Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to a somewhat chronological record of my progress with my '91 Supra. Since I'm a poor college student, my over-all build probably won't be all that impressive, but I plan on doing my best with what I've got to work with. I'm writing this up for my own reference and hopefully your entertainment, but please don't be afraid to add your own comments or factual recommendations.
I may as well start with how she was when I picked her up last April on the night before Easter!
Mod list when I picked her up:
JDM 7M-GTE
Rebuilt A340e auto trans w/shift kit
low mileage .57 trim CT26 at @ 8psi
Cheap ebay-style dp that attaches to the stock elbow
HKS Sport 3" exhaust
Lowered 1.5 on Eibach Pro springs
Drilled and slotted rotors all around
New wheel bearings all around
Not a single spot of rust, garage kept, never seen winter!
Gotta love those sawblades... Despite their good condition, they just couldn't grow on me. The style of wheel on a car can make or break the car's whole look for me, so they had to go...
Luckily, I picked up some polished aluminum 17" x 9" Cobra SVT rims with decent tires for cheap from a good friend. They came with 275's on the back that seem to just fit perfectly.
After that, I got tired of the broken stock CD player (I HATE the radio!!) and installed a nice Sony head unit along with some Infinity 6'5's in the front and 3'5's in the rear. I also went ahead and installed a ProSport electronic Boost gauge because I wanted to see if I was boosting past 8psi!
{pics to be added later}
It wasn't long before I got the itch for more speed, so I bade my time until I could get my hands on a nice BIC DDP and a 3" test pipe from another friend of mine who decided to go 1j.
I put on a nice strip of header wrap on it after I gave it a few coats of header paint, then I coated the wrap as directed. It fit perfectly and I love how it's quiet unless I give it hell. Just driving around town, I can hear the turbo spool up from inside the car just like a semi on the highway. :love:
Sadly, that last mod put me in fuel cut territory, so I started to research and save for the ever popular Lex/550 mod. After a few months of Ramen Noodles and Hamburger Helper, here's what I've procured so far...
^A Suprasport adjustable AFM that polished up great, RC 550's...
^An Apexi SAFC II, Autometer Wideband O2...
^Low milage NGK plug wires and new accordion pipe I got cheap from a friend after his 7M had kittens...
Next, I plan on picking up a Walboro fuel pump, Aeromotive FPR kit, Spearco style intercooler, and nice hard pipe kit from Driftmotion.
___________
*UPDATE*
Due to hectic college classes and crappy work schedules, progress has been slower than I would like. I've got every part I need now including everything mentioned above. In the past few weeks I've gotten a decent amount done in my sparse spare time.....
My RC 550cc injectors are installed and I wired in some nice new clips.
The tank's dropped and we're ready to install the new Walbro pump, but we kind of buggered up the high pressure line coming from the tank on accident and we're going to yoink one off a donor car first. I also snagged a new fuel filter to install because the one on there is 20 years old.
I bought an EGT gauge from Prosport to match my boost gauge. Looks pretty damn good lol.
I wired them in to glow green when the headlights are on so they match the dash and the stereo.
I also drilled out my cigarette lighter and installed my Autometer Wideband O2 sensor. I like it quite a bit.
Here's my SAFC2 installed. It's going to be spending most of its time in my glove box so it doesn't blind me at night, and so it doesn't tempt any thieves.
When we did the install of the SAFC2, we noticed the ECU had a bunch of Japanese all over it. Is this a JDM ECU? I know the motor is a JDM swap.
And here's the motor as it sits now, waiting for us to install the new intercooler and fuel pump, fab up some charge pipes, and get her tuned!
-(Small Update)-
Here's my Aeromotive FPR mounted up and looking pretty.
And here's Newgen and my Walbro pump ready to me installed!
*UPDATE*
I mounted my new IC, relocated my oil cooler, and fabbed up my IC piping the
other day! Here are the pipes as I got them back from the welder...
Here's a couple pics right before we put the bumper on.
Here's a view from the top, showing clearances and how it mounts.
One more pic showing the new IC through the bumper after get set it back on.
Getting pretty damn close! And now that I'm done with summer classes, I'll have MUCH more time to finish it!!
*UPDATE*
We got her on the dyno and the HG popped at 13psi... Come to find out the previous owner had lied about the car having an MLS head gasket and head studs. : (
Here's a pic taken the day it happened.
I stopped tuning after one pull with white smoke and had it towed home the next day. Sadly, school started shortly after, so I let it set in the garage until I got some extra time.
...and then I got some extra time! My good buddy Newgen and I started wrenching and got the head off eventually.
That head was a bit of a bear to lift alone with the exhaust and lower intake manifold on.
Looks like the HG popped around Cyl. 6. That's one clean piston.
And here's the head, ready for the machine shop. Hopefully it checks out alright. My car never over-heated, so it should be fine with any luck.
*UPDATE*
Picked the head up from the machine shop today. They milled .012 off the head surface to get it plained, so I'm going to pick up a Titan 2.0mm head gasket.
*UPDATE*
I got the head back on and started re-assembly.
Turbo's back on there...
All back together! (Forgive the crappy cell phone pics)
I let it idle through 5 heat cycles, then re-torqued the head studs. So far, Newgen and I haven't gotten it tuned all the way yet (still running pretty rich), but it runs great!
I may as well start with how she was when I picked her up last April on the night before Easter!
Mod list when I picked her up:
JDM 7M-GTE
Rebuilt A340e auto trans w/shift kit
low mileage .57 trim CT26 at @ 8psi
Cheap ebay-style dp that attaches to the stock elbow
HKS Sport 3" exhaust
Lowered 1.5 on Eibach Pro springs
Drilled and slotted rotors all around
New wheel bearings all around
Not a single spot of rust, garage kept, never seen winter!
Gotta love those sawblades... Despite their good condition, they just couldn't grow on me. The style of wheel on a car can make or break the car's whole look for me, so they had to go...
Luckily, I picked up some polished aluminum 17" x 9" Cobra SVT rims with decent tires for cheap from a good friend. They came with 275's on the back that seem to just fit perfectly.
After that, I got tired of the broken stock CD player (I HATE the radio!!) and installed a nice Sony head unit along with some Infinity 6'5's in the front and 3'5's in the rear. I also went ahead and installed a ProSport electronic Boost gauge because I wanted to see if I was boosting past 8psi!
{pics to be added later}
It wasn't long before I got the itch for more speed, so I bade my time until I could get my hands on a nice BIC DDP and a 3" test pipe from another friend of mine who decided to go 1j.
I put on a nice strip of header wrap on it after I gave it a few coats of header paint, then I coated the wrap as directed. It fit perfectly and I love how it's quiet unless I give it hell. Just driving around town, I can hear the turbo spool up from inside the car just like a semi on the highway. :love:
Sadly, that last mod put me in fuel cut territory, so I started to research and save for the ever popular Lex/550 mod. After a few months of Ramen Noodles and Hamburger Helper, here's what I've procured so far...
^A Suprasport adjustable AFM that polished up great, RC 550's...
^An Apexi SAFC II, Autometer Wideband O2...
^Low milage NGK plug wires and new accordion pipe I got cheap from a friend after his 7M had kittens...
Next, I plan on picking up a Walboro fuel pump, Aeromotive FPR kit, Spearco style intercooler, and nice hard pipe kit from Driftmotion.
___________
*UPDATE*
Due to hectic college classes and crappy work schedules, progress has been slower than I would like. I've got every part I need now including everything mentioned above. In the past few weeks I've gotten a decent amount done in my sparse spare time.....
My RC 550cc injectors are installed and I wired in some nice new clips.
The tank's dropped and we're ready to install the new Walbro pump, but we kind of buggered up the high pressure line coming from the tank on accident and we're going to yoink one off a donor car first. I also snagged a new fuel filter to install because the one on there is 20 years old.
I bought an EGT gauge from Prosport to match my boost gauge. Looks pretty damn good lol.
I wired them in to glow green when the headlights are on so they match the dash and the stereo.
I also drilled out my cigarette lighter and installed my Autometer Wideband O2 sensor. I like it quite a bit.
Here's my SAFC2 installed. It's going to be spending most of its time in my glove box so it doesn't blind me at night, and so it doesn't tempt any thieves.
When we did the install of the SAFC2, we noticed the ECU had a bunch of Japanese all over it. Is this a JDM ECU? I know the motor is a JDM swap.
And here's the motor as it sits now, waiting for us to install the new intercooler and fuel pump, fab up some charge pipes, and get her tuned!
-(Small Update)-
Here's my Aeromotive FPR mounted up and looking pretty.
And here's Newgen and my Walbro pump ready to me installed!
*UPDATE*
I mounted my new IC, relocated my oil cooler, and fabbed up my IC piping the
other day! Here are the pipes as I got them back from the welder...
Here's a couple pics right before we put the bumper on.
Here's a view from the top, showing clearances and how it mounts.
One more pic showing the new IC through the bumper after get set it back on.
Getting pretty damn close! And now that I'm done with summer classes, I'll have MUCH more time to finish it!!
*UPDATE*
We got her on the dyno and the HG popped at 13psi... Come to find out the previous owner had lied about the car having an MLS head gasket and head studs. : (
Here's a pic taken the day it happened.
I stopped tuning after one pull with white smoke and had it towed home the next day. Sadly, school started shortly after, so I let it set in the garage until I got some extra time.
...and then I got some extra time! My good buddy Newgen and I started wrenching and got the head off eventually.
That head was a bit of a bear to lift alone with the exhaust and lower intake manifold on.
Looks like the HG popped around Cyl. 6. That's one clean piston.
And here's the head, ready for the machine shop. Hopefully it checks out alright. My car never over-heated, so it should be fine with any luck.
*UPDATE*
Picked the head up from the machine shop today. They milled .012 off the head surface to get it plained, so I'm going to pick up a Titan 2.0mm head gasket.
*UPDATE*
I got the head back on and started re-assembly.
Turbo's back on there...
All back together! (Forgive the crappy cell phone pics)
I let it idle through 5 heat cycles, then re-torqued the head studs. So far, Newgen and I haven't gotten it tuned all the way yet (still running pretty rich), but it runs great!
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