MR2 Wheels and Engine

MootsMan · Post by **MootsMan** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:19 am

I've been wanting to get a set of 14's since I've been reading some of your posts about replacing the original 13's with bigger wheels and tires. Earlier this week I was at the junkyard snooping around and spotted an '86 MR2 with all four factory aluminum wheels intact and in apparently great shape. Went back the next day with two old wheels to turn in for the core charge on two of the wheels, and ended up getting the MR2 wheels for around 12 bucks apiece ( two of the tires even have some useful tread left on them). Here's my question....I have a set of 185/70R14's on an Accord that my son wrecked, and I'm wondering how much that will change the speedo reading from the original 13's, and also if that size tire will rub in the fender wells. I know a lot of y'all have put 14's and even 15's on your Terc's with no apparent problems. How much of a problem is it to change the gearing in the speedometer to correctly reflect speed and mileage with the larger tires and wheels ??

I'm somewhat of a Toyota novice....what can any of you tell me about the engine in the '86 MR2. This one is the standard version, as far as I can tell, with an automatic transmission. Are those engines worth pulling out and either selling or just hangin' on to in case I need one at some point ??

I also have the Owner's manual and Owner's Guide out of the MR2, and would let 'em go for a really cheap price ( like the postage to mail them) if anybody needs them.

Thanks to all you guys who put this forum together and keep it running. I'll try to send a contribution along ASAP. Keep up the good work !

MJ

takza · Post by **takza** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 5:45 am

Got a good deal on those wheels for sure....I paid more for steel wheels.

Try here:

<a href='http://350zx.com/tire-wheel.html' target='_blank'>http://350zx.com/tire-wheel.html</a>

I think those tires are about 6% oversized....pretty much the size I'll be buying next.

I just use some bits of the colored vinyl tape you can find and mark 25-35-55 on the speedo....or convert the % change into MPH...55 plus 6% = around 58...3 MPH over at that speed.

I do have my wagon boosted some though....but not up to OEM height.

MootsMan · Post by **MootsMan** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 7:03 am

Thanks, takza....I hope it was a good deal....we'll see today when I get the tires mounted and balanced ! I am wanting to get some "lift" to my wagon....it's a great car, but sometimes seems like a tired old woman as far as the look goes. Hopefully a new paint job at some point, and beefing up the suspension will help, along with the larger tires. I read your post about the rubber inserts for the springs....planning on checkin' at the local auto parts house today about doing that.

Any thoughts on that MR2 engine ? I believe it says "TwinCam" on the cover, but it was about dark when I was lookin' at it.....just wondering about the desirability and salvageability of that particular hunk of metal.

MJ

icE · Post by **icE** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 4:27 pm

nice find! new wheels cost wayy more than that lol, and the tires too

takza · Post by **takza** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 6:37 pm

There are other people with knowledge on that car & engine.....I'm clueless. If it runs OK...somebody might want it.

MootsMan · Post by **MootsMan** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 8:33 pm

Got the tires and wheels up on the Terc today.....everything is nice and smooth ! The car sits up a little taller, and rides and handles great. Feels more
stable on the road, just out on a quick test drive tonight. Think it'll do great out on the highway. I think I'm going to try the spring boosters next...my parts guy said they only cost about $8/pair. Just in the short drive I took, it appears that the speedo is reading 9/10 of a mile for every mile driven.....pretty major, when you put it in terms of every 10 miles driven, it's only showing 9 on the odometer....every 100, only showing 90, every 1000, only 900, etc. I'll have to decide whether I want an accurate speedometer and odometer or a car with LOW miles on it...LOL !

Anyway, the wheels look great on the car. I will make pics tomorrow and post
some here, assuming I can figure out how to do it .

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 9:15 pm

Right on! Pics would be awesome! To post pics, you just need to host the pictures on the internet somewhere, then when you generate a new post in this forum, click the 'IMG' button, and copy/paste the URL location of your pictures into it. Some picture hosting sites on the net don't allow this to work, but others do. There are many free hosting sites out there.

MootsMan · Post by **MootsMan** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 1:14 am

Ok, I'm going to try posting pics. Set up an album in Yahoo, so I hope this works :blink:

<a href='http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mootsman5 ... pg&.src=ph' target='_blank'>http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mootsman5 ... .src=ph</a>

<a href='http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mootsman5 ... pg&.src=ph' target='_blank'>http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mootsman5 ... .src=ph</a>

<a href='http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mootsman5 ... pg&.src=ph' target='_blank'>http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mootsman5 ... .src=ph</a>

<a href='http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mootsman5 ... pg&.src=ph' target='_blank'>http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mootsman5 ... .src=ph</a>

Maybe, just MAYBE, we'll have a sunny day here before long...these late fall/early winter cold damp days aren't the greatest for pics. You can see the wheels....i think they look pretty cool on the wagon....and you can also see how bad the car needs a paint job.

MJ

takza · Post by **takza** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 6:00 am

My wagon was in worse shape than that when I got it...need to stop the rust though. POR 15?

If those wheels aren't nicked and scratched too much...you got a good deal.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 9:03 am

I have the same wheels and yes, they look very good on the car. They suit the type of car better than newer looking wheels. My junkyard just got another one in and I found a spare wheel for it so now my full-size spare will be the same as the rest of the wheels. It's better to rotate the spare with the other tires so if you get a flat, the spare will be the same size so your 4WD works. The MR2 engine is the 4A-GE that's frequently discussed here, so look through the board and you will find lots of info.

MootsMan · Post by **MootsMan** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 9:31 am

I'm going to check into the engine, AND how big a pain it'd be to get out of the MR2. The wheels were in great condition...I only found one very minor nick on the edge of one rim, and a 3" section along the outer rim that had been scratched on another one.....next thing is to give them a good cleaning.
Takza, POR 15 ?? I'm new to Toyotas and rust repair....sometimes things go right over my head . :blink: I'm deciding whether to do an immediate rust repair job on the area under the window or wait 'til i can afford to have a body shop do it . I have a guy who would repair all of it ( quarter panel and floor pan) for around $200.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 1:57 pm

$200 is a very good price if it's good quality work. Other than the rust spot, your car looks very nice. Good choice of wheels.

MootsMan · Post by **MootsMan** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 10:58 pm

Thanks ! I spent some time really cleaning the wheels tonight....turned out to be a real nice set of wheels. Very few scratches or nicks, and not pitted at all .
The pics don't really show how bad the paint is on the left side of the car, though. I was cleaning the wheel openings tonight, where the moldings were either coming off or already disintegrated, and found where it looks like the left rear wheel opening has some bondo in it around the back of the door. I don't know if it's from an accident repair or from an attempt to repair rust. I'm probalby going to have to spend some money on that to get it done right. Any of y'all know how to do body work and painting ?? I could use some tips.

MJ

takza · Post by **takza** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 4:22 am

Me and MR RUST go a long ways back....I live in the rust belt and drive older cars. <_<

Don't know everything...but use some techniques that work to some extent. Have a writeup in the repair guide section.

When starting on rust repair...I usually take a medium sized flat screwdriver and start chipping at any rust areas or paint bubbles....you will usually find more rust than you'd like to...to say the least.

If you are just trying to find out how bad things are....you should be prepared first, and have some serious rust paint ready to use. Probably will need to remove the mud flaps and some moulding here and there....chip away and don't be shy. It won't likely be a good day...but it beats doing nothing.

Best time to do it is in summer though.