COB's '94 Supra Turbo

I got through installing the alarm system, which was a huge task. I don't plan to post much detail on that, for obvious reasons, but it is a top of the line system and has numerous backups. I took my time making sure it would be stealthy and as difficult as possible. All the sensors, bells, and whistles.



With the alarm install finished, the new dashboard went into its new home.



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After that, I went into testing various electronic functions. I had make one mistake in the alarm install, the parking light polarity, since I had wired the parking lights to the steering column and not in the driver kick panel.


If you wire the parking lights to the kick panel, it needs 12V+, but at the column, it's a switched ground.


Upon initial testing of the alarm, the 12V+ signal that went to the steering column parking light wire had been incorrect, and the very first thing to be shorted in the circuit is the integration relay. The integration relay controls all of the courtesy lights, parking lights, etc. It's located BEHIND the driver's junction block, which was a total pain in the ass to get to.



Got a replacement relay from eBay and corrected the polarity, now it's all functioning as intended.


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With the dash in place, the new panels came out of the boxes for parts swapping.


First up was the center panel. Swapped over the clock and cigarette lighter. Removed the HVAC module.



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New traction button covers. The far right cover was discontinued, so had to reuse the old one.


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The next thing was the gauge cluster. This car did not go through this amount of work to be left with an auto tach with faded ugly needles.


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I gathered up all of the new HVAC buttons and knobs, the HVAC unit, and the gauge cluster, then sent them to Stu Hagen.



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I asked for a 10K TRD Tach with the needle in the proper 6-o'clock position, a 200mph speedo, coolant temp with readout, and white backlighting.



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The left turn signal filter on the cluster was damaged. Stu polished it out.



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The HVAC received all new buttons and knobs, as well as a set of white LED's. The temp knob has a red and blue LED's for hot and cold.


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There are a ton of people who swear by Do-Luck and their floor bars. I got a set through RHDJapan along with a rear cross bar. May not use the cross bar as I would really prefer to leave the carpet intact. Might go with a harness bar from SP instead, since there's no carpet modification necessary.


Seriously, can you imagine how hard/expensive it'd be to get a new carpet for one of these? Most of the examples of Do-Luck cross bar installation that I've seen online basically obliterated the carpet. Who wants to see that?



Floor bars installed:


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From inside the cabin:


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Original carpet all cleaned up


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Cluster shining bright with new "glass"


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The OEM seats are worn, but have really nice plastics. They're absolutely worth keeping and maybe reupholstering.



I don't have plans to use them right now, perhaps I'll add them to the future SC build pile, along with the old suspension, brakes, etc.




In their place will be a beautiful set of black Italian leather Sparco Milano Prestige II's. They have carbon-style plastics which look pretty nice. These are well renowned by the likes Peter Kop (the original owner of them), Ken Henderson, and many others. The Sparco brackets are known to be crap, so these are going in with Titan brackets.


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I got the seats from a local Supra owner, Martin, who has a beautiful DJG 97. His single turbo setup is quite inspiring, so I'm just now getting into the research required for a proper single turbo swap.


Here's a few pics of his beautiful 97:


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I really like the 1UP catch can setup with braided lines.


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Good stuff, as always! Martin's C10 doesn't look too shabby either.


Thanks cblock!



Martin's got quite a selection at his house. Raptor, Terminator Cobra, C10, 5th gen 4Runner, and the Supra. Regarding the C10, it is one of the cleanest actually-driven 67-72 C10's I've ever seen. Too many become trailer queens. I wish I had a 4 car garage like he does.
 
While sifting through some of the previous owner records, I found a card for Focus Auto Sales in Garden Grove. Google shows that location had closed years ago and is now an empty lot.

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Using the Wayback Machine website and a little google-fu, seems like the dealership sold primarily JDM cars, and lots of Supras. The Carfax report showed that a dealer got hold of the car in late October of 2005, with the most recent previous owner buying it from them in February 2006.

Historical aerial maps of Focus Auto Sales from Google Earth Pro came up with this, taken January 2006. Seeing as there is only one car on the lot that’s white with a carbon fiber hood, I’ll bet that’s it right up in the forefront.

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I wish someone could tell me more about the history of this car… Any info or photos that might still exist from the dealership around that era would be incredible! Is Jacko Luong (@supraskyline) still around SF?
 
Onto another round of OEM parts.

- All new front wheel well liners and engine bay covers (left, right, and lower) as well as their associated hardware
- Front bumper lip retainers
- AC hard lines
- Hood insulator
- Windshield dam kit
- Windshield wiper cowl
- Carpet clips
- Shifter surround bolts
- Radio bracket bolts (to car and to radio)
- Wiper fluid reservoir upper assembly 85301-14010


TRD boxes are graphite TRD pro wheels for my 4Runner.

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Since the dash is coming together, the plan is to upgrade the head unit to a double-din Kenwood DNX997XR, then use Stu Hagen’s method of using the OEM audio amp to power the OEM sub.



The old Alpine CDA-9884 that was in there before has been installed just for the meantime.

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The Blitz turbo timer is definite old-school cool, and fits nicely below a single-din radio, but there’d be nowhere to mount it with a double-din. It’d have to go into the glove box since there would be no cutting involved to get it in there. The turbo timer setup is all subject to change once an engine management upgrade happens (leaning towards a plug and play ProEFI with conversion harness).


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Trying to get a glimpse of a completed dashboard

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Radio antenna coming up for the first time in 2 years

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Original cluster surround

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Passenger A pillar cover and handle

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Airbag cover swapped with a modified delete panel

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Chassis side door seals replaced with new

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Comparison to original seals

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There are new seals throughout the whole car. Clean and fresh.

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Original glovebox cleaned and treated with 303 protectant

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New spring stopper as the old one was broken

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Glovebox and airbag install complete

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Rear carpet clips (cargo area carpet where it attaches to back seat)

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I went at the Sparco Milano Prestige II seats with Meguiar’s Leather Cleaner & Conditioner and a microfiber cloth.

Quick before and after.

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Wow

James, I've been watching your threads for YEARS! I loved your transformation of your 99' 4R, then I was gobsmacked when I stumbled upon your thread on that incredible story of your 87' 4R! Then this 94' Supra!!! I absolutely love this beauty!!!!
I have worked on several vehicles with my son now for a couple of years, starting with his first car, 2003 Mits Eclipse, then his 1990 Civic SI (my Wife described it as a "dog in a coma", it sat for a year after a fairly significant rear ender accident) and now he has been converted to Toyota--- he was lucky in finding a 94 Celica, 3 weeks ago, as his next project! Personally, I do generally prefer his Celica over my 2002 Celica. Up here in BC, Canada, his objective is to restore it to the point where he can get "collector plates" meaning a complete OEM restoration.
Major respect to you for your incredible commitment, time and efforts in the work you do, and the effort it takes to share these experiences. THANK YOU
I'll share the latest pic of my beloved 4R and my son's Celica!!
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Well, somehow I got unsubscribed from this thread several months ago after following it since pretty much day 1. I can't say I'm too angry about it since there were so many great posts with all the work you've done! Seriously James, Well Done!

This car is amazing, and is only going to get more so. Keep up the fantastic work!
 
26 pages, well worth the read.

Well done Sir! You seem to have found a car with some hidden gems, its crazy to see some older HKS and Blitz goodies. I tried to find some older Fujitsubo exhaust for another project of mine and I can't find them anywhere. HKS is a go-to brand for me. Not to mention how much you have resurrected this car back to life, truly incredible transformation. Very clean. Excited to see which route you take on the single turbo setup.
 
I went through every single page of the whole build from the first to last and all I gotta say is wow......it's gorgeous. This Supra will for sure sell over $200k if you do end up selling it. If you don't mind if I ask, whats your occupation? I'm jealous and wish I could have this many projects - this just makes me want to hustle and try harder in College to have cars and projects like these!
 
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James, I've been watching your threads for YEARS! I loved your transformation of your 99' 4R, then I was gobsmacked when I stumbled upon your thread on that incredible story of your 87' 4R! Then this 94' Supra!!! I absolutely love this beauty!!!!
I have worked on several vehicles with my son now for a couple of years, starting with his first car, 2003 Mits Eclipse, then his 1990 Civic SI (my Wife described it as a "dog in a coma", it sat for a year after a fairly significant rear ender accident) and now he has been converted to Toyota--- he was lucky in finding a 94 Celica, 3 weeks ago, as his next project! Personally, I do generally prefer his Celica over my 2002 Celica. Up here in BC, Canada, his objective is to restore it to the point where he can get "collector plates" meaning a complete OEM restoration.
Major respect to you for your incredible commitment, time and efforts in the work you do, and the effort it takes to share these experiences. THANK YOU
I'll share the latest pic of my beloved 4R and my son's Celica!!

Hey pole climber! Yes, I have seen you around these forums for many years as well! The OG 3rd gen community was my favorite group of all, genuine Toyota enthusiasts who aren’t just following the new trend! Thanks for all of your kind words about my other builds you’ve seen.

Good to hear your son has been converted to the Toyota life. That 94 Celica is a beauty, and same for your red 02! I haven’t any experience with either of those years to have much of an opinion, but going off of the excellent GT-FOUR variants that are so well revered, it must be a good car even in FWD form. In Canada, to get collector plates must be a true honor!

Great pics and as always, amazing 3rd gen 4Runner. Best wheels available IMO! Thanks for all of your kind words and looking forward to seeing you through the future on T4R.

Well, somehow I got unsubscribed from this thread several months ago after following it since pretty much day 1. I can't say I'm too angry about it since there were so many great posts with all the work you've done! Seriously James, Well Done!

This car is amazing, and is only going to get more so. Keep up the fantastic work!

You could have gone a few months this time and not noticed a thing… LOL… Gotta catch up on some posts here, slowly, but surely! Thank you JBurt as always!

26 pages, well worth the read.

Well done Sir! You seem to have found a car with some hidden gems, its crazy to see some older HKS and Blitz goodies. I tried to find some older Fujitsubo exhaust for another project of mine and I can't find them anywhere. HKS is a go-to brand for me. Not to mention how much you have resurrected this car back to life, truly incredible transformation. Very clean. Excited to see which route you take on the single turbo setup.

Hi Tomm. I got very lucky in regards to finding a car with some hidden gems. I sold a few of the good parts, like the Blitz wheels, but they’re living happily on another Supra enthusiasts car. Finding some older exhausts that haven’t been beaten to crap over the years commands some serious coin! Hope you find that Fujitsobo exhaust that you’re after.

Thank you for your kind words and I will definitely post many details on the single turbo setup, when it gets to that stage.

I went through every single page of the whole build from the first to last and all I gotta say is wow......it's gorgeous. This Supra will for sure sell over $200k if you do end up selling it. If you don't mind if I ask, whats your occupation? I'm jealous and wish I could have this many projects - this just makes me want to hustle and try harder in College to have cars and projects like these!

Thanks FD, she’s come a long way since Blitz body kit and white pearl faded paint… but, truth be told, these Supra guys these days are so aware of the smallest of details. Just the fact that this car has a “history” might eliminate it from the 200k running idea, but then again there have been salvaged/completely rebuilt cars that have sold for huge numbers. There’s no chance I’m ever letting go of this car, but I really do wonder what its final value would be.

My occupation has changed a few times in the course of Supra ownership, but right now I’m working on my own business venture doing packet filling for the cosmetics industry. Random, but it has potential for big profits. The other thing I’m doing is running a collectibles store on eBay, I started it after purchasing a large lot of 73 pallets of new/packaged vintage collectibles… everything from GI Joes to baseball cards! For what it’s worth, I dropped out of college, and going the corporate route was not for me… but you should definitely get that degree if you desire it! Best of luck attaining your project car goals!
 
Getting back at it…


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The original back seat had a large burn on the right hand seat, through the leather and into the foam. I purchased this back seat all the way back in 2015 when I had acquired the OEM fenders, hood, and other panels. It’s been sitting in storage since, as the dust buildup shows:

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I still may want to replace or rewrap the rear seats as they aren’t perfect, but ultimately, no one sits back there anyway.

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Up next was the rear speaker grills. I chose to rewrap them with Mellotone premium speaker fabric. I used a gorilla hot glue gun to secure the new fabric to the plastic grill.

Before:

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After:

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The front speaker grills were similarly ugly, so they got the same Mellotone fabric.

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First, the grills must be disassembled from the plastic trim ring.

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With the old fabric removed:

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New fabric vs old:

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Gluing back together, including the trim ring

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And assembled!

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The door panels are original to the car, and have been sitting in storage since 2017.

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Armrest and window switches removed.

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Treated with 303 interior protectant and Meguiar’s Leather cleaner and conditioner.

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This brand new window switch surround has been sitting on my shelf for 5 years. Finally time to install!

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With switches

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Assembled with rewrapped speaker grilled

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Also caught up on the passenger side door panel

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Normally, I don’t quite care much about car audio. I usually leave the radio off and enjoy the symphony that is the 2JZ-GTE, but I figured I cannot go this far without a little bit of attention to the audio system.

I have been using a 2004-era Alpine radio with an iPod in the glovebox, but I suppose it’s time to get a little more modern.

Using Stu Hagen’s guide to reusing the OEM amplifier to power the OEM subwoofer, I got a few Scosche brand harnesses and wired up a Kenwood DNX-997XR, which is their latest and greatest head unit.

* 6.8" High Definition Monitor with Capacitive Touch Panel
* Android Auto™ & Android Auto™ Wireless
* Wired and Wireless Apple CarPlay™
* High-Resolution Audio Wireless
* Wireless Mirroring for Android
* USB Mirroring for iPhone and Android
* 4 Camera Inputs / HD Rear Camera Ready
* Built-in Bluetooth, HD Radio & WiFi
* 3 Preouts 5V
* Garmin Navigation with 3D Terrain View

For added help, I also got front and rear view cameras for parking, and a full time hard wired HD dash cam.


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Next was a window control module for the alarm, the windows can now be controlled via the alarm remote and automatically close in any sort of trigger situation.

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Window hardware

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The last piece of glass to be glued in is the windshield. This is an OEM windshield from Toyota.

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This is, unfortunately, the last time that Justin will be helping with this project, since he has purchased a new home in another state and will be leaving CA for good. He will be missed!!!

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OEM outside window moulding

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OEM Dam kit preparation. This kit is basically a rubber strip designed to provide a “dam” for the window caulking, to prevent the glue from being visible from inside the car. It gets laid down before the glue goes down.

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The yellow strip shown is the adhesive strip being laid down, where the rubber strip is later laid down.

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Using the same Mercedes-Benz window glue kit as the side and rear windows.

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And installed!

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Old Rear view mirror (top) and new (bottom)

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New base for mirror

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Installed. Alarm antenna, radio microphone, and dash cam also installed.

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Brand new OEM Cowl!


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I have put a few videos together documenting the process thus far.

To be clear, there was not originally an intention to make a video, or else there would have been better footage. This was just basically put together using existing footage.

I was concerned that the YT demographic doesn't usually retain attention with too much detail, so it has also been greatly simplified. I figure that if anyone wants extreme detail, there's no better way than to peruse a build thread.

With that, here is video #1, which basically documents the vehicle up until I stopped driving it and went into the tear down.


<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dpD1loa7JsU" title="YouTube video player" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe>
 
Here's video #2.

This video documents the tear down process, eventually through to the paint job.


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sARW3imCz1U" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

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