Supra Missile

Thread in 'Project Cars and Builds Threads' started by dale_b, Dec 13, 2014.

  1. dale_b

    dale_b #DriftFactory

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    Yo dudes..


    It's been about a year and a half since I last did a proper skid, so a plan was hatched to get back behind the wheel..


    Iv had this Supra for a while, waiting for time/money.. It's an NA Manual and pretty beat up.. I bought it from a mate who is notorious for destroying cars, I got it before he had chance to do too much damage..
    Car was pretty stock, had welded diff, stripped out, crashed front wing and bumper, haggered everything..


    I only drove this once before starting work on it, from my workshop to home, I took it back to my workshop on my recovery truck.. It was hideous to drive, all over the place, all the bushes were shagged, welded diff was breaking up, drive shaft CVs were floppy, just horrible..

    The car is a 'Missile Car'.. To me, that means it's a training car.. That means I'm not out to crash it and score scene points, it's supposed to last long, be cheap, be reliable, and not get smashed up for as long as poss.. It is going to be used to practice proximity, this is my main motivation and the thing I need to practice more than anything. My good friend Jamie, has a soarer which is for the same purpose.

    The cars have both been modified to high standards despite being missile cars. All workmanship would surpass scrutineering requirements. Safety and reliability is crucial for ourselves and others on track.


    So first up was a full set of StrongFlex Bushes, front & rear..


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    facebook.com/StrongFlexUK



    Then welded a fresh Diff and fitted it along with fresh shafts. Also added the solid diff mount couplers..


    I fitted a set of Bilstien Shocks Iv had for years, they used to have springs with 2 coils cut off, way to low.. I ordered new springs 3 weeks before, they didn't turn up, I fitted springs with 1 coil cut off.. Didn't want to have to resort to that but didn't have much choice.. The car actually sat and drove ok, was a bit wollowy..


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    I modified some front hubs to give me more steering lock.. This is the first pass, of many..


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    Did some safety stuff.. Bucket Seat & Harness.. Also made Harness Bar with little loops to keep the straps in place.. The bar is in there good, i made some steel plates that bolt into 2 of the oem seatbelt bolt holes, and a 3rd 10mm bolt.. The rollcage grade bar is then welded to the plates, so it is remove able..


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    Fitted OMP Steering Wheel, Wilwood Hydro Handbrake & Bias Valve.. Might also notice I moved the original handbrake to the other side of the tunnel to fit my hydro closer to me.. Looks like it gets in the way, but when it's down you don't even know it's there..
    I fabricated a bracket for the hydro, welded some nuts on the bottom so the handbrake cradle can be bolted on/off easily, then welded it to the tunnel..

    Relocated the battery to the passenger side back seat, welded in some bars and welded up an Alu battery tray..

    The cut off switch and all the wiring has been redone.. The proper way.. The new alternator cable goes to the battery side of the cutoff switch so it actually turns the engine off when tripped.. It then has new wiring to starter motor & fuse box.(wirings my thing..) They all go to a big junction box before 2 main cables go to the cutoff switch, this is to eliminate having bunches of fat ass cables in the dash.


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    I made some tubular manifolds from a pair of GS300 vvti mani's.. Cut the cats off and fabricated the rest.. Can't really see it.. sorrynotsorry


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    Also made a new bit of intake pipe between the TB and the APEXi hard pipe that came with the car.. The oem one with the boxes does nothing for me.. I tig weld and have many bits and bobs so knocked it up..
    Had the Alu radiator in my stores for ages, it's a soarer one I think.. It fits good.. Using original Couling and viscous fan..


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    I had a small amount of spare time, and Iv been itching to use this stuff for ages..
    It's a load of PLX Devices sensor modules and gauges.. Bought it all off a mate a while back, This is the pretty much as good as gauges get..
    Got an AFR, EGT, Temp x2, DataLogging Display Module.. Can add more if required, all runs on CANbus so wiring is minimal, has outputs to use for ecu inputs too if standalone. It's a waste on this car, but it's more of a waste in a box..
    (Ps Iv already started redoing the wiring I chucked in to make it work, will be neat soon..lol)


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    Did a few other bits to the car too, but enough of that..


    The week culminated in the much anticipated drift day at Lydden Hill last Saturday..


    It was a fantastic day all in all.. Started by being late, missing my first session, blagging my way into another groups first session only to suffer the most horrendous misfire..
    Came back to pits, pissed about checking everything is plugged in right, messed with Ign timing(was disturbed before I got car), was much better but still missing.. Went out for my next session, misfire... Came in, took all inlet off and took spark plugs out, all looked ok, nothing else looked wrong.. I gapped the plugs down(by eye(perfectly)) and chucked it back together, BOOM! It worked.. Out I went.. Drift I did..


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    I did have another 'issue'.. Basically had too much grip.. I did the geo the night before, without really considering the weak powers, I set the camber to 0.5degrees on the rear.. I was also running new 245/45/17 Achillies ATRsports.. The tread wear is almost perfectly even across the tires..
    After the second session, the clutch was starting to smell pretty bad, so I had to stop kicking it so much..
    I resorted to the 'go in fast' method, which worked pretty much, it was a bit wollowy and slightly sketchy though.. Guess it keeps you on ya feet and makes you work for it.

    Not that it's 'not got enough power'.. But Iv got a spare 1j head.. And a turbo set up.. Currently still resisting that temptation, but duno how long for..
     
    #1 dale_b, Dec 13, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2014
  2. dale_b

    dale_b #DriftFactory

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    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

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    LifeStylerPro shiny Blitz 03's

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    The 2 dents were the only damaged incurred.. Oh and I lost a side pod.. And my exhaust back box.. Didn't even notice the missing back box till unloading car the next day.. Looks like it had rusted through.. It's probably in the kitty litter..

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    Tire tread wear.. Much grip..

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    Doing 170kph down the hill towards devils elbow..
    Me: In the fucking zone!
    Ellie: Time for a selfie..
     
    #2 dale_b, Dec 13, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2014
  3. bell

    bell Without patience

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    drift missile, done RIGHT!
    LOOKS COOL DUDE !
     
  4. Minimoke

    Minimoke Member

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    Sweeet. Love Supra's. Bought myself a manual 1JZ Soarer recently, but have been tempted to get something less valuable to get more experience. Would hate to bin the Soy Sauce. Turbo it dude....Turbo iiiit.
     
  5. AndyS3

    AndyS3 Member

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    Awesome write-up! still building the Lexus?
     
  6. dale_b

    dale_b #DriftFactory

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    Just skid your soarer man, can buy a new shell for about £4.36 if you crushu it.. It's your running gear that's worth the money:thumbs:
    They are the best car to learn in, they take a good wack too.. I'm making some more super lock hubs this week if I can interest you;)


    Yeah man, still got the Altezza.. I have an image in my head of what I want the car to be.. It's £50k away from that right now..
     
  7. Retro - Slide

    Retro - Slide Member

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    Cool supra man, n/a power! :D
     
  8. Minimoke

    Minimoke Member

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    Ha, I suppose you're right. It's a W58 so not the super duper R154, but I hope the W58 will hold whatever the stock twins will throw at it. I'm getting single turbo urges though....

    I've read about your super lock hubs yes mate, I wanna get a bit more seat time with how it is at the moment but I think I'll be giving you a shout about those hubs. They look like a mega improvement, is it very noticeable yeah?
     
  9. dale_b

    dale_b #DriftFactory

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    Cheers dudes:thumbs:


    The w58 will just about hold stock power, don't kick the crap out the clutch, try not to miss shift, and try not to smash it between gears, take it slow as you can(I know some times you need to just grab a gear, just be gentle..)
    Upgrade your transmission before turbo.. If your box is still in one piece it's worth a lot more than a broken box.

    And yeah, the hubs do make a load of difference.. The stock lock is really crap.. I didn't remove much from the hubs on this car compared to what I have chopped out them before.. I regret not chopping more out of these ones, will probably remake them at some point.. I was unsure what wheels I was going to use so didn't want the inside of the wheel hitting the lower arm, but with the Blitz wheels I have plenty more space to have more lock. I still have the ARB in place too, with the mental amount removed from the hubs the inside of the wheel can hit the ARB link..
     
  10. Minimoke

    Minimoke Member

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    Thanks for the tips man. It's confusing as I've seen a few Soarer's here with W58's running single turbos and knocking out 450hp, and they say the boxes have been fine. Mine is a very low mileage late box which apparently is stronger....I'm running about 13psi at the moment with supporting mods but I've got a 6 puck clutch too, which isn't too kind on the box is it....I don't plan on clutch kicking, hopefully handbrake/hydro when I fit one will be enough. And shifting kindly yeah.

    Sweet dude, I'll definitely hit you up on them in the new year. How much for a pair? Also, I'm running 10J's front and back....Not sure on the offset. Am I going to rub shit with them?

    Ta.
     
  11. dale_b

    dale_b #DriftFactory

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    Yeah I know what you're saying, but I see it as a waste to destroy a box that's worth decent money.
    I did an R154 conversion for a customer a little while ago who put a 2jzgte into his NA manual supra, he got it all done and running, he broke the box wheel spinning out his driveway on its maiden voyage.. Was completely stock power..
    So his w58 setup that would have been worth £750+ was suddenly not worth a carrot.. Then had to folk out for an R154 setup, he could have paid for half the 154 setup by selling a working w58 setup..

    Hubs are £275 delivered, with £50 refunded upon receiving your old hubs back if you want to exchange.
    10j's on the front will probably scuff, depending on your offset.. You can bump the wheels out with spacers to avoid scuffing to a certain extent, but you then might catch the arch. I'd recommend a mild lock increase, if you've still got room for more then you can add track rod spacers.
     
  12. VVTiSupra

    VVTiSupra Member

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    Wow that's quite the missile car. I still think it's more then a missile car though haha. I've tried those Achilles ATR sports. I ran the exact size 245/45/17 for a season. They are pretty impressive! Grip right up until they explode.
     
  13. Minimoke

    Minimoke Member

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    These are wise words, Sir. A knackered box is worth sweet FA as you say. Am I right in saying an R154 wouldn't bolt onto my current bellhousing? I'd let that go with the W58 and get a different one and an R154? Looks like there's plenty of other bits I'd need to source too....

    Ah okay mate. The coilies are pretty stiff and I won't be running it mega low as I want to be able to drive it around on the road, so hitting the arches won't be a problem hopefully. I'll give you a shout in the new year mate, ta for the info.
     
    #13 Minimoke, Dec 16, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2014
  14. BenRice

    BenRice Well-Known Member

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    Very cool, showing the big ladies can still get a wriggle on sans-turbo. All they need is a bit of momentum and commitment.

    Keep it NA as long as possible: less mechanical problems, less tyre wear, and will push you to improve. Hopping into something with more power will seem like a doddle then!

    Would be interesting to see what kind of weight you can pull out of her. Surely some of that glass is pretty heavy, and I think i stumbled on someone doing fibreglass bootlids a while ago.
     
  15. dale_b

    dale_b #DriftFactory

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    Yeah man, I was mainly relying on those 2 exact things.. Much momentum and even more commitment.. If there was a prize for fastest entry of the day, I'd have won..lol

    And yeah, I know what you mean about reliability.. But my company specialises with Jz's, I'm quietly confident I can do a 1.5j build at minimal cost and be more reliable than it currently is.. Just need a standalone ecu and I'll be away..
    If i do a 1j head swap, I could use an OEM ecu, I can make real pretty engine looms from scratch, so I could delete a lot of crap and just run the basics.. But the main issue with stock ecu is that you need to retain the original ignition system, which is where most reliability issues stem from..
    If I was to go to a standalone ecu I could ditch even more crap and run new smart coils and not have any ignition problems..

    I don't really mind the weight.. Iv skidded much heavier too.. It probably wouldn't hurt to loose some of the weight though.. Like you say, a fibreglass bootlid and plastic rear screen would save a ton..
     
  16. dale_b

    dale_b #DriftFactory

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    Yeah man, you basically need to swap every component.. List something like this..
    R154 Gearbox
    R154 to JZ Bellend
    Clutch & Flywheel
    Clutch Folk & Pivot
    Slave Cyl
    Front Prop (then made to correct length)
    Remote Shifter (to suit extra length required for soarer)

    The price of these has gone through the roof.. Iv been doing quite a few ABCclutch conversions recently.. This kit converts to use BMW Getrag's which are much stronger, cheaper and more available.. The kit is fairly pricey, but you get what you pay for:thumbs:


    Obviously I'd be having to do this type of thing to this Supra if I was to turbo it.. Hell the w58 has majorly deteriorated just from that one drift day at Lydden.. It don't go from third to second like it did before...lol
     
    #16 dale_b, Dec 16, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2014
  17. BenRice

    BenRice Well-Known Member

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    I guess the thing is with removing weight from one place is making sure it's done equally so you don't have to relearn it as much. How heavy are the bonnet's on these, they look like a pretty hefty slab.

    And understand the temptation for going 1.5J, but careful it doesnt become another project car. It's always tempting but she's a good training car as she sits.
     
  18. Minimoke

    Minimoke Member

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    Pfft....Sounds like a bit of a mission! Maybe I should just have a bit of fun with the W58 and stock twins and if I fancy more squirt look at a different car with a stronger box anyway. I'm not in love with the Soararse, as in I'd far prefer a Supra or summit. But that's top dollar right there for a manual one. I'll do a few drift days in it and have a laugh, is all I bought it for really. Thanks for the tips dude, is appreciated.
     
  19. dale_b

    dale_b #DriftFactory

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    Bonnet is Alu, it's not light, but pales in significants to the hefty iron block beneath it.. The boot lid and rear screen is where I'd remove weight easily if I was to go down the weight loss route.

    And yeah true dat.. Project cars.. I have one of those already I think..



    It's not that much of a mission.. Half the time you come across full conversions, and the other half you just put the parts together as you find them.. Clutch pedal is the biggest challenge, and you've already got one..
     
  20. Minimoke

    Minimoke Member

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    It's definitely something I'll keep in mind mate, thanks for the info. BPU is more than enough power to skid about for a while and learn. I'll keep an eye on this thread, keep up the good work dude.
     

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