Is it even worth fixing?

[miss_ali_j]

So this 88 Supra turns out to be the worst deal of the century, according to my fiance...but I think it's still worth fixing. The built motor he pulled out of my 88 to swap into his 91, actually has a bad head. So he told me I need to get a new head (no big deal, I found one for $60 here locally) and then I know I'm going to need a new head gasket kit. But then he said whoever wired things into the car did a "hack job" and now it needs a new wire harness too. The car really is beat up--could use a paint job badly, but other than that, it's in pretty good condition. I say just put it back to stock and I'll be happy--he says it's not worth it and I should just buy another one. But you guys all pull apart motors all the time. What do you think?

 

[airhead04]

hmm, send the wiring harness to dr tweak. he is the wiring harness god. Only keep the car if you think it is worth it. If your going to give up, then Id say sell it.

But you can fix the car. It just takes time. =]

 

[Koenigturbo]

Harnese's are cheap here, at the "For Sale" section. Ninety percent of mkiii"s that are in their orginal contiion need paint anyway, I think. The A.P.R. bolts,and metal head gasket is a popular mod. Do you know if your head needs work? I'd make sure the vales aren't leaking. Is the compresion good on the "91" engine?

 

[miss_ali_j]

Harnese's are cheap here, at the "For Sale" section. Ninety percent of mkiii"s that are in their orginal contiion need paint anyway, I think. The A.P.R. bolts,and metal head gasket is a popular mod. Do you know if your head needs work? I'd make sure the vales aren't leaking. Is the compresion good on the "91" engine?

The built motor I have to keep now because it had low compression in one cylinder and then our local machine shop said it needs a new head because of leaky valves. He just sent me over a list of all the things the car needs, but I'm thinking some of the prices may have been a bit exaggerated. Otherwise, I did find a Supra on here that I like that's for sale. I just dont want to send the 88 to Supra Heaven if I dont have to.

 

[SupraMario]

Buy a DD, Fix the motor...don't junk a good shell...they are getting hard to find a straight bodied one these days anyways.

 

[hvyman]

^I agree.

Post some pictures.

Paint expect a grand for good paint if you do all the prep your self. Motor rebuild and machine shop charges expect around 3k for a good rebuild doing all the work your self.

Interior go to junkyards and look in the for sale section. Usually interior parts are not that expensive(unless you get some recaro or black leather interior).

Its up to you, You could cut your loses and look for a better car but your going to spend almost the same amount for a car that has everything you want if not more.

 

[miss_ali_j]

Buy a DD, Fix the motor...don't junk a good shell...they are getting hard to find a straight bodied one these days anyways.

That's the thing I've having a hard time with. The 88 I have is a turbo 5 speed and that's exactly what I want. It HAS to be a 5 speed and HAS to be a turbo and I've looked on ebay, craigslist, and autotrader and can't find anything for the price of mine. I will take my camera out tomm and get some better pics of the body--the rust, the missing side mouldings, etc. I'm determined and I'm not ready to just give up on the car just yet.

 

[MA70Snowman]

I think alot of us have been through some pretty rough times with our cars. Mines been an on going project for 5 years, maybe only running 30% of that time. For me its mostly a "hobby" now then a drivable car. I think if a lot of us threw in the towel we'd have a lot more supras in the junkyard. Trust me its rewarding in itself when you've spent the time wrenching or gone through the effort to make sure the machine shop has everything in spec. and besides w/ these cars, who's to say the "new" one you decide to get wont get a BHG two weeks later (or in my case, I made sure they had recently redone the head gasket, only to have it develop rod knock less then a month after buying it) I like your attitude on not ready to give up. keep that mantra in your head when you're torquing head bolts at the 3am.. or maybe I should've Good luck.

 

[OneJArpus]

i have a mint 88 harness turbo 5sp. Purchased it new from toyota 2 yrs ago. haven't driven my car much and i'm parting it out. Its mint, no brittle wires or broken clips. Let me know if you want it.

 

[miss_ali_j]

i have a mint 88 harness turbo 5sp. Purchased it new from toyota 2 yrs ago. haven't driven my car much and i'm parting it out. Its mint, no brittle wires or broken clips. Let me know if you want it.

How much are you selling it for? What other parts do you have?

 

[Guyana00]

You kept saying he, and I was wondering....who? Your mechanic?
Then I realized you were a girl...lol.
Stupidity aside I think you should fix it, it depends on what you got it for too though to say if you got ripped off, unless I missed it.
Also, look where you are, most people will want you to fix it, I do.

 

[te72]

Buy a DD, Fix the motor...don't junk a good shell...they are getting hard to find a straight bodied one these days anyways.

Very much agreeing with Mario on this. I bought my 89 because it had some cool parts and was a turbo 5speed. Paid WAY too much for it. What I should have done was buy my 88 back from my roommate (for about 1/3 of what I paid for the 89), and done the 1j swap that I ended up doing anyway. Instead I ended up throwing away about 2-4k on 7m shit that I no longer have in the end. Not to mention, my 88 was a MUCH cleaner car, no accidents, no damage, good paint, well sealed/sound proofed interior, etc...

Still kicking myself to this day about this... Oh, and if you don't already have a reliable DD, forget the Supra for now. They can be more than a finicky mistress sometimes. Some guys say their wives/gf's won't let them have sports cars, my sports cars won't let me have a wife/gf.

 

[Poodles]

No matter what, you're still looking at a 20 year old car and they'll ALL have issues from just their age.

 

[Koenigturbo]

The built motor I have to keep now because it had low compression in one cylinder and then our local machine shop said it needs a new head because of leaky valves. He just sent me over a list of all the things the car needs, but I'm thinking some of the prices may have been a bit exaggerated. Otherwise, I did find a Supra on here that I like that's for sale. I just dont want to send the 88 to Supra Heaven if I dont have to.

This is gonna come down to weighing all the options: Is that "other Supra really nice? Or does it need the same stuff that your gonna do to your car anyway. I.E "does it need paint"? How are you gonna get the Other Supra Home and the cost worth it. Everything that your need for your Supra is pretty much what everyone does to thier Supra anyway paint, engine e.t.c. I think the only way I would but that other Supra if it had more to offer such as much better paint, (do you like the color)? interior, suspension, tires, already modded "this and that" e.t.c. Your going just a tad over stock anyway as far as h.p. goes. I'd say keep what you have, but I didn't want to come right out to say that, because I don't make decisions for anyone. I.M.O.: I'd rebuild yours, that way you know what you have. Just my opinion. As always good luck:icon_bigg

 

[mkiii222]

--the rust, the missing side mouldings, etc. I'm determined and I'm not ready to just give up on the car just yet.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?126375-Retro-spec-NEW-89-body-trim-group-buy.
It says 89 but they have the 87-88 for $30 more (1 extra piece).

Sure it's gonna take time to source/install all the little stuff but that's half the fun of owning an older car.

 

[Koenigturbo]

Here ya go,!!! book a fight and get it!!
Even thou it's a N/A it should still get you your h.p. goal.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyo...64037479656251&adgroup_id=7529745316490744978

 

[miss_ali_j]

Here ya go,!!! book a fight and get it!!
Even thou it's a N/A it should still get you your h.p. goal.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyo...64037479656251&adgroup_id=7529745316490744978

I saw that car on Ebay, but it still has 3 days, which means it's going to end up going for way more. I found a car on here that I want REALLY REALLY bad, but my $7500 check wont be here for another 2 weeks, and I'm pretty sure that car is going to be sold by then lol. The whole point of me getting a Supra is to tear it apart and rebuild it, so that I actually learn something in the process, which is why I'm still so stuck on the 88. I'm going to keep looking though--either I find something else with less work needed, or I find good prices on all the parts I need.

Thanks everyone for all the advice! I really appreciate it!!

 

[mkiii222]

Go here (Cygnus) to look up part numbers.
Parts Catalog

Then go here (Champion) to check prices/buy parts.
Champion ToyotaWorld

May as well just fix what you've got. And if the head really is a goner you can always find someone here with a rebuilt head for sale.

 

[iwannadie]

At least you know what you have and what's wrong with it, why sell it and start over? The wiring harness is no big deal to swap out and throw a new(used) head on and go from there. The paint can come later once it's running right.

 

[Keros]

You've got a choice, spend $10000 on a car that is perfectly mint, either original and very well kept, or fully restored by someone who knew what they were doing (and this may cost more like $15000 or more).

OR, keep your car and spend the same money, or more, building it. If you have another car to drive, you can pay as you go and spend as little or as much as you choose on your 88. If you buy someone else's work, chances are you'll need a loan to get it now, or wait a long time to save that much at once. And then you have to hope you satisfy the aformentioned clause that "they knew what they were doing", or you'll be in the same boat as you are now; with just alot more expensive parts.

Sure, you can buy something nice that's already in one peice... but that'll cost you, and if it doesn't, there's something wrong (or you're just lucky as hell).

Frankly, if you b/f wanted your motor because it "had 500hp", but bailed on it once it had low compression... I hope he was giving you some coin for it. I had a similair situation with my significant other, and I wanted to offer her money for some performance parts she bought. I didn't end up buying them, but nonetheless, it wasn't "hey babe, since you love me, can I has ur performance partz pls?"

Not to be a dick, but I was just wondering how the politics of that worked out.