Toyota Celica Supra??

[Ttaskmaster]

Heya,

I know there are a few past/present Supra owners here, so I thought I'd ask you lovely, mature, sensible people...

I have the opportunity to get a 1985 model Celica Supra. It's a bit knackered, needs a good service, new shocks, new battery, a bit of welding and a damn thorough cleaning inside & out. Has sat for about 8 years, yet starts on the button and everything (bar the a/c) appears to work fine.
Insurance seems fairly reasonable. It will come with a friendly pro mechanic whose company actually specialises in Supras, too, so I'll have good advice if it develops any issues.


I was mainly wondering what it's like to own and drive?

I'm not expecting mega-economy, but rumour has it these things get lower-30s on the mpg if you drive reasonably sensibly?

Also this will be the first car I've actually owned, having only had my 4-wheel licence for a few months. I've had big, heavy, fast bikes for ages, but have driven Mercs, BMWs, Astravans and a few others.
How would this stack up as a first car, do you reckon?


Cheers all,

[Zak33]

honestly?

it'll be horrible

nothing sits well for 8 years.. not even in a warm dry environment

there are so many things that could just fail. Bushes. Pipes. Pumps. Gear box components. Clutch components. Calipers. the list of things on a car that old that's sat still for close to a decade is... endless

you buy a car like that to RESTORE.. to KEEP and to improve .. with lots of previous knowledge and a good workshop of your own

not as a first car.

Sorry.... I hate to pee on a bonfire.. but pee I must

[Ttaskmaster]

nothing sits well for 8 years.. not even in a warm dry environment

No, but that's what the mechanic is there to sort out beforehand. He has looked after it and knows these cars inside and out (he's known to and highly recommended by several UK, US and Canadian Owners Groups).

So assuming it will be made mechanically sound before I even take it for a test... What would be your opinion then?

[kalniel]

Keep the mechanic, sell the car

My question is really if it's not such a problem, why is the opportunity falling to a first time buyer, and wasn't snapped up by someone with more experience any time in the previous 8 years?

[Moby-Dick]

Its have all of the fun and games of running a 30 year old car If you have another vehicle to use when it goes wrong then it might make an interesting project. Otherwise I'd steer well clear.

http://www.toyotaenthusiasts.com/sit...s/SV109963.JPG

nice wheels though. 170BHP isn't going to set the world alight , even if it is RWD...

[Ttaskmaster]

Keep the mechanic, sell the car

Don't worry - He fixes my bikes and the Mrs's car already, so he's being kept!!

My question is really if it's not such a problem, why is the opportunity falling to a first time buyer, and wasn't snapped up by someone with more experience any time in the previous 8 years?

A fair question...
Firstly - I don't have a car of my own... at all.

Secondly - This car has sat with the mechanic for 8 years, waiting for the owner to find the cash to finish fixing it. The mechanic also has two MkIII Supras and a Land Rover waiting for the same owner to get the cash, as well as another MkIII Supra and several motorcycles all fixed up and waiting for the same owner to sell them, too.

Said mechanic is utterly fed up housing the 'projects' said owner has since lost interest in and has started looking to see what he can shift.
I have been working part-time ad-hoc with said mechanic for a few years now and gotten to like the look of the Supras, so have expressed my interest. MkII more than the III, although said mechanic always thought I'd want something big and off-roady.

Mechanic already has his own Supra side sorted and has no need/desire to own more himself.

I already declined the offer of a free RX-8, because that would be expensive to get back on the road, as well as to run and maintain. By contrast, the only issue a MkII supposedly needs watching is rust inside the wheel arches.

That's why I was wondering...

[Ttaskmaster]

Its have all of the fun and games of running a 30 year old car If you have another vehicle to use when it goes wrong then it might make an interesting project. Otherwise I'd steer well clear.

http://www.toyotaenthusiasts.com/sit...s/SV109963.JPG

nice wheels though. 170BHP isn't going to set the world alight , even if it is RWD...

Yeah, that's the very model!!
Most modern cars look the same to me, so this sort of thing really appeals.

170BHP (when new, of course) might not be a Top Gear Bombshell, but it sounds enough to save me from '94 model C250 Merc auto diesel boredom while not being so much that I'll catapult into the nearest brick wall, either.

Since getting my licence, I've driven over twice my annual bike mileage between 6 cars and a small van, so I consider myself a bit past the P-Plate stage... I'm also used to going 0-60 in under 3 seconds with the bike, so I was hoping this 8-seconder would be a nice gentle transition into car owning by comparison.

[DanceswithUnix]

Well if you are used to not having a car so the reliability problems of classic car ownership isn't a worry, then it looks like a fun hobby. And old cars are a hobby, hence I have a boring diesel as well as a kit car powered by 1989 components.

I have it you would get clear ownership of the car, if the previous owner has lost interest in it? Sounds like an recipe for iffy paper trail.

[scaryjim]

... 170BHP (when new, of course) might not be a Top Gear Bombshell, but it sounds enough to save me from '94 model C250 Merc auto diesel boredom while not being so much that I'll catapult into the nearest brick wall, either. ...

That should be more than enough for some fun My '95 Rover 414i only produced 101bhp, but tbh if it'd had much more than that you wouldn't have had time to enjoy it before you needed to reign it in for the sake of speed limits. Only problem was the rover was (I think) a lack of torque, which made going up hills ... interesting. Oh, and I lived in the Yorkshire dales for most of my time with that car...

[Ttaskmaster]

Well if you are used to not having a car so the reliability problems of classic car ownership isn't a worry, then it looks like a fun hobby.

I have options, at least. I'm just at the stage of needing a car that I can use long enough to get as thoroughly used to as I am with the bike. Right now I'm chopping and changing between vehicles on a daily basis. I forgot where the handbrake even was on the Beemer the other week!

I figure getting something I actually liked would be better than just whatever is cheapest and utterly hate... like that Astravan!

I have it you would get clear ownership of the car, if the previous owner has lost interest in it? Sounds like an recipe for iffy paper trail.

Oh definitely. The owner is just too lazy to get off his backside and deal with his projects. He can afford it, but once he took his race conversion one round the Nurburgring, he moved on to something else... r/c drones, I think.

Mechanic has this happen every now and then, though usually it's where owners drop the car off but can't afford to pay for repairs when they learn what's wrong and why you do need to change the oil more often than once every 5 years!
Mechanic has the paperwork and he's still friends with the owner. They go way back and even I see the owner about once a week. I'd be buying direct from him.

[Zak33]

OK.. lets assume the car is running well and is safe

What do I think of the Celica Supra? For it's time... awesome. The Nissan Z sheds were more popular and the Supra truly only took off when it became SEPARATE to the Celica, as a larger model. So the one you've been offered is a thing of some rarity. It's NOT a Manta and it's NOT a Capri... rejoice!

I think you will learn to drive in it. It understeers like a barge on wet roundabouts.. and then can oversteer quite dramatically if you have enough rear inertia turning in gentle and then tightening. Long motorway slip roads in the rain will make you breathe fast somedays!

I think the quality of the interior, the ability to truly blow hot and cold air (not A/C......ignore it) and the wipers to properly function, and the indicators to work smoothly... are as important as it starting. And NOT TO LEAK... for the car to be dry and warm inside.. are essential.

If those things are all right... then let me tell you... I think you've already sold your soul to this car.. and I take my hat off to you because true love at first sight is a grand thing in a man and a car. You've fallen in love with the idea... and I salute that

I also salute that it's NOT a blummin Audi or a BMW...& it's NOT a small generic family box. It's NOT the default goto model. it's odd and it's pretty.. in a muscular way.

It's one of Japan's first good front engined rear drivers. It's nearly as rare as a Mitsu Starion Turbo, or an Isuzu Piazza Turbo.

Is it near you? Have you got photo's...?

[Ttaskmaster]

I will be getting photos and further details soon, although they're best left for when the sun is shining - I'm at work an awful lot at the minute...

[jigger]

The 2.8i ? they're good cars. I think they all had limited slip diff's as standard. They use to see off the all the Capri boys back in the day.

[Ttaskmaster]

I did have a thing for the MkIII Capri once... and still think it looks fantastic inside and out... but am often told it's horrible to actually drive, own, run and maintain...

[Zak33]

I did have a thing for the MkIII Capri once... and still think it looks fantastic inside and out... but am often told it's horrible to actually drive, own, run and maintain...

Supra WAAAAAY over Capri bud

[Ttaskmaster]

Supra WAAAAAY over Capri bud

Don't worry - There's a lot of nice-looking cars that I'd never own, mostly for the same reasons as the Capri...