Single Turbo 1UZ MKII Supra Project

The 1UZFE EGR Delete Kit is available for sale here.
the mounts from driftmotion are made by excessive mfg, which every part I've ever seen from them has had fittment issues.
Also a word of advice if you're thinking of buying any parts from driftmotion. 99% of the time aaron khan is cool. But if you have any problems with the products he sells hi attitude does a total 180. I was having a problem with a turbo he sold me, and by the time I hung up on him he was literally screaming at me thru the phone saying that my engine killed the turbo. Which it ended up being a balancing error.
 
The manifolds come out looking really good. I find it hard to read your work with so many great photos haha.

You think the cam gear covers hold up with the heat on the exhaust housing?
 
Thanks everyone.


Not much going on in the garage, I have been keeping busy helping friends with projects. If you have a tire mounter and balancer in your home garage, don't let your friends know unless you want to keep busy doing favors:

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Anyhow, a bit of fuel has been laid out. Stealing a filter mounting scheme from John (and others), I decided to place the fuel filter above the brake booster for the maximum convenience. A mount needed to be provisioned to hold it securely to the fire wall.

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A few t-bolt clamps later, and that fuel filter isn't going anywhere.

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The fuel pressure regulator also has a bracket fashioned, and everything resides tucked in close to the booster. The hard supply line is bent to a better position to feed between the booster and clutch master cylinder, and is secured to the frame rail where the new AN adapter mounts. The return line is shortened and mounted to the firewall to avoid the driver's hot exhaust manifold. I cheaped out and simply used a few fuel-injection hose clamps to secure the return line from the pressure regulator. (I know I know, I should just start the whole project over :) )

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Thanks

-Mike
 
Ok everyone, it has been well over a week since I have posted any updates.

I have still been on a bit of a standstill as I wait for my transmission adapter. Although I have been waiting to continue with the big projects, I have been keeping myself busy with plenty of smaller projects around the car.

With the engine in the car, I thought it was a good time to finish the fuel lines and the main booster vacuum line. The fuel lines were no issue, but I wanted to install a one way check valve into the brake booster line to prevent positive pressure from entering the booster and possibly damaging the diaphragm. After searching online, there were very few reasonable options for one way valves in 6AN sizes that would open at the slightest amount of vacuum. Most units I found required 5 psi or more to open, and where designed as fuel valves. I decided it best to make my own:

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I initially thought of using two of my extra 3/8 NPT to 6AN fittings and using a female to female NPT coupler with a ball and spring inside. It is evident in the above picture that this would produce an overly and unnecessarily bulky assembly, a waste of good fittings in my opinion. I opted instead to use two smaller 1/4 NPT barb fittings with a female to female coupler.

Once I had the assembly parts, I needed to find the perfect spring and ball bearing. Some slingshot ammo from my childhood and the perfect spring from my small collection where sized for the job. Making one way valves is extremely easy for those who never have; a simple Google search will provide lots of different ways it can be achieved. In my case, the ball bearing will seat inside the barb fitting closing off the port to the barb itself, and the spring keeps very slight pressure against the ball to one side of the assembly.

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Using 1/2" black rubber furniture leg caps trimmed to size, the hose ends are capped to prevent fraying and enhance the mating look. Some simple clamps and we are in business.

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A quick test before assembly showed that the valve allows even the slightest vacuum through, but any presence of boost and it fully seals. A few holders are added to mount the line to the fuel rail, the valve will hide conveniently under the throttle body.

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The booster supply comes from the front of the flipped manifold where I believe the CSI resided.

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I used the same rubber furniture cap and clamp method to fashion the booster line to the booster. The booster is awaiting a MKIII aluminum master cylinder.

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Finally, the fuel lines were added to each rail (supply and return).

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Something else I really wanted to do was allow myself a better visual representation for my AFR without the need for my laptop or the bulk LM-1 box sitting in the open. I previously had one of the LM-1's analog outputs configured from 0-1 volts so a narrow band AFR gauge could correspond to 12-18 AFR. This was a decent visual, but didn’t provide specific feedback. I decided to take the plunge and hack apart my trusty LM-1.

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The ribbon band connector was separated from the VFD, and a harness was created to extend the LM-1's display to a remote location. A quick test confirmed that everything was working fine.

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I also took the opportunity to remote wire the LM-1's activation switch, adding a toggle to the same general area that the VFD would be mounted.

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Once everything was snug, the switch worked great and all bands of the VFD worked properly.

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A D-Sub 25 pin female/male connector set separate the switch and VFD from the primary LM-1 unit, allowing easy installation and servicing.

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Some may remember the panel I had previously created to house the original cigarette outlet and the MegaView II scrolling parameter display:

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I was never able to get my MegaView to properly work for me, despite troubleshooting it extensively. I decided to simplify this panel, and add the LM-1's VFD to a new version.

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A quick test of all system shows that everything is working great.

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Since the LM-1's VFD was now in full view, I needed somewhere to mount the LM-1 body along with the Megasquirt ECU. I decided to build a nice stand to securely mount these items along with a fuse panel in place of the original cardboard glove box insert.

A plasma cutter makes quick work of creating the panels out of old steel shelving sections we had lying around.

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A world of test-and-fits later, and the rough design is complete.

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A nice coat of wrinkle black, and the panel is complete.

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The Megasquirt and LM-1 units are fastened, as well as a fuse panel. The holes near the LM-1 are for the sensor, power, and analog output cables.

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Moving along, I was really bothered by the poor job I did on my first battery box I made for my battery relocation. I was a very poor welder then, and was really unhappy with the presentation of the box:

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I decided to take the time to build a much better battery box, using the plasma cutter and spare shelving as my canvas.

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Getting somewhere took no time at all with the quick-cut action of the plasma.

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My welding has greatly improved since my last battery box. (lol)

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I created separate bolt-on mounts, and a bolt-on section for the battery kill switch for this box. After all the pieces were welded and cleaned up, they were treated to coats of wrinkle black.

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I thought about using a smaller gel style battery after personal seeing Leon's (LeeMa61) battery he installed in his car. However, I have been extremely happy with my side post 78 series since I purchased it, and wanted to keep it as they are always available to buy locally if I need an emergency replacement.

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I also painted the kill switch red, the contrast from the rest of the box is awesome.

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The side posts are easily accessible through two holes I drilled on the front face of the box. They have grommets around the edge, and plastic inserts to close and seal them.

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I decided it was time to clean and spray the hatch area with some trunk spatter coating when the battery was removed.

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However, after a quick bit of cleaning, I found the presentation of the original area to be decent, and not worth the trouble of re-coating.

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Unfortunately, I have no decent pictures of the new glove box insert or display panel in place, Lighting is horrid inside the car, and the car's interior is filthy. This is the only ok shot I quickly snapped from outside the car. (I know, dirty and poor lighting/focus)

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-Mike
 
Mike, thanks for posting the detailed update. Your project is a real pleasure to watch coming together!
 
Thanks everyone,

I enjoy telling the story, so it is always rewarding to hear that people also enjoy hearing and seeing the story unfold!

Ok people, it has been another long intermission between my updates. The weather has been fantastic here in eastern Iowa, and I have been busy with lots of other things in life. (Business and pleasure of course)



Alas, I am still waiting to hear anything about the transmission adapter I purchased from Quantum. He hasn't replied to any of my emails at all, and will have been out of communication for a month on the 17th.

Looking to continue with other aspects of the build, I have been slowly piecing together the engine wiring. A trip one of the local yards yielded two sets of Ford EDIS-8 components needed to finish my ignition electronics. This includes the EDIS-8 module and clip, coil clips and the coil noise suppressing capacitors. One of the EDIS connectors broke as I tried to separate it from the module; the plastic has become a bit brittle after years of heat cycling in the engine bay.

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The connectors were de-pinned, and all pins were cleaned and carefully had their crimps re-opened to accept new wire leads.

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The two sets allowed me to pick the best condition of everything I had scrounged. I tested both EDIS modules at my local Autozone, and both functioned properly on the bench tester.

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Looking to recycle some of the original 1UZFE parts, the engine harness was meticulously stripped of all wire loom and electrical tape. Only bare wires and connectors were left.

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The connectors were removed from the harness, and each individual length of continuous wire was cleaned of its assembly lubricant, inspected for cracks or frays, and color organized.

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I picked out the longest lengths of wires I could use, having plenty of different color and tracer combinations to easily color code my new harness. The extra wires left make nice additions to my wire storage. (I am always doing something electrical on my own or my friends cars)

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On another trip to the local yard, I needed to get a set of GM coolant temperature sensor pigtails, air temperature pigtails, and any nice Delphi or multiple-pin weather seal connectors I could find to make my harness.

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Soon I had all my engine sensor and component clips cleaned and de-pinned. I modified the original 1UZFE clips to easily fit 7MGTE style Denso injectors by cutting a slot on the opposing side of the clip from the original connector slots.

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Altogether, I was able to score a load of nice Delphi connectors, including a very nice "locking" unit with over 40 pins from a Cadillac Northstar engine. This unit turned out to be a bit too bulky to fit through my firewall, so I opted to use a pair of smaller Delphi connectors. I also had ordered a few sets of DB-37 male and female connectors and hoods to work with and keep on hand. I had quite the spread to de-pin and clean thoroughly.

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The pins were carefully salvaged and reused while creating the new harness.

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Luckily, the original LS400 engine harness had quite a lot of different nicely shielded wire lengths to use for VR sensor lines. I even had alot of extra shielded wire sets after I pillaged some for use with the crank sensor and EDIS to Megasquirt leads. The shielding was grounded through the correct EDIS pin during the wiring process.

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The Crank sensor wires were run away from everything else along the driver's side of the engine block. This keeps the lines away from noisy interference-causing components such as the injectors, alternator, and power leads.


Although I have not committed on a set of injectors yet, I did have a set of "dummy" 680CC 7MGTE style injectors, a single 7MGTE 440CC injector, and an original 1UZFE injector to use as templates to create my harness.

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The harness has been very carefully sealed and routed with shrink wrap. This keeps the wiring sleek and quite unnoticeable. By the time I was finished, it was difficult to even notice that there was any wiring. (Which was the plan). A quick shot of some mid-wiring progress:

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A few common Bosch Relays were also salvaged from the yard with their weather tight connectors, and used to supply switched power to the Megasquirt, injectors, EDIS, and Innovate LM-1. All the power supplies were also fused through the fuse block I created in the glove box insert.

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Soon the wiring was completed, using the Delphi connectors to mate the "command center" in the glove box to the simple and discrete harness on the engine.

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I double checked all the wiring with a multi-meter to assure all the correct leads made it to their destination, and there was no bridging to unwanted leads within the harness. Once everything looked good, I was able to bench power the whole setup and calibrate all the sensors. All sensors responded very well with no issues at all.

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In typical OCD fashion, all wiring was carefully documented and organized so I could create an external diagram for any future troubleshooting. Excuse the mess, it is a first draft and not laid out very well.

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Thanks everyone,

-Mike
 
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Yes, I buy things frequently from DIYautotune for my MS builds. Although they do sell a majority of connectors new, the prices are not really justified versus snagging free used units that work fine. The only connector I would like to get new is the EDIS connector. All the other units are still nice and flexible.

-Mike
 
Thanks everyone!

Life goes on, still waiting for the transmission adapter. It really is the missing piece of the puzzle for now, because I can't fab the exhaust or a majority of the intercooler piping without the engine in its final place. Therefore, I can't paint the bay since fab work hasn't finished, and I can't reassemble the front suspension since the paint isn't done.... you get the picture.

I have been keeping busy when I have time with smaller projects. I wanted to use twin symmetrical oil catch and coolant reservoir cans, and fashion them with swanky lines with a sleek and stealthy look. Purely just entertaining myself ( as I could have just purchased these), I decided to make my own. Starting with 3" exhaust piping, sheet steel and 3/8 NPT steel collars, the cans start to take shape.

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The coolant reservoir tank has a tube welded to the inlet that almost reaches the bottom, allowing it to work as a recirculating system.

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The top of the interiors were sandblasted clean, and sprayed with etching primer. The bases were welded, and the units were sanded clean and flush.

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Holes were drilled for level sights, and the units received an interior bath of rustoleum enamel and constantly moved around to assure everything was coated with a thick seal of paint. A mounting system was created with pipe sections and sheet metal to clamp the cans onto.

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The cans were cleaned and treated to a few heavy coats of etching primer. They were then sanded smooth to 400 grit, and prepared for a coat of semi-gloss enamel.

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The clamps received some foam-rubber lining, and the level sights were added with nylon hose barbs and clear tubing. I am not super excited about the appearance of the sights; I may look for a sleeker looking alternative to the cheapo Lowe's hardware.

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The cans are mounted to the inner fender just behind the driver's headlight, allowing the intercooler pipe toward the throttle body to enter perfectly between them. The radiator receives some fittings, but I am not too excited about their routing.

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The intercooler pipe has been mocked up through a 3.5" hole through the inner fender, and has since been finish welded.

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Upon further inspection, a big oops! Not only is the fitting on the coolant reservoir too high for acceptable clearance to the hood and headlight door, but it now the highest point in the cooling system! I will need to lower it past the height of the radiator cap inlet, which will be easy using a low profile 3/8 NPT to -6AN 90 degree fitting instead of the tall straight adapter and swivel 90 combo. I may also plug the current purge outlet on the radiator, and drill and tap a new hole to mount a fitting that points toward the catch can to avoid the unneeded S bend.

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A leaky clutch master cylinder caused some of the paint to bubble in the engine bay as the corrosive fluid crept its way down the inner fender. As I suspected, it also did a good job of bypassing the seam sealer in this area and creating an easy passage for moisture to start the "rot dance." All the effected paint and some feathered area were removed, and the seam sealer was total removed. The seam was then wire wheeled clean, and inspected.

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The bare area was then treated to a few light coats of etching primer.

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Thanks to my body guy, I had free supplies on hand to reseal the seam. He assured me this stuff will do the deed!

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The seam sealer was applied a bit too thick, but it allowed me to make sure I pushed as much of the sealer into the crevice as possible.

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The firewall then had a few holes welded shut, and was then sanded down entirely in preparation for paint.

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The hinges were removed to paint them black separately, and since the seam sealer around them was cracked. Sure enough, there was a tiny bit of surface patina under both sides. All the seam sealer was removed around them, and both hinge base areas were sanded to clean metal. since there is now a seam exposed, I am not sure if I should reseal the hinges back on and then paint the bay with them attached, or paint the bay and hinges separately and apply seam sealer when the hinges are reinstalled.

-Mike
 
i would honestly say that this build is by far the BEST build ive ever come accross. so well documented with details, pics, right along side the ingeneous design and craftsmanship. mad props.
 
Indeed, they use to automaticaly resize to fit a more reasonable resolution (1040 or so) on this forum.

I may have to go in and resize my library tonight!

-Mike
 


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