Let it die or give it a chance? — Toyota Mark II, 2.5 liter, 1996

It was bought by me and my brother Leonid in the spring of 2009 in a terrible state (why, you will find out when I write the prehistory of owning different types of equipment)
I purposefully looked for a tourer-v in a 90 or 100 body, whoever knows these cars will understand me, they have a spirit one. The sea of ​​​​options was revised, but the cars came across in our price bracket, mainly with big problems precisely on the technical side. Problems with the body bothered us the least, the main thing is that there was no shifter, and there was a live engine, it seems to me that this is the most important thing for a car, the rest is a matter of time.

Purposefully shoveled the Internet and here it is: toyota mark 2 end of 1996 color silver, sunroof, gasoline, turbocharging, pts 200 hp In the ad, I was immediately alerted by the fact that the car was photographed somehow from the back and from the corner, there was no photo of the interior, either from the side or from the front, and in the description of the car, the owner, confident in the good condition of his car, always writes: the condition is perfect or excellent. Here in the column stood something similar to uncertain: normal. Option than interested, it was decided to see it. We phoned the owner, we met a smiling, very tall young man, he was very cheerful and friendly, led us deep into some kind of service parking lot, a silver outline was visible from afar, but as we approached, we became more and more sad, and when we approached him, it became completely sad, and somehow even bitter.

Mark looked at us with such pleading eyes-headlights, it is beyond words ... The gaps between the headlights, the hood and the wings were a finger thick, the dimensions tended to fall out, the bumper sagged, a whole palm intermeddle between the hood and the bumper. The owner, meanwhile, was talking about the fact that the car has been standing in this parking lot for about half a year or more and does not leave anywhere, that there were no serious accidents, allegedly, nothing happened stronger than a small blow to the left wing in the courtyard parking lot. But to us, it immediately became clear, when the hood had not even been raised yet, that everything here is much sadder. The car was completely doused before the sale directly to the gloss, the putty on the rear fender had already begun to peel off, the hood was all putty, I was surprised that no one bothered to change the hood, it’s better to apply a kilogram of putty and make a sculpture out of it than to put a normal part, the same fate befell the wings. They asked the owner to open the hood, she hesitated, started to open the car, we stood on both sides, we couldn’t get closer to the car, because. the car was in such a puddle of mud that one could fall into, it literally lay on its belly in a semi-thick clay slush. Finally, the car was opened, we noted for ourselves that the interior, in principle, was not completely killed outwardly, but this was also only a first impression. Raising the hood (he did not stay on the racks), the owner proudly showed us the engine, but there was nothing to be proud of. The entire engine compartment was covered with putty, right on top of the glasses of the racks, spars, the front panel of the radiator (TV), the air filter box consisted of fragments and was not even soldered, it had no fasteners, and there was nowhere to mount it, all the holes were puttied unfortunate masters, on the right, where the fuse box is located, the same situation, the box in which they are located simply lay between the engine and the glass and was fastened with something like a wire, the upper part of the TV saw such views that it was easier to change it, but no one bothered with this. And the words of the owner about a minor accident in the yard now seemed like such a cheerful story of a boy from a kindergarten. The left side (where there was a minor accident) was beaten very hard, this was evidenced by kilograms of putty, deformation of the left side of the TV, deformation of the upper lining to which the wing is attached, a bent steering knuckle of the hub, a crooked stabilizer, crooked suspension arms. The hub, signed with a marker, also gave away its recent stay at the auto-disassembly. On top of the engine compartment on top of the putty, everything was "blown out" with an ordinary automobile primer, so rough and unpleasant in appearance and touch, the owner said that he asked the masters to paint the engine compartment, it was very scary and in order to ennoble it a little, I had to do this, but this is nonsense. Ahead were the cheapest brand new Chinese headlights, the ears of which were unbent and stretched to such an extent that they even burst in places, because. The holes for them didn't line up. The wiring for the headlights was all self-made, naturally there were no native three-section headlights with factory xenon, everything was redone for 2 sections (regular mark) and it was done so obscenely, in some places there was even no insulation and the wires were simply thrown over like on old telephone exchanges. The circuit did not work correctly, there was no high beam, the fog mode worked instead. The engine as a whole looked good, the turbine was also not very scary, the only thing that immediately caught my eye - the cooling radiator was from mark 90, the lower ears on the TV were overcooked under it, and the back of the vvti valve was broken (where the connector is connected), everything was torn out along with the connector. There was no diffuser on the radiator, there was no air intake from the air, the fan with the clutch was smaller, non-native, it was miraculously adapted. If I describe everything, it will just turn out to be a lot, so let's move on. There was a huge crack on the windshield in the area of ​​​​the wipers, the car was also completely painted, one electric mirror did not work, as it turned out the mechanism inside was broken. The taillights had cracks, the spoiler kept on a kind word, it was immediately reassuring that the rear and the roof were not broken, and the rest of the body was in good condition, the rigidity was not broken. Naturally around torn gum, the car was not followed! It was evident from the outside that the car was not in poor condition, it was simply purposefully killed and not serviced. They asked to start it, the engine started up the first time, with a typical Markov scroll and rustled, then his character immediately became audible, who drives an inline six, knows this quiet bass, from which shivers in the body! The motor worked quietly, there were no superfluous sounds, this is something that could not but please us, the oil was of course black, but the level was normal and the motor worked properly. When they looked under the car, while it was warming up again, it became sad, the car was standing in a puddle of mud, the suspension was all rusted, the anthers of the lower ball joints had cracks, the upper ones too, the levers were rusty, the rubber bands were cracked, the calipers were rusty, the brake discs were more or less in front, corroded in the back . The mark was shod in pairs in different wheels. In front there were stock 16" discs from the soarer, behind 16 native Turer casting 5 rays with winter bald tires in hernias, in front the tires were summer, bald, and even wider and higher in profile. Front: 225-55-16, rear: 205- 50-16, it all looked terrible. The engine warmed up and completely died down ... this could not but rejoice, you can’t hear it at all, the engine works as it should! that the abs does not work, respectively, and trc does not work.In the front console, in the place where the radio tape recorder should be, there was a gaping hole, and fragments of antenna cables and wires testified that there was once, quite recently, a TV set. this hole was "lying around", there is no other way to say a Chinese tape recorder, attention! - cassette! 1-din in size, on the dashboard right in the middle there was a blue boost sensor, the pride of the owner, he so excitedly talked about all sorts of interesting things in the car, for example, an electric drive for the stove blinds in the center console to divert attention from the porn around us. Turning on the cassette recorder, we heard the bass from behind, there was a non-standard huge subwoofer in the shelf, which was a little pleasing, there was an amplifier in the trunk. Finally, we ask him to go, we follow his movements: he presses the brake, engages the gear and ... no jerks, the drive turned on normally, there are no sounds, it made us happy, the box is still alive, we smoothly leave the mud puddle, we drive away from this place for more or less flat area and then the incredible happens, the owner sharply gives gas, a roar is heard, the automatic transmission is immediately lowered, the tachometer goes into the high-speed zone, we were just pressed into the sofa, what a character! we have already flown 100 meters, we turn around, we hear how the huge wheels in front touch the scraps of fender liner, we drive back, we accelerate again, this time the car throws sideways, we drive 10 meters sideways and at the same time we constantly accelerate, this is power! Feeling wildly excited! And what a roar of the engine, which asks to give it more! And then the car was put in the same puddle and we went home, where we remembered it and our impressions for two or three days, but it was decided not to buy it. After all, it is easy to imagine how many problems awaited her and me, no one cared for her, and it was possible to wait for anything. Yes, and investments machine required not small. It was decided to forget about it and start looking for another option. you can hear how the huge wheels in front touch the scraps of fender liner, we drive back, accelerate again, this time the car throws sideways, we drive 10 meters sideways and at the same time constantly accelerate, this is power! Feeling wildly excited! And what a roar of the engine, which asks to give it more! And then the car was put in the same puddle and we went home, where we remembered it and our impressions for two or three days, but it was decided not to buy it. After all, it is easy to imagine how many problems awaited her and me, no one cared for her, and it was possible to wait for anything. Yes, and investments machine required not small. It was decided to forget about it and start looking for another option. you can hear how the huge wheels in front touch the scraps of fender liner, we drive back, accelerate again, this time the car throws sideways, we drive 10 meters sideways and at the same time constantly accelerate, this is power! Feeling wildly excited! And what a roar of the engine, which asks to give it more! And then the car was put in the same puddle and we went home, where we remembered it and our impressions for two or three days, but it was decided not to buy it. After all, it is easy to imagine how many problems awaited her and me, no one cared for her, and it was possible to wait for anything. Yes, and investments machine required not small. It was decided to forget about it and start looking for another option. this is power! Feeling wildly excited! And what a roar of the engine, which asks to give it more! And then the car was put in the same puddle and we went home, where we remembered it and our impressions for two or three days, but it was decided not to buy it. After all, it is easy to imagine how many problems awaited her and me, no one cared for her, and it was possible to wait for anything. Yes, and investments machine required not small. It was decided to forget about it and start looking for another option. this is power! Feeling wildly excited! And what a roar of the engine, which asks to give it more! And then the car was put in the same puddle and we went home, where we remembered it and our impressions for two or three days, but it was decided not to buy it. After all, it is easy to imagine how many problems awaited her and me, no one cared for her, and it was possible to wait for anything. Yes, and investments machine required not small. It was decided to forget about it and start looking for another option. Yes, and investments machine required not small. It was decided to forget about it and start looking for another option. Yes, and investments machine required not small. It was decided to forget about it and start looking for another option.

5 days passed, no decent options were found, if there were options, then even worse, even with zeros installed in Japan once, which no one has ever changed, and the motor is already "so far" and "ara-tuning".
Mark and his sad look did not give us rest, and we hesitated, but nevertheless decided to take him with the firm intention of putting him on his feet. I must say right away, one, I would not have bought this car if I had not been so confident in my brother, his golden hands and did not know in practice how he does everything himself since childhood. The decision was made, a low-powered poltorashka 1.5 Lancer Sedia 4WD (we also had one) was sold, I’ll tell you about it later, the money was received, a call to the owner, a re-examination. We arrived at the same place, don’t think that I’m not friends with my head (I’m just sick of cars), but Mark looked at us differently, the rain washed him and he looked a little more cheerful and seemed to be no longer so sad. The owner was declared a reasoned bargain, from which he could not dissuade, because, the arguments are obvious. The money was given, let's go to take shape, as it turned out the owner of a handsome black soarer 2.5 turbo was bought to replace the brand, which had to spend money. Options without a hatch, on the machine, full stock, HBO, 19-inch wheels with thin rubber, which he then bent, and I immediately told him the tires are too low. Then I noticed the soarers, before that I had never paid attention to them. We arrived, took shape, returned back, somehow everything was decided quite quickly, the owner was also asked for a full set of disks, for which he reluctantly gave two Soarer standard disks. So we went home on our "bucket". Also, in the future, the owner was asked for 2 missing Markov standard wheels, which he failed to "blur". The guy is not bad, but he was clearly not used to doing something with his hands, or simply there was no desire! But,

So Mark became our friend, from the first day large shoals were gradually eliminated, the suspension was put in order, the brakes were moved (the rear ones did not work, there were rotten pistons), the burned-out regular exhaust tract with a nozzle on the muffler was replaced with a full tract from Apexi pants with a barrel of large size (bought personally in Japan) the sound is just awesome!, The cabin wiring was also put in order, in full accordance with the factory scheme, all the "appendixes" of would-be installers were removed, the original circuits were restored, a good radio tape recorder was installed, and the main major problems were solved. The car was bought in the summer and thus, with all sorts of finishing touches, it successfully drove until the winter, the engine did not fail, it started up properly in the winter, there was no oil consumption, the compression was excellent! The machine also did not cause problems, they were installed for the winter, although 16, but very good Japanese wheels with a beautiful pattern. When replacing the candles, it turned out that the electronic ignition coil was broken, the reasons for the occasional failures and pops became clear, all the rubber bands of the coils were replaced, the faulty coil, new original spark plugs, new wires were installed. The engine ran great after that. So the car successfully survived the new year, but in January misfortune awaited my brother and me ...

Continued in next post