1987 supra turbo ?'s
 

Alright im thinking about buying this supra later on this week and I just wanted to know a couple of things. this is a little description about it first off.

-Nice little 1987 toyota supra with turbo. 5spd, 7mgte motor, Has about 168,XXX miles, runs good. the top comes off, power windows/locks. nice inside, Needs a little work done to it but a nice car. Taged and ready to be on the street. CLEAR TEXAS TITLE IN HAND If you need any more info just give me a call at or just send an e-mail. Asking $2000 O.B.O please no scams and tire kickers. thanks.-( found out that the radio does not work or the passenger window does not roll up....easy fix though )

So I read the sticky about what to look for when looking at the car but do you all think this is a good buy? He sent me some pics the inside looks real good but the outside paint is worn and scratched up and everything i believe is stock. Im thinking about offering him 1500 for it. I just needed some insite from some pros up on here.

Thanks

Can anyone help please?

about on average on the 7mgte does the milage get to before stuff starts going bad. Dont get me wrong it is going to be a project car for me. Just getting as much info as I can. Also about what milage is the average to go get it looked at (i.e. tune up, belts, etc...)
thanks

A blown head gasket can happen at any time. You'll have fun tearing the engine apart and putting it all back together if and when it goes. A front balancer bolt that is a fun time to remove. Awkword angles to fit in extensions. Stripped bolts on the head. Other items that should be replaced are the timing belt. If it's the original, take into consideration that the belt (and everything else on the car) is 20 years old.

If you like the MKIII Supra, turn to the dark side. Buy one cheap but in nice condition. Rip that POS 7M engine OUT! Put a 350 Chevy or a LS type motor down in there. It's a lot less headache to convert one than fix the 7M. You can convert one for around the same cost as you could buy a running MKIII for. Something to also consider, is if you do purchase one running, how long will it continue to go before catostrophic failure?
VT247

Yea your right. I do love this car dont get me wrong I have wanted one since I was like 15 so you can see where I am coming from. But would it really be easier just to take the entire engine out and replace it with a LS type? Or just to take it and have it rebuilt....cause wouldnt that cost about the same?

Toyota Supra MKIII V8 Chevy LS 350 vs 7M GTE
 

I'm in the same situation. I like the MKIII. The body lines and styling are A1. The engine, is another story. Just taking out the 7M is a pain in the arse.

A stock running MKIII with a 7M GTE will run @$2500-$5000 and get you down the 1320 ' (1/4 mile) at best in the mid to low 14's

A converted MKIII with a 350 Chevy or any type LS engine will run $2500-$5000 and turn 12's or faster.

Let's say you got $5k to spend on this.

Spend $5k on a running and driving Supra in decent condition. Mileage will probably be in the 100k range. Sure, you can get in and drive it. But when and where will it decide to quit out on you. Then, you'll still have to rebuild the motor (or have someone else do it) at an exhorbent cost.

Spend $1000 on a Supra with a blown motor. It won't be that hard to find one. However, with any Supra purchase, you'll have to travel some to pick it up. Now you got $4k to spend on a conversion. An LS engine will no doubt cost more than a 350 would. But, the LS engines make wicked power for their size. Even a mildly built 5.3 truck engine can be built for @ $2500 and pump out 450+HP. You'd be looking at mid 12's in the Supra with that combo. Remember that the Supra's came with 3.72 or higher rear end gears. Most with 4.11's or higher. Great for the torque V8's put down.
VT247

Yea that sounds like a good idea! well I have about 2500 bucks from my motorcycle accident and im just trying to find a new a to b car (but of course with some power to it) So im guessing 1500 isnt too bad for this car since it is in running condition. But that means ill have about 1000 to do whatever with and maybe make it look nice. But this is where im at for now. Thanks so much for the details

But does anyone think that 1500 for this car would be good?

$1500? Sounds like a pretty good deal....
 

For $1500 that's a pretty good deal, it still runs and drives. Even if it has high mileage and some body / paint issues. Point out the flaws and the mileage. If it's been for sale for a while, he'll probably take the cash. Take the car out and drive it. If you get that feeling of insecurity or something doesn't feel right, move on. Best of luck, post some pics up if you get it.
VT247

Yea dude of course I will

eh...
 

A little bit less expected than what I saw yesterday. Drove out to see this supra yesterday and just to say a couple of things were wrong with it.

Windsheild had a crack in the top left corner coming across,
the door handles were a little loose,
normal wear and tear on the outside (paint starting to fade),
looked and sounded like the radiator fan was knocking a little bit when we got up to speed,
I dont know if it was the turbo but something to the left was making a clug clug clug sound when it idled and drove,
also there was white smoke coming out of the back on occasion (he said it was from the fuel injector cleaner that his son added and he didnt know why it was smoking, said it had never done that before and they were running premium fuel in it), I think its from getting water in the block and or the head gasket.....but they said they replaced the head gasket a little bit ago.

If I can find out the reason of the white smoke would be great.....cause thats the only thing that bothered me really. If someone can give me some advice that would be great.

Does anyone have any information for me?

That is horrible
 

Dont you dare concider putting and american engine in that thing of beauty, if u want to do that just buy a camaro, u can find a 1 jz for a round 1000 on ebay saw one the other day, if u want a car the will bring u joy for another 20years, keep the 7m, get a 1jz, r a 2jz

White smoke...it may be burning oil form turbo/engine or coolant from head gasket. Try to remeber, was it smoke, or it looked more like steam?
Sounds are bad, it may be con rod bearings ...I guess, that engine gonna die quite soon(((
What was the oil pressure during the ride?
Also such sounds may do untied crankshaft pulley...it's also very-very bad

And one thing I know for 100% - Supra must be only with japanese engine...better with jz-series

sounds like a BHG offer him 800 if he wont go under a grand then walk away that thing is going to need a motor and dont you dareput a v8 in that thing go with the 1jz or 2jz or hell just put the 7m motor back in it but DO NOT disgrace the supra with a v8 swap

yea........
 

I didnt get a good look at it cause every time I would bend down to try and smell it or touch it.....IT WOULDNT BLOW OUT. But it did feel like there was just a little bit of moisture coming from the exaust because I could feel that.....

Well I was thinking about trying to get a whole new engine put in the thing.....and I wasnt going to put anything other that something that would bolt right in i.e the 7mgte.....But this would be a project car for me no doubt.....but I think while im out there on friday im going to take it to a shop and have them do a 101 point test on it or whatever so they can just look at it and tell me whats up.....I thought that was the safest way to go instead of buying a hunk and have it go out on me within the next couple of months...........but like I said it was going to be a project car for me.

White smoke and/or steam is generally coolant getting into the cylinders, and can mean a BHG (most likely), cracked head, or a cracked block. That the seller says they just replaced the hg a little while ago does NOT mean that they knew what they were doing and did a good job of it or that it fixed the problem if it wasn't the hg.

BTW, oil in the cylinders will give you greyish-dark smoke, and excess fuel (running rich) will be black.

The radiator fan knocking sounds like they may have screwed up the keyway on the crank where the harmonic balancer mounts. If so, that would really screw up the crank bearings given time. With the engine off try and rock the harmonic balancer a little, and with it running look and see if it's oscillating.

Not sure what the chug-chug sound is, though it "might" be compressor surge if the BOV isn't working properly.

All in all I'd at least do a test for exhaust gas residue in the radiator. Most radiator shops can do it quick and cheap, or you can do it yourself. That ought to tell you if you're looking at a bhg or not. In any case I'm not sure that I myself would trust the guy selling it. JMHO.

Oh, all rumors to the contrary, a properly maintained 7M is a good engine which can and will last a long time. There's no need to go to a non-7M engine in order to get a reliable engine so long as you take reasonable care of it.

alright
 

Well most engines that are maintaned and not drove into the ground are going to be reliable but yea I know what you mean. Yea I think thas what I am going to do is take it up to a shope and find out what the white smoke or steam is.....cause he still says its from the fuel injector cleaner into it.

Fuel injector cleaner won't cause white smoke. So if you're serious about the car definately take it to a knowledgeable shop and have them check things out if you're not interested in doing it yourself.

I'm having a little bit of a similar problem with the smoke right now. I just bought a running and driving 89 turbo for $800. What is getting me is that the engine is running strong with no lag, and it actually runs at a decent temperature. The only time smoke comes out is under acceleration, and maybe a little puff at idle. Any Ideas on if it might be an easy fix?

The seller had a HKS controller wired into the ECM which I removed and that helped an idle problem. I'm wondering if the ECM got messed up by the installation.

hmmmm...
 

Yea the one im looking at only does it when it idles but not all the time.

I'm going to spend some time this weekend looking at it to see what I can find. It's just a little embarrassing driving away from my house with smoke pouring out of the exhaust.


So two things.....

(1) today I found some damaged/loose wires at the ECM that I fixed.
(2) the car no longer blows blue/gray smoke and the check engine light turned off.........

odd...... Could this help anyone else? Probably not, but I thought I would share just in case you may have a ECM that had some things improperly installed.

decisions..
 

So what does everyone think? Should I offer him 1250 for the car? Because that leaves me 1250 to fix the car up or should I offer him less?

Eh dunno man..... Ya might wanna pass on this one. It all can be fixed, but look at the problem areas.
Start adding up what you think the repairs would cost to fix. Take the money you have. Subtract what you'd give him for the car. Then, subtract what you think it'll cost to fix. How much does that leave ya?

Also, remember what I said earlier about gettin' a bad vibe from the car? With what you've stated, the smoke, chuggedity noise, cracked glass, loose handle, faded paint, radiator fan noise, possible BHG or F'gerd up BHG fix. Do you think you can fix all those problems for $1250 or even $1500?

But, if you're dead set on buying this perticular Supra, I think everyone's right. Offer him $800 if he'll take it.
VT247

When I originally found the car I bought, the guy wanted $2500, and after four months of him not being able to sell it I finally paid him $800. And as far as a description of the car......

180k on chassis, roughly 1300 on rebuild, originally maroon, rattle caned black, lots of wiring issues, suspension on its way out, and to top it off.... body work, body work, body work..... but hey, the dash isn't cracked. So it's not all bad.

What I'm trying to say here is that ultimately it's your call on what you are comfortable with paying. If you can do 90%+ of the restore work yourself (like me), it could be worth it. However, if you either don't have the skills or resources to be able to do the work your self, which leaves you paying someone to do the work for you. If that's the case, you will be buying a car that you won't see for at least 3-6 months depending on how much work you want done and the quality of work you want done on the car. That is why I'm doing the work on mine myself because I want the work done a certain way and I'm in no rush to get it done.:crazy2:

Of course your absolutely right....That would leave me with about not a damn thing left to do anything else with.....So I think I will just pass on this one....But there is a N/A one online. How hard is it to put in a turbo on one of these supras? Cause I have done it on integras and stuff but never an 87 supra and about what is it going to cost?

lol
 

Well I just offered him 800 bucks.....lets wait for the reply....

If you're going turbo, it really would be best to buy one with a turbo. Buying one without a turbo, then adding one on, would be more (more money, more time, more problems) than the price of a factory equipped turbo model probably.

How about this? Find one you really like in a 500 mile radius from where you live. You could probably find one on Craigslist.com or Ebay for the price you've got to spend. Search other city's listings as well. If you're in Texas, I'm sure there should be a decent variety.
VT247

ugh........
 

I have been looking all night and have not found a single one in texas even worth looking at....