Hopefully buying a 1988 Supra today.

[b10h4z4rd]

Yep, I think I finally found myself a car. It's a 1988 Toyota Supra, the body and chassis have just over 126k miles on it and the motor has around 100 miles on it. It's been sitting for about a year, needs a rear window, throw out bearing, knock sensor, and probably new tires. I hoping to get it for about $2,500 because I have a budget of between $5,000 and $6,000 and I bet I could get it up and running by this weekend. It's turbo and and a targa top so it'll be nice when it's done. I'll post some pictures when I get it towed to my work.

[MR_Candyman]

wish I could get myself a supra since I need a new car, but alas, I need something I KNOW will be reliable, and unless I were to rebuild it, the supra couldn't give me that. Maybe in a couple years I'll get one as a second car. They're just so nice...

[Wannes]

Supras are good cars and I'm glad they got some "recognition" during that racing movie, The Fast And The Furious. I wish you the best of luck.

[timmmay]

Nice one...I'm a big fan of the MK3 Supra's :D

[b10h4z4rd]

Bought it today. $2500. Needs a throw out bearing, knock sensor and a rear window until I would be comfortable driving it.

[AltecXP]

one problem...no one likes the old Supras, its the old ones everyone craves. the old motors wernt exactly power monsters in any form. If the car is stock then forget about the Knock Sensor I have it turned off on all my cars.

[b10h4z4rd]

It's not stock and it retards the boost because it can't find the knock sensor.

[TruckWEB]

Don't forget to take pictures! Before and After!

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

Classic choice! Look forward to seeing some pictures :)

[b10h4z4rd]

[M1h4iL]

That looks like a lot of work. Good luck with it, nice car.

[TruckWEB]

That looks like a lot of work. Good luck with it, nice car.

The first thing that came in mind when looking at the pictures was: junk :|

But I suppose that with lots of work and love, this Supra will be very nice!

[raider360]

Wow. That is very cheap.

[kaptain chump]

That's a lot of rust, but I've seen some very nice models of those supras. Good luck man.

[_dandy_]

IMO, $2500 is an awful lot of money for a 20-year old car.

[b10h4z4rd]

IMO, $2500 is an awful lot of money for a 20-year old car.

I pretty much paid $2500 for a $5500 motor and turbo. So it's a decent deal.

I've pretty much tracked down all the parts that I need. I'll go around when its up and running and get quotes on bodywork and paint.

[TruckWEB]

I pretty much paid $2500 for a $5500 motor and turbo. So it's a decent deal.

I've pretty much tracked down all the parts that I need. I'll go around when its up and running and get quotes on bodywork and paint.

It's going to be important that you post picture when you're done with it!!! Just to see the difference.

Will you do something for the rust under the car? How is the inside of the car?

[guruparan]

Wat buying a 1988 car at 2008 for 2500$?... :-)...anyway its worth to buy that!! cheers!!

[dwarhya]

IMO, $2500 is an awful lot of money for a 20-year old car.

+1

the car is a heap.

Edited March 20, 2008 by dwarhya

[El-Diablo]

i would tend to agree, that's a fair amount of money esp since you probably have to dump in bout 2000 for repairs, and then if you are goin to paint it (do not take to somewhere like maaco if you want the paint to last) is goin to run you thousands of dollars to complete (i used to work for an auto paint company i can almost gaurantee that).

Good luck to you and if it's your dream machine then go for it.

I just think you probably should have looked for something in a bit better condition.

[b10h4z4rd]

Well I have some parts coming for it. I have a hatch with an intact window, the body panel that sits between the taillights, and some body trim coming from one place. I have a clutch part coming from Toyota and a knock sensor coming too. As soon as all that is here and on, all it really needs is an exhaust, rear struts, and I'll probably get new rotors and pads all the way around. It has no exhaust what so ever. So far, including purchasing the car (parts have been $300 total so far), I have spent under $3k, which isn't too bad because the only auto glass place around here wanted $400 for just the rear window. Yeah, I could've spent that money on a newer car, but where is the fun in that. One of the guys I work with, he used to own it, so he is giving me some pointers and he really wants to see it back on the road. The car isn't in too bad of condition tbh, it just needs a little work and then it should be good. Personally, I will probably go to Maaco and get a $500 paint job to just get by after it's drivable, just to get by mainly.

Edited March 21, 2008 by biohazard

[goodcase]

My buddy had an 88' supra with turbo for a little while. He paid $3500 for it, 200,000 KM's on it. It ran great until a few weeks ago, one of the bearings on the cam was seized and finally messed the entire motor up. While it worked I can tell you this car was VERY fast, and RWD was a plus on it. His Speedo never worked so we never could tell how fast he was going.

If you say the engine is in good shape then I think its worth the money for it...just watch for the bearings on the cam shaft haha

[rathefeare]

+1

the car is a heap.

Yep currently a heap. However part of the attraction to a lot of car enthusiasts is the journey. It can be very rewarding to take an older neglected car and restore it to what it once was and save an example of a different era from the scrape heap. Anyone with enough money can own a new corvette, but finding and restoring yourself an old stingray is more of a selective club and rewarding. To the OP congratulations on a nice find and try not to bloody your knuckles too much. By the way is your tetanus shot up to date? Good luck with the work.

[TheDreamX]

Wow, $2500 for a 20 year old car? IMHO, that's a rip-off, especially considering the condition. Why not spend a little less on a slightly newer car? (That sounded weird.)

EDIT: soLoredd (below) makes a good point. Good luck!

Edited March 21, 2008 by TheDreamX

[mattmatik]

While I also agree with the "it's a heap" judgement, we all need to remember that this is a project and there are people out there who love doing this as a hobby. Who am I to judge on that? Some people spend $2,500 on travel, some spend it on computers, some spend it on home furnishings, some spend it on junker cars to build back up.

Good luck with the work and as stated earlier, post some pictures when you're done!