Since the engine of this mk3 Supra was out of the car for the rebuild to accommodate new .40 over Wiseco pistons, this was the perfect opportunity to colour match the engine bay with the exterior of the car. When the car was originally painted with this beautiful candy apple metallic red, it still had the engine in it, which made it for a difficult task to try to spray the engine bay. Not without some difficulty, all of the exterior elements, as well as the non-easily-removable components, were masked out to protect them from overspray. After treating the paint with the scuffing procedure, a primer was applied (Pic. 1). Then the red base and clear coat were sprayed on (Pic. 2). Additional subframe elements were also cleaned and painted black. The rad support was left to be painted after the engine was back in the car.

Now came the time for “Project Red” to get a clutch upgrade as well. Having had less than optimum success with stock-type clutch upgrades, with full-face kevlar discs not being strong enough and metallic puck type disc not being street-friendly with harsh engagement, we opted to go this time with multi-plate clutch setup from OS Giken, one of the original aftermarket performance clutch manufacturers in Japan. OS Giken multi-plate clutches provide the comfort of the stock clutches pedal feel and the strength of a race ready twin plate.
This kit includes a lightweight flywheel and pressure plate combination that is patented in Japan and it comes with the very unique OS style twin clutch disk system (Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3). It replaces a pull-style clutch release mechanism with a push-style setup. The OS Giken clutch setup seems to be the clutch of choice for many high horsepower 2JZ powered mkIV Supras as well as the 7MGTE powered MkIII Supras. It seems like we can’t go wrong with our choice - the future will soon tell.

One of the most recent upgrades on “Project Black” is the installation of a “Jim King” short shifter. It is a unit closely resembling JDM C’s Short Shifter. Made of stainless steel it is a very good quality piece. With the raised pivot point it shortens the shift throw without shortening the shifter height. The unit is actually height-adjustable and it comes pre-set for a slightly lower height than stock, but it can be easily returned to stock-like height yet providing shorter throws. Installation was very simple, the unit is a direct bolt-on, re-using most of the original rubber insulator and dust-shield pieces (Picture 1)(Picture 2). Even the factory Toyota OEM or TRD shifter knob thread on without problems. As far as the driving impressions the short shifter offers smooth, short shifts, although the feeling is more “crisp” than the original “longer throw” shifter. In our opinion: a very positive upgrade.

Since the most recent engine meltdown on “Project Red” we had decided to perform some upgrading. Blown Cometic MLS head gasket and signs of slight piston melting led us to believe that even though the car had an upgraded Fluidyne aluminum radiator and the air/fuel ratios were monitored with a PLX Wideband Sensor and kept within safe limits, there were still issues with temperatures in the engine. Examination of the block and the head gasket placement again raised questions such as: “Why are the holes misaligned?” (see picture #1). If there are two open coolant passages in the 7M head, why is there only one corresponding passage open in the block? Well, in an attempt to improve the flow of coolant in the water jackets through the block and the head we decided to create additional openings in the block through to existing water jackets (See picture #2). Since the exhaust side of the block has two openings, why not give it two on the intake side as well? (See picture #3). Will it improve the cooling of the 7MGTE? We certainly hope so. Stay tuned for more info on the Supra “Project Red” engine build…

Here is a visual comparison of mk3 Supra pistons: from left to right: JE piston, Wiseco piston, Toyota OEM piston. Other than the presence of teflon protective coating, there seem to be very few visual differences in construction of JE and Wiseco pistons. One notable difference seems to be the location of piston ring seats. The construction of both pistons seems to be similar although JE piston is lighter than Wiseco piston. Toyota OEM piston visually differs from both JE and Wiseco in both skirt length and internal construction, as well as the location of piston ring seats. Toyota piston is also the heaviest. Recommended minimum piston to cylinder wall clearance for JE: 0.004″. Recommended minimum piston to cylinder wall clearance for Wiseco: 0.0025″. More pictures: Pic#1, Pic#2, Pic#3.

In order to clean-up and protect the main engine harness we used a plastic loom retrofitted from a 1991 7MGE equipped Toyota Cressida, which mounts pretty much without any modifications. It keeps the wiring harness away from heat and adds a “cleaned-up” look. Also, on a subject of heat and appearance, a factory rubber lower radiator hose was replaced with a silicone unit from OBX. It’s a direct substitute for a factory original black hose, no modifications necessary. The fit is tight, and it requires strong hose clamps to prevent any coolant leaks. Otherwise - improved appearance and heat protection provided by a brand new piece.

Dealing with increased power output from the 7MGTE meant upgrading the clutch system to better transfer the power to the ground. An ACT pressure plate provides 30% increase in clamping power. Combined with better friction clutch disk it improves clutch grip and holding capacity while providing perfectly streetable slip without chatter, with near stock pedal feel. To allow more power from the engine to go directly to the wheels the stock, heavy flywheel was replaced with XTD Prolite chromoly lightweight flywheel. Made from high-carbon steel, its surface allows the use of any type of friction disk, from carbon-kevlar, ceramic copper, to sintered iron. Much lighter than stock (12 lbs), it allows for better engine response and faster acceleration.

Everybody knows that oil change in a mkIII Supra is not the cleanest procedure. Factory location of the oil filter over front subframe makes it difficult to access plus oil spills are hard to contain and clean up. Here’s where Greddy Oil Filter Relocation Kit comes in. Moving the filter to a more easily accessible location not only allows for better access and spill-free oil changes, but also makes it possible to use a larger (longer) oil filter (from Toyota pick-up trucks). Larger filter means larger filtering area - cleaner oil. Higher oil capacity means more oil in the system - which also translates into cooler and cleaner oil. All in all - it’s a win-win situation.

Next step in this upgrade was the use of Mine’s tuned 7MGTE ECU. Although this Japanese tuner is best know for their tuning of Skylines GT-R, they have also been providing ECU tuning for other major JDM makes. Some of their technology is based on the VX-ROM boards added to factory ECUs thus allowing for improvements of the original ECU programming. Changes to this particular unit as well as most of other 7MGTE Mine’s tuned computers include removed rev limiter, removed boost cut, removed speed limiter, improved fuel and ignition maps as well as added fuel maps above factory boost levels. The overall effect is a more responsive, faster and higher revving engine, safe fueling as well as more room for additional mods.

An oil catch can on a race car is supposed to aid in removing oil vapors from air being recirculated from the crankcase back into the intake manifold. However, has anyone ever noticed that unlike the vapor filtration system located inside the valve covers and consisting of multiple baffles with “strainer” holes, oil catch cans usually are hollow inside, thus allowing for fairly unrestricted air flow. “Strainer” baffles are meant to create a resistance to flowing air thus allowing for oil to deposit on the baffles and flow down to the bottom of the engine. The same philosophy was applied to the Greddy catch can on “Project Black” and the oil catch can strainer baffle was born. The baffle is positioned in such a way that it divides the inside of the catch can in two chambers forcing the air to flow through the strainer.

Power steering reservoir on turbo mkIIIs is located in an unfortunate spot where not only is it exposed to hot air blown through the radiator, but also it is blocking the same air flow from moving though around the turbo and thus helping to cool it. Unlike previous years, Supra model years 1991 and 1992 had an improved “power steering cooler”, upgraded with cooling fins vs. just a bent pipe running in the nose of the car. Apparently there must have been an issue with power steering fluid temperature that prompted this fix. In an attempt to remedy this problem on “Project Black”, a power steering fluid reservoir was replaced with a plastic unit from another Toyota car and moved away from the original location. The new placement allows for better cooling for both the power steering fluid and the turbocharger.

Fuel system is another area where mkIII Supras need some help. To ensure that there is enough fuel supply for the targeted higher horsepower, an adjustable fuel pressure regulator from Aeromotive was installed. A fuel pressure gauge mounted on the fuel rail provides accurate fuel pressure readings helping in setting of base line fuel pressure of 40psi. Base fuel pressure setting needs to be done with engine not running. With the ignition in “ON” position, connect “B+” and “Fp” points on the Diagnostic Connector under the hood to pressurize the fuel system.

To improve performance of the Supra ignition system, an HKS Twin Power DLI ignition amplifier was installed. The Twin Power ignition amplifier incorporates both the CDI and transistor method ignition to provide optimum spark duration and maximum voltage output, resulting in crisper throttle response and a smoother engine powerband. The effects of this upgrade were felt during first drive after the install.

An excellent upgrade for manual transmission cars is removal of the throttle linkage assembly completely (look at the pics) and replacing it with JDM-style assembly which gets rid of the useless levers and springs. JDM cars being right hand drive never had this linkage, and trust me, the throttle response of the engine without it is so much better, you’d think it’s a different car altogether. The throttle pedal movement is a lot smoother and crispier, it gives you much faster response due to different ratios - it’s like a throttle pulley upgrade for Nissans. It’s one of the best feeling upgrades for the mkIII. It doesn’t give you more power, however power delivery is so much faster, that the car feels much stronger and more responsive.

Ignition Coil Conversion. It allows a conversion of stock ignition system from the original factory coil pack and spark plug wires system to Coil Over Plug system without the use of high voltage spark plug wires. The system utilizes original 7MGTE igniter in combination with HKS Twin Power DLI ignition amplifier. Spark plugs are standard.
ITEMS INSTALLED: Polished Aluminum Centre Plate, ground wire and new wiring harness connecting the new coils to the stock igniter wiring harness. The system utilizes six MkIV Toyota Supra Twin Turbo ignition coils. Also, the HKS Twin Power DLI module is used in the kit to provide optimum spark energy which DLI does by controlling the coil dwell time.