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Oct. 28, 2010 12:50 p.m. skruffy SuperDork

Searched, doesn't look like we've discussed these at length. There's a few nice ones in readers rides, so I'm sure there's at least a few people with some neat knowledge about these things.

Neighbor has a decent '88 project that's he's probably never going to touch (dude has 5 other project cars and just dragged another shell home last night). It's not for sale, but I'm sure if I made a decent offer he'd let go of it. The body is straight and relatively solid, with a bit of what looks to be easily fixable rust here and there. The interior is nasty, but I'm not to concerned about that. He claims it runs, but very poorly.

Common rust areas? Anything structural? Seems that headgaskets are a common problem with 7m motors, anything else to look for without fixing it before I buy? Is 400hp a reasonable goal with a stock bottom end without being on the ragged edge of reliability? Do they handle halfway decent?

This would be a DE car with occasional street use, so comfort isn't really a concern. Will this thing just be a heavy pig that bankrupts me by eating tires and brakes?
Oct. 28, 2010 1:06 p.m. 93celicaGT2 SuperDork

I don't think the rust is anything out of the ordinary. Just check usual places.

Headgaskets being a problem is a result of the wrong head torque specs being used and released from factory. Torque them down right, and they're fine.

400whp is plenty doable on stock motor.

They handle better than anything that weight has any right to.

I doubt it'll bankrupt you.

DO IT!
Oct. 28, 2010 2:24 p.m. fastEddie Dork

Glad to see I'm not the only one who was piqued by the b&w pic in the SRT4 vs. msp thread. I'll be watching this thread as well.

Feel free to throw in any Cressida stuff as well people!
Oct. 28, 2010 2:25 p.m. pinchvalve SuperDork

All I know is that was the car the Goodyear developed the "Gatorback" for. That was the hot tire back in the day, now it is a brand name for Goodyear's rubber belts.
Oct. 28, 2010 3:36 p.m. Joe Gearin Associate Publisher

I'm pretty sure the "Gatorback" first made it's appearance on the 84 Corvette. This body style Supra wasn't launched until midway through 1985.

They are alot like a Japanese 928. Big, heavy, comfortable and powerful. Ours (1990 turbo) ate a 3-gear syncro, but otherwise was bulletproof. Avoid the targa models if you plan on tracking the car, as they make the body pretty flexy.

Many of them also had Toyota's TEMS system which changed the shock settings. I'd imagine those are all worn out by now.

Pretty quick stock ( 6.2-- 60, 14.4 1/4 mile) with lots of room for improvement.
Oct. 28, 2010 4:01 p.m. ReverendDexter Dork

SLA front and rear and overbuilt as hell. The wheel bearings in those things are bigger than the ones in my dad's F-350.

If you replace a headgasket, don't get studs - but do upgrade the head bolts. If you go with studs, there's not enough room to pull the head with the engine in the car (or so I was told by a friend who replaced his head gasket at least twice before finding the right torque specs).

Heavy cars (think 3500 lbs heavy), but a lot of that weight can be shed with proper mods. The stock seats, while super-comfy, are something egregious, like 100 lbs per.

I always thought a cool swap would be ditching the big heavy iron-block I6 for a hopped-up 3S-GTE, basically making a Mk III version of a Tom's Supra JGTC car, but I'm not sure if the 2.0L 4 would make for a remotely fun car to drive on the street.
Oct. 28, 2010 4:10 p.m. JohnGalt Reader

Read an article about a MKII with a swapped 7MG. Looked fantastic, however the MKIII is definitely a big step up in the luxury department. Has already been said but the only problem with these cars is the head gasket due to the torque specs being to low from the factory, so a ton of them are sitting under tarps with a blow head gasket.

Jap cars got the JDM YO 1JZ motor which as far as i can tell is a smaller version of the 2JZ (2.5L vs 3.0L). The 7MG is hella stout and the daddy of the 1JZ/2JZ. It will hold as much horsepower as i would ever want to put through the car so any kind of swap seems pointless to me. Of course these are still 24ish year old motors so don't expect miracles.

I think someone on this board has one with an LS motor in it.
Oct. 28, 2010 4:41 p.m. Platinum90 SuperDork

Joe Gearin said:
I'm pretty sure the "Gatorback" first made it's appearance on the 84 Corvette. This body style Supra wasn't launched until midway through 1985.

Mid 86 actually...

ReverendDexter said:
I always thought a cool swap would be ditching the big heavy iron-block I6 for a hopped-up 3S-GTE, basically making a Mk III version of a Tom's Supra JGTC car, but I'm not sure if the 2.0L 4 would make for a remotely fun car to drive on the street.

I have a new final destination for my project!