What's a guy to do when he falls in love with the irreparably cute Toyota MR-2 mid-engine runabout? Either he buys himself a nicely-aged IROC Camaro, complete with trashbag window and different-colored body panels, or he gets his MR-2 a little edge. Which would the average person choose? Unless his neck is of the magenta persuasion, he turns that MR-2 into the hottest horseless carriage to ever roll off a Toyota factory line.
Benjamin Duen of Orlando, Fla., did exactly that with his 1993 Toyota MR-2 turbo. No tough guy, not the IROC thing. A true MR-2 enthusiast and car guy, Duen has owned a total of seven 1991 or later Toyota MR-2 Turbos, and has helped bring sixteen gas-burning bundles of joy into this world. Previous project cars of his encompass all tastes and include a 1988 Mitsubishi Starion ESIR, a 1991 Ford Thunderbird SC, a 1993 Nissan 30ZX TT, and of course, all those little MR-2s.
The story of this project began when Duen graciously donated $1000 to the city of Orlando after knocking over a light pole during a hairy rain-soaked encounter (for the locals, the pole is by the downtown exit of I4). He purchased a 1993 MR-2 Turbo and promptly stopped by Racing Zone in Orlando where he ended up putting a few employees' children through college. All those hard-earned dollars turned into hard-earned attitude. This MR-2 has won first place for Toyotas at the 2003 Spring Break Tuner Bash in Daytona, Fla., second place in Two-Door Mild Overall at Import Xpression, November 2002 and helped win Best Crew at Hot Import Nights Orlando, October 2002. But for a guy that started off with a 1989 Geo Metro, project cars are a never-ending cycle and the only way from here is up.
It was at Import Xpression's 2002 season finale in Miami that Duen met industry super photographer Andy Bui and the idea came up that the MR-2 needed more bling spread over the engine. Taking a cue from the Cash Money Millionaires, Duen removed his powder-coated gunmetal gray pieces and had everything coated in a smooth bling coat, either silver or chrome. Unfortunately for him, the valve cover was accidentally left unclean and dirty particles found their way into the motor. With Spring Break Tuner Bash looming on the horizon, Duen headed over to Hux Racing in Cocoa, Fla., and cried into his wallet. A JDM gen2 3SGTE with ceramic turbocharger and less than 40,000 miles was shipped over from Japan in a week. The engine was given a street port and swapped into the MR-2 within a day. For Duen, one power adder is great but having two power adders on tap is even greater. So he added to that miracle engine's power an NX Express 50 shot single nozzle wet nitrous system, while a Garage Fukui Departure II 85mm cat back exhaust system helps spit out those darn hot gases. To help the car cope with the newly added muscle, a Clutchmasters Stage 3 carbon Kevlar clutch was added, along with a Hux Racing Shift linkage kit to improve shifts.
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