Need Info on Purchasing/Researching Supra

suprra_girl · 08-20-2004, 08:54 AM

hey

welcome to our quiet little forum

right now you have my condolences on the honda hehe but they can go quick but the supra is easier and comes with a lot of power standard

now head gaskets are the thing to watch on 7MGTE (3 litre turbo) supras so if you find one of these that you like start saving from day 1 for it as you will eventually have to do it

yes the 1989 + 7MGTE's come with more hp than the earlier ones.. 2hp in fact so nothing really to worry about haha.. the upgrades as far as i'm aware in the later model engine is the wastegate has been altered, fully balanced crank (but lowers redline due to the fully balanced one)... i can't remember the other thing they did
supras did come with airbags, but very rare... you are better off getting a normal one as i would hate to think how much it would cost to rebag or whatever they call it for airbag systems
the supra is a very very safe car as it sits without airbags... there have been major incidents with supras and little damage really caused.. the supras have huge iron bars in the front & rear bumpers so not alot is gonna happen there

the supra comes with 6 different engines
1geu - single cam 2 litre non turbo
1ggeu - twin cam 2 litre non turbo
1ggte - twin cam 2 litre twin turbo roundabout 200hp @ the crank
7mgeu - twin cam 3 litre non turbo
7mgte - twin cam 3 litre single turbo 230hp @ the crank... 232hp on 89 +
1jzgte - twin cam 2.5 litre twin turbo 280hp @ the crank

1jz supras are quite hard to come by and if you find one people generally want $5k and up
7mgte's usually you can find them for anywhere between 3k and 5kish depending on condition

also..... there are many variants in the mk3 supra
widebody vs narrowbody (guards are pumped from the factory on widebody)
aeroroof vs hard top (completely removable roof = aeroroof)
facelift vs prefacelift (bumper and taillight upgrades)
some have tems (toyota electronically modulated suspension, adjustable suspension inside the cabin)
some have abs
your best bet to get the best one is to get a GT Ltd series, generally badging will show this on the rear of the car

87 7MGTE's come with al the options including widebody guards... check out my site and have a look at my 87

http://www.supra.co.nz

common problems:
rear hatch leak, pull out the spare wheel and check for rust under it

intake pipe (accordian hose) to the turbo cracked or brittle... if this goes thru ur turbo u have one expensive repair to do... usually $1200 nzd or more retail... if your turbo does go my suggestion would be to upgrade to the to4e conversion for the ct26 (high flows factory turbo basically) at the same time you get your turbo rebuilt

as you go with time start replacing all water hoses as they tend to split etc

and last but very much not least
when you first get your car, change your waterpump get a brand new one... change your cambelt... do an oil change and oil filter, change spark plugs for new platinums... make sure coolant is in the system and make sure it isn't low... if you're unsure on the coolant, get a new lot and some radiator flush, flush out your system and then retop her up with the new coolant... reason for radiator flush is that some coolants react and can cause extremely bad corrosion

also the biggie... when you go to look at the car check the oil level as i've noticed in the US it is common for the big ends/rod knock to start... when you take her for a test drive check the oil pressure... i'm not absolutely sure on analog and manual transmission 7m's but the digital automatic transmission generally when cold startup oil pressure runs to almost the top then as it warms slowly drops to about quarter... once she's fully warm at idle on my digital dash it usually reads 2 lit bars of pressure... on acceleration she should shoot up nicely and drop on deceleration... i think cruising (under acceleration) is about 3 lit bars
this should give you a good indication of how the oil system and pick up is working...

other than head gaskets nothing else goes majorly mechanicly wrong... just wear and tear

SO hopefully with all this to help you the supra you get won't be a lemon

Good luck on your search and would love another toyota tech here

Cheers

Suze

08-20-2004, 08:54 AM	#2
suprra_girl 7M POWAH! ;) Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: New Zealand Posts: 2,312	hey welcome to our quiet little forum right now you have my condolences on the honda hehe but they can go quick but the supra is easier and comes with a lot of power standard now head gaskets are the thing to watch on 7MGTE (3 litre turbo) supras so if you find one of these that you like start saving from day 1 for it as you will eventually have to do it yes the 1989 + 7MGTE's come with more hp than the earlier ones.. 2hp in fact so nothing really to worry about haha.. the upgrades as far as i'm aware in the later model engine is the wastegate has been altered, fully balanced crank (but lowers redline due to the fully balanced one)... i can't remember the other thing they did supras did come with airbags, but very rare... you are better off getting a normal one as i would hate to think how much it would cost to rebag or whatever they call it for airbag systems the supra is a very very safe car as it sits without airbags... there have been major incidents with supras and little damage really caused.. the supras have huge iron bars in the front & rear bumpers so not alot is gonna happen there the supra comes with 6 different engines 1geu - single cam 2 litre non turbo 1ggeu - twin cam 2 litre non turbo 1ggte - twin cam 2 litre twin turbo roundabout 200hp @ the crank 7mgeu - twin cam 3 litre non turbo 7mgte - twin cam 3 litre single turbo 230hp @ the crank... 232hp on 89 + 1jzgte - twin cam 2.5 litre twin turbo 280hp @ the crank 1jz supras are quite hard to come by and if you find one people generally want $5k and up 7mgte's usually you can find them for anywhere between 3k and 5kish depending on condition also..... there are many variants in the mk3 supra widebody vs narrowbody (guards are pumped from the factory on widebody) aeroroof vs hard top (completely removable roof = aeroroof) facelift vs prefacelift (bumper and taillight upgrades) some have tems (toyota electronically modulated suspension, adjustable suspension inside the cabin) some have abs your best bet to get the best one is to get a GT Ltd series, generally badging will show this on the rear of the car 87 7MGTE's come with al the options including widebody guards... check out my site and have a look at my 87 http://www.supra.co.nz common problems: rear hatch leak, pull out the spare wheel and check for rust under it intake pipe (accordian hose) to the turbo cracked or brittle... if this goes thru ur turbo u have one expensive repair to do... usually $1200 nzd or more retail... if your turbo does go my suggestion would be to upgrade to the to4e conversion for the ct26 (high flows factory turbo basically) at the same time you get your turbo rebuilt as you go with time start replacing all water hoses as they tend to split etc and last but very much not least when you first get your car, change your waterpump get a brand new one... change your cambelt... do an oil change and oil filter, change spark plugs for new platinums... make sure coolant is in the system and make sure it isn't low... if you're unsure on the coolant, get a new lot and some radiator flush, flush out your system and then retop her up with the new coolant... reason for radiator flush is that some coolants react and can cause extremely bad corrosion also the biggie... when you go to look at the car check the oil level as i've noticed in the US it is common for the big ends/rod knock to start... when you take her for a test drive check the oil pressure... i'm not absolutely sure on analog and manual transmission 7m's but the digital automatic transmission generally when cold startup oil pressure runs to almost the top then as it warms slowly drops to about quarter... once she's fully warm at idle on my digital dash it usually reads 2 lit bars of pressure... on acceleration she should shoot up nicely and drop on deceleration... i think cruising (under acceleration) is about 3 lit bars this should give you a good indication of how the oil system and pick up is working... other than head gaskets nothing else goes majorly mechanicly wrong... just wear and tear SO hopefully with all this to help you the supra you get won't be a lemon Good luck on your search and would love another toyota tech here Cheers Suze __________________ Please use the forum to ask your questions as they will get replied to much faster than pming me Pics of my build. "Good girls are just bad girls that don't get caught" Do a diagnostic first!