ModDimension Supra

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ModDimension

New Member
Jul 26, 2010
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Chico, CA
www.moddimension.com
First of all sorry folks I do not have a camera atm to take pics for you but I will get some in the next couple days. Last week I bought two Turbo Supra's, an 87 hardtop (white) and an 88 targa (gray). Neither of them were running when I bought them, and I'm told the 88 has a busted bottom end so the plan is to swap the block out of the 87 into the 88 which is in much better shape.

I got the 87 running the other day. Its biggest issue was a baked/hacked wiring harness. I guess the underhood temps in the Turbo's get pretty hot huh? :: angry :: lol The oil that came out of the 87 looks like rust so I think the previous owner also blew the headgasket some time ago, which I think is status-quo for these engines... Anyway I pulled the 87's engine earlier today. Time to dissemble it and assess the condition of the bottom end.

I'm hoping to get the 88 running by next week. When I do though It's likely this Supra will remain mostly stock for a while. I want to take my time with it and learn what the car needs. This will be my first turbocharged car and the first car I've bought with ABS. I need to know how it drives before I decide how to tune it.

Questions? comments? welcome... more updates coming soon. Oh, here's a pic of the 86.5 NA sport I had a few years ago. Good to have a mkIII again, especially one I didn't find in the weeds next to a barn! :icon_bigg

 
M

ModDimension

New Member
Jul 26, 2010
29
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43
Chico, CA
www.moddimension.com
So it's been a very interesting weekend in the build of the ModDimension Supra... There's a lot to talk about so I am just gonna start with a rundown on some facts. These were the issues I found with the pair of 7MGTE's after disassembly:

The 87 7MGTE
- Blown head gasket
- Significant coolant contamination in the oil (caused by blown head gasket)
- Piston #1 melted from detonation (caused by shorted fuel injector)
- Piston #2 partially melted (caused by overheating of piston #1)
- Turbocharger only fasten to exhaust manifold w/ 1 nut?!!

The 88 7MGTE
- Hole in block (from #1 rod breaking)
- Hole in oilpan (from ^ rod punching through and getting stuck through it)
- Cylinder head damage (from piston #1 impacting it)
- Oil Pump Pulley shattered (from engine seizure)
- Flywheel bolts sheered off from crankshaft (from engine seizure)
- Cracked exhaust manifold
- Stripped threads in cylinder head used for exhaust manifold studs

In short... I've managed to repair the bottom end of the 87 block with pistons salvaged from the 88 block (and some careful honing of the cylinder bores). I repaired the damage to the 88 cylinder head with helicoil and a chisel... I spent a long time prepping the cylinder head and engine block for the new Felpro head gasket by hand... but if it was in my budget I would have liked to pay a machine shop to shave the cylinder head and properly deck the block for a metal head-gasket... Next time!

Good news is the cylinder head from the 88 engine was fully rebuilt (including a valve job) so its in great shape... except for the damage from piston #1 slapping it of course but that is mainly superficial. It's also amazing how good/tight the bearings are on the bottom end of the 87 block considering how much water contamination was in the oil. Both turbochargers seem to be in good shape but there are only receipts to say that the 88 turbo was rebuilt so I'm gonna run that one.

Ordered a clutch disc otherwise I would have had it running today! It will be running as soon as it gets here... probably Tuesday. :D
 
M

ModDimension

New Member
Jul 26, 2010
29
0
0
43
Chico, CA
www.moddimension.com
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M

ModDimension

New Member
Jul 26, 2010
29
0
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43
Chico, CA
www.moddimension.com
Also last week I drove the Supra down to Davis for its first long-distance drive. A giant brown bird (probably a hawk) kamikaze'd me on the freeway and killed itself. I had the top down and its amazing it didnt end up in my back seat... it hit the corner of the passenger side b-pillar so hard it must have broke its neck. :/
 
M

ModDimension

New Member
Jul 26, 2010
29
0
0
43
Chico, CA
www.moddimension.com
Also after I got to Davis the flange on the top of the radiator decided to unbraise itself and make itself into a volcano. After I pulled off the road and popped the hood I was also surprised to see flames?! comming off the head. Somehow I think the steam caused arcing from the coils which caused oil residue on the cam covers to ignite? Anyway I quickly put the flames out and replaced the radiator the next day and everything seems to be fine, obviously I went dragracing a couple days later... Yesterday I went for some canyon driving and took some pics. Will post those soon.
 
M

ModDimension

New Member
Jul 26, 2010
29
0
0
43
Chico, CA
www.moddimension.com
So last week I was having issues with my oil cooler lines... they popped twice in three days cause they were old. It was quite a pain cleaning up the oil spill the first time, doing it twice was just retarded. I finally wised up and replaced the lines but I went kinda overkill with em. I'm using Aeromotive hydraulic lines rated at 250psi lol... they are so tight you cant even push em on with one hand you have to remove the fittings off the block first.

Also while I was fixing that I noticed my intercooler pipe was loose on the turbo. After making that extra-snug the car boosts much quicker now. :)

I also put on a Sparco steering wheel and hub. Not quite as small in diameter as the Vector F1 wheel I ran on my NA but the suede feels great. I dont recommend the Sparco hub though, its very well made but makes no provision for auto-clicking the blinkers off. The Grant hub I ran on my NA did work with the blinkers.
 
RazoE

RazoE

Boobs/Boost, my favorite
Jun 13, 2006
4,946
3
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Los Angeles
www.cafepress.com
Yeah, just switched to a Momo hub myself, and it won't unclick the blinkers, the old cheap universal hub I had on there before would do it for the left signal but not the right..
 
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