Bought the vehicle with no air conditioning. Still have yet to fix it.
Leather on drivers side where left leg comes in contact has worn through, use seat covers now.
Has an overheating problem if driven in heavy stop and go traffic or if pressed really hard.
Stereo cassette had a crackling in it so replaced all components and now no problem.
Plastic trim in front of pop up headlights has broken up and deteriorated.
Besides my constant worry of overheating, after driving it for thirty minutes or so, the car is a pure pleasure to drive.
Body roll going into and out of corners is hardly noticeble, even under more than moderate acceleration.
Braking for such an old car is great, stops quicker than any other vehicle I've ever owned.
The seats are quite comfortable when driving. Although the depth of the seat backs makes it a bit difficult to find any good sleeping position when and if the need arises.
Found the positioning of the heating and airconditioning vents to be odd and a bit difficult to positon.
I had a similar problem with my MR2 1985 model that I bought second hand. Why don't you check out either, the Radiator and Auxilary fans. Specially, the radiator fan. It could be that the motor is not working.
2 seater sports cars weren't created to sleep in, Bud.
Having said that from a passenger point of view I've found them to be one of most comfortable I've ever sat in, even for 6' 4'' individuals, and driving wise they are pretty damn close too, shame the older Mk1's didn't have adjustable steering rake, otherwise they'd be damn near faultless.
I have an 85 with an adjustable steering rack, it was an option.
As far as steering adjustment is concerned I believe only the tilt is adjustable, not the rake (for pulling the wheel closer to you or closer to the dash) on the MkI MR2?
No real problems with the car,had to change the brake calipers due to a loss of fluid, had problem with the anti roll bar links, where expensive to replace 70.00 each.
Apart from that the car was fantastic to drive,totally sticks to the road, lot of power for a small car,good acceleration,0-60 7.1 seconds. looks great for the age, ahead of its time, a real icon of the 80s, I'm now interested in getting another one. it's a great car & the closest I'll ever get to owning a Ferrari, i love it...!
If anyone is interested in buying an 85 I'm thinking about selling. Just under 145,000 miles at the time of this comment. Runs pretty good.
New Parts: Alternator, clutch, starter, sway bar links, thermostat, CV drive axle, new floorboards (flat steel pop-riveted with thick undercoating), complete exhaust, brakes, brake lines/hoses, Bridgestone Potenza G009's with only about 5,000 miles, new e-brake cables, new motor mounts, recent coolant flush and pretty much a fresh oil change every 1,000 miles just for good measure while doing all these repairs... probably more that I can't think of immediately off the top of my head.
Problems: New starter is going already, but I'll probably replace that again before I sell.. (don't buy parts from National Auto), there is some valve chatter around 2,500 rpms, but only in neutral or in 1st gear for some odd reason, the oil pan is cracked, but is JB welded together... may want to replace that at some point, but the car isn't losing much oil at all so not a big concern... about 1/4th of a quart per month between the crack and the shoddy pan gasket. The car needs lower ball joints. They've been bad since I bought the car. Still handles quite well considering. The car idles at 2,000 rpm on a cold start, but idles right on or just below 1,000 when warmed up. I asked my mechanic why and he told me there's some type of wax pellet sensor that controls that, but it's not of any concern. When I bought the car the rear wheel arches were practically rusted away in the back. It's been sanded, patched with Bondo-hair fiberglass filler, and painted over. It doesn't look bad now. There is still some surface rust popping up here and there, but the car doesn't look too bad. The dumb kid who owned the car before me let it roll into his house while it was parked so the front bumper is a little ugly, but you'd have to see it. It's really not bad at all. Still drives nice, really a blast. E-mail me at gkelter@yahoo.com with Subject : 85 MR2 and make me an offer. Once you email me ill give you my number and we'll work something out. Thanks!
I have an Mr2 85 got it on ebay savaged about a year ago for 1025$. I've changed gas struts, competition springs, competition clutch, outer inner joints, front, back disks, master brake cylinder, master and slave clutch cylinder, bushings, front rear, dashboard, down pipe, catalyzer, exhauster, competition air filter, crystal clear headlights, gas strut for the engine lid, plastics around the headlights, speedometer cable, and to be honest, I haven’t even started….lol. Think it’s a great car. Hell of a difference now and the day I got it. I do it all by my self in my parking lot. Drives superb… Soon will start with the engine. My goal, in 2 years time have the car as new. To last another 20 years at least….
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