saga of the MkI restoration/build

[wingman]

so if any of you saw my thread on getting an old beater MkI, you could say this my restoration thread.

for those of you that didn't, CLICK HERE (http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24463)


ok, now that that's out of the way...

TO DO LIST:

get rid of the rust
paint (white, blue, black, suggestions?)
engine swap
suspension upgrade (tokico)
rims (suggestions?)
differential ring gear change, probably 3.73 to keep the highway RPM's down
reupholster most of the interior (burgandy cloth of course...i HATE leather)
HID's if I can find 'em


since the 5M-E is blown like a cheap male prostitute, were swapping in a 7M-GE. Keyword here is reliablity, sorry folks that means no turbo for this daily driver. Not to mention the trouble I'll have keeping the thing under control. Here is the donor motor:

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/4457/850628748lox0.jpg

We'll be using the 7M ecu and wiring harness, just got to find a way to mate the MA45 components into it. I guess there's a guy running a 7M-GTE in one over at celicasupra.com, so I'm seeking his advice right now. I'll get some more pictures tomorrow of how the dash comes together since I have it torn all apart. By the time were done all of you will have known a MkI in and out haha.

Questions, comments? I know Allan has a MkI, anybody else have one too?

[da89soup]

Good deal I was waiting for this build post. Good luck Wingman and keep us posted..........................................................

Soup

[johnathan1]

I :love: MK1's!! I want one.

For the rims...I would just keep the stock ones, and paint/powdercoat them creatively (possibly match to body, with black spokes or something)...then get some beefy tires (white lettering optional :biglaugh:), and with a slightly lowered stance, it will look awesome!

[wingman]

...hopefully made some progress on the wiring, but still a bit in the dark as to the other stuff NOT attatched to the 5M ECU.

here's the diagrams I've made. Red represents things that will be left untouched, black represents things that I am unsure of, and blue represents things that I am 99.9999% sure I will have to cut and join to another wire.

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/6765/7mpinoutyp4.jpg

http://img415.imageshack.us/img415/11/mkipinoutmodia1.jpg

big difference, huh?

...anyone here who knows ANYTHING about doing this is welcome to give me some input. I have yet to dig up the diagrams for the MkI defroster/AC/etc... so if someone happens to have those I would appreciate the hosting...I'm going to need all the help I can get to do this the right way and have it work, I'm still unsure if I'm going to run into voltage/resistance issues with the ECU swap as well.

[supra90turbo]

wheels should be riken mesh. no substitutes.

[Big Wang Bandit]

Since this car is basically a classic. You can pull some badass stuff off. Wooden Nardi steering wheel. Some classic 15 inch wheels. Riken mesh as supra90turbo says is a great idea.

But keep em small. Keep the era intact. nothing bigger than 16's =]

I love this project

[Big Wang Bandit]

BTW what color was it orignally? Blue? I think a blue white two tone would look stunning.

Keep the same paint sections as it is now. Blue top, white center and black under

[GotToyota?]

Since this car is basically a classic. You can pull some badass stuff off. Wooden Nardi steering wheel. Some classic 15 inch wheels. Riken mesh as supra90turbo says is a great idea.

But keep em small. Keep the era intact. nothing bigger than 16's =]

I love this project
Word to this. I also think if you paint the car white then white-wall tires on in order, I really think that would look awesome, the MK1 could definently pull off that look.

-Matt

[Big Wang Bandit]

Not an IDEAL picture. But this is the wooden nardi wheel Matt(bosomkII) has in his 77 Corona... Its totally legit

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c121/GoonDriver/Roll93-14.jpg

[wingman]

i've seen the wheel, but never have I seen that shift knob.....that's badass!

far as the rims, looked up the Riken mesh ones and wow! those do look nice, but a quick google search tells me that there rare as hell. hm gotta keep my eye out for a set when I have some money.

what do you guys think as far as dressing up the engine? I don't want to go total bling but something to make it stand out a bit would be nice.

[Big Wang Bandit]

Stock. Give it nice colors. Stock wise. Unless you wanna polish up the manifolds and such.

Deffinately give it a good cleaning. And get an intake pipe. Cleans it up so nicely

[wingman]

I was thinking of the intake pipe as well...probably ceramic coat it black along with the Y pipe and manifolds. I was always a fan of ninja engine bays. I'll be keeping the EGR and all that other stuff as well, the car's most likely going to end up in AZ as a daily driver so I want to be sure I can pass emissions.

[Big Wang Bandit]

What year is the MK1? Should be smog exempt in anothr like 10 years =P

Im really looking forward to this. Ive got some celica supra emblems off a mk2 if your needing some.

This thread is FTW

[Big Wang Bandit]

+1 and thread 5 stared! woot

[MA70Supra88]

Awesome project! My cousin has a MKI sitting at his house with a BHG, I doubt the rest of the car is in decent enough shape to justify a swap like this though.

[ValgeKotkas]

Reallly cool car, would like to see sumthing like this iin person once.

[hardcharger]

just posted in the other thread, but I'lll post here anyway, Way to go with saving a classic. definately keep this thread updated

[Big Wang Bandit]

Annnnyyyyything neww?

[wingman]

oh snap...forgot all about it. LOL

i finally figured out where the ECU is...after tearing apart half the car. Never occured to me that it was in the driver side kick panel.

I've got half the dash torn apart though...i'll snap some pics for you guys tomorrow. The windshield got busted too, sucks because the antenna is built right into it, but I'm sure I can source one from somewhere...if not I'll just find a way to put an antenna in and make it look like it's from 1981.

and depending on how things go in the near future (as in whether or not my buddy with the donor motor does his 1J swap anytime soon) , I may be in the market for a 7M-GE, short or longblock...I've got a ton of spare parts lying around. So all I really need is a full head, block, and ex. manifold.

[Big Wang Bandit]

I was hoping you just forgot about it!

Driver side kick panel? Thats odd.

[wingman]

I was hoping you just forgot about it!

Driver side kick panel? Thats odd.


yeah...apparently if your clutch cylinder decides to leak into the cabin, your ECU is the first thing to get hit :(

needless to say it'll be above the glovebox when I redo the wiring.

[Big Wang Bandit]

Is there room? hahaha

a 7m harness will obviously reach but will it fit above it?

Whats the ECU look like for the 5M-E?

[wingman]

i'll make it fit above it, or at least in it...there isn't much room in there though.

i'll snap some pics of the ECU and it's odd placement too...it's not like it's anything different from every other toyota ECU though

[wingman]

did some poking around for upgrades and such...kind of relieved there's quite a bit that's interchangeable between the MkII, RA40 celica, and the MkI.

apparently there's quite a bit of stuff available for the MkI suspension wise...especially since it seems RA40 celica suspension swaps right in.

Here's the link for the koni's one guy is running on the front: http://www.autocarparts.com/part/242/4457/
And the reds he's running on the back: http://www.classicgarage.com/28-1131.html

if not MkII strut cartriges fit into the MkI assemblies as well.

there's a company in australia called superpro that makes poly bushings as well, and they don't seem to be priced awfully high either. I've just got to get them here.

whiteline makes an adjustable panhard rod for $75, and F&R swaybars for the RA40 for $110 a piece...both available from 935 motorsports

from what I've been told 4 lug MkII brakes are a direct swap to the MkI, but I'm still not sure about that....would be nice though, having that much braking power.

[Allan_MA70]

use the MA61 front strut assy should give you some neg camber up front! i think you can get 5 stud starion hubs for the front and find an old rn40 hi-lux rear diff and get the brackets swaped and use ma70 brakes on the back and even front if your creative!

[wingman]

pics as promised!

this is the dash in all of it's torn apart glory, instead of one giant console it's just individual components with the tach and speedo together:

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/4518/dscf0433gt1.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0433gt1.jpg)http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/6462/dscf0434ei8.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0434ei8.jpg)

here's the components sitting in the passenger seat, my bench is full of stuff...i need to dust these guys off:

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5870/dscf0435vk9.th.jpg (http://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0435vk9.jpg)

the 7M ECU:

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/4243/dscf0436kd1.th.jpg (http://img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0436kd1.jpg)

glovebox area, where the ECU will go:

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/5752/dscf0437on1.th.jpg (http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0437on1.jpg)

...this might help a bit:

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/8706/dscf0438mw0.th.jpg (http://img133.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0438mw0.jpg)

the MkI ECU:

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/8969/dscf0440hj1.th.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0440hj1.jpg)

and for shits and giggles...new carpet vs. old carpet:

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7271/dscf0441tr4.th.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf0441tr4.jpg)

[Tanya]

where's pix of the outside? Did I miss them somewhere?

[wingman]

there in this thread here:

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24463

[Tanya]

whoa, two tone performance package, NICE!

[Big Wang Bandit]

This is still my favorite build =P

[Stanzaspeed]

this is gonna be a sweet resto job! this car is definately a classic! im glad you are bringing her back from the dead and livening her up a bit with a 7m :)

[da89soup]

Is it done yet?????????:icon_bigg

I love this rebuild.......................................lol

[wingman]

update!!!


i've talked with another member here, and I'll probably be getting some good condition body parts by winter...just need to scrounge up some money, and then even more for shipping...and then get around to putting it all together.

also, I MAY..and that's a big MAY, be going with a 6M-GE instead of the 7M-GE per that same member's suggestion. Power ratings are similar, and there isn't a huge mess involved with wiring either. May not look as cool, but I'm willing to sacrafice looks for headache.

[DreamerTheresa]

Okay, dude. It's been a month and a half. Where are the updates?

[wingman]

well...the biggest one is that it's on the backburner until spring. I've got another project going right now too, as well as 2 jobs that eat up 90% of my time.

once spring hits and I can loose this other job I'll probably be out there sanding away every day.

until then, don't expect much :(

[87supraman]

A guy I know here in tucson did a 7m swap into a MkI, it hauls, does 14's on the 1/4

[kylefoto]

A guy I know here in tucson did a 7m swap into a MkI, it hauls, does 14's on the 1/4
:ugh:

[wingman]

A guy I know here in tucson did a 7m swap into a MkI, it hauls, does 14's on the 1/4


on a stock GTE???

i know a guy on CS who ran 12.9 with a stock GTE and some wheel hop.


oh, and I'm also considering a 1G-GTE....just to be different...haha.

[Tanya]

^You must be referring to Damon, yes?

[wingman]

that's his name...yeah the guy with the now roadster-mkI. sucks about that little mishap.

[Big Wang Bandit]

1G-GTE would be FTW

[wingman]

2.0L of twin turbo fury!

plus it's like 1700 for a clip...not bad if you ask me. Now I just need to get my arse down to Arizona so I can get started on this without much interruption.

[Quin]

Thought you didn't want to go with turbos...

[oscolivar1]

i wanna see an update and more pics....if ne are new.
have u decided on what engine?

[wingman]

i wanna see an update and more pics....if ne are new.
have u decided on what engine?


as said, I'm trying to focus on other things at the present time...I've got about $7000 wrapped up in a Z31 right now, and I'm trying to get it done ASAP so I can start in on my other projects, like the MkI and an LS'd supra. Really, noting's going to happen to it for at least a year, as I also plan on moving to pheonix towards the end of summer.


and I'm pretty sure I want the 1G-GTE for it, just to be REALLY friggin different and still keep installation simple...plus it'll still be fairly fast.

[Quin]

If you're gonna go with a turbo get a 1JZ. That'd be sweet, cheaper than the 2JZ, which would be the ultimate in an MkI, and produce way more power than a G series engine. I don't understand what the point of a 1G-GTE engine SWAP is as it only has 210 HP and is clearly pointless. (I may be wrong here) The 1GGTE wasn't even in America, so good luck getting parts. With small displacement, and, after a little searching it looks like aftermarket support is limited, doesn't look like this engine has much potential. I haven't seen a 1JZ swapped MkI, 2J & 7M have both been done. 1JZs have more aftermarket support, more information, more power. Why use a G series? I'm just curious, not trying to be critical.

[Big Wang Bandit]

Cos hes hella JDM.


Timing belts for an RX7?


Lets see your Z~

[Quin]

Yeah there's JDM and then there's JDM downgrade...

[oscolivar1]

well 1g-gte is different, thats why he is going the route.
But putting a 1g-gte in an MK1 would be bad ass tho, its hell of a lot lighter than the Mk3. I think the MK1 is like 2800ish Lbs

so the 1g would really make that car move.

[wingman]

well 1g-gte is different, thats why he is going the route.
But putting a 1g-gte in an MK1 would be bad ass tho, its hell of a lot lighter than the Mk3. I think the MK1 is like 2800ish Lbs

so the 1g would really make that car move.


exactly!

I'm not building the MkI for power, I'm building it to stand out. There's almost no aftermarket support for the MKI, almost everything has to be pirated off of the RA celica or the MkII for some things. I'm going for something that I can have a good time driving, but at the same time be able to take it to a car show and be told "hey, nice car!". Overall I just want a car to cruise around in, not put many miles on, and feel like I'm living in 1981.

The 1G-GTE was a joke at first, but the more I thought about it the more I thought "hey, that would actually be pretty badass". Plus, it won't have enough torque to play hopscotch with the wheels unlike it's JZ and M series counterparts. The fact the car weighs so little in comparison to the MkIII and even the MkII really counteracts the lack of power the 1G posesses.


...man, all this talking about it makes me want to go out and do something with it.



Lets see your Z~


the build thread from another forum (http://azsupracentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1035)

[oscolivar1]

Dude, go 1G!!
that engine in a mk1 will be AWSOME!!

so hurry find an engine and make an update with pics ASAP!

[ViR2]

any news yet? ;)

[oscolivar1]

well he said it will be at least a year or so until he has an update...
so all we can do is wait:cry:

[me262]

erm, reading your other post on azsupra. id really watch your $$ with liebee (he THINKS he can build an engine, but ive got tons of pics of blown engines, bent valves, people who he ripped off........ ive got to deal with the 250 and 450f engines hes screwed up at least 3 times a week.
better to know who your dealing with... in fact ill tell you a few people to talk to (pm me) who will tell you what he does with the money you pay him.. im not afraid of him hearing what i think either. hes a hack

just saying, make sure you SEE that there are new parts being put in. i know a few racers here that took in parts to have an engine built for the stock cars. who got engines back without the parts they thought in them (stock pistons were in a engine that the guy baught wiseco and engle rods that turned into stock rods somehow..........)


he told robert the ti valves that were in the rsx head i sold him were bad, kept them and the ferrea springs/retainers and put stock back in. said they were burnt.....cept they had never been run, robert didnt know.

ask dustin at honda why he had his cyl sent to la sleeve this time for his bigbore quad after they bored his other one offset...then wouldnt admit it

i guess its all good tho, ive got them talked in to gettin me a boring bar and engine lathe at work so i can do precision work myself

liebee precision machine...........pfft i got more precision with a hand drill.........

[te72]

Well, a year and a half later, and I know the current status of this car. It's sitting in his old barn up here in the frozen north. I really want to do this car justice, and between myself and a couple other local Toyota nuts, we want to get it going, but it probably won't be until sometime next year.

Might stop by and see if it fires up. Never even tried, remember? The battery was a side terminal type, and we didn't have a spare (or the money for one) at the time. The battery I bought for my Celica has both types... I'm thinking we should give that 5m a chance, who knows, it might be just fine? :p