help, interested in getting a supra
 

hi im interested in getting a 1987 toyota supra turbo targa i found for sale in my area.

the car needs work in the interior and some body work but the engine runs good it does idle low around 500 and surges up and down and cuts off unless your foot is on the pedal, could this be the throttle cable?

i also wanted to know if parts are easy to get from local auto parts stores or will i have to be ordering everything online (e.g. tie rod, ball joints) i do have a few JDM stores around me too. are these cars reliable or will i have to dump lots of money into them, how are they on gas.

can you guys tell me the good and bad about this specific year of supra.

Likely from a vacuum leak. Do a quick inspection and make sure all the vacuum lines are connected and in good shape. Keep your ears open for any hissing from the engine while it's at idle.

the surge is a vacum leak. vac hose is off, of intake plumbing needs replacing, or the iac need replacing.

the good and the bad
the 87 was the first year of the 7mgte, and uses premium (91+) octane gas.

milage varies on weither its auto or 5 spd and how you drive. i get 19-22 mpg on my 87, with the auto.

the 7m is very reliable, just make sure to do your oil changes and get the head re-torqued with a new headgasket and your good to go.

the bad about the 87 (ish) supra
the rad is a little undersized, so watch your temp gauge, especially in rush hour in the summer. rad upgrades are available for not to much.

they have a facotory defect head bolt torque spec. the 7mgte was originally suspose to have a asbestos headgasket, so 45 ft/lbs was the correct torque spec. when asbesros was banned, a regual composite headgasket was used, but the head was still only torqued to 45 ft/lbs, where it should be at 75 ft/lbs. just pull the valve covers and re-torque yourself.

a little thing called targa flex with the roof off. being a open car the body is more prone to twist and flex with the top off. avoid hard driving and pot holes with the top off unless you get some re-inforceing bars to help hold the car from flexing. the easiest way to know if you have targa flex is your roof wont fit properly, and/or leak when it rains.

its a 23 year old car. hoses and gaskets have probably starting deteriorating and so new vac lines/rad hoses/valve cover gaskets/ and intake houses could do with a a replacement. if it feels really hard or reall soft, replace it before it blows up!!

the good
the supra is really fun to drive. its really smooth and stable at high speed, and doesnt get that "death wobble" alot of lower end cars get when your going to fast for the car.

the auto's in these things are great till they fail(like alot of auto's). but lucky the holes for the clutch pedals and master cyl are pre drilled, so swapping to a 5 spd is easy (took me 8 hours to do the swap, but that was in a full shop with hoist and tranny jack)

but hey, its a 87! its 23 years old! yoru still gonna have a blast driving one!

Interior isnt too tough to handle if you are okay with a wrench and screw driver. Its the last thing I worry about with the car really. Its the body that worries me the most. If you aren't adept at body work.. its a very expensive car to repair (look at about 2500.00 per quarter panel to get rust replaced correctly for the most part) All the trim is prone to rust and the mudflaps can bubble/rust as well. Check out the spare tire area (take the tire out and look at the condition... it is a common bad rust spot) and put your hands inside the quarters and feel the metal. If it isnt smooth and clean in there.. you probalby have a serious rust issue (the bumper/trim hides a lot of it and the wheel wells can disintegrate if left unchecked).

Parts are easy online (the forums are a blessing...) and you want to stay away from Dealership if you can in Canada.. very expensive... I bought new lower ball joints for about 85.00 online.. and the other various items I have bought are all about 1/3 of what I would pay at the dealership. Lots of used items in good shape if you frequent all Supra forums and keep your eye out for parts. Donor cars can be picked up relatively cheap as well.

Depending on your mechanical skill level, the car can be done fairly good, but research before you do anything. People have come acrosss almost every problem you can find and post their fixes in the Supra forums (I use 4 of them) and generally it can save you a ton of time and headache by reading as much as possible before you swing the wrench. The TSRM is also available online.

Excellent fun car to drive, very modifiable, but cheap? Nope.