Looking at an '87 Supra for sale. Help please!

Jaster83 · 07-31-2013, 07:13 AM

A local car dealer took in an 87 Supra as a trade-in... It's a little rough, but it all seems cosmetic, and I don't mind putting some money into it over the course of a couple years.

The problem I am encountering is I don't know what's been done to the car, all I have is a VIN. which is JT2MA70... which from the research I've done means it's the NA version, except it's got a big ass intercooler with hard pipes that read Supra Turbo on them, and that's about all I can decipher, seeing as how this is the first Supra I've laid eyes on. It also has a straight pipe on it, and an expensive one, too.

Obviously the dealer doesn't know any specifics about the car's modifications. It runs good, idles well and um... has no problem doing donuts. (The salesman was a younger guy who readily pointed me to the nearest large, empty parking lot at my request and my wife's demands to let her out. =D).

What I'm worried about is that whoever did the conversion (still not sure it is, as everything under the hood except the hard pipes looked like it'd been there a while, had the same amount of dirt accumulation, anyway.) didn't do it right, especially with the NA engine having a higher compression ratio. I've searched and searched, but haven't been able to find anything to put my mind at ease about if changing pistons is required when converting the NA to a turbo. If it is necessary to lower the compression before boosting, what is a safe range?

Information that would really help is how to read the sticker inside the door to identify the transmission that came in the car, the location of the VIN on the motor, where the boost gauge would be located (honestly I can probably find the gauge... but on the test drive I was just omfg this is FUUUUUN!) I read somewhere that the boost gauge replaced the voltage gauge on the 87 turbo. I'd also like to know if there's anything that would help me figure out if the gauge cluster has been swapped out, as well. Also, I read somewhere that the number of blades on the fan can indicate turbo or na?

Any help is very much appreciated, and I'm really hoping all of my fears are unfounded, this car is absolutely a ton of fun to drive.

07-31-2013, 07:13 AM	#1
Jaster83 Stock Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Dallas Posts: 12	Looking at an '87 Supra for sale. Help please! A local car dealer took in an 87 Supra as a trade-in... It's a little rough, but it all seems cosmetic, and I don't mind putting some money into it over the course of a couple years. The problem I am encountering is I don't know what's been done to the car, all I have is a VIN. which is JT2MA70... which from the research I've done means it's the NA version, except it's got a big ass intercooler with hard pipes that read Supra Turbo on them, and that's about all I can decipher, seeing as how this is the first Supra I've laid eyes on. It also has a straight pipe on it, and an expensive one, too. Obviously the dealer doesn't know any specifics about the car's modifications. It runs good, idles well and um... has no problem doing donuts. (The salesman was a younger guy who readily pointed me to the nearest large, empty parking lot at my request and my wife's demands to let her out. =D). What I'm worried about is that whoever did the conversion (still not sure it is, as everything under the hood except the hard pipes looked like it'd been there a while, had the same amount of dirt accumulation, anyway.) didn't do it right, especially with the NA engine having a higher compression ratio. I've searched and searched, but haven't been able to find anything to put my mind at ease about if changing pistons is required when converting the NA to a turbo. If it is necessary to lower the compression before boosting, what is a safe range? Information that would really help is how to read the sticker inside the door to identify the transmission that came in the car, the location of the VIN on the motor, where the boost gauge would be located (honestly I can probably find the gauge... but on the test drive I was just omfg this is FUUUUUN!) I read somewhere that the boost gauge replaced the voltage gauge on the 87 turbo. I'd also like to know if there's anything that would help me figure out if the gauge cluster has been swapped out, as well. Also, I read somewhere that the number of blades on the fan can indicate turbo or na? Any help is very much appreciated, and I'm really hoping all of my fears are unfounded, this car is absolutely a ton of fun to drive. Last edited by Jaster83; 07-31-2013 at 07:21 AM.