Operation Drive and Enjoy

gtsfirefighter

SM Expert on White trash
Sep 26, 2006
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Weatherford, Texas, United States
The Supra. In my 30 years of driving that is the one model of car I cannot get out of my system. I sold the white 89 beast to return to a more stock car. The original plan was to just revert the white 89 back to stock and sell off the performance parts. Well after seeing Emilio's ad I changed my mind. So I quickly sold the 89, bought a plane ticket to Minneapolis MN and bought it, then drove it home. This car is really no stranger to the forums. Here are a few pic...ImageUploadedByTapatalk1402249005.937885.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1402249033.506449.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1402249114.038049.jpg


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gtsfirefighter

SM Expert on White trash
Sep 26, 2006
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36
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Weatherford, Texas, United States
So it's an 88 Turbo automatic hardtop. Probably the most un-sought after options haha. Since I like to just cruise in my cars I'd prefer not to shift. It's got a stock 7M. The headgasket has about 20k miles on it now. The only "mods" are a Random Technology downpipe with test pipe and Tanabe Medallion catback. Eibach springs and Tokico Illumina II shocks. It has an 89 steering wheel and a black shifter handle. Also an 89+ climate control unit. It runs very nicely and is very smooth. It has a functioning A/C and cruise control. A later model cd/tape headunit from another Toyota. Oh and the power antenna works.

It's had a repaint and its not the best. There's a lot of debris that dried in the paint like maybe it was painted in a garage. Looks great from about 10 feet away and as you can tell, looks fantastic in the pictures. It's blu-ish silver with more flakes. It was originally a Texas car that's been in MN for about 6 or so years. It has a couple of rust bubbles on the passenger side A post but that's it.

Current items that need attention:

Motor mounts...bad. I have new ones here just need the time to put them on.
I've already replace the tranny mount.
I've swapped out the noisy 3.91 LSD for a 3.73 one I had sitting in my house.
Being in Texas I have got to get the windows tinted...soon!
The cloth seats have faded to purple and the drivers seat is showing some wear. I'm debating on getting that fixed and dying the seats back to it's original darkness or finishing up the leather seats I kept from the 89. I have the covers just need to take seats apart and put new leather on. It comes down to time again.

That's really about it. I will probably get a steel one piece driveshaft when I have the money but not in any hurry.
I feel pretty confident that I could go just about anywhere in it although it's not liking the Texas heat to much. It puffs a little smoke on a first morning start up. I'm not worried about it.

I really have no plans to mod this car. I've got a set of 91 5-spoke wheels I need to get repainted then they will go on the car. I might put an Apexi intake on it and maybe a boost controller to push it up to about 10 lbs but that's it. I highly emphasize the word maybe too.
 
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gtsfirefighter

SM Expert on White trash
Sep 26, 2006
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Weatherford, Texas, United States
So let me tell you about my trip to get it. As I said before, I sold the white 89 to buy this. Well before I bought it, I bought the cat back Tanabe and had it shipped to Emilio's house. I also bought new tires online at Discount Tire. Emilio was so kind to install the Tanabe before I got there and took the car to have the new tires put on it as well. He changed the oil and had it ready to go when I flew in.

So I fly in and get to my hotel. Emilio picks me up there in his Del Sol. We take the Supra for a spin and to fill it up. I noticed it had a loud noise coming from the rear end. He calls up Steve aka Toyotanos and we drive north so he can check it out. Now the car had been put up for the winter since October of last year and he'd only driven it to the tire shop which was just down the road. Well it turned out to be a bad pinion bearing in the diff. Steve drains the fluids to check for chunks of metal but finds none thankfully, just sparkles of bearings haha. We put new fluid in it and he's not worried about it making the 900 mile trip home so I'm cool about it. I had a good diff still boxed up in my living room. He gives the rest of the car a good look over and we head back to Bloomington. I let him drive it the 45 minutes back one last time and I was fucking sleepy anyway. It'd been a long day for me.

This is how it'd been sitting since October. He wouldn't sell me those 5zigens sitting behind it...fucker. LOL
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Here it is in Steve's garage getting checked out. Super cool guy by the way and has a badass 87.
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I stole this from Emilio's FB. This picture rocks. Not because him and his sexy locks are in it but the nose of this car is just flat out beautiful! Ok, maybe the sexy locks too.
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This all takes place in March and it's still fucking cold up there with snow everywhere. This is the next morning when I'm about to leave the hotel.
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There ain't shit to see once you get into Iowa. I-35 is flat. There were some rolling hills in parts of Kansas and Missouri but nothing to write home about. Here it is at a Pizza Hut somewhere in Kansas I think. Woo hoo.
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Well. When I'm pulling out of a truck stop just north of Wichita I hear the front end clunking a little bit. I just roll my eyes and since I have no tools or a jack, just plug on thinking I'll handle it when I get home since I am a little more than halfway there. Got the cruise on 70 driving down 35 and I hear and feel a loud clunk under the car like I had thrown a rock up under the car. I check gauges, look in rearview mirror to see if any smoke is coming out, move the steering wheel back and forth to check stability of the car and all is good. It must've been a rock or something. Well it was something. It's dark now and I'm driving through Oklahoma City and I have really got to pee again. As I'm driving through Norman OK, just south of OK City I begin to exit the freeway to find a gas station. Well, as soon as I hit the brakes, all hell breaks loose and I thought a wheel bearing froze or a ball joint broke off. It comes to a screeching halt right in the middle of the exit ramp and I'm like fuuuuuuuck. Everytime I try to move it and touch the brake it locks up. I'm able to limp it to a Braum's parking lot. I call a buddy and tell him to bring a trailer in the morning. So him and his girlfriend drive 3 hours to come get me with a trailer. Luckily nobody fucked with it in the parking lot all night. I had to get a cab and go to a local shithole hotel.

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We get it home and unloaded. I take the front passenger wheel off expecting to find carnage galore and see nothing. It wasn't until I put my hand on the caliper that I realized what had happened. The bottom bolt of the bracket that holds the brake caliper fell out (that what I heard clunk under the car back up in Kansas) and when I touched the brake at the exit it shifted the bracket and caliper forward pretty much locking up the wheel. I found another bolt in my bucket of spares, put it in and made sure all the rest were tight and was done. A five minute fix.
I was so pissed yet relieved. Anyway, I jumped back in it and headed to Houston for TX2K14. I missed the show n shine already but wanted to catch the races the next day...which got rained out. Me and a buddy who lives in Cypress went over to the hotel and hung out with some MKIII people for a little while. Wasn't a totally wasted trip.
 
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Silver MK3

New Member
Jan 24, 2011
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Madison, AL
I'm glad you found another one. I'm glad Emilio's car went to a good owner as well. It's a really nice car, and it is in good hands once again. Looking forward to future updates!
 

gtsfirefighter

SM Expert on White trash
Sep 26, 2006
2,965
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Weatherford, Texas, United States
Thanks everybody. Scott, don't be jealous. You still have a nice 92! That alone make me jealous.

So here's a couple of more pics.

Nice almost stock engine bay. As Dave aka Grimjack pointed out, those t-clamps are not stock! LOL

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Sitting in the bay at our fire station cause of some severe weather. Don't want no hail tearing it up.

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I drove it out to my buddy's deer lease near Spanish Fort Texas. I had to close a gate behind me and walking back up to the car I saw a great photo op.

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And finally sitting in my driveway next to my SC400.

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gtsfirefighter

SM Expert on White trash
Sep 26, 2006
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Weatherford, Texas, United States
Thanks for the bump Emilio. I was going to update this today anyway.

I'm about to sell my house hopefully before Christmas so after the first of the year I've got major plans.

With all my previous supras I've been chasing a dream, or pipedream more like it. I've wanted a Supra that rode and drove like the one I test drove back in December of 1991. Well the only way I'm going to get it is to spend some major cash. So....
All of the suspension going to be replaced with new OEM pieces, including springs and TEMS shocks. Hopefully I can find some new springs, if not I'll source some 89+ ones. Don't give one fuck about it being higher than what it is now on Eibachs. It'll ride about the same height as my old 91 in my sig below. I'll be replacing subframe bushings as well. I have a set of 91 5 spokes that'll be going on it. The suspension alone will cost me about $3k.
After that is done I'll work on the interior. I have a set of new leather seat covers to put on an extra set of seats I have. Also I have several yards of that same leather to redo the door inserts to match.
No performance mods other than the exhaust and maybe an intake but that's it. It's going to be the luxury GT cruiser it was designed to be and my plans are to cruise in it....around the country.
 

Silver MK3

New Member
Jan 24, 2011
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Madison, AL
gtsfirefighter;2019827 said:
Thanks for the bump Emilio. I was going to update this today anyway.

I'm about to sell my house hopefully before Christmas so after the first of the year I've got major plans.

With all my previous supras I've been chasing a dream, or pipedream more like it. I've wanted a Supra that rode and drove like the one I test drove back in December of 1991. Well the only way I'm going to get it is to spend some major cash. So....
All of the suspension going to be replaced with new OEM pieces, including springs and TEMS shocks. Hopefully I can find some new springs, if not I'll source some 89+ ones. Don't give one fuck about it being higher than what it is now on Eibachs. It'll ride about the same height as my old 91 in my sig below. I'll be replacing subframe bushings as well. I have a set of 91 5 spokes that'll be going on it. The suspension alone will cost me about $3k.
After that is done I'll work on the interior. I have a set of new leather seat covers to put on an extra set of seats I have. Also I have several yards of that same leather to redo the door inserts to match.
No performance mods other than the exhaust and maybe an intake but that's it. It's going to be the luxury GT cruiser it was designed to be and my plans are to cruise in it....around the country.


This is awesome. Let me know what happens with the springs. I would like new springs as well, but I think all the aftermarket ones drop too much. I haven't been able to find any new stock springs in either pre 89 or post 89.
 

gtsfirefighter

SM Expert on White trash
Sep 26, 2006
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Weatherford, Texas, United States
Silver MK3;2019835 said:
This is awesome. Let me know what happens with the springs. I would like new springs as well, but I think all the aftermarket ones drop too much. I haven't been able to find any new stock springs in either pre 89 or post 89.

There is a set of springs that only drop a half inch in the rear and inch in the front but are noticeably more firm. I cannot recall the brand but if I have time today I'll search some threads I think they might be in and post em up.


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JDMMA70

Active Member
Dec 4, 2006
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Houston
gtsfirefighter;2019870 said:
There is a set of springs that only drop a half inch in the rear and inch in the front but are noticeably more firm. I cannot recall the brand but if I have time today I'll search some threads I think they might be in and post em up.


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You're thinking of Suspension Techniques Springs
 

Silver MK3

New Member
Jan 24, 2011
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Madison, AL
I was looking at the Tanabe springs as well. I messaged 3p141592654 a few weeks ago and asked for his fender height measurements so I could compare to mine on a stock 87. What I figured from the measurements was that it drops more like 2" in the front and .5" in the rear. I'm not sure if this is because of the weight differences between an N/A and Turbo or what but I am weary of lowering the car that much.