1987 Toyota Supra review from North America

Blown head gasket at 270,000kms which could have been avoided if I had followed tips from the guys on the club forum.

This head gasket failure is common to ALL Supras with the 7M-GE or 7M-GTE engine. The cause of the gasket failure is due to a head Torque spec that was too low. It has been proven through various tests that over time because of the varying expansion rates of the Aluminum head and the Cast Iron block, the head bolts loosen over time and eventually do not hold the head on tight enough and the internal engine pressures blow the gasket out.

A new head bolt torque spec was calculated and published on the supra club forum that prevents this problem from happening.

Other than the above problem, this car is as close to perfect as you can come to for an affordable pure bred luxury sports car.

The only complaint that I had with the car was that the suspension was too soft for serious spirited cornering, so I upgraded by changing out the springs to the Eibach Pro-Kit, and shocks to the Tokico Sport shocks. I still used the stock wheels and tire size, and ran Yokohama A509 rubber. With this combination the car handled like it was on rails.

As for performance, I haven't driven anything quicker for the price. I've had the car at the track several times and got a 0 to 60 time of 5secs flat.

Depending on what you are looking for, you need to be careful what year supra you buy. If you want blistering off the line acceleration, the buy the 1987 or 1988 model with the 5spd as it will match the 1995 Twin Turbo in a 0 to 60 mph run for a fraction of the price, however if you want a high speed cruiser, then the 1989 to 1992 Turbo models are a great buy. You then spend the difference in money on performance upgrades, and you'll then have a high speed cruiser that is faster that the Twin turbo for the same price.

Overall, the Supra is great bang for the buck, just ensure you don't get one that had been in an accident, rusted out, or one with a blown head gasket.

A cheap head leak detector dye is a must for potential supra buyers. One drop of this in the coolant will instantly tell you if there is a head gasket leak problem. Its well worth the couple bucks that will potentially save you huge dollars if you need to replace the gasket soon after you buy the car.