Everybody loves a makeover and today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe second generation Supra is not only representative of that marque’s transition from sporty tourer to brawny super coupe, but has itself been overhauled. The question is, does its price also need a makeover?
Last week we passed judgement on a fairly pristine second generation Toyota Calica Liftback. That car, while a full-on ‘70s flashback, was deemed to be far too mellow yellow for its sixty five hundred asking price. Many comments pointed out that, were the car the similar but far more sexy and sixy Supra, then we would have much to discuss.
Well, get ready to jaw, because today we’re eyeballing a Supra, and it’s the far more aggressive second generation model, replete with back seat sun shade/spoiler, pop-up lamps, and bull dog underbite.
Each generation of Supra spun a little farther from its Celica roots, or more accurately ensuing Celicas became a lot less Supra. In ’84, they both shared driving ends and much of their bodywork, although the Supra sported a significantly enhanced schnoz in order to provide room for the two additional cylinders to be found on its inline engine.
This 1984 Supra adds not cylinders but pressure, featuring what’s described as a professionally installed 7M-GTE, a DOHC straight six of 2,954-cc displacement, and carrying a fatty turbo in its holster.
The ad claims 400 ponies, a healthy increase over the 160 the original engine was supposed to offer. It also notes that it was rebuilt before installation, and has been wrung out over the course of 30K since so any issues should have been addressed by now. The chassis has 230,000 under its belt, but that shouldn’t alarm as this is an ‘80s Toyota, and they rival Michael Bay movies containing explosions on the reliability scale.
Those miles are also not apparent in the car’s appearance, its silver paint and shiny black trim still showing their luster. Some of that may attributable to what appears to have been a gallon of ArmorAll covering every rubber and plastic surface on the car. Still, shiny-shiny.
Inside it’s much the same, the cloth upholstery looking near perfect and very ‘80s in its horizontal stipe splendor. Yeah, there is an A-pillar gauge cluster and an aftermarket steering wheel - plus this wasn’t the best looking interior Toyota ever did - but those are but minor grievances.
Much more likable is the list of new, better, and whatever- all parts added to the car along with the later motor. One of those is an Aisin W58 5-speed that’s paired with the big mill, and fed through a stage 5 clutch. Having all those ponies and the ability to row your own sort of makes this car a slice of automotive nirvana.
But is its price also heavenly? The ad - which has been up for more than a while - is asking $8,000 for the car. That’s not chump change, but it’s also far less than it would cost to drop a 7M-GTE into pretty much anything other than your living room.
So, what do you think, is this Supra more than just the sum of its parts? More importantly, is it more than the sum of its price?
You decide!
Los Angeles Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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