Hey, I've been meaning to put together a new build thread for a long long time, I figure now that the summer is winding down and my build is basically going from semi-complete to starting over I might as well start a thread...
Here's the long-winded, rambling, and boring backstory, I bought my first Supra, an '88 Turbo automatic, back in '97 when I was 19 years old. Drove that car through college with only minimal mods, mechanical boost controller, Intrax springs & ST sway bars, gutted cats on stock exhaust, intake... beat the crap out of it for 6 years then finished college and parked it to be a "future project" and drove my 'more adult' Grand Am. [/COLOR]
In 2007 I traded a laptop for an 87 turbo targa with "solid body/engine, already primed and ready for paint!!" so that I could Frankenstein it with my old Supra into the Supra I'd always wanted. My goals were simple, a good looking targa top ~400HP cruiser.
I started devouring every book, video, website that I could find on bodywork, engine work, suspension work, basically everything, I was jumping in as a computer guy with very little automotive knowledge. (I'm lucky tho - my dad is a Toyota MDT - 30+yrs with Toyota, super useful guy
)
Well I spent the next couple of months stripping both of the cars down and the further I progressed into the targa car the more rust I found - and as I sanded off the primer i found more and more bondo - nice and smooth and well hidden and all but still, hardly any metal in the rear of the car... disheartened I gave up and the car sat, stripped almost to it's frame, in my dad's garage for a couple of years.[/COLOR]
In late 2010 I again caught the Supra bug (not that it ever really went away) and bought an '88 Turbo M/T car that was in semi-ok shape - pretty much everything that it needed I'd already had from my 2 parts cars but it definitely needed a paint job so I would have to learn how to paint a car in a garage.
While doing a semi-rebuild getting everything straightened out mechanically last summer (Lex550 mod etc..) I totaled my daily driver and had to slap the Supra together so I'd have something to drive for the few weeks I spent looking for a daily driver. (still had the prev owner's crappy paint job and multi-colored body panels and missing 50% of the mouldings - how embarrassing!) (off-topic: I found a mint condition '99 Grand Prix GTP that I couldn't pass up for $3K and that's still my daily driver today, it's cool comparing the supercharged stuff in that car to the turbo system in the Supra but I digress) [/COLOR]
Last October I finally got around to repainting the Supra - way more work and way more hours and way more nickle & dime stuff than I ever could have imagined and after all that I had screwed it up enough that I need to repaint it again - tho this time I've learned so much (especially about why you don't use the cheapest clear coat you can buy) that I think it'll be much easier/better/cheaper/fun this time around.[/COLOR]
Oh, I almost forgot, over the winter I re-covered all of the seats with black leather, installed a new black carpet, and dyed all the rest of the interior black, so I went from a hodgepodge of maroon, grey, and blue interior to all black.Oh, another thing I almost forgot from this winter, completely rebuilt R154 and installed SPEC Stage 2 clutch...
Anyway, that brings us up to this summer. I've recently abandoned the Lexus AFM + SAFC route for a Maft Pro. I've been working on wrapping my head around that whole system and trying not to destroy anything. And - from just "slapping" stuff back together last year in a rush I've ended up with a ton of stuff to deal with, mostly every seal and gasket in the engine is leaking - now I have a feeling that this restart is necessary and will end up being way less stress than my last try - I'm way past the steep learning curve that slowed me down last time
Here's my current plan:
1.Spend the next few weeks messing with and tuning the Maft Pro knowing that if I melt the engine down I have plans to rebuild soon anyway.There really needs to be a more unified support system for this, the Maft Pro is awesome but support/knowledge is scattered and unclear and false-information abounds...
2.Pull the engine, inspect everything, - the machine-work/MHG has less than 30K miles on it so hopefully that won't need to be done again - rebuild with all new OEM or better gaskets - really sick of leaving puddles of my German Castrol all over town...
4. Need new shocks and springs, I have two sets of Intrax springs, both with less than 40K on them and both sets are worn out and weak/collapsed. Not a fan of Intrax springs here. Planning to go coilovers just because - I bounce back and forth between Tein and Stance depending on the last thing I read here on SM
5. Go bigger turbo - I'm torn between an upgraded CT26 and a fully custom setup - I'm leaning towards custom, especially since I've gotten myself a welder and I've been learning to use it, it'd be fun to be able to make my own downpipe and whatever else is needed... Have I mentioned how much I've spent on tools in the past 3 years?! I should switch careers and open a shop or somethin!
6. Figure out a reasonable cup-holder system! I love how the kids in the drive-thrus love my car, I hate how I have to find a place for my soda that won't interfere with my shifting!
Anyway, here's some pics, I wish I'd taken more throughout the process... hopefully posting this thread will make me feel accountable and keep me on schedule, ha!
Sanded
Primed
Painted (had the stock exh on temporarily, I need to get a new pic with my kickass Tanabe exhaust)
small portion of my reading material...
Interior stripped
Interior painted
Re-covered the panels
Interior half-done (need to take some completed-interior pics)
Typical 2am on a Thursday for me:
Current list of mods off the top of my head:
Big FMIC & 2.5" hard pipes
HKS SSQV BOV
3" BIC DDP & test pipe
3" Tanabe Hyper Medallion Touring Exhaust
Intrax Springs and Tokico Illumina II's (Absolutely NEED to replace these)
ST Sway Bars F & R
MAFT Pro in SD mode w/ boost control
Innovate LC-1 Wideband
Aeromotive AFPR
SPEC Stage 2 Clutch
Nashman v2 Short Shifter
HKS 2mm MHG
ARP head studs, mains, flywheel bolts
Comp Cams Chevy valve springs
Here's the long-winded, rambling, and boring backstory, I bought my first Supra, an '88 Turbo automatic, back in '97 when I was 19 years old. Drove that car through college with only minimal mods, mechanical boost controller, Intrax springs & ST sway bars, gutted cats on stock exhaust, intake... beat the crap out of it for 6 years then finished college and parked it to be a "future project" and drove my 'more adult' Grand Am. [/COLOR]
In 2007 I traded a laptop for an 87 turbo targa with "solid body/engine, already primed and ready for paint!!" so that I could Frankenstein it with my old Supra into the Supra I'd always wanted. My goals were simple, a good looking targa top ~400HP cruiser.
I started devouring every book, video, website that I could find on bodywork, engine work, suspension work, basically everything, I was jumping in as a computer guy with very little automotive knowledge. (I'm lucky tho - my dad is a Toyota MDT - 30+yrs with Toyota, super useful guy
) Well I spent the next couple of months stripping both of the cars down and the further I progressed into the targa car the more rust I found - and as I sanded off the primer i found more and more bondo - nice and smooth and well hidden and all but still, hardly any metal in the rear of the car... disheartened I gave up and the car sat, stripped almost to it's frame, in my dad's garage for a couple of years.[/COLOR]
In late 2010 I again caught the Supra bug (not that it ever really went away) and bought an '88 Turbo M/T car that was in semi-ok shape - pretty much everything that it needed I'd already had from my 2 parts cars but it definitely needed a paint job so I would have to learn how to paint a car in a garage.
While doing a semi-rebuild getting everything straightened out mechanically last summer (Lex550 mod etc..) I totaled my daily driver and had to slap the Supra together so I'd have something to drive for the few weeks I spent looking for a daily driver. (still had the prev owner's crappy paint job and multi-colored body panels and missing 50% of the mouldings - how embarrassing!) (off-topic: I found a mint condition '99 Grand Prix GTP that I couldn't pass up for $3K and that's still my daily driver today, it's cool comparing the supercharged stuff in that car to the turbo system in the Supra but I digress) [/COLOR]
Last October I finally got around to repainting the Supra - way more work and way more hours and way more nickle & dime stuff than I ever could have imagined and after all that I had screwed it up enough that I need to repaint it again - tho this time I've learned so much (especially about why you don't use the cheapest clear coat you can buy) that I think it'll be much easier/better/cheaper/fun this time around.[/COLOR]
Oh, I almost forgot, over the winter I re-covered all of the seats with black leather, installed a new black carpet, and dyed all the rest of the interior black, so I went from a hodgepodge of maroon, grey, and blue interior to all black.Oh, another thing I almost forgot from this winter, completely rebuilt R154 and installed SPEC Stage 2 clutch...
Anyway, that brings us up to this summer. I've recently abandoned the Lexus AFM + SAFC route for a Maft Pro. I've been working on wrapping my head around that whole system and trying not to destroy anything. And - from just "slapping" stuff back together last year in a rush I've ended up with a ton of stuff to deal with, mostly every seal and gasket in the engine is leaking - now I have a feeling that this restart is necessary and will end up being way less stress than my last try - I'm way past the steep learning curve that slowed me down last time
Here's my current plan:
1.Spend the next few weeks messing with and tuning the Maft Pro knowing that if I melt the engine down I have plans to rebuild soon anyway.There really needs to be a more unified support system for this, the Maft Pro is awesome but support/knowledge is scattered and unclear and false-information abounds...
2.Pull the engine, inspect everything, - the machine-work/MHG has less than 30K miles on it so hopefully that won't need to be done again - rebuild with all new OEM or better gaskets - really sick of leaving puddles of my German Castrol all over town...
During the rebuild I'm also going to upgrade the oil cooling with remote filter setup, bigger cooler, thermostat, etc...
Also need to rebuild the wiring harness too, it's falling apart in too many places, not to mention the various hack-jobs performed over the years.
3. Repaint - and I've decided I'm no longer a fan of the blue so I'll be going with a black paint - possibly with blue pearl in it for an effect in sunlight4. Need new shocks and springs, I have two sets of Intrax springs, both with less than 40K on them and both sets are worn out and weak/collapsed. Not a fan of Intrax springs here. Planning to go coilovers just because - I bounce back and forth between Tein and Stance depending on the last thing I read here on SM
5. Go bigger turbo - I'm torn between an upgraded CT26 and a fully custom setup - I'm leaning towards custom, especially since I've gotten myself a welder and I've been learning to use it, it'd be fun to be able to make my own downpipe and whatever else is needed... Have I mentioned how much I've spent on tools in the past 3 years?! I should switch careers and open a shop or somethin!
6. Figure out a reasonable cup-holder system! I love how the kids in the drive-thrus love my car, I hate how I have to find a place for my soda that won't interfere with my shifting!
Anyway, here's some pics, I wish I'd taken more throughout the process... hopefully posting this thread will make me feel accountable and keep me on schedule, ha!
Sanded
Primed
Painted (had the stock exh on temporarily, I need to get a new pic with my kickass Tanabe exhaust)
small portion of my reading material...
Interior stripped
Interior painted
Re-covered the panels
Interior half-done (need to take some completed-interior pics)
Typical 2am on a Thursday for me:
Current list of mods off the top of my head:
Big FMIC & 2.5" hard pipes
HKS SSQV BOV
3" BIC DDP & test pipe
3" Tanabe Hyper Medallion Touring Exhaust
Intrax Springs and Tokico Illumina II's (Absolutely NEED to replace these)
ST Sway Bars F & R
MAFT Pro in SD mode w/ boost control
Innovate LC-1 Wideband
Aeromotive AFPR
SPEC Stage 2 Clutch
Nashman v2 Short Shifter
HKS 2mm MHG
ARP head studs, mains, flywheel bolts
Comp Cams Chevy valve springs
