I need to know more about a Supra, what better place to ask than here, right? All I really know about it is It's a 1986.5 5-speed 3.0(don't think it is the sport model). What I want to know is...are these cars prone to any problems as they age and How durable and reliable are the engines/drivetrain? The car has a solid body but badly needs paint and the interior is rough. The engine runs and sounds good at idle (haven't driven it yet) and has 200,000 miles on it, in your opinion is the car worth $1000-$1400?
Possible Supra buyer has questions.
- Thread starter sasquatch
- Start date
sasquatch said:
really depends....as much as i HATE to admit it, unless youve got time and money, it may not be worth it. Our supras are prone to the infamous blown head gasket. paint can always be fixed of course, and you could always drop in a 7mgte- tuorb engine for fairly cheap. What are your plans for the car? Are you looking to modify it? Are you into speed? let us know.... We dont bite!
I just crashed my 03 F-150 and just needed something that was fairly cheap. I always liked the look of the Supra and saw this one on the lot, I was going to use it for a daily driver (for a few months anyway) as I have a 78' Trans-Am for my speed fix but it uses WAY too much gas to drive everyday.
Who says it isn't reliable or fast? I have an 87 NA and it is reliable I would be so bold as to say it's probably more reliable than quite a few of the turbos running around my town, although I want it restored to pristine condition, the average driver could get in my car and not worry about anything. Compared to the turbo models yes the NA is slow, but compared to other cars...yeah it's still fast. I think the going from GE to GTE would give you a solid base on basic maintenance, problems that could occur and troubleshooting for our cars. I don't know why the GE takes so much crap. I'm proud of my baby.
sasquatch said:
SOGI's Tips for buying a used MKIII Supra is very helpful.
The 7M-GE and 7M-GTE engines are prone to BHG (blown head gasket) because of odd factory torques. Many will also say that the 7M engines are prone to rod knock, but that really depends on how it was treated and if the oil was kept up with.
I was in your situation a few years ago. I was looking at an 86.5 5speed that had a primer paint job and some body problems. The interior was in so so shape. I didn't get as far as test driving it because where it was parked, it had already leaked a fair amount of oil. The guy was wanting 1500 and the car had 190k miles on the clock. I'm glad my dad steered me away from it at the time, as it would have been a money pit.
If you are wanting to buy a mkIII, keep looking. You can find turbo models that are in decent shape from about 2500 on the low end to about 4000 on the high end (decent shape, but not prestine). You can find an immaculate turbo model from about 5000 and up. Decent NA's can vary in price (1500-3000) because the turbo models are in higher demand.
If you are wanting to buy a car for under 1500, take the car on a test drive. I would not pay over 1000 for the car you described.
SupraDerk said:
your comparing your restored na to one with 200k, a beat up body and messed up interior. very unlikely that the motor is in great condition considering the state of the rest of the car.
160rwhp in a 3800lbs car is not fast.
if u lookin for a cheap dd, an older civic will do great. thats what it was built for.
Thanks for the responses. I think I'll pass this one up but I'll still test drive it and give it a good once over before making the final decision. For some reason this car just caught my attention. Oh well, if I ever do get a Supra, this one or otherwise, I'll know where to come to. Thanks again.
i would not buy it. sure,the paint and interior can be fixed,it's how the car runs and tracks,is what important,i think. if you got a N/A,you would only want more hp,and the 7MGE can only make so much with all the add-on's you would get.keep looking,and you will eventually find one that suits your desires.
suprarcr89
The Juggernaut has my old
I cant advise whether you should buy it or not. its up to you it might be worth it to some and not worth it to others. but MKIII supras have a headgasket problem but if fixed correctly with metal headgasket, arp headstuds with proper machine prep and torque problem is solved. but i would not go through the trouble of putting a metal headgasket on a 7mge non turbo but if you did a turbo swap using a 7mgte turbo engine with metal headgasket they can be dependable and fast to very fast depending on how much money you are willing to invest in it.... there are plenty of threads on here on peoples horsepower levels and what they did to achieve the hp. good luck on whatever you choose..
I know i bought my car 3 years ago and havent regreted it one bit and have enjoyed the car alot. i purchased it as an n/a drove it for a year and enjoyed it. Then i installed a 7mgte(turbo engine), a big difference in hp levels and makes the car alot more fun to drive. im am now in the process of going after 500 rwhp.
I know i bought my car 3 years ago and havent regreted it one bit and have enjoyed the car alot. i purchased it as an n/a drove it for a year and enjoyed it. Then i installed a 7mgte(turbo engine), a big difference in hp levels and makes the car alot more fun to drive. im am now in the process of going after 500 rwhp.
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