A 1979 Supra Owner has some questions.

Greetings,

I own a 1979 Toyota Supra and I'm thinking maybe its time to do something with it - either sell it - or restore it to brand new look - or something. I've never been a gear head - although I always did my own maintenance on it and my other vehicles. I wasn't a racer or stoplight streaker either. I just loved great handling and good performance. So I went for what I considerd the best used sports car in 1981 that I could find - a 1979 Supra.

Anyway - nostalgia aside - there was no internet back then - no history to look back and recognize the weaknesses and strengths of the 1979 - other than the fact we knew they were fast and lasted forever (my friend has an 80's model with 350,000 on it - while mine is just a kid with 96,000 on it).

Other than just a tad bit of fender rust in one spot and a need for some paint buffing - its in great shape - (body and mechanicals). Its just time to stop storing it (last 15 years ) and either sell it or use it.

What are the 1979's weaknesses or strengths from your perspectives?

P.S. Forgot to mention - I believe the 79 was Supra's first year - and this one was a dealer showroom car - used to promote Toyota.

White Lightening

Nice find, the MKI's are getting more rare because not many people like the style so they end up in the crusher. I would restomod it personally but it's your car. You do need to seriously look into the rust problem soon though, if you can see some on the fender then there is probably alot more in other places that aren't so easy to get to. There really aren't many strengths for the MKI, by todays standards it handles terrible, it's slow, and the styling is very dated. Also you're not going to find any aftermarket for the car, almost everything will be custom. Of coarse with enough money anything can be modified and I wouldn't hesitate to make it outhandle and outperform todays sports cars. Good luck with the project. :)

Nice find, the MKI's are getting more rare because not many people like the style so they end up in the crusher. I would restomod it personally but it's your car. You do need to seriously look into the rust problem soon though, if you can see some on the fender then there is probably alot more in other places that aren't so easy to get to. There really aren't many strengths for the MKI, by todays standards it handles terrible, it's slow, and the styling is very dated. Also you're not going to find any aftermarket for the car, almost everything will be custom. Of coarse with enough money anything can be modified and I wouldn't hesitate to make it outhandle and outperform todays sports cars. Good luck with the project. :)

Greetings,

I'd agree with most of your comments except for one. I never found my Supra's handling bad or the engine slow (not being protective). I also once owned a Celica 1981. There was a substantial radical difference in handling and power between the two. My 79 Supra, according to specs I've read on the internet recently states it was 110 hp. Yet I drove numerous 240Z cars and my Supra was considerably faster from 30mph to 80mph than they were and handled much better. Also I never had any difficulty driving in the winters - while Datsun Z's were unable to drive winters without serious handling/traction/accident issues. The rust - is minor - upper fender near upper wheelwell trim - but still - it should be fixed.

I agree - the styling is early sports car - longer sports car. With only 26,400 made in 1979 - I wonder how many are left - much less in the shape and condition of mine. The challenge - is to figure out what value it might have on the market - and then - do I want to sell it for that value LOL.

White Lightening

I didn't mean it was terrible for the car, it's a Supra so of coarse it was ahead of the pack for it's time and a very nice car. Read what I said again and you'll see by todays standards the performance is terrible. Either way it's one of the great Supras though so were all family. The price will obviously be entirely up to you, the milage is very low and since you've had it for this long you might as well keep it forever and restore it.

I didn't mean it was terrible for the car, it's a Supra so of coarse it was ahead of the pack for it's time and a very nice car. Read what I said again and you'll see by todays standards the performance is terrible. Either way it's one of the great Supras though so were all family. The price will obviously be entirely up to you, the milage is very low and since you've had it for this long you might as well keep it forever and restore it.

Greetings Projectsupra,

Don't worry - I didn't think you meant it was a terrible car. I don't get sensitive about message boards - its a great place to interchange info and learn. I guess my considering selling the 79 Supra - is this year I will be selling my office and the 6 car garage that goes with it. that garage is way too full of "important things" LOL. I'm starting to think ahead for the next 6 months or so - so that I don't get any wife ultimatums come late summer LOL. Something has to go - I just need to figure out which things are my top "keepers" for the new garage (downsizing from a 2 and a 6 to just a 4 is going to be challenging).

[I'm restoring a 1981 and its fun. I bought a 1988 7MGE and I'm going to drop it in and see what it'll do, meanwhile I rebuilt the 5ME and it was great fun and easy to work on. The 4ME could be bored out to 2.8 liters as it is the same block as the 5ME,5MGE,6MGE,7MGE, and 7MGTE

Just curious why you went with a n/a? For the same amount of work, and alittle more money you could put in a GTE and have way more potential as well as alot more HP. I mean unless you just want to do something different like a sidedraft carbed 7M with lots of internal work or whatever. Do the car right, the world needs more awesome MKI's. :)

I have most of the stuff to go turbo, pistons, intake, I just lack the turbo. Instead of aJDM, I pulled a 7MGE from a wrecked car for $100, put $100 in bearings, $200 in the head, a $90 gasget set, about $50 in solvents and cleaners, so I'm at $600 with a rebuilt motor. I'm short on the cash to get the turbo which is running about $150 to $200 plus the control for it. I'm going to spend that money on an original as possible paint and interior. I'm also a little afraid of the transmission and suspension holding up to a 100% increase in HP.