leelbuk Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 (edited) Wanted to get this up to celebrate getting my Supra back on the road after a decade in the garage and to recognise the great work of both Jason @ Dyernostics and Paul and his team at Whifbitz making this happen. Was great to see after 10 years off the road everything come together so quickly from when the engine came out at Christmas to the car being mapped this week! How it all started Car started like this in 2006 as a Jspec GZ Auto, bought from club member kghelmet. I was just 23 and couldn't believe I got a Supra, especially when my last car was just a 1.8 litre Rover Coupe! Bodywork I then proceeded to mess with the bodywork like most did and got it kitted out with a trial rear, OEM sideskirts and Do-Luck front - some of which I'm now trying to undo but it was in trend at the time! Upgrading a few bits Then some new suspension, wheels, facelift rears, FMIC Ditch the auto - Manual Conversion. And why not get a single while at it! I then managed to get what now seems like the deal of the century when AFR were offering manual conversions to take my auto GZ and fit a V160 and big diff. Cannot believe how much more it would cost to convert today! I also saw another Supra getting a larger turbo setup and caught a great deal on this Amuse GT30 single setup, making modest/BPU power but with some of those great single turbo noises. Had to then change the Blitz Nur Spec to a Whifbitz twin box exhaust due to the extra noise! Bigger single - it never stops! Then I started to get the bug for more power, open wastegate etc so started looking for a single kit. I took the car off the road and over the course of several months started fitting a bigger PT6262 dbb single setup on my driveway. New Whifbitz 264 cams and valve stem seals first Fuel pump Manifold, Turbo, Wastegate Then found issues with my side feed injectors so went top feed and ID725s And then change of plans with the turbo - new BEP S362 Billet Batmowheel Battling through the weather and not having a garage! But finally completed it, paired with an AEM v1 and off to Ryan at 2barTuning to see what it could do. It was a nail biting experience waiting to see if you've put everything together right and get through mapping but everything went great, Ryan commented on how well it was running and it made a healthy 624HP @ 1.5bar on the stock engine, with just the injectors holding it back from getting a little more! Result! Too good to be true Much fun was had in driving the car for the following year, until it came to a non-dramatic but frustrating end a year later when I broke down in Cheddar Gorge. Opened the bonnet to find a very unhappy engine with the exhaust cam seized in the head Turned out to be just the No1 bearing in the end - rest of the head was fine but this wasn't going to be an easy fix. A decade without a Supra So this was the state of the car 10 years' ago. I bought my first house, with a garage and my Supra just lay in the garage ever since as the house took priority. Fast forward to 2020 Middle of COVID, house renovation completed - what better to do but start trying to get the old girl back on the road! Quick bit of cleaning and inspection underneath Corroded brake and fuel lines, so changed them New discs, pads all round and freshen up the calipers Off to Dyernostics for an Engine Rebuild But there wasn't much I could do myself so it was about time I called in some expert help from a friend of a friend to get my engine rebuilt. Enter Jason @ Dyernostics who kindly took on the job, so it was on the back of a trailer and down to Cornwall for the work. Not hardly a day goes by before I get an update - engine already out and block off to be honed Unfortunately however, looked like something hard had gotten into cylinder 6 at some point, with damage to piston and scoring in the bore. OK, so now it's a forged bottom end No good putting back together with the damage so back to the machine shop the block goes to bore out to 87mm ready for some Manley forged oversized pistons, promptly fitted! ARP head stud kit Race spec head from ShaunPreece fully rebuilt with supertech valves, guides, GSC beehive springs and retainers, shimless buckets and 264 cams Pretty much ready to go in Just missed out on getting back into the engine bay before Christmas but a week later and all done! She's Alive!! She lives again!! What a great sight to see the engine in and running! Now for the long drive back from Cornwall - just what I need to get used to a Supra again! All broken in and off to Whifbitz! Several weeks of running in to do and not many gaps in the weather to do it but fast forward about 2.5 months and I get a decent amount on the new engine for it to be ready to go to Whifbitz for: Syvecs S7i and sensors FIC 1000cc injectors Fuel pump Whifbitz R35 coil pack conversion Replacement OEM rear upper arms Some mapping! Again, just a few weeks wait for Paul and his team to work their magic, with all these bits being bitted and both a leak down and compression test giving the new engine a clean bill of health! Result!! Then came the mapping with some very pleasing results: https://fb.watch/54jCtbbcEm/ I did have an issue with my nearly 30 year old coil packs causing a misfire at 1.2 bar of boost, hence the R35 coil packs being fitted. I ended up with ~670HP at the flywheel or 584HP at the wheels and plenty of torque too. The car is damn quick, at least for me after I've spent the last 10 years driving a 140HP diesel or riding a motorbike! Big grin and some giggles on the drive home! Getting back behind the wheel of a big single Supra again has made me realise how much I missed it - I should have done this a long time ago! Thanks!! Again I need to thank both Dyernostics and Whifbitz for taking great care of my car and getting it back on the road. I've been really pleased with how they have treated the car and me and the quality of the work that has been done. You've made my year so far! Next up is some tidying up of the bodywork, perhaps get rid of my solid flywheel and just maintain and enjoy it for a bit! Edited April 24, 2021 by leelbuk Tidying up formatting (see edit history) 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC93 Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Wow, did good to keep hold of it in the garage for a decade! Most people would have given up I reckon.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwilkinson Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Great work and good to see your car back in the road and in fine fettle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter P Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Hello mate, That’s quite a feat packing in 10yrs of ownership into a single post! Glad you kept it and it’s back up and running sweetly, well done to all involved. Making nice power and looking good mate. Keep us posted on the progress with your bodywork and any other mods or changes, love a build. Congrats again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leelbuk Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 Cheers all - after a point I think I just forgot about the supra as it sat many of those years disguised under a cover whilst work on our house continued around it. If it had been sat in the way of anything else instead of tucked away in the garage I think I would have either fixed it sooner or broken it but then I also saw the value shooting up so couldn't let it go! Plus I passed my A1 and got into motorbikes half way through which filled any need for speed for some time, but definitely not the same as a fast car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 That's super cool mate! Great news. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamilton Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Great read and well done on getting the car back to running. It’s so much nicer to see one resurrected than broken for parts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evinX Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Ive seen pictures of this car before, wasnt knight racer who did the kit? Nice to see it still around and not eneded up as spare parts for other owners 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabella Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Cool story, enjoy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leelbuk Posted April 26, 2021 Author Share Posted April 26, 2021 19 hours ago, evinX said: Ive seen pictures of this car before, wasnt knight racer who did the kit? Nice to see it still around and not eneded up as spare parts for other owners Yeah, it was a knight racer supplied and fitted job. Trial rear is fine, do-luck front isn't greatest fitment and the blending had discoloured - looks like too much hardener in the filler according to my trusted bodyshop. Got a stock front gooing on, remove the blends and then respray original colour coming up. Even thinking of going stock rear, but torn as I still like the trial one. Will get some more pics up as the jobs get done! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krimi Posted April 27, 2021 Share Posted April 27, 2021 Oh!! Its incredible to see projects after that kind of time, some people lose their paths into their projects. Congrats, great to see other attention to detail and restoration in our cars, enjoy her!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leelbuk Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 Few changes to update on, most significantly the tidying up of bodywork. Might not be everyone's cup of tea but went for a full colour change wrap to 3M Satin Perfect Blue, including door shuts etc. Leaves me with possibly of removing and respray in original colour if needed. Went back to stock front bumper, re-seamed rear bumper and some facelift headlights, with new lenses. Some black accents to break up the blue. First time the car has near perfect bodywork. So much cleaner and should have got it sorted ages ago! The satin finish is unique and colour pops in the sun. Certainly stands out a little more than 199 silver! Enough talk. Some pics! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tepster Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Looks amazing!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter P Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Looks great, nice choice and looks like it’s been wrapped really nicely as well. Any more plans for the car this year or just a case of using it and enjoying every second after your decade of not having it to make you smile. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leelbuk Posted March 1, 2023 Author Share Posted March 1, 2023 Thanks for the kind comments! Definitely plan to use more. Hope to get to a few shows this year, have a hill climb event in April and usually join the meets/drives organised by Queens Square Car Club here in Bristol. Otherwise I'm thinking of changing wheels and tyres for more grip - it's really holding car back anywhere under 60mph as struggles to keep traction. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugello Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 Wow - What a beauty! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraAyf Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 That's really impressive Lee and hats off to you for taking it to the track. You've got more guts than me mate.... .......I bet it was the best looking car on the track by a long way. All the best, Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leelbuk Posted June 18, 2023 Author Share Posted June 18, 2023 2 hours ago, SupraAyf said: That's really impressive Lee and hats off to you for taking it to the track. You've got more guts than me mate.... .......I bet it was the best looking car on the track by a long way. All the best, Andrew Cheers Andrew for the comments. That was just a parade lap at combe thankfully. All very orderly and safe! I did take it on Prescott Hill Climb a couple of times now though - a little more hairy, especially on the the narrow bits but still great fun and lovely to hear it being opened up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveR Posted July 4, 2023 Share Posted July 4, 2023 That looks great 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leelbuk Posted July 4, 2023 Author Share Posted July 4, 2023 Thanks for the kind comments. It's going to be back parading on track this weekend at Castle Combe (single file, 50mph, no overtaking!) for JDM Combe. Hopefully see some of you there! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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