well, thinking about buying a 1987 supra turbo anything i should look out for rust wise and in general. outside is a little rusty but the inside is in great condition 180,000 km on it, what do you think its worth?buying a supra
- Thread starter brandon93
- Start date
well, thinking about buying a 1987 supra turbo anything i should look out for rust wise and in general. outside is a little rusty but the inside is in great condition 180,000 km on it, what do you think its worth?
It wont cost you that much, but its going to need a lot of work on it, most mk3 are clean from the inside, but the part thats going to brake your back is the outside of the car.
Im sure that there is more rust in some places that you cant see. So try to find a cleaner supra before you buy this one.
Im sure that there is more rust in some places that you cant see. So try to find a cleaner supra before you buy this one.
laotionracer101;1762174 said:
This. Put it this way, a fairly clean shell (shell, not running car) can be had for anywhere from 500-1000 depending on where you live. I picked up my first car for $1000 that needed a new cooling system and head gasket, but was otherwise 98% mint and stock. It ran though, and fairly well at that... depending on the market/area, will depend on a reasonable price.
No matter who's Mk3 you buy, or how nice it looks at first, be prepared, both financially and emotionally, to put some work into it. Just how these cars are.
Rust is the number one issue I'd say, inspect the s**t out of that car before buying. Just it being a hardtop, I'd be real tempted to get it though. 
well offerd the owner $500 for it, checked it out not bad besides surface rust wasnt home when i looked at it so i couldnt check the trunk....gunna look at it tho before i hand him the money
check the hatch area, check behind the interior panels in the quarter panel areas in the hatch (remove the little hatches on the left and right in the rear trunk area that go to the fender wells) look in each one. Rust can easily propagate in there and get bad if the hatch has been leaking.
also want to consider pulling off the trim piece on the underside of the hatch-the hatches usually leak around the window seal and rust.
also check the battery tray (under the battery )
good luck with it!
also want to consider pulling off the trim piece on the underside of the hatch-the hatches usually leak around the window seal and rust.
also check the battery tray (under the battery
)good luck with it!
brandon93;1763387 said:
Let me add.. "not bad" = I probably dont understand how bad it can get. "Surface rust" = I probably have no body skills.
What I mean by the above is, generally.. you probably dont understand what your about to do... lol. That car has more than surface rust just by looking at the quarter panels... lots more. I would bet that the inside quarter panel (behind the bumper.. you have to reach far down and back through the little hatch door) is rotted as well. Also, I would bet money that the brackets holding the rear bumper do not exist anymore (disintegrated). (I dont drive the car in winter by the way.. it was summer moisture/dust that killed the body)
My quarter panels were CLEAN!!, however... had I put my hand into the little door in the hatch area and felt the seam where the wheel well and quarter met.. I would have realised that.. wet, bumpy and dirty means not clean. Took 2 years for the quarters to pop out.. 1 year for the wheel wells to disintegrate (yes.. they fell apart on the driver side.. a hole bigger than my hand).
Whats nice is, you can actually almost feel the entire quarter panel and rear and top portions of the wheel well from the hatch area. $500.00 is very easy to recuperate from a used Supra though just in parts sales... so I wouldnt be too scared.. but if you are looking to build a perfect Supra.. the rust I see on that car makes me really want to look over the underbody very carefully (especially the strut tower areas and where the diff is connected to the car). I would also want to look at the fuel tank as I have found a lot of them punched in and leaky. (just replaced mine actually).
Also, look at the windshield and around the hatch side windows VERY carefully for signs of surface rust. The real rust is usually hidden in those areas.
Water comes in via the brake light seals first, then the hatch seals second (if it is degraded/ripped/cracked). If you see condensation in the brake lights after a rain, replace the seals. The water runs from there into the spare wheel area and the inside of the quarter panel. Now.. add fine dust and dirt into that area and its sitting there slowly munching on what may have been one of the greatest cars built in Japan..
Finally... EXPECT rust. Its there. The rest depends on your skills/plans for the car + how much money you have. That car is parked in a "rain forest" by the looks of it, so the underbody is probably not all that pretty. I would look at the build threads for some eye-openers.
I have looked at about 50 Supras in the past 2 years, bought 5 MKIII's in total so far and own one 88 and one 87. I have seen so much garbage out there that I almost get an erection when I see cars like Rodel's NTORIOUS.. lol.
I sold a 90 Red MKIII to a younger fellow and after 4-6 months of finding out the warts, he just realised that unless you have a lot of time/skill or money.. or a combination of both, there's no way your going to have the car of your dreams for cheap. I applaud people who pick these cars up and revive them.. just make sure your eyes are wide open while doing it.
Also.. I dont see any mention of drivetrain, so I will ask.. do you know anything about the engines and the problems associated with them?
Big question is.. why are you buying it (what are your plans)?
Last edited:
I wouldn't rush to buy it. Look around they will pop up. That's what's great about they pos engines, they allow us to buy them from people with bhgs for peanuts. I bought the one in my build thread cheap minus the engine harness and ecu. I didn't need that stuff so it worked out great. And it only had 55000 miles. Keep a eye out, you'll find them. Stay away from rust, save money for a rebuild, and wait for the pretty one to come along. Starting with a great base makes all the difference.
^Very much this. Patience is a REQUIREMENT when it comes to a Supra. If you can find someone on here who's owned a Supra that has never even ONCE broken down on them, I'd be surprised. Even the well taken care of ones can have a spot of bad fortune.
Again, it comes down to what your plans/budget will be.. but if you think you can pick up a cheap Supra and be happy.. I havent met many people yet that have succeeded.
Remember too.. this is a person from Thunderbay (in Canada). Not many up there.. but go south a bit towards Toronto and you will find A LOT! Good ones up there too. Tons in Quebec, but I dont do French well.. lol. Kijiji is your friend.
Remember too.. this is a person from Thunderbay (in Canada). Not many up there.. but go south a bit towards Toronto and you will find A LOT! Good ones up there too. Tons in Quebec, but I dont do French well.. lol. Kijiji is your friend.
A good piece of advice from an old gearhead relative and friend of mine, the better car you start with, the better car you end up with.
Lots of good advice in this thread.
Another big thing with these are to make sure there isn't a bunch of small stuff broken or missing, like trim pieces (especially trim pieces). Body parts are pretty much all dealer parts; some are discontinued, and the rest are extremely expensive. Used body parts may seem plentiful on ebay... but the common ones that need replacing are not (mudguards, good condition side trim, window trim, front lip, bumper bracing).
I learned the hard way how expensive fixing a beat up car can be. Mine didn't have much rust, it just had alot of hidden body damage.
Another big thing with these are to make sure there isn't a bunch of small stuff broken or missing, like trim pieces (especially trim pieces). Body parts are pretty much all dealer parts; some are discontinued, and the rest are extremely expensive. Used body parts may seem plentiful on ebay... but the common ones that need replacing are not (mudguards, good condition side trim, window trim, front lip, bumper bracing).
I learned the hard way how expensive fixing a beat up car can be. Mine didn't have much rust, it just had alot of hidden body damage.
Thunder bay, you gotta watch out for Rust really carefully from all the road salting in Ontario. These cars can be real beasts of maintainince, you have a normal daily driver that doesn't break down right? Are you pretty good with mechanics? if no to either of these, pass it along for a car you can drive around and see that everything is working well. Even 500$ for a car that is a nightmare isn't worth it at all!
Pretty damn accurate!
Pretty damn accurate!