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.

Unfortunately after using Autometer gauges for awhile we have determined that their readability at night is less then optimal. To improve gauge readouts we decided to switch to Stewart-Warner gauge set. Although the overall size remained at 52mm (2-1/16″) the new design of the Stewart-Warner gauge trim ring allows for larger display area. New “lighting technology” is also supposed to improve night-time readouts. This gauge set includes Coolant Temperature Gauge and Boost Gauge.

Since the original grey leather interior was in a dismal shape it was necessary to step up and replace it with custom leather. A two-tone red and grey design was chosen to coordinate with dashboard and trim colour and to add a little “spice” with an accent colour. Passenger and cargo area carpet was also replaced with a molded replacement piece. Extra padding was added to improve soundproofing. New floor mats were installed.

Supra factory backlight tends to be a little yellow-ish. It is especially apparent when using Greddy Gauges. To minimize this effect we used a Green LED upgrade kit. It provides nice and green gauge light perfectly matching Greddy gauges (in this case Boost and Coolant Temperature). For those interested in changing the backlight to blue to match modern CD/mp3 players or gauges, a Blue Kit is also available.

The next step was to address a few quality issues. Brand new fog lights were purchased form Toyota to replace stone-chipped original units. Xenon-white bulbs replaced ordinary lightbulbs. Targa roof also received new treatment. New rubber seals were installed all the way around. Door seals were also replaced with brand new units. Same happened to the trunk seal. All new, nice and soft rubber. Next the old carpet went out, replaced with Black, molded 20oz cutpile factory-quality piece, with rubber soundproofing backing applied. Both, the cabin and trunk area sections were replaced. Brand new, factory Toyota leather shifter knob was also purchased and installed, matched with the black leather shifter boot covering a short shifter. It is a factory original unit modified the way that retains the original rubber bushings, helping with precise and quick shifts while retaining most of the original vibration-free feel. Center console armrest was also covered with new black leather.

One of the next mods was an addition of AutoMeter gauges. First a double gauge pillar pod from Lo-Tek replaced the factory a-pillar trim. Then a pair of 2-1/16″ (52mm) gauges was installed: a boost gauge and a coolant temperature gauge, both with dashboard cluster matching green backlight. It seemed like a great addition, however, because the needles were not illuminated, night time readouts were less than perfect.

Only a couple of years ago this car was still a fairly stock version of the Toyota Supra Turbo. 130,000 km original mileage. No winters. Factory original Ruby Black paint, grey leather interior, stock internals in the 7MGTE motor. A few BPU mods were implemented to improve performance. They included: Suspension Techniques anti-sway bars, custom modified polished 3000 pipe with removed bottleneck, large intake pipe with Greddy type S blow-off valve, Fluidyne radiator, Greddy Turbo Timer, and TRD Style 320mm diameter steering wheel among others. Also present were front Greddy replica and rear Cusco tower braces to aid in torsional rigidity. The Supra was on the right track towards a few more upgrades…It shortly received reverse facing hood air scoop aiding in evacuating hot air from the engine bay, polished aluminum upper radiator pipe, TRD oil filler cap to dress up the engine bay as well as aluminum race-style pedals.