rider

You can get aftermarket black bushes for the front and rear arms for about £150 plus shipping and taxes but it appears from references on the US Supra forum that the ball joints are not able to be replaced. Presumably they are crimped into position rather than pressed into the arm.

Are these facelift or pre facelift as I beleive there is a coupling difference? Can you post?

Thats got to make sense, third party fixes if they don't work out how they were expected to do performance or cost wise just lose the focus and to easily turn into a blame game. I expect in a few months you will just love your Supra.

The pictures look like a mix match across the ages rather than a current set. Some with spoiler, some without. Some with a front bumper, some without. Price isn't the issue but a coherent set of current inside, outside and under bonnet pictures might help.

The sub frame has lots of holes into the enclosed section for bracket bolts so it can be easily drained. The galvanizing process is run at around 600C from memory and that would drive off any residual organics. The issues tend to be with phosphate coating which is done from solutions at low temperatures, up to 99C. I believe that is the Surface Process treatment which I elected to have originally but now its having an oven clean followed by HCl acid pickling and a zinc dip/plating. Dropped the frame off this morning to Bevlyn for its oven bake. Had a long chat with one of the owners there, mainly about business and lazy people. They even want to see a picture of the finished article pre and post installation as they do a lot of Land Rover stuff, but this is the first Supra part they have seen.

Depends what it goes for and likely to get some helping hand bidding but Cat D repairable parked up UK red TT auto listed on eBay. Potentially good for parts if nothing else as beige interiors are rare if its all still in decent condition. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/rare-uk-spec-toyota-supra-twin-turbo-/122565533854?hash=item1c8979a09e:g:doMAAOSwVJhZUAfw

The only useful advice I can provide is enjoy it but do remember it is a 20 year old car so expect things will need attending to. If you can get access to a ramp, don't forget to look after the underneath because Supras are good with rust but they still rust; largely unseen underneath.

An example of why late night posts are not always a good idea as sometimes they miss the calm clarity afforded by a new day.

It's back up on Gumtree, new lower price too. Though the write up suggests otherwise. Still. if you have so many cars to sell it must be hard to keep track. And, its definitely not a van. https://www.gumtree.com/p/toyota/£9400-swap-twin-turbo-supra-3.0-jap-import-rwd-not-evo-sti-skyline-escort-pulsar-van-forged-bmw/1251054991

My car is an import, came over in 1998. The first UK owner had it for 6 month and I have had it ever since. You'll get less rust on a car that has run 20 years in Japan rather than 20 years in the UK. As with all cars you can get good ones and there are always plenty of not so good ones. The importers tend to say find a car you like the look of and they will make the enquiries unless its an auction car in which case its go off the condition report prepared for the auction. If doing a fresh import then reasonable and kosher sites to browse are http://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/TOYOTA/SUPRA/summary.html And UK based importers http://jm-imports.co.uk/ http://torque-gt.co.uk/

If you are after a blank canvas that is close to stock as a starting point and relatively rust free then its going to be a jap import that fits the bill. You can look a jap auction sites but if you appoint an agent you'll need the best part of £17k for a TT auto and £25k for a TT6 these days. Prices are rising in Japan so unless the £ rises then those prices are likely to be higher by 15% come next Spring.

Your car is one of the very few I ever highlight as a potential good buy and if it hadn't been in silver I would have grabbed it for myself. Its always good to see a transaction where both sides are happy and the weaker £ is having an impact on where the cars are ending up. I think £15k is a fair price for a good genuine factory original setup car. At that, they sell. Its the ones at around £19k with personalised looks and a list of bad bits that can struggle.

The add reads like I'm a trader but trying desperately to pretend I'm not by giving the stupidest reason possible for a short ownership of I cannot get insurance. Begs the question who drove the car to where it is now? Doesn't give me a warm fuzzy cared for feeling.

As a Chemistry Graduate I'd recommend you use a stainless pan. For god sake and your own don't use you wifes best aluminium kitchenware as that'd dissolve. You might even get away with mild steel if its not long term containment potential you are seeking, try an old bean can first before hitting the kitchen stuff. NaOH is pretty nasty stuff in solid pelet form, molten I'd make sure you have steel gloves and a full face perspex shield. Molten NaOH will go through skin quicker than it will aluminium.

Cerium oxide is the thing for scratches, well light scratches. You get different grade (coarseness) powders that you add to water to make a thick paste. Then apply with a soft mop power tool. I have scratches on my Mustang rear screen that I worked on. Took flipping ages and then I found out half were inside as I was buffing up the outside so I've still to do the inside half. Spending a few hours doubled up in the back of the mustang isn't doing it for me just yet, I'm sure one day it will but no, its not today.

I think the Rav 4 of the same era or Solara of the early 2000's looks very similar. Could be worth checking that out. Lead might be a different length but otherwise looks pretty much the same. Whether that helps though as once a part is discontinued it tends to be discontinued regardless of how many models are affected.

I asked them for a Blitz quote and they said, forget that - why not buy on of our own bespoke offerings. Because they have to source via Fensport who are the Blitz distributors for the UK they wouldn't be able to supply a Nur R till November, or December.

When you start putting money and time and effort into a car then it generally is either a pain, ready to be moved on, or something worthwhile preserving. I have driven the car for almost 90,000 miles so its not like it hasn't been driven but I see where you are coming from. I do think once the cars hit around the £50k level people will worry about taking them out knowing if some oik bashes into them its going to be hell tracking down replacement panels and plastic bits and most will end up locked away, rarely to see the light of day. That doesn't stop the long haul expeditions though. The e-type folk have a Swiss run every year, think thats to commemorate the first motor show launch event? Its got to be a lot safer going on events and tours than it is venturing the local roads 100 times a year. Most traffic accidents do occur within 5 miles from home.

Top tip. Talked to Edward Howells and they don't do the stripping stage but recommended Bevlyn for that. So now dropping off the frame to Bevlyn on Monday for a oven paint strip and Howells will collect from there and do the pickling and galvanizing. Total cost £120 plus VAT. I wonder how many Supras there are out there running on galvanized frames?

I'm sure the frame on my car would pass its MOT for at least another 20 years but whipping it off lets me tackle the rusting brake and fuel lines that won't last another 20 years and also to have a good poke around the bodywork under the car that you wouldn't normally get to with the fuel tank, exhaust and frame in place. Seeing the car only does 1,000 miles a year now and lives indoors in my dehumidified garage I'm hoping what gets done now stays done for pretty much ever as far as my lifetime is concerned.

You can buy the JDM 2JZ-GTE and Getrag 6 speed box from the US or Canada more readily than they appear over here. Costs these days around US$12k (they were $6k a couple of years ago). Probably best wait for a TT6 to come up for sale, there was a auto to TT6 for sale in the classifieds recently which could well still be available.

You did indeed. The front frame I bought at the same time is good, as you would expect seeing it sees less debris than the rear. I was planning on using the links, hubs and arms from the rear frame I bought off Mike but the ball joints on them are all bodged and the purple replacement bushes seem very soft. No wonder that car got scrapped, it looks like it could have been one massive bodge. Still, looking on the bright side of life it only appears at this stage to be a major dose of surface rust so I'm hoping the frame will come out the proper refurb side looking pretty close to new.

My original setup was a Blitz back box system and people did say they could hear me coming up the lanes from 2 miles away. Once went to the local pub and had a pint sitting on the bar waiting for me, the landlord had heard I was on my way. Never seemed to be that noisy actually inside the car though.

I must be a mug then because I've just placed an order for a Nur R at just shy of £700 with a October maybe November delivery from their sole official UK distributor.