1987 Toyota Supra Turbo
Pictures above are of our first red pearl 1987 Supra Turbo. The picture of the rear of the car has a reflective spot from the sunlight - that's not exhaust - the car ran cleaner than that, thank you.... We bought it with 65K original miles in February of 1999. This was an incredibly fast car after being modified, and it was very fun to drive.
Specifications - the factory standard equipment and options on 1987 Supra turbos
Performance - specs and performance info on the 1987 Supra turbo
The infamous Supra blown head gasket problem attacked this Supra at 66,700 miles. Since the HG was shot, we pulled the motor, replaced the clutch, misc hoses and seals, and of course, the head gasket. Two full days! This is a large problem with the 86.5-92 Supras, so if you are looking to buy one, watch out for this! Performing a head re-torque procedure (to 70 lb-ft of torque instead of 55) seems to decrease your chances of blowing the head gasket.
Rebuild pictures:
The HEAD:
The disassembly of the engine bay (yikes!):
What we had in ours (around 300 hp):
- NGK double platinum-tipped spark plugs
- Goodyear Eagle GTII 225/50/16 tires
- SOGI short shift mod, with Racer Design shift knob
- Removed front chin spoiler and all metal bars in nose piece base
- Installed Redline 75W90 Synthetic gear oil in rear diff
- Installed Redline 75W90NS Synthetic gear oil in trans
- Added Redline Water Wetter to coolant
- Installed K&N air filter and cut out front of air box
- Custom cold air intake from bottom corner of car (4" metal ducting)
- Wastgate shimmed with 5 1/8" washers on new 1.25" bolts for increased turbo pressure (+4 psi)
- Apexi N-1 exhaust system, cat back
- Added Prolong engine treatment to help smooth, lubricate and cool engine. Ran with Castrol 10W30.
- Custom vinyl "SUPRA TURBO" decals on the side window pillars
- Custom yellow mesh in place of the stock front plastic grill material
- Stripped/polished stock rims
- Replaced front speakers with 4" 2 ways
- Replaced rear speaker enclosures with 6x8" speakers
- Replaced double din stock stereo with single DIN detachable face Clarion cassette player
- Miscellaneous weight reduction was done
I (Joel) had the Supra clocked (with me driving) at the following best times:
0-60 mph: 6.1 seconds (with friend in car, before all mods completed)
1/4 mile: 14.9 @ 94 mph (note, this was my first (only) drag race, R/T .77, 95 degrees F air temp!)
I had a hard time on the drag strip - the cheap Eagle tires wouldn't stop spinning. These runs were done with NO boost mods (8psi, breaking in brand new clutch, new head gasket).
Pictures from the St. Louis 1999 Supras meet!