Rebuild Questions

[Austin2048]

I'm putting my Supra in storage soon and I am planning on rebuilding the motor with my tax returns. I had a few options I wanted to do with it, rebuilt the 7mge and do an n/a-t swap, 2jzgte, or 1jzgte swaps. I'm leaning more towards the rebuild and n/a-t swap mostly for cost reasons and my budget it still unknown. I have a lot of questions as I have never rebuilt an engine before and I have no experience with Turbo charging. My buddy is most likely going to help me out with this but ill be on my own a lot.

I guess the first questions that come to mind are where I could find a good quality rebuild kit, a good quality Turbo and intercooler kit, and what I should do as far as the block, head, and transmission.

I've looked around on eBay and driftmotion for rebuild kits. I've seen a bunch of kits on eBay but I have no idea how their quality is. I know driftmotion is a reputable dealer but I couldn't find a complete rebuild kit on there site and I'm not sure exactly what parts I'd need to buy to do this rebuild and n/a-t swap.

I haven't looked much into the Turbo or intercooler kits but I've seen a few on driftmotion. Help would be appreciated with finding good kits.

Now I know I will want to have the block and head shaved but is it necessary to have the head ported and polished? I'm not even completely sure what that means... would bigger pistons be a good idea?

Now having an n/a car I have a w58. My w58 has a lot of miles on it. Should I continue using that w58 or should I look for a r154? My buddy has one along with a driveshaft that I could see if he'd be willing to sell to me.

I mostly need help with knowing what parts to buy and what to spend my money on. I would like to keep costs as low as possible (I realize it won't be cheap though). I don't need to go over the top with extremely high quality parts as I won't be racing or drifting it. I don't really have a power goal but I would like this to be a reliable summer/spring/fall daily driver that I can have fun in. If I have to throw a number out I guess I'd say around 300-350 HP.

I'd like to get all this planned out ahead of time so I know exactly what to do when the time comes.

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[jdmfreak]

The na-t oil line kit requires welding a fitting to the oil pan FYI, also you may have to upsize your pistons but there is really no reason to do it unless you need to

 

[hvyman]

Skip the Nat idea and either go full gte or 2jzge.

If you want to run na-t you basically need it set up for gte. If not it's reliability is not going to he long. Even if 2jzge-t the pistons should be gte and tt head gasket. Could get by with just tt head gasket but it's still going to be like 9.5:1 compresson or higher. And that means low boost only or your at risk.

 

[7M4EVR]

Even though these questions and info is everywhere, i'll help you out.

These are just my opinions or what I would do:
If your stuck with the car or you're happy with the body and just want to rebuild the motor than just get what you can out of the GE and take your time finding a decent condition GTE to rebuild that way your already one step ahead, especially if this is your first build.
#1 is know your long-term goals- You say 300-350 and not racing it. Thats fine, just make sure you will be happy with that forever and it will save you from having to re-build all over again if you want to run more. For your goal in your shoes here is what I would do:

- Block- Buy a GTE, strip it down and see what you're working with. Have the pistons, rods, crank and cylinders mic'd by a good machine shop. With your goals you can stick with stock everything just make sure it's all well within spec and replace with new what isnt. At the very least get everything cleaned, get the cylinders honed, crank turned and balanced and get some new good quality rod/main bearings. Clean out/replace and check the operation of the oil squirters per the TSRM. I would replace the oil pump and look into shimming the pump a little.

-Head- For the money I opted to just send my head in and have it swapped out with a remanned head that was ready to rock with a 3-angle valve job and set to spec, it was cheap enough, and I didnt know enough about messing with the head at the time. I used CCH out of Florida. It came with a really good mirror like finish i was very happy with, just make sure to measure the deck and head so you know what HG to get to keep stock compression ratio (There is a sticky on this). OR you can get adventurous and do the work yourself with the help of your machine shop of course, just make sure that finish is flat and smooth. Get a quality HG and some new bolts either Toyota or ARP and torque it to the PROPER spec, in the PROPER order per TSRM.

- For a gasket kit there are many to choose from, just remember you get what you pay for. If you want to get a cheap one thats fine, you might be missing some gaskets and replacing them later when the motor is in the car and it's not so easy thats all. You can get away with the cheaper ones in the not so important places, but use Toyota on manifolds, turbo, and the other important things. BUT for the headgasket you HAVE to use Toyota, Felpro, or go Metal.

- Turbo "Kit"- Dont spend any money on power adders until you are comfortable with your build, and ready for the power. Leave everything else stock for awhile if you cant afford the go-fast goodies at the time of the build and keep the money for the motor itself. For your goals you could come close with stock turbo and downpipe/exhaust anyway and they are easy to add later. Aluminum Radiator and Intercooler with some good piping is also a good idea. You can go the route I went and get yourself some 550's/Lexus, AFPR, Walbro 255/MK4 pump, and upgraded CT-26, spearco replica intercooler, godspeed radiator, just make sure you have a wideband to monitor you AFR's. I went this route with Albert's 60-1 trim and I'm still breaking mine in and running 7lbs of boost, but if I punch it in 1st or 2nd I still go sideways....It PULLS man.

Tranny- R154 no question, and while your in there get a good clutch....the W58 could probably manage your goals, but just be done with it and go R154. Remember that none of your power is any good if you cant put it to the wheels.

 

[Austin2048]

Thanks for the input.

I like your idea 7M4EVR. I was talking to a buddy about all this and he said he has a 7mgte block, head, stock crank and lightened crank. The block has racing pistons and either racing rods or just stock gte rods. The block needs new bearings and everything could use a good polishing and the head could probably use a valve job. So with that and the r154 he he said he'd sell to me for a decent price I'd say I have a pretty good start. I didn't know he had all this along with another gte block and head hidden away. Next step should be getting a storage unit and going through everything he has to make a list of what I need to buy. I have a feeling the engine harness will be the hardest thing to find

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[jdmfreak]

Depends on how much you care about the harness used ones aren't hard to come by but Check out Dr tweak for your harness if you want a really good one

And I have a gte ecu

Also keep In mind if you don't go straight lex/550the gte injectors and afm are bigger than the n/a
The reason I mention it is because it's a difference that's not easy to come by in a search

 

[Austin2048]

Depends on how much you care about the harness used ones aren't hard to come by but Check out Dr tweak for your harness if you want a really good one

And I have a gte ecu

Also keep In mind if you don't go straight lex/550the gte injectors and afm are bigger than the n/a
The reason I mention it is because it's a difference that's not easy to come by in a search

I'd be fine with a used harness as long as it isn't all hacked up or cracked all to shit. I saw the Dr tweak harnesses. I don't want to drop that kind of money into a harness when a used one would get the job done.

Ill hit you up when I start buying parts if you still have the ecu by then.

Ill probably just stick with stock gte injectors and afm for awhile.

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