Phil-
I own two sports cars. One is my 1970 TR6, and the other is a 1987 Mk.I
Toyota MR2, normal aspiration. IMHO, the MR2 is an absolute kick to drive.
While it doesn't have a load of horsepower (you'd need a Supercharged Mk. I
or a turbo Mk. II - 145/225HP, respectively) it doesn't need it. The fun of
the MR2 is not in straightline speed, but in *handling*. The MR2 (Mk. I at
least, I don't have a Mk. II) is what our beloved LBCs would be with modern
kit in the suspension and a slightly different design philosophy. In sum, I
get a thrill just owning and driving my TR6. In the MR2, whenever I'm
feeling unsure, I take it to a tight highway offramp and blast through it at
around 65-70mph with no slip whatsoever. the resulting grin is enough to
reassure.
ref. reliability...I won't speak for the Mk. II. The Mk. I is incredibly
reliable. my 1987 works nearly perfectly; the only exception is the cold
button, which needs that expensive-as-heck old-style refrigerant refilled,
and I honestly haven't bothered. There are a couple of gotchas in terms of
major maintenance; the two that spring to mind are as follows. One,
replacement of the timing belt at its scheduled interval is *MANDATORY*. If
it goes, you're out a top-end rebuild, as it will almost definitely wreck
the lifters etc. At 40K/80K replacement, though, not too bad. The other is
general; the engine is really wedged into the midbody, requiring you to at
least rock it to do really anything. Having said that, given that the plug
are recommended replacements at like 40K miles, well...
In any case, for the full scoop, check out www.mr2.com!
-J.B. Zimmerman
(shameful webmaster of the TR6 Web page which lost its home and is in the
process of migrating to www.tr6web.com!)
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