rider

Does anyone know what the original tyre size was for the factory 16 inch rims to confirm if 225/50R16 is correct as the out of the factory size?

Is £51 OK for 7 rims and 6 caps?

Chris, I believe you are somewhere close to Prees. I'm going to see a mate of mine up in Whitchurch who is in the motor trade in a couple of hours if you PM your address I could pop in quickly to say hi and have a quick look at what you do there.

I just bought 7 X 16 inch rims including 6 centre caps off eBay for £51. Not seen them yet as a relative local to the seller picked them up for me but I should be able to get a good 4 set out of those and its an absolute bargain. I actually think in about 10 years time they will add £thousands to the value of the car which happens to be a totally original parts Supra at the moment, except for running on BBS alloys. After 18 years of ownership I'm going to be holding out a few more years for that really big ticket value I can see coming and I think the OE wheels are a key element to the package. I've been after a set for years but this lot came up at more than the right price.

As the Supra enters the vintage car era the historic value which usually translates into money value is invariably driven by originality. Of parts and to the specification as the car left the factory in terms of matching number mechanical components, original trim and factory colour. I'd venture when all the modified Supras have been mangled or scrapped the last few examples will all be original specification cars attracting big money. That'll be really serious money. One thing that is going to be really hard to find in the future, its getting hard now, is those cast off 16 and 17 inch factory alloy wheels. These will be key to the factory look and I recon people need to grab some while they still can before its too late if they view their Supra as a collectable classic.

From another forum - nothing to do with me just supplied for info. You need to pull down the plastic ring around the base of the shift knob, that should reveal a set of Phillips head screws which needs to be removed. Once they are undone, you should be able to remove the auto shift knob. Just watch out when you are pulling it upwards as the OD button will still be wired up and you may need to cut the wires to get the knob off completely.

Got myself a couple of quarts of Royal Purple Synchromax and drained the gearbox. I wonder if it stains the parts purple at all seeing it resembles blueberry juice? After squeezing in almost both bottles up a length of fish tank hose I had a bad case of palm cramp. I'm going to have to buy myself a 12V peristaltic pump sometime.

I've never regretted selling any car, but then I've never sold my supra

I used EBC replacement discs (non grooved) and red stuff pads. They have been perfect for my use. I spent about £140 from memory and they have performed well. Old discs rattled whereas these don't.

You need a Ballast so if it isn't inbuilt or you haven't plugged it in they won't work. Also, as listy says they need to be wired in to the correct polarity.

I don't think the OE units had codes, at least not as far back as 1996. My j-spec that I ran for years because although the radio was no good without a band expander it has the multi CD in the boot. It never required any code entry even after battery disconnect or change. I still have the redundant 2 cassette (4 per cassette from memory) with some CDs in it that I forgot to remove when I changed the original radio that I still have somewhere to. When I sell the car, if I ever do sell it I'll include things like the OE stereo, OE gauges and a set of original wheels so it can get back to stock. I think we will see more and more people looking for stock parts to at least have the stock option which usually means more desirable to the classic market.

I've fortunately only ever seen the oil pressure light come on any car at idle only and its always been the sender unit that's failed. You can pick up new senders for around £8 so I'd start there first rather than buying a gauge to check the actual pressure.

I only ever screw in oil filters one hand tight and they are always easily two hands removed next time. You only need to screw these things down sufficiently so they don't leak and it only takes a little force to seal effectively on the rubber gasket.

Opie Oils usually have good prices on Silkolene PRO grades, I go for the 40 weight myself.

You can often raise a smile on ads raised on eBay and be left wondering if its a genuine sale or not. This goes for anything but I particularly like this selling point: "Owned by my sons Grand parents and used daily to the local hospital where they save lives!" Why not just say 'Owned by my parents and run daily to the local hospital, where they have doctors and nurses'? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-Spec-Toyota-Supra-1994-red-JZA80-2JZGTE-reconditioned-30k-miles-twin-turbo-/111884840368?hash=item1a0cdb2db0:g:Q7oAAOSw5dNWpTS5

You can still buy new ones for £8,000. £3,800 doesn't seem too steep for a box in good working condition, the 98% feedback and bolshie attitude might put me off though..

Give Thor Racing a call

Most people prefer their bumpers outside so I doubt many, unless ripped off in an accident, have ever tried carrying one inside. I doubt there would be the headroom so I'd guess the answer is no.

Supra IV prices will continue to rise with many specialists saying the sky is the limit. 5 years ago there were over 150 Supras listed across eBay, Autotrader and Pistonheads. Today its under 20. The numbers of registered cars are unchanged with imports replacing broken or written off cars so it would seem owners are hanging onto the cars. Limited supply which exceeds demand means prices will continue to firm until the supply meets demand. With increasing rarity, that could be something that is never quite attained which is good news for all owners of the good, the bad or even the plastic wrapped ugly Supra.

I think its a lot worse than you think it is. When I had a Badger attack my front bumper with no other damage the repair was £1,400. Add in light and bonnet straightening and you will likely be looking at the wrong side of £2k.

My BPU car has proved to be totally reliable with the original turbos still doing their job and an engine that purrs along. Only thing I have ever changed on the drivetrain in 16 years is the standard clutch at 107,000 miles. You find a lot of the high HP bespoke build Supras end up being broken for parts which generally will mean one less Supra out there. BPUs look stock (good for the insurers), push out around 340bhp at the wheels and you can buy in kits from the USA or the UK for not a lot, so its an affordable upgrade too especially if you do your own spannering. I did look into taking my car to the next level but the cost just didn't make it worthwhile in my opinion. I'd have rather sold the car and purchased a new GTR instead.

With any camera the quality always comes down to the quality of the lens. I can guarantee that for £20 you don't buy a good quality lens so fine for YouTube but probably won't be suited to number plate recognition as a general dash cam. If you have a smart phone you can download free apps that turn your camera into a dash cam with GPS, its heavy on the battery but will give you better results than a £20 camera purely because expensive phones tend to have more expensive lenses.

I have my 1996 Supra TT6 presently on an agreed value insurance policy at £12k. It's getting harder by the day to value these cars as they are becoming less available to replace by the day. I have trawled half a dozen sites for Supra TT manuals of all ages and there are only 3 listed across the UK that I could find. Priced at £14,950, £16,995 and for the one UK supplied example £19,990. My car is a near immaculate beauty (as good as you can get with original 040 paint) with one owner last 16 years, all MOTs which it passes first time every time, fully stamped up service book for the last 16 years and 107,000 miles. I'm thinking maybe £16k for the upcoming insured value revision, does that sound about right?

I never had any problems fitting any child seats or boosters into the Supra rear seats or passenger seat. Used to run long journeys 4 up until the youngest legs extended beyond the edge of the rear seat as I have the drivers seat right back, that was then the end of the Supra as a 4 up youngster mobile.

You can buy kits readily to run this test if you also have an air compressor to hand. There is a good write up available on how to diagnose if you do get pressure leakage, http://www.allpar.com/fix/leakdown-test.html