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.

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...

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Classic choice! Look forward to seeing some pictures

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!

Wow. That is very cheap.

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

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.

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?

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

+1

the car is a heap.

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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!

The best part will be turning the rust into something that will turn heads. That and proving everybody wrong who thinks it was a waste. There's no better feeling than saying "I told you so" back at them.

Never pay an arm and leg for an old car, period. A guy in my area is trying to sell a 1970 chevy pickup for five thousand. I basically told him good luck and walked away.

I picked up a new clutch release hub today. I think some of my body parts should be here too. I'll post pics as everything develops.

you can;t go wrong with Toyota

I know exactly what you're saying, but you do bring up the point I failed to convey by saying it's overpriced: this is not a Corvette or a classic muscle car of a bygone era; it's a 1988 Toyota Supra. Around here the things have value as winter beaters and not much more.

Depending on the condition of the truck that might be a steal. Early 70's Chevy pickups are as high as $15k on E-bay.

Back to the OP, more power to you. If you have the time and money and like the car, enjoy yourself and make it yours.

Yeah a Supra isn't exactly the best example from that era, but that era wasn't exactly a high point in auto history. A Supra wouldn't have been my choice, but to each his own and I did dump too much money into restoring a 88 Rx-7 so I have little room to talk (and I'd probably do it again too). Also the era when you grew up plays a part in the cars you consider "classic" and other emotional attachments. I consider a mint green 73 Maverick a fine example of a car due to my personally history.No one else on the planet does, but I'd restore one in a minute.The Supra does represent a certain high point in Japanese import sports cars especially now that Toyota has abandoned it's sports car lines. (Celica, Supra, MR are all gone). I think it could be a fun project with a nice reward at the end.

It's alive.

With this new batch of pictures, I can't say if you really made such a good deal. Your Supra needs work all around, and it's clear that the body is having rust problem (seeing from under your car).

Lots and lots of work... I hope you enjoy it. I would not invest money or time in a car of this condition.

I'd be hard pressed to NOT pay 2500 for a Turbo Supra... particularly if the engine / ECU are usable- they're worth that for salvage as a front-clip.
The 22R/22RE they used in the early Supras (which were based on the Celica) did nothing to help the car out. It was only when they went to the turbo'd inline-6 did that car ever live up to its 'Supra' name. When that engine came out, it was an all out what could Ford and GM could do with their T-Bird/Mustangs and F-Body's (Ford, GM respectively) race.
Regardless of body work, I assume that you've bought the car because that was 'the' car you wanted. It may never be the fastest or quickest, but you bought it because you 'want' it. It may be 20+ years old, but when you're done, it will be the perfect car for you. And, maybe the perfect car for someone else. And they'll pay for it too.
Too bad I didn't get there first- I'd like that in my 4Runner.

I'm probably buying rotors and pads tomorrow and throw them on. That way I know I can stop. And I love the 7M-GTE that is in it.

So my list of parts I really need is getting smaller:
Pads
Rotors
Exhaust

Wow, not too bad. Going from clunker to running in about 4 days isn't bad. I'm still waiting on like 6 or 7 parts to come in so it can start to look decent.

Obviously- cross-drilled rotors, 4 piston, full floating calipers... I think Brembo has 6 piston floating calipers... ... ...
... adjustible proportioning valve for the rear, right?

Know anyone that wants an 89 Celica GT Convertible? Thought I'd ask.

Not yet.

Lol... in good time.
At least you know what I mean.
Supras always favored trailing over-steer.

I'll probably go with something cheap and simple for now, just to get me by. I can't wait to get the new hatch so I don't have a opaque rear window. I got lucky and found one of the same color, all it was missing was some trim around the window and the spoiler, and I have both.

Ordered pads, rotors, and struts today. Should be here sometime next week.

Very nice pictures . I can understand your motivation for buying a car like that and I hope you enjoy turning something that is considered beyond it's sell by date and turn it into a working piece of fine art.

Scirwode

Good job turning the car around for the better!

As others have said though, it might be wise to bid a little lower next time.

My friend bought an '88 Supra Turbo for around 3 grand in our overpriced Western Canada market. But the car ran perfectly, and the exterior was almost flawless other than a few paint chips.
The only niggling detail was the leather seats. They were worn and cracked.

$2500 for THAT?

Damn ricer markup is huge. The seller is laughing his way to the bank.

But hey, if you are happy, sure.

The car is coming along nicely and I am looking forward to more information and pictures as you go along. Don't get discourage by the others. There are many other people with project cars out there who started out just like you. Here are two examples:
1987 Mazda Turbo II
http://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=33745
and
1990 240SX
http://idforums.net/index.php?showtopic=29764

I am very interested in following other people's project cars. It's an interesting read with pictures that passes the time.
Hope these encourage and motivate you to turn your Supra into something special Keep us updated!

Yeah, and look at how much they paid for the car vs how much he paid. It being a project car is not the problem. Him over paying is everyones point. The guy bought his 1 year older supra for $300 more. Not too bright but hey, lets compare.

By looks standards, the $300 more looks considerable better. It also needed less work to get going, in fact all the "work" he did on it was trivial to it running.

Regardless, if he has the money and he is happy with it, who cares? People overpay everyday. And jerk offs like us like to point it out to make ourselves feel better.

Keep up the good work, it's great to see a car get rebuilt again

Radish™

There would be more pictures, but I haven't put any fresh batteries in the camera for a long time. And it is nice to finally have a glass back window.

How soon will you be able to drive the car? And how is the engine, any problems there?