having a hard time making a choice looking for some opinions...

[MKIIISD]

Hey guys i was looking for some opinions from both sides of the fence so i thought i would stop at side A and ask first. I know this is a supra forum but i also know you guys are toyota enthusiasts at heart to even be doing what you all are doing in the first place. With that being said here is my issue. I have been on the market for a new toy for awhile now and within the last week i have gotten it narrowed down to two choices.

Car number 1

1991 Toyota supra turbo with sunroof 160k on chassis

Pros

Fresh rebuilt engine idk if i would call it built but it has upgraded pistons, and mhg with studs.

has under 10 miles on the rebuild

154 trans with upgraded clutch and flywheel

Basically a turbo, upgraded fuel, and ecu away from my power goals?

Car is local

Cons

Interior is well taken care of but fugly burgundy color

Current owner already sort of put his mark on the interior with door panel customizations and stuff like that

Car isnt registered is gonna need a shady smog and a tow home if i cant get a 1 day from the dmv

Would probably need to be broken in because it isnt even at 500mi on the rebuild yet

Needs a new throttle linkage bar supposedly the idle is a little high because of it.

Car number 2

1991 Toyota Celica Alltrac/ Gtfour 158k on chassis and motor.

Pros

Really rare

Better styling imo than the MKIII

Lighter than the MKIII

AWD

Already smogged and ready for sale

Beautiful factory paint


Cons

Have to go up to LA for it

Has a "Missfire" issue car stalls when cold but drives fine after warm

Sunroof issues (common problem)

Speedo cable needs to be replaced (common problem)



So here in lies my problem both cars are the same year, same mileage on the chassis, and same price. My goal would be around 400whp maybe more. Supra seems ready to go in that direction i would just need a few more vital pieces (Turbo, fueling, ecu tuning).Where as the Celica would need the motor rebuilt then the pistons rods and all that plus the turbo, fuel, and ecu. The supra is going to need a dirty smog and that throttle linkage bar. While the Celica can be driven home and registered same day no smog necessary. But with the celica i have to sort out that cold stalling misfire issue.

So what do you guys think get something rare that i would have to put alot of time and money in to get it where i want it. Or buy something kinda almost finished that might not hold its value as well but is only a few grand from being something fun to drive.

 

[super51fan]

To me it souns like they are selling a problem that they have been unable to fix. I would wait and buy a nice clean unmoddified car. Or I think the 86...5 with 2j swap in the sale forum is a good bang for the buck. And this car has been driven since the swap Buy a plane ticket and drive home. Good luck.

 

[Chambers]

Yea, if the Supra only has a few hundred miles on it since rebuild I would be weary. If it wasnt build with patience or know how then its probably going to blow.

The celica seems like its a problem child though, like you said, really rare. Finding parts will be an issue.

If it were me, Id pass on both, but If I had to choose I would go with the Supra, but thats based on the fact that I have some years of experience with the Supra.

 

[MKIIISD]

Yeah thanks for the opinions guys I did want to add a few more things to make the picture a little clearer. The guy selling the supra says he is doing so because of heartbreak it was a project him and his ex took on and completed but that person is no longer with him and he wants to get rid of the memories i guess. So the car sat there non op. The other factor in this whole thing is price. My budget is only around 4k and both cars are in the 3500 range.

 

[Grandavi]

I wouldn't touch either really. Its not like there is a shortage of quality cars to buy instead. I took almost 2 years to buy my Supra. In the end, 3-5 years later, I would have bought different now that I know the car bumper to bumper.

The key is to get a car that either a. your going to rebuild properly or b. was done properly. So many ghetto projects its insane.. I like "done-proper" "done once" type builds.. not the "oh I just used zip ties to hold the cooler in place.. it works great".

If I were to do it again, I would buy Rodels... for a massive amount of money.. just because he pays good attention to detail.. or something similar. You can get a good car, but if it looks iffy, its iffy.

 

[MKIIISD]

Yeah i hear ya i think i am just going to get the alltrac alot of the parts have been replaced and a missfire shouldn't be too hard to diagnose if not i dont mind doing my first rebuild on it after all it is only 4 cylinders. The motor is identical to the sw20 so i shouldn't have a problem there mod wise.. I have my truck to daily and after thinking about it. I would rather have something stock where i know what was done to it because i did it so tracing problems back would be easier. As for buying a better quality car I am at the budget i am at now because i am only buying something to tinker with untill i pay off my truck then my next car will be something from the dealer. So i was looking for a 90's toyota to play with untill then. Thanks for the help though guys all of you gave me the angle i needed to see clearly.

 

[Suprapowaz!(2)]

You have other daily drivers so at least you're not depending on this new car as a primary mode of transportation.
I would get the GT4 myself. If you're already prepared to do some wrenching on it and know it's not tip top then go for it. Sounds like it would be a fun project. You've already had a MKIII according to your sig. Whatever happened to it? Why was it impounded. Why didn't you take it out of the pound?

 

[scottiedawg66]

i would not even consider that supra, sounds like a can of worms to say the least.

i cannot imagine working on a GT4. seems like a huge PITA. those are pretty sweet little cars though. I am also curious about your previous MK3.

 

[MKIIISD]

The previous MKIII I had was a long long time ago almost 9 years ago. I was young dumb and didnt understand how stuff worked then. I had found the car at a shop me and my buddies used to frequent car was a piece of shit but it had the cool roof thingy from fast and the furious i was in love instantly. I bought it off the mechanic for a grand did it in payments busting my ass at a shitty minimum wage job. The car didnt run or start and i had to tow it home. Found out the efi relay and intercooler were missing sourced them out slapped them on and the car started right up.... and died. Still couldn't drive it since it was on all flats and i had no where to park it but in the public street parking. One day a meter maid comes by sees the tags were expired and hauls it away no ticket no nothing. I tried to show her my receipt from the garage but not once the whole time i was fixing the car did i think i needed to go to the dmv and get a title or even register the car :3d_frown:. Couldn't even get my tools from the trunk i was told there was no way i could prove they were mine and i might be trying to steal them. Either way now that i look back it was really really stupid of me to buy a non running junker with no title and more than likely had rodknock or something. For what it was worth i loved that car, POS didnt even run but the hard on i got from knowing it was a Toyota Supra was enough for me.

 

[supraguy@aol]

I would also get the AllTrac. Rare car that you never see on the road. Make sure its reliable, THEN buy a good project supra, that you can take your time on, and build the way you want it. I drove my supra as a dd for 15+ yrs, and only retired it when i had my MR2(which was given to me to watch for a while, by a guy who went to Mexico for 6 months and just never came back) running reliably. Then i started taking it apart.

 

[Boost_Ed]

I'm with everyone and keep searching. Either way you look at it you will have to spend more then you want.