1989 Supra Generic Questions

[turbinetech2]

I will apologize for the long winded post beforehand, but I would like my sons first car experience to be a good one, so here goes.

I have a 16 year old son who wants to buy an 89 Supra. We test drove the car earlier this week and here are my impressions.

Overall appearance is slightly rough, left headlight cover needs to be replaced. It has a depression in the hood where somebody pushed down hard to latch the hood.

Left rear quarter panel has dents in it where a previous owner hit a deer (deer ran in to the side of the car?).

I believe it has a Targa top (how do you release the top?). The paint job is faded red, definitely would need a paint job.

The body has no visible rust outside or underneath (I haven't put it on jacks yet, this Saturday) The air compressor supposedly just has a bad clutch (read replace the whole thing probably).

It is missing some vacuum hoses from the radiator hose from the top of the radiator to somewhere. The motor has visible engine oil between the two valve covers, not sure if it is just gaskets or not.

It has slight valve noise on right rear bank of valves while running. It is supposedly a one owner vehicle that was bought by a military family while in Germany with a "European package" whatever that means? While test driving the vehicle, it appears the clutch may be worn, it comes off the floor about three to four inches before the clutch engages.

Is there an adjustment somewhere? The headlight assemblies do work. The electric window switch for the driver door is broken (window goes down but you have to push up this broken part of the switch to get it to go up) The car has 132,000 miles on it according to the speedo.

The asking price is $2900. I appreciate the expert opinions from everyone who has much more experience with this model car than I.

I wouldn't mind him getting a fixer upper but would not like him to sink every penny he makes on just keeping it running, barely. How do I find out what type of motor and if it's original or not? Thanks everybody!!

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[xarewhyayen]

in my opinion, thats a bit much to ask of a car in that condition, You will need valve cover gaskets, clean up the spark plug galley, Im not sure what the euro package is? unless its just different lights n stuff. Clutches arent that cheap, no adjustment its hydraulic. switch cheap to replace,

vaccum hoses you should probably just replace them all if you want the engine to run at its very best, as well as all coolant hoses.
Headlight cover, you could probably get fiberglass ones for a decent price.

LR quarterpanel? hm body work wouldnt kill ya if youre doing a paintjob anyway... hood youd probabaly be better off going fiberglass or just get a nice one from someone before ya get it painted.

Id pay more like 1500-2000 for it depending on how it drives and how bad the head noise is. Its not rodknock is it?

oh yeah is it turbo?

 

[Kai]

Just as a guide, I paid £500 ($950 US) for my N/A and it was in reasonably good condition with dealer history, MOT and road tax still on it, few rust bubbles, but nothing major.

To find out what engine it is, look at the timing belt cover. If it says 7M-GE, then its an N/A engine with 204bhp, and if it says 7M-GTE, then its a Turbocharged engine with 232bhp. Also, on a 7M-GE, theres a distributor, on the GTE, theres a coil pack on top of the valve cover.

If you were going to repair that one, it sounds like it would be fairly easy, barring the body damage - which might be expensive.

Valve Cover oil 'leak' isnt a problem, new gasket and a clean should be all it needs, and you'd do that after doing the valve adjustments, which it sounds like it needs doing.

Headlight Cover? Not expensive item, find a breakers yard

The Electric Window switch is a simple swap out job, and a stealership might have them available, but you'd have to check.

As for the clutch, the one on my N/A started crapping out a month after i bought it, and it wasnt expensive. Cost more labour than the parts (£45+VAT per hour ($100 or so)). £390 all in for that, although it was quick to do - in out and done inside a day.

It might be worth posting a picture of the quarter panel damage - the bonnet is easy enough to fix/replace, they still make carbon fibre ones

For the year, it's a low mileage car - 132,000 isnt a lot on these engines, they're almost bulletproof, made of sterner stuff than most. My '88 had 163,000 on it when i bought it, and it's still going fine, no major problems.

HTH.

 

[Clip]

1. bodywork will probably be expensive
2. targa is held on by bolts at four corners
3. cost me $500 to replace the air compressor due to a leaking front seal. picked one up from the buy/sell forums here for around $110, and it was $400 to have it installed (they had to fabricate both lines, toyota had discontinued the high-pressure one)
4. as for the vacuum hoses, just pick up a set of the factory repair manuals (again, on here for around $115, great condition) and start replacing them, not too expensive.
5. oil in the spark plug galley is common, just replace the valve cover gaskets ($28 for fel-pro gaskets from autozone)
6. im not too sure about the valve noises, i gotta admit.
7. i also have to admit i've never heard of the european package.
8. the clutch travel for this car is pretty long, but you can monkey around with adjustment a little ways.
9. window switches and misc. parts, you can find on here or at the stealership.

Here's my actual opinion: for a car with 132,xxx on the clock it sounds a litte rough. I haven't known too many with valve ticking or noises (but definitely some with leaks). Overall, the Supra is a stout car, built like a tank. It'll take abuse and keep on running. I am 17, got my '89 when I was 16 for $2000 with 175,xxx miles. It's definitely a fixer. The body was in almost perfect shape, with new paint and carpet. As for the engine, it's not the cleanest but I have learned an incredible amount just by keeping it running and performing routine maintenance.

All in all, they're great project cars and great daily drivers. And as for expert advice, I do believe you have come to the right place :drink1:

 

[Nick M]

For $3000, I would look for another also.

 

[swaq]

Keep looking. You should at least drive a few before you commit to one, so you have something for comparison. Also, keep in mind that the 89's and older don't come with airbags. I personally don't mind that much, but if you are concerned about your kid's safety you might want to go for a 1990-1992. See the year by year changes in this thread: http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58

 

[koulee]

I would definitely stay away from that car. For 2900, you can get something in better condition. Don't be afraid to shop around or wait until you find the right one.

If you were to buy that car, its probably not worth more than 1500.

Two major problems that will make it expensive is the head gasket likes to blow, and the engine can get rod knock if oil starved.

 

[Facime]

Its not a bad price depending on location if its a turbo. If its NA I would say its worth no more than 2k. First of all your talking about a car with an unknown history, only hearsay. The 7M is a solid motor but plagued by head gasket failure and if your hearing a tick it might already be in need of a top end at least. body and paint can be quite expensive unless you do most of the prep work yourself, even then you may end up with an inferior paint job that does little to raise the value of the vehicle.

I didnt rhear anythig mentioned about the interior. If that too is worn out like it sounds the rest of the car of is, then I would say your buying into a money sink. I know I may have been incredibly lucky or a good shopper or both, but I paid 2k for my 86.5 and it was arrow straight and a daily driver. I paid $600 for my 89 NA and its straight as a razor short of one fender, and after a couple days tracing problems, runs like a bat outta hell. Only thing it needs now is a clutch which will be here monday, and a few small cosmetic items.

Deals are out there...just gotta be patient.

For what its worth, I know Im a heck of a long ways away, but my 89 is going up for sale very soon and I would only be asking $2500 from SM members (its going on CL for 3k)

 

[ForcedTorque]

3 Things.....

1. If it's Turbo, it's probably worth the money, as 89-92's have higher value than 86-88's. These problems are common, and easy fix with Supramania help.

2. If it's not turbo, it just not worth the money

3. Do you want your son learning how to drive in a Turbo car with manual transmisssion? My son will be 16 in November, and I have a spare turbo Supra I was gonna give him. Now reality is seting in, and i bought him a 240sx for a first car. We can sell it and swap to the Supra once he has some experience.

 

[b005t3d]

if you do buy it, im selling everything i have so if you need anything, lt me know.

 

[oscar35783]

too much money and too much work, if you would to buy it and work on it, I would pay no more than $1500. Keep looking.

 

[bowsercake]

Too much for a car in that condition. Maybe 2,000 but not 3

 

[Nick M]

Was the targa question answered? It is a 6mm allen head screw. Loosen the top first, and tighten the rear first.

 

[kongykongfoomonk]

I got a 87 turbo with 114xxx miles and an 86 sport roof n/a (parts car) for $2800, the 87 is in fine shape other then one little dent on the targa, and the paint is original so it has a few little chips. So you could probably find a car of the same quality, for a lot cheaper or a better car for the same price if you look a little more.

 

[ChadMKIII]

Do you want your son learning how to drive in a Turbo car with manual transmisssion? My son will be 16 in November, and I have a spare turbo Supra I was gonna give him. Now reality is seting in, and i bought him a 240sx for a first car. We can sell it and swap to the Supra once he has some experience.

I learned in a Turbo R154 Supra. My 1st car, I love it. Had it for about 3 months now.

Anyway, turbine tech, that one sounds a bit expensive to me. I'd keep looking. And if it hasn't had a blown head gasket yet, you'll be due for one soon.

Few notes generally relating to Supras:
Full instructions to release targa are on the drivers side under the visor. Major pain to remove but its a blast.

Catalytic converters: Turbos and CA market Supra's have a pre-cat in the downpipe. If it has one, and you can pass emissions with out it, remove it and save youself a world of trouble with uneven cylinder heating, which I believe adds to the prob with blown head gaskets. Also retorque the studs/bolts from 56ftlb to 72 (Experts:help descirbe them/location)

Go for a model with airbags, he's 16, and likely to have an accident of some kind. Plus, I think the a/b steering wheel is much nicer looking and the cruise control switch is much better.

As to your adjustment question, there is, I don't know it off hand though. Its in the owners manual I believe, or the Toyota Service Repair Manual (TSRM). There is a copy online, I don't remeber the link but if you look aroud on here you'll find it.

Replacing the switch is a cinch, PM me if you do decide you want this one and I'll explain how to. Seriously, 15 min job.

Also, when (not if) you end up replacing the head gaskets, go for Metal head gaskets over the OEM composites (and have it tq'ed to 72ftlb)-this should end BHG problems.

Good luck with your search, and welcome to Supramania!