update on page 21!
Meet our $2008 Grassroots challenge car..
first, a little info on grassroots challenge for those of you who are unfamiliar:
This year, myself and two of my buddies decided to take on this challenge with a '91 MKIII turbo. The idea is that you buy a car, modify it and compete in 3 categories: drag race, auto-x and show, all with a budget of $2008. A friend of mine was selling this pretty MKIII that needed work for $1500. After doing a few jobs on one of his other cars and letting him keep some of the parts from the supra, we worked him down to $950 and brought the car home. The car came with, what i consider, a huge list of choice parts. Koni yellows at all four corners, H&R springs, brand new OEM brakes all the way around, including e-brake shoes that I had installed for him the previous month, a staggered wheel setup, MSD ignition wires, NGK iridium plugs, BIC DDP that hadn't even been installed, a glove box full of OEM hoses and gaskets, Koyo radiator, Greddy radiator cap, a replacement fender (right side is damaged) and a sparco harness.
The car ran, but it didn't like to, so we towed it to my house where it slept for about a week before we started work on it today. It had horrible misses and leaked everything from pretty much everywhere. Took it to my shop this morning where we immediately got to work. Put it up in the air, removed the entire exhaust (turbo elbow was a complete bitch to remove).
installed the DDP. We pulled all the plugs, a few of which were swimming in oil. started stripping the interior, removed the cruise control and EVAP components. Ran a compression test..
impressive numbers considering the way it ran the first few times we drove it around. We were surprised how many hoses and couplers were completely dry rotted and leaking, the car had so much unmetered false air, it was no wonder it was running the way it did. after an .82 cent investment and the parts we had in the glove box we replaced the majority of the failed hoses and couplers and took her out for a spin.. 9psi and a BLAST to drive. we're all extremely impressed and very excited to continue working on this project. We havent decided on too much yet, but we know for sure we want a full cage in the car with as little interior as possible..some inspiration:
it doesnt compare...but it's certainly a start..
we're also thinking about a side exit exhaust, ARP head studs and some type of piggy back engine management (for the sake of remaining within budget). keep checking back as i'll update this thread as we make progress. My name is Edwin, mechanic and automotive electrician (with honda roots, dont hate) my team is Avi, master welder and complete toyota nut that spends entirely too much time with his 88 celica all-trac, and David, he's also a mechanic and our veteran racer, and if it's japanese, he's owned it, built it and sold it (240sx w/sr20det, 1G eclipse, 2G honda integra race car, 8th gen civic Si, blah blah blah). We've all gained a ton of info on the MKIII and 7M-GTE from this site and this is how we will give back. Let us know what you think...
don't mind the flat on the trailer, we fixed it before we left.
EDIT 4/1/08: short vid from yesterday http://media.putfile.com/33108-Supra-fun
EDIT 4/3/08:
EDIT: 4/4/08
BUDGET SHEET
$875.00 - original vehicle purchase
+$0.82 - few inches of vacuum hose
+$65.00 - used ARP head stud kit
+$1.59 - wheel stud
+$6.11 - 5/8" 90 degree nylon elbow union and 2 hose clamps for heater core bypass
-$1.28 - loose change found under carpet
+$52.04 - Grant steering wheel + hub from Super.Secret.Supra.Club and hardware
+$65.00 - used walbro fuel pump and new install kit
+$65.99 - sparco seat slider from ebay (retail price ftl)
+$162.50 - used sparco race seat to replace heavy stock powered leather seat
+$57.99 - a set of inner and outer tie rods to replace the stock seized units and get a GOOD alignment..
+$20.00 - 19 feet of power cable to move battery to trunk
+$253.00 - intercooler kit with pipes, couplers clamps and a knock off greddy BOV
-$240.00 - recycled stock cats (2)
-----------------------------------
TOTAL:$1383.76
REMAINING:$624.24:nono:
the budget sheet isn't quite accurate right now, we've sold a few stock pieces and haven't included random costs of a few materials we've purchased such as paint and prep supplies.
Meet our $2008 Grassroots challenge car..
first, a little info on grassroots challenge for those of you who are unfamiliar:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/news/012008/2008-challenge.php
This year, myself and two of my buddies decided to take on this challenge with a '91 MKIII turbo. The idea is that you buy a car, modify it and compete in 3 categories: drag race, auto-x and show, all with a budget of $2008. A friend of mine was selling this pretty MKIII that needed work for $1500. After doing a few jobs on one of his other cars and letting him keep some of the parts from the supra, we worked him down to $950 and brought the car home. The car came with, what i consider, a huge list of choice parts. Koni yellows at all four corners, H&R springs, brand new OEM brakes all the way around, including e-brake shoes that I had installed for him the previous month, a staggered wheel setup, MSD ignition wires, NGK iridium plugs, BIC DDP that hadn't even been installed, a glove box full of OEM hoses and gaskets, Koyo radiator, Greddy radiator cap, a replacement fender (right side is damaged) and a sparco harness.
The car ran, but it didn't like to, so we towed it to my house where it slept for about a week before we started work on it today. It had horrible misses and leaked everything from pretty much everywhere. Took it to my shop this morning where we immediately got to work. Put it up in the air, removed the entire exhaust (turbo elbow was a complete bitch to remove).
installed the DDP. We pulled all the plugs, a few of which were swimming in oil. started stripping the interior, removed the cruise control and EVAP components. Ran a compression test..
impressive numbers considering the way it ran the first few times we drove it around. We were surprised how many hoses and couplers were completely dry rotted and leaking, the car had so much unmetered false air, it was no wonder it was running the way it did. after an .82 cent investment and the parts we had in the glove box we replaced the majority of the failed hoses and couplers and took her out for a spin.. 9psi and a BLAST to drive. we're all extremely impressed and very excited to continue working on this project. We havent decided on too much yet, but we know for sure we want a full cage in the car with as little interior as possible..some inspiration:
it doesnt compare...but it's certainly a start..
we're also thinking about a side exit exhaust, ARP head studs and some type of piggy back engine management (for the sake of remaining within budget). keep checking back as i'll update this thread as we make progress. My name is Edwin, mechanic and automotive electrician (with honda roots, dont hate) my team is Avi, master welder and complete toyota nut that spends entirely too much time with his 88 celica all-trac, and David, he's also a mechanic and our veteran racer, and if it's japanese, he's owned it, built it and sold it (240sx w/sr20det, 1G eclipse, 2G honda integra race car, 8th gen civic Si, blah blah blah). We've all gained a ton of info on the MKIII and 7M-GTE from this site and this is how we will give back. Let us know what you think...
don't mind the flat on the trailer, we fixed it before we left.
EDIT 4/1/08: short vid from yesterday http://media.putfile.com/33108-Supra-fun
EDIT 4/3/08:
skipbarber;978479 said:Aight sooo, more pics!
Looks pretty good so far I think. Still not washed and waxed. I think our whole team agrees, go before show. But she is looking hot! Soooo fun on the road too! between her style and the open downpipe, She's a real head-turner! I really need to get on that side exit exhaust though, fumes aren't so much fun :aigo:
We've started stripping out the interior and sound barrier, some of which came out in big chunks. For the rest I think we will need the dry ice method.
Of course we also left the Targa top holders in place, cuz who doesn't wanna drive with the top off:naughty:
Also, Edwin and David want to get rid of the carpet, but for some reason, I (Avi) can't seem to want to part with it... I know it's a race car and all. Someone want to put me back to my senses, or does anyone agree with me? I guess it comes down to this... How much are guys willing to pay for a complete grey carpet? :icon_bigg
We've also got a little rust goin on below the quarter window. From other pics I've seen, I'm assuming it's a common problem?
Lastly we have the Sparco 4-point harness that came with the car. We mounted it up, but feel that it might be inadequate for our uses. Currently looking for a 5-point with compatible lightweight seat.
*edit* I just also wanna add real quick that yeah, we know this isn't the right way to mount a harness. Seeing as how there was no seat belt receiver for the drivers side though, this was our only option
I think we also just made a (sorta)decision about the tuning system. (David if you read this before I talk to you, then me an E want your input, haha) So it looks like we will be goin with the Megasquirt. It was between that and the MAFT. The Megasquirt seems to have a lot more capabilities, and best of all it's cheaper. If anyone knows where to get a Megaquirt kit 3.0 for less than $189 let us know! Thats the cheapest we found so far. We're still probably a few months away from needing it, so we have time to shop.
Next big step will be removing the HVAC system, of which the most difficult thing i think will be routing the hoses under the hood. I know we can figure it out, but any tips/suggestions?
EDIT: 4/4/08
skipbarber;980451 said:First off, sorry for the pic quality, I forgot my camera so my phone had to do the dirty work today.
This afternoon I stopped by the shop where Edwin was taking care of some small issues. A missing rear wheel stud was replaced, and the tire was patched from the inside where a screw had punctured it. The car has had some sort of popping issue issue when you get on it real quick. Sounds almost like hitting the rev limiter, but at lower RPMs. We were thinking that maybe it has something to do with running rich and having the open downpipe, so we are hearing a noise that would normally be muffled? Does that sound right to anyone?
Anyways, I checked the ignition timing and it was almost 3 degrees off. I don't know how much of a difference 3 degrees makes, but I adjusted it back to stock specifications, and the popping seems to have moved higher up the rpm band. We have yet to perform a simple tune up, (plugs, fluids, etc.) So we'll see what that does to help.
So besides what was done, it was taken out for a quick test drive. I guess it was overdue for a problem, so the heater hose decided to blow off. It wasn't so much the hoses fault, the problem was the fitting on the actuator broke:
Soo yeah. We wanted to bypass the heater anyways, because we are removing the whole HVAC system. Although this isn't really a bypass, this was our quick fix solution
Should hold for a while.
After we put the fitting on, E attempted to start the car but it wouldn't start. We deduced that an ignition component must have gotten soaked, so a plug wire was pulled, and our problem was obvious. Although it is cleaned in this pic, the whole spark plug area was swimming in coolant
So a lot of time was spent cleaning the engine bay and components
Well, that's all I got, stay tuned!
-A.
BUDGET SHEET
$875.00 - original vehicle purchase
+$0.82 - few inches of vacuum hose
+$65.00 - used ARP head stud kit
+$1.59 - wheel stud
+$6.11 - 5/8" 90 degree nylon elbow union and 2 hose clamps for heater core bypass
-$1.28 - loose change found under carpet
+$52.04 - Grant steering wheel + hub from Super.Secret.Supra.Club and hardware
+$65.00 - used walbro fuel pump and new install kit
+$65.99 - sparco seat slider from ebay (retail price ftl)
+$162.50 - used sparco race seat to replace heavy stock powered leather seat
+$57.99 - a set of inner and outer tie rods to replace the stock seized units and get a GOOD alignment..
+$20.00 - 19 feet of power cable to move battery to trunk
+$253.00 - intercooler kit with pipes, couplers clamps and a knock off greddy BOV
-$240.00 - recycled stock cats (2)
-----------------------------------
TOTAL:$1383.76
REMAINING:$624.24:nono:
the budget sheet isn't quite accurate right now, we've sold a few stock pieces and haven't included random costs of a few materials we've purchased such as paint and prep supplies.
Last edited:
the only thing we havent torn apart yet are the door panels. All three of us like them too much to hack them up. So we're probably gonna gut the doors as much as we can, and leave the panels on. We're willing to deal with the weight..the remaining crap, i mean, parts, will be for sale really soon, so stay tuned for a link to the for sale thread.
