95 GT turbo (RAP)

[00joeindastarb0]

I've been on this forum since it was created and the previous site which spawned it, as well as toyotagtturbo from 2006 where it all began for me with these little cars.

Although not being much of a contributor I have always enjoyed keeping track of the builds so many of you have gone to the trouble of detailing on the site, so I thought I'd return the favour.

Back in 2006 my colleague acquired a Black square light GT which I went out in, it was only running an exhaust, filter and bleed valve but the impression was made and I had to have one.

So the search began and I managed to find a Silver Quadlight GT on ebay N134 RAP it was fresh of the boat with a nice set of Sparco wheels, lowered suspension comprising of Ohlins front shocks and TRD rears with what would later be found to be cut springs , a Apexi megaphone back box and a c's quickshift.

I managed to win the car and the following weekend I was on my way to Sussex with the aforementioned friend in his GT to collect the car.

When we arrived the car looked great but was missing due to poor fuel quality, a trip to the get some fresh fuel and the car was running great. The guy selling the car was good enough to let us see his store of cars and when we walked round the back of his house there was an array of JDM machinery and he was good enough to sell some bits of the cars, my mate managed to acquire a Trd bucket and some Racing hart wheels.

I got the car home safely and the fun began

After owning the car a short while I was beaten by a Fiat Uno turbo so the modifications begun after some research, I figured I needed a decent exhaust so got in contact with Mr Burwash(RIP) and had to physically put the money in his account (that was how long ago it was) so that I could get a HKS Hi Power Silent Exhaust. I then found out the delights of fuel cut so after more research I dealt with Toby of toytunning who some of you may remember and ordered a Jam racing manifold, HKS actuator, Blitz boost controller, Sard FPR Kit and Warlbro. I also acquired a turbosmart fcd, decat, WEPR intercooler piping and ebay intercooler. With this all fitted I had many fond memories of embarrassing so called faster cars and impressing my mates as a teenager.

Unfortunately £300 month insurance premiums and the expenditure of modding took its toll and I stupidly sold the car to a guy called Joel from the midlands and I watched it drive away.

When I was in a better position a little time later I travelled all the way to Blackpool with the same friend who had the Black GT, who was then in the process of building it into a forged TD04 Hybrid NOS fuelled 353bhp Monster. After making the long journey from my native Essex I collected a Mk1 GT running a TD04 on a Dastek with supporting mods and a lovely set of Wedsport TC05s.

Pic of my friends car for your interest

Was running a very early Speedvision mani/side exit Hybrid TD04 built by Essex turbos, Quaife diff, Dastek, Zex nitrous Made 293 at the wheels, it was ratty but a real experience to be in only real contender was a 400bhp Rx7 lol

The White Mk1 unfortunately only lasted 4 days when the return line for the turbo which was simple a silicone breather hose split and the bottom end was destroyed. My own fault for not checking the car over thoroughly and a lesson well and truly learned.

This then led me to buying a crash damaged quadlight from Ricky(sxturbo) on tgtt so that I could transplant the freshly built engine.

Having to then sell some parts to fund this the Mk1 returned to being powered by a CT9 and the Wedsports were sold to Toby. I soon got fed up of the Mk1 as it wasn't the same and later swapped it for a E39 5 series which lasted two weeks lol.

At this point I had been made redundant the economy had crashed and it was all doom and gloom and I decided the best thing to do was go to Uni.

While at Uni I bought this Mk1 which I intended to restore.

I wish I'd done more with this one.

However I then picked up this Mk3 GT Auto that I modded to stage 1 running just under fuel cut.

I had every intension of converting the GT to Manual but it never happened and I lost interest moving on to restore a E30

Now after finishing Uni and being in work for a year or so, I was browsing gumtree looking for car number 28 and N134 RAP appears. I had seen the car come up for sale before on pistonheads it was in a bit of a state then but was complete and had all the mods I fitted. So after contemplating buying it back but coming to the conclusion its a bad idea I resisted making the call, but a few days later the price had been dropped and as it was only an hour and thirty away I made the call and was on my way to take a look after work.

Upon arrival my thoughts were what have they done to my car:sorry: but it still ran well and pulled with no smoke which is remarkable considering the life its had and it having covered 125k miles. At this stage though the body had rust on the arches on one side and crash damage to the other, much of the interior was missing and it had no handbrake. The guy selling it was a nice chap and it turned out he used to work where I now work but after some umming and urghing a lot of work was required and there wasnt much movement on the price so I walked. I went home and continued browsing for cars on the net with my mates telling me I made the right decision and its condition would just aggravate my ocd nature within weeks of owning it.

But I knew no other car would feel as special as my first Starbo and have the collection of parts that RAP has, and it just so happened I had two weeks booked of work so began compiling in my head how to tackle the task of re commissioning my car after getting my name on the logbook again 9 years on.

I made the deal with the seller and went to pick it up one late Friday night having begun the ordering of parts in advance, I had a nerve racking journey home listening for every abnormal engine noise.

This is how it sat

and then the work began

I ended up getting a bit carried away buying parts as you do but managed to get the majority of work done in two weeks with a mate helping me to put it all back together in the last few days.

A Pic with my mates low mileage S special Eunos on the final day

The car had

Rebuilt rear callipers, new handbrake cables, pads all round and fresh Toyota 5.1 fluid.

I stripped the car down to replace panels and treated all the rust I could find which I then primed and undersealed. It made me really regret not doing it all that time ago.

I then stripped the interior and shampooed it all, refitting it with fixings and brackets which I managed to source. The steering wheel had turned green and sticky so I replaced it with one I won on ebay for £11 which was removed from a skyline, looks the part with a TRD horn button.

Engine had recently had a new belt and water pump so I replaced.

Oil and filter with Mobil 1

New Dizzy, Rotary Arm(looked to be the originals) iridium plugs.

Fuel filter

Rocker cover gasket

Dizzy O ring

Toyota Forlife coolant

Toyota 5.1 clutch fluid

Gearbox fluid

I also tackled a small amount of rust on the rear arch and refurbing the wheels.

Putting it all back together with new front wings, bumper, grill, passenger door from jamesd89(thanks very much mate it would be looking as good as it does without these parts).

After two weeks I was left with this result.

Chilling at work

I have now been using it as my daily for the past month and its hasn't caused me any real problems, it has a spec six clutch in it which upon reading on here, they seem to have there issues and gear selection is a problem. I bought a spare box for it and intend to swap this in with a new clutch but the issue seems to be improving so I'm in no rush.

I'm amazed by how it runs and hopefully it will continue doing so (touch wood) there is no significant smoke and it pulls well.

The plan is to carry out a refresh in the new year (engine wise) and I may take advantage of Sacha October offer but am unsure about changing turbo and ditching the Jam Manifold I might just get a divorced decat, billet hybrid and piggyback.

What is for sure, is I want to hold on to it and make sure it stays in usable condition.

Current Spec

Warlbro 255 Fuel Pump

Sard Rising Rate FPR Kit

JAM Racing Manifold

HKS Hi Power Silent Exhaust

Nightpager Decat Screamer(REMOVED)

WEPR FMIC Piping

Samco Radiator Hoses

Spec 6 Puk Paddle Clutch

HKS Actuator

Tein Coilover

Cusco Rear Brace

Blitz BOV

Sparco Crimson 15” Alloy Wheels

C’s Short Shifter

Razo Gearknob

Front Mount Apexi Filter

Blitz Boost Gauge

Thanks for reading

Joe

Edited March 29, 2016 by 00joeindastarb0

[Whitenoize]

Looks great dude wer you from ? I take it you work for mclaren? I've been to the open day a few times my gf dad works for them

[daniel_g]

Glad you found and saved your original GT, silver ones are the best!

[5e colin]

thats 1 sweeeeeet silver bullet mate niiice

[00joeindastarb0]

Thanks for the kind comments

Whitenoize is it Darren? you came and looked at the black auto when it was up forsale, you wanted it for the engine but I didn't want to sell it that cheap lol how are you?

[Whitenoize]

Thanks for the kind comments

Whitenoize is it Darren? you came and looked at the black auto when it was up forsale, you wanted it for the engine but I didn't want to sell it that cheap lol how are you?

ah yes mate I remember now it's Ryan I knew I recognised the black one I'm good didn't realise you'd had so many ep,s I'd love any of those mk1,s I should have bought that auto I was thinking of it for the engine for my gt turns out I'm driving an auto now and actually quite like it lol Edited September 22, 2015 by Whitenoize

[hookie663]

Thats prety cool to hear tat good work mate

[00joeindastarb0]

Ah Ryan, You should have bought it, it went to a women who simple sent a trailer for it without viewing, was a good car I've seen it change hands several times since. I'm just down the road from McLaren we should sort some kind of Surrey meet.

[Whitenoize]

Ah Ryan, You should have bought it, it went to a women who simple sent a trailer for it without viewing, was a good car I've seen it change hands several times since. I'm just down the road from McLaren we should sort some kind of Surrey meet.

yes mate definitely id be up for that do t see many ep,s around tbh I e seen one other black gt in Guildford but that's about it

[JamesD89]

Thats a great write up Joe and the gt looks stunning. As Dan said above " the silver ones are the best" very best of luck with it mate☺

James

[00joeindastarb0]

Thanks Hookie

Ryan we will have to put up a thread up there's a Glanza at work but he's in the other building and I haven't had the chance to collar him.

Thanks James the silver comes up well I've only given it a quick mop as I didn't have the time, I will hopefully get it looking even better

[Zoib_786]

If you have a front passenger wing off that White gt please do sell it to me . Top build by the way

[Matthewep91v]

Great build mate

[00joeindastarb0]

Right this is due an update

Since stage one of the re commissioning took place, and with the plan to run the car and not do a whole lot to it, stage two and then three has quickly followed.

After using the car daily and having to get another MOT put on it a number of areas were highlighted where it needed attention, I had been doing little bits to it like a din slot and horn button and so on but I decided it needed a good going over so began to collect a number of service parts.

This included a new low mileage Glanza gearbox, Exedy standard replacement clutch(which I'm beginning to regret already), a set of shafts and HKS oil cap(thanks Abbott) as one of mine began to get a bit noisy, Ball joints, trackrod ends, rear wheel bearings, new apexi filter, new breather filter, uprated shifter bushes.

When it came to remove the box one of the shafts just would not budge from the hub even after buying a big hammer, then going back and buying an even bigger hammer, so a quick dash to Kent was required to pick up a spare hub to get the car rolling again(thanks krissyb). Although this resulted having to replace a front wheel bearing, as well as then having odd hubs one with a 55m center bore the other a 54mm which is a bit annoying and will need sorting in due course.

Once everything was complete however what a transformation the front end felt tight, there isn't any noise from the rear and I didn't have to heel and toe going up and down the box anymore. There is a slight whine from the box though but its to long ago for me to remember if this is normal? I seem to be the only person who notices it I think I'm going to try some better fluid.

With the general maintenance taken care of I decided to treat the car to another oil change and some Evo 7 seats which I really think add to the interior although they do need some proper mountings making up as I don't know what possessed the person who welded them they look terrible and offset both seats outwards from the centre of the car, if you were going to the trouble you would do a decent wouldn't you.

Then around Christmas time I tied up a few loose ends such as cleaning out ICV and I also picked up these wheels from Ebay, I have never seen a set they have a nice dish are light and 7J, but unfortunately are Tawain made and not JDM

Then after surviving the long January and acquiring a Blitz decat from Zoib to complete the ultimate CT9 JDM exhaust setup of Jam Racing Manifold, Blitz Decat and HKS Hi Power Silent, I was tempted by a forsale thread as we all do and ended up with one of these little things.

A Tongs hybrid pictured with a standard compressor wheel for comparison.

So this began my stage 3 and hopefully getting me a step close to the ideal setup where I will be content(yeah right lol its never ending)

With the new turbo and downpipe I fitted all new gaskets, uprated the two remaining engine mounts with the JD ones(thank you Jeremy) an added a standard manifold heatshield and Cat support bracket as well as replacing all the rocker cover gaskets.

Which resulted in this

Although the camera makes it look a hell of a lot better than it really does.

With the hybrid on I borrowed a mates AEM wideband to check the fuelling which although is just taken care of by just a FPR and FCD(I know) was nice and safe ranging from 11-12.5 at WOT through to the redline. Although this isn't the ideal setup it seems to be working well although my car paranoia is rife with 207km on the clock she is hanging in well with boost set around a bar but still creeping in this weather.

This has however highlighted a number of oil leaks which are cause for concern and the question I ask now is do I rebuild before I hear a dreaded knock? I really don't want to ruin the engine as its clearly a good one, but I fear it might not be the same once opened. Once I do open it though I think if I use all Toyota bearing, gaskets and rings I should be able to produce something solid shouldn't I? I best get saving for stage four.

Some pictures after a clean.

With my Dads beast, what a noise

A Colleagues Vitz (little bro) its had a considerable amount of work done on it by dean at RW

Thanks for looking

Edited February 15, 2016 by 00joeindastarb0

[Zoib_786]

need to pop over soon mate want to here it decated

[00joeindastarb0]

Here's my original build thread from when I first owned it

http://www.toyotagtturbo.com/forums/showthread.php?469-My-82-Mk3-Progress

Crazy to look at.

Updates wise, I have a new set of Tyres fitted Bridgestone Potenzas RE002 and picked up a HKS dump valve.

Spring clean photos to follow

[00joeindastarb0]

Some old pictures from when I first owned the car, getting nostalgic now

Edited March 18, 2016 by 00joeindastarb0

[Wastegate86]

Was never a big fan of silver GT's but they've really grown on me

Car looks so tidy, especially that engine bay

[Rich-k]

Locely read up mate! Its fantastic and what a great car i like how you think about every modification for tour car and how it will benefit it rather than just buying random bits haha

[00joeindastarb0]

Thanks for the comments, its really encouraging.

Really enjoying using it at the moment as the weather improves, had a few local meets and some good blasts with random cars.

I do like the silver looks best in fading light, but black comes up so well.

[00joeindastarb0]

Well after having an enjoyable summer with the car, the nagging feeling that I would have to come to a decision whether to spend more or find a replacement, was playing on my mind.

Obviously not being able to think of a worthwhile replacement new or old that would offer the uniqueness and enjoyment without considerable more financial outlay the decision was made to rebuild/refresh the engine.

In order to do this I needed somewhere to carry out the work and after looking at the options and hassling friends and family, I was able to get the use of my Dads Garage but it was two hours away. So I planned the time I had and once again I used my annual two weeks holiday in August to work on the car.

I booked off a long weekend a month before my holiday so I was able to spend three days removing the engine cleaning and bagging components ready for the machinist and reassembly. As I did have a engine crane at this time I broke the engine down in order to remove it.

Auxiliaries removed

Head off

Pistons out- Things dont look to bad on the crowns but there is a lot of carbon build up behind the rings.

Main bearings- Some scoring

Big end bearing- worn through to the copper maybe I pulled it apart just in time.

Valves out

Head gasket- Blown between 2 and 3 which might explain the poor running

The Jam Manifold is showing its age with a number of cracks and I dont know how much my proting ten years ago helped but its got more life in it and its going back on.

Cleaned up piston comparison

Cleaned up injectors comparison

For reference the engine had completed 212721km upon removal with more than half of that at 1bar on fpr a testament to the quality of engineering I would say well done mr Toyota.

With the weekend over I wrapped up my head, crank, block, pistons and valves to take home so that I could deliver them to my chosen machinist as well as spending my free time to get everything cleaned up.

The Machinist was to deglaze the bores and deck the block, they identified that the exhaust guides were worn beyond tolerance which would explain the smoking so they were to be replaced and the valve seats recut and valves refaced, as well as skimming the head. The crank was then to be checked and polished.

I was able to collect the engine two weeks after dropping it of allowing me time to give them another clean and deburr.

All the replacement parts were then to be ordered so I made many a list to work out what I was able to afford within budget.

The list comprised of:-

Engine Machining, Gasket Set, Oil Pump, Piston rings, Cambelt kit, Tensioner spring, Head bolts, Ignition leads, Oil filters, Coolant, Paint, Sump sealant, Loctite, Torque wrench, Engine Crane, Engine stand, Cylinder head stand, Plastigauge, Manifold nuts, Fuel hose, P Clips, Piston ring compressor, manifold studs, AC Grommet, Oil, Transmission fluid, PCV Grommet, Valve lapping kit, Decat fixings, Bearing set, breather filter.

Then the enjoyable part of receiving all the parcels started and once I was off work I was able to get started on the build.

The pile of parts

I got the engine on the stand and gave it, its first coat of paint

I then placed the crank in and took some measurements to ensure everything is within tolerance.

Everything was then cleaned for the umpteenth time and I assembled the bottom end.

I was then able to start work on the head and I planned to mildly port the head before assembly matching to the gaskets and removing the step where the ports meet the valve seat as well as shaping the combustion chamber slightly.

With this complete more cleaning took place and reassembly was able to occur.

I then spent hours trying to achieve the valve clearances so they were as close to perfect as I could manage.

The head and block were then complete so it was time to put them together, as with the mains I wound the bolts in and out a number of times to ensure the threads were clean and they would be torqued correctly.

With that achieved I then cleaned and painted all the auxiliaries, and start building the engine up further. This being one of the more rewarding parts of the build.

As the engine was almost complete it was time to prepare the engine bay so I gave it a good clean and stripped the headlights of to treat and paint any tired areas. I need a new crash bar.

It was then time to bite the bullet and get the engine back in the car, so with my Dad taking control of manoeuvring the crane it was soon in and bolted to its mounts.

The following day was then spent plumbing everything in and ensuring nothing had been missed.

I then just had to turn the key, with the plugs out and efi relay removed it took a considerable amount of time to build oil pressure, all the while my mind was filling with doubt. After removing the filter and using the funnel and pipe method to prime everything the light went out and it was the moment of truth.

It started! but whats that noise? I was searching all around and it would disappear when the throttle was blipped, then when checking underneath I felt a blow from the exhaust. I only forgot to plug the hole in the decat for the stock heat sensor Doh! Lol.

With that sorted, all seemed ok, with just a slight weep from the oil feed so I called it a night.

The following day I checked and replaced the washers on the oil feed and run it up again ready for the maiden voyage unfortunately a leak from the water feed for the turbo then made itself know. So I shut it down and changed the clip before repeating.

I was then ready to hit the road, it felt alright but a bit sluggish down low due to the timing being a bit off and then I lost the clutch another Doh! Moment, forgot to tighten the slave. Reminder always check everything over.

After returning from its first run I had another go at setting the timing and tightened the slave cylinder. It was then time to do some proper running in and get the rings bedded in so taking the running it in hard ISH approach I hit the country lanes using second and third mostly taking it to 5k letting it rundown. I continued this over the next week with regular oil changes and increasing the revs gradually.

With about 500 miles complete I picked myself up a new ECU and increased the boost after correctly setting the base fuel pressure and the car is performing as hoped.

With a few weeks of constant use under its belt I was a bit apprehensive about posting anything online but its been revved to 7k now and has over a 1000 miles on it so hopefully Ill be alright.

There is a weep from the sump which needs addressing on the next oil change and I want to get it checked over at a tuner to see what its running. But I think I can say Im happy with it after spending two weeks working away night and day.

Now Ive said no more spending, but plans of how to fill my Christmas holiday refurbing the suspension are already formulating in my mind lol.

Thanks for reading.

[Zoib_786]

Looks so clean ! Il have that engine stand if it's for sale ;)

[jimmymac101]

What an update! great work

James

[jayc-glanza17]

Good work buddy. Keep it up.

[00joeindastarb0]

Made a video of the GT

https://youtu.be/zo18x_ntwcE