My name is Jason and I am located in the United States, near Cleveland Ohio.

Engine swap was done in 2023 using 2GRFE V6 from a 2011 Toyota Sienna using parts from Frankenstein Motorworks, Wilhelm Raceworks, and Woodsport.

The engine is mostly stock other than the red valve covers, ported lower intake and intake/headers/exhaust needed for the swap.

Transmission is a Toyota E153 from a Rev 3 MR2 Turbo with a Cusco LSD, ACT clutch, Fidanza aluminum flywheel and TCS Motorsports turbo axles.

The brakes are stock from a Rev 3 MR2 Turbo.
Suspension is stock Rev 3 Turbo springs with KYB GR2 inserts.

Sadly, the MR2 was not a very big hit in the U.S. and was only sold here for a short period, making them a rare sight nowadays, where I live, most have either been wrecked or rotted away from the road salt used during our winters.

Thankfully, I was able to locate this beauty and add her to my garage, I grew up loving cars, and when I was little my dream was to have a Pontiac Fiero GT (yeah, I know, but I grew up in the 80s lol) as I loved the styling and the engine in the back.

As I got older I started to realize that there were many better options out there, and like many, I really wanted a Ferrari in my life.

I have had many different cars over the years, various drivetrains and engine layouts, and got to the point where I was ready for a mid engine, rear drive car.

I started looking at used 348, 355, and 360 models, and the prices were attainable (this was around 2015) so I had a target that I needed to reach but sadly, while I was trying to reach that target, the market for those cars shot up and they became unreasonably priced for me to justify buying one soo back to the drawing board.

I started re-thinking what I wanted to do, maybe a Fiero and do a drive-train swap, maybe a Lotus but then I thought of the MR2

As I mentioned earlier, they were not very common where I live so it was never really a thought before

I had seen a few over the years, and they always looked good, but I did not know much about them so I started doing some research and started thinking this was the way to go.

I started looking locally and did not find many but the ones that I did, had the normal rocker rust and were just worn out so I started watching ebay listings and luckily came across this one that was in Nevada.

This was December of 2019 and it was an auction listing but he car looked pretty solid although it had over 200,000 miles on it.

The paint and body looked decent and the the owner had removed the NA drivetrain and installed a Rev 3 Turbo engine/transmission/suspension and brakes.

It was pretty much stock with just some aftermarket wheels and tires, plus a Berk exhaust, the interior was mostly there with the normal worn seats and carpet so I went back and forth with the seller and gathered as much info and videos/photos so that I could to document the car and went ahead and placed my high bid, which considering how much was done to the car seemed low.

Imagine my surprise when on December 25 I won the auction with a price of $6,599.00 (U.S dollars) Merry Christmas to me!

It took another 3 weeks for the car to get to me as it was on the other side of the U.S. and the holidays delayed things and needless to say I was on edge as I just bought a car, sight-unseen.

When the car hauler arrived, it was near 9:30 at night and dark out, so I looked it over the best I could and hoped for the best when daylight arrived.

The next day I was happily surprised that it was pretty much as-advertised, minor dings and chips and faded paint but otherwise, very solid.

Once I cleaned it up, the mod bug bit me and it was time to upgrade that Rev 3 so I did all the bolt-ons, intake, downpipe, intercooler and piping, boost controller, fuel pump and so on plus I also had to fix some leaks (the wonderful hoses from hell and the oil pump housing) It was a strong runner but I wanted more…

It was either going to be bigger turbo/standalone ecu etc or swap in a 2GR V6 which was becoming a very popular swap.

I weighed things up and for me the V6 was the best option as it would gain me the low end torque that was missing with turbo lag, reliability and replacement part availability. (as Toyota put that engine in everything here).

About the same time, I decided that I wanted to address the paint and body but I had a difficult time locating a shop that would to a full repaint and body clean up, the majority only wanted to do insurance work but I finally found a shop that would work with me and allow me to do a lot of the teardown work myself and so I set up the work.

This was going to be a side project for this shop and they hoped it would only take a month or two but then COVID hit.!

There was delay after delay due to lack of employees, materials etc so what was supposed to be a few months took almost 2 years.!

I finally got the car back in August of 2022 and that is when the engine swap began which I completed over the winter between 2022 and 2023 and at the same time repainting the engine bay and cleaning things up in the rear.

Between Wilhelm Raceworks, Frankenstein Motorworks, and Woodsport I was able to locate everything I needed for the swap which was much more straight forward than I expected (I had previously installed a 5.0 ltr V8 in a Miata which was much more involved.

The 2GR swap turned the car in to a whole new machine and the sound of the engine, the way it handles and the heads it turns never fail to put a smile on my face.!

For the interior I have MR2 Heaven leather seat covers, matching door cards, gearshift knob and surround and handbrake boot.

I have a Momo steering wheel plus oil pressure and temperature gauges set into a pod on the steering clamshell.

The car went through full body clean up and repaint in 2022 in Toyota Super Red and the vehicle spent it`s entire life in California and Nevada before I obtained it in 2020, it is a rare, rust free example.

The full history of my ownership of this car is documented on my YouTube channel ( link button below) with many detailed videos on the 2GR swap and that was involved.

I recommend you check out my MR2 playlist if you are interested in doing this to your car.

I am not sure what the future will bring, more vendors are now coming up with 2GR upgrades.

I love the sound of the NA engine but the turbo kits that are now showing up here are very intriguing as well.

One thing is for sure, this will be an ever-evolving project, and I have no intention of letting her go!

* If you made it this far, thank you for reading my story.!