Project 88 MKIII - A Calgary build

[Grandavi]

Well... the smoked signal light covers.. gone (blown off on highway)... so.. wont be going back that way...
Sunshade.. gone... I didn't attach it quite the way I was told to and paid the price. (lazy bastard I am!!). Luckily KevinM had another... I rather like it. (follow instructions completely this time.. lol)

 

[ryansmith]

Well... the smoked signal light covers.. gone (blown off on highway)... so.. wont be going back that way...
Sunshade.. gone... I didn't attach it quite the way I was told to and paid the price. (lazy bastard I am!!). Luckily KevinM had another... I rather like it. (follow instructions completely this time.. lol)

Wow not good to hear... I'm surprised in how well they really sit and mount when I got my package I was a bit sceptical on the whole mounting instructions but it's amazing, takes away the look of the hatch glass being so "long"
Well that's my opinion . Any thoughts of going lower?

 

[Grandavi]

I want to drop it, but drivability disappears the lower I go.. right now I cant get up my driveway without scraping the bumper.. so...
For looks, definitely would like to drop 1-1.5". I will probably only got 1" though.. because I dont think the bumper will survive the roads here if I go any lower than that, and I bought the car to drive : )

I left the doublesided tape off the side clips thinking the tops being taped was enough, but there is enough flex in the sunshade to pull those clips out if they arent taped.. so.. live and learn.. lol

 

[ryansmith]

Haha nice story on the sunshade, I actually found it quite difficult doing it by myself but I managed.

Yeah the nose is quite long same with the wheel base I do like your front lip though so don't ruin it! I'm planning on going 50-60mm lower all round unfortunately the rear springs are un-captive so my shocks will need extra work for them to be legal, quite disappointed as the are an off the shelf product to suit 88 supra. Would you go coil overs or shock/lower spring setup

 

[Grandavi]

August 22nd Update

Sunshade replaced (thanks to KevinM for having one for me .. lol)

Sept. 10 car goes in for brakes (I have SS lines that will be added). Brembo front and rear rotors and OEM pads (damn expensive puppies.. but they do last a long time). Dropped the idea about putting on a BBK as I wont be putting this girl on the track.
Replacing the Master and slave cylinders (Aisin CRT024 Clutch Slave Cylinder and Aisin CMT059 Clutch Master Cylinder). Was going to go SS lines on that, but will wait until I do an engine bay cleanup.
Having RTCS install HSD Coilovers (I want them in and setup before I put back the interior). Pretty decent pricepoint on these considering they quality that I see (all my research tells me that for a street setup, these are excellent)

Finally getting the heatercore replaced (I am paying big $$ to get this done.. lol.) After waiting for 2 years with the issue, there's no denying the fact I just dont have the time for lengthy repair sessions and the '87 MK3 in my garage is making it a pain to do this stuff as it sits on stands keeping my baby out.

Going to have to do some respraying on the car as I have paint bubbling under the pass side of the whale tail and I didnt get 3m protective tape on the bumper in time to save it from really bad Calgary roadways (rock chips here are like driving through a boggy area with bright lights on a warm summer evening and expecting not to hit a bug...)

After this, window tint time.

oh yeah.. dropping the car 1" (even that is extreme for the roads here.. may have to raise it .25" if I cant get out of parking lots.. I like my bumper)

oh.. forgot.. bought a red 1990 MK3 2 days ago. Exact interior as my 88 (except 90) so I plan on swapping the front seats between the cars as I like the 90 seats better. Pretty sure its plug and play. Plus the 90 has the cup holder so I will be putting that in my 88 as well.

 

[Grandavi]

Okay.. whats been done the past 2 weeks....

HKS LET-T16 Full catback 3" exhaust (twin tip)
http://store.driftmotion.com/static/i-let-t16.php
(didnt get it from DM.. but its the same one)

HKS 3103-RT-003 Downpipe

Brembo Rotors (stock size.. not BBK) and steel braided brake lines
AISIN Clutch master and slave cylinders
(of course... new brake pads and all systems flushed)

HSD Coilovers (only dropped 3/4 inch for now)
http://www.hsdcoilovers.com/specifications

Driftmotion Beadblasted 57 TRIM CT26 (ordered.. not here yet) to replace stock CT26 that is dying
http://store.driftmotion.com/static/i-57trimct26turbo.php

HKS EVC-S Boost controller


AEM Wideband


HKS 3000 Pipe (unrestricted)



All this puts me into the interior phase of my rebuild and cost me far too much... seeing as I didnt even touch a wrench to get it done. My car is lucky I love it.. my wife is unlucky Im stupid.

ah well.. it continues..

 

[Grandavi]

Cars still in the shop waiting on a turbo from DM... so.. I got bored and put my previous rims on my 1990... they fit it really well : )



crappy iphone photo though...

some more photos...




if you want to see what happens when you drive onto a parking block with a Gracer replica bumper... well.. this shows it.. lol

 

[Grandavi]

Got the 57 trim from drift motion as well as a single bung 3" elbow. Adding a second for the AEM Wideband. Decided that I am dropping the 550 cc injectors in and adding a LIPP AFM as well now. (Using my stock electronics)

Question... Do I need an AFPR at this point? I have a mkiv denso fuel pump installed and i can't afford an upgrade intercooler at this point. Just wondering if it will harm the engine running on the stock fuel pressure regulator.

 

[#04]

Cars still in the shop waiting on a turbo from DM... so.. I got bored and put my previous rims on my 1990... they fit it really well : )

crappy iphone photo though...

some more photos...

^chinook??

 

[Grandavi]

Southcentre as you exit Safeway (at least Im pretty sure thats right... could be Chinook.. lol.. I hate growing old..)

 

[Jordon Burt]

Got the 57 trim from drift motion as well as a single bung 3" elbow. Adding a second for the AEM Wideband. Decided that I am dropping the 550 cc injectors in and adding a LIPP AFM as well now. (Using my stock electronics)

Question... Do I need an AFPR at this point? I have a mkiv denso fuel pump installed and i can't afford an upgrade intercooler at this point. Just wondering if it will harm the engine running on the stock fuel pressure regulator.

was the turbo from dm worth it? im gunna order one nextweekend since mine is screwed, might as well upgrade it now instead of buying a stock installing it just to buy a upgrade later.

 

[Grandavi]

The Turbo looks good. I cant say if its worth it or not really, have to wait and see. Will probably have the car out just after Halloween, but its a summer car (with nice 10" summer wheels on back.. lol) so hoping that it comes out on a "dry" day in Calgary. If Deerfoot is dry, expect me to be testing it out.. : )

I have heard a lot of good about DM, but the elbow I bought was the worst piece of work anyone has seen (which forced me to get an integrated DP and just not run with the elbow at all). Aaron agreed that it probably wasn't the best and we havent really banged out what to do with it, so I am not holding it against them. (they dont sell the elbow on their site, I asked if they had one sitting around and ... got this.... lol. It is a good show of "what you should never put on your 7M")

 

[Jordon Burt]

The Turbo looks good. I cant say if its worth it or not really, have to wait and see. Will probably have the car out just after Halloween, but its a summer car (with nice 10" summer wheels on back.. lol) so hoping that it comes out on a "dry" day in Calgary. If Deerfoot is dry, expect me to be testing it out.. : )

I have heard a lot of good about DM, but the elbow I bought was the worst piece of work anyone has seen (which forced me to get an integrated DP and just not run with the elbow at all). Aaron agreed that it probably wasn't the best and we havent really banged out what to do with it, so I am not holding it against them. (they dont sell the elbow on their site, I asked if they had one sitting around and ... got this.... lol. It is a good show of "what you should never put on your 7M")

so you also have their dp with the integrated elbow too! i wanted to order that aswell..
this one exactly http://store.driftmotion.com/static/i-3inchdpwithelbow7m-gte.php
and i want this exhaust http://store.driftmotion.com/static/i-3inexhaustformk3supra.php (for the price why not)

 

[Grandavi]

no.. I got mine through George at Raptor (Supramania vendor). Cost a lot more, but well worth it imo. I looked at those, but decided just to get Raptor Racings DP with a 3" catback HKS exhaust with twin pipe muffler.
I dont trust those DP's (from looking at them) after seeing the elbow I got.. so I panicked. George hooked me up.. I think the DP is 575.00 shipped (US). Depending on how you pay him, I paid him USD because I had him invoice via paypal which complicated it a bit. In the end though (after paying a little more for the shipping.. I got it within 12 hours.. which surprised me : ) (Toronto to Calgary)

George is super fussy on his product and oversends if he thinks you may have an issue. Very impressed with the DP.. its a Divorced DP with the integrated elbow. The wastegate tube reintegrates and it has a flex pipe. Ceramic coated inside and outside (stainless steel). The flanges are mild steel. One flange is slightly warped (a lot of welding for that) but his welds are very clean and done properly. My only complaint is that after its on.. I wont be staring at it anymore.. lol.




Forgive the crappiness of the iphone photos.. lol. I gave my Rebel XT to my son...

Here's a photo of the 57 Trim and the "funky" elbow that shocked me...

 

[ttsupra2503]

Southcentre as you exit Safeway (at least Im pretty sure thats right... could be Chinook.. lol.. I hate growing old..)

Thats the southcentre all right... in my opinion at least. I was just in Calgary on Sunday. Was a great day trip. Too bad it was icy roads

 

[AbsoluteSpeed]

Wow that was quick! Hope it warms up a bit so you can test the new batch of upgrades before winter really sets in.

 

[Grandavi]

Well.. update

Car is sitting in the shop with the Head off. Valve seals were crapped out and some werent even put on correctly so have been allowing oil into the cylinder for the past few years. Found out the Headgasket wasn't Cometic like I was told so will be dealing with that as well. At this point, looks like I will just be doing a ring/bearing/seal engine rebuild with a hone and new valve seals. (along with all the other little goodies)
Thinking of deleting the EGR as the 88 7MGTE doesnt really monitor that (ECU-wise) and it will have very little to no effect on its operation. So... will be running catless and EGR-less. The hose was snapped on the EGR anyway, so wasnt functioning for the past few years either. Also taking the block heater out as I dont run in winter anyway and just putting in a frost plug.

Waiting for a dollar figure on the rest of the work before continuing.. debating an upgraded intercooler or just running with the stock one (57 trim doesnt really need an upgraded intercooler if I understand it correctly)
Does anyone know the max PSI capability of a 57 trim CT26 before you start risking failure?

 

[Grandavi]

Okay.. I have all parts figured out now, so latest update...

Work done on car since October:

HDS Coilovers - (1200.00 + 540.00 installation)
Brembo Rotors (F & R), Steel Braided Lines (purchased 3 years ago), New pads - (500(ish) + 720 installation) *did not do calipers
Replace and Repair Heater Core (I supplied Heater core) - ($1230.00... never want to ever do this.. lol)
Replace Clutch Master and Slave Cylinders (AISIN - $125.00 parts + 360.00 labor)
HKS 3000 Pipe (purchase here for "cool" factor) - (120.00 USD - includes shipping costs)
6 - 550 CC RC (PL8) Injectors (tested perfect - thanks Rodel!) - ($330.00 shipped + 155 for clips + 480.00 labor for installation)
HKS LET-T16 Catback Exhaust ($880.00) & Raptor Racing DDP $675.00 shipped + $240.00 labor approx. (not done)
HKS EVC Type S Boost Controller - $520.00 + ~$480.00 installation
Cometic MLS Headgasket ($200.00)
ARP Head Stud kit (150.00)
TEST Pipe (Fabrication with parts) 200.00
SPEC Stage 2+ Clutch Kit (from Suprastore) - 585.00 shipped
MK3 Stainless Intercooler Plate - 95.00
Aeromotive AFPR Kit for 7M-GTE ($265.00+ 100.00 shipping (included other parts) from DM) + ~$240.00 to install)
**includes - 7M Cold Start Injector Hose ($27.00) + 7M Fuel Dampener Bypass Hose ($65.00) to make all my engine bay fuel lines SS
57 Trim CT26 Turbo-Bead Blasted Housing-Unclipped (from Driftmotion) - $790.00 shipped (I paid for faster shipping.. stupidly...)
Pull Head, Rebuild, Lap ~$1100.00 (not installed yet)
Pull Engine ~$720.00 (not replaced yet)
AEM 30-4100 UEGO Controller Gauge (205.00 Shipped + ~$360.00 installation (not installed yet)
Engine Shortblock (Wiseco Pistons/Rings, Polished Rods, Clevite Bearings - not final yet) - ~$2000.00 + Shipping (not finalized yet)
Lexus AFM (Purchased from forums 2 years ago.. roughly) - Install and adjust ~$60.00
Accordian hose (purchase from forums recently) $75.00 (New OEM)

I think thats all at this point. Remember.. this is not completed yet, I still have ZERO RWHP... havent even installed my Shortshifter... lol.

This will be a good example of how not to achieve your dream of a nice BPU Supra... I just nickle and dimed myself to death by accident... and that isn't a final billing tally...

Slightly under 15,000.00. I could have bought Randy's BIC 600 HP Supra for just a little more...


I will note here.. for those of you who may be shocked by this list/tally. This is not truly unreasonable for what is being done. It will be done once.. it will be done right.
However, most people would never do this (not even me) because in the end it isn't logical. My fault is I lack time, and I dont have the skill to achieve a properly built Supra. I could have done this all myself and then posted in the "help" section for the next 3-4 years while I tried to perfect my errors and in the end, maybe or maybe not achieved it.

Stupid? Yes. Regret doing it? Nope.

 

[ttsupra2503]

Can I ask, minus the labour, what was your final parts cost including the original vehicle?

 

[Grandavi]

damn.. thats a hard question, because I bought it for 6000 almost 5 years back, did 4500 in bodywork (no paint) followed by just slighlty under 10,000 in body work + paint + body kit + new exterior parts (all included in that 10,000) about 2 years after first messed up body job (this time its done right). Then I started buying Supras (bought and sold about 7-8 MK3s in that time, I still have 3 including my 88) to help pay for the build. I made about 6000 flipping the Supras so far.
If you ignore all the tiny little pieces I picked up via the forums (I have hoarded parts that are obsolete "just in case") I will be between 30,000 and 35,000 into my car over 4 years. If I had to back up and do it again, I would have bought a finished Supra and started there, rather than a base Supra. Especially in Canada...
Left to do after this is redoing interior (expecting that to be about 2000.00 tops for custom leather seats, side panels), stereo/alarm (already have a sub box for rear) and a little more body/paint to fix issues I am not as happy with as I want to be. In about 3-4 years, I may go widebody with the car as well, but not until I get a couple years driving out of it. The only thing I dont plan on doing is dropping and reconditioning the subframes. I may do that but that will be in the far future.

When I bought the car, I planned to put 45,000 into it. I am tired of buying new cars and I dont drive much anymore because I work out of my home. In the past 20 years, I have lost about 90,000 in new vehicle purchases and have nothing to show for it. (that's reality.. I accept it). After finishing my car, I dont plan on ever selling it, so its a labor of love, although it turned out that I have been employing people rather than doing things myself (again, that is my reality, I had to accept it).

There are times I feel quite foolish about it. I have 6 kids, 3 grandkids... so doing a car like this isn't exactly wise, however, I wanted a Supra in 1985 and couldn't buy it because it is not practical for a family vehicle... this is my reward for waiting.