I resisted initially. Really, I did.
Last Friday evening I found two supercharged Mk1 MR2s on Craigslist for $3750 and immediately called to learn more about them. The bodies were in rough shape, but both engines were strong (one rebuilt with only 400 miles!). One was an original supercharged 1988 car (one of less than 2000 imported in to the US); the other a converted 1987 N/A model with a supercharged engine. After learning much more about the cars, having my mother stop to take pictures on her way down to Boston, and having the seller (Jonathan) send me his book of receipts and pictures of the engine build, I decided that I didn't need another project(s) in my life. These were hard to pass up but I told the Jonaathan that I didn't have time even though I wanted the cars. He thanked me, said I really sounded interested and that I was "the only person who was truly serious", which I took to mean that I asked good questions. I sighed some relief knowing I wasn't going to have to figure out a way to get two un-driveable cars back to either Vermont or Somerville.
Last Friday evening I found two supercharged Mk1 MR2s on Craigslist for $3750 and immediately called to learn more about them. The bodies were in rough shape, but both engines were strong (one rebuilt with only 400 miles!). One was an original supercharged 1988 car (one of less than 2000 imported in to the US); the other a converted 1987 N/A model with a supercharged engine. After learning much more about the cars, having my mother stop to take pictures on her way down to Boston, and having the seller (Jonathan) send me his book of receipts and pictures of the engine build, I decided that I didn't need another project(s) in my life. These were hard to pass up but I told the Jonaathan that I didn't have time even though I wanted the cars. He thanked me, said I really sounded interested and that I was "the only person who was truly serious", which I took to mean that I asked good questions. I sighed some relief knowing I wasn't going to have to figure out a way to get two un-driveable cars back to either Vermont or Somerville.
Then I got a text.
Jonathan: "if the price is a problem we could work something out if that was one of ur factors"
David: "Man, you are making it hard for me. What would prevent me from driving the one (that was running) home?"
Jonathan: "Well to tell u the truth fuel leak, charging, and registration. But if its delivery ur worried about I could work something out I think. Could I give u a call back?"
To quote priceline, "the deal was just about in the bag." I hemmed and hawed about how low I should offer, and Jonathan and I agreed on $3200, with one car delivered to Somerville and one to Randolph, and it needed to include the "racing" (decent shape) seats. With the "average" value of the supercharged car coming in at $3,500 and me not able to find any running versions of the car below $3,000, I figured I ended up with a decent deal! Now I just need to figure out which one is going to be my winter car for next winter, and which one is going to be sold.
Some pictures are below. The cars aren't in awesome shape but in relation to what I saw for sale on the internet they aren't bad. Tech specs here (look at the supercharged version): http://www.megaboost.co.uk/mr2/frames/techinfopage.htm
We named these cars the Super Skates because my dad named David's previous (non-supercharged) MR2 the Roller Skate since it was so small. My dad's got a reputation for good car names, and it seemed fitting that these cars should have a variation of his initial MR2 choice. We'll see if the name sticks!
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