I am in the thought process of deciding what car to convert. Ideally I would like to do a kitcar but unfortunately most kit cars in the US are a replica of a 60’s era car. I want something modern looking.
Anyway, today I was cruising through ebay and I thought about a 2001+ Toyota MR2. A quick search found one in my home town with 200k miles on it and a low price tag.
MR2’s are rear engine cars but does anyone know what is under the hood? Every picture that I saw online showed a large plastic panel. Any idea if there would be enough room for batteries etc?
By under the hood what do you mean? I’ve seen a few, in the front is a spare tire, and in the back is the motor, and a small trunk.
[QUOTE=TJ213;2069]By under the hood what do you mean? I’ve seen a few, in the front is a spare tire, and in the back is the motor, and a small trunk.[/QUOTE]
By hood I mean the large panel in front of the driver’s compartment 
There is a large plastic panel with another panel/door on the top. I am wondering if anyone know how much room is under there if I removed every removable thing under the hood.
The MR2 can’t be harder to convert than the Porsche 914, spacewise, and the 914 is a popular conversion.
Thats the spare tire area, there is definitely some room on the spare tire side as shown in the picture below, but I don’t know about the size with what looks like the washer fluid bottle on it.
you may want to check out a MR2 forum just to be sure
you should check out the pontiac fiero. at first you would think small car, no room for batteries, but you’d be surprized…and it is a bit more modern then the 60’s looking kit cars. these cars have many available kits some are ugly but some are pretty amazing. get a lotus kit and make it look like a tesla!
check out some great fiero conversions on www.evalbum.com
Thanks for the picture- that was helpful
not a bog fan of the fiero so I will pass on that car.
have a good weekend!
[QUOTE=electric85;2089]you should check out the pontiac fiero. at first you would think small car, no room for batteries, but you’d be surprized…and it is a bit more modern then the 60’s looking kit cars. these cars have many available kits some are ugly but some are pretty amazing. get a lotus kit and make it look like a tesla!
check out some great fiero conversions on www.evalbum.com[/QUOTE]
I looked at the Fiero for a looooong time when I first got interested in ev conversions but found that they are very heavy cars. I don’t remember the exact details but I think it was heavier and less economical (post conversion) as a Chevy S-10. (just food for thought)
well the Saturn SC1 (second generation) is another car that has many body kits available. and its a sporty looking 2 door. its light weight because all the body pannels are plastic, instead of metal or fiberglass like the fiero.
Yes but I am looking for a small-midsize sporty 2 door that is rwd. So that means Mr2, G35, S2000, 350Z etc. The fact that the MR2 is mid engine, a convertible and can be found for under $10K is intriguing to me. If anyone finds one in California for a good price then let me know.
miata? del sol?
Have you looked at the 1st and 2nd gen mr2s.
even tho it seems you might want somthing a little newer both of those cars have a nice shape, both are light, the 1st gen mr2 is very light, both the 1st and 2nd gen mr2s have there gas tank hung under the middle of the car where the drive shaft would be on a front engine rear drive car, with the tank removed there is enought room for 5 or 6 batterys. this still leaves a decent space in the front of the car and also a decent space in the rear behind the motor, and being that an eletric cars motor is much smaller then the gas engine thers lots of room left over for batteries on top of the motor.
small light cars with ample space for batteries. Im thinking you could fit about 20 batteries in an mr2.
Im not sure where the gas tank is located on a 3rd gen mr2.
btw im here thinking about an ev conversion to a 1st gen mr2.
A Toyota MR2 MkI is totally doable, if you are comfortable with cutting metal and some minor welding. The breaks are a little undersized for the added wight but can be upgraded and the power assist in the steering is not very strong and won’t be missed. Also you would need to deal with the ABS in the MKII. Upgrading the suspension iwould be a must for the added weight of the batteries. I have heard that the MKII struts will fit the MKI but have not tested this. Also note that when the rear suspension is compressed the tires are toe-in. When it is decompressed they are toe-out. If you allow the suspension to decompress in a conner a loss of traction is very likely. The recomended upgrade can be found here; http://mr2.com/TEXT/SuspensionUpgrade.html
BTW losing traction at the apex of a corner is not good.
This would [B][U]not[/U][/B] be a cheap EV, like a Geo but well worth doing if done right.
Each of the MR2’s three previous generations offered their own unique styling and exterior features, including the boxy ‘80s-tastic W10, the streamlined speed wedge W20, and the topless, huge-headlights-having W30. That said, there is a good deal of crossover between them. For example, the stance for all three is wide and low, with short overhangs and aggressive proportions. The exterior dimensions are also all quite tiny, especially the first gen, which measures in with a 91.3-inch wheelbase, 155.5-inch length, 65.6-inch width, and 48.6-inch height. We would expect the same attributes from the fourth-generation model, although it wouldn’t be totally out of line to see the dimensions increase a little over the predecessors, given modern crash standards and other such size-adders.