I am buying my first Supra this friday for 500$. The body is super clean the interior needs some work and the guy says that the head gasket is blown thats it. It was 170,000 miles on the motor. Should I just rebuild the whole motor or should I just try an just fix the head gasket. I am new to Turbo cars so give me some info, I have heard turbo engines go out pretty quick
Buying a 1987 Supra Turbo Friday Give me some info.
- Thread starter mrchomponthis
- Start date
I am buying my first turbo this friday. The car has 170,000 miles on it. The owner says it has a blown head gasket, should i rebuild the whole thing? Or just try an fix the head gasket.
so...
cost of HG, some other nonesense gaskets that are bound to break in the removal, and deck the heads.
you tell me
cost of HG, some other nonesense gaskets that are bound to break in the removal, and deck the heads.
you tell me
Yeah, with 170k miles on a turbo'd performance car, you're bound to be doing it soon anyways. That is, if you are willing to spend around $1k doing it yourself, or more for having someone else do it for you.
Some of the best car advice I've been given is to "buy the car exactly how you want it to be, not how it could be." But then again, if you have the experience and know how, then by all means, get it and go to town.
Some of the best car advice I've been given is to "buy the car exactly how you want it to be, not how it could be." But then again, if you have the experience and know how, then by all means, get it and go to town.
F_T_F;1078864 said:
As vague as the OP's question is your reply was less than helpful....
(we only have 1 head)
Please refrain from posting in the tech section if you don't/can't/won't supply a useful answer.
Yeah, I have a few friends in Orange County that have Supra's and are willing to help me with a rebuild. I just don't want to make any mistakes in the process of making this car run well, or let alone just run. I mean I am picking the car up for 500 dollars and the body is tit's with a fresh white paint.
The question is impossible to answer....we don't know the damage that had been done...we don't know what you plan on doing with said motor....we don't know how cheap/smart you are.
But I'll ball park it for ya $1000-$15,000....you pick
But I'll ball park it for ya $1000-$15,000....you pick
Yeah well heres the story then since there might be some confusion. I am buying an 87 supra turbo. I found it on craigslist for 800. I low balled the guy down to 500 and he went with it. The car is not running, it has the trans and the motor still but he says the head gasket it blown. The engine has 170,000 miles on it. The body is in amazing condition also. I am new to Supra's and I know there is a burning passion for these cars and after driving my buddies I could not resist but to buy one myself.
Welcome.
Rebuild.
Metal head gasket.
Arp head studs.
And you should be good.Than the rest is what ever you want to do to the car.You'll start of with a fresh motor and than you can fix what ever esle is wrong with the car.I say it's a great start.
Got any pics of the car if not try and get us some when you get the car
Rebuild.
Metal head gasket.
Arp head studs.
And you should be good.Than the rest is what ever you want to do to the car.You'll start of with a fresh motor and than you can fix what ever esle is wrong with the car.I say it's a great start.
Got any pics of the car if not try and get us some when you get the car
Chomp: I know you're all excited and enthusiastic about getting a Supra but there's no need to make multiple threads asking the same question ok...:nono:
sorry bud but still not enough info....did it overheat when the gasket blew? Did water get in the oil? How does the crank look?
You should have the head tested for hardness....then take the block to a machinist for quotes...
This is an impossible question man....hell my motor just came today and I have no clue what this is going to cost me...but I'm already planing atleast kissing $2000 goodbye if all is well.
You should have the head tested for hardness....then take the block to a machinist for quotes...
This is an impossible question man....hell my motor just came today and I have no clue what this is going to cost me...but I'm already planing atleast kissing $2000 goodbye if all is well.
Sorry for posting on mulitipe threads I didn't know I would get replies so fast but I did. Thanks to all the supramania dudes i am already getting a ton of info on this car. I will try an get a picture up right now. I honestly have no idea why the head gasket blew, sorry I don't know too much about the car.
Bare bones, no decking of the head or block required, would run around $40-80 ish for a stock replacement head gasket. Contrary to a lot of what people say (and contrary to a lot of common sense and saving headaches in the long run), it is possible to do the job with a stock replacement head gasket, all the right tools, a lot of time, and a lot of work. I did it the hard way like this, plus some ARP head bolts, the first time I tore into the engine. I will never again make the same mistake.
However (big however), in order to do the stock head gasket replacement, you might also want to get:
1. Top end gasket kit (better yet, whole engine rebuilt gasket kit, HG included) ~ $120
2. New head bolts or studs (studs hold better than bolts, ARP sells them) ~ $180
3. Miscellaneous hardware that you will need to replace ~ $20
4. Random hoses that need to be replaced ~ $50
5. Specialty tools required for the job (torque wrench being a biggie) ~ $50
Total: around $420 (I'd put it at $500 to be safe). You could also get away with ARP head bolts instead of studs to save money, but I'd stick with the studs.
The list above is completely fine if you plan on strictly keeping it stock. You will basically be back to the engine before it blew the head gasket plus a little guarantee against future blows. However, you will still have all the problems of a 170k mile turbo engine (replacing the head gasket does not freshen up the health of the entire engine
).
If you are more serious about your reliability and room for larger, future modifications, then you will want to get:
(on top of the list above)
6. Metal head gasket ~ $180 and up
7. Required head resurfacing and block decking for metal head gasket. $$$ and up due to the fact that you need to remove the block from the car. If you are removing the block from the car, it would be a highly wise choice to rebuild it as well.
So the options as I would see it are 1.) replace the head gasket with stock type, add in a little reliability to specifically the head and spend about $500, or 2.) go with a full rebuild with a metal head gasket for the most reliability you can get for $1500-2500 plus (sometimes a big plus).
Also, if you aren't doing the head gasket job yourself, expect to pay no less than $1000 out the door.
Some people might try to tell you that you can do the metal head gasket without pulling and decking the block, by using spray on stuff, etc. etc. This is where you will be getting into a debated controversial topic.
Bottom line: go into the deal by assuming the engine has it's pistons laying in the oil pan, and the rods are in your intake manifold - completely screwed.
$500 is a good deal for a supra that has a nice clean body and a blown engine (if you have worked on them before and are experienced enough to do a complete rebuild on your own).
[thread was moved when I was posting this, might seem kinda out of order]
However (big however), in order to do the stock head gasket replacement, you might also want to get:
1. Top end gasket kit (better yet, whole engine rebuilt gasket kit, HG included) ~ $120
2. New head bolts or studs (studs hold better than bolts, ARP sells them) ~ $180
3. Miscellaneous hardware that you will need to replace ~ $20
4. Random hoses that need to be replaced ~ $50
5. Specialty tools required for the job (torque wrench being a biggie) ~ $50
Total: around $420 (I'd put it at $500 to be safe). You could also get away with ARP head bolts instead of studs to save money, but I'd stick with the studs.
The list above is completely fine if you plan on strictly keeping it stock. You will basically be back to the engine before it blew the head gasket plus a little guarantee against future blows. However, you will still have all the problems of a 170k mile turbo engine (replacing the head gasket does not freshen up the health of the entire engine
).If you are more serious about your reliability and room for larger, future modifications, then you will want to get:
(on top of the list above)
6. Metal head gasket ~ $180 and up
7. Required head resurfacing and block decking for metal head gasket. $$$ and up due to the fact that you need to remove the block from the car. If you are removing the block from the car, it would be a highly wise choice to rebuild it as well.
So the options as I would see it are 1.) replace the head gasket with stock type, add in a little reliability to specifically the head and spend about $500, or 2.) go with a full rebuild with a metal head gasket for the most reliability you can get for $1500-2500 plus (sometimes a big plus).
Also, if you aren't doing the head gasket job yourself, expect to pay no less than $1000 out the door.
Some people might try to tell you that you can do the metal head gasket without pulling and decking the block, by using spray on stuff, etc. etc. This is where you will be getting into a debated controversial topic.
Bottom line: go into the deal by assuming the engine has it's pistons laying in the oil pan, and the rods are in your intake manifold - completely screwed.
$500 is a good deal for a supra that has a nice clean body and a blown engine (if you have worked on them before and are experienced enough to do a complete rebuild on your own).
[thread was moved when I was posting this, might seem kinda out of order]
Thanks for all the information fozbo. I have a ton of buddies in my area that have supra's and seem to know some things about them. Plus my best friends dad is a machinest, (straight from great Britain) Used to work for F1 team McClaren Mercedes. So I may have a hook up with re-surfacing the head gasket and boring out the block. I plan to basically make this car as high performance if that helps.
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Supramania Contributor
Welcome to the Supra world..
Now kiss your wallet good bye..
Without more info on the condition of the motor, and how much you want to spend in total on this car/engine/suspension/etc... This is a guess fest.
If I were to reccomend anything, it would be to make sure your buddies don't feed you mis-information, this site is a good place to check ideas with.
Second, I'd ask around for a good machine shop in your area. It sounds like you might have that figured out, but it's pretty easy to screw up the 7M engine, or any engine for that matter. Follow the TSRM, shoot for the tight side of the specs, and add 100% to your expected budget.
You can always spend any left over money later.
Good luck. (And there are plenty of things to read, just search, read, and ask around.)
Now kiss your wallet good bye..
Without more info on the condition of the motor, and how much you want to spend in total on this car/engine/suspension/etc... This is a guess fest.
If I were to reccomend anything, it would be to make sure your buddies don't feed you mis-information, this site is a good place to check ideas with.
Second, I'd ask around for a good machine shop in your area. It sounds like you might have that figured out, but it's pretty easy to screw up the 7M engine, or any engine for that matter. Follow the TSRM, shoot for the tight side of the specs, and add 100% to your expected budget.
You can always spend any left over money later.
Good luck. (And there are plenty of things to read, just search, read, and ask around.)