Looking to join the MkIII Ranks

[Sumilidon]

Hello All,

My name is Dave and I live up in Chester le Street in the sunny North East :)

I'm looking to get a project to spend time on and learn from - and have plenty of time to make the bigger jobs a possibility. For this reason I have been thinking about a MKIII Supra Turbo.

The plan would be to bring it completely back to standard, first addressing any rust, then surface work on the engine (replacing the HG if not recently done), and finally working on ther suspension and interior.

All in all it would equate to a nice summer car for me, something to eat my spare time and a superb opportunity to learn on a car I am interested in (I could learn on a Corsa but as I consider them rollig fireballs, I don't think I'll be motivated).

Longer plan would be to buy another supra on the cheap (good engine, bad shell) drop the engine and key components before scrapping the shell and finally giving those parts a full refurb should I need any spares / wish to change the engine.

Question would be, what kind of price bracket should I be realistically looking for a Supra? I will be ideally looking for no major faults, but don't mind a bit of rust / torn interior. An MOT would be especially nice :) generally, a Good / decent condition Supra.

Please be warned, I am a complete novice - this is a project which will take me months for which each part will take me a long time as I learn each bit (I do have help however)

Thanks, and hello :)

[john89t]

Hello and welcome :action-sm

if your looking for a supra for a project, i would go for one with as least rust as posible,

maybe something like this one..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1989-TOYOTA-SUPRA-TURBO-RED_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a7Q7c 39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhas hZitem200288293787QQitemZ200288293787QQptZAutomobi lesQ5fUKQQsalenotsupported

although the listing has ended it might still be for sale here
http://www.mkiiisupra.net/bbs/showthread.php?t=24805

[Martin P]

Ello and welcome,

I would recommend you buy the Best supra you can afford, BUT keep a bit back to budget for servicing and repairs! A Good UK spec car will set you back Around £1000-1500 then work from that they are out there a lot cheaper, There is a nice looking car for sale on the forum now, for under £700 have a search in the for sale section.

There is lots of help and info on the forum.

[Sumilidon]

Not looking to buy for about a month yet due to xmas finances and needing to clear a space to work in (garage is clear but side room for the other bits etc)

Also gives me the time to figure out exactly what I will need to look for, budgetting for necessary precautionary work and assemble the tools :)

[shambles]

My experience says that with a budget of between £450/600 should enable you to get started, like already said try to find one with as little rust as possible, plus ones with a low amount of owners and as much history as you can get... Good luck

[mark3]

Hello and welcome, i was lucky as i paid £450 for mine, but as i said i think i was real lucky....although i spent a small fortune on it since and i reckon you probably will too as that can bring out the the fun bit, lol

Any how hello and welcome.....and happy new year.

[MKIII]

If its a long term project
get one with the best body you can find,
rear arches are a common weakspot,
to a certain extent the engine is not important, as long as its all there, it is easy to fix yourself,
the bodywork is a different matter, to get a proper result requires a fair bit of skill

[Penfold]

Hi and welcome,
Best advice I can offer is to get someone from on here who actually knows these cars inside an out (not as many of them as would first appear) to go with you to take a look at any prospective purchase.

Definitely the fewer owners the better, mines had five and only one or two really knew how to look after the car!

A full history is very usefull, but if it looks a dog now, it will always be a dog! Fixing one of these up is not a five minute job. Both John and Martin have put months of work into theirs and the jobs are still on going. I've had mine 2 years and still have a long way to go, mind you, I do use it every day!

[supramad77]

Avoid the rusty ones as said. It you can see rust then it's a good bet there is plenty you can't see as well. Cheap good ones can be found but you have to be lucky. I was and paid only £200 for my car. Nice and stock when i got it but rust free.