Welcome To My MR2 Website

This web site features my 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo containing general information, modifications and pictures during my 30 years of adventurous MR2 ownership!

What's New?!?!

1/29/26

A great year of MR2 ownership with the 91 Turbo & 96 MR Spider, enjoying them on the road, at various cruises, meets & car shows too.

I've owned my 1996 MR Spider for just over two years now & I'm really enjoying convertible "top-down life"! Driving a RHD car in a LHD country isn't too difficult, simply a different way of placing the car on the road. Shifting with my left hand was awkward, especially the 2nd-to-3rd shift ending up in 5th sometimes, but I got used to it quickly.

Being a JDM auction car, the MR Spider had zero maintenance history, so I replaced all the fluids, brakes, ignition & tires too. The car had some surprises for me when it arrived: the 2nd cat was removed & a cheater-pipe installed (more power?!), neon kit underneath the entire car (removed), poorly rolled fender lips with surface rust (I painted it with Por15) & 20yr old tires. I removed the Gen4 wing & covered the holes with silver stickers - an MR Spider must be wingless!!. The car was terrible over bumps; the suspension wouldn't move because both front struts were seized & all four OEM springs were cut. I replaced them with Koni strut inserts, OEM front strut tops & Eibach springs.

November of '24, the fuel pump died (thankfully at home) & replaced it that winter. Since the car arrived, the clutch would slip at red-line shifting but was fine under normal driving. In the fall of '25, the clutch started to slip badly so I'll replace it this winter.

For the 91 Turbo, thankfully no major issues, just a new battery & rear tires were needed.

August of '25, I did have an odd problem, when my car was "off" the brake lights were on. I found plastic pieces on my driver's floor mat & found the brake pedal cushion shattered, allowing it to travel & activate the brake lights. A cheap $1.50 part that was a pain to change, it took 45mins on my back over the door sill. My clutch switch was going bad, not consistently starting but when bypassed it started fine, so I replaced it while under the dash.

Summer of '24, MR2 Only Magazine released a 40th anniversary edition (40th AW11, 35th SW20, 25th ZZW30) celebrating all MR2s. The cover is 40 thumbnails of MR2s & they honored me by having both my MR2s on the cover & creating a 4-page article too!! For ordering any current or back issues, visit MR2 Only Magazine.

New pics posted in slide show "2024-2026"



9/13/24

I am the proud owner of another MR2, a 1996 MR Spider!! I've been drooling over this Japan-only model since I first heard about it in the late 90's. MR Spider's have only been available to be imported into the USA the last few years due to the 25 year import law. They don't come up for sale often but a few have & they were either an automatic (I wanted a manual) or simply too expensive.

In November of '23, I found an MR Spider listed for auction in Japan; a 1996 with a manual transmission, 117K km/73K mi, 3.5 auction rating (average) with a starting price I could afford. After obsessively reviewing the 3 auction pics & rating card, I bought a CarVX report (Japan's version of CarFax) & found it's a one-owner car with no reported accidents. I decided to send a deposit to my broker at JDM Imports to bid at the auction on my behalf & surprisingly I won - 5 months later it arrived.

It's #62 of 88 that Toyota Technocraft built between '96-'99, its the 4th in North America, making it a rare car for sure. International car auctions are a gamble but I got very lucky because my MR Spider is a good, solid car in need of some TLC. I will keep the MR Spider mostly in stock spec but I've already done some mechanical & cosmetic changes to make it my own.

I created a new slideshow "1996 MR Spider" for pics.



2/24/24

Another fun year of ownership in '23, attended a lot of car events, some repairs were needed & had a photo shoot of the MR2:

March of '23, went to start the car & the clutch pedal went to the floor, got out & found a pool of fluid underneath, clutch slave cylinder was covered in fluid. I replaced it with OEM unit & bleed myself using hand pump - all fixed.

May of '23, Tuner Fest show in Geneva, lots of imports, vendors & music, awarded "90's Era of the Festival".

August of '23, busy month with a repair, two shows & a photo shoot:

I was cleaning the car & noticed through the rear drivers wheel that the sway bar end link was lying on the rear subframe. It was still connected to the sway bar, the tab on the strut housing broke completely off, thankfully it didn't bounce around & puncture the tire. I couldn't find a shop willing to weld the tab back on so I had to replace the entire strut housing.

Cars Behind Bars show in Joliet, a new show at the fantastic location of the old Joliet Prison, good mix of cars, awarded "Top 10".

Route 66 car show in Berwyn, over 750 cars attended, the most diverse show I've every attended with bikes, low riders, monster trucks, they had everything!

Ben Levy is a passionate weekend photographer who attends a tons of car shows in the Midwest. He's taken lots of great pics of my MR2 over the years & I'd often suggest "we need to do a proper photoshoot" & it finally happened. It was really cool watching his process, setting up equipment in two locations, staging my car in creative ways & hanging out with a fellow car nut who I now call my friend. The final pics with all his edits blew me away - 1000% satisfied.

September of '23, Tuner Evo show, national touring show at the Schaumburg Convention Center, my first indoor show, tons of awesome cars.

November of '23, Stance-A-Palooza show in Geneva, good mix of cars, awarded "Old School of the Festival".

I've added 50+ pics from Ben's photoshoot to slideshow "2022-2023".

Last Updated - 1/29/26





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