Just picked up my first Supra
- Thread starter bryan163
- Start date
Ok, so I have my 7M all neatly disassembled, HKS head gasket purchased, and block and head about ready to go to the machine shop when one of my friends tells me he'll sell me his 2JZ with 100k for $450. So I bought it. Not sure if I made the right decision or not. Now I'm told have to get a 1JZ bell housing.
Ahh my head is spinning now. The friend of a friend i was buying the 2j from isn't answering the phone now. My friend is telling me he may know where i can get another one today or tomorrow, but I think I might just say screw it and just finish my 7M.
Seeing as I'm a noob with these cars it might be smart to keep things simple.Plus it will save me from having to hunt down more parts and spend more money. I can use the extra money to by a larger factory style turbo and larger downpipe.
There seems to be some debate among mk3 owners about the reliability of the 7m, but I hope I can build a reliable motor by having the HG surfaces machined and using a quality MHG.
Seeing as I'm a noob with these cars it might be smart to keep things simple.Plus it will save me from having to hunt down more parts and spend more money. I can use the extra money to by a larger factory style turbo and larger downpipe.
There seems to be some debate among mk3 owners about the reliability of the 7m, but I hope I can build a reliable motor by having the HG surfaces machined and using a quality MHG.
My 7M has been going for over 7 years now, As long as you don't slack on proper maintenance it will be extremely reliable.
I'm back on the 7M. I tried to bring it to the machine shop today, but those slackers were on vacation till after memorial day. I ended up changing the water pump on my thunderbird today and i also picked up a low mileage motor for my girfriend 4th gen maxima. I'll be installing that this weekend. Oh, and i painted a set of fenders for my sisters maxima. Hopefully giving the supra some attention tomorrow.
RazoE;1838058 said:
I thing the year specific blue on blue two tones for the 87-88 or 86-87 (cant remember the two) are pretty rare also. There were two different blue one blue combos.
I found midnight blue in off the shelf form from duplicolor. Im planning on repainting the car before I drive it. I also dropped my block, head, and crank off at the machine shop today. I told them to dip it when they're done so it will be nice and clean for some engine enamel.
Good choice on staying with the 7M, at least for now. 
The 7M reliability issues tend to be owner related and can mostly be avoided with proper care. The 2J can handle abuse like nobody's business, but the 7M isn't far off and is still a blast to drive.
The 7M reliability issues tend to be owner related and can mostly be avoided with proper care. The 2J can handle abuse like nobody's business, but the 7M isn't far off and is still a blast to drive.I figured i should become acquainted with the car as it is before i start making major changes. The machine shop called this morning to tell me that the head cant be machined because it is already at minimum thickness. I'm gonna pull the head thats in the car now to see if that one can be used. I might have to gut the thin head for parts and put them into the head thats on the car because the motor in the car died from being run out of oil.
that doesn't sound good, good luck with that.. I'm sticking with a stock 7m rebuild myself, waiting on parts to get it over to the machine shop
Mine won't be too far from stock. Just want to fix the known weaknesses. I checked out the other head and the cams look good.i should have it out of the car tonight. Takea a lot longer to remove the head when its in the car than when its on the stand.lol I'll finish up tonight after work.
update: Well its been about a month since I posted here, mainly because I hit a dead end when the machine shop condemned my 7M block. After doing a pass on the deck it was clear it had already been welded and needed more machining than it could take off still while maintaining minimum deck height. So my friend Chris who gave me the 7M was kind enough to give me a 2JZ-GE. It has high miles. Around 220k I think, but I'm just gonna run it for now because it runs good and doesn't smoke. I'm gonna grab a cheap ebay manifold and probably use a garrett turbo that I have at our shop. Also hoping to find a deal on a bell housing. I found some on ebay, but the prices were around $370-400:kickinthenuts:
Here's a the turbo I was thinking about using next to a CT26.
Here's a the turbo I was thinking about using next to a CT26.
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