Toyota MR2 Message Board - View Single Post

hexapus · 03-14-2009, 05:09 PM

I just picked up my new Two about 2 weeks ago. It blew a head gasket the first day I owned it, and has been in a friend's garage ever since! He's more a Detroit iron guy, so it's been slow going (with lots of guidance from me along the way), but I can't wait to get Taz back (that's my car's name) and get behind the wheel.

This is the 2nd AW11 I've owned, and since losing the first through an unfortunately set of circumstances, I've lusted after one for years. FINALLY, I've got one, and I'm thrilled with it. Here's the relevant info:

3 owners (not counting me)...first one babied the hell out of this car. Obviously it's been meticulously maintained with everything intact, and in working order for the most part, and even the owners manual in the glove box, and a boxed set of Toyota-branded customer-appreciation-type cleaning supplies from 198x (fabric shampoo, vinyl cleaner, tire shine, etc...).

The second must've been younger, and a bit of a ricer, because it has a badass stereo, passenger-side sub, amp and crossovers mounted in the frunk, momo steering wheel, 17" konigs, and a shiny shift-knob. All in all, maybe not exactly my taste, but it looks decent, and the work was of good quality.

The third was who I bought it from...they bought it for their mentally handicapped son who never got it out of the driveway, because he couldn't get the hang of driving stick. So it pretty much sat, save for occasional runs by mom as a second, backup vehicle. Sold it to me with 225k on the clock, for $1100.

Brought it home, drove around most of the day (with various moments of sheer joy as I re-experienced the thrill of downshifting into 3rd to take a freeway off-ramp at 70, taking off from a stop and feeling the engine starting to pull at 3500rpm, etc...), drove my wife to the book store late afternoon, and on the way home, took a small hill pretty hard, and that was it for Taz.

Blew out a head gasket in a spectacular manner, and parked it immediately at a gas station to be towed away to my friend's garage, where it sits now.

I want my Two back, but it'll be nice to have a fresh, sturdy gasket in place, as well as a pretty thorough tuneup, since everything is torn down. On a side note, my wife is a living saint...since she rolled her eyes at me from the get go when I was shopping for this car, and she simply didn't "get it". ("Why would you buy a car when you have one that works??"). When Taz blew, and left us walking a mile home, (after I was done cursing) she didn't say "I told you so"...she looked in my eyes, gave me a hug, and said "I'm sorry, honey". Now THAT's a woman worth keeping.

03-14-2009, 05:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
hexapus No Skills Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 45 Thanks: 5 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	87 NA from SoCal I just picked up my new Two about 2 weeks ago. It blew a head gasket the first day I owned it, and has been in a friend's garage ever since! He's more a Detroit iron guy, so it's been slow going (with lots of guidance from me along the way), but I can't wait to get Taz back (that's my car's name) and get behind the wheel. This is the 2nd AW11 I've owned, and since losing the first through an unfortunately set of circumstances, I've lusted after one for years. FINALLY, I've got one, and I'm thrilled with it. Here's the relevant info: 3 owners (not counting me)...first one babied the hell out of this car. Obviously it's been meticulously maintained with everything intact, and in working order for the most part, and even the owners manual in the glove box, and a boxed set of Toyota-branded customer-appreciation-type cleaning supplies from 198x (fabric shampoo, vinyl cleaner, tire shine, etc...). The second must've been younger, and a bit of a ricer, because it has a badass stereo, passenger-side sub, amp and crossovers mounted in the frunk, momo steering wheel, 17" konigs, and a shiny shift-knob. All in all, maybe not exactly my taste, but it looks decent, and the work was of good quality. The third was who I bought it from...they bought it for their mentally handicapped son who never got it out of the driveway, because he couldn't get the hang of driving stick. So it pretty much sat, save for occasional runs by mom as a second, backup vehicle. Sold it to me with 225k on the clock, for $1100. Brought it home, drove around most of the day (with various moments of sheer joy as I re-experienced the thrill of downshifting into 3rd to take a freeway off-ramp at 70, taking off from a stop and feeling the engine starting to pull at 3500rpm, etc...), drove my wife to the book store late afternoon, and on the way home, took a small hill pretty hard, and that was it for Taz. Blew out a head gasket in a spectacular manner, and parked it immediately at a gas station to be towed away to my friend's garage, where it sits now. I want my Two back, but it'll be nice to have a fresh, sturdy gasket in place, as well as a pretty thorough tuneup, since everything is torn down. On a side note, my wife is a living saint...since she rolled her eyes at me from the get go when I was shopping for this car, and she simply didn't "get it". ("Why would you buy a car when you have one that works??"). When Taz blew, and left us walking a mile home, (after I was done cursing) she didn't say "I told you so"...she looked in my eyes, gave me a hug, and said "I'm sorry, honey". Now THAT's a woman worth keeping.