First Supra

3816 Views 43 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Camsdad66, 3 mo ago

Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · May 20, 2021

6

Hi all,
For better or worse, I have purchased my first Supra. (I'm 55 years old). A buddy and I drove from Louisiana up to Michigan this past weekend to get her.

The Bad:
RUST! And a good bit of it! What did I expect buying a car from up north??
Not running....supposedly just the igniter.

The Good:
Got it cheap!
Original 5MGE engine is supposedly freshly rebuilt. (Saw some Permatex that may confirm that)
New-ish BF Goodrich Radial T/A tires.
Car seems to be mostly original and complete.

I'm in for a LOT of work, but up for the challenge! Gonna need a donor car for some good metal to repair the rust.

Please wish me luck (or condolences)!!

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dannoxyz

· #21 · Dec 31, 2021

Cool, you're officially hoarder now!!!

I've always liked front-end of '84+ cars anyway.

Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · #22 · Dec 31, 2021

dannoxyz said:
Cool, you're officially hoarder now!!!

I've always liked front-end of '84+ cars anyway.

Ha ha....Thanks! Yeah, I like the slight changes on the 84 as well. If (and when)I see this through the end result will probably be a hybrid of '83 and '85, as I like certain things about each. But that's a long way off for now!

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'82supra

· #23 · Dec 31, 2021

Camsdad66 said:
Hi all,
Haven't posted here in quite a while. The latest on my project is....bought a 2nd car for parts, but most likely it will become "the car", as it has very little rust. So....I will be faced with the gigantic task of doing bodywork and paint on the 2nd car, then cleaning up,, painting and transferring most everything over from the first car. Am I out of my mind??

I suppose it comes down to your mechanical comfort level and budget. If I were to begin a project, the '85 roller would be my choice (nice score

). It'll be difficult and pricey to bring it back to original, but you can have a nice restomod. There are a number of differences between the years, so you've got your homework cut out for you, but you do have parts. GLWT

Zoe

· #24 · Dec 31, 2021

Way to go!

Personally I'd go with the shell that has less rust; kind of a full restoration going that way as well, and you know what you put where!

Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · #25 · Dec 31, 2021

I truly appreciate the advice guys. Though I'm 55, and have done my share of car "projects" I am a Celica Supra rookie of sorts. But I have learned like a baby does these last few months, soaking in all the knowledge I can. I can't wait to start this journey and hopefully see it through to fruition! Gonna be a bit of work for sure!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE! HOPE ITS BETTER THAN THE LAST!

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SilverMk2

· #26 · Dec 31, 2021

I see that a car that is in almost ready to paint condition. Not too many parts to remove for prep.

Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · #27 · Dec 31, 2021

SilverMk2 said:
I see that a car that is in almost ready to paint condition. Not too many parts to remove for prep.

Right! That's definitely the "glass half full" way of looking at it!! Once the car is painted, it's gonna be cool to see it start taking shape. Between the 2 cars, I have a lot of parts to choose from. Should be able to make one good car out of two.

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RedP85

· #28 · Jan 2, 2022

Naked!

Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · #29 · Jan 3, 2022

RedP85 said:
Naked!

Pretty much! Lol. Not much meat left to pick off the bones.

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Spook

· #30 · Jan 19, 2022

looking forward to your progress!

Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · #31 · Jan 19, 2022

Spook said:
looking forward to your progress!

Thanks! So am I!!! Lol. I saw your new "baby" also, congrats! The wife and I are headed to Hawaii (Honolulu) in February for vacation. Guessing if you are military that's where you are stationed?

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Spook

· #32 · Jan 19, 2022

Camsdad66 said:
Thanks! So am I!!! Lol. I saw your new "baby" also, congrats! The wife and I are headed to Hawaii (Honolulu) in February for vacation. Guessing if you are military that's where you are stationed?

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Yep, I’m here for a few years on shore-duty (navy).

Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · #33 · Jan 19, 2022

Nice! There's definitely worse places to be!!

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Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · #34 · Mar 9, 2022

2

Well.....nothing earth shattering to report, but I did get the 2nd car and its parts home this past weekend. One more baby step.

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Zoe

· #35 · Mar 9, 2022

Every little step helps to keep a project alive. When it's sitting for a year or so with nothing at all being worked on, that's then projects die.
(ask me how I came to that conclusion...)

Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · #36 · Mar 9, 2022

Zoe said:
Every little step helps to keep a project alive. When it's sitting for a year or so with nothing at all being worked on, that's then projects die.
(ask me how I came to that conclusion...)

Agreed, Zoe! May I ask, did you ever complete your project??

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Zoe

· #37 · Mar 9, 2022

Oh, I do have projects that I completed, but unfortunately also some who slowly died and I gave up on. And quite a few, who are barely alive

But to quote Ursula LeGuin: "It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end"

Whitey482

· #38 · Mar 10, 2022

dannoxyz said:
Cool, you're officially hoarder now!!!

And you officially have MSS multiple supra syndrome! I heard that from @PB and @pdupler. Anyway, good luck with the massive transfer of parts and the build!

I still have those A/C parts set aside when you're ready to make a trip to Dallas.

Camsdad66

Discussion Starter · #39 · Mar 11, 2022

Whitey482 said:
And you officially have MSS multiple supra syndrome! I heard that from @PB and @pdupler. Anyway, good luck with the massive transfer of parts and the build!

I still have those A/C parts set aside when you're ready to make a trip to Dallas.

Thanks! And, hell yeah I'll be coming up there to visit as soon as I can! Let me know what kind of beer you drink!

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rhartmaier

· #40 · Apr 12, 2022

I would say that you are way ahead of the game since someone else already began disassembling the 85!

FYI, when I restored my 84 the side molding was still available from the door to the back. I guess the front mouldings got used up because there are more front end crashes. I was able to refurbish my old ones by laboriously removing the adhesive with a single edge razor blade. Lightly sand with something like 1500 or 2000 sand paper, follow up by polishing with Turtle Wax swirl remover, and finally a coat of your favorite preservative such as Armour All or Son-of-a-Gun. They came out looking new. They have an outer coating sorta like the gel coat on fiberglass, so be careful not to sand too deeply or you will go through to a dull material. Source a roll of 3M double stick tape from an auto body supply store to reattach.

Sorry, car is still in winter storage, so no photo.

Parts are still available out there if you are patient and keep looking. I was trouble shooting a fault with my cruise control, and while I had the dash apart I accidentally shorted out the panel lights dimmer switch. I thought that I was in big trouble because I would never be able to source another switch, but I found one on ebay, and the guy had three in stock!

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Bob

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