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| MARCUS FROST |
| 1998 TOYOTA SUPRA TURBO |
| 6 SPEED |
| BLACK/BLACK |
| CHICAGO, IL. USA |
 EMAIL MARCUS |
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| 17 photos |
| 4528 words |
| October 16th '03 |
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INTRODUCTION:
It was early spring 2000 and I was looking for a nice 2 door sports coupe. Rumors of the E46 M3 were circling around and being a big German automobile fan at the time, I wanted in. BMW hadn't released specs yet, and pictures were still in the "spy" stage, however I still put my name on the waiting list. I was 12th on the list. As time passed by rumors started becoming facts and the E46 M3 sounded impressive. Being the impatient person I was, while I was on the waiting list I was researching other options. My current car was a turbocharged Audi A4. I had grown to love boost. In summer of 2000 I came across the "MKIV Toyota Supra Turbo". This car was a pretty significant departure from the German cars I had previously been such a fan of, but something about it kept it in the back of my mind.
Innocently enough, I started poking around for Supras. I was kind of hesitant to buy a used car, but there were some pretty clean examples of low mileage 1997 and 1998 Supras out there. I was due to visit Europe for a month later that summer and it would be there that I decided I wanted to buy a MKIV Supra. Something about the RWD turbocharged 6 cylinder configuration, the big brakes, the styling, it all seemed to speak to me more so than other cars I was considering at the time. I was reading about the power the 2JZ block was taking and to be honest I was really impressed. This car delivered everything.
So my search went on. I didn't want a high mileage car. I wanted something with very low mileage, exceptionally clean, stock, and 6-speed. After a couple of pursuits on a '97 black/black 12k mile 6-speed and a '98 17k black/tan 6-speed I was getting frustrated. These cars were hard to find! Out of pure coincidence I found a '97 black/tan automatic with 11k miles in New Mexico. I was days from returning back to the USA from Europe when I first called about the car. It was available at a dealership, the owner of the car was friends with the owner of the dealership, and the dealership was selling it for him. I put a deposit down and upon returning to the USA I began finding out how nice this car was. It was automatic, and in my mind I really wanted a '98 being the last year of the MKIV, but I was frustrated and dying for a Supra. I had ridden in an built Automatic SP63 Sound Performance Supra as well as a T61 6-speed and with the power those cars made I figured I'd have a blast in either an automatic or a 6-speed. Plus, the more I asked about the car the cleaner it sounded. Owned by a wealthy older man, bone stock, and 11k miles. No flaws at all. I bought the car sight unseen and had it trailered to Chicago.
Upon arrival the car was everything I had hoped for. Extremely clean, and a great example of an MKIV. This was as new as Supras got I thought and I was very happy with my purchase. I would slowly begin modifying this car as I wanted to see the performance gain of everything I did. My first mods were the VSV and FFCD ones. I did these for $0 and the car made 371rwhp and 362rwtq on an auto!!! No one had ever made that kind of power with $0 in mods. This car was incredible! I would take it to the track and with these $0 in mods the car would run a 12.8 @ 114mph! I couldn't believe it.
As time went on the car would go full BPU and I would love it. I kept great care of the car and it rewarded me with great performance and killer looks. Everyone was very impressed with how clean this car was and it would turn heads everywhere (including, unfortunately, from local law enforcement). By the end of summer 2001 I was a full fledged Supra enthusiast. I had done my research and read an incredible amount on this car that I had claimed to love. The more I read though, and the more I drove my car, the more I had an itching for something else. I really got this feeling upon seeing Mark Burrell's low mileage TRD Widebody / HKS 2835 Twin Turbo'd black '98 6-speed. In my mind that was the ultimate Supra in the USA. It didn't have the craziest body kit, or lay down the biggest RWHP... but the overall package it offered having everything it had just amazed me. It was what I wanted.
[part2] the time between
I had constantly gotten offers for my car. People would see pictures on the internet, or see the car in person and wanted it. I never considered selling it because I loved it so much and I knew now, after being around quite a few Supras, that ones this clean do not come around very often. During winter of 2001 (after the fast and the furious) these offers began to become pretty significant. The little devil in the back of my mind reminded me of that '98 black 6-speed I always wanted. But those cars hardly ever came up for sale, and if they did none of them had low miles like my '97 had.
Enter Noel Samuel and Peter Blach.
[part3] the '98
I spent a lot of time on to4r.com. Given all the offers I was receiving on my car I started actively looking around for low mileage black '98 6-speeds. There was a member on to4r.com by the name of Noel Samuel. Black '98 6-speed. The car looked great and performed extremely well. It was a perfect example of how I wanted my Supra to be. Evil thoughts began creeping in. Could I buy this car? Should I? Did I want to sell my '97? Did I want to buy a modified car? Did I want to do it myself or did I want to takeover someone else's work and perfect it myself? I would talk to my friend, Peter Blach about the car and find out it (Noel Samuel's car) was indeed a low mileage clean '98 6-speed. Wow, this was what I wanted. I had seen ads before about him wanting to sell the car, but for whatever reasons it never did. I contacted Noel and we worked out a deal within a few days. Peter had done me the favor of informing Noel how I would take care of the car (Peter had recently sold his '95 for a low mileage '98 6-speed as well) and helped me out a lot. Noel and I signed a contract that gave me some time to sell my '97 and buy his car. I put my '97 Supra up for sale officially and it sold within a week.
Buying an out of state car from a private party is not easy. There were various snags and exceptions that had to be overcome, but in the end everything worked out. Noel was an extremely patient man with the troubles I kept on encountering and I think this would be the time to thank him for that. The car was officially mine on March 19th, 2002. It was picked up the next night and arrived to my door step on an enclosed trailer the afternoon of March 26th. I couldn't believe it. I was asked to drive the car off the trailer. I got in and I was shaking. 850hp at my hands. It was finally here. Days and nights of toil trying to put everything together within a time frame and this was my reward. Right here, right now. I eased into the TRD Twin Disk and the car slowly reversed out. I was still shaking. After what seemed like eternity the car was finally off the trailer, and there it sat on my street. Low, black, and menacing. This would be the start to one of the best summers of my life I thought. I paid the transporter and pulled the car into my driveway. It received it's first full wash and was then put in my garage. There it sat, where my old '97 had not so long ago. You just can't imagine how I felt seeing that car there. Looking through the TRD hood, hearing those fuel pumps, and listening to those HKS 264 cams. Wow. This was how I wanted my car - and it was here, sitting right in front of me.
I always wanted a '98. It was the last year of the great MKIV, and the most probably the most sought after and exclusive. There were a total of 416 Turbo Supras sold in '98, only 279 being 6-speed, making it the 2nd rarest production year behind '96. People were building earlier models left and right - but in my mind if I was going to have a built Supra, it would be a '98. I could count the number of big hp '98s with my two hands. It took a different kind of mentality to build a '98 instead of a previous year, and it wasn't exactly easy on the pocketbook either, figuring for the price of a stock '98 you could have a fully built 93-95. That didn't matter to me though. It wouldn't just be any old Supra, it would be THE ultimate Supra - the '98 low mileage black 6-speed. I would do it the way I wanted to because I want this car to make me happy. I could have bought an earlier and done it up as well (and probably saved a considerable amount of money) but that's not what I wanted. I know to those of you reading this I may sound strange, and I do not mean to downplay any other year of the MKIV - but there is something about the '98 that has always picked at me. I had to have one just the way I wanted it... and now I did. As I write this a little under a week has passed. It is still pretty cold here in Chicago and it has been raining on and off. I got to take it out for my first spin last night around town and words cannot describe the rush this car gives you. It's incredible. When boost hits you get hit... hit and swung around as the car struggles for traction... and I am loving every moment of it. The suspension is stupendous and keeps the car stable as a rock through turns. The heads this car turns is just unbelievable. I try to stay low key with it, and thankfully this car has tinted windows, but you just cannot avoid it. I hope to spend some seat time with it soon and follow up on my ownership experience soon.
[part4] the future
Buying a modified car, it turns out, can be a curse as well as a blessing. Much has changed in the past year with regard to my perception of whether or not buying a modified car was a good idea or a bad one. I still feel this particular one was a good idea, since it still is a low mileage black ’98 6-speed like I had wanted but, in general, given my anal retentiveness when it comes to my cars, had this been almost any other car I probably wouldn’t of have stuck to my guns.
The saga begins in October of 2002. I’m beginning to realize that while this car was done well, it wasn’t done the way I would have done it and, therefore, instead of conforming to its current setup, I’d have to do it my way. So, planning began. There wasn’t one simple area I had to focus on, so I started the buildup by categorizing the various aspects I had to tackle. These categories were: Performance – Electrical, Performance – Mechanical, Engine Bay, Wheels/Tires and Exterior/Interior.
| GENERAL:
The T04R was and is an excellent turbo, but I wanted more power. I had the injectors for it, so I figured let’s try something new and exciting. Enter Larry @ Sound Performance who was telling me about this new turbo with an anti-surge compressor housing. I wanted 800rwhp on boost. He said no problem. The choice was the new SP73 turbo which required my downpipe to be modified to accommodate the v-band exhaust housing.
Next up was my fuel system. I had a less than up-to-date HKS Fuel rail and a PHR fuel system which was routed terribly. New -8AN Lines, fittings, rerouting, and an updated version of the HKS Fuel rail were all installed.
| ENGINE:
This was a major undertaking. My engine bay was ugly, period. This car was built with complete emphasis on form, not function – and the engine bay showed it. It performed well but looked dirty and was in disarray. With the help of the Garage Dynamics crew, the turbo, radiator pipes, intake pipe, intercooler piping, and intake manifold were all removed to be polished by Travis’s (AZmongoose) polisher in AZ. I was extremely pleased with the results.
Wires and hoses were everywhere. I had redone and added a lot of new wiring from the AEM, DLI, Defi Gauges, and FJO but left it up to Max and Larry @ SP to make it look ultra clean. Everything was hidden away and cleaned up using what seemed like gallons of Simple Green. New silicon connectors were added to replace the inadequate Blitz ones. New T-bolt clamps replaced the Blitz ones as well. The result was something truly to be proud of… not the most “bling-bling” engine bay out there, but that wasn’t my goal. I wanted something clean and not necessarily over the top, and that is exactly what I believe I have achieved. | ELECTRONICS:
I wasn’t happy with the way my VPC setup was running. I was on a stock OBDI ECU with the piggybacks. I decided instead of bothering with the alphabetic soup, I was going to go with the newest and “greatest” AEM EMS. This required removal of the piggy backs, sensors, etc., and installation of the AEM and all its required sensors. This included an FJO Wideband O2 sensor kit and display and an HKS DLI.
I didn’t like the GReddy gauges I had, how/where they were mounted, etc., so I removed them all and replaced them with a Defi Boost Gauge and a Defi EGT Gauge. I had the control unit flush mounted in the dash where the TRAC button is and the slot next to it is. Kudos to Curt @ Elmhurst Toyota for his excellent Dremmel’ing abilities!
| WHEELS/TIRES:
Many people loved my old Kinesis K28s. I liked them, but didn’t love them. If I had stock wheels when I bought the car, I would have not picked the K28s to replace them. Plus, they were a stepped lip design, instead of the sleeker looking reverse lip, and were only 18x9 and 18x10. I wanted wider.
Enter the Garage Dynamics team again, from which I sourced a set of 3-piece Braid wheels from Spain. I needed a very specific offset since I was going to run 18x10 and 18x11.5 wheels. I decided on the Future Interlagos style and received them in only 3 weeks! For tires I chose 285/30/18 S02s for the front and 315/30/18 BFG Drags for the rears – and let me tell you, those BFGs are absolutely incredible. They do NOT spin and I have almost NO traction problems, not even in 1st gear! Some wheel hop but, for the most part, these tires rock my world. I wholeheartedly recommend them for any big hp application that is also running an 18” wheel.
| EXTERIOR:
Exterior wise, this car received minimal updates. The wheels were the big thing but, aside from that, I went with 5% Limo Tint, because I just really like the anonymity of having pitch black tints… plus it looks incredible on a clean, low, black car… and I do mean incredible. I also bought brand new headlights for the car from Toyota and added Phillips HIDs. That made a big difference as well, and I feel it’s one of the best updates I made.
The interior was completely ripped out except for the fiberglass dashboard. I replaced the tan carpet with new black carpet. I bought new dash panels and a new A-Pillar to replace the LoTek one I had. I bought a new Sony MEX-5DI mp3 deck to replace the stock deck (another one of my favorite updates… looks incredible and makes the stock stereo sound much better) Below it, I mounted my FJO display flush with a bracket that matched the factory dash panel to make it look OEM. The Defis were mounted next to each other, one in the stock clock location, the other to the left of it. As a central piece to the dash, a 2001 Supra Carbon Fiber steering wheel was added with airbag to set the car’s interior really apart. I added a TRD Tach as well, since I am now revving up to 7800rpm and I converted the heater controls from bulbs to green LEDs – a nice touch, in my opinion.
I spent days cleaning this car. While the wheels were off I cleaned all the suspension components. While the engine parts were out, I scrubbed the engine vigorously with Simple Green. I wanted this car CLEAN and, while it was a painstaking process, the results were great. | PERFORMANCE:
From October 2002 until August 2003, the car sat in my garage, being worked on when I had the opportunity. I had help from the GD crew on a number of occasions, as well as some other close friends. Slowly it came together, piece by piece, week by week, month by month, the wheels, the engine, interior, slowly but surely. Then came the most frustrating chapter.
This chapter, by far the most dramatic points of the build up, was the time between converting the AEM from v 0.94 to v 1.03. The car had been running and drivable on .94 but then 1.03 came out – so I upgraded and the car would not start. For the life of me, it would not start. We tried for two days to get that car to turn over and it just would not do it. I tried just about everything. The second night while we were trying to crank it, we heard a very loud boom and saw a spark fly from the engine bay. At that point, I was so fed up and, at the same time, really worried about what had happened, I couldn’t bear to deal with it anymore. I was leaving for Europe in a week so I said forget it – I’ll let Larry @ SP deal with it while I am gone. We actually were able to get the car on a flatbed with the 2” of clearance on the front, thanks to a tow company that specializes in exotic car towing, and it was transported over to SP the next morning. Larry got to work on it and decided to just go back to v.94. He got it back and it started – thank God. He then made the modifications to the downpipe (converted it to a v-band) and stuck the new SP73 on. Onto the dyno it went. While on the dyno the car was initially low on power, and I had told Larry about the loud boom and spark while we were messing with v1.03. Thinking I could have hurt my motor, it was time for a compression test; however, there wasn’t enough time to do it that evening, so it would have to wait until the next day.
Understand, that evening I was furious. If that motor had let go on me, I am almost positive I would have put a new short block in it and sold it. I was 10-11 months into the project and for this to happen was too much for me. I wound up looking for new RS6s or a new E55 most of the night and expected the worst. I had my RS6 built on audiusa.com and was ready to start the whole “process”. I sorted through some pictures and put things together for a for sale ad. I figured after this, I was going to take a break from modifying cars without warranties. I would just get one practical year-round car and be content with that for a while.
The next morning I eagerly awaited the results. I got to work early, around 8am, and Larry doesn’t usually get in until 11am – so, I waited. When he got in, it was time to face the music. Everything was set, and down he went, cylinder by cylinder… and… compression was perfect across the board. Whew! So, I told Larry, keep trying. He made some adjustments to the AEM and a few hours later I got a phone call. We were at ~800rwhp @ 29psi. Not bad! We decided to let her cool down for a bit and up the boost. He did that and we were able to squeeze 833rwhp @ 32.5psi. We could see the car struggling to maintain power in the upper RPM – especially after 7000 – and attribute it to a restrictive 264 exhaust cam. Nevertheless, I was happy, and I know there is much more to be had from this turbo once I start removing the bottlenecks. I am eager to see where it will take me but, as of right, now it’s time to enjoy the relatively short amount of warm weather left here in Chicago, and that’s what I plan on doing.
After this adventure, on the day of my flight to Europe the car was off to Custom Cars for the body work while I was gone. It needed two dings pulled, a scratch repainted, debadging, new steering wheel installed, new deck installed, limo tints, FJO display panel fabricated and powder coated to match the dash, Defi EGT gauge mounting, and a nice quick detail.
Off to Europe I was for 3 weeks – where I had a blast, of course. I was able to relax and enjoy the Mediterranean – at first with family and then with my girlfriend and some other friends from the USA who joined me there. I tried to not think of the car and, for the most part, I was successful. I would still have to call every few days to make sure things were going according to plan, but I knew the car was in good hands with Custom Cars. Those guys treat me like family and always come through. I returned in early September and picked up the car about a week after I returned. Damn, did it look good… and GOD DAMN did it feel good. I have heard a lot of turbos in my day, but never has one so accurately mimicked the sound of the jet turbine on a 747 as well as this SP73. I mean good Lord, it’s insane. You really have to be in the car and hear it with the targa off through the TRD hood to appreciate what I am talking about. At 0psi – that’s right, 0psi, the spool-up sound of that monster is mind boggling. Kudos to SP for putting together such a nasty sounding turbo. The look on people’s faces when they hear that thing is priceless. Then when they feel it I’m afraid I’m going to get stains on my seats. This turbo is wild and spools like a banshee. I love it. With my tire combo I can come out of a toll booth, get on it in first, and the car just goes forward – making you feel as though your lungs are trying to push their way out through your back… and this is only 20psi. The car feels way faster than my T04R, especially since I used to spin my old Pirellis up to 60mph @ 18psi, and with the 315 BFGs “spinning” is a non-issue on street boost… . | THANKS:
If I had to say what was the most difficult part of this all, it would be two things: Making it all come together as a whole, and having the continuing patience of dealing with all of it while juggling an already hectic life. I am real picky about what parts I want, even if it means waiting (a long time) for them. I may have made the build-up sound easy by laying out all the parts but, let me assure you, it was not that easy, especially when you are trying to do your own work on top of working as much as I do, not to mention spending a month out of your summer traveling.
I started this project in October of 2002, and got my car back from Custom Cars in a 95% finished state about three weeks ago (September 2003). The car has been driven ~400 miles in the past 12 months, and just hit 22,200 on the odometer. Quite a sacrifice to make for this endeavor but the end product made it all worthwhile.
I currently have some finishing up to do – we suspect one of the injectors is leaking and the car has a steady state misfire at certain RPMs, which we could only somewhat cure by richening up the fuel tables throughout the rev band. As I stated before, we are also noticing that the 264 exhaust cam just isn’t aggressive enough for the airflow of this new turbo, so that will also have to be replaced. Then there is a new intake manifold, headwork, big brakes, yeah, we still aren’t done.
Patience is a virtue, so the saying goes, and I’m sure there are plenty of Supra owners, and car enthusiasts in general, who can identify with an undertaking such as this one – many of which who have much more extensive build-ups than I do. However, for me this was a difficult undertaking but, in the end, I have accomplished victory, it seems.
I want to thank these people for their efforts and for their friendship. I consider them more than just people who helped out with my car. They are people whom, without their friendship, this would not have been possible.
Jason L., Mike C., & Chris T. @ Garage Dynamics
Larry P. @ Sound Performance
Dino S. & Pete S. @ Custom Cars
Karolina D.
Syed A.
Brian G.
Brian W.
Sean M. @ Torquefreaks
Dan B.
Edwin D.
Susan L.
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PARTS LIST:
| ENGINE:
SP73 HO turbo .96 A/R
HKS GT manifold
HKS GT 60mm wastegate
dual HKS SuperSequential BOVs
Blitz FMIC
K&N 9" cone filter
HKS 264 camshafts
Unorthodox cam gears
NGK 3330 spark plugs
TRD 1.3kg/cm2 radiator cap
TRD oil cap
Redline Water Wetter
Hardpipes.com radiator pipe
Bruce Nomura radiator plate
HKS front pipe
Powerhouse 3.5" downpipe
HKS SuperDrager
| FUEL:
PHR fuel system, modified by Sound Performance:
dual fed rail with twin in-tank MKIV pumps (on constant 12v)
RC Engineering 860cc injectors Paxton FPR, -8 lines | ELECTRONICS:
AEM engine management system
GM intake airtemp sensor
Kavlico 5 BAR MAP sensor
FJO wideband w/ display
HKS Twin Power DLI
Sony MEX-5DI MP3/CD receiver
Clifford alarm system | DRIVETRAIN:
TRD Twin-Disc Clutch
BD Motorsports Short Shift Kit | BRAKES/CHASSIS:
Tein HA standard coilover kit
TRD front strut bar
Cusco rear strut bar
TRD F/R sway bars | WHEELS/TIRES:
Braid Future Interlagos wheels: 18x10, 18x11.5
Bridgestone S02 285/30/18 (f)
BF Goodrich G-Force Drag Radial 315/30/18 (r) | INTERIOR:
Defi 52mm boost gauge
Defi 52mm EGT gauge
FJO wideband display (flush mounted below radio)
OEM Toyota Supra 2001 wheel w/ carbon fiber inserts
Razo titanium pedal kit
Sparco Milano's black/grey
carpeted back seat | EXTERIOR:
TRD vented hood
Paul Whiffin Front Bumper
RMM rear wing
cut & rolled rear fender lips
limo tinted windows |
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turbo: SP73HO
pistons: oem
rods: oem
head: oem
cams: HKS 264
boost: 32psi
injectors: 860cc
pumps: oem x2
fmic: Blitz
clutch: TRD twin
nitrous:
rwhp: 833 (dynojet)
circa 980hp at the flywheel
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