1988 Toyota supra starting upgrades

[ttsupra2503]

After looking for a few days and using the search tool to try and locate some specific information I figured that everything I saw was from a couple years ago so I figured I would start a new post and ask some serious questions for people to find updated information.

I recently (2 days ago) bought myself a 1988 toyota supra targa with a stock 7m-gte motor and 5 speed transmission. I was lucky due to the prior owner was a drag racer and loved this car(I will update more photo's of before and after once I get them off my phone) but regretfully he died recently and his son was selling the car. I dont have any other history on the car at all other then it has 244 000 km and the body is just about mint ( a little front bumper damage from rocks and stuff)

After checking in with the only local shop that knows anything about imports I was told to upgrade to a stand alone AEM engine controller with a broadband O2 sensor. They also suggested a 2 thousand dollar intercooler and couldn't even tell me what brand it was. Knowing enough about cars and upgrades I figured I would be able to find something off a newer car or truck to put into my supra that wouldn't cost 2 grand (for just the intercooler). That is when I signed up for this site.

So.... the questions I have

#1. What upgrades can I find and use (I dont mind light modification) to get a little bit more power out of the car? I am looking to just tweak the original system and get the most out of 90% stock parts. I heard that an intercooler out of a ford diesel would be one of the better upgrades to have? what about a better blow off valve? I am already searching out a boost controller (mostly for a turbo timer)

#2. What typical ignition upgrades should be made for better economy? I am going back to school and will be using this car for the trip.

#3. is there a place to get minor interior parts shipped up to Canada. I might need a couple minor mouldings and a leather rear seat and most of the cars around here are the wrong color or are trashed.

I am sorry if this is in the wrong area as I am still using that darn search button that doesn't seem to work as well for me as it might for others.

 

[ttsupra2503]

So I was talking with some locals and they suggest a couple items that I am not sure on.

#1 upgrade was a HKS high flow intake kit (I asked what cold air intake they would suggest) they didn't have a part number or catalog to show me.

#2 Greddy intercooler upgrade

#3 exhaust upgrade

#4 AEM wide band O2 sensor kit for tuneability

 

[Mr Bojangles]

First, can you provide an engine bay picture? Also, are you completely sure this car is stock?

If it is a stock car, then I would suggest the first few dollars you spend be on a thorough inspection from a trusted mechanic. Make sure he checks all your suspension components, tie rods, bushings, ball joints etc. Secondly I would follow that up with a good tune up and full fluid flush, inspect all your belts and hoses. You have just over 150k miles on that car, so you should really inspect your timing belt also unless there is a sticker on the radiator support that says it's been changed and at what mileage. I know this shit seems boring, but you really don't want to start modifying a car until you have it in good sound mechanical shape. Nothing sucks more than spending money on some power upgrades and ending up on the side of the road because an old dried out coolant hose burst. (ask me how I know)

That should take care of your first thousand dollars.

After that, I would address the head gasket before you think about upping the boost. You are right in the money zone as far as mileage goes for a blown head gasket. Pull the head, spend 150 bucks at a machine shop and have the surface decked. Clean up the top of the block, get some head studs and a metal head gasket and bolt that shit up tight.

Now you are ready to mod your supra.

 

[ttsupra2503]

I forgot to mention that I am a second year apprentice mechanic (decided to do engineering and use mechanic skills for playtime) and my dad is a registered mechanic. I will take it to a shop to have the exhaust inspected since I dont like laying on the ground much. I did a good overview of the car including a really clean engine bay and the original owner was a car nut.

I had plans to do the timing belt and head gasket anyways but I dont know where to get the good head studs.

Needless to say this area isn't known for having the best parts stores. I am gonna be including pictures of the engine bay and as soon as I make sure its safe to do so I will get an under-body picture.

 

[Devin Hutchison]

I forgot to mention that I am a second year apprentice mechanic (decided to do engineering and use mechanic skills for playtime) and my dad is a registered mechanic. I will take it to a shop to have the exhaust inspected since I dont like laying on the ground much. I did a good overview of the car including a really clean engine bay and the original owner was a car nut.

I had plans to do the timing belt and head gasket anyways but I dont know where to get the good head studs.

Needless to say this area isn't known for having the best parts stores. I am gonna be including pictures of the engine bay and as soon as I make sure its safe to do so I will get an under-body picture.

ARP head studs. Metal head gasket. Weisco pistons. Eagle rods. You'll be good to go for 550cc injectors Lexus AFM, 58 trim ct26, FPR, apexi neo piggyback

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[AdrenalineOD]

ARP head studs are the way to go. As far as easy power goes I'm rolling a K&N intake, 3" BIC divorced downpipe and 3.5" BIC thunder exhaust. All easy to install and nice power gain, slams me in my seat and sounds mean as hell. Might want to get a new boost gauge too as the stock one won't go high enough after putting these on. Take care of that head gasket first though, the downpipe killed mine pretty quick.

 

[Mr Bojangles]

This is an excellent and reputable place to source your hard to find parts. http://store.driftmotion.com/static/index.php

Aaron (the owner) has helped me many times with my 2J swap.

 

[ttsupra2503]

wow... thanks guys. So I have a couple more pictures to include and after a little research I have found out more about the car.

I am definitely going to get an ARP stud kit and re-do the actually recent head job that was done last year. I am not 100% yet but I think my purchase was due to a head gasket leak where they used a felpro gasket set. Any suggestions on which metal gasket to buy? I have the rest of the rebuild set already at my house.

So what I found to day was a bottle straight exhaust under the car. Not sure who made the bottle muffler but it will do for now. I also found the person put on an intake and lexus AFM already. I took a picture and I am pretty sure that the AFM came from a lexus LS400.

So not too bad. I also took a picture of the turbo intercooler but I took that with my camera and not like these which are taken with my phone.

So those photo's are to come. I was also wondering since I will be removing the original injectors, are there some high performance stock replacements (better performance stock size) injectors or would I be better just grabbing the larger injectors if I was to buy any at all... I dont think it will add more fuel without actually telling it to right..... right... I Cant see that happening.

Well I am still trying to figure out why this coolant system is leaking right after a full head job at a reputable shop. I cant say it was the best place to take it to but it was done right I know that for sure.

Is there any way other then a basic pressure test and inspection or a pregnancy test to check for a head leak? (pregnancy test or combustion leak test)

 

[Blackthroat0_0]

Looks like the previous owner already did the lexus AFM / 550cc injector upgrade to the car. You can search this site to get info on that.
Have a look at the turbo because it might be upgraded also even if it looks stock from the outside.

 

[ttsupra2503]

Well I ordered the ARP head stud kit, I got the higher compression studs for cars running boost. I also talked to a local machine shop pro that stated he could put a build in ring on each of the cylinder rings on the head to help prevent blowout. He has done it to a few supra heads and has yet to see one back. 2 of which are running 20+lbs boost.

Regarding what you mentioned there blackthroat. how do you know about the injectors? I didn't notice any changes. Is it in one of the pictures?

I found a leak at the water pump as well as the head gasket. Not my favorite day today finding those issues but I think it will get better once I put the metal gasket and studs in. I thought about getting a upgraded manifold as well instead of sticking stock but haven't decided on that yet. money isn't very lucrative right now so putting out big money on parts isn't always able to be done. Any suggestions?

Well another day down. can anyone tell me how to replace those darn headlight nozzels? I got a couple replacements for my originals but for the life of me I cant find the last clips/bolts holding it on..... even got the ones near the headlight bezzels

 

[jtownsend]

if it has a lexus afm it "should" have the 550 injectors or it will lean out to much and cause damage to ur moter under boost, if u ever need help or spare parts, let me know, im sort of a parts whore lol, 7788213313, where abouts in kelowna are you?

which machine shop did you go to?

 

[ttsupra2503]

k.. I am guessing that is a home line. I will end up giving you a call sometime this week... looking for some interesting interior pieces.

I cant seem to see an injector number right now to confirm that the guy just wasn't a rumored idiot when it came to upgrades. I know the exhaust looks like a cherry bomb so I am being hesitant when I state that the guy knew what he was doing. I might replace the cherry with a thrush upgrade.

I live close to the bridge and work at a local self pull wrecking yard... you know the one. I was going to the one in westbank for the reference. I cant remember the name... monroe I think... jeeze I am bad when it comes to names. Thinking of work... damn I hate getting up in the morning to work for low wages... I might just have to get my welding and find myself another apprentice job as a mechanic. I dont feel like doing it but the pay is a little better.

I am going to pull the intake in a couple days to double check the cylinders. I will take pictures and cross the fingers for a thousand dollars worth of injectors.. .I have a feeling that it might be already done. I just hope the guy wasn't a complete idiot when It came to the AFM swap.. I dont have an old one to put in till the new injectors arrive.

Till next time..


ps... gonna make some custom fiberglass enclosures for the rear end... thinking 10 inch ported with a replaced power antenna... any takers? the guy I have helping me is a really good fiberglasser (used to make high end bathtubs)

 

[xzeror]

So I was talking with some locals and they suggest a couple items that I am not sure on.

#1 upgrade was a HKS high flow intake kit (I asked what cold air intake they would suggest) they didn't have a part number or catalog to show me.

http://www.mkiv.com/techarticles/filters_test/2/

Results speak for themselves. Apexi Power Intake > Hks intake

 

[dmp316]

congrats on the Mk3. Good luck with the project. How much power you planing to make?

 

[jtownsend]

u work at pnp? are you the really tall guy i was talking to, that said you had a supra with a sbc in it?, and tis my cell #, give me a shout or text whenever

 

[ttsupra2503]

yes J town... that would be me... I guess i am tall...6 foot 8. I used to have a supra with a Chevy 383 in it. I sold it though...My buddy in Alberta bought it to go to and from work in. Darn rig workers make too much money.

regarding how much power I was hoping to make... somewhere from 300-400 hp... not to much. Just wanna get what I pay for out of my fuel I was looking into possibly switching it into a meth injection kit runner. I saw that you can run 87 octane and it injects a blend of meth when you need it under high load.

I will have to see who actually sells one of those filters... It does look like the one I have on my car.. I showed a picture of it before. I will double check the brand later.

Well I am off to replace the head gaskets in my 4runner... damn head gaskets.... damn them all....

 

[Mr Bojangles]

http://www.mkiv.com/techarticles/filters_test/2/

Results speak for themselves. Apexi Power Intake > Hks intake

Thank you for posting this, I was looking for it for this thread but couldn't find it. The Apexi dominates the hks.

 

[ttsupra2503]

Well I Found out that the intake I have on there is the K&N. Originally I figured that this thread would be a good way for people to find out what upgrades to start with and maybe even include links so that they can find the appropriate upgrades for their new cars. I am happy to find so many helpful people on this site and I have even met someone that lives in the same town as me to talk more about the future upgrades for our cars.

http://arp-bolts.com/pages/viewcatalog.shtml

this is the online catalog to ARP, I also found out that they make the undercut bolts (u/c bolts in the catalog) for our high boost engines. Please correct me if I am wrong in any way.

To go with the studs I am also buying a 2.0mm thick head gasket and having the machine shop machine the head to the appropriate thickness.

With the last couple posts about the air filters... it is blatantly obvious that getting the Apexi power intake is going to be the best option to put on the cars.

I am trying to find out what injectors would be a great starting point for most people (550cc) where it would be good value for the buck. I know the best is nice but like most people still recovering. it would be nice to find something in the middle of the road.

The last thing on my list of stuff to put on the wish list for under the hood items (not including the ignition upgrades I was looking for) would have to do with the intercooler upgrades. I know I can find one locally for about 350 brand new. If I have to replace the tubing then hard piping will go in at the same time..

This is keeping in mind that the motor is being rebuilt from top to bottom with new seals, ARP head studs, and brand new gaskets and bottom end bearings and ARP bolt kits.

Keep the info coming guys... I am still deciding what bearings to use on my engine rebuild.... and maybe even what pistons to use when I pull the engine bottom end in a couple months.

 

[cmoser18]

RC 550's. They work like a charm for me. Not on the expensive side either.

 

[Orion ZyGarian]

That air filter test has been around the internet for quite some time now, and has swayed many a person to buy the incredibly expensive Apexi kit. The truth is that you cant have more flow (more power) AND filter better. I cant remember where I saw it, but there was a follow up test to that article debunking the whole thing. For the most part, different brands of air filter will just slide you on the scale of either more flow/less filtration or more filtration/less flow.

The basic starting mods for most turbo cars (and the MkIII is no exception) is an intake, exhaust, and boost controller. A new, cleaner filter will get you some more oomph for your buck, and while the Lexus/550ccs mod is inexpensive, it isnt a good tuning tool, so keep that in mind. That doesnt change the fact that it is an incredibly cheap way to make a good bit of power reliably.

The biggest gains on a 7M will be from replacing the exhaust. Here's a picture of the factory downpipe/turbo elbow that blocks off the wastegate's flow compared to an aftermarket one:

I used to have a simplified picture of the stock exhaust, but I cant find it right now. Basically IIRC there's 2 mufflers, 2 resonators, and a cat, all with nasty crush bends, making it one of the quietest factory exhausts I've heard. The 7M is naturally fairly quiet as it is with a factory head and exhaust manifold, so a good 3"+ exhaust will let it open up and breath better without being obnoxious. I took the easy way out and just bought one of the biggest mufflers Magnaflow sells in 3" and am calling it a day, straightpiping the rest.

There's much more to it all. If you'd like, we could chat sometime and I could get you all set up.