rider

I did the second coat of lacquer the next day and they have been sitting under towels since awaiting their rubber boots. With me only doing 250 miles a year it's going to take a while to wear down the tyres presently on the car so I'll just go ahead and do it one day when the urge takes me to do it. The grey silver does look very lush and period correct so if you want the original Toyota look at least we now have the paint code available for anyone wishing to do so.

An a/c clutch is triggered by the pressure sensor, in order to prevent the compressor starting up and then pulling a vacuum. You could still have a 25% charge in the system. The best way to get the system purged is to use a recycling machine. As these cost around £3k they aren't in everyone's tool kit. So, if you unscrew the H cap then you can depress the valve to vent any pressure in the system. Be sure to wear decent gloves as escaping refrigerant will have a cooling effect. Once you have vented the system then you can remove the compressor knowing its safe to do so. When you refit the compressor you will need a vac pump with a port coupling to check the system is sealed and get it ready for re-gassing. That is best left to a professional as they will have the equipment, the refrigerant and also be able to fit a new receiver drier for you. There are a/c threads onsite that give the Denso part number from the drier. If you have planned ahead you would have already ordered one from RA when you ordered the gasket set. You do need to change the drier when the system has been opened.

Bigger brakes would only delay the time taken to reach fluid boiling point, maybe to the next set of lights? I think they were a bit stupid to run along at 50mph in an automatic car idling at 2,500rpm with its stuck cable. Actually, a lot stupid.

When I bought my wheels, for £350 I viewed them as an investment. Being a highly visible part of the traditional OE look I was certain they would add comfortably £2k to the car price for anyone seeking that elusive stock look. I have heard of sets recently going for well ahead of £1k and nudging up to £2k. There is a current ad up for a set in need of a bit of TLC for £1,995. The prices have got to the point where it is no longer an investment to buy a set of 17" OEM wheels. They are now a real cost addon. But, for anyone hankering for an OEM set the eBay item number is 334485112784. I haven't added tyres to my set yet as the ones on the car have too much tread left to waste. Maybe next year?

I had a fairly long talk with Chris Wilson over my possible Trac ECU issue as he used to have access to repairs on these things. He said he wasn't aware of any outfit in the UK that can test a Supra ECU. The best they do is change out failed components or ones that are bulging and look set to fail and send it back. They have no bench test capability to simulate sensor readings and ECU responses. He did suggest that I, and presumably others consider going modern ECU's on the core functions which isn't cheap as it entails wiring in, the cost of the ECU's and then setting up; mapping in situ. It would presumably bring some benefit in faster processing times over our 30 year old ECU's. Toyota still have some ECU's available. There are a few potential pitfalls with this option. First up when were these ECU's assembled by Denso, possibly back in 1992? Secondly, they are expensive - very expensive. Chris also mentioned he worked on a Supra with a main ECU problem and the owner bought 4 of eBay before they finally had one that worked. That likely cost a fortune in scrap ECU's. So, it looks like the best option to future proof is to upgrade to modern ECU's. Then it should be good for another 20 - 30 years. That could cost as much as a V160 gearbox though.

Why didn't you ask SRD where they get the boxes from?

If anyone has a fully working one lying around from when they went Racelogic or just binned the trac control let me know. Looking for either loan unit to check out my ECU or to purchase.

Nothing quite like a constant flow of niggles to make you fall out of love with anything, even a Supra. So kudos for sticking with it. Many wouldn't have had your patience.

I had my rear plate stuck on for years and then finally, after about 18 years, decided I should bolt the plate onto the bracket behind. Just measure centre hole on the M6 threads to centre hole and halve it. Halve the width of the number plate and then you have your plumb line to go your half mount width either side. You then just need to measure the centre of the M6 bolt hole to the top cut on the bumper (the plate only overlaps by a few mm so I did that distance down plus 4mm. you then have your hole locations ready to drill. I'm bad a getting more than one hole to line up but my number plate bolted in fine.

You probably should mention if its a earlier green tint or later blue tint glass you are after. A mix and match might look odd.

They should all talk to Hagerty. The only likely issue for many is they don't like mods. Alternative wheels, a non OEM exhaust and the like are OK if named but they aren't into anything major. Advantages are that they will work with you, I had my building where I work on my cars on a ramp, sometimes for weeks at a time, approved as an 'overnight garage'. When I did my underside refurb the Supra sat on the ramp minus its rear sub frame for weeks and would have not been insured without this agreement. They do approve values from a write up and a few pics and they have always gone with my requested agreed value price. And they don't insist on trackers above £50k like many insurance brokers/underwriters do. I've been with Hagerty for years and never an issue, but then I've never had to claim. That after all is when you really find out how good an insurer is.

There was a time, sadly no longer, when I would input every 12 months a little piece on Supra values which hopefully helped some people to set their insurance valuation level especially for those adopting or renewing agreed value policies. There has been a few mention recently that Supra prices seem to have stalled, I'm not convinced that is actually correct with new price records being set regularly at auctions. Supra prices today are led very much by the public auction and trade advertised cars. Private listings vary wildly, probably reflecting a finger in the air approach to pricing or the I've seen others go for that pricing. Today thought, its fairly consistent that you cannot get a good pick of TT 6speed cars for less than £60k. Sure some will pop up in the £50k region but if you want to go to market talking to an importer with a wish list you need more like £65k+ to smack onto a table these days. Consequently, I have raised my Supra agreed value to £65k which in a total loss situation is enough, I believe, to give me a good shot at finding a replacement that I would be happy with. That reflects the market today, in a few months time it may not. Fortunately, the insurance underwriter doesn't have a tracker requirement under £75k. The broker contact I have is Phil Dunne at Hagerty UK. He gets involved in the more exotic stuff and we have had lengthy talks about the crazy Supra World so he is well up to speed on these cars.

The Jspec cars are unique in Supra World in that their remote entry is the Denso unit sat under the seat that came supplied with two fobs and it is not programmable. So no additional or replacement key fobs can be added. The other regional variants did come with a programmable unit situated above the steering column. I looked at sourcing a spare Denso unit with its two key fobs and blank blades probably 10 years ago now and they were very difficult to track down even then and the price then was well over £200, so I decided not to bother. Moving on a few years, I happened upon this recent Mk4 video where someone fitted a new fob entry module out of Australia. I've put some feelers into the Aussie company mentioned to see what is going on regarding a new module and key setup for RHD Jspec cars and will post up any response(s) that I receive. In the meantime, the video is a worthwhile watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqKoAzPgeCs&ab_channel=SpeedAcademy

I was told by the Toyota UK gents who visited the Birmingham Classic Car Show stand in 2016 in fairly forceful terms that being a TT6 of the 'right' original colour I must lock the car away and only drive it once a year to a MOT station. I feel I've been excessive running my 250 miles a year. I sometimes just get the urge to go for a whistle blowing and dump valve snorting blast.

BMW never make pretty cars, in my opinion whereas i always regarded the Supra as a car with a personality, pleasing to the eye and one that has become an established timeless classic. If you look at the BMW's from the 80's and early 90's they look very much stranded in their era. So, for me BMW's are invariably a fashion statement of their time. The BMW 4 has had 5 recalls, the Mk4 Supra had none so not sure that counts as design and engineering progress. One is a motoring icon, the other likely won't become one. Useable rear seats though, that really is a bonus.

You only use FM additives or FM containing gear oils in plate differentials to aid their slip. You don't need any FM additives in gear LSD's as there are no plates that need to slip. So you don't want or need FM additives in your differential. For the oil a good synthetic 75W/90 LSD oil is what you need. Used by a few of us is Fuchs Syn 5 which is an old Silkoline formula that dates back to Century Oil who were taken over by Fuchs lubricants in the late 1990's. So its been around for a while but then so have these cars.

Anyone with cash in the bank should be moving it into solid investments from property, to cars, to metals to plant equipment. There is no point having cash sitting there gaining 0.15% interest in these inflationary times. So anyone with £50k cash at hand could do a lot worse than buy a Supra.

If you don't mind mentioning how much it cost you that'd help others pitch their agreed value insurance rates as your is a real World mileage car. Real World is pretty rare in Supra land.

In the meantime, it is possible to have old struts regassed and repainted. SGS engineering do a regassing service and companies specialise in blasting and repainting classic car parts, like Amwell in Hertfordshire. So, you could potentially have a reconditioned set sorted. I have an old Toyota Billstein set, the originals from my car that had no issues when I replaced them with a new set just because I wanted to so if anyone wants to look at this route I have a cheap set available.

As a cautionary note for anyone changing a TPS, after reading around the subject matter I did read in a thread on this site someone's comment that changing the TPS is no more than a five minute job. Maybe two screws and a clip undo/redo is a five minute job but I cannot believe setting up the closed and open position accurately is anything like a five minute job. Setting the TPS close position away from optimal can apparently cause anything from rough idle to incorrect running fuel ratio.

Thanks for the input Mike, the error has cleared so I'll leave replacing the TPS until the error reappears and I can then check the code. Reading a bit further on the subject it can be the sub TPS as well. At least I can go ahead and check the open/closed resistance on the TPS and sub TPS are within spec at any time without awaiting a reoccurrence of the flashing light.

Found a testing write up by SJ off the Supraforums site so may as well add it in here for anyone looking for solutions on this site in the future. Any input on the other questions I raised will be gratefully received. TPS Adjustment Procedure and Testing Procedure - Coming soon IAC Test Procedure This is the Throttle Position Sensor Adjustment Procedure. What you will need: 1. Multimeter or Ohm Meter 2. Screw Driver (Philips) 3. .65mm (.026 inch) Feeler Gauge 4. Other size feeler gauges listed below to verify tests. Procedure: 1. Loosen the two screws holding the sensor on just enough so it can be turned. The Adjustment is very precise so just loosen the screw enough to turn the sensor. 2. Insert feeler gauge between the throttle stop screw and the stop lever. 3. Connect one tester probe to terminal IDL and the other to terminal E2. When looking at the TPS as it sits they are the two left connectors. Since we are simply checking for resistance it does not matter which probe end goes to which terminal. 4. Very slowly turn the sensor clockwise until the ohm meter deflects to 0L (no continuity) and then retighten both screws. 5. Recheck continuity between the terminals. a. Insert a .54mm (.021 inch) feeler gauge between stop screw and stop level. You should see continuity. b. Insert a .70mm (.028 inch) feeler gauge between stop screw and stop level. You should see no continuity. Remember you are making tiny adjustments so it is very difficult to set the sensor in the correct place. You will probably need a few attempts to get it correct. Feeler Gauges are simply little pieces of metal that are precise thicknesses. All the ones needed are common in a set and you can get the set at sears are most tool stores. They are also very cheap. EDIT: I was adjusting a TPS today and realized there was an important trick I left out of my procedure. After you have adjusted the TPS and have the correct resistance, you have to be very careful when tightening the screws that hold then sensor to the throttle body. I generally turn one 1/8 of a turn and then the other 1/8 of a turn and repeat going back and forth until the screws are tight. This will keep the TPS from moving and changing the setting ..... if you were just to tighten one and then the next and will throw off your adjustment and you will have to do it again...basically you want to tighten the screws as evenly as possible. Testing Procedure for electrical specifications: This is the procedure to make sure your TPS is fully adjusted and in working condition. What you will need: 1. Ohm meter or multimeter 2. .016 inch and .019 inch feeler gauge Procedure: 1. Make note of which terminal is which for future reference. When looking at the top of the TPS we will can Terminal 1 the very left terminal and Terminal 4 the far right terminal. Terminals 2 and 3 are in-between. 2. With throttle body closed: Connect ohm meter to terminal 1 and 3. Resistance will be between .34k and 6.30k ohms. 3. With .016 inch feeler gauge between stop screw and stop lever, measure resistance between terminal 1 and 2. Resistance should read under .5k ohms. 4. With .019 inch feeler gauge between stop screw and stop lever, measure resistance between terminal 1 and 2. Resistance should read under infinite aka open circuit. 5. With throttle body opened completely, connect terminal 1 and 3...resistance should read 2.4 - 11.2k ohms. 6. With throttle body opened completely, connect terminal 1 and 4...resistance should read 3.1 - 7.2k ohms. Sorry I have no pictures but this should be detailed enough. Please let me know if something is not clear or any suggestions. Have fun doing what I do all day. TPS5.pdf TPS4.pdf TPS3.pdf TPS2.pdf TPS1.pdf

I hate it when eBay sellers list an item as available and you then find out that it actually isn't.

I have a great looking set of used Bilstein dampers, but I know they won't be anywhere near the newness that you are after.

The slip control flashing amber light happened to me today. Having read a few threads it seems it is usually either the TPS or ECU that causes this phenomena. Turning the ignition off and on can often reset it apparently but that didn't work for me. It has stayed off after I disconnected and reconnected the battery. So at least I now know the slip control button is set to on. I've ordered a new sold as genuine Toyota TPS, does anyone have the specs on setting this up properly on install as there is a few degrees of movement that will change the resistance reading generated by the sensor, particularly important for the idle apparently so best get it right. Also its not unheard of to strip the screw heads that secure the TPS onto the throttle body when taking the old one off, does anyone have any best practice tips on how to avoid this occurring and if it does occur, how to work around it. Usually the TPS on cars have three prongs, the Supra has four. So if anyone knows which each does so I can check the feed voltage and output resistance. Also, why are there 4 connectors and not 3 - that'd be useful to know. Other than this mishap, it was a fine Sunny Supra day.