NICE Supra Turbo Sitting for Years

[ElTigre]

Hiya this is a great board and learned a lot just from snooping around.
I have a 1988 Supra Turbo 5Spd that has been sitting for about two years.
The car was a special gift from the factory to a US executive and came with a Kaminari Kit installed at the factory.
The fluids were not drained before putting the car into storage =-(

I need a shop that can help me bring this car back to life.
Several folks I have spoken to tell me that it is not worth fixing!
The car has about 140K on the odometer and had a complete motor rebuild at 108K
Everything worked and the car ran well before it was abandoned.
In addition to flushing out the bad fluids the car needs a lot:

New clutch
New Brakes X4
Radiator
New shocks (TEMS or not to TEMS?)
New Tires
Some minor bodywork touchups

I really only have a $2K budget max to put into the car.
Can you guys offer some advice, maybe even a shop recommendation?

Thanks!

[Green7mgte]

man if i had a nickle for every time someone told me my car wasn't worth the trouble. Id have a shit load of nickles. you do the work yourself and you will come in under budget..

tires about 400-500 . 200 to 250 per set for just regular gt tires
replacing the entire brake system isnt relatively expensive.

consult your local junkyards for a rad.

look around. consult forums on the parts wanted section and see what pops up.

goodluck.
post some pictures of your car.

[reydio]

From your description, you could go well under budget if you do things yourself. If your not mechanically savvy, I suggest making friends that owns a MK3 around your area. Everything you can do yourself except for the clutch which I needed help from someone or borrow a trans jack. You could save more by going to WTB sections at this site or other sites for needed parts.

Good Luck and Have Fun!!

[cre]

If you can't do the work yourself, I'm with the other people who you've spoken to... sell it and forget it.



Two years isn't terrible unless it has a blown headgasket or the oil was in some other way contaminated.

As for starting up a car that's sat for a while, here's how I would handle it... if not willing to tear it apart.

Drain all the fluids and pull the spark plugs and remove the EFI fuse from the engine bay glove box; Do not replace the spark plugs until we're ready to start the car! Spray a good penetrating oil into the cylinders trying to make sure to get a bit on the walls. Use a hose to flush the coolant system out as well as possible. Fill the coolant system with water (you may add a detergent). Fill the engine with a good light weight oil (0W-20 or so) and using a breaker bar rotate the crank several revolutions. Now reconnect the battery, but leave the EFI fuse out. Crank the engine until the oil pressure gauge starts registering some pressure... now replace the spark plugs, reassemble the intake and replace the fuse... start her up and let the engine idle for a little bit (with the heater turned ON) while watching closely for leaks. Turn the car off and let it cool.... for a few hours. Now drain the water in the coolant system (if you used detergent flush it out as per the instructions included), change the oil and filter. Fill the coolant and oil with the recommended fluids and go for a SHORT drive around the block. Stop and check for leaks... now drive in a very paranoid manner for the next 6 months or however long it takes to get confident that it's not going to explode.

Use a GOOD oil and an even better filter! They are very expensive for an oil filter but running an Amsoil EaO filter for the first couple changes would be a very good idea.... they're phenomenal filters from everything I've read. Thereafter, I'd run either a Purolator PureOne or Napa Gold or Mobile1 or K&N (in that order) from then on.