Should I buy this as a project car? (Supra n00b alert)

[aHarmony]

I love Supras, and I love 80's cars. There's a 1985 Celica Supra (EDIT: MkII Supra...my bad, told you I'm a noob. Sorry if I offended anyone by saying Celica Supra!) for sale locally that runs beautifully but has some extensive body rust...it's pretty cheap. $400.

What engine can I expect to be in here (or possible engines...he didn't mention turbo'd so I would assume it isn't a turbo.) I want a project car that I can work on and have a finished showpiece while I toot around in my stock 'Rolla.

I'd post some pics if there were any at the moment...seller hasn't put any up yet.

[Jeeves]

I believe that had the 5M-GE in it and wasn't offered in a turbo variety. 7M swaps are common in those cars because of their weight. I'd be careful with any rust just because of the cost and labor that it can take to repair that damage and just a little can lead to much more that is unseen.

[bgrieger]

MKII's (you were right, celica supras) are known for rust issues, and I'm sure an owner or two will tell you if you can see it, you're only looking at part of the problem. They tend to be a losing proposition for repairs that way. I'd look for a mechanically poor one with a mint body over this myself. A running 5M can be picked up free almost every day...

[aHarmony]

Originally Posted by bgrieger

MKII's (you were right, celica supras) are known for rust issues, and I'm sure an owner or two will tell you if you can see it, you're only looking at part of the problem. They tend to be a losing proposition for repairs that way. I'd look for a mechanically poor one with a mint body over this myself. A running 5M can be picked up free almost every day...

Yeah, there's a fair bit of rust issues with this one. I'm not looking for something that I can drive right away or fix up over the course of one winter or something.

I've cruised over the celicasupra.com forums quite a bit since seeing this car and have made up my mind...rust aside, I'm probably going to take it. Cars like this are fairly rare around my parts especially ones that are still insurable once repaired (not write offs) like this one.

I'm sure it will be a long road with many expenses and hardships, but I love these cars to death. Rust is inevitable in my city anyways. There is no such thing as a Supra of this era for under $15k or so that has mint body here. You would be hard pressed to find one for that price even.

I'll post some pics as soon as I have it in my sweaty little paws!