[Abomination]

Hello everyone, I've been readin cs.com and these forums for about a week now and I figured I'd just get all my questions out in the open. For a little background, I just bought an 85 MKII supra about two weeks ago. It has 194k Miles and runs well. The clutch, tires, water pump and rear differential are all very new (10K miles or less on them). Everything about the car is good, the 5 spd feels great, there's absolutely no rust, it was garaged its whole life, the silver paint job is in good condition, the seats are great, little cracks in the dashboard but I'll live. All in all, for $1,000 it's a steal.

- To sum it up, I wanna keep the car a while, but the engine doesn't run all that strong. With 194K miles on the engine, I expected some power loss, but it kinda has a hard time gettin up hills and its top speed seems to be about 80 mph when on flat ground but then it goes much much faster down hills. So this is my first question. I was thinking of rebuilding the engine with new internals and that HKS metal head gasket just in case I wanna turbo it later down the line (basically, do the same engine rebuild that CRF_Rider did on his 5mgte site). Or I was thinking of swapping in a 7mge (non-turbo). I don't really need the turbo and I can't really pay for the extra turbo parts needed. Is it worth it to just get new internals for a 5mge? I'm on a tight budget so I'm not looking for a lightning fast car, just a nicer engine. So I guess my final question is, should I stick with the 5MGE, rebuild it and maybe later add a turbo or should I go with the 7MGE, drop it right in and forget the turbo? I know questions like these have been asked many times before, and I've read all engine swap pages that I can, but they always revolve around the 7mgte. Is the non-turbo 7mge a direct drop in? What parts will I need, for a 7mge conversion?

I have other questions as well, but the above question is the most important one, but I might as well ask the small questions now so here they are:

- Suspension upgrades: I've heard talk of replacing sway bars but I haven't heard anything of the results. How much does it help? I also want to get stiffer springs but I'm not lookin for a totally stiff ride, just lookin for less body roll.

- I have a soft spot for black leather interiors and I would love to find a junkyard with a busted MKII supra that has leather seats in it. Has anyone replaced their clothe seats with leater seats? If so, how much was it? I also really like the driver's seat and would like to replace the passenger's seat with another driver's seat, I'm not sure if this is possible, but I wanna do it.

- I don't have a digital dash but I would like to maybe replace the instrument cluster. I heard someone say something about an IS300 cluster. If that could fit, I would definitely put that in. Does anyone know what clusters have been successfully placed into MKIIs? I know about the AE86 one, any others?

- Another aesthetic thing is the worn shift boot and shift knob. I'm gonna replace them, any economic suggestions or should I just swing by a junkyard and check out what they have? Also, the leather dash, can I get those from junkyards too or are they all cracked?

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this long post. I know that most of it belongs in the restoration page, but I just put it in the general section because it's a little bit of everything. Don't forget, I just got my MKII supra so these upgrades are plans for the near future. They're very reallistic (I think) but be sure to let me know if any are too outlandish. Also, feel free to tell me what you think I should do. I'm totally open to suggestions.

EDIT: I wanted to say that I saw the leather covers for the MKII but I was wondering, if there is any set date for the availability of those or if they are even gonna get made or pictures of em, any info on the subject would be appreciated.

 

[quick]

Moved it over to General Tech from General Chat.

General Chat is pretty off-topic. You should get great answers in this section.

 

[Abomination]

Cool, thanks

Here's a link to my car, in case anyone's interested. I don't have a digital camera so the best picture I have of it so far is on autotrader.com:

85 MKII Supra

 

[CRF_Rider]

About your engine swap question...

I would either stick with the 5M or swap in a 7mgte. I dont think it would cost you too much more to swap in the gte than a 7mge. You would still have to do all the basic stuff no mater what swap you do.

If you have a top speed of 80mph then you definatly need to do something. Do a quick compression check to confirm it is a tired engine and not something that doesnt require a rebuild.

Good luck.

 

[pdupler]

The 7m-ge is not a drop-in. Basically the problem is that all the accessories are switched around opposite sides of the motor and the wiring is quite different. Deemed not worth the trouble by those who've done it (yes it can be done similar to 7m-gte which IS worth it). The better option is to contact Ray Fong (he's on this list - racetek?? I think) or one of the many used engine importers that bring in salvage parts from Japan (they don't have salvage yards on the island like we do here in the US so they send their shit here). Tell-em you want to purchase a 6m-ge motor out of a Japan domestic market Crown Saloon (equivalent of Cressida). Its totally plug-n-play on your 85 but its 3 liters and roughly 30 more hp outta the box. It will be a USED engine and highly recommended you go through it with all new gaskets and seals and inspect the bores before install, but many members have been delighted with this motor.

For interior details, search for posts Interior section, member CJSREDPRA. Chris Eng is our interior guru on replacement leather, dashes, knobs, you name it. Oh, and welcome aboard.

Phil D.

 

[Junkie]

I gree with Mark and Phil,mostly anyway.
Definately get the motor checked out a bit.Your Sluggighness could be from low compression,needs a tune up,plugged fuel filter,weak fuel pump,injectors,timing,etc.
As for swaps,the 6m is definately the easiest upgrade,but the supply is deminishing.Though 7mgte is the "HOT" setup,and takes a lot of work,it's some of the most fun you will ever have while driving :wink: :twisted:

As for the wiring,as Phil said,the 7mge and GTE are the same work.If done right,the sub-harness' "2" are identical,as long as both NA and T motors are the same year.

Example to really clarify.

I start with an 87 NA donor car,finish install,drive for a year or 2.Then I find a wrecked turbos car.Plug and play,as long as engine harness and under hood electrical used-ie.ignitor,afm,etc.

Don C. and myself have done both ,and the NA car was wired right off the Turbo diagram we already had.

 

[Abomination]

Cool, thanks for the info guys. The 6M sounds like a good upgrade plan but I live in the states so availability is nil and the 7mgte swap sounds like it might be too much right now so I'll rebuild my 5m for sure. Unfortunately, I'm in New York right now so it'll be two weeks til I can check my engine's compression level. I just had the feul filter replaced, the feul injectors were just cleaned and I had a tune up done to it as well (distributor cap, spark plugs and wires are new) but it might need a new feul pump or feul injectors, I'm not sure, I'll be sure to let you guys know when I do find out what the problem is.

Thanks for the info and I love these engine swap sites that you guys made, they're really helping me out a lot. I'm only 19 so these sites help me out a lot.

PS: Thanks for readin such a long post. I didn't think anyone would respond, lol

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Oh boy..... :shock:

Suspension questions: See suspension forums.

Interior items:

Black Leather P-Type seats..... GOOD LUCK finding one of these!!! As myself & others have mentioned in the past, Black Leather P-Type Seats are one of the "MKII Holy Grail" items. Black Leather only came on the 83's, 84, they went to Gray Leather. Lots o luck finding one of these in a junkyard. Best option at the moment, is the leather seat GP that Seamus is doing in Vancouver.

Installing a drivers seat in passenger location.... Not a good idea. I believe the mounting bolt locations won't line up, you're going to have problems accessing the seatback release lever & the seat bottom adjustment knob, because they will be squished up against the center console, getting to the knob for the seatback side bolsters is a nuisance, esp if you accidentally elbow the driver.... Then eventually you're going to rip out the squeeze bulb for the seatback lumbar bladder, from getting in & out all of time. That's why the squeeze bulb is inboard, next to the console....

Only option you have here is to acquire a drivers seat from a RHD MKII, but shipping is going to be very $$$$$$$$$$$$$ The seat would come from either Europe or Australia.... And the majority of these seats only came in Cloth...

Why do you want to replace the current analog cluster??? Asthetic's over a full instrumentation cluster???? Ugghh......... Don't think the IS300 cluster has a Voltmeter or Oil Pressure guages... :shock:

Shift Boot & Leather knob.... The ones in the junkyards are pretty worn out, unless you find a low mileage car that has been totaled.... And not raped for parts yet... New knob is $$$$, even if you do call Jeff Watson. New shift boot is not as bad $$$$wise.

Black upper dash pads.... Don't know of any yards that have any at the moment... I usually pull them for other members.... Prices w/ shipping will vary, expect at least $100...

Hope this answers a few questions

 

[Abomination]

Cool, thanks for the reply CJ. I'll keep my eyes open for the parts I'm lookin for. On car-parts.com (a junkyard search engine) they have some random leather seats, mostly they say they're bad condition but for about 100 bux (not including shipping) I can get two black leather seats that are in crap condition.... not sure how much they would be to fix, but I know the option's there and you guys might wanna check out that site, its got everything from seats to 7mgte's if ya need em. Anywho, thanks again for the response, I'll be sure to keep everyone updated when I do get somethin for my car.

 

[TOYMAN321]

If you are looking for parts down in San Diego there's a guy down there with So Cal Supras, names Tomi, he can get almost anything for ya and he's a really nice buy to boot, he's hooked me up with parts, go to www.socalsupras.com and post under the wanted parts section for Tomi, tell him Kurt sent ya

 

[Melly]

If your looking to keep your motor you should do a few things.. First bore out your throttle body and intake manifold to restore some lost horsepower. You may also want to get a new head gasket set for your car. When you install it make sure to re-surface the head.. If you can take it to a machinist to p&p. If i were you i would just start with some basic bolt-on's and do custom 2.5in downpiping for your exhaust.. This should do it temporarily untill you decide to motorswap.
p.s. Explain a bit more about the Altezza gauge cluster?! *very interested!
-Melvin aka "MeLLy"

 

[Abomination]

That's exactly what I'm thinking of doing. Replacing things like belts, hoses, etc. It just got a tune up when I got the car so the spark plugs n wires are all new but I might as well replace em anyways (I wanna get the toyota wires this time). Unfortunately, I have to find the time to do this and I've never completely rebuilt an engine so I don't wanna screw it up by trying to rush it in one weekend or something like that. When my friends and I have time, we're gonna sit down and do everything exactly by the books. I guess this car is gonna be like a project car in a way, but I don't plan to put too much money into it (not yet atleast ), I just wanna get a nice daily driver that I wanna put a turbo onto later. I definitely want to keep putting money into it for a long time, but I gotta get a good job first. I also want to put on that HKS Metal head gasket and ceramic coat the cylinder heads (or should I just buy new ones?) as well as port and polish the block... Everything on the inside of the engine I want to do soon and then add the turbo later...

with that being said, how much is all the internal stuff gonna cost all together (rough estimate)? ceramic coating, mhg, p&p, hoses, bearings, belts (I'm a little nervous about installing the timing belt after reading the preventive maintenance page on SONiC but I'll do it by the books) is there anything else, let me know what else is recommended?

Melly: here's the guage discussion thread: IS300 guage cluster, let's hope it fits