Yep, reading your post, why are you buying new motor mounts for an 88? (Ours are the superior design, they don't rip out like the 89+ round ones do.) My engine mounts with 170+ thousand miles are them are like new. (Yes the brackets are powder coated now, but hey, the rubber part inside is still perfect, I took them apart to PC the brackets and was impressed with the quality of the design.
You don't need main studs on any motor not being built with forged rods.
Re-conditioned stock rods are good to 600rwhp, at stock rpm levels. (Unless your going to spin your 7M to over 7k, or are shooting for HP over 600, don't waste your money on forged rods.) That being said, check out the price on the Eagle rods, I hear they are not much more than the cost of re-conditioning your stockers.
If your crank is worn, and you want standard sized journals, CrankshaftSpecialist in TN can hard chrome your journals and re-machine them to standard size. (The hard chrome is not cheap, but your crank is race ready when it's returned to you. They can also machine your rod journals to any size you want. This allows you to run different rods, say those for a SBC? And those rods are CHEAPER in the forged variety... I reccomend a SBC rod, 327 journal size in just under 6" variety, and then have your pistons made to accept the right rod pin size, and have the right compression height. (ROSS can do this for you easy.) Your left with a longer rod, cheaper rod, and easy to source bearings, and you lose the silly oil squirter holes on the stock rods that lose oil pressure on the rod bearings, and provide a point of failure for the stock 7M rods.)
I run Pauter rods on my stroker crank with 327sbc bearings. (Clevite's IIRC.) You can even get SBC rods with HONDA sized pins that are very strong and lighter than what we have. (Why not go with the full bastard child when your building a custom motor eh?) Honda pins, Rods for a Chevy engine, in a Toyota block tossing custom ROSS pistons...
Don't forget your big block chevy inner valve springs for the easy upgrade on the head. (And a set of ebay 1mm OS valves, or just a set of used 2JZ valves would be a good upgrade for any 7M head. they are 1.5mm OS, but will fit easy with some simple machine work. (Grinding the valve stems during the valve job.)
On that topic, you can build a motor with OUT doing a valve job if you want to save money. Just remove the cams, make sure you place all your lifters in the right order so you can put them back in the right places, and have your head machined for the metal head gasket. (Nice and smooth.) No need to do anything with the valves, but I do reccomend replacing the valve springs since it's easy and cheap to do, and while your at it, replace the valve seals. (Do not remove the valves to do this, so no need to cut the valves or seats.) Springs are like 70.00 from Comp Cams. Seals are cheap too. Labor is expensive, but you can do this yourself when the head is off if you have some patience and simple tools.
Replace the old oil pump with a new unit. Make sure you get the one for the GTE. (It has the taller gears, and flows the most oil.) It is the stock turbo pump. Asin makes them all. Toyota buys them from Asin. Toga buys them from Asin. If you pay more now, only blame yourself. (High pressure, what a load of crap. If you want higher pressure, just shim the OIL PUMP bypass about 6mm or one small nut that fits in there increasing the spring pressure on the pump bypass.)
If you go with ROSS pistons, set the clearance at 3k or 3.5k at the most, or it will piston slap, even when warmed up. (I have my current ones at 4k, and they slap when cold, and it mostly goes away with a warm motor.)
So here is the money.
Figure about 550 for the pistons.
250 in work on your crank if you need it.
200 or so to conditon your stock rods.
250 to 300 in machine work on the head and block. (Skim the head surface, and bore/hone for your pistons.) No need to line bore hone. Make sure the shop you choose has a tourqe plate for the 7M If they do not, find a shop that does, or that is willing to make one for your motor. I WOULD NOT BORE/HONE WITHOUT IT. Also do not HOT TANK your block. Just sonic clean it, or steam clean it. The acid in the hot tank will destroy your oil pump drive bearings, and you will have to replace them. It will also destroy your freeze plugs, so they have to be replaced. If you sonic clean the engine block, it comes out very clean, and none of the softer metals are ruined. (You will want to clean, and then re-clean your engine, make sure you flush out all oil passeges and any other place metal chips could hide, or grime resides.) A clean engine, is a happy and long lasting engine. Lastly, make sure you deck the block WITH THE FRONT COVER INSTALLED. If you don't, it's going to cause you a headache when the head sits up off the block because the front cover is now taller than your engine block. You need to cut them together to get the right height and seal correctly. (At the very least, it causes a serious oil leak on the front of your engine that can't be cured w/o removal and machine work on the cover. At worst, it causes warped heads, blown HG's and other crappy stuff.)
Good idea on some prices. (Most are estimates, or rounded UP.)
110 for the ARP Studs.
70 for the Comp Cams BBC inner valve springs. (IIRC part # 972?)
50 for the seals
50 for the gaskets
20 for the "Right Stuff"
Bearings are about 150
Timing belt 20.00
Misc. hoses and other stuff 100.00
Buy only the following gaskets. Intake, exhaust and metal head gasket. You will need new cam, front and rear main, and oil pump drive seals. Use "The Right Stuff" in the cheese whiz can to seal EVERYTHING ELSE. (You can just clean up your old valve cover seals, and then run a small bead of right stuff along the inside edge of the cam covers and seals. Then place them down on a clean head, and using allen head stainless bolts with lock washers and new neopre backed washers tighten them down. They will never leak if you seal them right.
Same with the MHG. Coat that sucker with brake quiet before you install it. (Coat the MHG on both sides with a few wet coats, then let it sit for about 10 min to get nice and tacky.) Then after putting a short bead of right stuff at the block to front cover mating surface, lay the gasket into place. (DO NOT HAVE ANY HEAD STUDS IN PLACE YET.) Then carefully place the head down on top of that. (Do not slide the head around at all. Use a friend to help place the head, it makes it easy.)
Now use your ARP studs to slip the washers into place on the head. I've found the best way to do this is lube the threads that go into the block with moly lube provided by ARP. A little lube goes a long way here. Lube the washer on both sides. Now, slip the washer onto the stud, and then place the stud into the hole on the head, and let the washer slide down into place. Then turn the stud into the block finger tight. Using a T handle allen wrench, just SNUG the stud, but DO NOT TIGHTEN IT. Repeat for all 14 of them. Then lube each threaded top of the studs, and the nuts that will be next. Remember to lube the face of the nut that contacts the washer that is laying on the head now. Turn them down till they are snug, but do not tourqe them yet. When they are all in place, get your 12 point 14mm socket and start your tourqe process. Follow the X pattern outlined in the TSRM. Start in the middle, and tourqe them to 30lbs over the head. Then I liked to go in 20lb steps to 90 lbs, and the final tourqe to about 103 or 105 depending on what you want. (90 lbs is actually plenty, but really I have not seen anyone with a problem at 105 yet.)
The key here is to do this in one step. Plan ahead and from the time you spray your MHG with the brake quiet, to the time you complete your tourqe patterns, it should not stop or delay in any way. You want the brake quiet to setup with the head fully tourqed into place. Make sure to prep your head and block with brake cleaner BEFORE you start. Also prep your MHG with brake cleaner too. It will clean off any oil or grease, and allow the brake quiet spray to stick to everything better. (Bare metal is what your going for.)
Same thing with sealing anyhing you use the right stuff on. Clean it up first, no assembly lube or oil should be on any mating surface before you apply the right stuff. This will ensure NO leaks later on.
If you shim your oil pump, also shim your oil cooler bypass. (With the same sized nut.)
I think the 7M is a very reliable engine when built right. It has many options now compared to just a few years ago. The 1JZ and 2JZ motors are also well supported by the AM, the 1JZ parts are not as easy to find, but they are out there if your willing to look. Every option has it's rewards and pitfalls. (That includes changing over to a domestic V8 v/s running something from Toyota in there.)
Good luck on your quest, and don't give up. (Also try your spelling checker next time on the SURPRAS.. sounds like some kind of cold drink at Sonic... I'd like a burger, fries and a Surpra please... Cherry if you have it..
)
