A new lease on life...

[kvanderlaag]

Some of you may recall, not so long ago I posted a thread about purchasing a 1981 Supra that was a little bit...special. For all the hideous body damage it may have had, I still loved it, because it had a giant-ass turbo bolted to the exhaust manifold, and more impressively still, it didn't explode when it hit boost.

You might also recall that a few months later (okay, maybe less, actually) I posted a thread saying 'Hooray, it made 153rwhp and 165 ft-lbs of torque!' but also 'Oh on the way home from the dyno some lady sideswiped it at 80mph and now it doesn't run properly.'

I have since come extremely close to giving it away, crushing it, parting it out, and selling it, as it has been sitting on my street for two months with no registration, and longer than that without running. It runs on three cylinders -- my best guess is that the piston rings are just plain gone. Nonetheless, there was a while where I was super-depressed about my cars and just wanted it gone.

That moment is no longer.

Today, we were at the junkyard to get a water pump for my 87 camry, when what should we spy but a gold, 1981 Supra. After using my thumb to rub off all the caked on oil on the valve covers, it did in fact turn out to have a reasonably well-treated 5M-E in it. A little bit of deliberation, and the natural escalation that exists when multiple Supra owners are in a junkyard together, and we had the 5M-E sitting on a dolly in less time than it took us to get a (rather mint, 110,000 kilometer) water pump out of a Camry. Supras 1, Transversely mounted engines 0.

So here I sit, with a motor that is probably going to donate its longblock form to my turbo kit and my car, but in a pinch could also be scavenged for pistons and rings and all kinds of other goodies. One way or the other, the 5M-TE will live again, most likely on a new (to me) or rebuilt turbo.

This thread will chronicle its rebirth, soon with pictures, no doubt. So, I ask you this:

15.xx anyone?

[kvanderlaag]

For anyone still following, Rob started pulling things apart yesterday after I dropped the car off. Apparently, we were wrong about the cold start injector firing off a pressure switch in the vac lines for fuel management. Instead, it's even more diabolical. There's not one, but two pressure switches, and rather then firing the cold start injector, they trigger resistors that alter the coolant temperature signal to the ECU, tricking the engine into thinking it's running colder than it is, and dumping more fuel in. The second switch does the same thing, triggering at higher boost levels. It is, effectively, the most elegant hackjob I've ever heard of for fuel management. I almost wonder if something similar would work on a low-boost 5M-GTE setup.

Motor pull and swap goes down tomorrow. Pics to come.

[Road Ripper]

Hooray! I hope all goes well with the swap. I love those 2-tone mark 1's, and for it to have a turbo makes it even more special! Let the resurrection begin!

[kvanderlaag]

Well, the motors came apart, and lo and behold, there was a little turd-pile of metal shavings in the oilpan of the engine we were going to put in. So, being the industrious, resourceful people we are, we scavenged the good pistons out of the new block, cleaned things out and prepped the old block, and stuffed them in.

Turns out the loss of compression on #6 was probably due mostly to what looks like a BHG into the coolant passage.

Also, I'm sure it's not helpful that the timing chain tensioner gear is kind of mangled.

On the whole, the engine needed some love, but we have the technology. It CAN be rebuilt!

[4SFED]

it's even more diabolical. There's not one, but two pressure switches, and rather then firing the cold start injector, they trigger resistors that alter the coolant temperature signal to the ECU, tricking the engine into thinking it's running colder than it is, and dumping more fuel in. The second switch does the same thing, triggering at higher boost levels. It is, effectively, the most elegant hackjob I've ever heard of for fuel management. I almost wonder if something similar would work on a low-boost 5M-GTE setup.

Wow! Curious, are they adjustable? I am sure there's a limit to how far the resistors could fool the ecu into compensating for cold temps. There are no extra injectors?

[kdsii]

Great to hear there is hope for the turbo motor!

Post up some pics of the work in progress if you get a chance.

[kvanderlaag]

Today's the day, folks. Engine's together, HG's changed, transmission is on, all she needs is to go back in the car and get all bolted up and plugged in. If she runs, she's up for sale -- if she doesn't, she goes to parts, and let me tell you, there's a lot of good stuff here. I'll try to take some photos of the whole ordeal.

Wish me luck!

[kvanderlaag]

IT LIVES.

And not only that, but it runs better than it did before we started! All six cylinders seem to be getting compression, and at the very least, it's stronger than it was after the accident. Sure, it blew some smoke the second it started, but I'm sure that was just some residual oil burning off, and the "new" rings seating themselves.

There were a lot of things that happened in the 'rebuilding' of this engine that I'm not proud of, but it is up and running, and is now up for sale. $1000 takes this beast home, if anyone's even remotely interested. Comes with a nice new fender to replace the front one that's mangled. She ain't pretty, but this car was a lot of fun. With any luck, there will be plural thousand kilometers of enjoyment left in her!

Pics to come tomorrow when I pick her up.

[Suprafanatic]

How did you make out with this? Anyone interested? I've been thinking about a road trip to Calgary this summer - wonder what a MKI would look like towing another MKI? :o)