2zz advice

[Andy Lister]

Hey folks. I'm looking to buy a 2zz in the near future. Don't have a large budget, so looking for advice of what to look for, anywhere I should trust/not trust to purchase from. Planning on possibly doing a rebuild on the engine. All advice would be fantastic. Seen a few low price engines on eBay but a bit wary.

[Rich.B]

I've just undertaken the swap myself and can confirm it's relatively straight forward. So if you have basic spanner skills I'd certainly give it a go.

 If you manage to find one already done that would be a bonus! I'd suggest one of the indicators as to the quality of the swap would be the parts used. Look out for; exhaust system (not an ebay special), itake, engine management, correct gearbox fitted, LSD swapped over, clutch replaced?

 There's other small bits like lift bolts replaced but I'm sure you've already read up on that kind of thing.

[Ardent]

Hey folks. I'm looking to buy a 2zz in the near future. Don't have a large budget, so looking for advice of what to look for, anywhere I should trust/not trust to purchase from. Planning on possibly doing a rebuild on the engine. All advice would be fantastic. Seen a few low price engines on eBay but a bit wary.

Caveat.
Have not done this myself, but popular route, is to buy a whole running car, that way you can test the engine prior.

[Call the midlife!]

MAG will supply a fully refurbished engine for around £2k but you'll need a loom and ECU. Or you could try S J Autosports who are Birmingham based, often supplying the engine for Rogue to fit.
Although it IS a fairly straightforward job to swap the engines if you're competent there's a fair bit more to it than that.

[Ardent]

@Andy Lister

Pull up a chair and a brew of choice and make the search your friend.
Lots of threads on here on the how and what to do. And pit falls to avoid.

Great when sorted. But more involved than just swapping the lump.

[Call the midlife!]

As an addendum, I don't know if you do Facebook but there's a page on there just for 2zz swapped MR2s which is apparently a good source of information too.

[Call the midlife!]

And by some weird freak of coincidence, Matt Lee has in the last hour advertised a drive in, drive out set up for £4750. With what looks like a very nice setup, done in part with Rogue and sporting a fairly high spec'd installation.
Speaking from experience of a DIY build unless you've got the time, space and additional resources you can soon find a budget build running away with you.
Don't get me wrong, the feeling of satisfaction is immense when you turn the key for the first time on a DIY but it doesn't take much of a mistake to wipe the smile off your face.
There's a lot to be said for a reliable pair of hands.

[Andy Lister]

@Andy Lister

Pull up a chair and a brew of choice and make the search your friend.
Lots of threads on here on the how and what to do. And pit falls to avoid.

Great when sorted. But more involved than just swapping the lump.

Thanks for the advice. I did a MX3 KLZE about 10 years ago, so understand that it's not so straight forward. I get a bit nerdy on collating info before I commit. And get a thrill out of doing it myself. I think I like to suffer a bit. Lots of searching to do. Cheers.

[Andy Lister]

And by some weird freak of coincidence, Matt Lee has in the last hour advertised a drive in, drive out set up for £4750. With what looks like a very nice setup, done in part with Rogue and sporting a fairly high spec'd installation.
Speaking from experience of a DIY build unless you've got the time, space and additional resources you can soon find a budget build running away with you.
Don't get me wrong, the feeling of satisfaction is immense when you turn the key for the first time on a DIY but it doesn't take much of a mistake to wipe the smile off your face.
There's a lot to be said for a reliable pair of hands.

Thank you for the guide. As I don't have a big budget for this I'll be trying to do it on a shoestring. I'll probably rebuild the lump myself ( with my engineering buddy's helping too) to cut costs. Not a stranger to this sort of thing. Anybody can buy fast but not make fast. Appreciated

[1979scotte]

You're on the right path with a rebuild you'll know that the engine is good.

Also doing it yourself is probably best nobody else to blame if things go wrong.