Might buy 87 Na -> Turbo.. but rusty

[Tom.D]

Hello everyone, I know there has been a million threads about should I buy or not, and I have even created my own in the past, but now I think I may have found a decent Supra. Heres the low down on it:

87 NA Converted to Turbo
Hard top
5 Speed
Gotta find out if its got power accessories or not
Rebuilt 7M-GTE (Greddy MHG, ARP studs)
Tan Interior (driver seat is apparently veryyy beat up)
Black exterior

The only downside is it is rusting CRAZY. It will need a new Fender, and a lot of body work. When I go to look at it I'm going to go over it really well to see how far the rust has penetrated into the body.

So from what I can see it needs:
Fender
Rust fix, serious body work $$$$
Some re-upholstering

The guy wants $1300CAD, I am going to try to get it for 1000 or so.


Heres some pics:

Opinions?

 

[Canuckrz]

I'm dealing with a pretty much identical rust situation with my car atm.

What you're going to see is that the rust spreads mainly within the green barrier, but likely within the yellow barrier will be almost disintegrated, so you're going to need to find a parts supra to cut that piece off of.

Also I'd pop off the 2 covers in the trunk that reveal the wheel wells and the inside of the fender wells, what I saw with mine is that water pooled in there and did a lot of damage you cant see on the surface, hell its even in a spot you cant see unless you stick the camera in and take a picture. I'd feel around for a hole close to the bottom corner of where the wheel well meets the rear frame in that cavity. Also don't forget to check the spare tire well, mine was oddly perfect even though it was filled with water when I went to buy it but I've seen a lot of devastation there on other cars.

I'm not saying you should abandon it but you have to know what you're going to be getting into, I'm currently sandblasting and doing metalwork with mine its no biggie because I have the time and tools, but if you have to pay someone else to do that much it would be a fortune, and a lot of people wouldn't touch it.

I got mine for $1250 CAD, figured if a project car doesn't need work than it isn't a project car eh? But that might not be what you want right now.

One last thing, he said it has a metal head gasket, ask him if he had the block resurfaced. If he didn't you might be dealing with another can of worms.

 

[92TealSupra]

Buy that white Turbo Supra in the back ground.

Anyhow though. The rust is not as bad as it looks, but ti will cost a decent amount to get it back to where it needs to be.

 

[strippedsup87]

ya if you can find another car to swap the rust areas than I say go for it man!!! :evil2:

 

[Canuckrz]

Anyhow though. The rust is not as bad as it looks, but ti will cost a decent amount to get it back to where it needs to be.

Trust me it is always the tip of the iceburg with the salted roads here in Canada :nono:

 

[Tom.D]

Trust me it is always the tip of the iceburg with the salted roads here in Canada :nono:

Yea rust blows out here.

As for getting a parts car.. probably not gonna happen. There are 2 other MKIII's for sale in my area, both stock, both with about 150000-170000 KM on them, one for 7500 one for 10000. :aigo:

Heres a couple more pics of the rust

 

[Tom.D]

1 more

 

[Canuckrz]

Have you tried kijiji for supra part outs in your area? Or salvage yards? If you really wanted you might be able to find a new shell for around 500-600 bucks and transfer the parts to the rust free shell; wasnt an option for me but possibly for you.

The drivers side usually isn't too bad compared to the passengers because all the salt ends up on the side of the road which the passenger side gets pummeled with. That being said, the water can and will still pool up inside where I said and rot it from the inside out.

Its a lot of work, definitely worth the effort imo but you might not have the same time on your hands. Do you have a decent garage and tools to be able to do the bulk of the bodywork yourself? Because if you have to get someone else to do it its going to devastate your wallet, and they likely wont do as thorough of a job as you can yourself.

 

[adampecush]

take a peek at my build thread (in signature). Mine had a little more visible rust than that, but underneath the car is where it got hit the hardest. The rear fender wells are very susceptible to rusting out...poke around up there for a while. If anything feels soft, chances are it has been eaten through.

 

[shaeff]

Anyhow though. The rust is not as bad as it looks, but ti will cost a decent amount to get it back to where it needs to be.

That's a bold, and unintelligent statement. :nono: If there's rust on the outer fenderwell/arch, chances are that there's also rust up inside the inner well. My black car fell victim to rust in this area. Didn't look bad from the outside, just a little bubbling.

Once I started to poke around, there got to be some big, nasty holes.

And def. check Adam's build thread. He's doing an absolutely fantastic job at properly restoring his car.

 

[Island_Yota]

Must have been pretty neglected, my cars spent its entire life in salty/wet conditions, Originally an Ontario car for 4 years, then the previous owner brought it to B.C. and its been a Victoria car ever since.

I have a tiny bubble on the passenger rear fender lip, a dime sized spot of surface rust on the drivers front fender right by the molding/side marker, tiny bubbles around the targa seals and of course the moldings are screwed. Ive checked it pretty thoroughly and didnt find any more. I wouldnt buy a Supra that had that much rust though, 1000 is a good price... I paid $1600 for mine though(n/a, completely stock).

From those pics I can see its rusting around the power antenna, front drivers fender looks totally gone, moldings are dead, pass side door looks bad, I can only guess rust around the rear wiper on the hatch and behind the license plate.. the supports and stuff that the bumper covers bolt to are probably gone, rear window moldings are missing... It looks like its been sitting for a long time too. I dont know if I would bother.

 

[92TealSupra]

I have had 1 rusted Supra everything is worse then it truly looks. I would not buy this supra.

 

[Suprizim TT]

Buy that white Turbo Supra in the back ground.

Anyhow though. The rust is not as bad as it looks, but ti will cost a decent amount to get it back to where it needs to be.

Yeah buy the white one. :evil2:

But first look and see if you really want to spend the $$$ to fix the rust on that supra plus paint job excluding the interior. First really see if i'ts worth the time and money.

 

[92TealSupra]

I am not a big fan of converting non turbo Supra's to turbo's. The thing is I can buy Turbo Supra's for very little, just find the right person or car. I should be picking up my buddy's dad's '89 Supra. I want a '89 Badly, it's also a late '89 thank god.

 

[Canuckrz]

I am not a big fan of converting non turbo Supra's to turbo's. The thing is I can buy Turbo Supra's for very little, just find the right person or car.

1 word, insurance. They go by vin so you'd only get charged for having a NA car but you still get the turbo.

 

[shaeff]

Anyhow though. The rust is not as bad as it looks, but ti will cost a decent amount to get it back to where it needs to be.

I have had 1 rusted Supra everything is worse then it truly looks. I would not buy this supra.

Make up your mind, dude. :nono: If you have NFI what you're talking about, then just don't post!

 

[Canuckrz]

Wowzers, didn't notice that 180 on his opinion :aigo:

 

[Tom.D]

lol thanks for all the help guys. Getting a parts one is pretty much impossible. All the wreckers out here have NON. I go to them alllllll the time too. So I am pretty much stuck with trying to fix what it's got. Im going to ask him to try to take pictures of inside the wheel wells and spare tire area, along with behind the lining in the trunk.

 

[92TealSupra]

1 word, insurance. They go by vin so you'd only get charged for having a NA car but you still get the turbo.

This is absolutely nothing to do with insurance at all. I am saying dropping in a different motors, wiring harness and such is not worth my time when I can get a Turbo one. Insurance is not even bad on these cars for me, I have a clean record.

Make up your mind, dude. :nono: If you have NFI what you're talking about, then just don't post!

I never chnaged my mind, read the post* I said it wouldn't be that bad depending on how much you want to spend and such. I never chnaged my mind, buy that white one and go from there. You will spend as much as you're buying the car for to fix the issues it has.

 

[ZoomZoomZoom]

1 word, insurance. They go by vin so you'd only get charged for having a NA car but you still get the turbo.

Not true - I paid the same price for the NA as I do the turbo. Its a sports car period.

As for the original question, two words - ROAD TRIP! Head south and you will find more cars and less rust. I paid $500 for a non-running NA with rust only on the wheel wells, no dents, and that was before the economy tanked. The way the economy is going today, I don't think it would be hard to find a turbo sup for under $2500. I paid $3k for mine 18 months ago.

Rust is a PITA, and is almost impossible to eliminate. You will spend alot of future $$ fighting it.

Note: My non-running NA took 10 mins to fix (vacuum hoses). I sold it for $1100 running a year later. Its really worth looking at non-running vehicles. Don't automatically assume its BHG. Non-running really knocks the price down. And carry cash. Low-ball an offer with cash in hand. Works wonders