Toyota Celica Supra Forum banner

The Second Life of an 85 Supra

6K views 48 replies 9 participants last post by  SupraScooby 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, so I decided to make a huge thread detailing the semi-resto of my beloved '85 P-type! Okay first I wanna share the history of the car since I'm lucky enough to know it! You can totally skip it since it's going to be very long :x..

I'm the 5th owner of it now, which isn't too bad I feel, the first owner(s) was an old couple but I think it was primarily the wife's! I don't know too much about this part of its life, just who bought it. The second owner was a friend of my cousin. He owned it and worked on it for some time then decided to sell it in the late 90s, and that's when my cousin bought it. My cousin had it and drove it around as a daily I believe, he had a friend of his custom make the hatch wing (check out the pictures!) and he put some, imo tacky, rims on it. He owned it until the early 2000s when he gave it to my other cousin, his brother, and he used it as his daily for a short amount of time. Now I'm not sure which cousin put the body kit on the car but I believe they both knew the same guy, anyways. My cousin unfortunately never actually registered the car so he ended up not driving it anymore since he couldn't afford to pay it it then sat for ~13 years in the California desert. And now I was lucky enough to have him give it to me! TL;DR: old lady owned it, then friend of a cousin, then said cousin, then cousin's brother (other cousin), then me


Here's a picture of it sitting in the desert at the cousin's house

My goal now is to get it to be a good reliable daily, and have it road worthy in time for SIV! Work on it has been a bit slow I will admit, but it was due to my broken wrist and still being in a cast.. but now I'm getting a lot of my strength and mobility back so it's been picking up.
Initially I checked everything on the car and that basically everything needs to be changed haha -v-;; the engine had NO oil, and I mean NO oil. I went to change it and when I pulled the drain plug only like 2-3 drops came out 0.0 which is really weird because like where'd it go??? Maybe the plug is leaky?? It actually had coolant tho, or at least in the overflow, it was hard to tell the color but I think it's safe to say it was a nasty color. The hoses were ROCK HARD, ALL of them, even the little vacuum hoses; but I totally expected this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the engine was covered in rat turds by the spark plug wires, YUCK!!! then I found where their nest was, DOUBLE YUCK!!! and found that the little bastards chewed thru the wiring harness!!! >.<


Here's a picture of it with the new more stylish wheel the day I brought it home

The brakes are BAD. They should've bee changed LONG ago! There was a lot of pad life left, but they were all wearing unevenly, and the rotors were WAY under specs; the discard on the fronts are .787" and they measured .717" and .740" x.x NOT GOOD!! the tears weren't any better, uneven wear and a discard of .709" but the rotors were at .688" and .690" x.x also NOT GOOD!! The good thing tho is that there's still pressure in the system! I was expecting the seals in the master to give out! But regardless I'm going to have to restore the brake system, I've already got pads and rotors, I'm going to find the caliper rebuild kits and rebuild the caliper, and then take apart the master and clean all the crap out of it(the fluid looked really BAD too) probably should do the same to the clutch cylinders too, haven't done that before yet should be fun!

The suspension doesn't really give you canfidence, the struts and shocks are totally shot all around as expected, and to add to it the front springs are cut x.x I personally don't feel completely safe running cut springs so i need to change those out asap. I was thinking of going the coilover route since it'll be killing two birds with one stone and I'll be able to keep it at the stance it's at now (which I'm crazy about!!)but I may have to wait a second since I don't know how to weld and don't know anyone since I want the BC coilovers. Those darn rats also chewed thru one of the rack and pinion boots too >.< all the bushings are hard and cracked, gotta replace all those too. That's all the damage I can recalled atm


The rack and pinion boot that the rats went to town on >.< bastards...

So before spring break I was able to finish fixing the wiring harness and added some oil to the engine. I went in to test and see if it would work, and success!!! It turned over!! Awesome I totally didn't botch the wiring!! Lol. Before I start it I'm going to put in a new intake since the old one was full of vacuum leaks and the pod filter that was put on it was old and decrepit and packed full of dirt and yuck. Currently I'm waiting to go back to school (that's where it's parked now) and get it started and running. I would like to put some dye in the oil, then take it home and take it to get smogged so I can finally get my tags and be fully legal for the first time in like 13-14 years hahaha then I wanna take it back to school and find where the leaks are, do a compression and oil pressure test and go from there. I'm hoping that I don't have to rebuild the bottom end and will just have to reseal the engine


The wiring harness after I finished soldering it, it looks very ugly rn but I plan on buying some conduit and making it look acceptable again

Another picture too because I'm obsessed c:
I'll be updating as I fix stuff and find stuff wrong and all that good shit
 
See less See more
5
#3 ·
The body is straight! It's never been in an accident. It does have a dent on the driver side fender from when the anti theft system locked my cousin in for 45 minutes and he was so mad when he got out he kicked it thinking he'd be able to pop it out from inside the engine bay but there was another layer of metal so yeah other than that it's clean!
 
#6 ·
Thanks everyone! You'll totally see me Travis because I'm going, gotta stay motivated and get this done! There's always next year for your car to make it!
Thanks 86, I got very lucky to say the least haha I'm going to make it even better than before! C:
 
#8 ·
Made a little more progress today, got the new vacuum-leak-free intake piping and vacuum hoses and clean filter put on. Added about 4 gallons of gas and tried to start it up; it turns over very well, you can hear that it has compression and sounds healthy but it didn't wanna start :'c it has spark, I did the thing with the plug wire and spark jumped, so it's gotta be fuel. I'm going to buy a new fuel filter and change that because I'm sure it's very bad and I'm going to see if fuel is even getting to the filter, and possibly even try a fuel pressure test. Unfortunately I have to wait until Wednesday to do it, boo

Here's how it looks now with the brand new hole-free intake. Very nice piece, thanks Raptor Racing!
 
#9 ·
You can replace the cracked rubber "bellows" joints between the sections of the stock air piping with silicone hose couplers.

You'll need to put the stock parts back on, as that new air intake (I have one, too) will instantly fail the California visual part of the smog inspection.

The only reason I mention this is that you have "SoCal" in your sig, so I'm guessing you live here in the South Bay area.

- Jim
 
#10 ·
Damn really? I've heard of the car is 1996 or older you can modify the intake however you want?? Well it doesn't matter to me tho, I was going to have my smog guy help me out with it since I don't think it'll pass anyways :x haha thanks for the concern tho Jim!! And I do stay by the South Bay too
 
#11 ·
Only 1975 and older are exempt from smog testing. Technically a cop can refer to ref for these for smog check though. Only 1966 and earlier are truly free from requirements. Other than that it is OEM replacment or you have to have a CARB sticker. Any intake mod is a giant red flag for smog tests its like the first thing they look for.
 
#12 ·
AFAIK, the only cars you can really do mods to are 1975 and earlier, basically any car without a catalytic converter.

The intake system is considered part of the smog equipment, and can't be modified.

If I'm wrong, somebody please correct me!

- Jim
 
#13 ·
I know newer cars they want you to have that CARB bs on everything but I remember the referee at my school was saying 96 and older can mod their intakes, but if im reading the chart right on page two then we should be able to modify our intakes? https://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/APPENDIX G final 12-2009.pdf if so that'd be very useful for some of us. and I've noticed some smog dudes aren't up to date on all of California's crazy laws, one I went to didn't even know about AB550, and I've talked to people that have had to go to a referee because smog guys think their car is illegal when it actually isn't
 
#14 ·
That's an interesting document. It would seem to indicate you could swap out the OEM stuff without worrying about it.

Most of the places I've had to deal with would probably flunk the car, though. Unless you get somebody who knows what the law is, I'm pretty sure they'll take one look at it and fail it, just on appearances.

The place I used to take mine to failed it for a "Tampered PCV hose", even though the hose wasn't part of the PCV system. I question the tech on it, and he exploded at me telling me HE knew what it was, and since I was Joe Blow, I couldn't possibly know anything about smog systems, and who was I to question him.

I wound up going to a different place that knew Japanese cars much better....

You can always give it a try and see what happens. Keep us informed, I'd really like to hear what a smog tech has to say if you show him that document...
 
#15 ·
The air cleaner assembly would be consider pre MAF so in theory you can get by with a cone filter. Pretty much everything from the MAF to the CATs is a smog item in car.
 
#17 ·
A little update too; decided to change the fuel filter because it very most likely needed it anyways. Cracked open the bottom nut and fuel came out, cool! At least I know the line isn't clogged. And it didn't smell TOO bad, although it did smell a little bad.. changed the filter, upon inspection it looked like someone changed it before me! Whoever changed it before only put the right side mounting nut on, it sure did make it easier to remove lol and the filter said "PURALATOR" on it which I'm sure isn't Toyota OEM.

I put the new filter in but left the top nut off to see if gas would come out if I cranked it, which would show me if the pump is doing its job and I've got fuel pressure. Cranked it over a few a times but nothing :/ I checked the EFI fuse and it was good, same with the relay you can feel it clicking sweet!
Next I tried the nifty little fuel pump test circuit that Toyota provides by the air flow meter, and didn't get any pressure or fuel return noise from the rail like the manual said. I then checked for power to the fuel pump and it was getting power when the key was turned over. All signs are pointing to the fuel pump being busted aw man I'm going to buy a new one off raptor racing and install it and see what happens.
In the meantime I'm going to work on the cooling system and flushing all the nasty gross coolant out and changing the rock hard hoses; any tips for changing that god awful suicide hose that you can even hardly see x.x
 
#18 ·
Patience!

Or you can pull the upper part of the intake manifold to get easier access.

I'm going to replace that hose, the fuel filter, and *maybe* the starter when I pull the upper manifold off to install my new fuel injectors.
 
#19 ·
Been lagging on the updates oops, but anyways... On Saturday I pulled the tank and found my problem.. first it smelt yuck! tbh it wasn't too bad, it was bareable and still liquid; but I also did pour in some new gas with it (which I've read you're suppose to do to get rid of it??) but it all ended up getting drained ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I removed the fuel pump and that was G.R.O.S.S. no wonder it stopped working

I already got a new pump, but have to wait to install it since I sent the tank out to get cleaned and resprayed. I dropped it off Monday but it won't be done till Thursday or Friday so it'll be in by Saturday, and hopefully can be running by then! Going to do a tune up on it today, and get around to the cooling system since I didn't have the chance to Monday >.> oops lol
 
#21 ·
Got the fuel tank back from the shop yesterday and finally put it all in! Got the pump and everything installed, the pump now works when you turn the key, and the fuel gauge is reading more accuratly now since I cleaned the sender. It all went in very smoothly, really helps when you have a lift and powertrain jack hahaha anyways, got everything all hooked up and tried to start it. It still doesn't want to start!!! I checked and have spark, on Monday I'm going to doubt check and see if there's fuel pressure at the rail and possibly check the plugs. I'm starting to think that the air meter is faultly, I'll look up the procedure to check it on Monday also. I'm getting so close, just a little more!!
 
#23 ·
Today I finally was able to get it running!! I tried starting it at first and it didn't start, then I tried starting it with carb cleaner and it came on for a second so I knew that fuel was the main issue. After trying to get fuel pressure to show on the gauge I disconnected the main feed line from the pump going to the filter and blew it out with compressed air, and boy did it blow some crap out!!! A bunch of debris and even a LEAF came out of it!! Yuck!!!

I reconnected everything and low and behold it got pressure then started up!! Yeeey!!! It did run very rough, and a wire coming from the fusible link box was smoking, so I'm going to have to figure that one out on Wednesday. It was covered in some kind of tape, not quite sure if it's electrics or not. I'm going to look at the wiring diagrams in the Haynes and chilton books and try and narrow it down in the mean time.
 
#24 ·
Yesterday I was finally able to drive my Supra home! I foxed the wiring it looks like someone TIED a little wire to the wire coming from the fusible link box and it wasn't the correct gauge so it was getting too heated up.

Now my next major concern is fixing the leak on the oil pan, there's a dent on the bottom right next to the plug and I guess it popped a little hole in he actual threads so now it's constantly dripping from the plug. I found an 84 Supra at the local junk yard, someone already undid all the pan bolts but looks like they couldn't snake it out from under; and last time I was there I undid the main bolts on the cross member. I'm going to go today(or tomorrow is schedule doesn't permit today) and try to loosen the mounts and jack the engine up by the harmonic balancer, hopefully the subframe ought to just lower down if I'm not mistaken

And I also wanted to get it smogged today too and finally get all legal so I'm not driving around with 2003 tags, even tho they're totally the same color as 2018 tags haha I know it doesn't have a chance passing but I know a guy that will help me with it
 
#25 ·
Had a fairly productive weekend, took the car to get smogged on Thursday to my smog guy, he was a fan of the car to say the least haha I wanted to do an ignition system tune up but drank some nasty drink on Thursday that got me nauseous thru the whole weekend, but I still managed to make my way to the dump to get an oil pan.
They moved the Supra out of my local junk yard so I had to go to the one in Wilmington on saturday and was able to get a pan off an '84 cressida. It wasn't too hard just very time consuming but I got it. Should've stopped by All Toyota Fest but I was so beat from taking that pan off and still felt kinda nauseous.
Later that night I went with my friend in his 1JZ MKII to go to ACH for a drift session, it's crazy because it started to snow on our way up! I had never been in a car when it's snowed before (lol SoCal native here) we totally weren't prepared but it was a lot of fun!! I got to do donuts in the snow it was good practice. I spent Sunday starting to clean the new pan I got and cleaned some of it off.

I started the process of the install yesterday at school, got my engine jacked up with wood under the engine mounts, got the brackets off and most of the pan bolts off and threw the pan in the parts washer. I just can't figure how to get that stupid flywheel cover off!!!! UUURRRGGGHHH!! I'm so close! Idk if it's being held in by something or another bolt that I missed??? But it looks to just be held in the the same bolts that the brackets were? I'm sure I'll figure it out by tomorrow. I also plan on painting the pan am anodized purple, I wanted to do pink but they didn't have it, and I saw the purple so I figured why not no one can see it anyways lol
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top