Operation: New Lease on Life (1986.5 build)

[Pyro15D]

Hey all, this is my build thread of a very average 1986.5 MKIII Supra. I bought this car in 2008 for the paltry sum of $1,200. It had done 211,000 miles, had TEMS, manual transmission, natural aspiration, burned some oil, and had very little life left in the tires. I didn’t care though, because I had a Supra with one of the best sounding inline sixes ever made. All that changed a few months later, however, when my friend traded me straight across for a 1998 Subaru 2.5 RS with the STI drivetrain swap. That was my first experience with a turbocharged engine, and boy did I love it! Fast forward a few years later, the Subaru has long since blown up and been parted out, the friend I traded for the STI has gotten out of the Navy and out of town, and the Supra has disappeared from the face of the Earth. I keep getting the urge to buy another Supra, but everyone wants thousands upon thousands of dollars for their baby, which is way out of my price range. Then, I get a call a month ago from a guy in one of the squadrons here saying he has been trying to scrap a car, but my name is still on the title. I come to find out it is my old supra that this guy had bought from my friend. I come over to his place to tow it home, and as I am looking through it, my heart sinks as I find out exactly how little of the car is still there. It still has its drivetrain, but the engine is missing the starter, one injector o-ring, and part of the intake manifold is in the trunk (presumably to facilitate removing the starter). All of the electronics in the interior are missing, and the interior is in a state of massive disarray. All the fuses, relays, and switches are MIA and the rear seat cushion is missing. I know this car probably isn’t worth a whole lot, even fixed up, but it means a lot to me, and I would like to give it a new lease on life. If any of you have any old parts you would like to donate towards getting this running, I would greatly appreciate it and will pay the shipping. The car isn't much, but that inline six deserves to continue to live. Anyway, since everyone loves pictures, here is what I have to work with...

 

[ryansmith]

Good story and good luck, what pod filter adaptor is that, if you know. Thanks

 

[Pyro15D]

You know, I have no idea. I saw one just like it when I was grabbing a couple doors and a drivers side fender from seatac last week. I figured it was something common. I know the car used to have a complete air cleaner assembly though. Would anyone on here have a picture of the fuse boxes in the engine bay and the two in the car? Mine have had all the fuses and relays removed for some reason.

 

[ryansmith]

Toyota can't supply them, research on the web tells me no one from what I have seen supplies them seems a thing many people are trying to source (the adaptor)

 

[Pyro15D]

Well, from what I gather, the 7m runs a motronic efi system. Lots of cars ran that vane type maf. Maybe you could source one from another make. VW was big into motronic through the 90's. That might be worth looking into.

 

[supraguy@aol]

I thought it was more of a K-Jetronic system, like the 75-83 Z cars.

And I'm glad to see you restoring this car. 99% of the people on here have an emotional attatchment to their Supras, so it's definately worth it to fix,
so long as it's worth it to YOU.

 

[Pyro15D]

Hey thanks a lot. Yeah, you might be right about it not being motronic. I always thought k-jetronic was like a mechanical fuel injection system where there was a flap in the airway that lifted when you opened the throttle. That was hooked to a linkage to a fuel regulator which upped the pressure to the mechanical fuel injectors. That was how my old VW rabbit was set up anyway. weird design. always had hot start issues...

 

[Pyro15D]

Hey guys, I'm debating on getting this. I talked with the people who own it and it is still for sale. What do you think?
http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/cto/3372576143.html

 

[AbsoluteSpeed]

A donor car is probably the best thing to get your car back up and running.
Issue being it is a turbo car, most of the electronics will be different and the intake manifold you are missing is also different.

Also, the ad says "Does not run because it needs a distributor" but turbo cars do not have a distributor.

All in all, if it is in good shape and motor runs, it is a good buy (and a good excuse to do a turbo swap!)

 

[Pyro15D]

I saw that about the distributor. I'm hoping maybe it could be something simple like a sensor or maybe the something even easier. Anyway, if I do get it, I will probably be putting lots of stuff up for sale that I don't need. It is nice that it's the same color as the car I currently have. I have the rest of the intake manifold for my engine sitting in the trunk, along with another transmission wrapped in plastic. No idea if it is the w58 or an r154 though. Is it easy to ID those transmissions?

 

[Grandavi]

Turbo almost always is R154 (unless the engine was swapped into a NA car). I believe the difference between R154 and W58 is that W58 does not have inspection plates. R154 does (2? I think its one on each side)

 

[Pyro15D]

Okay good to know. I have a couple pictures of the trans I will be uploading here soon for you guys to look at. What suspension do you guys recommend going with? Is a TEMS-compatible shock worth it, or not really?

 

[Pyro15D]

Here is the transmission...

 

[Grandavi]

TEMS is okay.. but a bit overrated. Depends on what your final goals are for the car. If its a daily driver and your not looking to slam it.. and just want a nice comfy sporty car.. the stock supension is fine (or a tems compatible system), but Tems are kinda overrated.
I went with HSD coilovers for overall handling.. but sacrificing comfort a bit...

It all depends on your picture of your car when your done...

 

[Pyro15D]

I guess I should have elaborated on that front. I am wanting a nice GT-sorta car. Something that feels at home driving 80 on the freeway, yet is fun on the twists and turns of a mountain road. I don't even know who makes TEMS Shocks. To tell you the truth, I am pretty new with the Supra and the way it works. Most of my experience has been with muscle cars and Toyota 4x4's.

 

[Grandavi]

Tein has Tems compatibles. However, I would go with Stance or HSD coilovers if you like the higher speed no dip feel. It also gives you the opportunity to lower the car a bit which adds to the appeal. They run about 1000.00 for a set of 4.

 

[supraguy@aol]

Here is the transmission...
View attachment 62193View attachment 62194

That is an R154 tranny.
If the car has TEMS, get Tockico Illumina 2's, for about $450, and get some HR or Eibach springs, for a comfortable, yet sporty ride/ look.
I used to have a VW as well, and some of them are Motronic style with a big fuel distributor, while others of the same year were Jetronic with individual injectors.
ps- The Supra na does have a "flapper" type AFM.
And that craigslist Supra does look to be worth $1000, you might even be able to talk him down a Benny or so.
But I would expect to have to rebuild that engine.

 

[Poodles]

Tein has Tems compatibles. However, I would go with Stance or HSD coilovers if you like the higher speed no dip feel. It also gives you the opportunity to lower the car a bit which adds to the appeal. They run about 1000.00 for a set of 4.

Tein is not TEMS compatible. They have their own seperate system that needs to be bought.

 

[Pyro15D]

So here is the new donor car. I am seriously thinking of just making this the project car and using the other car for parts. This is weird though. It has a distributor as a cam angle sensor. The engine was just rebuilt, as was the turbo. I looked at the oil and it was very clean. The A/C system was completely removed, but that is all complete on the old car. This new one is a targa topped car as well. Unfortunately, it has a tan interior. I will probably change the interior over to the grey one from my old car. This should be fun though. The old engine blew because the cat was clogged I guess, so this new car needs an entire exhaust system, from the turbo back. I guess I have all my work cut out for me! Anyway, here are some pictures!

 

[Poodles]

It looks like a distributor, but it's not...

The black and tan combo is pretty rare as well, I'd keep it just because of that.

Also, never heard of an engine blowing from a clogged cat...