Supradupra.com 2.5TT Aero Limited JDM refurb (yUK)

[Supradupra.com]

Hi Folks, I have not posted on here for a while but, check by from time to time. I've been rather busy doing a restoration/build on my JDM 1jz-gte Aero Limited.

Kai suggested to me I should post this thread up here too as it may be of use/provide a laugh at my expense The original build thread can be found on the yUK MK3 site HERE.

Obviously some of the points will only be valid for the yUK but, it's a Supra & it's a build so, all is good.

This has been copied from my usual forum so, apologies if some smilies or parts are lost in translation, I make no excuses for humour or for taking the p!ss out of myself!!! I must also point out I just can't help myself when it comes to literary innuendo - But that's down to your filthy minds :P

I will now attempt to post this thread so it reads OK, here goes!

****

The story so far.......

Introduction:

As many of you will know I had a prang in my last Aero (Adi's old car) & thanks to H&S bullsh!t the vehicle was written off for no good reason by the big fat Groupama company with no common sense, decency or rational reasoning - see THIS thread for further details.

Ultimately this lead me to try & find another of these rare beauties which, by some abnormal twist of good luck I managed to do!

The car is a 1991 JDM Aero Limited edition fitted with an auto 1J-GTE power plant.

The car was imported into the country in 2005 has covered around 70,000 miles with a full Jap service history to boot.

The car was standard when I got it with the only mods being fancy wheels, an aftermarket air filter and blitz dump valve - which was not even connected to work.

Here she is before the refurb.








Action plan:

The plan is to refurbish this car from the wheels up. This work will include:

• Complete underside strip, resealed, waxoiled & restored. Will be forming some rear plastic arch liners too.

• Complete suspension rebuild front and back, full polly pushings, Tokico TEMS shocks, spax springs, strut braces & anything else which requires replacement during build.

• Uprated brakes with larger fronts, stainless hoses - investigating kits at present.

• Swapping the engine to the spare hybrided unit I have here. The aim is for around 450BHP or over if possible and reliable. This will be fitted with larger injectors, induction, MAP, exhaust, Koyo rad Walbro, 2J intercooler kit (allegedly fits) & standalone ECU - currently reseraching systems & pricing up.

• Manual transmission swap using 1j bellhousing, flywheel, Sports clutch, manual prop & pedal box.
  

• Full respray less engine bay, my aim is for the Aston deep grey titainium metalic as used on the DB's etc as this will really bring out the lines of the car. I shall be stripping the car down to no trim & removing bolt on items so they can be sprayed properly. Color coding the side mouldings but keeping the clear part of them unpainted.

• New front grilles - thinking along the lines of stainless diamond mesh in the 2 small grilles and the main lower intake - sort of XKR style. Thinking the black B pillar external vents may look pretty good in powder coat chrome or brushed steel finish if possible?

• Chrome alloys - same style as on car now but shinyer lol. will stick to 18" as 19's would dent on the first day out round here!

• Full LED conversion externally, HID main lights, hidden LED side markers built into side trims.

• Various internal custom electronics, aiming for a very factory look this time, less xmas tree. Much of the control etc will depend on what standalone ECU I opt for and the controls it requires.

• Complete ICE installation, music and vision.

• Interior tart up - tho very little is required as all leather is good with very slight wear and sued just needs a brush up. Would like to look into cost of having dash covered in something like alcantara or sued.

The story so far: 21/04/09

My write off has been totally stripped to the bone - not a single clip, bung or bolt remained on that vehicle, even body panels have been saved!

Can I just politely ask now, please kids don't deluge me with questions about spare parts at present. As and when parts are sorted I will post up items. Thanks.

These are sad photos but, I wanted to show people the additional bracing clearly visible in the Aero chassis.

Here you can see the additional bracing in the rear arches which also latches into the doors by a bracket when they close. The brace directly below the top shock mount is always present.




And again, at the bottom of the A pillars you can see additional bracing welded behind the kick panels. The sills of the aero cars are also a much heavier grade high strength steel compared to the hard tops which are standard body thickness.




With this shell now gone and boxes of parts at my disposal the strip down of the black car can start.

I have decided to do this in stages:

1)Strip and rebuild the suspension, mod the engine, paint & seal the underside and refit all.

2)MOT and shake down of mechanics, tune.

3)Strip interior completely & remove. De trim the car and get car painted with strict instructions not to over spray the underside!!

4)Put it all back together with custom electronics, ICE and enjoy it!

The reasoning for doing it this way is I feel the car is most susceptible to damage during all the mechanical work so, better to do all that pre painting!


General shot with spare power plant on wheels - This 18 year old virgin is about to have it's undercarriage serviced.




Rear underside stripped down, thanks to not being in the yUK for long the underside is rust free & came apart a dream.



****

Little tip for emptying & cleaning the fuel tanks without getting covered in the stuff -

Drop tank full, complete with filler neck & electrics.

Tape up the 3 pipes and clean the thing now, wile its sealed up, jet wash, scrubbing brushes whatever, the top will be filthy!

Attach a piece of hose pipe the the outlet nipple - just pushes on. Pop the pipe into a receiving petrol filler or container.

Put some crock clips on the pump power leads - make sure they won't short then, run the thing off a car battery - again keeping sparks away from fuel vapour!!

It just gently empties out the tank to just a few litres. these can then be emptied into a bucket by removing the filler neck - real clean and easy compared to using the drain bung! Leaving the opened tank in direct sunlight for an hour or so will then evaporate any remaining fuel leaving the tank safe and dry.


This tank is in near perfect shape & only requires a little clean up and paint. Walbro needs fitting into here before refitting & will prob clean the sender unit too for good measure.




Like a numpty I forgot to loosen the drive shaft mounting bolts & hub nut while wheels were on, this could have been a problem had I not found a large shelf bracket.

2 holes later & this proved an absolute dream bit of toolage allowing me to lock the drive shafts just like that. Simple solutions are the best!




Got the rear sub frame completely stripped on Sunday down to a giant jigsaw. No busted nuts or bolts, the rear lower cam bolts were the only 2 that gave me any hassle at all but, after a bit of persistence came out no problems. & yes - I have marked parts left and right although, after this the car will be realigned fully.


Behind the stripped sub frame is a complete one just for interest.




Interestingly between the earlier (in bits) and later (behind complete) sub frames I noticed one slight difference.

It seems the rear strut rods on the later car have a definite deliberate bend in them where as the earlier 91 strut bars are completely straight. Why this who knows, possibly the bent one offers a degree of "spring"? Alternatively there was a factory Friday fook up, they were too long so a slight bend was incorporated so they fitted

That's it for now, lots of cleaning up and bushings to remove next! Updated then.



Update: 10-05-2009.

So, been a busy week and a bit.

Remember that dirty rear sub frame? Well it's now a rather nice collection of uber clean colour coded chunky bits of metal which, I have to sadly admit, are rather nice just to touch and feel Shame they are gonna go back on the underside of the car really!

I have not skimped, every single item, and I mean EVERY single item from the smallest bracket or clip rite up to the fluid line umbilical have been painted in about 5 coats of hammerite.

I am determined for this vehicle not to rust!

The polly bushes are all in and ready to go. I will coat the sub frame with waxoil too during fitting for more rust proofing.

Thought I'd mention this too as, it's not obvious & you'll think your one bush short. One of the bushes on the rear hubs is not a bush at all and is in fact a ball joint. It's item number 42210 HERE All you need to do with this is pull back the rubber and refresh the LM grease inside.

If this ball joint is worn it can cause a "clacking" sound under braking etc.


I will probably offer the sub frame up empty then bolt all the parts back on once it's fixed to the car as it's all jolly easy to get to and means I don't need to wrestle with a huge lump of rather heavy metal!

So, here are all the shiny parts so far:




Sadly, I forgot to put the upper wishbones & all the restored bracketry into this shot, which is a shame. I actually polished the upper wish bones to a bright silver (not mirror tho, that's OTT) and clear coated them.

The fuel tank has had around 6 coats of paint, again, I am determined to rust proof this vehicle as much as possible!



I am just awaiting the Walbro pump for the tank, then it can go back in.

I did get taken in by the choice of paint colours so, red pipes are fuel, yellow are vapour and blue is brake


I have put the first coat of under seal on the rear part of the car. going to put a second coat on in places for good measure despite most of it being covered in thick rubber already. I have left the bottom of the wheel well until the fuel tank goes on otherwise I come out from under the car looking like a coal miner!




After the success of my DIY rubber rear arch liners I thought I'd have a go at trying to remould a pair of front wheel arch liners into the rear arches.

This I managed to do with some degree of success. The plastic if vacuum form stuff so, can be reformed with a heat gun and thick gloves.

I have managed to form these into the arches picking up on stock fixing points in the rear arch & only requiring 2 additional ones to be drilled.

This will keep the dirt from being driven into the weak spots of the rear arches.




That's it for now. When my bits arrive from SSI I can fit the walbro and bolt the gas tank back up. Brakes etc are easy stuff. after that the project moves to the front sub frame and engine removal

I am now off to rehab for a few days to get over my solvent abuse problems from all the degreasing and painting!

[Supradupra.com]

Update; 27-05-09

So, another 2 weeks passed but, had some time to play with the car.

To finish off the preparations of the rear sub frame I had the rear callipers to deal with. Once the 3 layers of paint had been removed (yellow, silver & red) I was absolutely gob smacked by the condition of the callipers underneath.

All I have done to these is paint strip them - that's it! Not a hint of rust! The pistons were all greased up behind the boots so, just pulled out with a pair of snipe nose pliers as a lever - incredible! Always wondered what all the bits said

I had to take a photo just because the condition was so incredible. The fronts are the same.



So, not much needed doing to these at all bar painting and cleaning of some of the components.

This is where my OCD clearly comes out as I set out the parts in a little display ... That's everything you should find on the brakes. Usually the steel shims have dissolved in the yUK thanks to our siht weather and evil salt.



The hand brake stuff was all in great order so, that's all back in and fitted now. All adjusted up too - all easy stuff.




All suspension members have been fitted now, the car put on it's own axles and the whole lot torqued up correctly. Fook me do these things - particularly the cam bolts, torque up hard. About the hardest an 11 stone stick man can manage in fact!

The suspension really is tight with the full polly kit. You can't budge it when jacked up like you can on the rubbers. Only when the cars weight is on it does the suspension move!
went together a dream tho.



Plastic liners now have fixings as if factory. will finish off the edges later in project. They have cleaned up well tho with various cancer inducing chemicals.

Few shots of the subframe refitted with nice shiny bits: There must be an extra few KG just in paint and wax oil applications!







I personally found the easiest thing to do was to fit the subframe up empty as, it's fairly liftable on your own. Because I'm at home at funny times there tends to be nobody for help so, I have to find ways to do all this one manned if possible.

I managed to fit the diff on my own too by using the grab and roll onto chest method. Wedging my arms against the floor I was then able to lift it into position, hold it there and get the bolts in.

Interestingly that thing weighs 10 stone! I had to sit down for some time in a darkened room after refitting the diff and frame!

Just need to fit the fuel pump into tank when customs stop holding us all up & the rear undersides complete.


Next up - the front end. Should start stripping this down, well, in a moment anyway...


Update: 12-06-2009

Thought I'd add a few words and pics quickly this evening before I let my hair down, not that my hair isn't constantly let down - by my face...

Thanks for all your feedback, it's good to share a passion with people, obviously not top much passion, we don;t want our own pandemic!

So, the back is pretty much done bar the gas tank which, with the arrival of my latest toys, shall be this weekend.

My attention has now turned to destroying the front of the car. So far I have stripped the front sub frame down on-vehicle, as this made it far easier than wrestling with it unattached.

Everything came off super easy. Cracked off the cam bolts and the lower wish bones just swung down free, which was a relief.

Everything is in the same good nick as the back of the car.




I just have a couple of bits to disconnect on the engine then, once my friend drops round the crane I can lift it out and get it on the trolley.

The front nose cone parts are so perfect it's untrue, seems a shame to pull them apart but, in the name of restoration I shall be stripping out all the coolers etc and doing things to them.

I would like to fit a shiny new intercooler but, need to check on fitment of 2JZ kits.




I received some nice new parts this week in the form of the Aeromotive regulator, Walbro and SARD injectors - which happily come with replacement plugs for the loom, Cheers Marty.

Since the suspension is in small pieces it seems silly to refit old stuff so, I purchased one of THESE kits from the US. 1 Week later it landed in Farnham.

Now, for some car porn blatantly made to look even sexier with use of pussy..



My pussy can clearly be seen gaping at my nipples, yes, my nipples - grease nipples on the new lower ball joints!

Can't remember the last time I saw such a sensible device on a car ball joint & these are cheap!


Anyway I digress, one other pornographic image which has also crept into Supradupra HQ is this fine craft:



A thing of beauty & I thank Kevin and Sheila very much indeed for this :notworthy:

So that's it for now. Got to cut some more bushes out, uuurgh.



Update 05-07-2009

Have to be honest, with the sun coming out my attention turned to swimming pools and solar water heating recently but, I have managed to do a few things to the car.

Got the Walbro all fitted into the FP assy and back in the tank.




Tank all put back together and refitted back on the car now which is a relief, I kept moving that thing around daily!

Yes, I am sad enough to have re marked the white chalk lines on the rubber cushions as they were new from the factory



Pushing the front suspension bushes out was pretty easy TBH, the top wishbones just popped straight out in the vice.




The lower ones took a little chiselling to push back the metal collars then, with help from Mum, they just pushed out in the vice with a nice healthy crack, we all like a nice healthy crack....



At some point, presumably as a joke, someone filled all the ball joints with poo. This I have now removed and replaced with fresh grease. I also replaced any poor condition rubbers at the same time.





After this they all got cleaned up and painted ready for refitting.



Few more shiny bits. Gave the prop shaft a birthday. Wishbones all painted up and polly bushes fitted ready for installation later on. Everything bagged up and stored now until ready.



My "hover mode" is coming along nicely too



That's it for time being. I am still awaiting the loan of the engine hoist from my friend, once I have this I can pull the engine and remainder of sub frame.

I have pulled the steering rack and am currently attacking that.

[Supradupra.com]

Update 11-07-09:

As a continuation of the ongoing refurbishment of my suspension, I wanted to fit poly anti roll bar bushes to the supra.

Now, finding ones for the front was not a problem, they are off the shelf even in this pathetic c U ntry so, I just ordered a set from HERE Job done.




The rears however, seem not to exist as far as I can tell. There are some complete rear anti roll kits which come with their own poly bushes but, I was unable to find any - bushes only listed for the rear bar of the MA/JZA70 chassis - definitely not here in the yUK.

So, what I did was measure the diameter of the rear bar then, took a shot in the dark/educated guess as to which other car may have similar bushings & ordered a set of THESE from a Celica. I know there are several "universal" fit bushes out there however, the Celica ones are considerably cheaper :yes:

Now, as you can see from the pic below, the Celica bushings fit slightly differently compared to the standard Supra rear bushes however, with a small modification to the bracket, the Celica bushes can be made to fit perfectly.



(Top) the standard Supra bushes fit internally to the brackets, held in by the folded part of the clamps where as the the Celica ones are the more "standard" fitment (bottom).

By cutting off the folded part of the rear brackets the Celica bushes fit perfectly to the Supra chassis.



And fitted on the bar they looks factory too - perfect retro-fitment.




So, I'm now happy (figure of speech obviously) I have a full set of poly antiroll bar bushes - woo!



All fitted up to the rear sub frame, pretty colour too



Some smug bu9ger will now post a yUK link to somewhere that sells supra rear bushes lol.

[Supradupra.com]

Update: 19-08-2009

It's that time again, thought I should update this thread so you knew I wasn't slacking too much!

Due to work load & a ferociously busy social schedule , things have been moving slowly the last few weeks however, progress has been made.

Firstly, this bit had to be unclipped, just disconnect the battery earth lead and your done.....



Had to buy an engine lift for this as, the one I borrowed last time is sadly no longer available but, at least I now have another tool to hand & it folds up nicely to fit in your pocket.

From this exorcise I can confirm my absolute hating for slush boxes has only been compounded. Even after weeks of dripping dry, emptying pipes, removing tubes these things still gush out litres of oil whenever you go near them - totally revolting things to deal with & glad to be shot of it in honesty :yes:



A few more spares I could put one front and rear and have a 4WD Supra?



That cleared some handy standing room in the engine bay & allowed me to finally remove the front sub frame.




While the AC system is in small bits I decided to clean the evap core. This gets real dirty thanks to the lack of a particulate filter which then decreases it's efficiency & causes that nasty smell after use from the small potato field laying in the core.

This is what's actually in the evap unit (behind glove box)



You can see here how filthy they get, this is even after being blasted with compressed air. Carol Ann would not be able to find this light.... Film reference joke for the kids, but what?



Several baths later, oven cleaner, bleach, more air, detergent & finally Dettol - this was the result :] After this I straitened out any bent fins with a zip tie - a very dull way to spend an evening & fought off Carol Ann who had now taken much interest in, the now, easy to find light




While I was doing that, unbelievably the entire front of the car just fell off



Ok, so having done it once I got carried away & have ended up licking the engine bay clean so I can respray it black as the scratches just weren't doing it for me!

Just gotta wash this down, rub down a few bits, body wipe it and spray it over. saved a fortune by buying rattle cans off Ebay instead of halfrauds!!



The front falling off reminds me of this little vid which, personally I think is genius

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-QNAwUdHUQ


Also, while the weather has allowed *shocked look* I managed to get these bits scoured, cleaned & painted.




So, things moving on slowly but surely. Off to Amsterdam this weekend so, thet will probably be fairly unproductive me thinks.....

****

Update 02-09-2009

So, having seen ET as a child I found myself mentally scarred for life & as an adult have suddenly found the need to wrap something in polythene sheeting with random tubes flowing from it...



Ok, so this is Supradupra HQ transformed into a Heath Robinson spray chamber in a vain attempt to prevent everything else in the car house being covered in black dust!

Not too much rubbing down to do here I'm happy to say. Just a few areas which either I scratched taking stuff out or rub marks from pipes or wires.

Just sanded down any deep areas then degreased the entire bay & under coated/roughed up.



After much solvent abuse from the spray chamber basically becoming more of a gas chamber lol.



Closure panels also painted as manufacturers never seem to do these - even less so on newer cars made mainly from plastics at the front.



Clear coated a few bits - top firewall & slam panel just to give a smoother finish.

I have no idea what 2-2 means, it was written on the closure panel from the factory so, I just re did it after painting, kinda history type thing I guess / sad gimp!



Overall It's tidied up the engine bay nicely & will be easy to touch up in future when the unavoidable scrapes & marks occur. This is about as far as my limited painting skills will go when it comes to the actual car body!

Now the bay is in this state I can start refitting parts as and when they are reconditioned.

[Supradupra.com]

Update: 15-09-2009


Time for another update, not been sitting on my ar5e the last few weeks that's for sure.

Finished off the spraying of the monocot panels. This not only adds rustproofing it also makes things look much tidier when you peer into things.



When you start one of these builds it soon becomes apparent any time scale you had was complete fantasy when you suddenly find just one cooler turns into this many parts!



That was just a start, I reconditioned all the coolers, cleaned, any bent fins straitened out then enamelled.



Bumper & nose cone cross members done.



More bracketry & refurbed plastics than you can shake a stick at & there's still plenty to do!



Refitting of hydraulic lines. As you can see the 4th pipe indicating this car will be fitted with a real gearbox I was going to paint these but, when I cleaned them up to find they literally were like new I just didn't have the heart or need to cover them up. They are more stealth this way anyhoo.



Some of the front components trial fitted mainly to get the cooler brackets & clamps all assembled in the correct positions before final installation.



There is a serious amount of really heavy gauge metal in the front of one of these things!



Close up of the finish I'm attempting to achieve. It's no concourse runner that's for sure! I just want it looking as "out of factory" as possible before I use & abuse it come sun, rain or snow.




Got a few more parts through today, mainly new vac lines to replace old rubber ones & the wiring loom stuff.

Need to get onto the new ECU system & make a shopping list for Mr. T as the engine tart up is getting ever closer :yes:

Still some big stuff to recon such as the r154, front brakes & flip up assemblies. As well as a whole load more brackets! :banghead:

Hopefully get the remainder of the underside covered in some new underseal. Waxoil some parts & refit the front suspension members.


WARNING - Prolonged use of solvent based products and dance music can seriously harm your health & start eating your brain!





Till the next update....

[Supradupra.com]

Update: 11-10-09

It's that time again, I'm sure you all can't wait for this latest instalment of bracketry photographed in captivity!

First up, I'd like to boast I have now been allowed to upgrade from the "Early learner" pedal set with the large novelty sized speDal pedals, to a full set of adult pedals :duck:



Ever wondered what was inside one of these? For those of you who still believe in the "pop-up fairies" look away now.



Refurbished along with all the pop-up & headlight gear...Hours of fun for all the family.





Wiper motor & boost pipework got the same treatment. Anyone ever seen that book of boring post cards?....AKhemmm..



The boost pipework photographed here in a secret (accidental) "soft" mode making it look young and beautiful A mode which never seems to be available when the camera is pointed in my direction...




7M against 1J (blue) bell housing. The 1j bell is quite a lot shallower, between 1-2 CM. I saw a magazine once filled with pictures of varying bell housings. All different shapes, sizes & colours. I remember I had to reach quite high to get it off the shelf at the news agents, had an exotic name..



Made this look pretty:



There was some random stuff scrawled on the top of the R154 which I restored for (add attempted reasoning behind this act here)

Some random numbers, some Japanese & what appears to be Klingon - explaining the r154's incredible ability to hide reverse on occasions, this must clearly be a cloaking device, hence the Klingon.




I have spent many hours on my hands and knees pulling apart the chassis loom, cleaning it & recovering it in, well, blue obviously!



Wiper mechanisms refitted after reconditioning. Seriously exciting stuff this....



We have some cruise and brake stuff on this side but, most importantly some clutch hydraulics :yes:



We have some ABS, climate, ignition & wiper stuff on this side.



And yeah, this is what it looks like if you hold the camera somewhere else - wooness!



Next time on Stuey's fascinating photos of random car bits, we shall be mainly focusing on how to remove ones thumb from ones ar5e and actually order a new ECU, the Toyota stuff, the brakes, the steering rack, the engine parts.... Yikes!

****

Update: 09-11-09

Well, not much been happening in a practical way to the car for the last few weeks , mainly thanks to social events filling up all my weekends & work getting in the way any other time!

What has been achieved tho is a little parts shopping & plenty of tech investigation. The best way to sum up this projects progression is to revisit the goals set at the beginning of the build:


Action plan:


* Complete underside strip, resealed, waxoiled & restored. Will be forming some rear plastic arch liners too. Virtually complete, front sub frame needs bolting to car after engine done, replacement PS rack still needs sourcing.

* Complete suspension rebuild front and back, full polly pushings, Tokico TEMS shocks, spax springs, strut braces & anything else which requires replacement during build. Complete.

* Uprated brakes with larger fronts, stainless hoses. Wilwood 4 pots with 330mm disks ready to bolt on when front sub frame goes back. rears complete.

* Swapping the engine to the spare hybrided unit I have here. The aim is for around 450BHP or over if possible and reliable. This will be fitted with larger injectors, induction, MAP, exhaust, Koyo rad Walbro, 2J intercooler kit (allegedly fits) & standalone ECU. Solaris 6GP ordered & paid for along with 3bar MAP sensor, NTK wideband O2, boost control & loom adaptor. The rest of the parts are here & fitted or awaiting fitment with exception of the intercooler which may stay stock unless otherwise required.

Some additional trigger wheels will be required to enable full traction control to function. These should be mountable on the inner CV joint flanges - a company has been contacted regarding these.

* Manual transmission swap using 1j bellhousing, flywheel, Sports clutch, manual prop & pedal box. Pedal box in, piping in, GB ready to bolt in just need to obtain pilot bearing to complete the kit.

* Full respray less engine bay, my aim is for the Aston deep grey titainium metalic as used on the DB's etc as this will really bring out the lines of the car. I shall be stripping the car down to no trim & removing bolt on items so they can be sprayed properly. Color coding the side mouldings but keeping the clear part of them unpainted. Respray will be carried out after mechanical works finished. I got carried away and did the engine bay anyway!

* New front grilles - thinking along the lines of stainless diamond mesh in the 2 small grilles and the main lower intake - sort of XKR style. Thinking the black B pillar external vents may look pretty good in powder coat chrome or brushed steel finish if possible? Investigated custom front grilles & was shocked by the £500 price tag. Further investigation required - no hury.

* Chrome alloys - same style as on car now but shinyer lol. will stick to 18" as 19's would dent on the first day out round here! Back burner till respray unless brakes foul on fronts

* Full LED conversion externally, HID main lights, hidden LED side markers built into side trims. Partially completed to date. Experimenting with products & crafty fitting techniques to install Merc "L" style LED running lights into stock fogs. The Merc style running lights I love, the aldi ones I do not, particularly when you see 507 sets every time you go out on the road YAWN!

* Various internal custom electronics, aiming for a very factory look this time, less xmas tree. Much of the control etc will depend on what standalone ECU I opt for and the controls it requires. Work in progress & will be for ever The Solaris will do pretty much anything you can think up so, expect to see some interesting stuff in the future.

* Complete ICE installation, music and vision. Partially complete - back burner as not important.

* Interior tart up - tho very little is required as all leather is good with very slight wear and sued just needs a brush up. Would like to look into cost of having dash covered in something like alcantara or sued. Will be undertaken when stripped for paint.


So that's it for now, just wanted to keep this updated.

[Supradupra.com]

Update: 01/01/2010

Happy new year kids, may it be a prosperous & happy one for you all preferably with a long, hot & dry summer too!

Time to update this thread as it's been a while. Obviously christsmess got very much in the way of this project over the last few weeks. That and the fact it's been snowing & freezing cold which makes me less willing to play outside!

Attention has turned to the 1jz engine now & giving it a bit of a face lift.

OK so I got a little more carried away than first planned. This little lot fell off so, I thought I may as well clean it up a bit & service a few items while there.



I'm not going to go mad with this..... No really. It will all be clean but, I'll be keeping much of the alloy natural. Much as paint and powder coat looks very pretty, after a few years it will crack & peel on an engine which, just looks rubbish. Besides, there is something genuine about a clean natural finish part. Obviously I'll be buffing up Adi's polishing work :yes:

The block cleaned down well. At some point in it's life the oil changes were strung out a tad resulting in a burnt oil build up in the valve covers. This is purely cosmetic, inspection of the bearings, filters, oil ways etc shows no problems & all is clean on the feed side of things where it's important. a Bum-O-Scope camera came in very useful for this inspection.

So, introducing a naked 1JZ-GTE:-







The 1J engines are a superbly no nonsense design. all the troublesome bollox fitted to the 7M such as FPU, EGR, MAF, CPS was thrown in the bin & this no nonsense unit was produced.

Toyota went OTT after the 7M gasket issues & made EVERY gasket on this engine metal. The troublesome rubber hoses round the rear of the block have been replaced with all metal construction & the amount of rubber piping is dramatically reduced.

The CPS sensor which was always a nuisance to install on the M has been replaced with 2 fixed hall effect cam sensors & a crank sensor triggered by a wheel on the cam belt pulley - no getting these a tooth out!

After all this it then seems odd Toyota went and plonked an incredibly complex & component heavy Hydraulic cooling fan system on this engine instead of opting for twin electrics?!

On the 17th Dec I sent a parts quote request to Toyota who kindly returned it same day & an order was made for the engine bits.



On the 23rd Dec Xmas came early



A friend of mine lent me his powder coating system to do the engine parts. An ebay bargain industrial sized oven has proved most useful for this!

I have had much success with this & it's such a simple process. Only down side is it seems I'm slightly allergic to either the powder or the gases given off by the baking so, I have to do this outside hiding under gazebos!





SARD 540's & stock injectors with new insulators.



One day I'd like to learn how to play this flute. I think it's broken as not so much as a farting noise can be made....



Still not having much luck with the flute..... It's dark outside so, must be yUK time 3pm....



I touched on this in another thread. Toyota revised the 1Jz PCV system a few years into it's life by putting the PCV pick up pipe onto the metal pipe into the front turbo instead of having it connect to the "T" as on the earlier engines.


This image shamelessly stolen from another site - do I care? NO, it's a picture of my sodding engine!! lol.

I believe the reason for this mod was to stop PCV vapour swelling the rubber bellows as below, which would restrict inlet air flow considerably over time.





That's it for this exciting episode. Off now to clean uop & powder coat more brackets - joy

[Zumtizzle]

Holy shit.

This car is artwork!

[92TealSupra]

Beautiful to see someoen doing this! I sort fo started once but then parted my car out god... Nice work.

[whitemike]

I just got the most rock hard raging erection I may have ever had. Keep it up. (the good work)

-Mike