Hey Guys, I know Ive been on these forums for awhile but in the rush and excitement of purchasing my 1st supra ( or 1st car for that matter) I didn't get to properly introduce myself.
So I came to Australia from South Africa in 2003 and instantly fell in love with the Japanese cars of the late 80's - 90's . The sleek lines of the 200sx in any iteration or the sound of an rb under a skylines hood sent shivers down my spine.I swore to myself that I would own at least a r32 gtst. As time wore on I found that Skylines where becoming relatively inexpensive and therefore extremely common. They where now known as "japanese commonwhores". When I had finally completed my degree and acquired a stable well paying job I was able to afford what I always wanted but instead decided to pursue an avenue not that common. I saw an ad for a Toyota Supra turbo in the gumtree classifieds and went to see it. Knowing that because of the p plate laws in Sydney(if you have your provisional plates you arent allowed to drive a turbo car) , non turbo mk4(jza80) supras where now becoming the new "japanese commonwhore". I was adamant that I wasn't going to be a sheep and follow the crowd.When I first laid eyes on the ma70 i now own I instantly fell in love with it. The sleek lines, that aggressive front and the torque pull of the 3.0L turbo completely consumed me. It oozed 80's japanese style and wasnt as common as the mk4's. I had to have it.
When I bought it in Dec 2010
In my excitement I had forgotten to follow the proper steps that should be undertaken with the purchase of any used car and basically purchased it for a very good price but with a lot of issues.The car started out with
- a slight knock from the 7mgte
- diff leaking and non lsd
- auto gearbox safety switch broken(also as340e auto tranny meant for non turbo yet handling boost leading to issues)
- fuel tank leaking
- fuel lines damaged
- digital dash intermittently working ( fuel gauge and speedo doesn't work)
- brakes all round where worn ( rotors and pads)
After driving it for a month I decided to stupidly turn the boost up without knowing enough about 7m's and their inherent weaknesses. Apparently they are notorious for not being able to deal with low oil conditions. After a night of spirited driving on 0.7bar boost ( up from stock of 0.35 bar) a knocking sound greeted me the following morning. This got worse with increased revs and I knew something was terribly wrong. After a listen by an experienced ear it was confirmed that I indeed had spun a rod bearing and this needed a bottom end rebuild. At that point I decided whether to go 1jzgte or rebuild my 7m. My friend and mechanic was an avid mk3 supra owner and collector and had a number of high performance parts from forged pistons and rare TRD group A camshafts to a diff and fuel tank that I needed. A 7mgte built properly and taken care of can make insane amounts of power.
I decided to rebuild the 7m , take care of the blown head gasket problem they are notorious for and build it to hold in excess of 350kw.
-I used forged pistons that where over sized which meant I had to bore and hone the 7m out to just under 3.1L
-I used the group A TRD cams with 288intake 288 exhaust with insanely high 12mm lift (very rough idle)
-Installed a metal head gasket with ARP studs/bolts and torqued to 110nm after the head was decked
I kept the stock rods as I felt they where enough for my purpose
-Installed an lsd diff so I could get the power to both wheels
-All new brakes(rotors and pads all around)
-New fuel tank
The only part of the mk3 design that I did not agree with and thought looked outdated where the pre89 tail lights and the ugly stock sawblades. I took the tail lights from a later model mk3 and fit them on to give it a more "updated" look.
Ive replaced the amber indicators with clear ones
Ive also fit Volk Racing Sf Challenge Zero that cost me quite a bit but with 275's 18x10 in the rear and 235's 18x9 in the front , they certainly suit my needs and look much better
By March this year I hope to have the r154 and haltech installed and running 250kw on a safe tune. As it stands the engine has only done 1200km.I have completed running it in and it is set at stock boost. Once the vacuum lines and the transmission is fixed I plan to turn up the boost to as much as the stock intercooler and ct26 will allow. Once they are maxed and Im confidant the engine can hold the power I plan to throw on a gt35r, 1000cc injectors,intercooler, 400lph walboro furl pump and see what numbers I can reach on the dyno. Id be more then happy using it as my daily and holding 300rwkw reliably on safe boost.
Toyota badge removed, TRD badge put in place, TRD oil cap , painted pod filter cover , removed timing cover(due to be replaced with carbon fibre timing cover)
Painted side strips yesterday
Added 3.0L turbo badge in rear. This is the absolute most number of badges I will put on my car
Most recent pic taken yesterday at Brighton le sands 22/01/2012 :
As funds allow I plan to swap the r154 in , install and tune the computer and slam it with some megan ez streets.
Hopefully the respray will be done at the end of the year. In the meantime Im doing little things here and there and working on bringing my girl back to factory standard before I start putting some real power down.
So I came to Australia from South Africa in 2003 and instantly fell in love with the Japanese cars of the late 80's - 90's . The sleek lines of the 200sx in any iteration or the sound of an rb under a skylines hood sent shivers down my spine.I swore to myself that I would own at least a r32 gtst. As time wore on I found that Skylines where becoming relatively inexpensive and therefore extremely common. They where now known as "japanese commonwhores". When I had finally completed my degree and acquired a stable well paying job I was able to afford what I always wanted but instead decided to pursue an avenue not that common. I saw an ad for a Toyota Supra turbo in the gumtree classifieds and went to see it. Knowing that because of the p plate laws in Sydney(if you have your provisional plates you arent allowed to drive a turbo car) , non turbo mk4(jza80) supras where now becoming the new "japanese commonwhore". I was adamant that I wasn't going to be a sheep and follow the crowd.When I first laid eyes on the ma70 i now own I instantly fell in love with it. The sleek lines, that aggressive front and the torque pull of the 3.0L turbo completely consumed me. It oozed 80's japanese style and wasnt as common as the mk4's. I had to have it.
When I bought it in Dec 2010
In my excitement I had forgotten to follow the proper steps that should be undertaken with the purchase of any used car and basically purchased it for a very good price but with a lot of issues.The car started out with
- a slight knock from the 7mgte
- diff leaking and non lsd
- auto gearbox safety switch broken(also as340e auto tranny meant for non turbo yet handling boost leading to issues)
- fuel tank leaking
- fuel lines damaged
- digital dash intermittently working ( fuel gauge and speedo doesn't work)
- brakes all round where worn ( rotors and pads)
After driving it for a month I decided to stupidly turn the boost up without knowing enough about 7m's and their inherent weaknesses. Apparently they are notorious for not being able to deal with low oil conditions. After a night of spirited driving on 0.7bar boost ( up from stock of 0.35 bar) a knocking sound greeted me the following morning. This got worse with increased revs and I knew something was terribly wrong. After a listen by an experienced ear it was confirmed that I indeed had spun a rod bearing and this needed a bottom end rebuild. At that point I decided whether to go 1jzgte or rebuild my 7m. My friend and mechanic was an avid mk3 supra owner and collector and had a number of high performance parts from forged pistons and rare TRD group A camshafts to a diff and fuel tank that I needed. A 7mgte built properly and taken care of can make insane amounts of power.
I decided to rebuild the 7m , take care of the blown head gasket problem they are notorious for and build it to hold in excess of 350kw.
-I used forged pistons that where over sized which meant I had to bore and hone the 7m out to just under 3.1L
-I used the group A TRD cams with 288intake 288 exhaust with insanely high 12mm lift (very rough idle)
-Installed a metal head gasket with ARP studs/bolts and torqued to 110nm after the head was decked
I kept the stock rods as I felt they where enough for my purpose
-Installed an lsd diff so I could get the power to both wheels
-All new brakes(rotors and pads all around)
-New fuel tank
The only part of the mk3 design that I did not agree with and thought looked outdated where the pre89 tail lights and the ugly stock sawblades. I took the tail lights from a later model mk3 and fit them on to give it a more "updated" look.
Ive replaced the amber indicators with clear ones
Ive also fit Volk Racing Sf Challenge Zero that cost me quite a bit but with 275's 18x10 in the rear and 235's 18x9 in the front , they certainly suit my needs and look much better
By March this year I hope to have the r154 and haltech installed and running 250kw on a safe tune. As it stands the engine has only done 1200km.I have completed running it in and it is set at stock boost. Once the vacuum lines and the transmission is fixed I plan to turn up the boost to as much as the stock intercooler and ct26 will allow. Once they are maxed and Im confidant the engine can hold the power I plan to throw on a gt35r, 1000cc injectors,intercooler, 400lph walboro furl pump and see what numbers I can reach on the dyno. Id be more then happy using it as my daily and holding 300rwkw reliably on safe boost.
Toyota badge removed, TRD badge put in place, TRD oil cap , painted pod filter cover , removed timing cover(due to be replaced with carbon fibre timing cover)
Painted side strips yesterday
Added 3.0L turbo badge in rear. This is the absolute most number of badges I will put on my car
Most recent pic taken yesterday at Brighton le sands 22/01/2012 :
As funds allow I plan to swap the r154 in , install and tune the computer and slam it with some megan ez streets.
Hopefully the respray will be done at the end of the year. In the meantime Im doing little things here and there and working on bringing my girl back to factory standard before I start putting some real power down.
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