8 years, 7 months and 4 days...

[turboBB]

That's the total amount of time Gumji (gum-gee, '95 Supra TT) was kept in captivitiy by a negligent body shop who was supposed to "repair" her (this is a real long story and warrants its own thread).

When we first got her back, she was such a wreck and was basically in various stages of disassembly in order to accomodate the repairs she originally went in for. However, we discovered that during her time in captivity, she was broken into and the interior was brutally gutted of all the A/V equipment and a thick layer of dust completely engulfed everything. Given the extensive amount of work and lack of resources, I was a bit disheartened at a restoration project but after seeing Keylan's (DA MAN!!!) thread, I'm determined to get Gumji back in shape regardless of how long it'll take.

For now, given that the car has been in "storage" for so long, I'll need to replace all the fluids and whatever other serviceable parts (especially the timing belt) before even attempting to start her up. Can someone please recommend a top notch repair shop in Northern NJ (Bergen county).

I'd attempt this on my own but lack the equipment (need to drain out the full gas tank and don't have a 18.5 gal barrel to store it) to accomodate everything that needs to be done.

I ran a search but didn't see anything for shops near me. Please help!

Thanks in advance!,
Tim

 

[AF1JZ]

Glad you got her back....Now let's see some pictures. Even if they aren't happy times.

 

[eman2289]

Broadway Performance in Passaic. A lot of north jersey guys swear by them. John is very honest and wants everything done right. The first time. It will cost a little more than normally, but the work is top notch. Give him a call. BTW My car is there right now.
broadway-performance.com

 

[LilMissMkIII]

Welcome mate

Post some pics if you can

 

[turboBB]

Thx for the support guys and EMAN, thx for the referral. Spoke to John and I feel assured that Gumji will be in good hands.

Here are the pics...

Day she came back with 1999 registration sticker still on (has been in shop since 8/9/1999):

Had the rims painted, boy those 17" sure look tiny by today's standards!

 

[AF1JZ]

Holy crap...That thing was raped. I can't wait to see it all come back together.

 

[Supracentral]

I've honestly seen worse. I say this not to belittle the amount of work you have ahead of you, but to let you know that it's not as bad as you think. The Supra is one hell of a well built car, and has probably survived these years of neglect not much worse off.

 

[AF1JZ]

This one for example SC?

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60806

 

[Dunckel]

I am wondering how many miles are on the car? If it hasn't been driven in almost 9 years. I wish I could take nine years off of my car.

 

[hottscennessey]

It's a time capsule!

 

[Tire Shredder]

little spit and shine, a fender and some trim pieces....good as new! best of luck!

 

[turboBB]

Thx for the well wishes everyone and yeah, it actually isn't as bad I had initially thought. It's certainly peanuts compared to Keylan's project (can't wait to see his car up and running!).

As for a time capsule, funny you should mention that. I found a receipt in the car dated about a week before the accident cuz I had work done to recharge the A/C and it lists the mileage at the time at 41,134. Figure it's just a bit higher than that so maybe around 41,500 or so.

I will definitely post pics as progress is made but it won't be any time soon since I have very little time and resources to assign to her right now. In the meanwhile, I'm creating a checklist of things I should replace before getting her started again:

Engine oil + filter
AT Fluid + filter
Gas + fuel filter
Differential oil
P/S fluid
Brake fluid
Replace brake lines with braided SS
Brake pads
Resurface rotors
All belts (especially timing)
Coolant
A/C refrigerant
Inspect and replace hoses as is necessary

Anything else you guys can think of? And also, do you think I need to replace the plugs? (I purchased the car used in 97 with about 28K on the ODO and they've never been done to my knowledge).

Thank you all for your support!

 

[DegreE]

All she needs is a little seafoam.

 

[Supracentral]

41,500.. Jesus.

My 95 hardtop's odo:

I wish I could find a stock MKIV with that kind of mileage.

 

[steveyblack]

yah its not to bad, to be honest, you can put together the interior by your self and clean it up...as for the fluids, i say replace everything...you know if there is gas is there? Im sure you can bring it to any mechanic and give them it, just like oil...it has gas in there thats worth only 1$ at the time...lmao...

if you need any help hit me up, im not to far from you

 

[turboBB]

it has gas in there thats worth only 1$ at the time...lmao...
if you need any help hit me up, im not to far from you

LOL!!! Man, you're right!! Gas was only about a buck at that time... :biglaugh: sigh... sure wish that still was the case... :3d_frown:

And thanks for the offer of assist, I'll definitely ping you if I need help.

 

[Tire Shredder]

i'm sure the shop would do this, but I'd put a couple drops of oil in each spark plug hole before turning it over for the first time. The rings may want to stick to the cylinder wal for sitting for so long, the oil may ease the process. Disable the fuel injection and crank the engine over several times until you see good oil pressure.

new gas will be a must as mentioned.

 

[eman2289]

so your car is going up to broadway performance? If so, good choice and I can't wait to see it finished.

 

[supramanocnsd]

thats a stock looking motor... and a TT auto...hmmm who did that yellow on the seats?

 

[turboBB]

Well, not so certain about which way to go with the repairs now. As much as I'm dying to get the car up and running there's a certain satisfaction to repairing this on my own (accepting and realizing my limitations that is...). The only thing I'm not familiar with is bleeding brakes but I've heard it's not too hard.

Yup, that's a stock motor and auto tranny. The car was intended for my wife but unfortuantely she never really got to enjoy it, thus there's more incentive for me to personally see to its restoration. Performance was never a top consideration in terms of mods. As you can see, the intake is the only upgrade on the car performance wise. Even the exhaust is stock. As for the color scheme, Gumji actually originally came with a biege interior. As black/yellow is my fav color combo, we had it completely redone and the body shop outsourced the seat reupholstery so I'm not sure who did it.

I'll attempt to work on it this weekend starting with fluid draininage and will see how it goes from there. Will post updated pics thereafter.

One thing I'd like to ask for a recommendation on is a replacement battery. I had an Optima put in due to the stereo set up but since that's all gone now, I don't think I need it. The last set up I had was loud enough to win DB contests (according to Bruce @ Sound Effects which is sadly no longer in biz). I will eventually put in a decent system but nothing crazy like I had. The focus on the new setup will be on sound quality and not loudness so no large subs or huge amps/caps required. Given this, which battery would you guys recommend?