Project-saving the supra

7EMPIRE

New Member
Feb 23, 2010
175
0
0
Raliegh
OK so first thing i loveee these cars and have lost so much sleep over them that i want to punch myself in the face sometimes.it all started when about a year ago my cousin came to visit and i asked her about my other cousin(her brother) if he still had his two supras and 89 and 87 both were n/as.she told me both had been sent to the junkyard:3d_frown:. i was bummed but really didnt care because i had no clue about the level of sexy these cars have.so i was thinking i should google them and see whats up cuz i loved the mk4 (till i realized the mk3 is just OG)so google lead me to you guys after a day or two i decided i wouldnt be happy till my first car was a supra.so then for like six months i drooled and then drooled somemore lookin at these FREAKIN CARS.so my grandfather gets sick and me and my mom flew to see him in philly.we were staying at my aunt paulas so nautrally we went to here house and as im pulling in i thought to myself damn i wish those supras were here.then 5 seconds later i we get to the end of the driveway and SON OF A BITCH there sat a blue 1989 targa top 5speed blue interior.i was so excited i peed a little :icon_bigg.lol. so while the car is still moving i jumped out and hit the ground running literally,but then it hit me she was just sitting with junk all around it.i then said to my uncle how long was she sitting here for and said like 6 years:3d_frown::3d_frown:so i said i mean ill take it the way it is with the spun rod bearings.he said youll have to talk to josh(my cousin) about that one.i looked back and said i have to have THAT car.i asked my cousin and he said he still wants to hold on to it.LAME
so the time came to leave and head back to raliegh and i walked to the car and told her id be back for her.(yes i said it outloud)
then the tourture comes, about 3 months later me and my sister fly back 2 philly for the holidays so then i go see the car and i sat in it for the first time,if my ass had a face it would have started smiling from cheek to cheek lol.later on that nite my cousin(the owner)comes over and im like "dude i have to have that car" he smiles and says he'll think about it and let me know.so about a week goes by with no word so i text him" i have to have that car ill give you my ps3 and some cash" he responds "let me think about it but we can def work sumthin out" at this point i want the car so bad my stomach hurt.So a couple weeks go by with me texting him random questions about the car.FINALLY he txts me back and says i gotta make 800 off the car. i txt him back and say ps3 and 400$, the deal was made so fast forward like 2 months and i fly back to philly by myself to pay him and get the car ready for the auto transport to pick it up.i also had to strip the extra engine that came out of the 87supra b4 it was sent to the junk yard.by the way this engine sat out side with no oil pan so needless to say the internals were shot.so i strip everything but the head (will get tomorrow) off the motor and filled the back of the car lol.then im looking around and see 2 oil pans, huh i said to myself then i did a little math 2 engines-2 oilpans+6 years of sitting=F**KKKKK! So i think to myself well prolly cant save the engine in the car. then my cousins comes to pick me up to get the title switched to my name and i tell him my thoughts about the no oil pan and the cylinders being rusty and pitted he then brings up a good point that i could always bore it 0.20" over and get a little more power out of the 7mge.i then talked him down 100$ so we then go get the title. when i got back to my aunts i hopped on the pc and made this thread all this happened 2day so i typed up this thread now here are the pics



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trunk full of parts for sale or ill trade some for a tailight jus pm me
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dslocal

New Member
Nov 9, 2008
340
0
0
slo
Yup I remember when I bought mine a year ago. Make sure you do your research and listen to the people on here.
I wish I had. Knowing a year ago what I know now I could have spent about half as much building my car.
 

7EMPIRE

New Member
Feb 23, 2010
175
0
0
Raliegh
Yeah i studied this site for a year i just never made an account i cant wait till next week when i get the car in my shop so i can pull the motor and see iff i can save it im going to have the best build up thread ever lol
 

7EMPIRE

New Member
Feb 23, 2010
175
0
0
Raliegh
the goal was originally build the ge to daily it over the summer and save every penny i have so when winter comes i can build the motor that i want which would be a built 7m...
but if the motor in the car is trash almost positive cause its been sittig for 6 years in philly wit no oil pan, anyone have any insight as far as if it can be saved
 
a 89 hardtop 5 speed is worth a ps3 and 100$....LOL

Now the fun begins. In my opinion, you should take the leftover money you had from "wheelin and dealin" and buy a jdm/used local 7mge. it doesn't have to have the wiring harness or ecu, just a good long block on it. Do a complete rebuild(re-ring kit, full gasket kits, and machine work, etc) and the rest is Lego's after that. ;] OH and find you a local donar car. I've had to order so MUCH random crap, that the kid lost whilst Trying to fix the headgasket before he sold it to me. i would have paid an easy 200$ more just have it blow a bhg and sit untouched...lol..

OH and please remember that this is a 89, treat it as it's own year. This is a combination year and parts are mixed matched, things are different, etc. I learned the hard way :O

If you have any questions, PM me. ;]
 

7EMPIRE

New Member
Feb 23, 2010
175
0
0
Raliegh
thanks man for being so helpful man and for the record its a targa and i paid ps3 and 300$ it was originally 400 but i talked him down do to the sketchy oil pan situation lol
i want to buy another motor so i dont have to spend more than i need to because im on a budget but im not gunna cut corners its just if i have to buy another motor i dont want to spend the money on a ge cuz i really want a gte but if i buy the gte motor i cant run into extra expenses unless i find a crazy deal but how much do u think it would cost to swap the 7mgte in,whats a safe ballpark price
 

SupraKid

New Member
Jan 2, 2009
138
0
0
Santa Teresa, NM
Id say get a ge man. So if god forbid something happens to it, its not a super huge investemnt like a gte. Never forget a supras a supra, nothings like a turbo thoe lol!
 

91Supra313

New Member
Jul 30, 2009
1,062
0
0
Clarksville TN
I would just stick with your original plans and put the GE motor in there for the summer and then over the winter you can build your motor the way you want it. Winter time is the best because the car never comes out of the garage ( at least mine doesn't ) and you can build on her.
 

7EMPIRE

New Member
Feb 23, 2010
175
0
0
Raliegh
yea i think i am plus i have a job interview on monday so money in come will help lol.and call me crazy but this is going to be my daily driver and only car so after i finish building the motor i plan on dropping it in in like a week.
 

sirgeorgee

New Member
Mar 3, 2008
238
0
0
Hungary
Hi

And welcome to SM

Nice find I really like it

This way that you got it for cheap you have a good basis to start

I suggest the same first do the GE and learn about the car
Any rust?-I really cuoldn't catch it on the pictures...

And you are not crazy I have a Turbo and she is my one and only car since 6 years I even use in in the winter time (and we have many snow here--I wouldn't say every day in winter but almost sometimes it is hard but I get along nicely -you just have to drive her easy.....)

Tha GE is a very good start and if you build it up than you will have many new knowledge...
in winter time you can still go turbo

Nice find and good luck with the build


Oh and one more thing do not rush, take your time with the build --it will pay off later on --trust me

And keep us posted (with pictures)
 

7EMPIRE

New Member
Feb 23, 2010
175
0
0
Raliegh
There is like a couple penny sized rust spots on the body but i can prolly sand it of it looks to be just surface rust.when i went to get the car ready the first place i looked was under the spare and was super happy to see that it as well was only surface rust that could be grinded off in like 5 min.i also pulled back some of the mouldings that were starting to come off and didnt see any,that made me very happy and couldnt find any on the under body but i just glanced at it.i will have tons of pics in a week i plan on having the best build thread on the mania.i plan on doing things that most people on here dont do. Like restoring parts instead of replacing them(unless needed)and hiding wires shampooing the crap out of everthing in the interior jacking the car up and greasing every single moving part especially the wheel bearings and the obvious.i mean the car sat for 6 years so, i think it is a must.oh and im going to have the cleanest ge engine bay anyone has ever seen.and i also thought that the ge is a good idea because like you^^ said it would be a good place to learn about the motor. Again guys thanks for all the help!!
 

SURUKO

making the supra better..
Jan 8, 2007
610
0
0
The tropical island....
Nice find and great enthusiasm man keep it up and learn all you can from this site build a 7mge and it will serve you as a great start point also upgrade all things suspension/brakes related then the only thing u will have to do is the engine swap welcome aboard and let me know when u make a build thread ;)
 

7EMPIRE

New Member
Feb 23, 2010
175
0
0
Raliegh
this is my build thread i just started it kind aearly so i didnt have to doo it later cuz i no ill be pullin latenights alot so i just wanna be able to upload pics later plus you dont get nearly as much advice in the introduction threads compared to the build up thread. just one week away from tearing into to the car soo bare with me lol im counting down the minutes i want the car so bad
 

7EMPIRE

New Member
Feb 23, 2010
175
0
0
Raliegh
ok so me and my cousin pulled the car out and then realized the front subframe was not bolted up at all.THAT SHIT SUCKED.so then i had to bolt up the shocks to pull it out farther then we realized the front wheels were not spinning at all.so we pull the car out to the middle of the drive way,HORRIBLE IDEA, so its dark and could snow every were and cold.so i decided to pull the wheels off to see why they wouldnt spin,the rotors were rusted to the brake pads. so i took the brake pads out freed up the wheels.the subframe was srill not connected so we just bolted it to the motor mounts the best we could and some how it held to gether enough to push it out of the way.to say the least it was the most tense and worse situatian ive ever been in my life to tired to keep typing so here a pics i hope the tell a story of 1000 words
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this was my workspace
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when i saw this i knew there was a major problem
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callme676

Banned
Jul 14, 2009
27
0
0
nc
so now im trying to figure out when to transport it has anyone ever used transport services to transport a car
 

7EMPIRE

New Member
Feb 23, 2010
175
0
0
Raliegh
i still havent got my car and im starting to go insaneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee