Rebuild... Maybe more power? Suggestions plz
 

I have a 1986.5 n/a that i am in the middle of rebuilding. The top end was re-manufactured and had all new hoses and so on about five thousand miles ago or less by the previous owner. However i noticed the head bolts were not torqued evenly when i was taking it apart today... probably why my head gasket was shot, i had overheating, and lost some coolant :whateva:

So at the very minimum ill replace gaskets, rings, and bearings.. and very likely new pistons. And put everything together CORRECTLY, with new head ARP head bolts and the correct torque and so on.

Other options:
boring it out... whats the cost and gain from this?
stroke kit... ive just heard this mentioned, not sure about it.
Turbo... i have an intercooler and piping and wastegate, and could get a stock Honda turbo for about 100 bucks. But then i'd have to weld the exhaust and get oil fittings for the turbo.. not sure about this either. Could just sell this stuff to help pay for the rebuild.

If nothing else i could just rebuild it to stock, and gear up the rear end with a new ring and pinion set. thats another 300 dollars.

My budget is flexible, but im only a senior in highschool so it definately has a limit.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

If you want power swap in a 7mgte or better but don't waste money on the other options.

why would i pay for another engine for an extra fifty hp when i could get the same result with the engine i have for half the price? If i really wanted power id go 1jz and put some money into that... but i have a 7mge, a budget, and better options then buying the same engine with a sub par turbo attached to it.

thank you for the reply though :)

750.00 gets me a 7MGTE with the Turbo. (that's delivered cost). I cannot do a head gasket repair that cheaply.
Mind you.. having said that.. who knows whats gonna happen with the replacement.. lol

As for subpar turbo.. I wouldn't call the CT26 subpar. it is adequate and does its job nicely. A stock turbo is still a little speed demon. Most of us want more HP simply because we can... on the street.. using a 450 HP Supra for tooling around in is only different in that you can get higher tickets much better.

750.00 sounds good
 

would you tell the best place to get a 7mgte to replace mine that is knocking like a you know what

You can get a complete gasket set, and pistons and rings for less then 300 dollars on ebay... that was just a quick search and i wont be buying it from ebay but its going to be a hell of a lot cheaper then 750.

The difference between n/a and turbo on the first couple years was only about 30 or 40 hp... and given if i buy a stock honda turbo for $100 it wont give me anything amazing, but it does not make since to me to trade what i have for a 7mgte. I may gain some hp, but it is not worth it, and there are other ways to get the same result with what i have for cheaper.

it seems to me like a stock rebuild would be best... and then gear up my differential for some added torque. Top speed isnt important for a street car, and acceleration is fun. my gas mileage will go down, but o well.

I rebuild my 7mge with 20 over and they shaved my head and block some and they use a oem head gasket which up my compression some and i put on a stainless steel header and all new hose and other stuff and a new center force clutch now my car gets up and Goes don't know how much HP it has intill I get it dynoed next I will like to get a 3" exhaust with no cat and a turbo later down the road since I have turbo'd forged pistons and rods and crank In it now

Also my turbo pistons r dished for a turbo but the compression on them r 9:1 and the 7mge stock compression is 9.1:1 Wiseco makes them

I could tell you where if you were in Calgary, but not in the states. Pretty sure that there are places like here though that carry them. The ones here I believe are shipped in from Japan and can have from 60k - 80k on them (or who knows really.. haven't really researched it heavy enough yet as it is via warehouse. there may be a dog waiting to bite me for that too if I go that route)

If you are redoing the head gasket, you should lap the block as well. There are more things to consider then simply redoing the head gasket when you get to that point. I am not a mechanic, so I dont like arguing the point, but I doubt I could redo my head gasket for 750.00 when all is said and done. But that would all probably depend on what you have for tools/time and mechanical ability.

Again, I am not a mechanic, so I could be totally wrong.. although I havent found a way to do it cheaply and properly.

Lapping the block may be a good idea. And as far as more then just the head gasket, thats what im trying to figure out. I got the pistons and cranked pulled and everything is already disassembled, so it is a matter of taking measuremeants and finding out what needs to be done. but im still looking for the best option for the cheapest price.

The price here is in parts.. unless im getting it bored or something else that requires tools and knowledge that i certainly do not have. So lets have some more suggestions based on that. : )

Sonyps307, thank you for the info. Ill keep that in mind.

You may think a 7mge has potential but it doesn't. I have put too much money into it to upgrade it for a few more hp. My friend has a 88 with a stock 7mgte in it and driving it makes me realize how slow mine is. Once boost hits, it pulsl far far harder, and what you forget is that a gte has a good deal more torque.

okay... so what is different about it? why does it have more torque? why would it be any different from putting a different turbo on a 7mge? Im simply curious why a 7mgte is so much better then a 7mge when i thought they were the same engine, plus or minus the turbo. Hard evidence would be nice.

It is the same block but with lower compression, oil ports for the turbo and a oil squirter for each piston bottom. I personally can't tell you technically why the 7mgte has more torque , but 188 versus 240 is a big difference. The main thing with the gte is potential that a 7mge just will never reach. Installing a turbo on a 7mge has been cover before on here and concluded to be just not worth the hassle or money when a turbo motor already exists.

Yes, you can pick up a JDM 7MGTE for less than what it would take.

However, keep it in perspective. Not all of us are going to race the car on the streets. I own turbos and will only consider turbos simply because of preference. I like the pull of the turbo, the sound, the status. Other than that, though, the NA Supra is still a very decent car. Sure.. your never going to get as much power out of it, because the turbo itself changes the engine's operation. But if you don't have a turbo, what are you missing? A bit of pull, higher fuel costs, more engine wear and tear and potential.

If you are looking for a fun daily driver that has a nice look, then a NA still fits the bill.

I personally have seen a lot of MKIII's that I liked but walked away from because
1. they didn't have a targa top (that is my top priority.. I like it)
2. they didnt have the turbo (I want to play....)

However, you still have a nice car without the turbo or targa. its all personal preference really... and what your goal is with the car. (hell.. some of us would probably be better off with a truck!) Just dont go expecting 300+ HP out of a NA.. I dont think it can be done.

If you are like me and didnt have a clue what a turbo actually does, its the difference between sucking your coke up through a straw or having someone blow it into your mouth. A NA sucks air.. a turbo pushes. Makes a lot of difference when you think that normally air is about .01 lbs per cubic foot and we are pushing 4-12 lbs of air into a piston with our turbos (depending on setup.. some go higher). NA motors are not setup to take the extra workload as stock.. and I have never heard anyone do anything but warn you about trying to add the turbo without major mods.

okay thank you for a solid answer. So i will not be turbo-ing it. Those were enough reasons and it makes since to me now why not to turbo.

so it seems that simply gearing up the rear diff is the best option. I will rebuild it to stock or slightly better then stock quality if i have the money, and make sure the head bolts are torqued down in the correct sequence so i dont have anymore overheating problems, water in my cylinders, or lack of power (or general engine screw up issues). and with more torque out of my drivetrain i can play with that. :)

I went for proper first. My car leaks oil when parked within the valves so I get blue when I first start up. Other than that I have all the rubber, etc and electrical running perfect (on the engine.. interior is being done as we speak). I want my car running as close to perfect as possible first, then I will think about upping HP/speed. I bought the car for 1. the look, 2. the fun, 3. the speed.. so speed is the last requirement for me. Nice clean body, no problems.. then I will worry about what its capable of.

Those are my priorities and with a car this age.. I think I took the right path. Turbos are fine, NA are fine. Just dont let it get you worried when you see all the talk about turbos.. they are just the ones that most people play with ($$$). Good to have if you have it, but not necessary.

Just a thought but if you gear up the rear diff won't you have high revs at high way speeds?

I haven't looked at the diff gear ratios yet. Currently where my car sits it wont really do above 190 kph (at least definitely not safely) but that is not near redline at that speed. Its just that the engine is straining at that speed, so enginewise I think it can do a bit more, but gearwise I think it is close to max.

It will rev higher in every gear and my gas mileage will go down. Its like having smaller wheels, the engine turns more times for every turn of the wheels. But, depending on the gear set i buy, i will go from about 190 lbs of torque to 325 ish. My speedometer will also be off, saying that i will be going faster then i will actually be going. Odometer is effected the same way.