I had 1984 Supra..... that engine would NOT be my choice for a Toyota engine swap for my truck!! And... getting that engine to HP greater than stock would be WAY more costly than $5,000!! Or.... can you enlighten me?
Gnarls.
The '84 had the 5mge I6, the 7mge came in the '86-92 Supra and Cressida, and the 7mgte started in '87 Supra. The 7mgte stock is 220HP and is a whole different beast than the 5m. The 7mgte stock internals(or oem grade replacements) are good for 500+HP, and many in the MKIII community run 400 rwhp in their daily drivers, some in the mid 500's, a few have topped 700HP, but that requires spending more than most would want to, since you can have the 2jz twin turbo for less. The 7mgte in my '87 cost me $1500 to rebuild and that was setting it up with metal head gasket and ARP head studs in preparation for the LS 400 MAF/larger injectors/fuel pump mod to get me to the 400hp+ range at a relatively low boost of 12-15psi. All in w/purchase of the Supra, engine rebuild, new intercooler, and intake/injector mods, I have spent just uder $3k, not bad for 400 reliable ponies.
I haven't heard good things about the 7mtge either. I was considering it as a swap but when you look around it is far from a good engine on the non 4x4 sites.
The 7mgte suffered the same issues with the HG's that the 3.0 and early 3.4's did, w/proper rebuild and ARP studs, the HG issue is resolved, that is until you try to go beyond 12-14psi boost on the oem HG.
The real issue with the 7m's is repair costs, most see the cheap used prices of the MKIII and think it is cheap to fix, what they don't realize is the reason for the low non-running price is due to the high cost of repair, about double the cost of parts for a 22r, which is why bought my '87 for $300 w/a rod knock.