At $9,000, Is This 1987 Toyota Supra A Super Deal?

A Targa roof and pop-up headlamps are two of the lust-worthy features of today’s Nice Price or No Dice Supra, while its automatic gearbox is not. Let’s see if its price tag can balance that mix of good and evil.

While very likely not the same car related to actor James Dean’s infamous crash, yesterday’s 1955 Ford Country Squire wagon was positioned by its seller as ready to play a starring role in some new owner’s life. At $17,900, though, most of you felt its performance to be less than award-worthy. That price tag ultimately fell in a sizable 64% No Dice loss.

Historically, a ‘squire’ was a young man of high social standing who served as an attendant to a knight. This service was intended to train the junior man, teaching him chivalry, the art of defense, and how to take care of personal business while ensconced in full armor.

One of the duties with which the squire was tasked was to carry his knight’s sword and shield, presenting them when called upon to do so. From the same historical era that gave us squire, we get the word targa, which means such a small shield or plate as a knight may have used. That meaning of plate led to it being used to denote a racing trophy, such as the Targa Floria, in the same vein as ice hockey has the Stanley Cup.

Thanks to Porsche, which first adopted the term Targa for its open-top 911 in the mid-1960s, today we associate that word with a specific style of removable roof on sporty automobiles. Today’s 1987 Toyota Supra has just such a top, which means that if you had both it and yesterday’s Ford, it would be historically accurate for you to transport your Toyota’s Targa roof in your Country Squire car.

Fortunately, Toyota took into account the need to keep the roof with the car even when not in use. To that end, it can be stored under the hatch, only minimally impacting the cargo capacity beneath. This, the A70 model, was the Supra’s third edition and the first to offer a Targa roof. The ensuing ’90s model would keep this option, but it would prove absent on the late-to-the-game edition we currently have.

Coincidentally, this is also one of only two Supra editions to have pop-up headlamps, a now-regulated-out-of-existence feature this one shares with its predecessor, the A60.

That’s pretty much the only thing the late ’80s Supra shares with its early ’80s older brother. In fact, while the A60 shared much of its underpinnings, body, and interior with the four-cylinder Celica, the A70 diverged entirely from that model, growing in size and remaining RWD while the Celica switched to FWD and lost a lot of muscle.

Muscle isn’t really on display here either, as although the Supra is powered by a DOHC four-valve-per-cylinder straight six, that engine represents ’80s engineering. That means a max of 200 horsepower and just 196 lb-ft of torque out of the fuel-injected 7M-GE mill.

Add to that a four-speed automatic and, much like the Nissan 300ZX that fell under our gaze at the start of the week, this is more of a cruiser than a road rocket. This is even acknowledged by the seller, who describes the Toyota as “not a race car” and says that it is “Not even fast by today’s standards.”

That’s not to say it isn’t good-looking, an important factor in a car that’s slow enough to give folks a good gander when passing by. Based on the pictures in the ad, it has had a full respray in its factory white and, under that, a good bit of bodywork to ensure it’s all straight and to keep the road rot at bay.

That paint looks solid, and all the trim is intact, including the plastic rub strip that circles the beltline. That’s got to be almost impossible to source these days. Under all that sits a set of factory 15-inch alloys that appear in excellent shape.

The leather-upholstered cabin is equally nice and wildly blue. It also appears almost completely free of wear. There does appear to be a crack in plastic covering the instrument cluster and an odd pair of marks on one of the back seats that implies something was left there a little bit too long, but other than those issues, it’s all like brand new. It also seems to be mechanically sound. Per the ad, the car has seen a slew of updates, including a new head gasket and timing belt on the engine, plus struts, brakes, and bushings at the corners.

With a claimed 159,000 miles on the clock, this Supra is neither worn to a frazzle nor an under-used museum piece. It comes with a clean title, a two-owner history, and–based on the pictures–no monkey business. With its automatic, is this the best Supra to have? Probably not. It should, however, prove very enjoyable for what it is: a kitschy and cool ’80s cruiser, just like Monday’s 300ZX. Plus, all the mechanical and aesthetic work implies that it will do so for years and miles to come.

Could that promise be worth the $9,000 the seller asks for the opportunity to become this Supra’s third owner? What’s your take on that? Does $9K seem fair to ask for the car as it’s presented in its ad? Or is that too much for a car that looks fast but is admittedly slow?

You decide!

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to James Commer for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at robemslie@gmail.com and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your commenter handle.