My new 7M buildup...long road.

[supraguy@aol]

Well, I pretty much completed the engine now, and now it's time to mate it to the tranny. Unfortunately, that'll have to wait till after the weekend. :icon_mad:
Here's how it looks as it is now;

One thing kinda sucks, though- I just found out that my remote oil adapter - the part that goes on the side of the block- sticks out too far- right into the pipe area coming off the compressor. So now I have to find a different setup.
Anyone else had this problem before?

 

[supraguy@aol]

Well, it's finally happening- progress.
Today was rainy, so I didn't get the motor in, but I did do some last minute work to the oil cooling system, and I finally mated the engine and tranny together!
As I mentioned, the remote adapter was going to interfere with the turbo's outlet pipe, so I picked up a new adapter which had flush outlets. Problem was, these new outlets would be interfering with the blockoff plate below the oil filter location! So, I had to tap it;

As you can see, this won't work if the blockoff plate and both bolts are there.

Holding up the 3/8 pipe plug, you can see it's a pretty close fit as is.

I didn't even have to drill, just used the npt tap. What about metal shavings?!
I first stuffed a piece of plastic baggy in the hole to block any debris from going down into the motor. Then after I tapped, I pushed in a small magnet and cleaned as much as I could. then I pulled the baggy out, and any remaining grit, etc. with it, then wiped the hole out, back to front. Worked pretty well.

Now, it fits just fine. :icon_bigg

Also, here's a pic of the aluminum flywheel w/ new OEM bolts w/lock-tite.

And here's a complete drivetrain ready to go in tomorrow(Sunday). It's supposed to be nice, so here's to no more delays!
:naughty:

If you'll notice, I have the oil filter directly on the filter boss right now. I'm thinking of keeping it this way for the break-in since it'll only have this oil in it for a hundred miles or so. I figured this would help to keep any contaminants out of the cooling circuit. Then engine won't be run hard during this phase, just some load on it to set the piston rings, then another oil change. Anyone think this is a particularly good or bad idea??

 

[supraguy@aol]

OK.
This car is officially kicking my ass.
Today I got lots of progress done, but didn't get to the finish line as hoped.
I started off by degreasing the engine compartment, and began shoehorning the drivetrain in:

Then I started hooking everything up.

When I got to the new lower radiator hose, my troubles began. It was alot longer than my original, but seemed to be shaped the same way, so I figured I'd just need to trim it to proper length. Well, as soon as I pushed the hose end onto the woter pipe, it split!
Apparently it was also to small a diameter . So I went to the store and got another, which was another brand, and no problems. Once I got most of the engine stuff done, I decided I wanted to get the driveshaft and everything under the car done:

I clearcoated the driveshaft in the hopes that it wont get all corroded too soon. By midafternoon, I had just about everything connected except the shifter and the ecu, so I started to add all the fluids to the car. Well, I filled up the radiator, then took off the heater core hose at the back passenger side, to get as much coolant in the block as possible to reduce burp time.
And this is when the shittiest event in the build took place; I am pouring the coolant very slowly, and I hear this trickle from the front of the motor. I start looking for the source, and soon found it. The most inconvenient place I can think of.

Well, I had to remove the PS resevoir, the turbo, the intake, turbo outlet, ex. manifold and the IC piping to the TB in order to even see this thing. I tightened it, but it just kept on'a dripity drip drip. Well, after prying it apart enough to micro-coat both sides of the gasket with RTV like a neuro surgeon, I bolt it together, and no leaks. Heck, that fix only took me 3 hours.
Anyway, the car now sits completely assembled, except for the wire harness connections. Then I hope for good things when I turn the key.
:aigo:

 

[7MsuprO]

Good luck starting her up man! Looks good.

 

[supraguy@aol]

Man does my schedule suck. If I'm not scheduled off, it means that I'm basically on call for work, as nothing is really scheduled to me specifically, ahead of time. SO I had to work all day today, and I was thinking I'd get a couple of hours free tomorrow to finish her up, but NO. I have to go on a three day trip, so I have to wait again! Oh well, it's not so bad. I get to head down to Florida for a few days at least. I just wanna get the car started, though!

 

[Kckazdude]

At least it is moving in the right direction. Good work on the progress, looks good.

 

[supraguy@aol]

Well, today I FINALLY had a chance to finish up the Supra transplant.
I finished filling the transmission, and reinstalled the shifter. Then I reinstalled the battery and reconnected the ecu and MAFT. I cranked it for about 45 seconds w/ the EFI fuse out, to build up oil pressure, and it came up quite nicely. Then the moment of truth...sorta.
I cranked it w/ the EFI fuse in to try to start it for the first time, and no go.
I looked under the hood, and smelled MAJOR fuel- uh oh. I disconnected the battery, and found that the banjo bolt to the fuel line down on the driver's side fuel union was only finger tight- oops. I tightened that thing up, and tried again- MORE FUEL! I then found that the fuel pulsation dampner was ALSO finger tight. I tightened that one up. Now, I'm letting her rest while the fuel evaporates, before I try again.
Hopefully, today is the day.
:aigo:

 

[Kckazdude]

Please dont blow it up before you crank. Too much work went into it for that.

 

[supraguy@aol]

Wellllll, it finally runs!
Yay me!
After letting the fuel evaporate, I cranked it over and walah! nothing.
:naughty:
I knew I'd prolly have to mess with the CPS, and I did.
After playing with it for about 10 minutes, I FINALLY got it started!!!
After some back and forth testing with the MAFT, she's running really smooth now. I took it out really quickly just to load the piston rings and seat them a bit.
I had to bleed the hell out of the clutch line, and then even the brakes neede serious bleeding, but that's all done. I do however, have some serious chatter from the clutch while engaging. I'm hoping that'll settle down somewhat.
I'll post a couple more pics when I get home.
:icon_bigg

 

[miekedmr]

congrats!

 

[supraguy@aol]

Well, so far so good. The engine now purrs nice and smooth,
and no leaks of any kind so far.

 

[supraguy@aol]

 

[supraguy@aol]

Well, I noticed one problem so far.
When I start it up cold, the oil pressure rises to like 40 psi at idle. Nice.
BUT, once it's completely warmed up, it drops to near zero at idle, and only gets up to about 30 psi ay 3k rpm. This is a new oil sender, and I'm not sure if it's reading right or not.
I'm going to either plumb in another oil gauge, or replace the sender with the old(known to be working well) one.
Did a little more loading on the rings today, and it looks good. Zero smoke on startup warm or cold. I found a major leak in my driver's front brake caliper. Took it apart, and found it leaking from the piston- rust around the piston cylinder. So looks like I gotta pick up a new caliper. I reinstalled the front bumper. All that's left is to install the glove compartment, and the driveshaft safety loop.

 

[Nomad707]

isnt it supposed to have high pressure on cold startup? the oil isnt warm yet, its syrup-e thus causes high pressure, correct?

 

[supraguy@aol]

isnt it supposed to have high pressure on cold startup? the oil isnt warm yet, its syrup-e thus causes high pressure, correct?

Well, that's the thing- it does have high pressure when cold, but drops below my comfort level once its warm, about 30psi max at 3500 rpm, steady state driving. I would really like to see at least 15 psi higher in that situation. My plan is to replace the oil pump and piston oil squirters. For now, I haven't really been driving it much, because of this concern.

 

[Nomad707]

do you have enough oil? is it the original pump? the stock squirters are very badly designed in my opinion.. did you do the usual +1 quart on filling her up?

 

[supraguy@aol]

do you have enough oil? is it the original pump? the stock squirters are very badly designed in my opinion.. did you do the usual +1 quart on filling her up?

Oh yeah- I have enough oil. I have only about 500 miles on it, and it's on it's second oil change, and has an additional quart in it. I also lowered the oil pickup about a half inch when installing. It is a used pump that I disassembled and checked clearances on. Even though they were good, I still plan on replacing it.

 

[supraguy@aol]

Wow- it's been awhile.
This isn't any huge update, but there is some progress on the car.
I finally got tired of the crappy sideskirts and rear bumper on the car, and have decided to go a bit more OEM with the final look. Bottom line- I wan't my car to ultimately look like a slightly modded car, not an all-out racer.
I guess I'm getting old.:nono:
I'm keeping the rear spoiler and front bumper, but that's sporty enough. I will go with 18" staggered wheels in the Spring, but prolly something like a BBS LM look- again, sporty, but restrained. Thanks to Tubbie for hooking me up with OEM mudflaps, perfect passenger door panel and a decent rear bumper. :biglaugh:
Next for the car is a return to the OEM cooling fan setup, to get rid of my FAL 210's. They work great, but I don't like the after-shutdown operation.
I have a new shroud($67!) and twin AC fans to put back in. As far as the motor- it's almost as strong as I want, but I need just a little more. All I want to do is get either a 57trim CT, or similar, and an electronic boost controller, like the SARD trigger. Hopefully the repaint will be this Spring as well.

The motor as it sits now:

The car:

 

[foofers]

Nice build...
What is the brand/model of the valve spring remover/installer?
Is it the Blue Point GA318A or the GA317 or neither?

 

[supraguy@aol]

Not sure, but I think it was made in Canada as I recall.
I'll have to go down and find the box to see.


PS- Today I put in the OEM cooling fan setup, with new shroud and twin AC fans. Also, I finally got around to replacing the leaky power steering pump with a reconditioned one. Hopefully, this'll keep the bottom of the motor from getting oily from now on.