Supercharged MK1's - what to look for ?

[eddiethedog]

Hi

I'm looking for a MK1 MR2 as a second car (maybe for trackdays, but more for A and B road blasting). I've seen a couple of supercharged cars advertisied, but they are a lot more money than N/A cars - why ? I understand they are rarer, and more powerful, but what else is different ? Someone has told me that the JDM cars were galvanised whereas UK market cars were not, is this true ? What else do I need to be aware of when viewing S/C cars ? Finally is a S/C car that much quicker than a NA in the real world ?

Does anyone in the North Wales / Chester area have a car they would be willing to show me round ?

Thanks in advance for your help

[Icsunonove]

Patrick,

You're in the right area of the country for Superchargers

There is one in North Wales and two in Macclesfield (forum members I mean). There are also 3 in South Wales. I am sure one of them will be along in a minute.

As for price, depends on what you want. Manual gearbox ones are more sort after and hence more expensive.

Because the car was imported and therefore spent less time in horrible weather they are sometimes less rusty.

There's a lovely looking car for sale in Belfast on eBay at the moment.

The Supercharged engine has only 23 more hp, but it also has loads more torque. I have never driven an NA but I don't think there would be a massive difference.

[eddiethedog]

Yes, it's the car on Ebay that has got my attention (although I suspect I won't be alone).

I will wait for a possible reply from the North Wales owner !

[Icsunonove]

It looks absolutely lovely. It's not been messed with at all. It's done a fair few miles though....

[BenF]

Hi

I'm looking for a MK1 MR2 as a second car (maybe for trackdays, but more for A and B road blasting). I've seen a couple of supercharged cars advertisied, but they are a lot more money than N/A cars - why ? I understand they are rarer, and more powerful, but what else is different ? Someone has told me that the JDM cars were galvanised whereas UK market cars were not, is this true ? What else do I need to be aware of when viewing S/C cars ? Finally is a S/C car that much quicker than a NA in the real world ?

Does anyone in the North Wales / Chester area have a car they would be willing to show me round ?

Thanks in advance for your help

Eddie, I've got a MK1 Na which I use for trackdays. The SCs I've been in around tracks sometimes have extra goodies like Limited Slip Diffs (very nice to have) and they IMO sound really good with a cone intake and Magnex - almost V8 like in sound.

The MK1 NA also sounds great as you wind it up past 4k rpms and the TVIS opens..

The only downside is that engines seem to be slightly more fragile than NAs which are fairly indestructable - but only marginally more so. Certainly nothing to worry about if you're planning to do tracktime if you find a well cared for example.

[Lauren]

Hi

I'm looking for a MK1 MR2 as a second car (maybe for trackdays, but more for A and B road blasting). I've seen a couple of supercharged cars advertisied, but they are a lot more money than N/A cars - why ? I understand they are rarer, and more powerful, but what else is different ? Someone has told me that the JDM cars were galvanised whereas UK market cars were not, is this true ? What else do I need to be aware of when viewing S/C cars ? Finally is a S/C car that much quicker than a NA in the real world ?

Does anyone in the North Wales / Chester area have a car they would be willing to show me round ?

Thanks in advance for your help

The SCs are more desirable hence the price premium. They are rarer too so people will pay more for them. They are a lot quicker than NAs but only if you put the big pulleys on them which yields 180bhp with torque to match. They are only quicker in the real world if they are driven well realistically.

differences, apart from the obvious engine and box and around 10% having LSDs are really only air con, the brakes etc are the same as the NA. They are not galvanised.

We are in Macc and Mark (boyf) has two SCs, one of them a very rare super edition, which he will be getting back on the road this week, you can come have a look at that if you like.

[tonigmr2]

Can't get more generous than that to go look at one!

Faster and rarer = price premium, but don't pay silly money and avoid the autos would be my advice.

T

[murf]

but don't pay silly money

what do you reckon would be the going rate for one the same as the ebay one, same colour and mileage but with t bar roof and led spoiler, folding mirrors etc and on a g plate. good paint and no rust but with peeling lacquer on the bonnet. oh, and its a g-ltd as well.
cheers

[Lauren]

but don't pay silly money

what do you reckon would be the going rate for one the same as the ebay one, same colour and mileage but with t bar roof and led spoiler, folding mirrors etc and on a g plate. good paint and no rust but with peeling lacquer on the bonnet. oh, and its a g-ltd as well.
cheers

Very few SCs have all those extras. I wouldn't worry about trying to find one with all those bits unless you are prepared to wait a very long time, just get the best one you can, things like LED brake lights in the spoiler and retractable mirrors are not worth waiting for IMO.

The only model that you can be sure will have it is the Super Edition but they are incredibly rare with only 5 in the UK (we have the best known one, its Mark's). A SE would if you could find one be in the region of 5K.

I don't know what car you are talking about on ebay. I'm guessing you've found one then? Think you are looking over 3K for a good one, 2.5K if you are lucky.

[murf]

I'm guessing you've found one then?

yep, i certainly have!

i'll PM you a pic and tell me what you would pay for it, if you could?

[eddiethedog]

seems to be a thread hijack going on

Thanks for the replies, I'm going to keep an eye on the Ebay car, and visit the Tatton Park show this weekend and see what's there.

[Lauren]

seems to be a thread hijack going on

Thanks for the replies, I'm going to keep an eye on the Ebay car, and visit the Tatton Park show this weekend and see what's there.

Mark was hoping to have his Super Edition ready and back on the road this week, with a view to taking it to Tatton. I'm afraid it doesn't look likely though. I would guess that some of the MK1 club lot will have the odd SC at Tatton.

[Sharpfish]

I had a 1989 Auto SC - gltd with Retractable mirrors, climate control, Led brake light, mirrored t-tops. It was a lovely car - got wrote off - transfered all goodies (including engine + pulley + mods etc) over to a Manual UK NA body.. been (mostly) good to me ever since. I miss the original JAP body as it was virtually flawless - from a rust point of view (48k miles on it when I bought it in 2001).

If it has the toys then fine, but more important is whether you want a manual or auto.. and then the condition of the body and the engine. The toys can always be retrofitted (if you can source them) and are not that important.

good luck.

[ulysess1966]

My SC has had some sort of treatment applied to the inside of the panels that my 87 NA did not have. It isn't galvanising, but it looks like a hotdip coating of some sort.

The Japanese climate is wet and salty (they are an island nation after all) and they salt their roads in winter (which can be harsh in the mountains).