Looking at 89 turbo, need pointers
 

Hello everyone,
I just got done looking at a 89 turbo 5m targa top. I need some pointers for I might be biased to making a clear decision since I have always wanted one (the allure of the Supra is quite strong). I took my brother with me to look at it but I feel he has the same problem.
The body is in very good condition (only minor things such as trim on passenger front, and the targa top has been droped on its corner). However, the engine that is in the car is inoperable. The HG isn't blown from any of the evidence that I was looking for (oil was clear-no water/foam). I would also be able to pick up a working engine for another $500.
I have been looking for a project car for some time, something I can do some wrenching on; both for learning curve and to really bond with making a car with my hands and the feeling of knowing every inch.
At 3k is this going to be worth it, or am I setting my self up for something that I am going to be ultimatly sorry for. Any advice or pointers you guys could give me to start me off would be very much appreciated.
Thanks guys

it's not a terrible deal it just seems a little high to me .
you seem to understand and are prepared for what you are getting into .

you are going to replace the engine in a beautiful supra .

i'll bet there are loads of supras in this condition sprinkled across the country .

as long as you can get an engine running you will not be sorry with a supra .

Too much
 

3K for a non-drivable car sounds extremely high IMO.

Still searching....
 

I know.. I thought so too... but it seems to be because of the area I live in vs. the demand of the car + the lack of them around here. I have only seen one other supra around this area within the mk3 and 2 mk4's... and both the mk4's are owned by the same guy.
It just doesn't seem like I can find one without paying some extortionist rate for all the options I am looking for... plus they are all to far away from where I live.
My goal is to eventually get the engine around 350 hp... plus I want to do the wrenching...
With that being said do you still think it is to high?

Wants Supra Bad, huh
 

Depends on how deep your pockets are. After you dish out the 3K will you have money left to do all the work it sounds like needs to be done? If you can, go for your dream, if not, you will be frustrated having a "Driveway Star" that you can only look at and never drive.

Why not find one that runs within a state or two from where you live? I flew to NC from MN to get mine but I knew it ran like a top and needed lots of body work. I plan to turbo (it is a n/a) and fix and paint the body. I paid $2k. $2300 with plane ticket.

Hey KNYFE
 

I bought a 89 N/A for $2000 and have put a lot of money and work into the engine, lots of new parts and still have a little ways to go. I should be finished in a couple of weeks. It runs really great, but there is just one last thing I want to take care of. IMO if the engine doesn't run well who cares what it looks like, ya know. The body is in pretty good shape but could definitely use a paint job. Have you looked into what it is going to cost to paint your car? Let me know what you come up with if you can.

Scruff

Geo 81
 

By the way geo81, as you can see by the two previous posts, 89 driveable supras for 2K. That's why I think 3K for one that doesn't run is pretty darn high.

I understand...
 

I understand the point that you guys are driving home. The only problem is I don't just want any Supra. I really want the 5m targa turbo. For 2k it is always a auto targa (non-turbo), or a mix and match of the above assortment but never the 5m targa turbo, not for 2k. Since I am getting one opperative engine and one non-op, I plan on replacing the internals of atleast one engine (probably a rebuild of the non-op engine). The body work needed on this car is minimal (just a door trim panel passanger side, and a dent on the targa top).
But it seems like once I place the working engine in the car that it's resale ability is around 5k, atleast around here.
Is all this unsound logic?
Thanks for the soundboard guys....


Man... I wish buying a dream project car wasn't this tough.