The diamond in the rough. 1991 blue metallic turbo targa restoration

[ask92]

I will keep the stock ones just as spares.


I have been driving and enjoying the car a lot the last few weeks since CA doesn't seem to want to have a winter:



But of course, right on fucking cue, the 7m gave out:



Gonna compression test tomorrow to be sure, but with the smoke and coolant smell I am 95% sure. May be because of the cheapish HG that I used, or the fact that the block and head were not 100% machined when they were installed. Regardless fuck the 7m and the horse it rode in on, its 2j time motherfuckers!

 

[JDMMA70]

I called it

 

[suprahero]

Sucks to have a BHG, but not really a reason to go 2j unless you're just wanting to and you have a few grand burning a hole in your pocket.
Car looks amazing and it looks better with every update. Did you buy the dash from Toyota new or was it new to you? If it was new from Toyota, do you mind telling how much it was? My dash is fine, but I'm curious to see if Toyota still has parts like that around after 25 years.

 

[ask92]

I called it

Your knowledge knows no bounds.

Sucks to have a BHG, but not really a reason to go 2j unless you're just wanting to and you have a few grand burning a hole in your pocket.
Car looks amazing and it looks better with every update. Did you buy the dash from Toyota new or was it new to you? If it was new from Toyota, do you mind telling how much it was? My dash is fine, but I'm curious to see if Toyota still has parts like that around after 25 years.

I actually found the dash in a picknpull yard and just cleaned it thoroughly. As far as the 2j vs 7m, I never intended the keep the 7m long as I know how they are if they are not babied or built, and I did not plan to do either. Yes some 7mgtes are reliable, however I can easily build a 2j for that price and never have that worry in the back of my mind. Again I am sure people will disagree but when 75% of the MKIIIs at SIV last year were JZ powered that tells me all I need to know.

Regardless the plan is to find a 2jzge and go na-t with it. I have already bought a 59mm billet wheel precision turbo and a Map ECU. I am hoping the combination of NA compression(TT HG) with e85 and a 59mm billet turbo should spool like a motherfucker and be good for a reliable 500whp.

Obviously there are going to be a lot of other things to do like front brakes(will most likely do the merc BBK), manual trans, suspension(spings and swaybars most likely) and of course more exterior cleaning.

 

[gtsfirefighter]

You would've enjoyed years of motoring with an OEM head gasket. Looks like you did everything right except that one thing so don't hate on the 7m, this is clearly your fault. You have a beautiful example of a MKIII Supra. It looks just like my old 91 I used to have. Good luck with the NA-T build.

 

[Silver MK3]

OP, I wish you the best of luck on the swap. Too bad you didn't run an OE headgasket though, then the car could still be enjoyed while being built. She's still pretty though and is in good hands. I'm looking forward to more updates.

You would've enjoyed years of motoring with an OEM head gasket. Looks like you did everything right except that one thing so don't hate on the 7m, this is clearly your fault. You have a beautiful example of a MKIII Supra. It looks just like my old 91 I used to have. Good luck with the NA-T build.

Couldn't agree more. The 7M gets a bad rap for reasons like this.

 

[ask92]

Guys this is now my 4th 7m(1 of them still running to this day 3 years later). I understand that I COULD go with an OEM HG and probably be ok for a while at these power levels(However I think the block and head should be machined). There are just small things all over the engine that need to be replaced that I don't want to waste time with. The wiring is old and cracking all over, the turbo seals are going out so it puffs out a bit of smoke once and a while, the valve cover gaskets need to be replaced, the trans shifts very slow when cold, and list goes on and on. Yes I know all of these issues are fixable but with my goal of 400whp+ id rather start building the new engine now and not waste any more serious time/money on this one. I am going to compression test the engine soon and see how bad the compression is. I will then pull the head off and look at wtf is going on and see if it was a complete gasket failure of if there were low spots on the block/head. I may just throw in a better quality HG on and go from there. Regardless the 2j build is starting now.

 

[ask92]

Well I haven't touched the supra in about 2 weeks since I knew its next step was going to be a long and painful one(Not to mention expensive). I did give the daily a bit of love though and got her some new shoes:


I then finally got around last night to compression testing the supra.

I will say that the numbers did surprise me a bit.

The warm numbers came after the car idled long enough that it started smoking a bit(Takes about 10-15 minutes at idle). The spark plugs tell the story a bit more than the HG #s do though:


I wonder which one has been burning my precious $40 a gallon toyota red coolant?? It is strange however that #3s compression numbers are very good, and only #2 was a bit low when cold. I am going to pull the head this weekend most likely and see what the hell is going on. If everything looks ok besides the HG I will just get a new better quality HG and hope that fixes the issue.

 

[Sinistr]

It sure seems like you put in quite a bit of effort to get the 7M running good. To bad it didn't hold together for you. The 2J NA-T should be rather trouble free and be a fun driver. Not that a 7M couldn't be.

 

[ask92]

Got the engine pulled apart tonight. Amazing how fast you can get stuff done after you've done it about 10 times...


Again its pretty easy to tell which cylinders have had some coolant in them lol


Amazing how fast the shitty green coolant rusted everything. Also found the little SOB:


Old gasket is off, block is cleaned and awaiting its new HG


Toyota OEM HG will be here tomorrow morning along with a few other small new gaskets and things. Gonna be a long night tomorrow to get the car ready for the two events id like to take it to on sunday...

 

[ask92]

Alright well I guess I should post an update since I have driven this car more in the last week then its probably been driven in the last 5 years. Got the head gasket replaced and everything put back together Saturday night and tested her for about 3 hours. Sunday morning woke up bright and early and drove about an hour each way down to an event I help organize and take pictures for. These are all off my phone as im at work, ill post some DSLR later:





Car drove down and back just fine, however the wire for the cutout decided it wanted to fight the exhaust it lost:


I have been daily driving the car all week and it has been perfect engine wise however it is only making a bit above the center line on the OEM boost gauge(I assume around 5psi) and my oil pressure is not as high as it was(still higher than most). The brakes really need some work and shake the shit out of the car at high speed braking(Merc BBK calipers are ordered). I have a wedding to go to this weekend that is about 2 hours away and I am still contemplating if I want to take the supra or the celica..

I got a hell of a deal on a AEM failsafe wideband and a set of 720cc PTE injectors so after I retorque the headgasket and drive a few hundred more miles the injectors, map ECU and wideband will go in and Ill start to slowly up the boost(I assume the trans will start to slip or grenade if I go anything over 350whp, so ill stay conservative with the boost).

Lets see how long the 7m lasts this time around.

 

[akito]

Glad to see her back on the road, 2jz plan cancelled?

 

[ask92]

Lol no the 2j plan is in full swing, when(not if) the 7m blows I will have the 2j sitting on the stand ready to go in.

 

[Silver MK3]

Good to see it up and running again. Does the Mercedes BBK fit under the MK4 wheels? I haven't looked into it, just wondering if you knew.

 

[ask92]

Yes they do fit:
(not my pictures)

From what I have found they are almost identical to MKIV TT brakes from a physical standpoint(piston size, rotor size, etc) which should be more than enough stopping power.

 

[Silver MK3]

Thanks man! Maybe I need to renew my search for a set of TT wheels then. I'm having a hard time finding a set in good condition. The only one I've found somewhat local to me have been for sale for well over a year, probably because the seller won't reply half of the time...

 

[ask92]

Parts are slowly arriving...


Its really really really time for some suspension....

 

[ask92]

Well over the last month the car had been my daily for a while and was great. Until the automatic trans decided it did not like to move anymore. Also about that time what I assume are the turbo seals went so the car now smokes when cold and a bit when warm.


So this is now happening

Setup will be a 2jzge with a TT hg and arp studs, 550 tt injectors, not sure if I will run off 7mgte elecs yet or 2jzge and piggyback it. I also have to decide if I want to use my 59mm pte or the 68mm cxracing that the engine came with. Also picked up a r154 with all the needed swap parts.

 

[akito]

Nice looking 2jz there

 

[ask92]

Yea the 2jzge na-t and r154 combo popped up for $1200 on a local drifter page so I could not pass it up...Engine has around 60k on it(jdm) and the trans about 110k. Also came with a bunch of spare and aftermarket parts. I will do the same thing I did with the 7m and take the whole engine apart and inspect and repair as needed before it goes in. In the mean time I need to pull the 7m and dead auto out and clean the engine bay and undercarriage some more as I don't plan to take this 2jz out for at least a year.

The goal now is to have the car done by SIV (early october).