Update 7/7/08: Page 3
Update 7/27/08: Page 6
When I turned 16 and got my license, I wanted a Supra. The budget only allowed an NA, which at the time was good enough. I couldn't find a clean enough one, and gave up until I had the money to buy right.
A year ago, I got a job that would support a purchase. I bought the first one I saw. It was an 87 Turbo, 5-speed Targa, and it was BEAT. It had a full HKS dragger which was worth more than the car itself. I bought it for $1350, which was partially funded from the recent profit of a restored 1999 Kawi KX250.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=V1rJQka-yZM
The car needed to be towed home due to a bad slave cylinder. I went through the basics of the car (slave cylinder, valve cover gaskets, fuel filter, plugs, wires, oil change, etc) before driving it to bring out its real flaws.
Big surprise, it had a BHG. I didn't know enough at the time but it had all the symptoms. No power at full boost, overheat after long boost periods, etc. It was just the beginning, next to leaking oil seals, leaking transmission, bad paint, etc. I added one pic of the car - it's more than enough to see why it went up for sale after two weeks. I even traded it for the mustang shown below - it was a beauty, but not the MK3 turbo I still wanted (yes, even trade. don't ask).
The mustang went up for sale and I began a serious hunt for a clean turbo. I looked at 10 supra's and found nothing worth buying. The second to last car I saw was a 1987 Pearl white hardtop, 5-speed, turbo. It had MK4 wheels, koni's, Eibach's, 3" exhaust, intake, lex, 550's, SAFC-II, etc.
It was mid-BHG change and I put a down payment on the car. Long story short, it wasn't done right and the car didn't fall under the agreed terms "If it's done right, i'll buy it". Needless to say, I was totally bummed.
The next weekend, I found the one.
It was for sale in Boston. Now, the irony of this car is that earlier in the summer (before MK3 #1), I almost bought the car from the second owner, but it was bought under me the day before I could get over. The man who bought it was ordered by the wife to pick a toy, and he let this go over a Z32 - which is fine by me.
I drove down with cash and a tow truck and it all began. $2700
1987 Pearl White Turbo, Targa, 5-speed, 92k miles, bone stock. Naturally, it needed a small amount of work. The previous owners were in their 50's and had the car very well maintained but it had sat for a few years before being sold. It needed tires, a timing belt, and some other drive-and-discover-what-it-needs work. The front bumper needed paint, although it was excellent elsewhere. The steering wheel and shift knob had wear, otherwise the interior was flawless.
The first week I got the car, I replaced the timing belt, did a tune up, valve-cover gaskets, and fluids.
I painted the front bumper and in-doing-so, noticed a split grille and cracked fog lights.
I drove the car for one week before it went away for the winter. At this point, I knew very little about the car, but it ran EXCELLENT. Quiet, smooth, and I think it made every bit of power it made back in 1987. It was clearly never abused.
I took the car out of storage when I got out of school the last week of May 2008. The car sat for 7 months on jack stands over the winter and turned over in 2-3 seconds without need of a jumper. I drove it home (2hrs) and had no issues - like it was never parked.
I brought it the shop and it wasn't leaving until I took care of a few things. First, I needed to re-do the valve cover gaskets - damn those OEM screws. I replaced them with stainless socket-headed cap screws with lock washers and loctite. It worked perfect. I did brake pads and rotors all around, and a good head re-torque to 72 ft-lbs.
Over the winter, I acquired a few goodies that began to make their way on to the car. First, K&N intake. It made the wastegate and BPV tastefully audible. Next, SOGI short shift with new Marlin Crawler bushings. By far the best modification that can be made for <$100. It's short and very ratchet-like.
I had a set of 16" all-seasons on my subaru, and I threw them on the 'blades in place of the dry-rotted tires on the supra. I put my new-to-me grille on, along with new-to-me fog lights. Last, the 89+ tails.
I drove the car for two weeks and got a very clear idea of what it needs. First, the TEMS shocks are SHOT and I have a loose swaybar endlink. I will be replacing this all with Tokico Illumina's, Eibach, and ST Sway's within the next two weeks. Knowing it still wasn't just right, I parked it.
So, this brings me to the point where this thread goes from past to present.
Sawblades FTL, so I found some wheels. I have a soft spot for MK4 wheels on the MK3 and planned to get a set in a couple weeks, but couldn't pass up a recent purchase. (4) OEM Mustang Cobra wheels, 17x9", $150. I found them on craigslist and couldn't pass it up. I plan to go 255/45-17 front, 275/40-17 rear.
On-shelf, I have a 3" Cooleeze DP w/elbow, 2.5" test pipe, 7M afm (no air screw), lotek 2-pod pillar, 89+ 3-p wing, (wicked cool 4-button) HKS TT, and, now, prosport electric boost gauge.
The power plans are all of the above with AEM UEGO wideband (or Autometer), MBC with EGR soleniod bypass (or HKS EVC1,2), hardpipes, and 13ish psi. My goal is to need a helmet to run the car at New England Dragway (<13.99), but I think that might not come til next year.
Spent a whole weekend cleaning the car from every door/hood/trunk jam, to q-tip's on the interior.
^ My buddy's 350
I will continue to update the thread as I begin getting parts in. The community has been excellent about sharing tech tips, so please don't hesitate to ask if you see something I did that you have questions on.
Update 7/27/08: Page 6
When I turned 16 and got my license, I wanted a Supra. The budget only allowed an NA, which at the time was good enough. I couldn't find a clean enough one, and gave up until I had the money to buy right.
A year ago, I got a job that would support a purchase. I bought the first one I saw. It was an 87 Turbo, 5-speed Targa, and it was BEAT. It had a full HKS dragger which was worth more than the car itself. I bought it for $1350, which was partially funded from the recent profit of a restored 1999 Kawi KX250.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=V1rJQka-yZM
The car needed to be towed home due to a bad slave cylinder. I went through the basics of the car (slave cylinder, valve cover gaskets, fuel filter, plugs, wires, oil change, etc) before driving it to bring out its real flaws.
Big surprise, it had a BHG. I didn't know enough at the time but it had all the symptoms. No power at full boost, overheat after long boost periods, etc. It was just the beginning, next to leaking oil seals, leaking transmission, bad paint, etc. I added one pic of the car - it's more than enough to see why it went up for sale after two weeks. I even traded it for the mustang shown below - it was a beauty, but not the MK3 turbo I still wanted (yes, even trade. don't ask).
The mustang went up for sale and I began a serious hunt for a clean turbo. I looked at 10 supra's and found nothing worth buying. The second to last car I saw was a 1987 Pearl white hardtop, 5-speed, turbo. It had MK4 wheels, koni's, Eibach's, 3" exhaust, intake, lex, 550's, SAFC-II, etc.
It was mid-BHG change and I put a down payment on the car. Long story short, it wasn't done right and the car didn't fall under the agreed terms "If it's done right, i'll buy it". Needless to say, I was totally bummed.
The next weekend, I found the one.
It was for sale in Boston. Now, the irony of this car is that earlier in the summer (before MK3 #1), I almost bought the car from the second owner, but it was bought under me the day before I could get over. The man who bought it was ordered by the wife to pick a toy, and he let this go over a Z32 - which is fine by me.
I drove down with cash and a tow truck and it all began. $2700
1987 Pearl White Turbo, Targa, 5-speed, 92k miles, bone stock. Naturally, it needed a small amount of work. The previous owners were in their 50's and had the car very well maintained but it had sat for a few years before being sold. It needed tires, a timing belt, and some other drive-and-discover-what-it-needs work. The front bumper needed paint, although it was excellent elsewhere. The steering wheel and shift knob had wear, otherwise the interior was flawless.
The first week I got the car, I replaced the timing belt, did a tune up, valve-cover gaskets, and fluids.
I painted the front bumper and in-doing-so, noticed a split grille and cracked fog lights.
I drove the car for one week before it went away for the winter. At this point, I knew very little about the car, but it ran EXCELLENT. Quiet, smooth, and I think it made every bit of power it made back in 1987. It was clearly never abused.
I took the car out of storage when I got out of school the last week of May 2008. The car sat for 7 months on jack stands over the winter and turned over in 2-3 seconds without need of a jumper. I drove it home (2hrs) and had no issues - like it was never parked.
I brought it the shop and it wasn't leaving until I took care of a few things. First, I needed to re-do the valve cover gaskets - damn those OEM screws. I replaced them with stainless socket-headed cap screws with lock washers and loctite. It worked perfect. I did brake pads and rotors all around, and a good head re-torque to 72 ft-lbs.
Over the winter, I acquired a few goodies that began to make their way on to the car. First, K&N intake. It made the wastegate and BPV tastefully audible. Next, SOGI short shift with new Marlin Crawler bushings. By far the best modification that can be made for <$100. It's short and very ratchet-like.
I had a set of 16" all-seasons on my subaru, and I threw them on the 'blades in place of the dry-rotted tires on the supra. I put my new-to-me grille on, along with new-to-me fog lights. Last, the 89+ tails.
I drove the car for two weeks and got a very clear idea of what it needs. First, the TEMS shocks are SHOT and I have a loose swaybar endlink. I will be replacing this all with Tokico Illumina's, Eibach, and ST Sway's within the next two weeks. Knowing it still wasn't just right, I parked it.
So, this brings me to the point where this thread goes from past to present.
Sawblades FTL, so I found some wheels. I have a soft spot for MK4 wheels on the MK3 and planned to get a set in a couple weeks, but couldn't pass up a recent purchase. (4) OEM Mustang Cobra wheels, 17x9", $150. I found them on craigslist and couldn't pass it up. I plan to go 255/45-17 front, 275/40-17 rear.
On-shelf, I have a 3" Cooleeze DP w/elbow, 2.5" test pipe, 7M afm (no air screw), lotek 2-pod pillar, 89+ 3-p wing, (wicked cool 4-button) HKS TT, and, now, prosport electric boost gauge.
The power plans are all of the above with AEM UEGO wideband (or Autometer), MBC with EGR soleniod bypass (or HKS EVC1,2), hardpipes, and 13ish psi. My goal is to need a helmet to run the car at New England Dragway (<13.99), but I think that might not come til next year.
Spent a whole weekend cleaning the car from every door/hood/trunk jam, to q-tip's on the interior.
^ My buddy's 350
I will continue to update the thread as I begin getting parts in. The community has been excellent about sharing tech tips, so please don't hesitate to ask if you see something I did that you have questions on.
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