Hey guys, I thought it was time for me to post up one of these threads to help compile thoughts and get some suggestions and advice. For those that don't know me well, I'm a 19 year old originally from Minden, Ontario, attending university in Oshawa at the university of Ontario Institute of Technology as an automotive engineer. I've wanted a supra since I was 11 (originally mk3 and later mk2) and finally bought my mk2 when I turned 16. I've been working away on it ever since. I lurk often on these forums and only recently started to post. I have been a member of celicasupra.com since aug 2003 and now have 1700 non-bs posts there. I have been a member of the Toronto supra club before I owned a supra or had a driver's license...so I do know some(but not much) things and am, in every respect, an enthusiast. This brings me to my post... my car is a mk2, and I realize this is a mk3 forum but it is a supra...and it is a mk3 engine so I thought it would have some relevance being on this forum. so without further ado, the build thread!:
The Car
1984 toyota supra, hard top, P-type. 5 speed.
mods: Doug Thorley Headers, 2.5" mandrel bent stainless exhaust, high flow cat, rabid chimp intake, ST 1.3" lowering springs, 1" spring spacer to prevent rear camber, bilstein struts, KYB gas-a-just shocks, Jim King roll center adjusters. I am in the process of a brake upgrade using cressida brakes.
more pics of my car can be found here: http://www.supramania.com/forums/showpost.php?p=445908&postcount=26
A write up I made on wheel refinishing can be found here: http://forums.celicasupra.com/showthread.php?t=13251
The Idea
The plan for this project came up around the previous fall when Alex (Kingsoup) and had a conversation regarding the merits of the 7mge motor at a Toronto supra club monthly meet. Later conversations involved Dean Anderson (Dean). We talked about how neglected the 7mge is in comparison the the 7mgte and even the 6mge engine swaps. We believed that the swap could be done cheaply and reliably enough to have some fun with your mk2, make it feel like it should have from the factory. We thought it would generally wake the whole chassis up, without having issues with transmissions and differentials breaking. Without the added cost of fabricating a new exhaust and intercooler piping, worrying about oil filter relocations, coolers and oil lines. The higher reliability of an N/A vs. turbo engine was there aswell (lets not argue about this, there simply is more things to go wrong with a turbo). When installed in a mk2, the 7m should propel the 3000lb mk2 into the 14s at the track and maybe keep up with a few mk3 turbos...cheaply. It all seems like a great package. We toyed with the idea of some basic fuel management and throwing some reground camshafts at it to get the most out of the more advanced, ported 24 valve head. I laid awake in bed dreaming of my very own budget NA screamer, and thinking of how I would get things done.
As talks continued my plans evolved slightly...I wanted to do a little more than just install it. Thus far the plans are:
-get a cheap 7mge
-replace bearings if necessary, install new rings
-clean head, hand lap valves, port work and port match myself, proper valve job if necessary
-shave head and or block to increase compression to aprx. 10.5:1
-new gaskets, oil pump (eBay)
-later, install a maft-pro to tune fuel and timing, integrated with LC-1 (could be used later with a turbo build, so good investment)
-after the bugs are worked out, install reground camshafts to use the engine to redline. 222duration at .50 though cam grinds have been selected (open to suggestions)
-it has to look good when installed.
this (we?I think) should allow for 200whp NA achievable.
on initial start up, the Thorley headers and 2.5" Brullen will bolt up, and an intake fabricated.
everything will be done "one the cheap" but not half-assed, I intend to get "quick(not fast), cheap and reliable" out of it, and have all three
The story
last spring, I was at Orville's house (local Toyota mechanic and club member). While he was fixing sawbladz's car, I was going to give a hand with his head replacement. In the Garage bay was an 87 N/A supra. The car ran nicely with no smoke or nasty noises, not so much as an engine miss. I was examining the wiring and vacuum lines when Orville asked if I wanted to buy the motor - everything, since it was undergoing a turbo drivetrain swap. We bartered down to $350 when I finally decided no, I didn't need to spend the money on it yet. Later in the month I went to the spring PA mk2 meet where Darcy had nearly all the 7mge parts from his car in his trunk and was handing them out for free. I got the head and many other misc. parts which I brought back to Canada. The head was in good shape and apparently rebuilt recently. I got a call from Orville wondering if I wanted the engine still, since he couldn't find a buyer for it. He had heard I got a head in good shape and since that was the only usable part (to him) he could have off the N/A, I traded him the head and cams for the complete 7MGE engine with harness and igniter. The engine is missing some accessories and EGR...which will be sourced later.
Cliff notes:
Free, well running 7MGE in my hands.
I was able to get the engine back to my house in Oshawa (where I attend university) where I started disassembling and inspecting the parts.
here's the engine when I got it
Let The Teardown Begin!
Time to start taking it apart, bagging, labeling and taking lots of pics!
some manifolds off
valve cover off
Cams!
Lobes look good, very little wear (not like my 5m!)
The valve covers, I'm thinking polished with black lettering.
Engine harness. nasty, but free
taking apart the timing stuff
Just bought this bit 10 minutes before the picture. The store owner and I joked about a lifetime warranty. trying to get a head bolt off and it snapped. I got a cut in my wrist when it let go. I did have a pipe on the end of it though haha. I returned it and got my money back. I bought a shorter, mastercraft version which did the trick.
bought an engine stand! nice to not work on the ground. timing stuff is off too.
The oil pan: will be replaced with a mk2 front sump unit.
This is where all the pistons and stuff attach
no trash on the screen. yaay!
Oil pan, no trash. yaay!
3L>2.8L
taking the bearing caps off, no signs of any knocking. They all looked like this - very good! by now the butterflies worrying about spun bearings and scored pistons are gone, this is turning out to be fun!
The Car
1984 toyota supra, hard top, P-type. 5 speed.
mods: Doug Thorley Headers, 2.5" mandrel bent stainless exhaust, high flow cat, rabid chimp intake, ST 1.3" lowering springs, 1" spring spacer to prevent rear camber, bilstein struts, KYB gas-a-just shocks, Jim King roll center adjusters. I am in the process of a brake upgrade using cressida brakes.
more pics of my car can be found here: http://www.supramania.com/forums/showpost.php?p=445908&postcount=26
A write up I made on wheel refinishing can be found here: http://forums.celicasupra.com/showthread.php?t=13251
The Idea
The plan for this project came up around the previous fall when Alex (Kingsoup) and had a conversation regarding the merits of the 7mge motor at a Toronto supra club monthly meet. Later conversations involved Dean Anderson (Dean). We talked about how neglected the 7mge is in comparison the the 7mgte and even the 6mge engine swaps. We believed that the swap could be done cheaply and reliably enough to have some fun with your mk2, make it feel like it should have from the factory. We thought it would generally wake the whole chassis up, without having issues with transmissions and differentials breaking. Without the added cost of fabricating a new exhaust and intercooler piping, worrying about oil filter relocations, coolers and oil lines. The higher reliability of an N/A vs. turbo engine was there aswell (lets not argue about this, there simply is more things to go wrong with a turbo). When installed in a mk2, the 7m should propel the 3000lb mk2 into the 14s at the track and maybe keep up with a few mk3 turbos...cheaply. It all seems like a great package. We toyed with the idea of some basic fuel management and throwing some reground camshafts at it to get the most out of the more advanced, ported 24 valve head. I laid awake in bed dreaming of my very own budget NA screamer, and thinking of how I would get things done.
As talks continued my plans evolved slightly...I wanted to do a little more than just install it. Thus far the plans are:
-get a cheap 7mge
-replace bearings if necessary, install new rings
-clean head, hand lap valves, port work and port match myself, proper valve job if necessary
-shave head and or block to increase compression to aprx. 10.5:1
-new gaskets, oil pump (eBay)
-later, install a maft-pro to tune fuel and timing, integrated with LC-1 (could be used later with a turbo build, so good investment)
-after the bugs are worked out, install reground camshafts to use the engine to redline. 222duration at .50 though cam grinds have been selected (open to suggestions)
-it has to look good when installed.
this (we?I think) should allow for 200whp NA achievable.
on initial start up, the Thorley headers and 2.5" Brullen will bolt up, and an intake fabricated.
everything will be done "one the cheap" but not half-assed, I intend to get "quick(not fast), cheap and reliable" out of it, and have all three
The story
last spring, I was at Orville's house (local Toyota mechanic and club member). While he was fixing sawbladz's car, I was going to give a hand with his head replacement. In the Garage bay was an 87 N/A supra. The car ran nicely with no smoke or nasty noises, not so much as an engine miss. I was examining the wiring and vacuum lines when Orville asked if I wanted to buy the motor - everything, since it was undergoing a turbo drivetrain swap. We bartered down to $350 when I finally decided no, I didn't need to spend the money on it yet. Later in the month I went to the spring PA mk2 meet where Darcy had nearly all the 7mge parts from his car in his trunk and was handing them out for free. I got the head and many other misc. parts which I brought back to Canada. The head was in good shape and apparently rebuilt recently. I got a call from Orville wondering if I wanted the engine still, since he couldn't find a buyer for it. He had heard I got a head in good shape and since that was the only usable part (to him) he could have off the N/A, I traded him the head and cams for the complete 7MGE engine with harness and igniter. The engine is missing some accessories and EGR...which will be sourced later.
Cliff notes:
Free, well running 7MGE in my hands.
I was able to get the engine back to my house in Oshawa (where I attend university) where I started disassembling and inspecting the parts.
here's the engine when I got it
Let The Teardown Begin!
Time to start taking it apart, bagging, labeling and taking lots of pics!
some manifolds off
valve cover off
Cams!
Lobes look good, very little wear (not like my 5m!)
The valve covers, I'm thinking polished with black lettering.
Engine harness. nasty, but free
taking apart the timing stuff
Just bought this bit 10 minutes before the picture. The store owner and I joked about a lifetime warranty. trying to get a head bolt off and it snapped. I got a cut in my wrist when it let go. I did have a pipe on the end of it though haha. I returned it and got my money back. I bought a shorter, mastercraft version which did the trick.
bought an engine stand! nice to not work on the ground. timing stuff is off too.
The oil pan: will be replaced with a mk2 front sump unit.
This is where all the pistons and stuff attach
no trash on the screen. yaay!
Oil pan, no trash. yaay!
3L>2.8L
taking the bearing caps off, no signs of any knocking. They all looked like this - very good! by now the butterflies worrying about spun bearings and scored pistons are gone, this is turning out to be fun!
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