New to the forum and would like to say hi (a little Supra advice needed)

[wezz313]

Hello everyone I'm Wesley and living in Kent here in the UK.

So a little about me...

I'm 26 and finally in a position to get/afford a Supra MKIV.

I currently drive a BMW E46 323ci (soon to be sold) haha yes my blinker fluid bottle is empty.

 

So as I'm 26 and I am probably one of the younger members on the forum but hey we all have to start somewhere.

I'm a 90's kid from the "PlayStation generation" (I like the Xbox more:whistle:) who grew up watching the Fast and the Furious movies and playing games with this iconic car, and I was bitten with car enthusiasm from a young age.

 

I used to help my dad work on the family car (VW Golf MK1) and from there I've learnt how to rebuild engines and bring cars back to life just like my current BMW is proof of that as it was dead when I bought it.

 

I've owned a FWD VW Jetta MK3 2.0 (it was killed by someone hitting me) and then moved to RWD with a BMW E36 325i (had to sell as I immigrated) and my current BMW E46 323ci (only selling as I want the Supra more). Now I feel is the right time to move onto my dream car the MKIV Supra.

 

Now onto the subject of getting a Supra.

I have a budget of 5000 pounds to spend on a car. Yes not much but hear me out.

In the past 2 years I've noticed the prices of Supra's climb at a fast rate and I don't want to wait another 2 years and they become more expensive and that means wasting money because I didn't get one now.

 

Because of my limited budget I'm only in the price range of the n/a 5 speed or auto Supra's.

My current BMW is auto and I feel that it's not as much fun as the manual I had before it.

 

Now there are 2 nice auto Supra's in my price range but I don't want to feel disappointed when driving my dream car so the question for you guys who have driven or owned both manual and auto is, is the auto as much fun as the manual?

 

I want to buy this Supra as my forever Supra so I'm not worried about it being UK or J-spec, I want to build it to the car I want it to be because I love building cars and feel heart broken having to sell them. But I'd like a hardtop as it has that extra chassis stiffness.

 

Some other details about what I plan with my Supra. (In the years to come)

- Change the 2jz-ge with a 2jz-gte and convert it to single turbo I want between 400-500whp

- Change to a 6 speed manual (from a manual 5 speed or auto)

- Change to an LSD diff

- Might do a half cage for safety

- and many many more when I decide what route I want to go with styling.

 

Thank you all for reading this and giving your input. When I get my Supra I'll let you all know and post it here.

[6speedmark]

Save your money and buy a twin turbo mate converting from auto to manual and then to turbo will be so costly. I asked the same questions a few years back and that wat I was told mate, n a manual or twin auto is where I would be. Uk Spec are well out of budget mate but j spec a bit cheaper. Only my responses passed on

[samdale]

As said, TT auto is probably best bang for buck for the power you're aiming for especially if you're not dead set on manual. Even more so if you're handy with the spanners and don't mind buying a cheaper one and doing it up.

 

There's quite a few people coming on here with mediocre budgets looking for the best TT6 going, all the time prices are rising. Better off buying slightly cheaper and doing up over time IMO

[S.P.R.]

I am fairly new to Supra ownership. I have an Black NA Auto, love it. But once I get all the little niggles sorted out with it, I will probably sell. I will then save for a Twin Auto, I will then BPU if it's not there already. I will then save some more and see if I can get a Whifbitz DSG gearbox conversion, that will be a seriously fast car.

[ripped_fear]

From someone who was in your position years ago when i bought my first supra at 19/20 this is my stance on it.

 

I had 7k at a young age I had saved, and decided to purchase a NA manual, and do I regret it...... hell NO! They are fantastic fun reliable cars, and make for a great GT car, and with some simple mods a nice sports car, however was it quick?....nope. Don't get me wrong, at 20 going from a 1.4 Renault 19 it felt space ship quick! I kept that care for 6 years and just over a year ago sold it and bought a tt6 at bpu power. Completely different car, but a completely different price tag too!

 

The sensible thing would have been to have held off back in the day, and bought the tt from the get go, but like I say I don't regret it, and tbh I would have probably killed myself with 400bhp on tap at such a young age.

 

My advice would be to evaluate your surplus income, and see how quick you could double your budget, if the answer is 3+ years id buy the most stock clean NA you can now, before price continue to rise, and just enjoy it, (DO NOT MODIFY IT LIKE I DID!) then when money is a little bit better, sell up and buy your dream.

 

If however your privileged enough to save quick Id hold off now and buy your dream car.

 

Dropping the TT engine and all associated parts to an NA shell will cost more in the long run, and your car will be worth less at the end. Parts are getting harder and harder, and cheap TT conversions are a thing of the past, and new parts are rocketing thanks to dwindling stock at Mr T's warehouses.

Its counter productive imo, and at the risk of blowing my own trumpet my old NA was one of the most prime to do the turbo swap on (I spent a small fortune in my ownership of the NA.... around 20k excluding the cost of the car) and I decided against it and I dont regret the decision at all. If you go with the NA option buy it and enjoy it for what it is.

Edited January 14, 2017 by ripped_fear (see edit history)

[6speedmark]

May i also say mate one of the reason i suggested the auto twin is because its a great base car to get going with... How ever going straight for a big single conversion etc and going for the 600bhp imo you would be better off getting used to the tt bpu power first. A long happy driving life is wat you want mate... 600bhp needs some handling fella much better off gettingused to a bpu tt first if you can get the money together. I second wat ripper fear says . Dont get a na and spend thousands on it as your forever supra as you will want a proper twin in the end...

[jcbt]

From someone who was in your position years ago when i bought my first supra at 19/20 this is my stance on it.

 

I had 7k at a young age I had saved, and decided to purchase a NA manual, and do I regret it...... hell NO! They are fantastic fun reliable cars, and make for a great GT car, and with some simple mods a nice sports car, however was it quick?....nope. Don't get me wrong, at 20 going from a 1.4 Renault 19 it felt space ship quick! I kept that care for 6 years and just over a year ago sold it and bought a tt6 at bpu power. Completely different car, but a completely different price tag too!

 

The sensible thing would have been to have held off back in the day, and bought the tt from the get go, but like I say I don't regret it, and tbh I would have probably killed myself with 400bhp on tap at such a young age.

 

My advice would be to evaluate your surplus income, and see how quick you could double your budget, if the answer is 3+ years id buy the most stock clean NA you can now, before price continue to rise, and just enjoy it, (DO NOT MODIFY IT LIKE I DID!) then when money is a little bit better, sell up and buy your dream.

 

If however your privileged enough to save quick Id hold off now and buy your dream car.

 

Dropping the TT engine and all associated parts to an NA shell will cost more in the long run, and your car will be worth less at the end. Parts are getting harder and harder, and cheap TT conversions are a thing of the past, and new parts are rocketing thanks to dwindling stock at Mr T's warehouses.

Its counter productive imo, and at the risk of blowing my own trumpet my old NA was one of the most prime to do the turbo swap on (I spent a small fortune in my ownership of the NA.... around 20k excluding the cost of the car) and I decided against it and I dont regret the decision at all. If you go with the NA option buy it and enjoy it for what it is.

 

Listen to this man he knows what he is talking about. Ownership is not as cheap as it once was and conversion costs are eye watering

[Havard]

From someone who was in your position years ago when i bought my first supra at 19/20 this is my stance on it.

 

I had 7k at a young age I had saved, and decided to purchase a NA manual, and do I regret it...... hell NO! They are fantastic fun reliable cars, and make for a great GT car, and with some simple mods a nice sports car, however was it quick?....nope. Don't get me wrong, at 20 going from a 1.4 Renault 19 it felt space ship quick! I kept that care for 6 years and just over a year ago sold it and bought a tt6 at bpu power. Completely different car, but a completely different price tag too!

 

The sensible thing would have been to have held off back in the day, and bought the tt from the get go, but like I say I don't regret it, and tbh I would have probably killed myself with 400bhp on tap at such a young age.

 

My advice would be to evaluate your surplus income, and see how quick you could double your budget, if the answer is 3+ years id buy the most stock clean NA you can now, before price continue to rise, and just enjoy it, (DO NOT MODIFY IT LIKE I DID!) then when money is a little bit better, sell up and buy your dream.

 

If however your privileged enough to save quick Id hold off now and buy your dream car.

 

Dropping the TT engine and all associated parts to an NA shell will cost more in the long run, and your car will be worth less at the end. Parts are getting harder and harder, and cheap TT conversions are a thing of the past, and new parts are rocketing thanks to dwindling stock at Mr T's warehouses.

Its counter productive imo, and at the risk of blowing my own trumpet my old NA was one of the most prime to do the turbo swap on (I spent a small fortune in my ownership of the NA.... around 20k excluding the cost of the car) and I decided against it and I dont regret the decision at all. If you go with the NA option buy it and enjoy it for what it is.

 

Listen to everything this man says, as I was going to say exactly the same. Loved my NA 5 speed.

 

H.

[HarleyFDMD]

I have an NA 5 speed and personally i love it.

Its a good entry level car into the world of supras particularly if you arnt used to driving fast cars regularly... which i was not.

 

Listen to Jake though (ripped_fear) hes been there done that and got the reputation to prove it.

I am in a similar boat although i have choosen to convert my NA to single turbo GTE. Costly but its the route i wanted to take.

 

I dont thinks theres a right or wrong answer to what you want to do but either way its going to cost you far more than you will expect. As already mentioned prices have rocketed recently.

Afew years back you'd be able to find a TT6 for £5k. Nowadays that would get you a 6 speed gearbox on its own and a set of Rotas

 

 

[wezz313]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I unfortunately can't double my budget or save the money fast enough in the next 3 years to get a tt.

But I do hear where you're all coming from by saying that if I get a n/a I should not mod but instead save that money and when the time is right then get a tt.

 

My thought pattern was to get the n/a and then save up for the 2JZ-GTE engine, ecu, loom, 6 speed manual gearbox, diff and import those then rebuild the engine and keep it tt until I have the money and experience to go single turbo 400-500 whp.

This was the 5 year goal.

 

I'm very "handy with spanners" as it's said, I've rebuilt 4 cars already and 3 of their engines too, I've replaced gearboxes, fixed electronics, rebuilt and upgraded suspensions etc. I'm lucky enough to have a good understanding of cars and fixing them, I love learning how to solve new problems and how to improve on cars original designs so that's why I wanted to go this route.

 

Thank you all so much for the advice.

I think I'll go the n/a route and enjoy the car.

Maybe I'll get a big enough raise in the next month (evaluation is coming up) to put that money away for a nice tt while enjoying a n/a for now.

[HarleyFDMD]

Are you aware how much a GTE engine with loom and ecu, 6 speed box and diff/prop and shafts would cost in todays market?

 

 

[wezz313]

Are you aware how much a GTE engine with loom and ecu, 6 speed box and diff/prop and shafts would cost in todays market?

 

/QUOTE]

 

I am sadly am yes:( and I know it's only going up hence why it was the 5 year plan.

I've been following MKIV Supra and their engine prices for 4 years.

 

Also I've been worried that the tt prices will start to increase more than the n/a in the coming years making the swap a cheaper if not equally expensive route. but this way I know the chassis and won't have any nasty surprises if I was to buy a tt. Crazy suspicions to have but as the car gets older and more valuable I know people will fix damaged cars and lie about it's past and I'd hate that.