New Owner!! Need Advise PLEASEEE

[jokiSupra86]

I finally made my dream come true well sort of...

got an 86 Toyota Supra for $300 USD Obviously The engine is not working plus it is rusted and old, My Husband says that there is no point on me wasting my time and money on that engine that i should get a used one in good condition. The interior of the car is pretty damaged, exterior is in good condition. I really would love to rebuilt that car (performance, interior and exterior ) I would love to see that car running some day and why not? looking great!! I can't change my mind now since I have already paid for it i just need to have it towed it to my house and start putting money and work into it.
I want to start with the engine but i have no idea where is it most convenient to get it.
I would love if some of you guys will give me some opinions
References and tips!!

thanks for those of you that took the time on reading this

[suprasabre]

Originally Posted by jokiSupra86

I finally made my dream come true well sort of...

got an 86 Toyota Supra for $300 USD Obviously The engine is not working plus it is rusted and old, ><snip><

This is my first post to this forum, but I do know what it takes to get an old car going again, since I've been doing the same thing myself!

I know this is long, but bear with me, I'm just trying to let you know what you may be in for....

I bought my #4 son's (I have 5 sons) 89 Supra N/A Automatic from him (it's a long story...) and I knew I would have to replace the engine, so I found a JDM engine place and bought a used JDM for $600. I had another son (#2) swap out the engines and everything was great...wrong. There was just something about the trany that didn't seem right, so I went back to the place I bought the engine and had them replace the trany at $800. (My #2 son was back in Washington by then.) Then the radiator went bad and we replaced that!

The Supra was running great and my #4 son wanted to buy it back, so I sold it back to him. He proceeded to drive it about 50 miles and called me to tell me that it was dieing on him.

My wife and I drove down to help him out, in which I drove it home. If the revs got below 1,500 it would die. So I told my son to take the intake apart and check it out. He said he didn't see any problems so I told him to take to a Toyota Specialty Shop. They said it was the fuel pump and wanted $700. I said no, and my son went to pick up the car and it would not shift into second gear!

At that point my son told me he didn't want it and I bought it back from him. It sat on my driveway for about 3 or 4 months and I would go and start it once in a while just to keep things loose. After replacing the fuel filter, I decided to take the intake apart and I found that there was a big hole melted in the large intake tube from too much heat from the exhaust manifold since my sons never put the cover back on. I put Duct Tape over the hole and it purred like a kitten...one problem solved.

I then drove it around the block and the speedometer was not turning and the trany wouldn't shift. I found that the little 90 degree speedo cable adapter was broken. I replaced it and drove it around the block, it was fixed!

My #5 son blew the engine on his car (forgot to check the oil and...you guessed it) so he asked if he could drive the Supra to work. He called a bit later and told me the car wouldn't shift again. Yep, that cable broke again! So this time I ordered all three pieces and my #2 son was back down from Washington again and I asked him if he would replace the cables. Sure dad, no problem. So what does he discover? That the little 90 degree piece is broke, so he just replaced that (at $110) and broke it again! He some how fixed it and replaced all three pieces this time. It was running great! So he asked if he could take down to see his friends about 50 miles away.

He gets about 10 miles away and calls, it broke again and said that the odometer wasn't working. So I bought a replacement cable piece (another $110) and bought an instrument cluster off ebay. I replaced the instrument cluster and the Supra was again running great!

Now, this whole time I never could get the heater to work, so I started trying to figure out what its problem was. After a lot of work, I discovered that the tube behind the head that comes from the heater core was blocked. (Son never checked it when he installed the engine in the first place.) I ran a tee from the hose and ran it over to a blocked off port on the other side of the engine and got it so water was flowing , but still no heat. I took the car out in the street and backed it up a few times with fast stops and all of a sudden I had heat!

So I started driving it back and forth to work and after a couple of weeks, I decided that the belt to the alternator was too loose. I tighten it up and within a few days my water pump started leaking. So I fixed that and then had the oil changed. A few days later I check the oil and it was down about a half quart! I checked a sparkplug and it was covered in oil.

So now I have spark plugs, wires and cap & rotor on order and I will be replacing the #3 Cylinder Head Cover ($59) once I tear it all apart and clean out all the oil.

As of now I have about $4,500 wrapped up into it.

So, what other thing do I need to do (meaning more money to spend on it)?

Replace shocks and springs (at least $325).
Replace rear hatch supports ($70) (already replaced the hood supports ($60))
Replace the Tail light gaskets ($?) (leaking in the spare tire well)
Replace rotors/brakes front and rear ($150)
Then I can start working on cosmetics ($$$$???).

Most of the work I have done or my sons have helped me. I would have hated to see what it would have cost me to have all the work done by a shop.

I hope you have better luck (shell out less money) then I have had!

Oh yeah, I forgot one thing...It is now Feb of 2008. We replaced the engine Dec 2006. It has taken me that long to get it running to the point of where I am now.

[ddmcse]

why do you think the motor is no good ?

knowing what i know now i'd work on the engine in the car instead of a newer one

the engine does have one major flaw but other than that , its an incredible engine that with stands tons of 20yr olds abuse and keeps kicking .
i've owned a supra for over 10 years
here is my first one
My 1st Supra