Jump to content
The mkiv Supra Owners Club

My long-time LHD conversion and full rebuild project


phobos
 Share

Recommended Posts

After enjoying so many interesting project thread on these forums I decided I will give you a chance to follow my build as well.

 

My love for Supras started in 2005, when I spend some time in the US and saw the first Supras in real life. At that time I was a student and couldn't afford such a car. The idea of purchasing one went somehow in the back of my head. Meanwhile I had some fun with my Seat Leon Cupra 4-motion R32 Turbo conversion but reached a point where I had to spend big money to make it more fun. As I couldn't justify to spend more money on a car, which is basically worth nothing, I decided to sell it. Fortunately I found somebody who was looking exactly for that particular kind of car and who was willed to pay the money I wanted for it. The next project car had to be more a more valuable kind of car and the idea to build a Supra was fixed.

 

As I live in Germany, I wanted the Supra to be LHD. It also had to be a hard top version, which narrows down the market quite a bit. As you probably know almost all the EU LHD cars were aero tops, except for some rare CH or Benelux specs. Prices for these cars are crazy. Importing a car from the US was also not an option, as prices were already ridiculous at the time I started my project almost 3 years ago. So I began investigating in RHD->LHD conversions. It turned out to be a lot of work but quite feasible if you get a LHD donor / front cut. Buying the parts alone would cost a fortune, if you you ever find them. As planned to highly modify it, I was OK building a converted car. It would have been stupid however to buy a mint LHD car for crazy money and modify it, as money doesn't grow on trees.

 

Then, just at the right moment, I found a US spec LHD chassis with a truck load full of parts on Facebook, located in Denmark. I was in contact with the seller before, but he asked way too much money. The price tag on Facebook was already significantly reduced, so I made an appointment to check out the parts in person. The shell was US-spec TT AT targa. I assume that it was previously used as a drift bitch, given all the body damage, racing pass and remains of a poorly deleted roll cage. But all the LHD specific body parts were in great condition. I found most of the LHD interior pieces hidden in a pile of parts that I inspected in an old dirty barn. It was hard for me to tell what's missing, since I never actually worked on a Supra but it looked like a good deal to me. We negotiated a price and a week later I picked up the shell and all parts that were stored in the barn.

 

IMG_2718.JPG

 

In parallel I was looking for the right RHD base car for my conversion. As I would strongly modify it anyway, I didn't care if it's NA, AT or whatever. The only condition was a spotless body (no rust and body damage). What I found so far were only overpriced, rusty shit boxes or cars that looked mint from the outside but the underside already showed surface rust. But I had plenty of time, which I meanwhile filled with removing LHD body parts:

 

IMG_3072.JPG

 

Months later I decided that importing a fresh JDM Supra might be an option. I got in touch with Autopoint Fukuoka and it didn't take im long to find the right Supra to start my project. The car is a 1998 RHD NA AT:

 

WhatsApp Image 2016-08-29 at 15.23.01.jpeg

 

WhatsApp Image 2016-08-29 at 15.22.58.jpeg

 

WhatsApp Image 2016-08-29 at 15.22.57.jpeg

 

On Facebook I found somebody who wanted to by the complete targa top, incl. A, B&C pillars. It turned out that he was preparing a car for the Fast 8 movie premier :):

 

IMG_3931.JPG

IMG_4461.JPG

IMG_4460.JPG

 

My car finally arrived in November 2015 and was prepared for the German TÜV. I wanted it registered before starting any modifications - you never know what's going to happen within the next years, given the crazy EU laws. Once I got it registered, I started to strip it:

 

IMG_4541.JPG

IMG_4538.JPG

 

Meanwhile I bought a new dash board...

IMG_4582.JPG

 

a 2JZ-GTE VVTi

 

IMG_3792.JPG

 

USDM LHD interior looms (as most of them were missing on my donor car)

IMG_4838.JPG

 

and a big case diff

IMG_4736.JPG

 

Then I began stripping the car:

IMG_4799.JPG

IMG_4613.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After taking off the trunk rubber seal I actually found some rust spots on my almost spotless chassis:

 

IMG_4988.jpg

IMG_4990.jpg

 

I opened the spot welds to remove the rust. After some sandblasting treatment no rust was left and the panels were later glued together with some crazy expensive 3M 2k Epoxy panel bonding glue to prevent any new rust.

IMG_5005.jpg

 

Chassis almost stripped

IMG_5079.jpg

 

Drilling out the spot welds of the firewall

IMG_5195.jpg

 

RHD firewall and wiper cowl removed

IMG_5308.jpg

 

LHD parts test fitted

IMG_5311.jpg

IMG_5312.jpg

 

Some new parts arrived meanwhile...

IMG_4969.jpg

IMG_5089.jpg

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

I did a lot of research on how to get the best rust protection between the overlapping body panels. I finally decided to put thinned 2K EP primer in the gap after welding them.

 

Some initial spot welding trials

IMG_5798.jpg

 

Then I put the primer on the panels. Capillary action helps the primer creeping between the panels.

IMG_5799.jpg

You can already see the primer on the other side.

IMG_5800.jpg

Some compressed air helps the primer covering all the cavities.

IMG_5801.jpg

IMG_5802.jpg

 

As the wiper cowl was in bad condition with several layers of old paint I decided to glass bead blast it along with all the other panels and brackets for my conversion. I just covered the areas where I had to weld later.

IMG_5831.jpg

IMG_5982.jpg

IMG_5984.jpg

IMG_6010.jpg

 

First interior brackets welded and sealed with primer

IMG_6001.jpg

IMG_6008.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was a heart breaking moment to cut my USDM donor car...

IMG_6265.jpg

IMG_6283.jpg

 

Next step was to weld the wiper cowl in place. First some final fitment adjustments

IMG_6311.jpg

 

Then I welded the upper portion, opened up the gap between the sheets and put 2K EP primer between the sheets, with the help of some compressed air.

IMG_6316.jpg

 

You can see this technique works really well as the whole overlapping area is sealed from the inside already

IMG_6320.jpg

 

Some additional touch-ups with a brush and all bare metal was perfectly sealed

IMG_6321.jpg

...and the gaps finally closed again.

IMG_6323.jpg

 

 

Then I welded the actual cowl to the chassis and painted all areas where I don't need to weld anymore.

IMG_6328.jpg

IMG_6329.jpg

IMG_6330.jpg

IMG_6381.jpg

IMG_6382.jpg

IMG_6383.jpg

 

Double check all cavities are sealed

IMG_6379.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then I welded the firewall in and sealed everything again with primer.

IMG_6654.jpgIMG_6655.jpg

IMG_6657.jpgIMG_6660.jpg

IMG_6661.jpgIMG_6661.jpg

IMG_6783.jpg

 

Then I removed the AT tunnel

IMG_6791.jpg

 

I didn't trust the KTL coating of my new MT tunnel so I decided to give it also some layers of paint for a maximum in corrosion protection

IMG_6786.jpg

IMG_6797.jpg

 

After removing the AT tunnel the underside were the AT tunnel panel used to be was also painted with primer and 2K chassis paint

IMG_6793.jpg

IMG_6796.jpg

 

MT tunnel assembled (again glued with 3M epoxy panel bonding adhesive)

IMG_6872.jpg

 

And then I went crazy and ground all spot welds on the under body back to bare metal after seeing some minor rust spots on some spot welds. I just want to be on the safe side :). I cannot stand rust.

IMG_6880.jpg

 

All welds treated with 2K primer

IMG_6891.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To make some room for wide tires I cut the wheel arches a bit. As some of the spot welds were gone afterwards, I glued he panels with my lovely 3M panel bonding adhesive again. I wanted to avoid welding here as there is no way to reach this area with any sort of rust preventative grease / oil later. This is due to the foam material that sits between the inner and outer wheel arch, right above the wheel arch.

IMG_7140.jpg

IMG_7142.jpg

 

Cutting the hole for intercooler piping

IMG_7148.jpg

 

And some fresh paint for the under body.

IMG_7255.jpg

IMG_7256.jpg

IMG_7263.jpg

IMG_7264.jpg

 

I noticed some cracks in the seal seam at the bottom of the A-pillar. After some peeling my strange gut feeling was confirmed and I found some minor rust spots. Time to take out the sand blaster again to remove any rust. I also remove the upper brackets for the fender.

IMG_7348.jpg

IMG_7348.jpg

 

Everything back in place and painted.

IMG_7358.jpg

IMG_7360.jpg

IMG_7364.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately some idiot thought it was a good idea to extend the exhaust cut-out of my rare USDM rear bumper so I had to fix it.

First I took a negative of my JDM rear bumper

IMG_7410.jpg

IMG_7412.jpg

IMG_7416.jpg

 

I was lucky to get the missing piece from a forum member here so I just had to cut it to the right size and glue it to the US bumper. Again I used some special 3M bumper repair kit with strong but flexible adhesive, reinforced with some fibre glass mats. And no, I do not hold any 3M shares :)

IMG_7443.jpg

IMG_7445.jpg

IMG_7462.jpg

 

My car finally looked ready for paint

IMG_7800.jpg

 

While waiting for the paint shop to take my car I sand blasted all screws

IMG_7971.jpg

 

and had them galvanized. After galvanization I put the screws in the temperature chamber at work to prevent any kind of hydrogen embrittlement.

IMG_8277.jpg

 

New LHD steering rack arrived

IMG_8140.jpg

 

along with my new transmission - BMW M4 DCT :D :D :D

IMG_8809.jpg

 

 

Seems to clear the tunnel quite well after some mods

IMG_8828.jpg

 

Some further parts refurbished

IMG_8159.jpg

IMG_8832.jpg

 

And some instrument cluster improvements

IMG_8161.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Further parts glass bead blasted and clear coated - looking brand new

IMG_9441.jpg

IMG_9439.jpg

IMG_9438.jpg

 

Brakes disassembled, blasted and painted:

IMG_8846.jpg

IMG_8946.jpg

 

The chassis finally on its way to the paint shop

IMG_8937.jpg

IMG_9384.jpg

IMG_9386.jpg

fullsizeoutput_1587.jpg

IMG_9385.jpg

 

First parts painted in Ferrari Grigio Silverstone.

IMG_9383.jpg

 

I also took all chassis parts to the paint shop to geht a nice black finish after I sand blasted them

IMG_9382.jpg

 

Some more interior work:

 

Adjusting the mileage of my LHD ODO to my chassis

IMG_9275.jpg

 

LED conversion and new buttons for my HVAC

IMG_9187.jpg

IMG_9186.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Car officially painted

IMG_9491.jpg

IMG_9492.jpg

IMG_9493.jpg

 

and back at my garage

IMG_9547.jpg

 

First parts of my new fuel setup:

- Radium fuel pump hanger

- Radium fuel filter

- Radium fuel pressure regulator

- Radium fuel pulsation dampener

- Walbro 450lph fuel pump

IMG_9539.jpg

IMG_9540.jpg

IMG_9545.jpg

 

 

Superpro poly bushes to replace all OEM bushes

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_271e.jpg

 

More parts galvanized

IMG_9786.jpg

IMG_9759.jpg

and some home tempering...

IMG_9794.jpg

 

 

First parts assembled and mounted to the car

IMG_9812.jpg

KW V3 coilovers

IMG_0052.jpg

IMG_9744.jpg

 

The dog is watching all the screws that I sorted into a ton of boxes :)

IMG_9810.jpg

 

And the most awful job - getting rid of this nasty stuff on the dash panel + filling some holes

IMG_9506.jpg

IMG_9488.jpg

IMG_9489.jpg

 

First interior parts officially mounted

bMvr5zfjTb2SvmUoLe54cw.jpg

IMG_9870.jpg

 

ABS block relocated. I will use the 96+ ABS for a cleaner look

IMG_0060.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What year BMW DCT box is that mate? Did you have to chop any of the tunnel and firewall out to fit it?

 

It's a 2017 M4 DCT. I did only some rough mock-up and it seems that the tunnel only needs some massage work with a rubber mallet. The challenging part is the DCT control, as this is different from the E9x transmissions. Hope Paul will come up with a solution for that :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a 2017 M4 DCT. I did only some rough mock-up and it seems that the tunnel only needs some massage work with a rubber mallet. The challenging part is the DCT control, as this is different from the E9x transmissions. Hope Paul will come up with a solution for that :)

 

Sounds like a better fit than the old one then, which is great news! :)

 

Which ECU are you using?

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.