24 Hours of Lemons- Team T.A.R.P.

[Graystroke]

T.A.R.P. - Toxic Asset Racing Program
Team # 700,000,000,000 or 700 billion
Our Sponsors: Countrywide, Lehman Brothers, WaMu, Indy Mac, etc.and any other defunct bank
The Car: 1989 Toyota MR2

I went by there tonight to see if we could get it running. The guys house it is at (pat) bought it off Craigslist here in Dallas. When he bought it the Lady said, "Oh by the way you also get the one out back." So for $200 we have two non-running MR2's...One for parts, ebaying and the other to race. The plan is to haul down the parts car to the race so we have our own pit stall parts store...Genius!
The story from PO was that Jiffy Lube place left off the oil cap and the oil was blown out. There is a lot of oil on the engine. Some of the wiring was melted that ran over the valve cover. Also, the dist cap was melted at the base where it rested on the metal.
My synopsis is it got way over heated. I checked the timing to make sure the timing belt hadn't jumped or was broken. It was ok.

Checked the compression...no bueno. #1 had 0 PSI, #2 had 0 PSI, #3 had maybe 30 PSI and #4 had 40 PSI. It's a gonner.

When doing the test and when I checked #4, smoke came out of #3 spark plug hole. There was so much blow by that it was coming up # 3 I guess....whith the plugs in it spins freely. I didn't see any valves that appeared stuck so I guess the rings are shot or there are holes in the pistons.

So we need a new motor. I would like to find another MR2tranny/motor and just swap out the whole drivetrain...it's kinda built like a complicated VW bug. 4 bolts and the whole mess drops out underneath.

So if any of you see a cheap 1.6L 16 valve yota motor let me know...I think they are the same from 85-89. They came in Camry's and Corolas also.

MR2 #2 (parts car) is completely locked up. I put in the new battery and cranked it and it just clicked. We stuck it in gear and pushed it down the alley and I popped the clutch in 4th dear and the wheels locked up...so this one is in need of a motor as well. it does have some sweet leather seats though!