Possibly buying an 86...

ok so here's the deal. my brother wants a car to beat his buddy's 280hp SRT-4 (who runs 13.7's which is absolutely terrible for that car & mods but anyway...) and i think i have found the car to do it relatively cheap and reliably.

we recently looked at an 86 supra turbo with 122k miles. this is the damn cleanest 20 year old car i have ever seen- being sold by original owner, all service records at a local dealership and its a completely stock turbo model. turbo was replaced at 65k and the engine was 'rebuilt' less than 10k miles ago. from what the service records at the dealership show it wasnt totally rebuilt, but one rod bearing spum and it recieved 1 new piston/rod combo and a new crankshaft- i am going to assume that the mains and all rod bearings were replaced but the other 5 cylinders are still on 122k rings and bores. still need to inquire as to wether or not the top end is original or been replaced.

the car is garaged every winter and it shows, there is absolutely no rust and its very clean- except when inspecting it i think i saw evidence of a small oil leak- maybe the oil pan?

first questoin: do you think this car is worth what he is asking- which is $5000USD??? i have a hard time believing that because the kelly bluebook is only like $2500 but still to find a car that is all original, no accidents, and this clean i could see paying $3500 for it. the only things that concern me (and selling points to lower his asking price) are 1: the small oil leak and 2: the fact that the last 2 times he brought it to the dealer, the records note that 'customer claimed turbo makes unusual noise when decelerating.' with it being replaced at 65k abd now at 122k i can easily tell even without driving it that the turbo is on its way out- which is kind of a good thing because i want to make this beast fast but if we can talk this guy to 3500 we will almost for sure buy it, maybe 4000 but i still think thats a lil steep. oh BTW its a 5-speed- no automatics in my family's garage

anywho, been reading on here a bit and i assume that this car has the '5' series engine not the '7' which is in the MKIII and better, but i dont think this engine should have much a problem breaking 13's. from what i read, its pretty much a job of replacing the head gasket for a metal one and upgrading the studs and start upping the boost. upgraded piping and intercooler is a given, but what about the ECU? does it have a pressur sensor that activates a 'limp mode' or cutoff of some sort if it sees too much boost? anyone have problems maxing out the stock MAF system and if so, at what HP/CFM? target HP of this car shouldnt be much more tha 375 or so and i figure with a decent turbo around 12-14psi we should be set. just gotta size a turbo for this app, any suggestions on what manifold i should use or is the stock one fit for the job? i will probably fabricate the whole turbo back exhaust but if anyone has any good deals let me know (by good deals i mean good quality at a low price, not a $149 ebay special).

oh and what should i do about wheels? i was thinking 17x7.5 in rear and 17x7 in front, 255 and 235 widths respectively? what offsets are best (from experience) when using 7 or 7.5" rims? and hows the suspension (still havent driven it yet) is it mostly understeer or how balanced is this particular chassis?

eeh crap i think this should have been in the general questions forum, mods move it if you like sorry

[suprra_girl]

wow... what a long post hahaa

if it's an 86 1/2 then it is a mk3 model... i would assume two things..
1. you don't reside in the USA
or
2. you got an original ma70 that was non turbo and someone has swapped the turbo motor in

i would say $3500 would be fair for a good condition one even up to 4 if you think she's really a beaut but yea.. play the "screwed turbo" and oil leak game and you should knock him down a bit

don't forget when you do the metal head gasket and arp head studs to prep the head and block to the lowest RA you can... mine is being done to 17RA, your reconditioner will know what this is... if he doesn't.. go somewhere else lol

my mk3 with upgraded ct26 (46 trim), 500x300x75mm intercooler, 2 1/2" hardpipes, 9psi, 3" exhaust from turbo elbow back with stock fuel system managed a 13.6 on the 1/4 mile consistantly i might add

there is a fuel cut off, the 7mgte works on flow rather than psi
map sensor cars cut at whatever psi the manufacturer has set it to
the 7mgte is usually about 11-13psi sorta... if there is too much air the car cuts

there are a few options for solving this
a hks fuel cut defender (even tho i run one.. i would not recommend it) the only way you could run one of these is if you do your mods, install the fcd, cruise (DON'T BOOST) over to a dyno shop and ensure that you have the fueling necessary for your mods, once you have dyno'd and confirmed the fuel side is ok DO NOT ALTER ANYTHING, if you do, you may end up destroying something

other thing you could try... the lexus afm + 550cc injectors
the lexus afm housing is 25% larger than stock so allows 25% more unmetered air into the system which therefore you need to accompany 25% more air with 25% more fuel hence the 550cc injectors

basically you don't have to do too much to play with the srt hehe

exhaust, intake, 3" replacement elbow, upgraded ct26, 10psi, upgraded intercooler hardpipes, intercooler and you'll be rearing to go

no, i dont think its an 86 1/2 because it was bought off the dealer lot as a turbo and it was purchased in NY state (where i currently am). thats why i assumed it was the '5' series motor not the '7' series, but i am not sure. next time i talk to the guy i will get a VIN and track a production date but like i said- this thing has been dealer serviced for 19 years and everything is 100% stock. does this engine/ecu combo also use the fuel flow cutoff type limit? also, i know this engine has a MAF but is it dual metered by the ECU, or is the MAP only used to show the dash display?

is 'RA' just the smoothness or grit (for lack of better term) that the surfaces are polished/milled to? i have a machine shop that does my work and its not a race/performance place but they have TONS of machines. i do all of my work myself and they make me the turbo flanges and special parts and all the crap i want them to, but they may or may not know what 17RA is. please enlighten me. I am used to working with hyundais for the most part where the stock head gasket is good up to 600hp (yeah, on the 2.0) believe it or not so i never have problems in this area. hell ive reused stock head gaskets 3-4 times and never once had a problem, but each engine has its own strengths and weaknesses.

i am also pretty partial to garrett turbos, if i can find a GT series that matches this flow at a good price i will probably be using that but i havent plotted any maps yet.

and lexus AFM- you lust mean get a MAF assembly off of a lexus and the plug/pin config is the same? sounds easy enough to me :P i dont like the idea of not being able to tune it at all. at very least i want to have an adjustable FPR and a wideband O2 sensor, hopefully this fuel system is a return one. maybe an SMT-6 will suit, i am very familiar with their software and company. anyone here or that you know of that is using a perfect power piggtback (smt 5, 6, or 7)?

i just dont want this ecu to freak out if it sees a high PSI, if fuel control is the only obstacle then i will find a way around that fast enough

is there any technical data available online for these cars, or do i need the old fashioned haynes manual? the car will come with one but hyundai has a 'webtech' website which gives damn near every technical aspect of their cars and engines and everything. thats one reason why i like hyundais, ALL technical and troubleshooting data is available online for free if you sign up.

[suprra_girl]

5m's never came turbo

so unless someone has swapped 7m parts on to the 5m you have a mk3 7mgte supra

it is odd that ur in ny and it's an 86 & turbo i guess someone could have swapped it at some stage

yup RA is finish/smoothness/perfection lol

the maf is not dual... everything works from the AFM, the car is not mapped in any way

more than likely if you do have a 5m that's been turbo'd you won't have fuel cut or any of that annoying stuff but you will have a serious lack of fueling
if it is a 5m i would suggest an aftermarket ecu to control it properly or the engine may just bite the dust

good luck

[ddmcse]

it's got to be an 87
if it's all stock .

ok i guarantee this car is 100% stock. and it came stock with a turbo.

does this mean that it is actually a 87 model OR a 86.5?

i gotta talk to the owner. when i went to look at it, i talked to the guys wife who has no clue, i was just looking at the car and records.

BUT if it came turboed from the factory then what i am hearing is that it IS the 7m engine correct? regardless of the year i dont care, i just want to know what motor/ecu it is using and again i guarantee this car has never been engine swapped. but just want to clarify that if the turbo came off of the factory lot it IS the 7m engine right??!?!?! :huh:

[suprra_girl]

ok easy way to fix this lol

does your car look like the one above your last post and the pic i have in my sig?

if so.. then it's a mk3 most likely 87 and has a 7mgte

i will take some pictures of it tomorrow. :P but they will be off of my camera phone so dont expect anything glorious.

its a pretty good car i will tell you that...

tell me this... does the 7m engine have oil squirters for the pistons? i will admit that i am not as educated as some real enthusiasts but i do love cars, and anything that i can learn please let me know. cars and racing are my true passion i just need to know MORE. and i love to learn

IF i do get ahold of this car, i want to meet ddmcse. if you are really in syracuse that is .