The Project Car Life - An MR2 Story
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2021
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The story of my 1989 Toyota AW11 MR2 so far. It's been almost a year since I got the mk1b and I have put a lot of work into it. The restoration has been going great and the paint came out amazing. I hope the car can continue its progress as I prepare for my engine rebuild.
Over my time of owning the car, I've done small mechanical tune ups and repairs, sewn new seats, painted the wheels, repaired my dent, did other bondo body work, and sprayed new paint. It's gone from a terrible beater to a clean daily driver.
Video and music by Josh Greenwalt
Camera: Fujifilm X-T4 - Авто та транспорт
I'm going to be getting the next MR2 Project episode up within the next week and then take a break from MR2 stuff for a bit. I have plans to do an Initial D First Stage review, but we'll see how it goes. I still have my MR2 cinematic too, but I'm waiting on one pretty big thing before the finale is filmed.
As a broke college student with a broken aw11. I can sympathize with this here. I've gotten to point to where I've wanted to just give up and never work on it again. However, this series has given me motivation to restore and bring back my mr2 to its original glory! Its not easy but time and patience is the name of the game. Never rush and take your time, it's easy to get burned out. These are truly beautiful and the internal value that I hold for the car could never be a dollar amount. Thank you for making this series!
The project car life is a tough one man. It’s definitely a lifestyle. But when you get yours where you want it, it’ll feel so amazing.
Respect for all the hard work you put into the car. And its cool that your not one of those people that only focus on the value of the car and not the car for what it is. Because these old Japanese cars are so much more than the value of them.
watching this and owning a mr2 aw11 makes me feel great, its such a lovely car (it has rust everywhere)
All of the initial problems were the same as my 1993 Jeep Cherokee, almost.
Despite it being an absolute PoS, it was my favorite vehicle.
Great vid :)
These kind of stories are true inspirations. Nowadays it's who has the fastest, nice-looking, and most expensive cars that get all the attention. Growing up it felt as if it was more about the journey an owner had to go through just to have said cars to their satisfactory, which made me get into older vehicles. Not only did it help build a tool collection, it also gave knowledge in a way where owners can help others kickstart their builds! Yeah, downpipes, pop tunes, and ambiance lights are alright, although the people that put in Real work to their cars not expecting praise or popularity will always win. If you're reading this; do it for the cars! No one else will understand that stoke-ness on the first drive but that person and their car.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing a car like this being saved and brought back in a respectful and tasteful way. Great job on keeping the original look as much as possible.
This is an underrated channel just as the mr2 is an underrated car.
Thanks man. Keeping up the grind, I know the pay off is somewhere in the distance.
Love the occasional driving scenes though downtown bellingham, you should come some BCM meets it would be cool to see the car in person
What days are they? I’ll try to make the next one since I don’t got much going on these days.
My first car was an 86’ mr2 and despite that thing breaking down all the time i loved that car.. by the time i finally let it go it taught me quite a bit about working on cars..
This makes me feel better about the condition i found mine in just this last summer. Hoping to see mine gets as much inprovement as yours!
great job, just got my temp to work on my car, finally can drive it more comfortably! i also got one that was not taken well care of, piece of crap but i grew to love it and i cant sell it because im in too deep lol, keep making videos
Dude I remember watching the upholstery videos, thinking “shit it is possible!” When I get around to the interior on the ma70 I’m gonna give it a go.
I just picked up a 1986 rhd MR2 G Limited SC while i'm stationed in japan. Thanks for the inspiration
Good job on inspiring me to start working on my 89 celica after i graduate this fall. Its been sitting for years in my hometown. I fr want to learn the process of getting started with filling in gaps/dents/panel tears and then applying a new paintjob.
This made me
Happy.
I dont have a Mr2 but i do have a Celica supra mk2, with right hand drive. But i truly felt that part where you feel connected with your car. After spending hours trying to clean the carpets to little result. But a result nonetheless. Even though she's still a little rusted and doesn't run, i feel a connection when cleaning and admiring my car.
this has given me a lot of hope, im about to pick up a 89 mr2 tomorrow with a lot of work in the future
I watch a few of your videos and they made me cry. This is goals🙏
Wasn't so sure about the buddy club lip at first, but it looks great on the car
Yeah when I was installing it and it was still white and unpainted I was like “oh god this thing looks terrible” hahaha. But after it was painted red and installed it honestly looks amazing. Mine is still a little crooked cuz my panels aren’t the straightest though. I plan on straightening it out a bit more when I get the chance. Probably when I do the vinyl decals.
I’m so proud of you I got an mr2 almost a year ago and from that day I found your channel and watched your car grow up it’s so cool and I hope I can get my mr2 looking that good. Even thought it not perfect that paint job is amazing especially for your first time ever doing one.
Well said at the end. And also congratulations with the paint job, it looks amazing (on video at least 😄).
It looks really good. But definitely isn’t shop quality. Mainly just the orange peel. Because of that it doesn’t have that mirror like reflection it should. It’s still shiny though. I think at some point I may spend a weekend sanding the clear coat just a bit and repspraying a smoother top coat. But for now it’s perfectly fine.
MR2 is looking good! As a fellow MR2 AW11 owner from the UK its been a pleasure following you on the journey and also learn a few things on the way...
My 280zx isn't nearly this bad for the same amount of money, but me and gipsy are right here with you guys. I just bought her from some crusty dude old dude and now my own story begins.
This is exactly what I needed to see. Really struggling to get motivated with my rebuild of my MK1 right now and was thinking of getting rid of it. Amazing how things come to you just when you need it 🙏. Great work.
Awesome job. I grew up working on and racing this car. I sympathize with the anger and frustration of working on it. Even back then these things were a pain to work on. Despite all that it was fun to drive.you definitely should take it autocrossing to reach its full cornering potential.
I can't wait for the day I get to join the mr2 community.
Man, I still can't believe you hand stitched new covers for the seats. I'm happy to pull out my transmission to learn, but I can't say I'd ever contemplate sewing new seats! This project has been such an impressive journey to follow, and I'm always so encouraged seeing how positive and dedicated you are!
Honestly the decision to sew new seats was done on such a whim I have no idea why I thought to do it at all hahaha. It was just the combination of the seats feeling super gross, new ones being way too expensive, and vinyl being pretty cheap that all came together to think it was good idea I guess. Took forever to sew, but was definitely worth it.
Love the whole series on your MR2. It reminds me of when I was young. You should be very proud of yourself. Never sell your MR2.
Love this video! Bought an AW11 myself last year for only €1000. And it's in the same kind of shape as yours was, planning on slowly restoring it as well and this video is a nice inspiration, thank you and keep up the work 😁😁
Beautiful job sir! You have learned a lot from restoring your car! Your project cars will just get more expensive as you get older and wiser.
If you’re looking for decals, we’re local to the area and make reproduction mr2 decals. We also have a bunch of spare parts. 👍
I appreciate it! I was actually gonna cut my own custom decals to give the car a bit of extra flair though
This is so cool!! And very relatable. I got a sw20 turbo that was fairly beat up with some wierd and half assed mods. I've been doing the exact same thing for the past year, making a video diary of every repair and touch up I've done. It is not an easy journey but like you suad it is super rewarding. Very cool build and glad to see another student getting stuck into it 👍
I have to say after watching a few of your videos...it's rather curious. Your first car was a Toyota Celica and then you got yourself your dream car a Toyota MR2. Not long ago I used to have a Celica, an T18 a bit rounder but still Pop Up headlights and an absolute beauty. And a few weeks ago finally made the desicion to buy my dream car...a Sw20 MR2. And I've been working on it happily ever since. Keep enjoying your cars friend!
Really like your tyres and rims paint job, dude! 😀
amazingly you choose both cars i drove in 1980 -1990 you got good eye balls you knew tastes
Great story, I have been enjoying your channel.
Love the video, fighting for my life trying to find the one I want
Seeing this video gave me a lot of motivation. I am in a similar position as you, im in my 5th and last year of university. Bought a complete rust box ( literally it's full of rust) for just 600 euros. A toyota EE80 hatchback red as well, I love the car and it's the project I always wanted, and ofter think if it's worth investing time and money on it. Just wanted to say your video gave me motivation to not give up on yet! Thanks a lot appreciate your hardwork to put in this video out there! BIg hug from Portugal.
Respect bruh. Just remember anything in a car can be fixed no matter the issue, And when you do it yourself you learn (which sometimes is worth more than money) and see your visions become reality.
Sweet video. Awesome Car!
my dream car too man. been looking for one for 2 years but they are too expensive for me since im still in highschool. hopefully one day ill own one and be able to work on it
Just discovered this video and your channel’ I love how you’ve told your project car story! I’m gonna go check out the rest, yay!
Sweet video Josh! Can't wait to see more, you inspire me to keep grinding and creating content!
Thanks man, hoping the new Evo you got takes your stuff to the next level too. Whatever car it is though, the grind never stops and neither do the stories
Love these videos man, wish I could see it in person. I’m in Florida and NO ONE has an AW11 :(
Hey! excellent work, you salved a aw11 from the trash! Respect for you. Really i like the original style... greetings from Argentina P.D. This video give me strong for repair my Suzuki Swift Gti
Great series. As an AW11 owner I enjoyed every video.
This is amazing to see, I really understand how you feel about this car as I'm currently doing the same thing. I love seeing your videos as you bring life back to this car-- and you're entirely correct, these should be owned by those who love it, not cheered on for "being worth much when flipping"
Keep up the amazing work, you're doing great :)
Really love the rim repaint. Going to do the same thing once I own an MR2
Nicely put. I really think all new cars are so boring. The mr2 is such a breath of fresh air. It also gets 30mpg so that's nice.
That 30mpg is great. Unfortunately the savings get eaten back up with the quart of oil I have to refill constantly too though hahaha
@@RetraCast after my rebuild, I burns 0 oil.
Yeah I’m excited to rebuild mine and hopefully find similar success
@@RetraCast I'd recommend getting new injectors. There is a guy on eBay who sells remanufactured 12 hole Mazda injectors. Just make sure to get a wire harness adapter if you have the old ev1 style plug. The 4 hole injectors are good but the new ones are from the 90s and are a bit more advanced, and you don't need the resistor.
Bro I'm literally buying one Friday that doesn't run incredibly similar situations, I'm down in Tacoma I'm hyped to restore mine I'm sure your videos are gonna help
You can purchase new clear front turn signal lenses from Toyota for only $30! I think they would go much better with your new paint job.
Super well done video bro
what's nice about these MR2's is they been so messed with you can really do what ever you want to fix it up and you're not wrong in doing so. I got an 88 with a 2zz swap i bought off someone who bought it from the original swapper and im going through all the nasty wire work and what not now. These cars are great cause they dont owe you anything and they are relatively so cheap to buy/fix up its worth just owning it for ever. They aint making any more AW11s and the numbers do only slowly go down. keep up the great work
Yeah it’s funny, I swear I see just as many engine swapped AW11s for sale as I do ones with the original 4age. A 2zz swap honestly is a pretty good way to go I’d imagine since it’s such a more modern Toyota engine. Though that’s if you can get it to work in the first place haha. Good luck
That part about it being sad that these cars are going up in price and being seen as investments is true.
It just sucks looking at prices going up and up, knowing that by the time I a) save up enough to buy one and b) have enough no claim bonuses to actually afford insuring the car, the prices will have gone up even more and they'll get even more rusted and withered.
I remember seeing 2 mr2's next to each other, one sw20 and one aw11 (aw11 being in the better condition somehow) and I just couldn't stop admiring them I even asked the "owner" if i could sit in them and boy, even if they aw11 was musty as hell inside I just felt so comfy and imagined long night drives listening to cassette tapes.
Liking cars in the UK sucks so much, especially compared to you guys in the US.
Kudos to you my man for saving this car!
Most of the problems that these cars have is that they're are not bad cars or unreliable, but the fact that most of the work that's need to be done is remove the stupid "mods" previous owners made (stupid wheels, stupid air filters that only cause troubles, disgusting steering wheels, etc) Bring the car back to stock is hard jaja
But very very nice work!! Keep it up!!
Love all the effort you've put into your cars and videos. I can't have a car until a year from now because of my freshman year of college, but when I get one, it's going to be one of the cars from your channel. You've helped me continue to fall in love with 80's sports cars. Keep it up!!!
Well at least you have extra time to save up then haha. Better to go in with funds ready than be waiting around with the car sitting.
this project was amazing
Ive been so excited for this!!!
Congrats man! This video is so cool.
This video gave me hope for the Miata again lol
Love this car! Definitely inspires me to get some work in on the Miata. The aw11 is definitely one of my favorites and I can’t wait to see what you do with it!
*_Happiness noises_*
ahh nice man, almost 4k subs already :o wow, good luck!
Ikr, I was just a little over 1000 a year ago when I got the car. Hoping with my extra free time now I can get those numbers up even more
So proud of you dude, you are inspiring me to work on my beater as well! Have you considered wet sanding/polishing some of the orange peel from the new paint?
Hey man! Glad you popped up on my recommended. I too am fixingup an AW11 MR2, my favorite car. I also have to replace my windshield, any chance youve gotten to that yet?
Lol im a hs junior that got a $500 mr2 and currently fixing it up. Currently rewiring the fuel pump
I hear that’s a terrible repair to do haha. I hope I don’t have to for a while.
I have literally the same XXR 17" wheels but in black on my 3sgte swapped rav4 lol
Though not my personal taste. In black and on a rav4 it seems a lot more fitting than gold 17” on an MR2 haha. Like even if they were 15” and black I honestly probably would kept them for a bit. But they were just obnoxious as is.
Wait i had a 1989 T-top with (almost? i'll have to check photos, like physical ones lol) identical frankenstein stiching on the front splitter😳 I think its very possible it was a common repair from that era but if the floors had been rust repaired by guy i sold it to, if there was a history of it being black then it could of been mine. Its also possible somehow that splitter i had got sold and repainted or even traded for free since it was at least a complete part even if repaired strangely probably by guy i bought it from, these days there are people who would be happy with just any original or even fitting part.
I don't think the car as a whole was mine (i never had factory red seat lining) but if it originally was black let me know, if not possibly the splitter but I'll have to check, i can send photos if it looks strictly similar too if you want. I can check in like a day and a half i don't have the photos of it at my house, i miss the car but i also sort of try to put it out of my mind since i never wanted it to get so rusty so fast and i never wanted to let it go.
I love the new paint job it looks amazing, however I think you should focus on upgrading the suspension because it becomes so much more enjoyable to drive. With new prothane bushings, ball joints, shocks, possibly coilovers depending on the condition of yours and tie rods the mr2 will feel like it's on rails through the corners
Yeah I meant to mention that in the upcoming plans part. Though I’m debating if I do the engine rebuild or suspension first. Cuz the engine burns so much oil that I can’t imagine it’s gonna last too much longer and may be a higher priority.
@@RetraCast yeah the engine should come first
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
theirs one near my area for 7k, and seams to be in very good condition, Should I buy it?
I have blue and red mr2?
Actually this is my dream car too but iam broke... Sad.
Lol car so crappy looking from the start anything you do is an improvement. Words I live by when looking for a project car lol