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J's V8 Conversion - Pic Heavy


J-Meiser

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I haven't forgotten about my thread, I've just been quite busy of late and anything that I have done has just been small, tinkering bits.

 

David, I did check my TPS and all of the readings were within the specified values by a considerable margin :thumbs:; however, I have misplaced my piece of paper that I wrote the results down on :(, so I'll try and take them again when I next get a moment.

 

I found out what the cause of the "lack of electrical power" issue was - what I identified as the connector for the active spoiler was actually the dashboard grounds - even though it had an identical connector and an identical number of wires/pins :(. Once I put everything back to how I found it, everything on the dash started working as it should :).

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If you found the TPS setting to be okay, now you know that it is. :)

 

Was the $#@!y dashboard the last of the Gremlins?

 

Indeed :).

 

The dodgy dash was the last of gremlins :), I don't really have any others (thankfully), just some small tidy-up and/or improvement jobs that I want to complete, like adding a connector to the alternator wiring and I do need to sort out the air con pipes, as the Supra ones will definitely not fit the Soarer's air con pump :(. I'm in no rush to get the air con sorted though, as the aerotop does negate the need for :D.

 

I'll continue to post any updates/improvements and pictures as I do them :thumbs:

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You made the conversion look as easy as it is, good work. :)

 

A trophy job done video is now required, or it never happened. ;)

 

Thank you very much! From initial planning to this stage has taken me 3 years, but that was mostly down to the arrival of my daughter - I don't mean this nastily or anything like that, but I would have been finished MUCH earlier had it just been my wife and I, however, I wouldn't change a thing and I'm glad and proud of the little character that she is :D. I'm already drawing up ideas/plans for "phase 2", but I'm in no rush to do them.

 

As for another video, I'll see what I can do ;).

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  • 11 months later...

So, Tuesday (12th) marked the one-year anniversary since I took my first drive out in my "completed" conversion and I figured that I would mark the occasion by giving a quick update, relaying my thoughts on what it’s been like to live with since then. My overall opinion - I love it :D!

 

A random pic of my Supra, just because :)

 

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I love the noise and it’s almost intoxicating when going through tunnels or under flyovers with the roof off :D! The throttle response is near instant and torque is ever-ready, so zipping in and out of lanes and getting up to speed around town is never a problem. Although my Supra never felt front-heavy, with this engine in in feels even more balanced, especially in the corners.

 

Not everything is perfect though and (in my opinion) these imperfections are mainly down to the Soarer’s transmission and my use of the NA diff.

 

Using the A341 transmission from the Soarer, it doesn't come with a dedicated manual mode, only a Normal/Power mode (which holds the gear for longer), so it makes dyno-ing a lot harder as there's no easy way to lock the transmission in 3rd. The only ways to do it are to use a Suprastick (or similar) or to mess around the with ECU wiring. With my current setup (Soarer transmission, Supra NA diff and a tyre/wheel combination that is within +0.3% of the Soarer's stock tyre/wheel size) my speedometer is approx. 10% out. For me to do 40 MPH, my speedometer has to read 44 MPH; not the end of the world but does take some getting used to. If I was going to stick with the A341, then I would hunt down a V8 Soarer diff and go from there, but as I'm swapping it out, I'm not fussed.

 

Another thing to bear in mind is, with the 1UZ being considerably lighter than the 2JZ, the front of my Supra now sits at least an inch higher at the wheel arches. I do believe that getting hold of some adjustable suspension will resolve the issue – however it is not something that I have thoroughly looked into as yet but it is on my “To-do” list.

 

So what’s next? Well, I've got a number of upgrades lined up for what I'm calling "Phase 2" and I've already made a start by fitted a Suprastick and paddle shifters - they are now working as expected :thumbs:. The Suprastick just needs mapping and fine tuning and then it's all sorted :). The plan is to up the torque and power a bit so I’m now in the final stages of planning how/when to swap the current transmission/propshaft/diff/brakes combo out for the ones I’ve been stockpiling/building for the past year. After that, it’ll be an ECU swap (I’ve narrowed it down to 2 choices), larger injectors... but more on that at a later date, as they'll come under "Phase 3" ;).

 

In summary, I’m REALLY glad that I carried out this conversion and anyone who is considering it, I would say go for it :)! In my opinion, get hold of a Soarer and strip it for everything you need, but as I said, that's just my opinion. If you want a 1UZ with VVTi, then a LS400 is the way to go.

 

Finally, I realised that I never put up another video, so here's one from the RWYB day at Santa Pod that I attended in May:

 

 

As that was my first time running up the strip, I spent each run trying out different settings (OD on/off, Normal/Power mode) so my runs weren't the fastest, but I have something to go on and compare to, once I’ve carried out my “Phase 2” upgrades ;).

WP_20160508_12_35_14_Pro - Copy.jpg

Edited by J-Meiser (see edit history)
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Awesome! Sounds are much more noticable when the roof is off. Awesome feeling the aerotops have :D

 

Definitely! I do try to go without the roof on wherever possible and this week looks like a good week for it :D!

 

Nice supra and conversion.

 

Thank you very much :thumbs:

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Just flicked back and had time to watch your vid coming out of the garage, you've just rekindled my desire to swap to the 1uz, I'd dismissed it a while ago!

Am I right in saying its lighter and will have a better central weight distribution as its a shorter block?

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Nice one Jamaine. :thumbs:

 

Thanks Mike - How's yours coming along?

 

V8 loveliness, :cool:

 

Definitely - Are you still enjoying yours Ed?

 

Just flicked back and had time to watch your vid coming out of the garage, you've just rekindled my desire to swap to the 1uz, I'd dismissed it a while ago!

Am I right in saying its lighter and will have a better central weight distribution as its a shorter block?

 

Yes, that's right. Some say that with the 1UZ, the Supra has a perfect 50:50 weight distribution; I'm not going to confirm or deny it, as I haven't put my Supra on any scales to check it, but I would be surprised if it's not pretty darn close.

 

Worth it for the sound alone, you can't beat the sound of a V8 :thumbs:

 

I agree - but then I am ever so slightly biased :sly:

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It's heading into Lexus for a total cooling system replacement. Keeps overheating during the warmer months, suspect the water pump or thermostat is failing so those and a new rad are being fitted. Then it's onto fitting of the active spoiler, little bit of ECU rewire to hopefully cure some neutral start switch errors errors, maybe even map the gearbox with David on a nice straight road on Silverstones doorstep :D

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I just finished mine :) Car is with exhaust place now, having custom exhaust done, it was quite a journey to put this engine into Supra :D I almost made same mistake as you with accelerator cable, realized that supra one is too short 3 hours before guy came to pick up Soarer shell :D

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