Georgia Tech Wreck Racing

Welcome back from spring break! Today’s is from our composites team member, Julian.

“This is my SW20 MR2. I had been looking for a car for a few months after wanting a project car for three years, and on a random day in September I saw the car on Facebook marketplace in Charlotte, paid the dude to drive it to Atlanta for me to see, and then trailered it back home to Jacksonville FL where it is currently.

It’s a 1992 Toyota MR2 base. The chassis has around 272,000mi 😭, though at some point in the last 2-3 years was swapped with another rebuilt 5S-FE with ~128,000mi. It has no rust and it made the trip from Charlotte to here. When I got it, it had a few modifications too, including likely a super cheap MAACO or DIY respray in a grey color (it was originally red), new rotors, a catch can, aftermarket wheels, new shifter cables, short shifter, and other small things.

Since then, I fixed the split front bumper from a previous accident, went over the areas of paint that were peeling with a lil spray paint (I’m saving up for a paint job right now), I put BC coilovers since all the shocks were cooked (all were original to the 34 yr old 272k mi car), new Kouki taillights, and resprayed the wheels in black since they were already spray painted anyways and were peeling. The car has also died in the middle of the road and overheated badly recently so I plan on fixing it or going to get it fixed (I have no experience with cars so any help would be massive!), and then I’ll get it repainted and new wheels since the car is kinda clapped rn.

It’s my first project so I don’t know all that much, but I want to keep the car a solid long time. Thanks!”

We’re back for another with our member Ian!
“This is my 1989 Geo Metro, which is a rebadged Suzuki Swift. The car has been in my family since the mid 90s, when my uncle drove it daily and then as a tractor. It had been sitting for a few years before I got it, apparent from the ecosystem taking over the bumpers and interior. Despite all that, I threw in a tractor battery and it cranked right up on 8 year old gas. The tailpipe had rusted off, so that straight piped 3 cylinder sounded like a V8. A new set of the cheapest (and sketchiest) eBay tires money can buy, a clutch, muffler, and countless other small things done in my front yard and it was back on the road.

It only puts out about 50 horsepower and handles corners like a boat, but to a newly-licensed high schooler, it might as well have been a Porsche. Since then I’ve just been doing maintenance and trying to clean it up. After washing the interior, I threw on some seat covers, a $3 cd stereo from a yard sale, and chased down some electrical issues. I paint-matched the bumpers at Home Depot and touched them up with a house paint sample, which has held up surprisingly well.

It’s slow, doesn’t have AC (pop-out windows ftw), unsafe at any speed, and beat-up, but I can’t complain about getting 50 mpg. If I had the space and money, I’d like to K-swap it or throw on a turbo, but it’s about time for the next project. It’s gotten me and my friends around, taught multiple people (myself included) to drive manual, and hauled more junk than most pickup trucks, and I’m gonna miss it.”