Jump to content
The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Stevo's Refresh Project


Stevo
 Share

Recommended Posts

So, since I’ve had the car quite a while now and not really put up many pics over the years, I thought I’d do a bit of a thread to share the changes it has gone through since I bought it.

This has been prompted by work in the last year or two that has transformed the car entirely but I’ll start with what it looked like beforehand.

 

Basically a fairly standard NA SZ, 5spd in 202 black:

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201087&stc=1&d=1431461013

 

At this point there weren't many mods on the car other than the 18” Braid alloys, HKS Mushroom air intake and the OEM skirts and spats (original Toyota plastic). Oh, and the Blitz Nurspec exhaust that made it sound like a spitfire!

 

The first changes made were to put the stock airbox back on and to get rid of the exhaust for something that didn’t make my ears bleed given that the car is a daily driver. I swapped this out for a new HKS Silent Hi-Power which still gives some good sounds on throttle but it is a lot quieter in the cabin. After that, I just enjoyed driving it for a few years or so 

 

Next major change was to the wheels – decided to plump for Ultralite GT IIs and paint my callipers yellow to get a good contrast with the black. The Ultralites are 8.5” front 9.5” rear.

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201088&stc=1&d=1431461328

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201089&stc=1&d=1431461328

 

Despite looking after it, the daily commute, supermarket car parks, UK winters and 20 year old paint soon started looking too shabby for my taste and I knew it needed a respray sooner rather than later. There were quite a few areas that needed work/putting right and to be honest the pictures above are actually flattering and don’t quite capture the poor state of the paintwork:

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201092&stc=1&d=1431461749

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201091&stc=1&d=1431461749

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201093&stc=1&d=1431461749

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201094&stc=1&d=1431461749

 

 

One good thing that did happen is that the core plug on the back of the water pump housing failed and the repair went to Hodge to do......... which ended up in a wire tuck of the engine bay too! He couldn't persuade me to move the battery to the boot though as I think it is more practical where it is and I like have the boot area stock and clean :D

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201096&stc=1&d=1431461959

 

 

August 2013 the car was booked into AC Autocolour in Monkseaton for a full respray (glass out and engine out!)

Motorshow 002 (Custom).jpg

P1010701 (Custom).jpg

P1010854 (Custom).jpg

P1070798 (Custom).JPG

P1070802 (Custom).JPG

P1070795 (Custom).jpg

P1070799 (Custom).JPG

P1070787 (Custom).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 69
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Before it went to the bodyshop, I spent some time tidying up the subframe area and the radiator support bracket, which wasn't in too bad nick given some of the horror stories I've heard! Just used a wire brush, Kurust then some black hammerite.

 

No finished pics of this process as I was in a hurry to just get it off the drive and over to the bodyshop.

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201103&stc=1&d=1431463918

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201102&stc=1&d=1431463918

 

 

More progress pics to come...

P1070825 (Medium).jpg

P1070826 (Medium).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Soooo... the only reason for taking the engine out at this point was to get the bay smoothed and sprayed properly.

 

However, the thought of putting that 21 year old dirty, oily engine back into a new shiny bay was killing me. I decided to refresh the engine too as it is also fairly high mileage and therefore way easier to replace various key parts on a stand like this before they actually fail on me at some point in the future :)

 

My list of replacements was as follows:

 

New OEM oil pump & housing

New OEM water pump & housing

New OEM Thermostat

New OEM Crank pulley and retainer bolt

New OEM timing belt tensioner & bearing

New OEM Rotor arm

New OEM Distributor cap

New OEM Horn assembly

New OEM O2 sensors

New OEM Toyota complete engine gasket replacements – including valve stem seals, front and rear crank oil seals and cam seals

Skimmed head refitted with new ARP head bolts

NGK Iridium plugs

Magnecor HT leads

Full Clevite Race Bearings set

Gates auxiliary belt

Gates timing belt

 

Keeping in mind that I'd not even so much as changed the oil myself before this, I was canny daunted about doing all this work. I just took my time (no rush with the car in the bodyshop) and followed the Toyota manuals closely. I know the bloke at my local garage quite well, so whenever I needed a tool I didn't have he was happy to lend me it overnight.

 

Hodge was on hand to do the bearings in the block and he also did the valve stem seals for me - cheers mate! :thumbs:

 

Anything that wasn't replaced, was thoroughly cleaned and refurbished by me with a lot of parts being primed and painted using rattle cans from Frost Restoration.

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201178&stc=1&d=1431545767

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201177&stc=1&d=1431545767

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201179&stc=1&d=1431545857

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201180&stc=1&d=1431545857

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201181&stc=1&d=1431545857

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201182&stc=1&d=1431545857

P1080106 (Medium).jpg

P1080109 (Medium).jpg

IMG_374376420444026 (Medium).jpeg

IMG_374405303883830 (Medium).jpeg

IMG_374412046031002 (Medium).jpg

IMG_374424946558424 (Medium).jpeg

Edited by Stevo (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not going to bother with pics of the engine going back together every step of the way, it's not like I'm bolting a turbo kit on there or anything - just a standard NA engine going back together after a clean up :cool:

 

Here's some shots showing some of the detail to which I refurbished things - everything is in heatproof paint of course.

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201260&stc=1&d=1431713944

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201261&stc=1&d=1431713944

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201262&stc=1&d=1431713944

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201263&stc=1&d=1431713944

 

 

Rotor arm was in a bit of a state so that got replaced with a new dizzy cap

 

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201264&stc=1&d=1431714160

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201265&stc=1&d=1431714160

P1080127 (Medium).jpg

P1080128 (Medium).JPG

P1080126 (Medium).JPG

20131201_124203 (Medium).jpg

20131201_132924 (Medium).jpg

20131201_132956 (Medium).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Meanwhile, things were progressing nicely in the bodyshop with some rust repair work done and some of the engine bay holes filled, smoothed and then into paint

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201266&stc=1&d=1431715368

 

This bit needed rust to be cut out completely and new metal welded in.

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201267&stc=1&d=1431715368

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201268&stc=1&d=1431715368

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201269&stc=1&d=1431715368

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201270&stc=1&d=1431715368

20130907_094631 (Medium).jpg

20130928_113352 (Medium).jpg

20130928_113409 (Medium).jpg

20130928_113423 (Medium).jpg

20130928_113519 (Medium).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As to be expected, the aircon unit had seen better days but I didn't want just delete it as I do use in the 'summer' months.

 

Set about refreshing that with some new parts from Mr T, black radiator paint from Frost and a handful of shiny bolts :)

 

From this...

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201466&stc=1&d=1432057348

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201467&stc=1&d=1432057348

 

 

To this...

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201470&stc=1&d=1432057348

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201468&stc=1&d=1432057348

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201469&stc=1&d=1432057348

P1080146 (Medium).jpg

P1080144 (Medium).jpg

20140301_093722 (Medium).jpg

20140301_093626 (Medium).jpg

P1080156 (Medium).jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some excellent work, and super attention to detail too.

 

Looks really nice and tidy, and the new colour looks brilliant.

 

I bet you can't wait to see it finished from the body shop.

 

Thanks mate. Already have it back from the bodyshop as I'm doing this thread bit by bit retrospectively, so thankfully no more waiting! :D I just never got round to doing the thread before now and figured it is a good place to document the work and changes to the car.

 

 

Nice work. Is that a replacement air condensor?

 

The condensor isn't a new replacement, just the condensor bracket/arm. I just refurbished the actual condensor myself as I didn't want to be able to see the old rusty thing through the front grille. Same goes with the horn that is down there in that region too - but I bought a new one of them.

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=201506&stc=1&d=1432141712

P1080183 (Medium).JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gaskets were all new from Toyota mate - they do an engine gasket overhaul kit; everything you need in the one bag.

 

So all seals, gaskets, o-rings etc have all been replaced on this.

 

I can dig the part number and price out if you're interested?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. You might also be interested in our Guidelines, Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.