[ra24man]

Time to make it official. I rescued an 85P from a scrap yard a couple weeks ago. It was too complete and rust free for a crusher or part out game. Sun has had its way with it and it has a full tank of 8 year old fuel in it but it drove itself on and off the trailer.

Figure this one will give me a few good years of heartache. I have a lot of love to give...and this one needs every bit of it. Looks pretty cozy in the messy shop doesn’t it?

I still sling what little is left for our cars...if anyone needs anything. Feel free to email me at work.

MarkS


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[SupraFiend]

Welcome back Mark! So happy you're back in the game. Doing a swap again?

 

[ra24man]

Thanks Seamus! I'm as of yet undecided on what shall reside under the hood, except it must fit under a stock hoodline.

I'm open to ideas..300-350 is the goal...anything more than that is a waste in my opinion. I'm keeping a W58 in the tunnel for sure.

After a little sorting I actually have a surprisingly nice running engine under to hood (no clue on oil consumption but I haven't seen anything overly obvious), so I think the first couple years I'll just enjoy the charms of the 5MGE.

 

[RedP85]

How can a car like this ends-up at a crusher???
Very different issues on the West vs the East!
Glad you saved it, and glad you are back into one. Hard to be free of the MK2 love!
👍

 

[pdupler]

How can a car like this ends-up at a crusher???

We're enthusiasts but to most ordinary people, its just an old car and a purely economic decision. Its worn out and needs more "deferred maintenance" than its worth. It'd actually cost a car dealer money to get rid of it so the previous owner probably got a better deal on whatever replaced it by NOT trading it in. But its a pain in the ass to market a used car yourself. Given the no-shows, joyriders, low-ballers, scammers, etc., its not even worth enough cash to bother with trying to sell it on your own. The easiest way to deal with it was to call the number they saw on the side of a tow truck that advertised "cash for clunkers, running or not" and get at least a few dollars for it with no fuss or drama. But then at the salvage yard, its so rare that its not worth the opportunity cost of taking up one space in the yard that could be allocated to more popular cars that would sell thousands of dollars of parts a month. The only people interested are the handful of enthusiasts willing to spend time and money on it purely as a hobby and we're scattered pretty thin all over the globe. I'm just glad Mark spotted it before the guy driving the forklift to the crusher got to it. From an enthusiast perspective, it looks like it deserved to be saved.

 

[Suprabee]

Glad you are back in the game Mark, and that you saved this one. Wishing you many years of happy improvements and restoration. And thank you for being a valuable resource for oem parts over the years.

Rick

 

[ra24man]

This is where I rescued this poor car.

The guy I bought it from tried to find a guy like me before it ended in tragedy. Luckily I saw it and swiped it up. Thanks for the kind words everyone. The MKII fire, just a smoldering ember the last few years, has been reignited. Glad I found it before the shredder did.


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[BillyM]

DUDE! NICE!

Looking forward to all the good work you do with it.

--billyM

 

[ra24man]

Thanks Billy! I've been itching for awhile. Killing the last car was an ego hit that I didn't take lightly. I was embarrassed to say the least, but mostly just disappointed in myself. I spent a few years in denial saying I was done with Supras in general (and watching replacement parts go away) and than three years ago I bought a fixer upper house in the country with a shop. I knew that I'd get back to cars eventually. Well...as the house remodel has wound down and a shop waits to get sorted it got me jonsing for a car again. I've been keeping an eye out for about a year. Didn't want to find a nice car...just a good car. Another fixer upper. I didn't want another blue interior (all three of my previous MkII's had blue)...but alas here I am...hunting down blue interior again lol.

Okay...enough with the life sob story...I'm happy to be back in the fray and also happy to see how many of you are still around. I've always enjoyed conversing with you folk over the years and I look forward to sorting this car out enough that I can drive it to the east coast and meet some of you out there one of these days.

 

[Atl_Racer]

Welcome back!

 

[Deanfun]

Welcome back! Great to see you back in the game.

Hear me out... 1FZ. If you raise the hood it will fit under it.

 

[Funkycheeze]

Welcome back, Mark! A couple years ago I replaced my 7M with a 2JZ and it is a huge improvement. I even did an 8" diff swap based on a GX71 Cresta housing and cover, see the drivetrain section.

Also, Dean I thought you hated the FZ??

 

[ra24man]

Dean...80 series parts cost almost as much as JZs these days (well not even close)!

Ryan...JZs are awesome...but alas I’ve been there done that.

I have a fairly healthy 5M in the car now with plenty to sort out before I start swapping. I’m going to mull it over during the sorting out phase. The pull of my muscle memory when I think JZ is like trying to stay on the light side of the force. They are rather costly these days as well. On the dark side of things...I’ve never owned a V8 car so there’s a pull in that direction as well. Needless to say...although I have a complete car...it’s been sitting for the better end of 17 years. Some of that was in the California sun and it shows. Some of the interior bits are in the worst shape I’ve ever owned. I know I’m going to enjoy putting all that right again. I’ve decided to start with the undercar work and took advantage of some of George’s holiday pricing earlier this week. I’ve been on an undercar blitz at the work computer sourcing parts that are considerably harder to source than they were 10 years ago. I can’t imagine what it’s like for a joeblow to find parts to keep their old Celicas on the road. I saw a Supra on the road about a year ago and it looked so foreign to the everyday drab on the road. Cars have gotten a lot bigger over the years. It looks very much out of time (no delorean references intended) in the modern traffic environment. That sold me. I was going to get one before they all disappear. I never doubted my love for these cars. They are charming and quirky but mostly overbuilt overachievers. Literally the height of old school engineering before the accountants started muffing it all up. I still remember the joy of driving my first one home. I was in heaven and I can honestly say I’ve never had more love for a car than when I was a MkII owner. The last eight years have been a learning process for my internally that a Supra couldn’t provide. I really feel like I let myself and the community down letting that car get away from me. Everyone loved seeing that car show up to meets. 100s of hours of blood sweat and tears gone. I felt like I had set a horrible example for my kids. It destroyed me.

What’s gone is gone. I’ve come to terms with it all. I’m ready for a new chapter but Dean...it doesn’t include a 1FZ...sorry.


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[ra24man]

Welcome back, Mark! A couple years ago I replaced my 7M with a 2JZ and it is a huge improvement. I even did an 8" diff swap based on a GX71 Cresta housing and cover, see the drivetrain section.

Also, Dean I thought you hated the FZ??

Ryan, I shall look into this differential wizardry. It might be overkill considering I’m planning to retain the W58 but if there ever was a weak link in a MkII it was obviously the diff. Thanks for the heads up!


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[Funkycheeze]

Big overkill - I only had issues when I went up to 285 rears and flattened out the camber more. Before that even with 465+ whp on the single turbo swapped 2J the diff was fine. Obviously a truetrac and new gears/bearings/seals plus solid crush sleeve will take you far.

 

[ra24man]

That looks super robust! Are those IFS truck axles?


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[Funkycheeze]

Nah I custom designed adapter plates for the diff and outboard stub shaft to use Porsche 930 joint based custom CV axles. Apparently these ones from driveshaft shop are good for like 1000 HP ha ha. Plus the diff is built around a T2 Torsen from a FRS! It's all in the thread in the drivetrain section.

 

[Atl_Racer]

Hey Mark, Any interest in turbo charging the 5m

 

[Deanfun]

What’s gone is gone. I’ve come to terms with it all. I’m ready for a new chapter but Dean...it doesn’t include a 1FZ...sorry.

I don't blame you... look at my signature: I'm firmly in the V8 camp these days. Looking forward to your updates along the way.

 

[SilverMk2]

I vote jet engine swap and just avoid all the weak drivetrain components