need some advise please

[dmac77]

i am looking at buying a 1982 Toyota supra the guy said that he replaced head-gasket and then said that it don't want to idle right and it has a ticking noise was wondering if anyone would have an idea where to start or if it is going to be a simple budget friendly fix or pain in the butt.

[MikeMac]

First OFF the 1982 model is sort of an outcast as far as Supras go, use search and search 1982 and see what the forum has to offer.

The head gasket fix part:

"it don't want to idle right" Most Likely because he caused an air leak somewhere in the intake piping when he took it off to replace the headgasket. Not a big deal to find it if that is what the problem is.

"it has a ticking noise" because before he replaced the headgasket coolant leaked into the oil and caused damage to the rod bearings and they are now in need of replacement also. This is a job that will require you to remove the engine and replace them, using precision and plastigaging them to make sure they are within the correct tolerences.

So My answer in a word is NO

Unless you are getting it at a VERY GOOD Price, and you have a fair deal of knowledge in rebuilding engines or you know where a good 5M engine is (also Cheap) and you are going to replace this engine

[dmac77]

OK ty for the info i was looking at it for 1000 but was not sure if it would be worth it i also have a good friend that is fixing the a starter in a 1987 Porsche 944 and his dad wants to trade for my 79 Lincoln continental.

[SupraFiend]

You can't diagnose rod bearing noise from "it has a ticking noise". Injectors tick, they are loud on these cars. Our hydrolic lifters will cause a valve tick if one of them wasn't pumped up right when the head was apart. A bad rod bearing will produce more of a knocking sound.

82s have lousy idle speed valves (different then other years). Timing could also be out, or a vacume leak.

If you're asking for this kind of advice on the internet, you should really take someone with you with some real mechanical experience whenever you look at any car. The most we can do is make guesses with the info you have.

[MikeMac]

As Suprafiend says it was ONLY SPECULATION on my Part as to what was wrong with that Supra, and SF is also correct, Stating there may be many reasons the ticking is there, however, all of them mean something is not right.

However, you asked for advice and that is Mine

How about this...if the guy just put all that work into it why is he selling it now?

[BillyM]

These cars can easily cost more to fix little issues vs simply buying a good running car to begin with.

If you want a good reliable car, spend a couple thousand. ...if you just want a budget runner, spend a few hundred, but expect to spend hundreds to thousands more to get it running right in most cases.

--billyM