rider

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

Obtain all remote transmitters for this vehicle. 1. Insert key into ignition and turn ignition switch to ON position. 2. Locate the ECU (Engine Control Unit) and press and hold the ECU PROGRAMMING button for 3 seconds. The ECU will be located under one of the front two seats, the trunk, or under the dashboard on the drivers' side. You will need a small pointy object like a pen to depress the ECU button. After pressing the ECU button for three seconds, you will see the STATUS MONITOR LED turn on for 5 seconds. Vehicle is now in programming mode. 3. Press and release either the top or bottom button on the remote (If you purchased a four button duplicate remote simply press the lock or unlock button since the other two buttons will not be used). The STATUS MONITOR LED will turn off. A chirp will be heard as well as one flash of the exterior lights. 4. Turn off the ignition. Programming is now complete, test remotes for proper programming. You need to ensure the fob is at the correct frequency which for European cars post 1996 is 433MHz. A USA sourced fob will likely be 315MHz. I downloaded these instructions a while back to programme a second remote but an OEM one never came up on eBay at a price I could justify. So, if you try it and it works let us all know. PS - the ECU is under the front seat...............

That's way too much oil for stem seals. Likely Turbo seal or broken ring.

I find if you leave turning the lights on for a few second after starting the car I don't have the failure to ignite problem whereas, it can occur if the lights are switched on right after starting. So, I'm assuming it takes the Ballast a second or two to hit charge after a big hit on the battery starting. Just try delaying the switch on after car ignition to see if that helps.

Its not really a void, the spare wheel is supposed to be there. There was air suspension fitted to my Mustang that I've returned to gas. Once the compressor or air lines fail then you just end up tyre rubbing and causing arch damage.

Anyone used the RP Synchromax in their V160 or 161 boxes? Its about a third of the price of 'Toyota' oil which is said to be bog standard ATF.

Tyre Trader has them listed for £67.82 a unit which is firmly in the cheaper end for that amount of rubber and all the usual Bridgestone, Michelin or Continental suspects run at around £130 a tyre. Cheaper is usually referred to as budget in the car World. It would be both useful and interesting to know if any members have good or indeed bad experience from using these tyres as I doubt many would normally consider using the cheaper brands. Nankang has a good following as one of the better budgets. Maybe we are all missing out on a good tyre and money saving opportunity that Nankang offers and if others can share their positive experience with these tyres, it should help your sale potential no end.

Aside from hacksawing one of the three locating lugs the fit is a simple process of plugging in. You have units with built in ballast so you don't even need a second box to plug into. Takes about 20 minutes to fit even with the sawing and I've only ever had one HID bulb blow in years. Lots brighter too, running on HIDs is like running on full beam halogens without blinding oncoming traffic. 6000K is white as far as my lights look anyway, 8000K is heading to chavvy blue but I kept to that on one of my cars as it came with those fitted. Anything less than 6000K is beginning to look French as it tends towards yellow.

Just as a sideline, does anyone normally fit budget tyres to their Supra?

You can't get the JSpec bulbs which have a different 3 locating lug pattern so all I did was get the standard HB bulb and hacksaw off one of the three tabs. Bulb fits and holds in position fine with the two remaining tabs. Its easy to figure out which one doesn't align and needs cutting off. For the benefit of the OP ballast is required and 6000K gives a good white light. Go 8000K and its starting to get blue. I have some cars on 6000K and some on 8000K without any issues on colour.

Good to read people are still getting their Supras out for every day driving. Maybe I just need to leave Kate alone and go tug on my 6 speed more often than I do. I just know these cars are going to be worth lots of money and it seems an indulgence to wear it out all on my own.

You can negotiate with the insurers to retain the car for the offered pay-out less the salvage value. It's up to the insurer though as they have effectively purchased the car for its determined pre-accident value. You also need to consider if the insurers will register it as an insurance write off which doesn't matter if the intention is only to retain it for parts but will affect the cars value if its being retained to be repaired and put back on the road. I'd only consider offering to buy this damaged car from the insurance company if its worth a lot more in parts than the salvage price they are prepared to accept. This car has a rear wheel pushed quite a way forward so assuming the axle drive shaft hasn't just snapped at the hub it probably means a twisted or broken sub frame which in turn could mean a twisted body. This car looks like it has terminal panel damage even before looking at any structural damage.

You don't always get that option under Comprehensive insurance.

When I bought my Supra TT in 1998 it was my daily driver racking up 12,000 miles a year and I had great fun, particularly when limiter riding M3 blitzing on the Autobahn. Now it only comes out occasionally and I don't do even manage 1,000 miles between MOTs. There are only 140 Mk 4 turbo cars left in the UK according to the how many left site which ranks them pretty rare and original manual cars even rarer. Does anyone still get to drive their Supra's or are they all just becoming garage ornaments or track day toys?

I'd assume with that amount of damage its off to the great scrap heap in the sky.