10 Things to know when buying an a70

Not really a "buyers guide" as that would be a long video but brief points you should consider when looking to buy yourself an A70 Supra.
-Rust inner rear quarters and wheel tubs
-Rust lower tub (rearward lowest corners) under factory jack location on both sides
-Rear Sub-frame prone to cracking
-Rust under front mud flap where lower fender bolts to the Tub of the car
-Blown Head-gasket
-Any rotational clatter under-hood when brining car up off idle
Consider again what your buying if you see things like shimmed waste gates or rep BOV's. It has been common to see in the past but for me these are indicators of money being a little tight and that raises more questions for me.
Stripped interior, unless your tracking the car or have a donor car ready to put an interior back in I would reconsider here. More that likely means the car was making its way to ken blocks proving grounds and interior bits for these care are getting harder to find as the chassis ages.
Not the most in depth list here but the main points I think are important for everyone to cover when looking to buy an A70.
Hope it helps,

[@mrjza7556]

This is a great video....After over 6 Mk3 Supra’s I have owned I thought I’ll chime in. 1. Trunk seal always rips. Pull it up and look around the tail lamps for rust. 2. Pour water on top of the hatch glass moldings and check for leaks under the spoiler/wing. 3. Remove drivers tail lamp and look at the yellow Toyota “Tail lamp failure box” if it’s wet or opened. 4. The Subframe diff braces on chassis crack with power or hard launches. 5. Check All Lower camber adjustment bolts front and rear for rust. 6. Drivers door handle for flex and smooth operation as they will break, Compare to passenger side. 7. Targa top seals mounts and screw holes for corrosion/over torqued threats. 8. Sunroof car, test water drains individually and verify hose doesn’t leak. 9. If it has an after market radio check under center flip up cover for Ground (brown wire) center console, this will give issues with the fuel sending unit on gauge cluster. 10. Check if ECU is mounted correctly and harness hasn’t been tampered with, behind glove box. That’s all I can think of quickly apart from the ones Dana mentioned. If this is your first car BUY the repair manual and really learn and enjoy the car first. The high horsepower and “is that a Supra fame” will come don’t worry. “Cheap, FAST and Reliable” you can only pick Two. Good luck 👍

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Good points here too, getting into the nitty gritty a70 stuff haha

[@_entrxpy]

What’s the deal with #3?

[@NARFALICIOUS]

@@_entrxpy There's a box connected to the tail lights that sends a warning light to the dash that one of your rear lights aren't working. The box typically fails on these cars and either turns on the warning light when it shouldn't, or one of your tail lights won't turn on even though the bulbs are fine.

[@_entrxpy]

@@NARFALICIOUS thank you👍🏻

[@mannyk7100]

Thank you for this comprehensive list. For #9, what is the fix for this? Do you just ground that brown wire?

[@astonmarjo]

Very nice insight into our Mk3 Supra's you did a good job buddy. 💯👍

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Thanks dood

[@tony47862]

Still have my sport car compact mag with this car on the cover when Duane owned it!

[@kameronkirby9227]

Beautiful car! And your engine looks VERY clean!

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Thanks, I try to keep it clean

[@supravid6327]

Yess, an in-depth guide would be awesome. Also a comment on the (somewhat contriversial) zulu-mod (oil flow mod) would be cool.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

I can handle that, absolutely

[@DaKineGuy]

No joke on the spare tire well. Bought mine 20 years ago I got some nice holes right where you pointed out. Kickin' myself for not removing the plugs earlier! Ah well, first car and all that, live and learn :)

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Yes sir live and learn, its repairable but a pain if you notice it after the fact

[@rushnerd]

I certainly didn't know all this stuff when I bought my 88' NA auto last week, but I had some idea what to look for. The guy had the head gasket replaced (hopefully retorqued the headbolts to 70, but no way to know) valves redone and more. Very little rust in that spare wheel well with just a tiny amount of water. 115K miles, the car is a garage queen and looks jaw dropping. I think I made the right buy at $8K. I absolutely adore this car.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Sounds like you got a good one, Welcome to the Supra family

[@TejasAutoSalonJasonW]

Awesome run down of the most common issues with the Mk3s. I like your FFAI. If mine weren't so low mile and original, I'd consider doing that. But, if I want to get the most out of it, I try to keep it as OEM or better if possible. You were spot on with the body molding. The original owner of mine had a couple of screws on the the passenger side and it's driving me nuts trying to find a replacement. So seeing the screws for now is gonna have to do. Another thing one should point out is the gaskets between the taillights and hatch degrade and allow water to get into the rear. It was a pretty tedious repair on mine. I'll have a more in depth video on my channel soon. But you can get an idea in my overview. Nice ride and hope to see more of the built 7M you've got going.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Yes sir the money is in original or more original cars when the time comes to part ways

[@hornet7288]

Great run down of what to look for and what to run away from with an a70!

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Just wanted to put the main things out there I have found to be issues when buying A70's over the last 10 or so years

[@Designer_TopG]

@@DanaAnthonyHoeft How many gen 3s have you bought? Do you know where I can get one ?

[@Designer_TopG]

@@DanaAnthonyHoeft Thats a nice clean supra.

[@darkxxdude6727]

Just got one where all of the parts are from the 1987 model and then installed into a 1989. There was only rust on the brake rotors and that was about it. The engine itself had around 95k miles on it and has been worked on. Looking for an ecu and coolant sensor replacement. Hg was replaced with a graphite one but the headbolts were not replaced with arp ones just torqued to 75. Can’t wait to get it running especially as a first car

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Awesome dude, post some videos. grow the mk3 community on youtube

[@slow_r3188]

Thanks so much 🙏

[@ianspeckmaier9565]

What a great guide this is. You clearly have learned these things from experience. I am a proud owner of 2 MA70s and have some degree of many of these issues. In my opinion they are par for the course. Owning a MK3 is a commitment and you may as well accept and set some money aside to make them right before you worry about making big power and big turbos. These cars are beautiful and run amazing even just the way they were meant to be from the factory when everything is right. I'll also throw in, check the dome lights for failure due to ground contact corrosion, as well as the plastic air intake tubes for melting due to heat. Carrier bearings tend to wear out quick on these as well. If you're not prepared to deal with the headaches of a 30+ year old tuner vehicle, don't dive in headfirst. But....if you happen to luck out and find one that doesn't have these issues for a fair price, and you're serious about owning one, you may just want to pull that trigger and buckle up! :)

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Yes sir, your exactly right. These cars are getting on in life a bit haha finding any or all of these issues is not uncommon.

[@Designer_TopG]

@@DanaAnthonyHoeft Thanks for making video about Toyota supra !

[@lockjawjak]

Good guide, the rear rust is a massive one for sure. I bought my A sight unseen across the country and it has got some rust under the rear hatch seal above the taillight and on the inside of rear wheel arches you could see where the two panels meet the bedliner had cracked and it was rusting a little there. Luckily the engine was built bulletproof but its been a real pain getting through all the cosmetic/steel repair work!

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Some times you get a little lucky with rust but most times it is there haha. There are so many more things to consider when buying but a few main ones here. Above the tail light I have seen before more so in cars that have sat a while with dirt and leaves and stuff in there. Worth it for you if the engine was solid

[@lockjawjak]

@@DanaAnthonyHoeft yep you are right on the money, the car had sat in a carport for two years while the owner was overseas and there were leaves packed in all the sills and what not. Surprisingly the spare wheel tub is nearly immaculate

[@Alienscow]

Thx for the video, i just bought mine 2days ago. Hope i didn't miss something 😅

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

haha I hope its mint in all the right spots haha

[@madmike9530]

I picked up a sweat 90 mk3 turbo with a standard trans for $1.200 7 years ago 0 rust. I just finished rebuilding the head and did the HG with ARP head studs. I should have it on the road this summer.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

awesome dude make us some videos and share them

[@blazerdave851]

Saw this car being built, Sitting in Nates garage getting the coil packs installed. Still looks beautiful. You got one heck of a car, still don't understand why Duane sold it.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

He needed money at the time, Nate has Rons old car now that car is 30 times nicer

[@FILIPINOTUNER]

The point about a shimmed wastegate. As long as it has both a boost gauge and an AFR gauge, I'd say it's okay. The problem with the factory wastegate actuator is that it's only a single port. Also, those manual boost controllers can randomly stick internally. Causing random overboost. Many tuners don't trust them. At least the single piece, 2 port ones.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Good point yep, my cause for the shimmed gate being something to look at is more on the "budget" side. Its a common mod, but some things are worth doing right. If you shim your gate in the heat of the day. Its a promise you will over boost in the cooler evenings. Boost is just as important to control as fuel.

[@FILIPINOTUNER]

@@DanaAnthonyHoeft That's true. However I'll argue that the over boost won't be nearly as bad or as drastic as a completely stuck closed manual boost controller. One eye on the boost gauge, the other on the wideband haha.

[@ramoneldelsupra]

Very useful video thanks

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Just one of those things that has not really been put out there

[@ramoneldelsupra]

@@DanaAnthonyHoeft exacty! Btw I just bought a mk3 supra 7mgte!

[@graysongrzybowski943]

OMG!!!! This is so freaking awesome! I am currently wanting to purchase an 87 supra. I live in Texas and its in another state, so i will be flying out to look at it! I will be bring a paper with all the things to look for when inspecting it myself! However, I have derived a handful of questions for each thing that you went over. Can I send you a word doc of them or do are you okay with me posting all them on this feed? It is a lot! I hope to hear back from you soon because i wanted to go take a look at this car really soon

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

No problem dood email me at [e-mail]

[@YesYes-kl8bi]

Hi @Grayson, would you mind sharing your questions and answers? I'm in a similar position as you, would love to get more useful info! Cheers

[@mesniburek1652]

it's 3.28AM, so i am watching in the morning

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Haha, well thanks for the support brother

[@thanxshaq]

Lol! Hey I shimmed my wastgate and still doin great after 20 years and Im not cheap upkeeping my 7MGTE!!

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Im sure if taken care of the 7m will out live most of us haha

[@Designer_TopG]

Yes but nothing beats a good test drive. It can all be felt when driving. Also , if you're into a supra , as a hobbyist and you're serious, chances are you will do anything, to maintain it. So, getting ahold of a supra first ,is the priority. This is love, not technicality;)

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

I agree with you 100%

[@majorva2653]

guy puts 100k in his engine bay and cant buy a proper phone with a nice camera... priorites set right

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

A phone? Hero 6 here, Rode external mic. For sure cheap'd on camera. I could have spent 5k on a decent set up but for the short videos I put out I feel like its good enough for me for now.

[@hazda5791]

@@DanaAnthonyHoeft hey man that engine bay is way more important

[@xXAsunaxKiritoXx]

I got lucky ad copped one for 6.5k. its mostly stock but with redecked head and block and torqued down with arp head studs and bc racing coilovers. Factory airbox is still on and same with the turbo, fuel tank was relined as the tank was in a very bad state when the prev owner got the car and a new pump was also added. It came with a lot of spare parts such as front calipers and aftermarket drilled n slotted rotors, intercooler and auto transmission valve body. I was too exited to get the car and forgot about checking for rust, But this car had been in cali for its whole life so I didnt really see too much rust anywhere else that I could peak since it was almost slammed to the ground with the bc racing coils. Other than that, she needs a new cam position sensor and center drive shaft bear then she'll, be ready to daily

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

yes sir as long as it wasnt a sea side car usually cali cars are fairly clean rust wise. sounds like you got a good start on things

[@xXAsunaxKiritoXx]

Just sent a request to a user on the supra forums that rebuilds these cps, Hopely ill get her running again in a week or so. I havent driven my supra in a couple days and its already killing me lol But at the same time I dont wanna drive it and get stranded from the cps acting up.

[@user-mr5ye1rb4n]

I have owned the Supra for 18 years. And I realized one thing: if the owner is not a mechanic, then the Supra will eat a person, his entire wallet. Hey. I'm a mechanic,bodybuilder , car painter.)))

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Agree, if your not mechanically inclined at the beginning of ownership, you will be by the end haha working on the car is half the fun

[@WildKingGorilla]

Cool

[@majorva2653]

make sure thats there ... and that its metal xD best advice for this car dude

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Chassis points in the hard to reach and see areas are the most overlooked in my experience when looking to buy. Can make a good day into a rather bad day if you don't catch it right away

[@IBRTGP]

I just got one for 300 with a 7mgte, this is gonna be an experience

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

That it will be, make some videos

[@WindyCityRicky]

I probably missed this in the video but where did get that spare wheel cover? That would be super useful to have

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

No spare wheel cover on a standard a70. Youd just have a piece of wood stock with carpet over it. The carpet in my car is custom as well as the surge tank cover where the spare wheel should be

[@jawadulkarim9498]

Well… I just rushed and bought one for 6500…. Idk if it was a bad idea or not, but I’ll definitely need to do the head gasket on this.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

At least you got one, welcome

[@froens2095]

👌👌

[@sadpaperbag3320]

Hi, I recently bought a MK3 and I was wondering where you got your weather stripping because mine is damaged all the way around it’s all dried out

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

The best place to look would be facebook on supra groups for part outs. It will be costly in any event. It is not reproduced so finding it in good shape may be a challange

[@scottchelmford7136]

Could you put this break down in a 10 point bulletin in the video description? (:

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Can do

[@yeahyeahwhatevershutup]

Never knew about the rear subframe problem. My question is how often do near stock supras crack a rear subframe? Mine has definitely never been modded until I got hold of it and I never looked there either haha.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Stock is rare but if a guy beats on it enough anything is possible. I used to have a bpu Twin Turbo R and even on stock twins it destroyed the subframe. That car might have made 370/380 whp but no where neer the torque of a 7m.

[@ghuldorgrey]

@@DanaAnthonyHoeft Oh well i guess im fine with my 235hp 65kmiles 7m then lol. What im experiencing is turbo oil leak and at the diff

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

@@ghuldorgrey normal wear and tear

[@TancheapMcFatass]

Is this the 89 Supra that had over 1,000hp from the magazine? Dude this is my dream car, has been for over 10 years back when I was 14

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Yes sir. Same car, just more power and reliable now haha

[@shnill]

Is your cage custom? I’m looking to get one. Do you have the drawings for it?

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Custom yes, I dont have any drawings for it, A buddy of mine is a home builder and designer. If needed Im sure he could map it out

[@scottchelmford7136]

Is there anyway to fix the cracked dashboards or do you have to just replace it? Would a 57 trim ct26 turbo require any tuning? not sure what the stock turbo "trim" is .. What is your opinion of the "zulu" mod, which they drill the extra holes in the back of the cylinder head for more coolant flow?

[@yeahyeahwhatevershutup]

If you have the mods along with the 57trim like standalone or lex afm and 550s or afpr you actually should tune it to get the most performance but you really just have to get the air fuel ratios right to make sure you dont run lean. And the stock turbo inducer is 46mm and exducer is 62mm👍

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

exactly stock is a 46, a bolt on 57ct with the rest of the car stock wont require any tuning but like scott said when you go lex afm and 550's to take advantage of the extra air that 57 trim will put out you should at minimum have a wide band and some sort of a piggy back like an SAFC or map ecu even on the more elaborate side of things

[@plahsumuh850]

Highly Dought you’ll respond but um are the parts hard to find.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

They can be, but with the parts online for sale anything is possible if your willing to spend the money on shipping

[@izaaka70]

Hmmm after watching this im now worried about my subframe after hearing your driving symptoms... maybe ill check

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

They are a known weak point, keep an eye on it

[@SPLWF]

Question, when did you buy this from Duane's brother in Newfoundland?

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

A long time ago, maybe early 2018 or earlier, maybe 2017 I will have to look into that. It was a crazy time in my life lots was going on and it was an impulse buy when I saw he had actually wanted to sell it. An impulse buy that has cost more than the car will ever be worth. Not my best purchase. Absolutely would not do it again.

[@hakai_shinn9793]

What should I pay for a 87 mark 3 in prestige condition. It’s a time capsule at this point but I don’t want to over pay.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Prolly whatever they are asking for it. Some crazy low mile and original a70s have been selling for huge money as of late

[@hakai_shinn9793]

@@DanaAnthonyHoeft ok will do! Thanks

[@alternateself1244]

A super low miles 1988 turbo Supra sold for $166,000, look it up !!! crazy how rare and expensive they are getting

[@mattsmally747]

Gospel

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Lawd haha

[@naifa6216]

💓💓💓💓💓

[@gregosterman6485]

Do you think this is a good first car?

[@slgproductions7753]

Im 16 and mine has been a pretty fun first car gas can be expensive other than that I think its a pretty fun car.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

It can be, just avoiding the lemon will be key. Cool car for a 1st

[@WilliePhonka]

👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

[@Maria-fi6hy]

Whats the Name of the engine?

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

7MGTE

[@Xanzues]

Love the video, but I thought you spent too much time on every piece a little too long. Just short and quick would have been fine.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

Thanks for the feed back

[@amaliapersaud]

Yo this is Duane's car you bought. you definitely you didn't have to look for nothing yo talk about in this video. i bet you paid A pretty penny for this.

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

lol yep i suppose

[@210SpDJones]

I'd could buy like 5 of my good friend's MK3's Instead of one 4th Gen. Shit is Nutz. And I would!!! Lol God If you're Listening Give me some Money!

[@DanaAnthonyHoeft]

The A70 is where its at. If I could buy 5 more I would also.. But then I would be broke haha