1989 Toyota Supra Turbo – Project “The BLACK”

Let’s start with the name, “The BLACK” – The word Black its an adjective, so its use in this sentence is grammatically wrong, but I don’t care! I love it! It sounds curious, dark, dangerous, but intriguing… and just as my car right now, it sounds unfinished…”The BLACK”… the black what? TELL ME!!!

I adore this car and will never sell it! Or never finish it… whichever comes first! Let me give you the short story behind this project.

As a kid, the Toyota Supra Turbo was my very first real-life encounter with a striking sports cars. I was sitting at a shell gas station in my native city of Santiago, in the Dominican Republic with no recollection of who I was with or what I was doing there… I must’ve been 6-8 years old at the time (I can’t remember) shortly after my mother emigrated to the United States. One thing is very clear in my mind; it is as if it was yesterday. A 1987-1988 Supra Turbo in Dark Blue Pearl (paint code 8E3), sparked into life with that deep but smooth rumble of an inline six and my curiosity was pinched. The car proceeded to exit the gas station smoothly and once on the main road… POWEEEEER!!! It was as if a turbine engine got stuck in heavenly plumbing! The gush of air rushing out of the exhaust, the turbo sucking in lots of air, and before I realized it, it was gone!

The dream was activated. I kept thinking that one day I would have a new one but it never happened. Production of this model ended in 1992 when I was 11 years old… So I decided to build a new one for myself! This is what Project “The BLACK” is. More than just a brand new (old) Supra, but a realization of a childhood dream!

This car is a 1989 Toyota Supra Hardtop. I purchased this car in 2005 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for $5,000 (I think…). At the time, it was a Dark Blue Pearl (paint code 8E3) Naturally Aspirated car with 74K miles. I took the car home and never drove it on the road. After having owned several Supras, I knew from that moment that this was the perfect donor to finally make my dream Supra! For more details, checkout the two videos I’ve compiled below.