£1000 to spend on any part of the car, tell me what you'd do

On a Corvette forum a gentlemen had cash remaining after a vehicle purchase, and asked people's opinions on how to spend it - whether it be replacement parts, after market upgrades or etc.

I am giving it a try here for some fun and to learn a few things.

We snatched up an unmodified* original version RZ a few years back and never got around to doing much with it due to distractions. Still having £1000 left over in the budget from that buy, I figured it's time to enjoy it a bit more.

*Please note the car has 17" alloys and a cat back steel exhaust fitted now.

94 TT JDM

55k miles

Autobox

245/40 ; 255/40

Undersealed

Throughout the past year or so, I have come to the forums to discuss various things about the vehicle, which I surmised to be problems or uncertainties but found in the end they were not problems and therefore began to wonder if I should spend that money on 'toys,' or more practical things like inspection & maintenance.

The following is a list of things considered to purchase. I have used a general understanding of parts costs, and believe that each individual line can be considered a single purchase, potentially using up most of the money.

This does not include labour, so this would be where your vast knowledge really comes into play.

-Respray[simple,exterior only] and body work (various bonnet, front arch and roof chips; minor scratches; a few pinhole dings)

-UK spec brakes (front, possibly rear as well)

-Stage 1 BPU - Decat / fuel pump upgrade / boost gauge & BOV / fuel cut defender

-Wheel and tyre purchase (17"/18" with offset for a flush look, most likely 245/40 front, 275/40 rear with tyres)

-UK spec headlights

-Replacement parts??? Currently nothing is broken that we've found.

-Preventive maintenance??? Cam belt, turbo seals, valve seals, diff seals, motor mounts, head gaskets, bushes, various bolts and fittings etc.

Have fun suggesting and thank you.

Obvious wear and tear items, as many suspension arms as you can get for a grand, thats what Id do.

Thanks Swampy.

Preventive maintenance/wear and tear is a tough one as I do not know enough about Supras. I have read the various guides that suggest what to look out for, but feel there's probably a lot more to consider.

Depending on cost, I am considering taking it to a specialist and having him give it a thorough inspection. I appreciate that alone may take half the money though, depending on how deep they go.

EDIT : Is there a way to do a poll?

Need to see pics of car

Plugs, filters and oils and any service items that may need doing, ie tyres, brakes and a geo alignment. Better to get it safe, serviced and reliable before you start modding it.

Whatever's left should buy a couple of beers or some doughnuts!!!!!

Need to see pics of car

I can do that to some extent. Most of the underside will have to wait till it's on a ramp. I also appreciate even a good camera will hide some flaws while over exposing minor ones (e.g. paint work).

What specifically would be helpful?

Plugs, filters and oils and any service items that may need doing, ie tyres, brakes and a geo alignment. Better to get it safe, serviced and reliable before you start modding it.

 

Whatever's left should buy a couple of beers or some doughnuts!!!!!

Hi soops,

Plugs, oil/fuel/air filter, miscellaneous fluids, brake clean, front tyre replacement and balance was/is done since owned.

Haven't done geo alignment or camber adjust, though was leaving that to the stage where it goes in for a proper cavity search (should I get that far).

Just pics if car in general

Ok Skippy,

Please see attached various pictures.

If this car looks familiar in any way, it's the same owner under different user name.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]186250[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]186249[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]186251[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]186252[/ATTACH]

[[EDIT: UPDATED original post, was missing some vital information!]]

If the car is already fully serviced etc it has to be brakes for me, at 55k the suspension should be fine, maybe a fastroad geo setup would be worthwhile with the change.

I'd spend all £1k on maintainece. As Bignum says, I'd be looking at brakes, suspension, geo, Underseal, paint protection. Once car is 100% then I'd consider mods into the equation. Though you can easily swallow £1k on preventive maintenance.

Glad to see someone considering maintenance bits though, not just blasting in on a massive spoiler or crap wheels

Common sense would suggest preventative maintenance but i'd rather do the respray but 1k would be a bit short for a good on a complete respray

Geometry setup from a garage that knows what they are doing. Shouldn't break 20% of your £1k

And then a CW SMIC

Id probably go for the option of maintenance, then whatever is left going to bpu

uk brakes, easy

I'd have all the suspension bushes and ball joints checked closely and all the eccentric adjusters

undone and rotate the adjuster bolts to check none are seized inside the metal sleeves in the bushes.

Then if all's good get the geo done properly

Then i'd go round the rest of the car checking old parts for ageing such as brake lines, fuel lines, front

cross member under the rad, the smic, the engine hoses etc, all parts that dont age well irrelivent of mileage

If it drives nicely, I'd get it looking mint, do the bodywork you mention.

If it drives nicely, I'd get it looking mint, do the bodywork you mention.

Yes, drives very nicely. Am on the fence about body work as 1k could go quite quickly for what are minor blemishes, in contrast to what is a very good condition body for it's age. I do however appreciate a car that's got that extra quality when you look closely.

I'd have all the suspension bushes and ball joints checked closely and all the eccentric adjusters

undone and rotate the adjuster bolts to check none are seized inside the metal sleeves in the bushes.

 

Then if all's good get the geo done properly

 

Then i'd go round the rest of the car checking old parts for ageing such as brake lines, fuel lines, front

cross member under the rad, the smic, the engine hoses etc, all parts that dont age well irrelivent of mileage

Thanks Dnk, very good idea(s). Is there a sticky that lists the 'expect these to fail' parts(beyond what's in the .pdf guide)? I have a feeling I may be taking it to an import specialist, but not necessarily a Supra specialist.

Lots to think about, please continue to give your opinions.

You just need a good garage to be honest, my local village garage did a lot of the work on my car

including changing all the suspension, there only nuts and bolts at the end of the day.

Specialists like SRD etc are really required for engine work, big single turbo builds etc, not run of the mill

spanner work

Going around the car looking for things I can class as preventive or as maintenance exclusively - instead of just 'preventive maintenance' as that could cover way too much at one time.

Car had been sitting for a week. It turned over fine, spit out the usual thirty seconds of white smoke from condensation, and then settled. However it had a bit of a rich smell to it if you put your face in the exhaust. I also noticed a very fine whiff of it, when I put the AC on/opened the vents fully.

Possibly one of the o2 sensors is going? Wouldn't MOT test picked up on that and failed it for emissions?

It will have a bit of overfuel at beggining, nothing to worry about unless your fuel consumption is high, at the end of the day it's not 3 year old car My advise would be to check fuel lines underneath fuel tank cover and on the side, they tend to rust badly there and if you have enough money, UK brakes and braided brake lines are very good idea