Homer Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 Quick update from today, just a couple of things left before booking the MOT! 1) Kev finished up the headlights, all working. 2) finished the fog light mod, all working as intended. The fog switch is ugly as hell but it was all I could get my hands on at the time. I’ll change it for for a smaller one in the future 3) We didn’t get time to test the alternator but strongly suspect it to be at fault. It was bought from SRD 9 years ago but was never really used. I’ve messaged Lee at for a replacement at my own cost but he was kind enough to suggest I send it back for an inspection and repair. That’s some great customer service! In the mean time of anyone has a spare one I could buy or borrow for the mot that would be very much appreciated. 4) Started cleaning the interior of the car. It’s coming up well although some bits need replacing. Annoyingly there is weld splatter on the inside of the windscreen caused by the monkeys who did the trans tunnel mod. It’s made a bit of a mess of it and damaged the glass. It’s a facelift windscreen so all but impossible to replace with an oem one. 5) SBA tuning stickers are finally removed 6) There’s a bit of an odd noise coming from the engine/exhaust area which we’ve not pinpointed yet. There is a video below (hopefully) which shows it. If anyone has an ideas let me know. It sounds like a coughing sound and is fairly consistent. Working lights. Might not seem like much but this was a mission for Kev! No more dodgy wiring splices and broken connectors. All band new hardware. Fugly fog lamp switch, but it works and will fulfil the mot requirement: Temporary fog lamp solution. I’ll do a proper one in the future: Cleaned up a bit. Ran out of cleaner so it’s not finished yet. Steering wheel will be changed to good condition Celica one shortly. No more SBA stickers! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgeer Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 Great work, keep it up lads 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted October 25, 2023 Author Share Posted October 25, 2023 Tyres getting fitted tomorrow to the oem wheels. Tonight I put her on a set of wheels I got from a scrap yard for £200. I’m warming towards these after fitting them! They are insanely heavy though! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wile e coyote Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 great tto catch up on the build Is your steering wheel correct ? should it be a facelift 3 spoke ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 4 hours ago, wile e coyote said: great tto catch up on the build Is your steering wheel correct ? should it be a facelift 3 spoke ? Correct Darren, it’s the wrong wheel. It came with the UK spec one when I got the car (a UK spec was the donor for the drivetrain). I’ve never been a fan of them. I have a very good condition 3 spoke from a Celica which I’ll put in for now. It’s very similar to the facelift supra one but at £40 it’s an easy way to get it near correct. I’ll likely change it at some point in the future but getting the car back on the road and painted is the priority right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 A little help please folks…. Does anyone know how the bonnet latch cable is supposed to route past the chassis leg? It came like it is in the picture but I’m certain it’s wrong. Should it go through the white grommet, or somewhere else? I can’t get the cable splitter to mount to the upper plastic radiator ducting with it like this. In the mean time I’ve been getting on with a few small jobs but I’ll update those tomorrow. Still can’t get the horn to work even with replacement horns. It’s on all the time. Also fitted the oem wheels with a set of new Michelin Pilot Sport 4’s. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamilton Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 1 hour ago, Homer said: A little help please folks…. Does anyone know how the bonnet latch cable is supposed to route past the chassis leg? It came like it is in the picture but I’m certain it’s wrong. Should it go through the white grommet, or somewhere else? I can’t get the cable splitter to mount to the plastic ducting with it like this. In the mean time I’ve been getting on with a few small jobs but I’ll update those tomorrow. Still can’t get the horn to work even with replacement horns. It’s on all the time. Also fitted the oem wheels with a set of new Michelin Pilot Sport 4’s. I don’t know how helpful this is but below is a photo I took when my bumper was off a while back. You can at least see how the bonnet release cable is routed and clipped until it disappears into the wing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 23 hours ago, Hamilton said: I don’t know how helpful this is but below is a photo I took when my bumper was off a while back. You can at least see how the bonnet release cable is routed and clipped until it disappears into the wing. Thanks @Hamilton that shows it perfectly! Much appreciated, I’ve got some work to do on re-routing this. Also looks like I’ve got to source a few oem clips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted October 29, 2023 Share Posted October 29, 2023 not sure it shows you anymore but a photo of mine if it helps 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted November 5, 2023 Author Share Posted November 5, 2023 Bit of a delay as both @evinX and I were ill last weekend, back on it today (and a few days in between). There are now only two issues we haven’t resolved (if anyone has ideas on these please reply!). Either way I’m hoping to get it in for an MOT next weekend. 1) The horn is still on all the time. First we suspected a faulty relay as several relays were already bad in the car.@Swampy442 was kind enough to send one for free but this didn’t fix it. I changed the steering wheel and even tried it with no wheel and it still didn’t solve it. This means there is likely a wiring between the steering column and the engine bay fuse box. It must be grounding somewhere… 2) The windscreen washer isn’t working (motor isn’t turning on). We discovered this late in the day so I’ll do some testing on it before replacing parts. The rest of these items are now done 1) Alternator is now changed over to one that SupraTronix supplies. It worked perfect, battery is now charging! 2) All windscreen wipers were rusty so have been sanded, primed, sprayed and fitted. While doing this I also cleaned and painted a few other rusty bits… brake booster line, throttle cable support and a few small items. Still lots more parts need removing, cleaning and paint but that will come… 3) Front plastic radiator ducting is fitted back in. I’m going to redo the bonnet latch part after the MOT. 4) A LOT of missing bolts have been fitted all around the front of the car. Why so many were missing I have no idea, the entire front end was loose. There were only two bolts holding the metal rad support in… 5) All front lights and plugged in with nearly all new connectors. Fully bolted in along with the front bumper 6) Removed the upper rad pipe and cleaned up the aluminium, it was leaking and has signs of corrosion. This explains why it was leaking even with a brand new rad hose. I’ve not seen this before so may need to replace the neck. 7) number plates finally fitted. It was a shame to have to fit these as I’m switching over to a private one as soon as the mot is done. Horn still goes off with it disconnected: New alternator now providing a healthy voltage: Corroded water neck, no wonder it was leaking. We’ve used some ptfe tape to try and seal it for now. It seems okay so far but this needs to be addressed: Oem rad duct installed with new clips. also lots of new bolts in the rad supports: Plates on and some more tidy up done. Still lots more parts to do: New tyres, mentioned it before but it’s a big step for me to have proper rubber on the car! Final lights check, all good! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted November 12, 2023 Author Share Posted November 12, 2023 Last items before the MOT next weekend!!! Help needed please on the horn: if any of you facelift owners have any idea how the horn connector in the wheel looks please let me know! The horn is still on all the time and I think it might be down to a compatibility issue. The facelift wiring is slightly different to pre facelift. I don’t have a facelift connector so I’m not sure if both pins are supposed to be used somehow. Prefacelift definitely only requires the right one but clearly this isn’t working for me. Items completed today: 1) The issue with the windscreen washer turned out to be a faulty motor. Not uncommon. Luckily @evinX had a new non oem spare so he plumbed that in. Front and rear washers are now working! 2) I managed to find some lower front arch liners for only £45 from @Chingy. Bargain as these are £285 new. Kev fitted these today and put in a lot of new clips and bolts for the rest of the arch liners. Most were missing as usual! We’ve left the front undertray off as I need to order a new front mount bar. The one I had is missing the square headed bolts so isn’t reusable. And that’s it. After 1 year and 5 months of work Kev and I think we have done everything to make this supra roadworthy again! Between us we’ve put in hundreds of hours of work. Thanks @evinX we did it (hopefully)!! UK wheel, only used right pin: 3 spoke wheel (celica): New washer motor: Arch liners in: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evinX Posted November 12, 2023 Share Posted November 12, 2023 Its been a journey for us @Homer and the car, but next week she will see the roads after 12 years? Ill be in my Supra and ill have kit with me incase any issues arise on her maiden voyage - highly doubt it to be fair. I think shes ready 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chingy Posted November 13, 2023 Share Posted November 13, 2023 Really enjoyed this build thread and watching the car evolve. Can’t wait to see it back on the road…. Great work gents 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter P Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 Nice progress guys. Not sure if it helps, but I had to sort my horn after swapping out the steering wheel from Tiptronic to manual. I decided to lose the flappy paddle wiring as it’s no longer needed. Left me with one wire for the horn which I connected via the OEM plug and all good. Don’t think therefore it’s the wiring that’s causing your issue. I would try fitting the Celica wheel now just to eliminate anything wrong with the current one. I think you said you’ve tried that and no wheel at all so I’d say wiring and grounding on something between the steering column and the engine bay fuse box as you suggested before. Hopefully the confirmation it’s only 1 wire on the facelift horn helps at least. Good luck getting it sorted for the MOT. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 15 hours ago, Peter P said: Nice progress guys. Not sure if it helps, but I had to sort my horn after swapping out the steering wheel from Tiptronic to manual. I decided to lose the flappy paddle wiring as it’s no longer needed. Left me with one wire for the horn which I connected via the OEM plug and all good. Don’t think therefore it’s the wiring that’s causing your issue. I would try fitting the Celica wheel now just to eliminate anything wrong with the current one. I think you said you’ve tried that and no wheel at all so I’d say wiring and grounding on something between the steering column and the engine bay fuse box as you suggested before. Hopefully the confirmation it’s only 1 wire on the facelift horn helps at least. Good luck getting it sorted for the MOT. Thanks @Peter P, I put a thread up in technical and @TuneR posted a pic showing the same connecting point. With both of you guys confirming the same it’s safe to say we have everything wired up correctly. It must be grounding somewhere. I already tried the celica wheel and it made no difference. Since most of the wiring loom is bolted to the back of the dash it would mean a dash-out job to trace it fully. I think the most viable option is to take a wire from the horn pin on the column, run it to a fuse then connect it to the engine room loom. If the dash ever comes out I’ll redo it properly but I can’t see it’s worth the effort right now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter P Posted November 14, 2023 Share Posted November 14, 2023 No worries. Agreed, easiest way is to rewire from the horn pin and hopefully that sorts it for the MOT. Having done my dash swap, not a fun job or something you can do quickly. Fingers crossed for the fix. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Unfortunately the car failed the MOT today, but not on items we were expecting! 2 major items and 2 advisories (which are very easy fixes). 1) Drivers side rear upper suspension arm has too much play. I did check the arms last year but must have missed this, it’s got play in the bushes. By some very good luck @evinXhas a new pair of these in stock, so I’ve bought them from him. I’ll try and get the bad one replaced this week. 2) Off side rear calliper is frozen. Since these came off a car that was only MOT’d last year I’d assumed they would be fine, apparently not. We’re going to try and free it up, otherwise I’ll need to source a new one. There is also a very bad vibration above 40mph, I’m going to get the wheels checked at a local alloy wheel place as it looks like one might have a small buckle. The issue with the rear suspension arm probably doesn’t help either. Other than that the car was flawless lol. It drove perfectly, no smoke, very smooth and everything worked as intended. Importantly both turbos spool up and it pulls well. It was awesome to finally drive this on the road after 10 years! Massive thanks to @evinX for the help and support today (and also arranging the MOT with his guys) Replacement arms, with rubber bushes. fantastic price on these thanks to Kev! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evinX Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 Today was a good day! I had the pleasure of following the old girl on her Maiden Voyage and even in multicolour she looked AMAZING on the road!!!! Sad when we got handed the paper but it was 2 majors we wouldnt of really known about without the proper tests being done. If anyone has a spare large rear passenger caliper at the ready let us know as we have a few days timeframe to sort these issues out Overall a great day with the Supras. Ever ever sooooo close 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evinX Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 Video taken by Marge @Homer VID-20231119-WA0016_1.mp4 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieter Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 Ohhh ölnins, very good, but I have already enquired, they have no products for Supra MK4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted December 2, 2023 Author Share Posted December 2, 2023 so today @evinX and I decided it would be a good idea to work on the car while it was -2 degrees out. Not the best idea but we got a lot done! 1) Mot is cancelled as we couldn’t get the rear caliper fixed in time. The pins holding the brake pads in place are frozen and we couldn’t get them out even with a press. I’ve taken the caliper to a local specialist and hopefully he can get it repaired. 2) The rear upper arm that the car failed on has been replaced with one from Supratronix. It was a bit tricky getting this out as neither of us had removed one before. It turns out that both bushes are completely shot, along with the ball joint. Good job this was caught in the MOT. New arm is installed with all new bolts, absolutely spot on. Very impressed with the quality of these. 3) now that the suspension is stable we found the wheel bearing also needs changing. The other side has a small amount of movement, so I’m going to get the car to a local garage to have those changed. 4) We traced the horn wiring loom back to the fuse box and found it is grounding somewhere in the engine bay loom. Since this is all but impossible to separate a single wire from it we rewired directly from the fuse box. The weird thing is the horn is still on all the time. We’re completely confused as to why this is happening so need to spend a bit more time looking into this. 5) Two wheels had buckles so they’ve been straightened by a local alloy wheel shop. The face of the wheel that meets the hub had also been powered coated so that had been wire wheeled off on all the wheels. Next step: refit repaired calliper and rebook MOT. Old and new: The play was bad… IMG_3855.mov New arm in. And yes, new discs and pads will be fitted once all mechanical issues are resolved. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evinX Posted December 3, 2023 Share Posted December 3, 2023 Yesterday was quite a mad one. You will never catch me working on a car in the cold let alone -2, we even got very lightly snowed on BUT were too close to let her sit derelict over winter. We will push on till shes got a good bill of health 1 caliper to sort, 2 rear wheel bearings and its back in for a check 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwilkinson Posted December 3, 2023 Share Posted December 3, 2023 Dedication, nice to see 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 And off she goes again. Better luck this time! I’m busy with work and family things so have sent it off to a trusted local mechanic to do the final bits (He’s an old school Toyota and Lexus specialist who’s worked on local supras for 10+ years). I’ve put in a push button horn for now until I can try a replacement clock spring mechanism (kindly supplied for free from @Scooter , thanks man!) The mechanic is doing the following: 1) new rear wheels bearings 2) rear calliper repair 3) swap over the other rear upper arm (not doing THAT on the driveway again!) 4) MOT it If all goes well I’ve got a track day planned for March 8th at Cadwell Park. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Fingers crossed it all goes well! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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