steel reinforcement

[SRA]

hi, im new to the forum but im in need of help im about to purchase a 87 turbo supra and there is a lil bit or rust right under the radiator support. i have been reading that is common to get rust on the steel support is the radiator support the same or is it something different n if so does it take much to fix? thank for your help.

[Grandavi]

If your just buying the supra now.. I would read a lot..

Check the wheel wells very closely (you are in Florida, so rust isnt going to be as bad of an issue as up North.. depending where the car came from). Also, put your hands in the rear quarter panels (you can access from inside the hatch) and feel the bottoms.. if full of dust/moisture.. your going to have to look at everything for rust. Dont forget to pull the spare tire out and see the condition of its holding area as well. Water will pool there if your brake light seals/hatch seals arent working perfectly.

As for the rad support, I have never personally seen rust there except when the metal is kinked. I will have to let someone else answer that part.

Just as a further note.. I went to buy a 90 Supra for 2500, and ended up buying it for 800 after I did a full inspection (for body filler etc..) as these vehicles have very well known areas where they age faster.. Doors, Quarter Panels (above the wheel well), mud flaps and trim, body trim, brackets that hold the bumpers on, etc...

Do as much reading as you can prior because it will save you a lot of time after.

[SRA]

thanks a lot for your response, the car seams like is good shape but i was over heating so im thinking that's going to be the valve cover gasket. but besides that body is im great shape n the interior is nearly perfect but the best part is that he is only asking 1000 so im going to try to get it for 800.

[Grandavi]

Valve cover gasket wont cause overheating... you just entered a very large area of problems... lol

1. Supra's are notorious (MKIII's) for bad head gaskets
2. 7MGTE's run very hot already... if they overheat.. your gonna have trouble unless its fixed fast
3. the list is long and endless without seeing the car.. but with a MKIII 7MGTE, I always assume a bad headgasket exists. Look for the signs (smell antifreeze in the exhaust, milky oil, coolant scummy, etc...)

At 800.00 if the car is in good shape.. I like it (bodywise), but be aware, unless you are mechanically inclined and have tools, you may be buying a car that wont be drivable in a short while. I would have a mechanic go over the engine first.


READ THIS!

http://www.toyota-supra.info/forums/supra-faq/3296-buying-supra-what-to-know-first.html

It has a lot of good tips.. read the whole thread though.. not simply the first portion.

[SRA]

http://okaloosa.craigslist.org/cto/1986572733.html this is the car, and thanks a lot once again. i just got done looking over the thing that u have planned for your car and it looks like is going to b a beast.

[btwilson86]

I wouldn't pay more than $500 for a car that I can't start up and listen to. The seller says it needs a head gasket replaced, but it could also have bad rod or main bearings. Driving a car with a bhg for too long causes the antifreeze in your oil to act like sand, and sand will kill your bottom end in no time.

[SRA]

thanks for your respond, i was going to offer him 800 but the more i think about the less i want to get it. he mention that somebody told him that it was a bhg n then he emediatly park it n it has been parked for a year now.so would make the oil and coolant in the engine like sand or would it still b cool to just put a new gasket and just do a regular service?

[btwilson86]

The only way to really know for sure would be to pull the drain plug and dump the oil. Once it sets for awhile (like a couple of days), you can feel around in the oil for any grainy texture. I would assume that if it's grainy at all, you're going to want to rebuild the engine...

[Grandavi]

Definitely would think at the very least its a bad head gasket (especially if he thinks it is as well).

now.. the choice comes down to... do you have the skills/tools/shop to do this yourself? To repair a BHG is 1300.00 labor in Canada (the Toyota Dealership quote). then you have parts on top (head gasket, valve cover gaskets, and everything else your run into)

As well, just a fyi, normally on a car that old (as mine are) you have hose issues. I replaced my hoses (all vacuum lines and anything else rubber) except the accordian hose so far. That gets a tad costly as well.

I dont want to scare you off of the car, but you need to know that these cars are not cheaply done if you do them right. From what I can see the body is good on the car and thats a nice start. However, you wont be driving it without putting at the very minimum another 650.00 (guessing of course) into it.

Its a great car and well worth every penny in my opinion. If the body is rust free and interior is in really nice shape.. you can always part it out for more than 800.00 without too much effort should you change your mind. Definitely worth 800 to me.. I dont know about State-side for value.

Anyone else have better input for this?

I just looked again and noticed that the AFM and all the intercooler piping/air cleaner, etc.. is in the hatch. Wondering if you may have a turbo issue. Be very careful with the AFM, its not hard to damage it if you handle it incorrectly.

[painknight]

If your still wondering about that, do you mean that the bottom of the support has rust or do you mean under the radiator has rust. If it's the bottom, then it prolly just got scraped by something. Chances are that it won't need replaced. Just hit the rust with a wire wheel or coarse sandpaper, then cover it with rust converter. If it's so bad it does need replaced (You'd be able to knock the price down with that as well I think), well, my uncle turned a dead deer into 400 peices of dead dear in an sc400, and him and his dad (Both mechanics, not body guys) were able to replace it on their own.

Good luck on getting the car.