Congrats to you Duane for winning the first ever ROTM here at Supramania.
Duane has become somewhat of a legend in the MK3 world for what he has accomplished with his car and has done all of us proud with his presentation of the MK3. Duanes car is the epitome of what an MK3 can and will do if done properly and with attention to detail.
Now without any further ado....I present to the SM viewing public....
ROTM APRIL: DUANE STEPHENS
The Cut and Dry
1989 MKIII Supra Hardtop Turbo 5-speed
Duane and Marilyn Stephens
Burnaby, British Columbia
Notables
Magazine Features
Sport Compact Car - June 2003 (9 pages in total)
Sport Compact Car - December 2005 - Burnout of the Month
Japanese Performance - January 2006
Sport Compact Car - April 2006 - Old School Brawl
Car was supposed to be featured in Sport Compact National. The write-up and photoshoot were both complete but the mag went bust.
Miscellaneous mentions
Turbo Magazine - February 2005 (Supras Invade Las Vegas)
Kitcar Magazine - articles on JE pistons (importance of detonation), installation of gauges, and installation of a brake kit
enRoute - July 2004 - small write-up
The Langley Advance News (local paper) - July 2003 - "Trophy car" - first place in the 80-and-up Performance category at 3rd Annual Country Show & Shine
21 misc trophies including quickest import car at the local racetrack
CarDomain.com - Showoff of the Week, February 4, 2005
The History
We bought this car as a “second” car and it was supposed to be the beater. My wife wanted a second car as I owed her a car, let's say, I had a highly modified domestic ride. My wife took us to a small used car lot nearby. It was normally her rule to avoid small used car lots but for some unknown reason, she went against her rule that day.
She spotted a white Supra and got excited about it and called me over. It was clean and in good shape. I saw a bunch of gadgets on it and had no idea what the heck they were but they sure looked intriguing! There were two other Supras on the lot but were in poor condition. We decided to buy the white one right then and there. We had it inspected and it passed. We soon discovered that something was wrong when it blew out puffs of smoke of a colour I didn't like, lol. A trip to a high performance shop began what was to become the first of many visits.
After the smoke problem was rectified, we added a few things to it…well, I added a few things and then the Supra became we. Once we had strapped the Supra on the dyno for the first time, I was very impressed after we hit 362 wheel hp and we barely had anything done to it. It still had the 440’s in it and the stock AFM.
To make a long story short, I got addicted to boost. I went from a CT26 upgrade to a TD06 GReddy unit to a an RH-C7.
The Specs
Turbo
IHI RHC7 GReddy kit from Japan. This turbo is measured differently than most. It has a 23 CM exhaust. Trim size is a 61.
Bottom End
We have stuffed JE pistons, shot peened and beamed polished rods, HKS 2MM gasket and ARP hardware throughout. Compression on the motor is 8.5.1
Head
The head has oversized valves, port and polish 3 angle valve job and, yes, STOCK cams but only until HPF's gets something going (I hope)
Intake
Ron Ramirez Custom front facing intake manifold. The Supra uses a GReddy type R BOV, and custom Spearco 30 x 13 x 3.5 intercooler.
Exhaust
The Supra has a custom made 321 Stainless down pipe custom SS/titanium exhaust and Burns ultra light weight muffler It also uses a GReddy header, and Trust external wastegate.
Fuel
GReddy 720’s injectors, Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump (custom mounted under car), Aeromotive regulator and fuel filter, OEM rail with – 8 feed and – 6 return. We also have a sump in the tank and have powder coated it as well
Drivetrain
We use an HPF 6 puck clutch with RPS 3200 PP. The transmission itself is a R154 with shot peened forks and heavy bearings to help make it last just a little longer than the norm. I am told that these transmissions are pretty strong from stock but you never know. For inertia I have some TRD wheels to help spin the tires a lil more rapidly along with a TMS carbon fiber drive shaft.
Suspension
Tein HA coilovers with 22 way dampening. CFX trailing arms, ST sway bars front and rear, Tom's rear hatch brace, Cusco front strut brace and a 6-point roll cage for that extra stiff ride.
Brakes
Custom Big Brake Kit from AP Racing, KVR rotors front 13.2, KVR rotors rear (OEM size) Custom anodized hats.Ferodo pads front, KVR CF pads rear
Electronics
Controlling the boost is a Profec – B from GReddy and controlling the car is a Electromotive Tec II stand-alone computer to monitor everything else on the car. .
Interior
Throughout are GReddy gauges, some 5-point harness. We have taken out the rear seats to accommodate the 6-point roll cage for the track. We have some custom made switch panels made by a friend (Erik) and custom trigger wheels built in the OEM pulley also made by Erik. Good to know people at times. CFX carbon arm rest dash, and many more custom parts on the way! Future plans include custom upholstery.
Exterior
CFX bumper, CFX hood and as you can see, a subtle look to the car is what I want.
What Duane Thinks
I have submitted a few miscellaneous pics to show some parts that people may not have seen on my car since it is sometimes really detailed and cannot be seen in the bigger pictures. My car is at the point that I really don’t think I want much more power. Yeah right! Breaks loose in 3 gears, gets attention, and still rides like a Supra should! I feel I am going to just fine-detail my car, then move on to the next thing. Well…we will see!
The upgrading on my car was done in steps. Every time the car had something go wrong, i.e. blown head gasket, blown head gasket, blown head gasket (not to mention other wonderful stuff), I upgraded the performance. On a serious note, now that I've figured out the bugs in the 7M, I feel it's the best motor. Anyhow, I figured if I was going to have to fix the car, I would upgrade at the same time. The first time I hit fuel cut, I almost had a heart attack because I didn't know what the heck was wrong. The car was bucking back and forth! When I made 362 rwhp on my CT26, I thought wow, that's big! Then when I slapped on my TD06 and got 500-plus, I thought wow, that's big! Then I did 665 on the C7 and thought, wow, that's big! Looking forward to the next "big".
I feel confident in the Supra. It is set up for a little bit of everything and my constant focus is to keep it well-rounded. Placing third out of eight in the Sport Compact Car Street Car Challenge shows that it's durable and strong and built to handle the power.
Now to tell the true story of all this madness. Building this car has been like raising a delinquent teenager. It's always getting into trouble and costing money. It's kept my wife in the same pair of shoes for the last five years, lol!
The 7M is an awsome engine when built properly and I want to thank Ron Rameriz again for helping me as always. Many hours of down time. I don't know about you guys but I need a boost fix every week. Having a Supra down for months on end can be fustrating but with the end result being more power or better handling, it is all worth it.
Thanks for choosing me for ROTM!
Duane
No, thank you Duane. For being not only an awesome car enthusiast, but an extreme asset to this community. We all know to expect nothing less then amazing whenever your car is on point.
Duane has become somewhat of a legend in the MK3 world for what he has accomplished with his car and has done all of us proud with his presentation of the MK3. Duanes car is the epitome of what an MK3 can and will do if done properly and with attention to detail.
Now without any further ado....I present to the SM viewing public....
ROTM APRIL: DUANE STEPHENS
The Cut and Dry
1989 MKIII Supra Hardtop Turbo 5-speed
Duane and Marilyn Stephens
Burnaby, British Columbia
Notables
Magazine Features
Sport Compact Car - June 2003 (9 pages in total)
Sport Compact Car - December 2005 - Burnout of the Month
Japanese Performance - January 2006
Sport Compact Car - April 2006 - Old School Brawl
Car was supposed to be featured in Sport Compact National. The write-up and photoshoot were both complete but the mag went bust.
Miscellaneous mentions
Turbo Magazine - February 2005 (Supras Invade Las Vegas)
Kitcar Magazine - articles on JE pistons (importance of detonation), installation of gauges, and installation of a brake kit
enRoute - July 2004 - small write-up
The Langley Advance News (local paper) - July 2003 - "Trophy car" - first place in the 80-and-up Performance category at 3rd Annual Country Show & Shine
21 misc trophies including quickest import car at the local racetrack
CarDomain.com - Showoff of the Week, February 4, 2005
The History
We bought this car as a “second” car and it was supposed to be the beater. My wife wanted a second car as I owed her a car, let's say, I had a highly modified domestic ride. My wife took us to a small used car lot nearby. It was normally her rule to avoid small used car lots but for some unknown reason, she went against her rule that day.
She spotted a white Supra and got excited about it and called me over. It was clean and in good shape. I saw a bunch of gadgets on it and had no idea what the heck they were but they sure looked intriguing! There were two other Supras on the lot but were in poor condition. We decided to buy the white one right then and there. We had it inspected and it passed. We soon discovered that something was wrong when it blew out puffs of smoke of a colour I didn't like, lol. A trip to a high performance shop began what was to become the first of many visits.
After the smoke problem was rectified, we added a few things to it…well, I added a few things and then the Supra became we. Once we had strapped the Supra on the dyno for the first time, I was very impressed after we hit 362 wheel hp and we barely had anything done to it. It still had the 440’s in it and the stock AFM.
To make a long story short, I got addicted to boost. I went from a CT26 upgrade to a TD06 GReddy unit to a an RH-C7.
The Specs
Turbo
IHI RHC7 GReddy kit from Japan. This turbo is measured differently than most. It has a 23 CM exhaust. Trim size is a 61.
Bottom End
We have stuffed JE pistons, shot peened and beamed polished rods, HKS 2MM gasket and ARP hardware throughout. Compression on the motor is 8.5.1
Head
The head has oversized valves, port and polish 3 angle valve job and, yes, STOCK cams but only until HPF's gets something going (I hope)
Intake
Ron Ramirez Custom front facing intake manifold. The Supra uses a GReddy type R BOV, and custom Spearco 30 x 13 x 3.5 intercooler.
Exhaust
The Supra has a custom made 321 Stainless down pipe custom SS/titanium exhaust and Burns ultra light weight muffler It also uses a GReddy header, and Trust external wastegate.
Fuel
GReddy 720’s injectors, Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump (custom mounted under car), Aeromotive regulator and fuel filter, OEM rail with – 8 feed and – 6 return. We also have a sump in the tank and have powder coated it as well
Drivetrain
We use an HPF 6 puck clutch with RPS 3200 PP. The transmission itself is a R154 with shot peened forks and heavy bearings to help make it last just a little longer than the norm. I am told that these transmissions are pretty strong from stock but you never know. For inertia I have some TRD wheels to help spin the tires a lil more rapidly along with a TMS carbon fiber drive shaft.
Suspension
Tein HA coilovers with 22 way dampening. CFX trailing arms, ST sway bars front and rear, Tom's rear hatch brace, Cusco front strut brace and a 6-point roll cage for that extra stiff ride.
Brakes
Custom Big Brake Kit from AP Racing, KVR rotors front 13.2, KVR rotors rear (OEM size) Custom anodized hats.Ferodo pads front, KVR CF pads rear
Electronics
Controlling the boost is a Profec – B from GReddy and controlling the car is a Electromotive Tec II stand-alone computer to monitor everything else on the car. .
Interior
Throughout are GReddy gauges, some 5-point harness. We have taken out the rear seats to accommodate the 6-point roll cage for the track. We have some custom made switch panels made by a friend (Erik) and custom trigger wheels built in the OEM pulley also made by Erik. Good to know people at times. CFX carbon arm rest dash, and many more custom parts on the way! Future plans include custom upholstery.
Exterior
CFX bumper, CFX hood and as you can see, a subtle look to the car is what I want.
What Duane Thinks
I have submitted a few miscellaneous pics to show some parts that people may not have seen on my car since it is sometimes really detailed and cannot be seen in the bigger pictures. My car is at the point that I really don’t think I want much more power. Yeah right! Breaks loose in 3 gears, gets attention, and still rides like a Supra should! I feel I am going to just fine-detail my car, then move on to the next thing. Well…we will see!
The upgrading on my car was done in steps. Every time the car had something go wrong, i.e. blown head gasket, blown head gasket, blown head gasket (not to mention other wonderful stuff), I upgraded the performance. On a serious note, now that I've figured out the bugs in the 7M, I feel it's the best motor. Anyhow, I figured if I was going to have to fix the car, I would upgrade at the same time. The first time I hit fuel cut, I almost had a heart attack because I didn't know what the heck was wrong. The car was bucking back and forth! When I made 362 rwhp on my CT26, I thought wow, that's big! Then when I slapped on my TD06 and got 500-plus, I thought wow, that's big! Then I did 665 on the C7 and thought, wow, that's big! Looking forward to the next "big".
I feel confident in the Supra. It is set up for a little bit of everything and my constant focus is to keep it well-rounded. Placing third out of eight in the Sport Compact Car Street Car Challenge shows that it's durable and strong and built to handle the power.
Now to tell the true story of all this madness. Building this car has been like raising a delinquent teenager. It's always getting into trouble and costing money. It's kept my wife in the same pair of shoes for the last five years, lol!
The 7M is an awsome engine when built properly and I want to thank Ron Rameriz again for helping me as always. Many hours of down time. I don't know about you guys but I need a boost fix every week. Having a Supra down for months on end can be fustrating but with the end result being more power or better handling, it is all worth it.
Thanks for choosing me for ROTM!
Duane
No, thank you Duane. For being not only an awesome car enthusiast, but an extreme asset to this community. We all know to expect nothing less then amazing whenever your car is on point.
