Leftynridge complete restoration build thread

[leftynridge]

Well I have finally got around to sharing my progress of the restoration of of my 88 supra turbo. I will start off by saying that I purchased the car in Aug of 2009. At that time it needed a lot of work. It was three different colors and needed some attention to the motor so I decided that I wanted to completely restore the vehicle and make it last for many more years to come. I wanted to start off with the most important part of the build first. The engine. Now of course I am not made of money so I will be buying parts bit by bit and while the motor was out I figured that I might as well replace all the bushings. So we will be starting with the suspension first.

So far I have purchased St sway bars, energy suspension control arm bushings front and rear, Ronnie K subframe bushings front and rear, Ronnie K rack bushings, Rear control arms, toe arms, traction arms by wes at beech performance, grease fitted camber bolts by wes, grease fitted front lower control bolts by wes, adjustable end links by wes, new lower ball joints, inner tie rods, and outer tie rods. Some of the stuff I have not received yet because it is still being made but as soon as I get it I will post pics of the products. Here are some pics of progress so far.

Here is a picture as it is right now. I have put on body kit by shine as well as paint the vehicle. The paint job did not turn out the way that I wanted so it will be getting painted again probably at the end of the year. It also has mkiv tt wheels on it now as well.

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These are the upper control arms, calipers, steering knuckle, that I cleaned up and painted. I will be upgrading the brakes in the future.

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The steering rack that I painted

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The front subframe and lower control arms that will be getting powder coated here soon.

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Front and rear control arm bushings. Lower ball joints, inner tie rods, outer tie rods.

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The rear subframe that I took off today. Will be sending it to get powder coated as well.

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More goodies that I will be pulling out of the boxes here soon for my engine build.

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[leftynridge]

Just Got finished taken the rear subframe apart. Now its time to remove the bushings and clean it up and take it to the powder coater.

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[airhead04]

This is going to be an awesome build. Subscribed.

 

[leftynridge]

Thanks. I will try to update as often as possible. As soon as I get finished with the suspension I will start on putting the motor back together. I pretty much got everything motor related cleaned up already and put in some of those boxes you see. bov, wastegate, aem standalone, new sensors, weisco pistons, eagle rods, clevite bearings, new water pump, new oil pump, new alternator, new starter, brand new pre 88 harness etc... Block, crank, head have already been completely machined inside the house. I guess I have kinda started late on taken photos but will update everyone with that stuff as soon as I get around to it and up load some photos. Probably once I finish suspension.

 

[Grandavi]

Yes, very nice when I see someone going about it right. : )
I have to go the same path as you... so will be watching.. (nice to have trailblazers to go up against)

 

[shaeff]

If you're going for big power, it might not be a bad idea to reinforce that subframe.

Starting at post 86: http://www.supramania.com/forums/sh...te-7-12-09-White-car-stripped-for-paint/page2

 

[leftynridge]

The front or the rear. Or both?

I'm assuming the rear since that is what the pictures are. lol

The plate in the middle where the diff sits. Is that plate for support or were you just doing the that to fix the crack. How did it crack?

---------- Post added at 10:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 PM ----------

That looks awesome. Have you noticed the benefit from adding the extra strength?

 

[leftynridge]

Just got finished with cleaning and painting the diff and axles. Had to take a grinder to the diff. It was so rusty it flakes of metal falling off of it. Looks good now though.

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[spencyg]

Before sending that rear sub frame off, make sure you do a search on this forum about subframe cracks. Check it over VERY WELL before sending out for coating, as this is the time to fix anything you find.

Love the clean-up. Looking forward to getting to this stage of my own rebuild.

SG in NE

 

[leftynridge]

Yeah I plan on it. It looks to be in pretty good shape. I have been told that the 89-92 have been pron to cracking more then 86.5-88. Mine is an 88 and the car came from the south so it had no rust on it other the diff casing.

 

[Chambers]

Nice, you should stop by the dealer and pick up a "LSD OIL ONLY" plate (sticker) for the diff to finish it off!

 

[leftynridge]

I have it waiting for paint to dry. It is a nice touch though. I agree.

 

[Corkey723]

Lookin awesome so far, I just hope you didnt let those CV axles extend to far hanging off the side there. Dont want the bearings to fall out.

 

[leftynridge]

No I agree. I thought about that once I put it up there but I don't think that the weight of the axles would pull them out. There heavy but not that heavy. Plus I have rotated the axles a few times they seem to feel fine. Thanks.

 

[shaeff]

The front or the rear. Or both?

I'm assuming the rear since that is what the pictures are. lol

The plate in the middle where the diff sits. Is that plate for support or were you just doing the that to fix the crack. How did it crack?

---------- Post added at 10:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 PM ----------

That looks awesome. Have you noticed the benefit from adding the extra strength?

Not on the car yet. I'm lazy and unmotivated. On both subframes, make sure you make the small tabs for the eccentric bolts perpendicular to their mounting surface, then run a bead of weld behind each to prevent them from bending outward, thus not allowing proper adjustment.

My subframe was from an 86.5 N/A car. No idea how it cracked, but I can assure you it won't crack again.

Yeah I plan on it. It looks to be in pretty good shape. I have been told that the 89-92 have been pron to cracking more then 86.5-88. Mine is an 88 and the car came from the south so it had no rust on it other the diff casing.

You heard wrong. The 86.5-88 are "weaker" than the 89-92. The late style have two extra bolt-on braces. You can buy them separately and bolt them on to a pre'89 sub though. They help brace toward the bottom of the diff area by connecting the front and back of the subframe.

 

[leftynridge]

Are you referring to the the tabs that are used for proper alignment. The ones that are on there right now seem to be in pretty good shape other then a few on the front subframe that I bent. I have bent them back but you are saying make sure that the edge of the tabs are not bent out and run a bead a weld around them to reinforce them. Correct?

Yeah I did see the additional bracing. on the 89+.

 

[shaeff]

Are you referring to the the tabs that are used for proper alignment. The ones that are on there right now seem to be in pretty good shape other then a few on the front subframe that I bent. I have bent them back but you are saying make sure that the edge of the tabs are not bent out and run a bead a weld around them to reinforce them. Correct?

Yeah I did see the additional bracing. on the 89+.

Correct. Make sure they're perpendicular to their mounting surface (right angles) and run a bead of weld behind them to prevent them from pushing back out. Your alignment tech will love you for it.

 

[leftynridge]

Got it. My neighbor is welder by trade and he is going to help me with reinforcing the subframes. Thanks

 

[leftynridge]

If you're going for big power, it might not be a bad idea to reinforce that subframe.

Starting at post 86: http://www.supramania.com/forums/sh...te-7-12-09-White-car-stripped-for-paint/page2

Hey Shaeff just wondering what grade of steel is that you used to reinforce the subframe and where can I get it?

 

[Kai]

This sounds great - but your images are HUGE (in filesize, not resolution) to download. On my broadband connection the thread has taken 20 minutes and STILL hasn't finished loading, and stalled out on about half the images!