Love for the unloved/ Learn me: Mk3 Supra

[adam73bgt]

Cheers for the pics shagracer , they all look very tidy indeed, is one of them yours?

Aye I never really aim to get all my money back from a car, I'd prefer to have a car I'll enjoy and ideally am able to keep for a little while

That said, I don't want something thats going to completely cripple me with repairs and running costs. To that end, 20+mpg is a must, but I don't expect bargain motoring from what was a pretty high end car in its day

I guess I'm trying to figure out whether they're an inherently expensive car to run, or whether they'd be expensive to run due to poor previous ownership.

This is something I've found recently with my two current dailies, I expected my Saab 9-3 to be a cheap(ish) car to run because its a sensible 4 cylinder with good economy. But because it had been a bit neglected by previous owners, its turned into a bit of a money pit with repairs!

On the other hand, my 750i has all the hallmarks of being a potential money pit but aside from a slightly pricey MOT bill (which in all fairness wasn't bad for a 200k mile V12) it has wanted for little, which is a testament to how its been looked after


So yeah, I don't mind spending a bit of cash on keeping a car in good fettle, but I've seen the pitfalls of trying to rescue a car which has been neglected Unfortunately a lot of the 80's/90's Japanese coupes for sale seem to be a bit rough around the edges by now, so I shall be buying very cautiously!

[ToolsnTrack]

Your budget will be spot on then, but your hunt will be long...

[shagracer]

check far inside the rear wheel arches (not body panel) especially near the top of shocks, use the handle of a screw driver and tap around if it sounds anything but solid walk a way, you can't see from inside unless the plastic interior trims have been removed, but this is the rust week spot

[adam73bgt]

Cheers chaps Any other rust traps I should keep any eye out for? I'll be having a good look anyway but any particularly hard to see ones?

[cptsideways]

Rusty arches usually = terminal elsewhere in my experience

The 1G-GTE is a lovely wee engine especially in manual trim, its a bit woolly with an auto.

[qwerty]

You may be surprised at the affordability of import Insurance through a specialist.

When I was 20 I could insure an imported modified Starlet GT Turbo for less than a Saxo VTR.

Also can you change the title to teach instead of learn?

[adam73bgt]

Well I went and saw a 7M NA Manual at the weekend

Was a really clean car with no rust that I could see apart from on the scuttle tray

There were a couple of issues though:

Had a 'tickety' noise from the engine under acceleration, maybe tappets?

Could hear a gurgling noise from the dash area when parking up, internet seems to say air in the coolant system but could one of many causes

And the clutch biting point was a bit high


So not sure if I wanna risk it or not, it was a really nice colour combo though and in pretty good condition overall (not white or red, apologies to any white or red supra owners here )

[The Doctor]

Gurgling sounds when parked up means BHG most of the times

[The House]

I have a mk3 supra at the minute, a cheap old pre facelift 3.0 NA model.

Gurgling from behind the dash on these most of the time is just trapped air in the cooling system, as they are a pain in the backside to bleed. (Heater matrix is higher than the rad cap, and there are no bleed screws).

Mine also makes the ticky noises under load, think they're just a slightly noisy engine...

Spares wise they're not too bad as theres usually a couple being broken for spares on ebay, and toyota still stock a couple of parts, although you do need to use the chassis number instead of reg plate when trying to get hold of parts through them...

[LowStandards]

Would you consider a Soarer?

I believe they share the same platform (though don't quote me on that)

3L na

4L V8 (which would be my choice)

2.5L turbo


Lots of choice, much cheaper

[adam73bgt]

Hmm I'd be taking a bit of a chance on the gurgling, head gasket or bit of trapped air..


I do like the Soarer and there are some very cool looking ones around, the only issue is that I just want to get away from an automatic at the moment

Otherwise a V8 soarer with some silencers missing would be pretty sweet

[ToolsnTrack]

The Toyota autos are renowned for being a LOT better than conventional ones. Might be worth trying a Soarer auto in anger and making a judgement on that?

[LowStandards]

I had a mk3 Supra turbo auto and it was a complete joy to drive, it really didn't take anything away from the fun factor and added so much to the daily commute

I'd love a v8 Soarer auto - so much so i'm now scouring eBay, damn these threads...

[7M.elody]

Dragging an aging thread up here, but, did you buy one? I've just bought one and one of the photos of the touring cars brought me here

[adam73bgt]

Apr 17, 2016 20:16:15 GMT 7M.elody said:

Dragging an aging thread up here, but, did you buy one? I've just bought one and one of the photos of the touring cars brought me here

Aha I forgot about this, nah I looked at 3 different ones but ended up getting an RX7 instead



I was looking at your thread the other day though, looks a good car, I think I'd still like a Supra at some point in the future, for me it mostly comes down to the right car being available at the right time!

[7M.elody]

Cool car, nice one

[bigrod]

I used to have a N/A auto.

Lots went wrong with it including the CHG then the bottom end, (which I suspect to have been a faulty gasket from the CHG job but couldn't get the garage to 'fess up to it), so I replaced the engine with an imported one and the gearbox while I was at it then that gearbox failed and then the starter motor. It was rusty and tatty and the damned thing nearly bankrupted me.

Would I have another?

In a heartbeat but it'd be a turbocharged auto.

[shagracer]

I along with the mkIII.net guys will be at Brighton this Saturday for Incarnation, have a photo or two from last year, anyone else going ?

TOYOTA SUPRA mkIII by shagracer, on Flickr

TOYOTA SUPRA mkIII by shagracer, on Flickr

to see more just click onto photo