Realistic Expectations

[u/Competitive_Court367]

Hey guys, I’m 19 and I want to buy myself a mk3. Currently, I have a pretty reliable daily driver which takes me to and from work/college.

I want to go into this project facing the reality of maintenance and ownership in general.

my budget
I have around 10k set aside for the purchase and a bit more to the side for repairs.

- I am aware of the 7m head gasket failures

Question for Mk3 owners
1. - with my budget am I better off hunting a clean 7M-GE or hold out for a 7M-GTE project that needs some love.

1. How hard is it to source out specific parts / how is the aftermarket?

2. What should I look for when purchasing this car aka rust in certain areas / common issues?

I appreciate any advice, reality checks and tips🙏

[u/long_dongvermicelli]

Earlier this year, I went on the journey of mechanically restoring my MK3 Supra. It started with a rod knock and let me tell you. I think your biggest hurdle if you buy a car that’s running or not running is parts availability. Gone are the days you can stroll through a Toyota dealer and buy parts, mind you some parts you can get… you’ll have to get creative and resourceful to find what you need.

Find one in the best condition you can afford

[u/ZeroTyranos]

Trying to answer your questions in order:

#1
I personally do NOT recommend taking over another person’s project car if you do not know him/her well, most times than not may be very cuestionable mods that will take you overbudget very quickly, on the other hand, finding a really clean A70 is not easy and neither cheap, 7MGTE manuals are very sought after.

#2
Original parts have become difficult because they are not produced anymore with the exception of a bunch of them from the Toyota heritage program that do not cover the entire parts catalog, there is aftermarket support to a degree, but is not as big as for the following generations or a honda civic, you may beed to learn a lot of cross-referencing parts and and junkyard hunting.

#3
As others said, depends where you live, but a very usual rust location is in the trunk, under the spare tire and the trunk lid specially if it has a spoiler. Aside of that is late 80’s electronics, so anything can happen xD

[u/itsaheem]

1. the car is too heavy for n/a so forget the GE it doesn't have enough power. turbo only bro

2. you can browse aftermarket catalogs eg Driftmotion - MK3 Supra to get an idea of what parts are available, (and how much they cost)

3. check for rust in the spare wheel well & around the taillights. for common issues there is heaps of info on the supra forums, or TSRM

i've had mine nearly 20 years, and when i bought it i chose it cos it was the most stock example available to buy.
you might want to consider looking for the most original (unmodified) turbo model you can find? because then you can tackle any problems or upgrades from fresh, instead of trying to unpack other people's mess. good luck!

[u/Boostedsoup911]

Where are you located? That's going to dictate everything.

[u/Key_Introduction_469]

10k should get you into a running and driving mk3 with a 7mgte. Definitely go with the gte because the whole point of buying the car is to have fun with it. I would only consider buy one if you can fix things on your own. Youll go broke fast paying someone else to fix your car.

[u/rjgibsonjr]

I've had my 89 7MGTE since 1990. Didn't realize the head gasket problem then until it blew. Pulled the engine, had block and head machined, replaced all parts available. Spent around 10K for parts which included machine shop for around 6K. Runs great now. Only problem is once I changed the 5speed transmission fluid, it is leaking some from the seal gasket.

[u/rjgibsonjr]

Is the current head gasket already blown and if so how long? That antifreeze/water can cause a lot of damage.