaning up the interior today, mostly focusing on the roof liner, which the previous owner had gotten grease, oil and whatever else onto.
It Started out like this:
Through the use of a rag and an amazing substance known as brake cleaner the roof liner turned into this:
So there was a huge improvement on that. I'm looking forward to getting this car back up to scratch and hopefully having a reasonably tidy example of an MR2 at the end!
- 4CylinderSpecial
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:30 pm
- Stomping Ground: Auckland
- Prime Mover: SW20
- First name: Levi
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
Nice work on scoring a late gen mr2 for that price and hope you have it running to it's full potential soon! Weird choice of the owner to swap out the tail lights.
- geemannz
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2018 11:00 pm
- Stomping Ground: Waikato
- Prime Mover: Looking for an MR2
- First name: Gareth
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
Yeah its been a fair bit of work to get it to the stage it's at atm. I was kinda annoyed at the tail lights being swapped out but hey, just another thing I need to sort out I guess4CylinderSpecial wrote:Nice work on scoring a late gen mr2 for that price and hope you have it running to it's full potential soon! Weird choice of the owner to swap out the tail lights.
- Benckj
- Forum Moderator - MR2OCNZ
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- Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 12:44 pm
- Stomping Ground: Otago
- Prime Mover: More than one MR2
- First name: Jim
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
Glad your getting some experience from the car and tackling jobs yourself. Its worth putting the $$ into a car like that as there are not many around. Very surprised the previous owner didn't take much interest in it.
On the paint I'd talk to a couple of the club members on the forum (ie GDII or Mr Shiny) and get some tips for restoration. With a 97 you won't have the same problems as earlier versions& UV fade. Might be able to bring it back to life with some elbow grease.
Any pics from interior & engine bay?
On the paint I'd talk to a couple of the club members on the forum (ie GDII or Mr Shiny) and get some tips for restoration. With a 97 you won't have the same problems as earlier versions& UV fade. Might be able to bring it back to life with some elbow grease.
Any pics from interior & engine bay?
Jim Benck
90 rev 1 parts car
98 rev 5 GT- all the mods
90 rev 1 parts car
98 rev 5 GT- all the mods
- geemannz
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2018 11:00 pm
- Stomping Ground: Waikato
- Prime Mover: Looking for an MR2
- First name: Gareth
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
Ill have to tidy up the interior and engine bay a bit and clean it up before I take any pictures lol. Maybe within the next couple of daysBenckj wrote:Glad your getting some experience from the car and tackling jobs yourself. Its worth putting the $$ into a car like that as there are not many around. Very surprised the previous owner didn't take much interest in it.
On the paint I'd talk to a couple of the club members on the forum (ie GDII or Mr Shiny) and get some tips for restoration. With a 97 you won't have the same problems as earlier versions& UV fade. Might be able to bring it back to life with some elbow grease.
Any pics from interior & engine bay?
Im pretty sure the paint on the bonnet has worn down through the clear-coat and is fading as the paint has turned more of a grey sort of color and is very rough, the patch on the drivers side door is the same. Im pretty sure those (and the bumpers) will require a respray. The rest of it can probably be refurbished with a bit of elbow grease though.
I originally bought this car to supplement my automotive engineering studies and boost my experience with cars, so I guess it's doing its job lol.
- GDII
- Forum Moderator - MR2OCNZ
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- Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:13 pm
- Stomping Ground: Wellington
- Prime Mover: SW20
- First name: Phill
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
Based on the 2 photos the bonnet looks to have been resprayed as it's showing lines. Maybe rattle can? Bumpers on these cars always have issues due to them being urethane. The paint reacts differently to sun vs metal.
It's very hard to tell the condition of paint from photos. Black cars show all dirt and scratching and damage.
It's very hard to tell the condition of paint from photos. Black cars show all dirt and scratching and damage.
1990 SW20 MR2 G-Limited (GEN4 3SGTE Installed)
2000 AE111R Corolla Wagon NZ New Daily
1996 AE101R Corolla Sprint NZ New Selling Soon
1990 EP81 Starlet XL (Sold)
1990 EE90 Corolla XL (Sold)
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sw20glimited/
2000 AE111R Corolla Wagon NZ New Daily
1996 AE101R Corolla Sprint NZ New Selling Soon
1990 EP81 Starlet XL (Sold)
1990 EE90 Corolla XL (Sold)
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sw20glimited/
- geemannz
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2018 11:00 pm
- Stomping Ground: Waikato
- Prime Mover: Looking for an MR2
- First name: Gareth
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
Its very scratched on the boot lid and around the engine bay. The passenger side is ok. Ill have to wash it and take a few photosGDII wrote:Based on the 2 photos the bonnet looks to have been resprayed as it's showing lines. Maybe rattle can? Bumpers on these cars always have issues due to them being urethane. The paint reacts differently to sun vs metal.
It's very hard to tell the condition of paint from photos. Black cars show all dirt and scratching and damage.
- ClanFever
- Executive Officer - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 2197
- Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:25 pm
- Stomping Ground: Wellington
- Prime Mover: SW20
- First name: Olaf
- Contact:
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
I must be one of not many that prefer gen 1/2 lights4CylinderSpecial wrote:Nice work on scoring a late gen mr2 for that price and hope you have it running to it's full potential soon! Weird choice of the owner to swap out the tail lights.
Ex-President & Wellington Area Coordinator & Lower North MR2 Leader
Current: 1992 Toyota MR2 G-Limited with Gen 4 3S-GTE + CT20B (APEXED), 2005 Toyota IST, 2008 Toyota Vanguard - 2GR!
Past: 1990 Toyota MR2 G-Limited, "Semi Parts Car" 1991 Toyota MR2 G-Limited, '91 G-Limited, '89 G-Limited, '91 NZ New MR2, '91 G-Limited, '91 GT (Parts Car), '99 Altezza 3SGE, '98 Altezza 1GFE, '88 Corolla, '96 Curren, '94 Ceres Corolla, '94 Levin, '90 Hiace Super Custom 4x4, '91 Mirage, '93 MX-6 J-Spec, '91 Familia, '91 Galant, '90 Navara, '96 Commodore, '94 Pajero, '89 Lancer, '93 Pajero, '92 Pajero, '89 Mirage, '92 Terrano, '87 Familia, '03 Colt, '91 Pajero, '91 Pajero, '97 Carib, '96 Carina, '02 Turbo Forester
Current: 1992 Toyota MR2 G-Limited with Gen 4 3S-GTE + CT20B (APEXED), 2005 Toyota IST, 2008 Toyota Vanguard - 2GR!
Past: 1990 Toyota MR2 G-Limited, "Semi Parts Car" 1991 Toyota MR2 G-Limited, '91 G-Limited, '89 G-Limited, '91 NZ New MR2, '91 G-Limited, '91 GT (Parts Car), '99 Altezza 3SGE, '98 Altezza 1GFE, '88 Corolla, '96 Curren, '94 Ceres Corolla, '94 Levin, '90 Hiace Super Custom 4x4, '91 Mirage, '93 MX-6 J-Spec, '91 Familia, '91 Galant, '90 Navara, '96 Commodore, '94 Pajero, '89 Lancer, '93 Pajero, '92 Pajero, '89 Mirage, '92 Terrano, '87 Familia, '03 Colt, '91 Pajero, '91 Pajero, '97 Carib, '96 Carina, '02 Turbo Forester
- 4CylinderSpecial
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:30 pm
- Stomping Ground: Auckland
- Prime Mover: SW20
- First name: Levi
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
I actually like the gen 2 lights with the gen 3 spoiler. And the TOMs tail light cover thing.ClanFever wrote:I must be one of not many that prefer gen 1/2 lights4CylinderSpecial wrote:Nice work on scoring a late gen mr2 for that price and hope you have it running to it's full potential soon! Weird choice of the owner to swap out the tail lights.
- geemannz
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2018 11:00 pm
- Stomping Ground: Waikato
- Prime Mover: Looking for an MR2
- First name: Gareth
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
What do you mean by the TOMS light cover thing?4CylinderSpecial wrote:I actually like the gen 2 lights with the gen 3 spoiler. And the TOMs tail light cover thing.ClanFever wrote:I must be one of not many that prefer gen 1/2 lights4CylinderSpecial wrote:Nice work on scoring a late gen mr2 for that price and hope you have it running to it's full potential soon! Weird choice of the owner to swap out the tail lights.
- andymillenium
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 54
- Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2016 9:03 am
- Stomping Ground: Wellington
- Prime Mover: SW20
- First name: Henrik
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
I think he meant this.geemannz wrote:
What do you mean by the TOMS light cover thing?
1996 Red Rev4 SW20 MR2 G-Ltd
1995 Red Rev3 SW20 MR2 G-Ltd (Sold)
1995 Red Rev3 SW20 MR2 G-Ltd (Sold)
- geemannz
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2018 11:00 pm
- Stomping Ground: Waikato
- Prime Mover: Looking for an MR2
- First name: Gareth
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
Sorta gives me a mad max sorta vibeandymillenium wrote:I think he meant this.geemannz wrote:
What do you mean by the TOMS light cover thing?
- Benckj
- Forum Moderator - MR2OCNZ
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- Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 12:44 pm
- Stomping Ground: Otago
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- First name: Jim
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
Reminds me of those lens protection bars fitted to 4wd/s for bush bashing. Each their own, I guess.
Jim Benck
90 rev 1 parts car
98 rev 5 GT- all the mods
90 rev 1 parts car
98 rev 5 GT- all the mods
- 4CylinderSpecial
- Club Member - MR2OCNZ
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:30 pm
- Stomping Ground: Auckland
- Prime Mover: SW20
- First name: Levi
Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
It imitates the Ferrari Testarossa if I remember correctly.
-
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Re: geemannz's 1997 SW20
Looks nice man! Good luck with the restoration.
Current: None
Past: '92 NA Hardtop manual
Past: '92 NA Hardtop manual