ok im new here, i joined because i have finally been able to get the required funds to buy an MKIII Supra, always wanted one but with 2 kids finances didnt alot for that when it was time to buy my family a car lol. But now im here and am going to buy one in the forthcoming months. But I am still on a budget, I am wanting to spend around $3000 but have come to a crossroads, i will drive as far as 850 miles to pick one up if need be, but i have found that either i can get a good running NA model for around $2500 or i can get a 7mgte for around $2000 but will have the notorious BHG issue. Now i REALLY want a turbo model but have never done a headgasket replacement myself so not really sure of the amount of money required to do it, would i be closer to my budget to go ahead and get the 7mgte and change the headgasket or have a mechanic do it. or should i go ahead and get the NA and slowly over the next year accumulate the parts to convert it to a 7mge-T, but even doing that wont it still require the headgasket to be changed in order for the motor to handle the new turbo? sorry i love supras but still new to them, closest thing i had was a 96 avenger with a vr4 swap so really wanting some expert opinions on which would be the best route to go. But also I am not planning on doing any racing really of any kind, my goal is to just restore and fix up something that has the get up and go to turn heads of all the civics and srt4s in my town.
Buying an MKIII, which is the best route to go?
- Thread starter screamthepoetry
- Start date
Your best bet IMO is to get a nice clean, straight body NA car and rock the 7MGE for a little while. Save up money for a 1JZ/2JZ-GTE & R154 swap and then go ahead with that swap using all the correct parts spending money and doing things the right way the first time.
That's the mistake most people make when building these cars; trying to cut corners. If you want these 20+ year old beauties to be reliable, you NEED to spend the money and do things the right way without cutting any corners whatsoever. If you do cut corners, be prepared to pull your hair out because nothing seems to work properly. Also, patience is going to be required for these cars as well. Sometimes, they don't have any problems and run like a clock. But then out of nowhere, the problems just come in a wave and your patience really gets tested. Ask ANY MK3 owner, and this has guaranteed happened to them.
Cheap
Reliable
Fast
Pick 2 of the above options and ONLY 2. The third option can not happen. All we can do is advise you and point you in the direction that most of us have gone in. What you want to do with your car is YOUR choice, because at the end of the day it is YOURS not ours. Most of us have [eventually] gone with Reliable & Fast, which is NOT cheap. This route does sometimes require your car to be parked for an amount of time, but when the first drive comes after the build, the wait is ALWAYS worth it.
That's the mistake most people make when building these cars; trying to cut corners. If you want these 20+ year old beauties to be reliable, you NEED to spend the money and do things the right way without cutting any corners whatsoever. If you do cut corners, be prepared to pull your hair out because nothing seems to work properly. Also, patience is going to be required for these cars as well. Sometimes, they don't have any problems and run like a clock. But then out of nowhere, the problems just come in a wave and your patience really gets tested. Ask ANY MK3 owner, and this has guaranteed happened to them.
Cheap
Reliable
Fast
Pick 2 of the above options and ONLY 2. The third option can not happen. All we can do is advise you and point you in the direction that most of us have gone in. What you want to do with your car is YOUR choice, because at the end of the day it is YOURS not ours. Most of us have [eventually] gone with Reliable & Fast, which is NOT cheap. This route does sometimes require your car to be parked for an amount of time, but when the first drive comes after the build, the wait is ALWAYS worth it.
I too would look for the cleaner chassis inside and out over the engine. Just save for a jz swap or if you want to rock the 7m save up for a complete turbo swap.
Well the chassis arent really the problem, i have found some very clean MKIII's with 7mgte engines that just have blown head gaskets. but i am not sure how much that costs to fix in general, would it be worth it buying one for around $1500-$2000 then spending the amount to replace the headgasket and put in ARP studs? or should i go ahead and spend the $2500-$3000 on an NA without a blown head gasket
Swapping an OEM headgasket with ARP head studs isn't a hard job if you are a decent mechanic. It will cost about $500 if you are replacing all the hoses and gaskets along the way. The bad part is the chance that antifreeze mixed with oil from the BHG, it will wipe out the bearings very quickly.
NA cars will also blow the factory HG, something to keep in mind.
I would wait until you can find a good 7MGTE with the HG already done. More than just the engine is different on the turbo'd cars, you will get the robust r154 transmission behind the 7mgte only and all turbo'd cars have a limited slip differential.
NA cars will also blow the factory HG, something to keep in mind.
I would wait until you can find a good 7MGTE with the HG already done. More than just the engine is different on the turbo'd cars, you will get the robust r154 transmission behind the 7mgte only and all turbo'd cars have a limited slip differential.
Doing it again, I'd buy the turbo car. Blown head gasket or not, I'd plan to treat it as if it were, unless I knew that it had been done the way that I would want it done.
Plan to spend a couple grand on the engine as well, but if you can get a clean, straight chassis for $2k and spend another $2k on getting the HG done right (Only going to happen for that price if you're pulling a lot of wrenches yourself) and you'll be doing well.
Around here, a straight, no-rust chassis A70 car will probably cost $7k+ though it will probably not have a blown head gasket, since a straight-no-rust chassis would probably only come from someone who would take care of things like that. Winters here are pretty hard on cars. (Mine is in really rough shape because of being daily driven here through it's share of winters, despite being well cared for.)
Plan to spend a couple grand on the engine as well, but if you can get a clean, straight chassis for $2k and spend another $2k on getting the HG done right (Only going to happen for that price if you're pulling a lot of wrenches yourself) and you'll be doing well.
Around here, a straight, no-rust chassis A70 car will probably cost $7k+ though it will probably not have a blown head gasket, since a straight-no-rust chassis would probably only come from someone who would take care of things like that. Winters here are pretty hard on cars. (Mine is in really rough shape because of being daily driven here through it's share of winters, despite being well cared for.)
Find the cleanest body possible, with the best paint in the color you want.
To me an engine can be built and rebuilt a hundred times and theres no difference between the 1st built one, and the hundreth.
But theres a big difference between clean straight original body lines, and a car thats been repaired/repainted. Very few mkiii owners spend the money to get things done as nicely as Toyota did.
To me an engine can be built and rebuilt a hundred times and theres no difference between the 1st built one, and the hundreth.
But theres a big difference between clean straight original body lines, and a car thats been repaired/repainted. Very few mkiii owners spend the money to get things done as nicely as Toyota did.
^ well put.
Tho even a turbo model I wouldn't pay more than 1500 and that'd be for a 92. 87-89 500-1000 depending on condition with a bhg.
Tho even a turbo model I wouldn't pay more than 1500 and that'd be for a 92. 87-89 500-1000 depending on condition with a bhg.
My next one is coming from the desert somewhere.
I'm sick of New England Supras. The ones up there must be even worse.
I'm sick of New England Supras. The ones up there must be even worse.
I was in your exact same sitution. Always wanted a MKIII, but had two kids and a wife that doesn't even like fast cars. So after getting a 2008 tundra and a 2004 grand prix for the fam, it was time to get myself a car. This was before i knew much about the MKIII other than that i had seen one at a cruise night one time and fell in love with it. So i easily found a 7mgte for $3500 (they are out there) that was all stock and running great with just a little over 115,000 miles, ended up talking him down to $2900. Problem was as said before i didn't know much at all about the car and wasn't a member on the forum yet. I installed a boost controller, new stage 3clutch, full 3" exhaust, air intake, ssqv BOW, shimmed the wastegate, and started giving it to her like i did my wife to end up with my two (beautiful) daughters!...anyhow i blew warped the head and blew the gasket and had a terrible ticking within a matter of weeks. Needless to say this has been a long, educational year for me and i now have this car tore apart with the motor on a stand getting all new parts that have costed me more than what i paid for the car in the first place. Might as well go all in now!
So you are one up on me for even asking the question and doing research. If i could go back i would buy the 7mgte, make sure the headgasket is ok, torque it to proper spec, and treat the car with respect. Then after i saved up to do the complete rebuild the right way i would. These cars can be awesome with the 7mgte if done right, but just like anything else you have to pay to play. Hope that helps. Good luck and welcome!
So you are one up on me for even asking the question and doing research. If i could go back i would buy the 7mgte, make sure the headgasket is ok, torque it to proper spec, and treat the car with respect. Then after i saved up to do the complete rebuild the right way i would. These cars can be awesome with the 7mgte if done right, but just like anything else you have to pay to play. Hope that helps. Good luck and welcome!
Let me ask a question. From your original post I see that this will be your first MK3 ever? You do understand no matter what you find it will be a bit of a money pit after you get it home. Like others have said, you never know whats been done to the engine so I agree with the idea of finding the best body , color and interior. If you want a turbo then start with a turbo. I think finding a clean body and decent interior is going to cost you more than 3k. Plus you will be at least checking the engine for any damage. How much engine work can you do yourself? That will make a big difference in the cost. I think you started off great by joining this "family" . Listen to the advice of the people here that have been through what you are about to take on.
When you find one, do you know how to do some standard checking? Check to see if there are any codes. You can find the procedure on checking for codes on this site. If I find it I will re-post it. If someone reading this I think a good thread would be a "First time Supra buyer checklist" a list of things to check for when buying a Supra.
GOOD LUCK!! and welcome to SupraMania!
When you find one, do you know how to do some standard checking? Check to see if there are any codes. You can find the procedure on checking for codes on this site. If I find it I will re-post it. If someone reading this I think a good thread would be a "First time Supra buyer checklist" a list of things to check for when buying a Supra.
GOOD LUCK!! and welcome to SupraMania!
well thank you all, you have given me alot to think about, im gonna try to balance my options and if i can go ahead and get the cleanest turbo model i can find, but if i find a really clean na for around the same i will go ahead and get that and just do a swap next year or do a 7mge-t build. not sure which route i wanna go.. I have done quiet a bit of engine work but never done a headgasket replacement, changed some apex seals on an old rx7 i had and the biggest project i took on was my vr4 swap into my 96 avenger back when i was a teenager but i had ALOT of help with that. I just know my budget and know that if i find a body that is and pretty decent shape i can restore it pretty well. But yes i am sure whatever route i go i will end up putting lots of money into it, and in a way thats the idea, i need a project to keep me busy lol. i just want to make sure it runs when i get it that way i can at least enjoy it in the condition it is for a month or two before starting my upgrades and rebuild. cause when i bought my rx7 i was told it needed a starter...close to 5 grand later and 6 months she finally fired up but then the wiring harness went out and my fiance wanted to murder me,...so needless to say needs to run when i buy it that way she will let me buy it lol
You know, at first I was going to recommend that you save at least 2x what you're planning on spending (good rule anyway), but after reading about an Avenger with a VR4 swap? Mechanically... I'd say you probably have what it takes, just a finance thing now. Good luck in your hunt, and if I part with one piece of advice, don't buy the first car you come across unless it is IMMACULATE. These cars aren't so rare that you should let emotions get the best of you.