I have a chance of picking up a 87 manual non turbo supra for $500. bodywise, inside and out is in excellent condition except a few rust spots here and there. the inside is in excelent shape! the car is dead, no power whatsoever because last winter the batery was low and during the process of charging, it seems like a blown fuse or shock somewhere, thats the reason why the car is not running. What is your opinion on why the car is death? anyway, my goal is to buy it and hopefully fix the problem and drive it as my daily in the summer time. After fix, i could sell it as it is for more than purchase price, or do the swap and sell for even more. what do you think, is this a good buy or not. thanks
87 non turbo manual supra buy or no buy?
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Celerity
Well-Known Member
I am the Supra pro here. Regard whatever other users tell you as Farce and non-information.
Now, with that out of the way, you ready to proceed ? Good, here we go:
1) Electrical problems on Toyotas are nightmares.
2) It's more than likely dead (originally) because of a blown head gasket. IT's THAT common.
3) The swap isn't worth it. Not even slightly.
4) a Head Gasket job is 21 hours on the books. Expect longer.
5) As a daily driver, the Supra may not be what you're looking for. It's large, heavy and far more of a GT car.
6) I love these cars. I can make them sit up and beg. I can guarantee that you will hate it. I come from a Vette / Muscle car / Supra background into the world of Hondas. If you're coming from a Honda into a Supra you'll hate it.
7) blown fuse or shock ? If he mentioned "Shocks" at all, he's talking about TEMS shocks. You can't get them anymore. IF the car is equipped with TEMS then when replacing these shocks, it'll be disabled and deadswitched.
8) If they hooked up a charger and wound up "possibly blowing a fuse" the "Possibly" is "More likely" that they fried a harness. Run from that deal.
9) "Few Rust Spots" with the Supra is serious. The Supra is covered with plastic doodads and covers - the rust is under those. Rust is a cancer - by the time you see it, it's everywhere... particularly on 80s Toyotas.
10) The easiest swap you can do on this car is a carbbed V8. At this point, with a $500 Supra (Which I would buy) I would have another $5000 on hand for the necessary repairs to make it livable. Livable, not excellent or sport worthy.
87s are rare, but they are also the most common Supra ever made. If it's an 86.5 (Perforated seats) then RUN FROM THAT CAR.
3rd Gen Supras are a kind of crap shoot. You never know what you're gonna get. There are some worth looking out for (Black and Beige turbos, hardtop turbos, ASC Sunroof models, the 92 Teals, the Triple white 90s, etc) but most are junk. the 2nd gen is more rewarding, better running, and all around slightly faster / lighter.
And 3rd gens, for having such a large body, have 0 interior space.
Now, with that out of the way, you ready to proceed ? Good, here we go:
1) Electrical problems on Toyotas are nightmares.
2) It's more than likely dead (originally) because of a blown head gasket. IT's THAT common.
3) The swap isn't worth it. Not even slightly.
4) a Head Gasket job is 21 hours on the books. Expect longer.
5) As a daily driver, the Supra may not be what you're looking for. It's large, heavy and far more of a GT car.
6) I love these cars. I can make them sit up and beg. I can guarantee that you will hate it. I come from a Vette / Muscle car / Supra background into the world of Hondas. If you're coming from a Honda into a Supra you'll hate it.
7) blown fuse or shock ? If he mentioned "Shocks" at all, he's talking about TEMS shocks. You can't get them anymore. IF the car is equipped with TEMS then when replacing these shocks, it'll be disabled and deadswitched.
8) If they hooked up a charger and wound up "possibly blowing a fuse" the "Possibly" is "More likely" that they fried a harness. Run from that deal.
9) "Few Rust Spots" with the Supra is serious. The Supra is covered with plastic doodads and covers - the rust is under those. Rust is a cancer - by the time you see it, it's everywhere... particularly on 80s Toyotas.
10) The easiest swap you can do on this car is a carbbed V8. At this point, with a $500 Supra (Which I would buy) I would have another $5000 on hand for the necessary repairs to make it livable. Livable, not excellent or sport worthy.
87s are rare, but they are also the most common Supra ever made. If it's an 86.5 (Perforated seats) then RUN FROM THAT CAR.
3rd Gen Supras are a kind of crap shoot. You never know what you're gonna get. There are some worth looking out for (Black and Beige turbos, hardtop turbos, ASC Sunroof models, the 92 Teals, the Triple white 90s, etc) but most are junk. the 2nd gen is more rewarding, better running, and all around slightly faster / lighter.
And 3rd gens, for having such a large body, have 0 interior space.
thanks for the advices and head up. the owner is a trust worthy person,not personally know him, but through friends. gurantee no blown head gasket, but might be elecrical problems. you have a good point that its not good as a daily driver, i kinda want to experience the feeling of rwd and have fun with it if i could get one at a good deal. but who knows how much it will take to bring this thing to live. I will thing about it. thanks.
Celerity
Well-Known Member
Tan and Red ? Gag me with a spoon.
Perforated seats are leather seats with tiny holes in it (Perforations). These seats are indicative of the 86.5 cars, and outside of the shitty ripping seats, the whole car sucks major donkey balls.
Seany-izzle
Member
No.
Celerity
Well-Known Member
You'll have to give me the VIN. Other than Perforated seats there isn't a difference between the two years - Except the 86.5 is the first year of that car, and EVERYTHING got screwed up. The tolerances were off, the air system is all different, the Emissions was screwy, the ECU is different (And no other ECU will work) and the body mounts are all different (So you can't get replacement fenders)
Just look carefully. If you keep it real - and don't think you're going to go to shows and make it big with this car, then $500 just for the experience is fun.
Just look carefully. If you keep it real - and don't think you're going to go to shows and make it big with this car, then $500 just for the experience is fun.
