Am I looking in the right place?
 

I'm in search of a car. My Nissan Maxima's transmission just failed, and I sold it. I'm now driving a N/A volvo 940, and I have the slow car blues. From what I understand, even the N/A supra will be about as fast as the maxima, handle better, and it's RWD. Being able to drift when I'm not in the snow would be great (learned how to drift on the 940 :weak:)

Unfortunately, I only have around $3500 to spend. Do you guys think I might be able to get a MKIII turbo 5 speed for that?

Maybe you guys could give me some other info as well, just general info about the car.

How reliable are supras? (the head gaskets are trouble from what I've been reading on the forum)

How easy to work on are they? I'm used to fixing my 940 and maxima, and they're both not too bad, especially the volvo.

If something breaks, are the parts generally expensive or not? I've been seeing bolt on turbo kits for $700 or less and things like that, giving me the impression that parts are cheap and plentiful, which suprises me. A supercharger for the max would have cost 1200 or more, and then its no fun to hook up. I'm wondering what will be in my future work-wise if I can find a supra in my range.

Thanks everyone

If you are willing to shop around and drive far, Yes you can find a decent turbo 5sp for 3500. And for your other questions. These cars are very solid aside from headgasket and other minor issues. There is lots of info on this fix and all the others youll ever need. If its not blown already all it takes is retorquing the bolts and it should last in stock condtion for a lonnnng time as long as you run good gas(92 or more). Just make sure the one you buy doesnt leak power steering fluid, thats about the only major mechanical issue ive seen on more than one car. The rubber boots rip off, The seals get dirt in em and wear, And the fluid starts to drip. And other little stuff breaks sometimes, like the speedo, the interior dome light, and the alarm goes bad, But with this forum and a little time its all easy to fix. These are very easy to work on cars. The parts are relativley cheap, And there is a lot of supra parts on ebay if need be(spare part-out parts, brakes, shocks, stuff like that). And a turbo supra will def be faster than a maxima :) Ive beaten a stick and auto maxima, The 3 liter ones, in my na 5 speed supra. And a lot of cars lol.

for starters...performance parts for supras are not cheap. replacement, i dont know. just dont buy anything from the dealership. try www.autopartswarehouse.com or something like that. yes supras are reliable. look at the MKII and MKIII....still haulin ass. blown headgaskets are common but not too terribly bad to replace, that is if you know what ur doing:dunno:

o hell yeah dude reliable i dont know about..i paid $2000 even for my 88 n/a targa from a used car lot..my girl had just totaled my integra witch had a few things done to it.. i went looking around and saw it.. i had to have it went to the bank and gave him cash.. a week later the tranny went out that was a $600 fix..had an issue with the mass air..got it off ebay for 20 bucks plus shipping

parts are ehhhh in my opinion they are kindasimi hard to find..not like looking for civic parts..on every self in town

but i love this car you dont really have to do anything to the body for an aggressive look handles perfectly and almost bone stock it still turns heads i just cant wait to see the looks when whats in my head...is growling @ a red light waiting for green >=]

if you buy the supra the first thing to do would be to get a metal head gasket(blown head gaskets are the most common problem) and oil leaks can be a problem too other then that if every thing is in good shape the car will be fine for a long time.

I'm having some trouble finding one...

I have a month left before Im back at college, and I definetly want to have it by then. Anyone got an idea?

I'm lookin in craigslist.com, cars.com, automotive.com, the want ad, and probably a few others. Anyone know a good place to look?

www.bargainnews.com <-- local for you

www.ebay.com

So say I bought an N/A...could I get one for ~2 grand with ~100k miles on it, but a turbo kit, and have the same thing as the turbo?

What's the average cost of a turbo kit? I've searched the forum, and I've found some peope hinting that you need to change some major parts (the head, etc...) Is that the case, or is it pretty much a bolt-on job?

Mine is for sale for 1500, 85k on the motor and 186k on the body. lol. Look in my sig. Its a good get around car right now, Nothing has broken on it yet, Cept it needed a new thermostat. It needs some work to be a nice nice supra tho. But its never been crashed and has very very little rust. It was garage kept for the first 15 years of its life. Awesome car if your gona do the na-t swap.

As for the turbo swap question, Its good to get a turbo block, Or at least the pistosn and con rods, You want lower compression than the na, and the turbo block has oil squirter things, but i dunno if they are really neccesary. Other than that, you need the ecu and wiring harness, Turbo manifolds, turbo, IC, pipes, Associated hardware and wires, and a bit of time and work. lol. Like any project, It really helps to have a complete turbo car, Or one available at a junkyard. Or you can just gather the parts as you go along.