Restomod Racing

As it turns out the engine kicked out 2 rods.  The 5th and 6th rods were hanging out of the block.  The

6th rod was sticking out of the passengers side and the 5th rod was out the drivers side against the starter.  When time permits, Shane will start his autopsy on the 7MGTE to determine the cause of death.  

The Supra kicked a rod out of the engine today.  Not sure what exactly happened.  Increadably the

7MGTE still starts and runs fairly smooth.  We noticed that the back of the engine raised and lowered as the engine idled and oil/antifreeze blew out on both sides of the engine. 

Shane will take the engine out of the car to determine the extent of the damage. 

For those of you who cruised Van Nuys Blvd back in the 70’s and early 80’s know what a great experience it was.  Cruising up and down the blvd looking at some of the most exotic cars, trying to meet a beautiful girl or parking on the side of the street and talk shop with who ever was around you.  It was great!  I’m sure some grudge races transpired along the blvd, not that I would know anything about that.

To the good news. . . . . It’s back!  You can cruise every 2nd Wednesday of the month.  Remember that the police will be in full force, so keep the B.S. away.  We wouldn’t want to screw this up again.  So get the news out!

When you can’t find one, then make one.  Shane was unable to locate a pair of OEM seat belt holders for his 89 Supra.  The solution……..Make them.  This one was made out of aluminum.

The used CPS (cam position sensor) finally arrived.  The first order of business was to clean it up. This CPS has a tinted window on the center of the cap.  Thats a really neat set up.  Shane marked the pick up with white paint so he could see it through the window.  Now he can slip it into place with the cap on.

First, Shane put the number one piston at top dead center on the compression stroke.  He then slipped the CPS into the engine making sure the pick up was facing the right position.  He then snugged down the CPS.  He fired up the engine to see if it worked.  The engine fired up!  Now it was time for him to time the engine.  He used a jumper wire in the same position as reading the error codes.  He then started the car and set the timing to 10 degree BTDC.

Since the clutch peddle engaged close to the floor, Shane decided to check the clutch peddle higth

and free play.  His clutch peddle is 5.5″ from the floor.  The factory calls for 6.18″ to 6.57″, so adjusting is in order.  In order to get to the adjusting rod, he needed to remove the lower dash cover.  Once removed he had good access to the clutch peddle.  He first turned the clutch peddle stop out, but to his surprise the peddle did not move.  He realized that the clutch master cylinder rod was holding it from moving.  He loosened the lock nut and removed the pin from the bolt that holds the master cylinder rod to the clutch peddle.  He turned it out until he could obtain the 6.5″ peddle higth.  Now he needed to adust the free play.  This is achieved by turning the peddle higth adjuster until he has a little less than 1/2″ of free play.  Once this is achieved he tightened the lock nut.

The igniter came today.  Shane installed it, which only took a few minutes.  He started the car and

 it ran good.  He test drove it around the block and parked it.  When he went to restart it, nothing!  He checked and not spark.  He ran his checks again and the Cam Position Sensor (CPS) still showed that it was out of specification.  He decided to try starting the engine again.  Unexpectedly the engine started.  When he shut it off and tried to restart it, nothing.  He noticed that each time he used the ohm meter to measure the resistance in the CPS, the engin would start afterwards.  He came to the conclusion that the CPS must have some kind of short in it.  He surfed the net and found a used CPS for $140.  Since a new one costs $500, he ordered it. 

This morning the engine wouldn’t start.  Shane checked for spark.  None was present.  Looking

at the Supra manual, it indicated that the Igniter, Coil pack or Cam Position Sensor could be the problem.   Running the tests, the Igniter and the Cam Position Sensor both were out of specification.  Shane decided he would try replacing the igniter since it was apparently farthest off of specification.  He found a used one on Ebay and ordered it.  The reason for buying a used one is pure economics.  A used one costs $100 versus a new one costing $400.

The engine is done.  It runs like a charm!  Shane said that his clutch feels different, but the car

runs good.  Finally, he can start driving her again.  The overheating is no more.  Turns out to be the notorious blown head gasket. 

It was determined that the rubber ring around the rotor housing had given out.  Keith decided to

use the aviation type.  He also had to replace his rotor housings due to excessive wear.  He had the replacement housings bridge ported.  The choice was to use Mazda 3mm apex seals as well as a lot more stock type parts rather than their racing brothers. This turned out to be a good decision as the engine has never ran better.  The over heating problem is gone too.