The Penguin Supra

Current status:

7/26/09

Wow, it's been a long time. The Supra is back again and gets me to work every day without complaint and looks a lot better now due to some clay bar magic and new parts! I've added an Aeromotive adjustable fuel pressure regulator in preparation for a larger turbo and am trying to get ahold of an HKS VPC or other map-based air metering system. So yeah, I'm pretty happy with it and finally get to have some fun in it instead of working on it 24/7! Now I work on the project 944 but that's another story...

The Supra has been making it out to a lot of events lately too!

At the Toyota/Lexus meet in Columbia, SC:

HIN-related pre-show thing at UTI in Mooresville:

10/26/08

Long story short... new engine build time!!!!!! Good thing I still have my old N/A for parts.

10/10/08

Rodknock =( The cause is still unknown, but the oil was low when I checked the stick... the last time I checked it was before the trip up to VIR the 4th, so I've probably got a leak somewhere or I'm burning tons of oil.

I pulled the subframe and pan and the #1 rod bearing was pretty beat up, but not spun yet. I'm going to try putting a new bearing in place of it. Hopefully it'll fix it, if not, the engine will need a rebuild and I don't have the time or money for that right now...

10/6/08

Just got back from GT Live 2008! It was a great event, and only cost $20 and gas money. My new goal is to compete in the redline time attack street class next year =) I don't think I'll be very competitive but it'll be fun to try it out.

09/19/08

Took the Supra for its first dyno! Made a max of 270 rwhp/280 rwtq at 10 psi. All 3 runs were pretty close to each other and A/Fs were surprisingly ok. I didn't expect it to be this high but I'm not complaining =) The first two were done right after I arrived from a 20 minute trip on the highway without cooldown time so they were a few hp lower than the third run, when the dyno operator let the car cool for a bit.

(possibly) HP-affecting mods at this point:

HKS 1.2mm MHG/ARP head studs

Walbro 255lph fuel pump

MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor spark plug wires

3" Divorced downpipe

3" High-flow catalytic convertor

3" RS-R GTII exhaust

K&N FIPK intake

Spearco replica intercooler/2.5' hardpipes

HKS EVCII electronic boost controller @ 10psi

No A/C belt, new oil/coolant/trans fluid

A few people have looked at my cardomain after seeing the car in person and wondered why it looks completely different. I put the drivetrain in a new shell =) This is what it looks like right now.

Old shell:

02/10/08
It is now running perfectly =) Boosts up to 7-8 psi by itself with no boost controller and everything seems great. Put the entire front end back on Friday, but the hood doesn't clear the IC piping over the passenger strut tower bar so I'm going to add a 300ZX hood scoop/vent over a hole cut there. Waiting on a catalytic converter before registering and driving it on the road! And then time for the cosmetics... it really needs some body work an paint =)

01/05/08
New fuel line! Also fixed a bit of a leak in the power steering and drove the car around for a bit. Everything is great and I hit boost for the first time today! A small coolant was fixed with a new clamp =) Time to get the other half of the interior in and all the body panels back on, and paint the car when it gets warm enough =)

12/29/07
Ahh the fuel line is leaking! Must wait for a new one now... half the new interior is in though!

12/21/07
It has now moved back into the garage under its own power! I ended up having to bend a 5 ft. long brake line into a new clutch line directly from the master cylinder to the slave cylinder because while installing the new soft line the two hard lines broke =(

The Story

I have always wanted a Supra. Even before I took an interest in cars I always noticed when a MKIV passed by on the street and when I learned of their huge horsepower potential, I decided I wanted one.

However, they are pretty expensive and definetely were out of my price range. I had worked for a while and had about $3000 to put towards my first car. I started looking at more realistic options like 3000GT SLs and non turbo 300ZXs but even though I was just 16 and looking for my first car I knew I would never be satisfied with a sluggish car that could not really be upgraded at all in terms of power.

Then I happened by chance to see an ad for a MKIII Supra with a N/A engine and a blown head gasket for $600. Being absolutely insane, I decided I would buy that and swap a 7M-GTE into it for a few more thousand and have a car with at least some potential.

So on March 24, 2007 I drove up with my Dad to Atlanta, Georgia and purchased this beat up (possibly flood damaged and defintely stolen at least once) red/burgundy/white/dark green Supra with head gasket problems developing, a broken fuel gauge, partly dismantled interior, and many missing/damaged parts for $400. The important part was that the frame was 100% straight and rust free and there was nothing unrepairable on the car. I am now in the process of putting a 7M-GTE engine into the car and restoring it to its former glory.

Right after it entered my then-empty and clean garage.

The ugly side

The uglier side

The supposedly BHG'd engine that made the 3.5 hour drive at 80 mph with no problems whatsoever and was driven around for 2 months afterward until it finally spilled coolant all over a parking lot. To this day I don't know if it really had a BHG or if the radiator's gaping hole caused all the symptoms.

Page 1: Main Page
Page 2: Modifications
Page 3: Engine v1.0
Page 4: Interior v1.0