1991 MR2 Turbo (This is the MR2 you've been looking for)

1991 Toyota MR2 NA to Turbo swap Additional Info:

This is the MR2 you've been looking for. Fully rebuilt. The drive-train is better than new right now, with a single exception I will detail below. Interior of the car is clean; dash is clean; vinyl-covered seats have a few stains that can probably be removed with some work, otherwise in excellent condition. Carpet is clean and in decent to good shape throughout.
This was a Southern California car all its life, and was in excellent shape when I bought it used some 6 years ago.
Other opportunities to improve the car noted below. It has a few little flaws, like all such cars, but if you like driving...this is the car for you.
This car began life as an SW21 Normally-Aspirated engine MR2. At about 94000 miles the 5S-FE stock engine experienced a failed rod-bearing. At this point I took the car to Jeevey Bathan of ETL Garage in Pomona, California. Jeevey has been doing work on on the MR2s for over a decade and is an expert at engine rebuilding and engine swaps for these cars. He agreed to rebuild a 1991 USDM 3SGTE he had recently received, and swap it into my car. And so he did. And he did a really magnificent job. I can tell you--I don't think he'd mind--that he was so happy with how the engine-rebuild turned out that he wanted to do a V-6 swap into my car for a very good price and keep the rebuilt 3SGTE engine for himself! True story.
Anyway, below find a list of what I had done to the car. It drives much better than new now. The rebuilt car/engine has about 3500 miles on it. It was broken in carefully and has had three oil changes with Mobil 1 Synthetic. It runs like a Swiss watch. You won't find a nicer rebuilt, California-legal, virtually stock MR2 SW20 anywhere.
*OEM fuel tank at 75K miles (2011)
*OEM fuel pump at 75K miles (2011)
*New battery one month ago.
*Engine rebuilt to stock Toyota specs top-to-bottom with appropriate stock OEM parts. Including all the usual things as well as a new timing belt of course. Rebuild finished about a year ago.
*Original turbocharger rebuilt to stock specs.
*New CV joint boots both sides
*New Greddy clutch kit.
*New oversized Mishimoto aluminum radiator
*New Kirkosaurus Urethane Motor Mount Inserts (these make a BIG difference in the feel and handling of the car)
*All new suspension bushings.
*New KONI shocks and struts
*New Kuhmo all-season tires in the stock turbo sizes, wider in back, slightly narrower in front.
*Front Sway Bar mounts reinforced
*New MR2 Turbo stock brakes (replaced SW20 brakes)
*New windshield
*New door and T-Top seals all around. Eccentric lock for T-Tops for a tight fit. Still drips a little in the car wash but with a bit of work can be made completely water-tight
*Car has been repainted professionally in Porsche Aventurine Pearl Green. Car has a much more Euro look as a result. A much more elegant color than the original Toyota Metallic Forest Green.
*Car presents as a 1993 or later with the '93 spoiler, turbo engine lid, and Kouki rear lights and fascia. Trunk lock in buried deep in the fascia hole, a common problem, easily solved, just use the cockpit trunk opener. I've had no problems in practice. You could also put a key on an extender of some kind and access the lock directly.
*Interior seats are OEM replacements, and quite nice, covered in leather-style vinyl.
*All dash gauges work properly and dash lights have been entirely replaced with LEDs for a modern look.
*Includes a mildly worn but still serviceable Noah 4-layer car cover.
*The original car was well-kept, no rust, and the body is very tight throughout. With all the improvements, the car really is on rails.
Minor flaws and opportunities for the new owner to improve the car to their own taste:
*The stock turbo manual transmission works well. It is mildly notchy from 1st-2nd, I suspect 2nd is slightly worn, but there are no problems in practice, no pop-out, no grinding. Just treat it nicely and it’ll treat you nicely. Jeevey offered to replace it with a later turbo 5-speed with the LSD option for a fair price, you could discuss with him, but the current transmission really does work fine.
*Car has NO spare tire.
*Radio/cassette player (!) does not work, needs to be replaced. Additionally, the car needs either an interior or exterior radio antenna installed.
*Air conditioning blows cold, but takes a little while on really hot days. Probably worth having the entire AC system serviced and perhaps re-charged.
* The side mirror motors still work, but the door controller switch is intermittent and just needs to be replaced or renewed or thoroughly cleaned.
*Driver's side switch for the passenger power window no longer works, but the passenger switch DOES work. Again, the whole driver's side switch assembly in the door probably needs to be rebuilt, replaced and/or thoroughly cleaned. Not a big deal, just a tedious little job.
*Right front wheel-well liner needs to be properly screwed to the fender at the bottom. I may do that before it leaves here, again, no big deal.
*Toyota emblem missing on the frunk lid. I toyed with putting a Ferrari emblem there, but haven't done so. You can make up your own mind about that.
So, while there are some minor details to be sorted out, the main thing is that this car runs, drives, and handles better than new. The engine is running perfectly, very quiet, smooth and powerful. This car is ferociously fast just stock as it is. With the new, better suspension components there is virtually no body-roll. The stock exhaust makes a fine deep roar at higher RPMs. There is no turbo lag at all, you hear a soft whine as the turbo spins up and the car just goes faster and faster. I’ve passed cars on the freeway at 80-90mph easily. The car will go from 65mph to 85mph in about 1 second, and just keep on accelerating. I don't do THAT of course. I observe speed limits. On city streets the car is incredible.

Finally the car was aligned by the legendary West End Alignment in Gardena. It could probably use a touch up, but still handles quite well. I'll let you go there and they can adjust to your taste.

No leaks, no problems. Car runs cool, and is entirely reliable currently. Just take care of regular maintainence!
I'm on to other projects. This one has been Big Fun, but time to let someone else enjoy her.
E-mail me for any questions you may have. I can also provide a link for a virtual test drive. I have about $17.5K in the car now. I think my asking price is reasonable. But I'm open to fair offers.