V8 Supra Builder

iTrader: (37)

Year: 1988
Make: Toyota
Model: Supra
Price: $4000
Mileage: 80000
Private or Dealer Listing: Private Listing
Location (State): FL
Color: Red
Transmission: Manual
Drivetrain: Rear Wheel Drive
LS Engine?: Car has LS engine

I am selling the 1988 Toyota Supra I built circa 2007. It is outside of Tallahassee, FL. It has a clear Florida title. I've taken the time to try and categorize/answer as many questions as possible that normally pop up when selling a car like this- I've built & sold two Chevy V8 RX7s, and a Chevy V8 BMW 5 Series. I'm not a professional car builder or a car salesman. If you ask me something that is answered here, it is wasting your time and mine.

The goal was to make a sleeper type of car that looked like an old Supra. Reason for selling: I've been reducing my 4 wheel fleet in favor of some 2 wheel projects, so the Supra is next to go. Here is info on the car & project:

History of the car
The car was a one owner Florida car that had a blown head gasket. It had sat outside and water got into the spare tire well and rusted a hole in it, and the dash cracked. It has the targa (removable) top option. I bought it and cut out the well and removed the dash. I bought a 1991 model parts car and replaced the spare tire well and dash, as well as some of the front end, interior, differential, and wheels- the newer ones look nicer IMO. The car was an automatic, and I used the parts car to swap it to manual.

Body and interior
I did a lot of prep on the body, and did a Rustoleum red roller paint job. The body & undercarriage are in very good condition. The car has been garaged since I got it. The interior is in above average shape, but is sun faded in spots due to the age of the car. The car uses the original shifter and looks completely stock inside and out.

Engine
The engine is an iron block 5.3L LM7 gen 3. It came out of a 2003 Chevy Avalanche and is unmodified- stock cam, etc. The truck had about 30K miles on it according to the parts ticket. The mounting was done via several adapters and some fabrication using steel plates and grade 8 hardware.

The engine uses F-body accessories and oil pan and a Corvette intake. There is a 255 LPH electric fuel pump. I added a manual fuel pressure regulator with gauge. The cooling system is the excellent Lincoln Mark 8 fan. It is wired to come on as needed for the AC and tested OK when I had the system recharged this week.

I added a custom cold air intake with a washable filter up front.

The engine was programmed with HP Tuners. Since the car has a 1998 PCM, no extra license is needed to interface with it. I am not selling my HP Tuners software with the car.

Exhaust
The headers are block huggers and a custom exhaust goes to a 3" system- there is no converter. A dual outlet muffler was put in place to mimic the stock appearance.

The engine makes more power than the turbo version the car had as an option, but it also makes a lot more torque. The Supra is heavier than most people think, so it is like driving an F-body.

Transmission and drivetrain
After measuring the tunnel, I was not sure a T56 would fit, so I bought a TKO600 new- plans were to add a turbo but I could not find the room. The transmission has both cable and electronic outputs. I made up a hybrid cable to drive the stock Toyota speedometer- it is a few MPH off at road speed, and the electronic output connects to the GM PCM The clutch is a heavy duty 6-puck version. The driveshaft is from a Gen 3 F-body, and a Toyota truck adapter adapts it to the limited slip diff from the '91 parts car. It is geared low, like a 4.3:1, so if you want to spin skinny tires you can.

Brakes
I added drilled rotors and Hawk pads to it when I was doing the other work. The brakes work well for the power output.

Other
The car has a high end Clarion double Din radio. It has a built-in hard drive so you can store MP3 files, or you can connect an ipod. I do not think it has any Bluetooth capability, as it is about 5 years old now. I recall I replaced the speakers at the same time. It's a good audio system and the exhaust is not so loud that it is overpowered.

Project documentation
I'll include all of the files I made up for the project on a DVD, such as a wiring diagram and any modifications I have on the computer. I lost many photos for this project due to a computer crash not long after it began.

Bugs
One thing I have never gotten 100% on the car is the tach. It works OK up to about 4500 RPM and then jumps around before going to 0. I'm using a 680 ohm resistor in line and may try a few different ones to see if this helps. In a heavy rain, the targa top seals drip some water- a common problem with this model with the removable roof.

Everything else works- to include the AC (replaced a hose and recharged recently- it had a leak that I think has been fixed with the hose replacement) and the cruise control. The battery is new as of September 2012. The tires are a few years old but have plenty of tread remaining. Nothing needs to be done to drive the car regularly.

Insurance, shipping
You can insure cars like these inexpensively through JC Taylor's modified auto program. Due to its age (25 model years now), it may be considered an antique in your state and eligible for lower tag fees. It can be shipped by placing an ad on www.uship.com. I have used this place to ship cars and bikes and have not had a bad experience yet.

Several photos are attached, and I'll try to insert some video links. More photos are here on Photobucket, and the car has an Fquick page here and there are 83 photos in the galleries here. The videos I uploaded there are gone. I'll try and upload them onto YouTube and add a link later.

Terms
This is a one of a kind car, a true hybrid Toyota, and I doubt you could find one with a good body and replicate it for the price I'm asking- the transmission was close to $2,000 alone. I'd like to get $4000 for it. What I've done in the past selling these type of cars is to hold it and take payments over the course of several months. A cash offer will reduce this somewhat, but I do not have to sell it- still plenty of room here since the RX7 was sold.

This is a 25 year old used car, and is sold as-is.

I'm not interested in any trades.

Please PM me if you would like more info or to arrange to look it over.

V8 Supra Builder

iTrader: (37)

YouTube videos:
Short run showing the tach problem:
http://youtu.be/RUYkGOH6kRc

Engine run after initial build:
http://youtu.be/bz0Kc_bd25g

V8 Supra Builder

iTrader: (37)

Condition update & price lowered-

After sitting a few days, the AC no longer blows cold so I still have a leak somewhere.

New price is $3500.

V8 Supra Builder

iTrader: (37)

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