gerrb

iTrader: (34)

^^^ Practice in painting makes perfect .. this car will probably be the first car I will paint to start with if it stays with me because of some developments this past two days. I might have another 1 of 120 , that is not running for the past 3 years but has an immaculate body and interior because it had been in a garage , before the end of the year .


It's getting there .. from a junk car right before Thanksgiving when I picked it up



to being ready to get the stock 2JZGE / 5speed drive train in so it is at least a running 1997 SC300 5speed 1 of 120 before Christmas . Everything that was needed to be replaced on the bay had already been replaced. All it needs is really a good welding guy to finish up what I spot welded . I also really want to paint the Engine bay .. the only thing weather is already cold and tough to paint when the weather is in the 40s .

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

This will be a good Christmas for me , another 1 of 120 is finding its way to my place ... picking up another 1 of 120 1997 SC300 5 speed before Christmas . Though it has a bad engine , it is guaranteed to have a good transmission with almost brand new Clutchmasters Stage 4 FX400 clutch, everything else is in immaculate condition based on owner's description and looking at the pictures, black on black . It has always been garaged since he had it from day one it came out of the dealership. It had been sitting there for the past 3 years.

I remember when I was buying MKIVs left and right back then, people called me crazy. Never knew their prices will skyrocket as they are now. The SCs will probably never follow suit but for the price some of these 1 of 120 are being sold, you can't go wrong .

Reyke

Gerrb,

I'm doing a job in Mobile, Al currently. I thought it was supposed to be warm down here in the south. Glad to see you save another 97

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Just came from our place in the South Western part of GA near Tallahassee last night... left there at 70degrees around 8pm and once we reached Atlanta at midnight it was 34degrees.

Temp swings within those areas can be significant many times. And what the hell you are doing working hard during the holidays ?

nuturf87

Gerry you have so many projects...lol Great to see the effort you put in all your cars man. Its true as far as it comes to painting your own cars, as it is pretty expensive to get a decent paint job on a car these days. An easy 3k for a new lick. A good pumping compressor and good gun and practice can get you there. Oh and a steady wrist. lol. Damn you brought back memories from that cold dirty south weather. btw i was rolling on i85 by duluth and saw a baltic blue supra turbo. wonder if he is on the forums?

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Yeah , taking some time off by being far away from my toys on this 2 week vacation of mine . Woke up this morning forcing myself to think that I only need to keep 2 or 3 SCs in my stable. I am not willing to let go any of my 4 MKIVs and every one in the family is telling me to let go of a lot of cars and start saving on insurances and registrations this coming year. It goes without saying then that I should only keep those SCs that are making the most power . I also don't feel like keeping 3 1997 sc300 5 speed , so for now I am giving up the second one which I just restored. I will sell the bare shell that will be good for those who have a wrecked pre 1997 5 speed or for those who just want to convert theirs into one of the rare 1 of 120 1997 5 speed . They can transfer everything into the 1997 shell. I will basically sell it for the price of the parts I installed to make it look like it wasn't heading to the grave yard. So it will be a good deal for someone wanting a rare 1997 5 speed. I have decided that I will use some of its 5 speed parts like pedals into one of my 1992s for a manual conversion. My 1992s won't have any mandated government inspections or tests comes January 2017.

On painting , I will do a lot of practice to learn . That is the only way to learn and then save tons .I have seen that baltic blue supra but not sure who owns it.

Hope you had a good Christmas with the family buddy !

Reyke

Ah Gerry, you can't listen to those people, guys like you have a unique sickness, plus you actually put cars together. It's therapy, people go their whole lives looking for something that is enjoyable to do and brings them happiness. I at least hope you enjoy these builds. I really wish I would have pulled the trigger on that supra shell you had last year.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Yeah buddy you should have gotten it... almost 18 months ago. Thinking about it now at $13k and already converted 6speed ,new paint and interior is a darn good deal considering the NAs now are being sold for +$20k . If I knew that damn cars will jump in prices as they are now , probably would have just installed a 6speed drivetrain in that car and kept it. But at that time I already had 4 6speed MKIV that is why I didn't feel like working on another 6speed MKIV.

Well, building these cars makes me busy though I would have to start enjoying them more by driving more what I already have than wrenching on a new build. That is what my folks are trying to tell me . Can't possibly drive 8 2jzgte cars plus my other vehicles even once a week for each vehicle.

LoveSCs

iTrader: (2)

I was wondering how much you ended up selling that MKIV shell for. I seen it on SF. I really wish I had the space for that yellow wide body supra shell that was on SF. I think it's known as Chris Msungi's? I think it sold for like 17-18k. Somebody got the deal of a lifetime on that. Put a 15K drive train and turbo kit in it and they have a 50k+ car

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Sold it for $13k, the price I wanted, to an SF member and so many were low balling me and wanted to pay $10k or less for it. Now they would be paying for a lot more for one if they haven't gotten one yet and if they even can find one .

For a MKIV , a stock body will be more desirable . You will have more people interested than one that has been modified. IMHO , the best wide body for a Supra MKIV will be the TRD Wide Body. The yellow supra you were referring to I believe had a Top Secret wide body . A car with that kind of body , when you sell it , will not have as much interest compared to a stock bodied MKIV so it may sit for a while.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

For those interested in converting their car into an original 1997 SC300 5 speed .. I am letting go of the 3rd SC300 5 speed I have as a bare shell, the one I just restored. I am keeping only 2 of the original 1997 5 speed. I would like to trade it for some parts I need that you might have. I would prefer someone local or nearby state so they can check it out and there are no mis-understanding.

LEXXIUM

iTrader: (1)

Gerrb, man I just want to thank you for taking your time and documenting all this, just being so thurough with your stuff makes me well understand this and I'm not even close to being done reading all of what's related to my scenario it's so awesome and so interesting, as I mentally thankfully prepare for my swap!!!

THANK YOU BERRY MUCH!!!

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

You are welcome. The thread was started (as stated in the front pages) to document some of what I do on my toys and encourage people to work on their cars. Boosting a car isn't rocket science. Just need to have some will power , determination then do a lot of research and talking to people who are willing to help and things can be done . Am glad it is able to help a lot of people as it was intended to be.

With over 728k views to date , I believe many have been going back and forth with the thread to learn a thing or two which am glad it really helps many.

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Red Mamba 2 had served me a lot running errands inside the city for the past 2 years . A 420rwhp / 435t.lbs of torque Daily Driver running around town was a lot of fun with the stock twins. Though as soon as my twins konk out , I will have aftermarket twins on this car that is why before installing it , I tore this engine into pieces and rebuilt it with new internals and hardware with an ATF Built A340 transmission. I always wanted to have an aftermarket twins setup. It has been more than a year I last cleaned the engine bay so decided to give it a quick wipe down today . The beauty with a black themed engine bay , basically no maintenance when it comes to cleaning . You can do it once in a blue moon. This car has been begging me though to give it a good paint job ... maybe soon . My mind isn't set yet to get into the external / cosmetics work that my SCs needed. And I love being able to fool around with newer cars wondering why they can't catch up with an old raggedy looking car especially whenever I am in the Red Mamba 1 or Old Man Tan.

Didn't take me 10 minutes cleaning up the engine bay








The engine bay I hate most when it comes to cleaning up.... . Never again I will go with an engine bay that is partly polished and partly chromed .. it has to be all chromed. It is a pain in the as? to maintain .

gerrb

iTrader: (34)

Two members here PMed me last night asking me how to get over 400rwhp / 400ft.lbs of torque on a stock JDM 2JZGTE ? The stock JDM 2JZgte has 440cc injectors and can't safely boost those ceramic turbos above 17psi , so you will need to keep it on that level. It is really easy .. here you go

Assuming you have a healthy engine if you haven't rebuilt it or refreshed it with newer internals or hardware :

* Let the engine breath ... both ways .. IN & OUT . This is a key ingredient of making power
a) Remove that restrictive air filter by getting at least a 3" hi flow cone filter
b) Remove the restrictive catalytic converter and get a 3" down pipe / mid pipe (removing cats automatically fails you on emission tests)
c) If your exhaust is restrictive .. get free flowing turbo back exhausts

* Get a manual boost controller . Control that boost or you will start damaging stuff especially if you have stock fuel injectors.

* Get a boost gauge so you know how much boost you are making and also what your engine vacuum is .

* Do the wastegate mod using a spring to hold the wastegate in closed position. These are now old turbos so wastegate springs are weak so installing a spring to hold it shut will help you build boost. Got this from Advance Autoparts ...a Dorman / Help Spring Part Number 59003 . One end is hooked to the actuator arm of the wastegate and one end is hooked to the water pump.

* Get a boost cut controlller to be able to run more than 14.7 of boost. The stock ECU will cut fuel if you don't.

* A good sized inter-cooler to cool that charged air . Cooler air that goes into the engine is better. But get the appropriate size for your power goals otherwise you will just be introducing some lag. It will take time for those turbo to fill up a damn big inter-cooler with air and then push it towards the engine.

* Make sure you have a good fuel system (filter / pump / line) that will support the power and better spark plugs with a gap whose spark won't be blown out in higher rpms. Upgrade the stock fuel pump. I installed a Denso for the TT Supra. Got two in there because of my future goals for this car .. aftermarket twins making around 700-800rwhp. You only need one for that 400rwhp goal . Current fuel line and filter will take you there for that power goal though for my goals I have -8an PTFE E85 friendly line for the feed and an in-line -10an filter. For this car I use the NGK 4644 (BKR7IEX) spark plugs and gap them to a point in which I don't get ignition miss while boosting. Right now they are on .030.

* With JDM twins , do not boost above 17psi .. the turbo wheels are ceramic (though some of us have seen steel bladed turbos from jdm 2jzGTEs) so you will be on borrowed times. 15 to 17 psi is where I play with them. For USDM twins 18 to at most 20psi . Since you can push the USDM twins to 18-20psi , consequently you will be able to make more power with them. You need to take note though that as you make more power , make sure the size of your injectors can handle the power . I would usually prefer to have injectors that are within the 80-90% duty cycle of my power goal so I have room . You don't ever want to get lean .

So with a stock 2JZGTE , it is not really hard having a 400rwhp / 400ft.lbs daily driver. You should hit those numbers or even more . Every setup is different so numbers will vary depending on how healthy your engine is, its peripherals are and the stuff you install,. It will be a fun and very responsive car to play with . Though I have prepared this car for bigger power that is why I have an ATF Built A340 Transmission and all new engine internals / hardware on it , the stock TT auto transmission will hold that stated RWHP and FT.LBS of torque. How many cars on the streets have that power even if it is only 400rwhp / 400ft.lbs of torque ? Won't really be much right ? So in a way , you can be the king of the streets for most part even with that power .

This is exactly the reason why I kept the 3 1992 Lexus SCs . No more government mandated tests . They are 25 year old cars so they are exempted now. I can boost and do whatever I want with them without fear of failing emissions or any government mandated test.