My 1st MKIII

[CATarga]

Hello I am a new MKIII owner. I have been batting around the idea of a Supra rebuild project for several years now, and I have been waiting for the right project(5-spd turbo Targa) to come along for a right price. I picked up the '87 Turbo w/ a spun bearing for $350. The car itself is in pretty good shape, a dent in the right fender and some interior work is all it needs, other than the engine rebuild. The PO had been driving it up until October of last year, so it hasn't been sitting long. Unfortunately the PO had already started to dismantle the engine for removal, so I don't know the condition of the trans, but everything else(non engine related works).

I am not new to Toyota's, I have been building/restoring/customizing Toyota 4x's and 2x's for about 20yrs now, but this will be my first Supra resto/custom project. My plans are rather modest for the car, I would like to see about 450 rwhp, and would like to see HP/torque gains sub 3500rpm. It will be a weekend car for fun, something top carve the mountain/river canyons where I live, but I want it to still be civil for a long drive(4-500 miles) to Vegas, or SoCal.

 

[Dunckel]

Welcome to SupraMania. Do you have any pictures of the supra, or some of your past projects you can share?

 

[tbcmorris]

Welcome to SupraMania. Do you have any pictures of the supra, or some of your past projects you can share?

Welcome! And I second wanting to see these trucks!!! And you picked a great car. On rebuild make sure you address the few problems they have and you will be very happy! Nice find on the price. My first supra was $350 also.

 

[suprahero]

My supra was $3500.00, but it didn't have any problems, so I'm not to unhappy.

Welcome to Supramania and I wish you the best on your "modest" rebuild. 450rwhp is nothing to sneeze at, but I feel it's almost the perfect street legal horsepower range. Much more than that and you can't keep tires on it.
:ttiwwp:

 

[CATarga]

Welcome to SupraMania. Do you have any pictures of the supra, or some of your past projects you can share?

Here is a few of the Supra

The bumper came undone when we were loading it onto a trailer, not a big deal, I was already considering an after market bumper for the front and possibly the rear, though i am not sure about side skirting for it yet, I really haven't found any that look good in the pics. I am planning on either a 5pt star rims either the TT or after market. I am also considering the revolver(dial) style rims that came on the Countach back in the '80's, though I haven't been able to source prices on the rims or any pics that that I could photshop onto the Supra to see what they would look like

I don't think my customs are show quality products, but people seem to like them enough to pay me for the work, and I usually get 2-3k over blue book value for my resto's, or I did prior to the economy sliding. The whole 4x4 building/mod market is basically in the toilet right now, and is kind of why I have chosen to build a Supra rather than another 4x4.

Here is my '90 4x4, nothing to fancy

I have more, plenty of mods to it from custom carpet kit to gauge a gauge pod.
Here is link to my current '91 project/trail rig
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showf...97596&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=14&fpart=1
Other than the intake/exhaust work not a lot of use for my level of metal fab skills with the Supra.

 

[CATarga]

I guess doubling the stock HP isn't really that modest, but a 10lb to 1hp is a lot better than 20:1. My '90 truck weighs 4650lbs before gear and passengers and only had the the 150 hp 3.0 prior to mod's, i.e, bored .020 over, custom cold air intake, ignition upgrade, headers and exhaust work. With a nearly 50/50 weight distribution, sway bar upgrade, and traction bars(when installed)) it handles corners better than it should, but it still doesn't have the power I would like, and when I drive it hard the mpg drops down below 15, which takes the fun out of driving it hard.

 

[tbcmorris]

My supra was $3500.00, but it didn't have any problems, so I'm not to unhappy.

My new one was in that price range. Gotta start somehwere though!!

 

[CATarga]

I should be able to start on the resto sometime later this month, I have two trucks to prep and paint, and one utility trailer to build before I can start on the Supra. I will be putting in new carpet, unfortunately there are two large holes in the blue carpet from the PO not using floor mats, otherwise the carpet would be perfect. I most likely will lay my own carpet and not use the molded stuff. There two small holes in the drivers door panel, unfortunately my upholstery skills aren't good enough to fix it. I have made new door skins for the trucks, but a truck interior esthetics are a little different than the Supra's. There is also a tear in the dash, I am not sure if I can get a dash skin for it, or maybe source a good dash for it. I suppose if I can't I could get a cheap cover for it. the seats are in nice condition, no tears, though I am thinking a nice set of 2-tone covers will look nice, either cloth or Neoprene. I have a set of '94 leather seats in my '91 truck, and the leather though nice seems to allow me to slide around too much. I have a few buttons that are worn, the sport/normal buttons, and the drivers power window button I am not sure if I can get new ones at the dealer or only through yards and parting out vehicles.