Emilio's Rebuild & Improvement Build Thread

[emiliorescigno]

Alrighty, I felt it was time to open up my own build thread, documenting the progress I'm doing on my Supra. My car is a 1990, originally N/A Auto, converted to 7M-GTE, 5-speed by the previous owner. Over winter I discovered it had a non-sealing piston ring, that was leading to a huge oil burn. The engine is being rebuilt by a local shop called "Hall Motorsports" in Elko, MN. During the rebuild, I am doing lots of other changes, repairs and upgrades as well. Here is the car, before any work was started:

The Car:

Ugly Exhaust:

Rust:

The engine, before removal:

The interior was a mess as well. There were a lot of pieces missing, and the previous owner hacked in some VERY ugly gauges in the center, as well as an 88 Tach in my otherwise 89+ gauge cluster:

So that's what I'm starting with. The next page will document the progress I've made thus far, and stay tuned for more updates!

 

[emiliorescigno]

Firstly, Jim @ Hall motorsports removed the engine, and then trailered the car back to my house while he rebuilds it. So....onto the pics!

Sleeping....

The empty engine bay:

The junk in my trunk:

My rebuilt CT-26, thanks MDC!

So, after I got the car back, minus engine, I started work on the interior, and the gauges in particular:

6.5" Speaker brackets (don't worry, the blown stockers are coming out in favor of Infinity Kappas):

New dashboard bolt covers, & painting them:

AEM Tru Boost Gauge/Controller (going to install once the new engine is in and running):

And, for my primary progress, the gauge cluster. I assembled a new cluster using a combination of several bought on eBay and this forum, and then put my current speedo (with accurate mileage) into it. Now it has an OEM look, but is custom in the sense you can't buy a cluster with these properties stock. It has the 90+ Airbag light, but the 89 only 6,500 redline, as well as a voltmeter in a turbo car.

The old nasty cluster removed (it was REALLY bad):

My new cluster, assembled and ready to install:

The new cluster installed, and the old "Faze" gauges installed in an A-pillar pod:

There you go! More pics of the engine work will come later!

 

[johnathan1]

Sounds like fun!

And damn, those gauges really are hacked!

 

[supra90turbo]

"and i was just like EMIIIILIOO!!"

looks like you've got your work cut out for you
keep us updated!

 

[da89soup]

^^^ Night at the Roxbery is great!!!

Looks like you have a great car to start with there. The rust is because of MN salted roads but ehh what can you do. You and I are fairly close so if you need anything let me know. Good luck on the build!!!:icon_bigg

 

[emiliorescigno]

2nd post edited, more pics added. Enjoy!

 

[supra90turbo]

Nice job with the cluster! that was a real hack job

 

[emiliorescigno]

Alrighty, I got some pictures back from the person who's rebuilding my engine, see the devastation!

Cooked Clutch:

Nasty Flywheel:

Oil Filter adapter thread (how the hell did that happen!?!?!, luckily it can be ground down so it will stop cracking):

Now, here are some pictures of the cylinder head. I don't know enough about it or how it should look to really know what's going on in these pictures, so I'll just post em up, and enjoy.

More pics will come!

 

[supra87t/t4]

Is Jim from Hall Motorsports the same Jim Hall from back in the day, who used to work at TPIS, crewed for Leighton Reese, road raced his Camaro, and was a previous owner of Syst's two-tone brown 87T? Or just a strange coincidence?

 

[emiliorescigno]

Is Jim from Hall Motorsports the same Jim Hall from back in the day, who used to work at TPIS, crewed for Leighton Reese, road raced his Camaro, and was a previous owner of Syst's two-tone brown 87T? Or just a strange coincidence?

That's him, I didn't know him until recently....what's you guy's opinion of him? He seems like a pretty level headed guy and left a good impression on me, I guess I'll have to see how the engine turns out to know 100%. Since my thread has been bumped...here's some recent winter pics!

 

[supra87t/t4]

I'd say you're in good hands, Jim knows his stuff. How did you end up going to him?

 

[pimptrizkit]

that crack kinda scares me.

altho i ran with a crack on my deck surface going from water jacket to head bolt , to water jacket.. no issues ..

that crack looks like some one way over tightened the oil filter mount, and as the block got hot it cracked?

 

[emiliorescigno]

that crack kinda scares me.

altho i ran with a crack on my deck surface going from water jacket to head bolt , to water jacket.. no issues ..

that crack looks like some one way over tightened the oil filter mount, and as the block got hot it cracked?

Yeah, it does look pretty scary, but I was told by Jim that he will be able to machine it all off so it stops, and it'll have enough thread left to still hold the oil filter tightly.

I'd say you're in good hands, Jim knows his stuff. How did you end up going to him?

That's good to hear, it's nice to hear positive feedback. I found him through another Supra owner on a Minnesota forum (Minnesota Sport Compacts). I was referred to him by Scott, who goes by the handle "Ne0z" on a lot of forums.

 

[Gilsdorf]

Nice work on the dash, looks like you lost 100k on the odo. You may also want to change out the stock elbow and get rid of the ebay/HKS DP both are big restrictions.

Good luck with the build,
Matt

 

[emiliorescigno]

Nice work on the dash, looks like you lost 100k on the odo. You may also want to change out the stock elbow and get rid of the ebay/HKS DP both are big restrictions.

Good luck with the build,
Matt

It was the angle of the pic that makes it look like the mileage changed, it's actually the exact same gauge swapped into a different cluster, so it's 100% original mileage with no rolling. I do plan on replacing the DP with a BIC , but I'm going to buy that at the same time as a Wideband, and I don't have the money for that right away. :icon_mad:

 

[emiliorescigno]

Okay guys, time for another round of updates, this time a lot more fun! I got a couple new parts (with a few more on the way, and a slew of updates from Jim! Onto the pics!

Enjoy and tell me what you think!

 

[SySt]

Is Jim from Hall Motorsports the same Jim Hall from back in the day, who used to work at TPIS, crewed for Leighton Reese, road raced his Camaro, and was a previous owner of Syst's two-tone brown 87T? Or just a strange coincidence?

Yes, it is indeed. BTW Unless he left TPIS in the last two months he still works there. And I don't think it was him that owned my Supra. I bought my Supra from Jim's dad, who had bought it from one of Jim's friends. I have had Jim do work for my two Supras and my girl's 3000GT. Jim is a level-headed nice guy and from what I have experienced/heard he does some quality work.

 

[Mr.PFloyd]

don't keep your crank on the floor like that, it will deform from its own weight!
-Thomas

 

[SySt]

That is Jim Hall storing the crank like that. I don't believe that the crank will warp sitting horizontal like that opposed to sitting vertically. And the crank will not warp if stored for a short period of time. Either way, Jim knows what he is doing. You must have more mechanical/engine building experience.

 

[emiliorescigno]

Eep, I trust Jim, but mention of something like that still makes me nervous. I'm willing to bet he just put it like that for a moment to take a picture.