2zz Swapped Mr2 Spyder Toyota 2001

A2001 Mr2 Spyder with a 2zz Engine (180BHP) Same motor as Lotus Elise

PRICE DROP: 10k OBO

Scroll down for Image Gallery, 100+ High resolution Photos

UPDATE: There was an issue before where lift was a bit dull, I thought it was the constricted stock intake and exhaust, but found it the tps wires weren’t swapped back after smog was done with 1st ecu

Things I’ve done to the car

– Replaced the headlights

– Professional clay bar, cut, polished and waxed.

– replaced the aftermarket seats to oem

-removed subwoofer and installed original compartment doors

GOOD:

Never in Accident
California Car
matching vin’s on all body parts
5 speed with no grinds or pop outs
Front plastics 10/10 even the handles are working
OEM Toyota Floor mats
Replaced kyb shocks +- 3000 miles
Paint 7.5/10
OEM Top 9/10
Interior 9.5/10
Seats 9/10. Wear on driver side, no tears.
New exedy clutch when 2zz was swapped, 3000miles on clutch
mwr Swap dip stick
mwr swap mount
The paint is ok, i did some touch ups on the hood. The paint has some imperfections on the clear on the hood and trunk. Overall it looks ok. I’d rate it as 7.5.
Gutted Pre-cat / Frankenstein (1zz manifold with 2nd flange)
Oem air box adapted to fit 2zz
Custom Aluminum Bracket to use 1zz valve cover on 2zz
Wiring is designed to swap between 2zz and 1zz ecu.

Bad:

dime size rock chip on windshield
paint imperfections on hood and rear engine lid

TECHNICAL SECTION FOUND BELOW PHOTOS

Price: $10,00 OBO

Availability: Test drive available for serious buyers

CONTACT: Arnold (562)881-1593

Mileage: 164,000 Miles (Will go up little by little, my girlfriend likes to drive it when I’m in Florida)

3,000 miles on current JDM 2zz engine performed by Arnold Pacleb 2016.

WARNING: This part of the description is long winded, I did this specifically to answer as many questions as possible so that potential buyers don’t have to ask me the common questions about the car.

About the MR2: It has grown exponentially in popularity in the last 5 years. I would say the values have increased alongside the more sought after Japanese cars. . The cream puff mr2’s are being sold in the upper teens now. I don’t really expect any slow down, they are not s2000 or DC4 type r prices but they are now fetching pretty pennies. Gone are the days where you can pick up a good mr2 Spyder under 5K. I would say a good condition mr2 now be priced around 8-10k. California cars will cost more as usual. You can still find some spyders under 5 k, but they are usually projects, or severely cosmetically or mechanically challenged. In other words under 5k mr2’s are usually projects or someone selling because they don’t know true market value.

Why people love mr2 Spyders? I owned my first spyder 15 years ago and personally I did not like them because of how they looked. They are sometimes referred to as a frog. I started doing 2zz swaps for them and fell in love. The 2zz inside the mr2 is absolutely one of the most enjoyable driving experiences I’ve had and continue to have. You are in the same power to weight ratio as the Lotus elise. The Lotus also uses the 2zz. After doing several swaps I just had to have one, The looks of the car have since grown on me. I find the looks similar to an older Porsche boxter.

So why do people love spyders? The question should really be, what makes them so fun to drive. The light weight chassi and a high reving 180hp motor can be very addictive. The lack of weight in the front gives an instant steering response, and contrary to the mid-engine snap oversteer myth, the mr2 is very neutral in stock form. Tail happy fun can be had with simple suspension modifications. The reason I’ve done over 35 swaps is simple, I just let them test drive my mr2 spyder with the 2zz. It takes a while to get used to revving an engine to 8350 RPM but once someone feels the power difference in the 2zz, the car becomes a beast. The care will seem the same up until LIFT kicks in at about 6k RPM then the smiling begins. . I have since retired from 2zz swaps since I am now bi-coastal and time and space is limited.

In short, the reason people love the mr2 is because it feels like a go kart. A full size, high revving mid to high 13 second quarter mile car that will just eat corners like a fat kid eats a snicker bar after being starved.

Racing potential: The mr2 has also become popular due to what I think is the cheapest/easiest car to make extremely capable on the track. From the factory the handling capabilities are already on par with some of the best factory cars out the box. Even with a 1zz and decent tires sub 1:30 at streets of willow is common. Modified spyders with good tires and a 1zz have seen 1:26 lap times. k I have seen them more and more on the track. Last time I went to streets of willow, There was the kswap mr2 winning unlimited class at vtec club. Aftermarket support is not the best but there is enough and is growing by the day. Pretty much it’s a poor mans lotus with potential to keep up with the best of them. BTW, I have never tracked this car specifically, I have other spyders that I track.

Backstory on car: I did this swap for a customer Rumman in 2016 and 2 years ago he decided to let it go. He is an IT professional who had to move to the bay area, and decided the mr2 wouldn’t be the car to take. It was not his daily driver, he only put 3000 miles in the 8 years he had the swap. He moved and offered the to sell the car to me, and I purchased the car. The last couple years I’ve been debating wether to keep it or sell it. It’s literally the perfect weekend cruiser and with 30mpg it would make a perfect daily.

The car is in 100%stock form, minus radio and the 2zz, unmolested blank slate. It was never raced or abused. Rumman replaced the shocks in 2016 right before he had the swap done. It also has a nice Kenwood stereo and nice speakers that sound better than OEM, they hold the volume really well and it also has Bluetooth/mic capabilities. The car came with broken custom sub woofer custom fitted in the rear where the compartments are, I removed it and replaced it with OEM compartment doors. The doors have trouble opening and closing but I’ll tinker with it a bit more, they came from an 03+ car and it may be slightly different. I’ve kept the car covered outdoors and it has preserved the paint and top well, the top on this car is still in really really good shape.

TECHNICAL SECTION About the 2zz swap & Passing smog (purposely placed at end of description so you don’t fall asleep)

I’ve done over 35 swaps and there is only one way now to smog the car semi-legally in California.

This car is set up to pass the visual inspection at any station. It readies the smog monitors exactly like a 1zz spyder, even with the gen 2 machines, this car will pass. If the buyer is from California I can provide a smog, and if the buyer needs, I can show how to ready the monitors within 10-15 minutes. California caught on to the 2zz swaps in mr2’s. I’ve done over 5 swaps converting the 2zz back to a 1zz because they got flagged from the BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair.) So sometime about 3-4 years ago, the BAR started to inspect the VIN stored in the computer (ECU.) When I first started doing the swaps, this was not the case. This meant that you can run the USDM (united states domestic market) 2zz Ecu and the mr2 would be able to ready the smog monitors just like a Toyota Celica which is where the ECU (electronic control unit/aka computer) comes from. The BAR realized that these swaps were happening and they were able to strengthen the smog requirements by making sure the smog machine matches the VIN with the ECU vin. This means that when the car is a toyota MR2, and the ECU is a Toyota Celica it triggers a no pass/red flag aka referee inspection. The referee inspection means that you must take it to a BAR station that will now inspect the car in every aspect pertaining to BAR Laws. This means the Engine must be a 1zz, this also means that a 2zz engine can not pass and usually means to smog the car you would have to reinstall the 1zz, then pass the inspection with everything original or CARB legal.

What this means for 2zz swaps: This made it difficult to pass the smog with a 2zz mr2 in California. Difficult, but not impossible. To my knowledge this is the only way, which has worked for me personally for my 2zz cars including this one when it was due for smog last October. There are two parts to passing the California smog at any smog station. The first part is the visual and the second part is the technical. All cars including the mr2 have to pass the visual inspection. This is where the smog technician makes sure that all the components that affect emissions are factory equipped or carb legal. CARB = (California Air Resources Board.) Ok, I told you this was going to be technical, but I need to say this so I don’t get bombarded with questions. There are aftermarket parts that can be sold and carb legal, this means the company went through a certification process that allows the product to be sold in California because it does not affect emissions. In other words, CARB wants our money, makes car parts more expensive and makes California the best place to have a modified car. Ok, so where are we? Passing the visual for smog, usually this means making sure you don’t have an aftermarket intake or exhaust system. If it is aftermarket, it must have a CARB sticker and must match the Carb # database. This is how you pass the visual.

In this mr2, you can see that the intake is OEM, and the exhaust system and manifold are oem as well. How is this done? Patience and a very strong Tig Welder. All Exhaust manifold markings are there with a toyota part number on the mid pipe flange. Smog technicians, unless they are mr2 experts will absolutely think this car is stock. You can even install the OEM exhaust manifold heat shield. I actually prefer not to install it because it leaves no doubt when looking at the bare manifold that it looks stock. It even has the OEM pre-cat sections of the manifold.

Part 2, technical. To pass the technical, There are two parts to this. The first part is the Smog monitors (System checks built into the ECU) must be set and must be complete. Smog readiness monitors in the ECU int he obd2 systems are now plug and pass. This means no dyno, this means you plug in your car and it tells the smog shop it passed. These monitors include, misfire, fuel system, catalyst, heated catalyst, evap system. The computer runs through a drive cycle or a set of parameters that determine if the readiness monitor passes or fails. If one monitor fails it triggers a check engine light. Also to pass smog, you can not have a Check engine light (CEL) smog or non smog related. Ok still with me? To pass smog it is the same for all cars including the mr2, however the BAR now checks one more thing on the mr2’s. This is the second part of the technical side to pass smog. In the ECU, it can read the VIN. If you have ever used techstream, you can see the VIN pop up. This can also be read by smog machines. It is not required to match the ECU on the vin with the ECU on the car. It must show up as a mr2 spyder.

There is one thing this car has which is common to all mr2’s eventually. It eventually throws a evap code, this is because all mr2 eventually have this. You can research this fun fact or read the following summary of the issue. Evap system is basically the gas/fuel system in the car. The system must be leak free. because there are rubber gaskets/o-rings this system eventually develops leaks. This can happen anywhere from the gas cap, to the check valves for the fuel tank or charcoal canister. This is common to all mr2’s eventually. What does this mean? Well this monitor on the smog check usually takes several days to set, there is a specific parameter that must be met to detect the leak which involves several cycles of starting the car at different temperatures. I don’t think i’ll get into this one technically, but basically gas expands and contracts when its cold and hot, and the system is designed to detect this with pressure, if there is no pressure, it throws a pending CEL. This is acually why the cars can still pass smog. This is copied and pasted from google.

Gasoline Powered Vehicles:

– 2000 and newer model year vehicles will need all emission monitors in READY or COMPLETE status, with the exception of the EVAP monitor. An incomplete evaporation monitor will not cause a smog check failure

They know that the evap monitor can take several days to ready up, so all you need to do to pass smog in most mr2’s now is to complete the drive cycles for all the smog monitors except for the EVAP, and smog it before the evap monitor triggers a fail/CEL. Some cars take longer than others to trigger the evap code, but this car has been driven several weeks and it has yet to throw the evap code.

Ok so there you have it. In short, this car will have no issue passing smog.

VIDEOS (Sorry they aren’t as good as I thought they would be)