It was my first car, first time I've rebuilt a car. Also I was at the same experience level as yourself prior....I couldn't change my oil...from lack of tools..etc..>_>. I got together with two of my friends, one who had rebuilt an older '68 with his dad, and had all the tools required. For us it was a 1986.5 N/A 5-Spd(7MGE), since none of us had experience with engine swaps, we decided to stick with the N/A (Prob would've been better with a GTE..but meh) Bought the Supra for $1000, with minimal rust and BHG(Ripped off? meh). The engine rebuild with new parts(internals+engine needed to be bored out) was about $2300. Then other general things that needed to be changed, ie. brakes, tires, lights etc. All in all including the price of the car, the total amount of money spent was about $5500. Also the car I learned manual on...was it worth it? Hell yes.
Is a MK3 good for a complete beginner?
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Saw a pretty nice "1992 Toyota Supra" on ebay today in his price range and thought of this thread. It's got a few wierd things on it, but looks like an excellent buy, already 1JZ with a single...... I do not know anything about the car, just a heads up.
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mk3 has been the worst car that ive ever worked on. constant tinkering with them .id say not a first car
a 87 turbo was my very first car and it was amazing...ill admit that it did spend some time down (i was exactly where you are now 17 and didnt know much) but with the help of my uncle, SM, SF, and later automotive school ive always managed to get my baby back on the road 
. NA might be a good choice for a first supra, turbo got me into some trouble with the friendly hpd lol and because when i got the car i was the 3rd owner from 2 old men so when i started pounding it around hoses started blowing all over the place lol
. NA might be a good choice for a first supra, turbo got me into some trouble with the friendly hpd lol and because when i got the car i was the 3rd owner from 2 old men so when i started pounding it around hoses started blowing all over the place lol
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407 Posts
Get a IS300 and do a GTE swap 5 or 6spd. IMO it would be a better investment, you might actually get a good bit of you money back if ever sold it as long as it I was a clean swap and not ragged to crap.
Keep your daily driver no matter what you get .
Keep your daily driver no matter what you get .
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I wouldn't complain about 110k miles when most MKIII's have well over 150k
That car sure has some tasteful mods on it though... :barf:
That car sure has some tasteful mods on it though... :barf:
For those that just want to jump in and drive it, expecting it to be fast and worry free after putting $XXXX into it, it is not a very friendly car. For those that want to learn all there is to know about it, I mean really having an interest in it, not because you have to, it will reward you the more you learn.
I could have bought a turbo kit and fuel system for my 06 Mustang with the amount of money Ive spent on the Supra and been (relatively) worry free in the mid 400HP range. Every other system is up to par in stock form, as long as you dont beat the crap out of it (last part is true for any car). Instead I chose to buy another car that I could completely take apart worry free. I now know more about the 7M-GTE than the 3V 4.6L V8. You learn to do things VERY carefully, which is never a bad thing.
What it comes down to is that is requires a lot higher time investment than a lot of other cars, but the sense of accomplishment is so much greater, knowing that you took a car with one of the worst reputations and turned it into the opposite of what people think of it.
I could have bought a turbo kit and fuel system for my 06 Mustang with the amount of money Ive spent on the Supra and been (relatively) worry free in the mid 400HP range. Every other system is up to par in stock form, as long as you dont beat the crap out of it (last part is true for any car). Instead I chose to buy another car that I could completely take apart worry free. I now know more about the 7M-GTE than the 3V 4.6L V8. You learn to do things VERY carefully, which is never a bad thing.
What it comes down to is that is requires a lot higher time investment than a lot of other cars, but the sense of accomplishment is so much greater, knowing that you took a car with one of the worst reputations and turned it into the opposite of what people think of it.
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The MKIII Supra is okay for a beginner if you're not affraid of commitment and you have a steady job and a daily driver.
Just don't attempt to clean your gauge cluster with Windex.
Just don't attempt to clean your gauge cluster with Windex.
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1,427 Posts
You seem to have a good attitude, that actually goes pretty far with this car. Search recent threads lately and you will see what a shitty attitude does. My 92 was my first build, I blew up three 7m's and it was all my fault. I never got all emo and whined about what a piece of shit it was. I don't think you will have any problems just take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth.
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192 Posts
Fantastic car, As long as you are ready to become a mechanic.
im 17. bought an 89 supra in february. all i knew about them was that they were a fast inline six turbo that sounded cool. i been taking auto vocational at portage indiana highschool where the car sits now. like the one guy said, i didnt know i could cram that much knowlede in my head in half a year.welp, got it running in May and fried a stock ct26 in minutes. oiling problems. dropped the k frame and oil pan, checked a couple bearings, all scored. got the engine out last week waiting to be stripped and rebuilt. going eagle hbeam rods, je pistons .020 over, ALL ARP fasteners, upgraded driftmotion oil pump, 8quart sump, clevite bearings, crower stage 2 cams and complete crower valve train, bench port n polish on intake ports (gasket match), 57 trim upgraded ct26. car already has lexus afm, safcII, hks fcd, wideband o2, 550cc injectors, AFPR, driftmotion intercooler. DO YALL THINK THIS BOTTOM END WOULD BE OVERKILL FOR THESE SUPPORTING MODS?? i want to be able to boost my turbo to 18 psi ishh safely. but i have a dual phaze manual boost controller so it wont always be high boost, would 550cc injectors and the adjustable regulator be enough with these mods to be able to run boost that high on a 57 trim upgraded driftmotion ct26???? but yeah, here i am (well, was) ABSOLUTE COMPLETE BEGINNER. getting it done. i have learned so much about this car and have just come to love it more and more
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That is overkill, although you will be ready for a ton more power later on.
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Sounds like you had it to the floor durring limpmode when the car was still cold and didnt even bother disconnecting the coil wire to turn the motor over to flow oil to the head and turbo first. With all those mods kid, your looking at 300-400hp. You should hit the search button about how to maintain this beast about how to avoid future rod knock, detonation and other problems that comes with - never letting the car warm up properally, never letting the car cool before shutting down, putting 5w30 oil insted of 10-15w30 oil... A must for all turbo cars not only the Supra but expessially the 7MGTE.
http://www.supraforums.com/forum/showthread.php?550320-Water-Meth-50-50-is-so-sick!
Here you will find a huge post... from a seller. But he explaines the diffrence betwine detonation, pre ignition best. The outcome of this information will leave to a conclusion of why you should never do things like topping out in 5th or 6th gear for minutes or so on or flooring it in any gear for a long period of time in that matter. And obviously how meth and water works in technical terms. Good stuff here.
It's definately not overkill. I think you know the CT-26 upgrade is only the beginning..
As for the comment about the 06 Mustang. Of coarse a car that's almost 20 years newer is going to be easier to modify. Being only 5 years old, their is no serious maintanace required.
Supra's are very affordable these days and with 8k and the connections with the right people, you can make a seriously fast good looking car. I just got mine in July and I learned a hell of a lot in two months. Nothing, but forum trolling and TSRM all night and day. This is my second project car, I got it because I want thinking about swapping a 7M GTE into my 240Z, I bought a supra as an experiment. Wanted to see how this motor was and how complex they are. The car is extremely complex though, but you give it night and day, you will understand how a turbo car works and operates especially when things start breaking and bursting.
I using 20-50. The cars got 265K, but I am not sure if its had a engine swap. Seems to run fine, but should I change it?? I was always told to use 20-50 given the weather conditions that we are in + the cars extreme mileage condition.
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