I did a video documenting the first part of the rebuild on the white Supra. I also included some video of some of my favorite passes at the beginning to build a little hype and a little inspiration for myself to get this thing ready.
In part one, I will be covering the assembly of the motor, cam install, and suspension install. The motor was built by Brian Roche Racing Engines, and consists of an Eagle 3.4 2JZ crank, Callies rods, and diamond pistons. The block is 3/4 filled with epoxy, which retains streetability as well as adds strength to the casting.
The suspension consists of my Ultimate IRS stock replacement chromoly tubular subframe, my adjustable lower control arm setup with eyelet shock mounts, strange double adjustable coilovers, bucks performance upper adjustable arms, and figs performance adjustable trac arms and figs toe arms. The rear end is a Driveshaft shop 9" setup.
Please subscribe to my youtube channel for part 2 of the video, as well as other informative videos and Supra content!
When I picked up Jay's car in upstate NY the plan was to just take out the factory automatic transmission and install the GR700 manual. Well it turned out to be a little more of a project... Since Jay also had a ETS intercooler he wanted installed along with the transmission, I told Jay it was worth the money to just make this car full BPU and do a downpipe, intake and tune as well. I also converted the car over to TTC and got rid of all the factory twin boost control and did a boost control solenoid which is controlled with the Haltech. The car is making 15psi on the stock twins and runs great.
Jay has big plans for the car, and he plans on bringing it back over the winter. He was considering just going right in and doing the build right away, but since he just bought the car I told him "It's summertime, enjoy the car for a bit, and do the build over the winter when you can't drive the car anyway!"... So he agreed. Jay was torn between starting out with the GR700, or just taking the plunge and doing the GR1000 right off the start. I told him we can upgrade the trans over the winter at the same time we are doing the engine build.
So in essence, this is a temporary build, something for Jay to enjoy for a bit. He plans on doing a wild build, and his eventual goal is to do a full build to make 1500HP.
Big thanks to Darin Dichiara for doing a nice job with the remote tune on this car!
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What I did on this "build":
Enclosed transport pickup/delivery (I can do this within 6 hours of PA)
Well, of course it doesn't shift exactly the same as a V160. The T56 Magnum is made by different company and has quite a bit different design, especially when it comes to the shifter.
If you want to experience the "feel" how the T56 Magnum shifts, you can test drive a 2010+ camaro SS, 2008-2013 Corvette, 2013+ Viper, 2007 Mustang GT500, or 2009+ Challenger. The same gearset is used in these factory cars, and this transmission is widely used by FORD, GM, and DODGE! Also, you may notice a recurring theme with all the car in the above list... High Performance!
The shifter is your connection to the car's heart, and you become very used to how the feel of each shift. I got very accustomed to the V160 after racing/driving it for 6 years, so when I first drove my car with the T56 Magnum I didn't love the shift feel. But after driving it for a short time, I got used to the feel and it became the new norm. I would describe the V160 as having long, loose throws. I say "loose" because the tripod design can give somewhat of a sloppy feel... which is totally different from the magnums integrated shifter, which has tight, super short throws.
I think this is why most of the auto guys who swap to this trans have no issue getting used to the shift feel. Only the guys who have driven the V160 for long periods like myself have gotten used to that v160 style shift feel, and at first may not like the change.
There are some people out there who say you degrade the value of your supra by putting a T56 Magnum in it. They believe the Getrag built V160 is some sort of God's gift to the world. I will admit, I AM one of those purists/weirdos when it comes to the 2JZ powerplant, which is the heart of the car. The TOYOTA made 2JZ quite possibly is God's gift. The Getrag made V160, while it is a great gearbox, it is just that... a gearbox. Swapping it out causes me no grief. Especially when it involves swapping it out for a trans that is capable and currently in production. I don't see the Supra purists having issue the factory auto guys who swap to a TH400.
Here is an example of the "clunky" T56 Magnum transmission on the highway LOL. This is Kyle's MKIV Supra from FL, he swapped from a factory auto to a magnum.
For those that don't know my background... I have a passion not only for racing and cars, but creating videos like this one. I hope this inspires you to get out there and do what you love to do, whatever that may be. For me, its banging gears... pushing a true synchronized manual transmission car to the limit. I still haven't reached the top yet, but I will keep trying.
My White 6-Speed Supra will be back soon. I'm hoping to drop another 100 lbs off the car.
Changes for this year include:
removing all the a/c, heat, blower etc from under the dash.
When I first started testing a T56 magnum I used an Australian made aluminum bellhousing. It worked well, and was a little bit cheaper than the Steel bellhousings offered in the USA. I also thought that the aluminum bellhousing would be much lighter, which is good for what I am doing... but recently I found that is not really the case. It is a only 2.8 lbs lighter than the steel bell.
Here is the weights of the quicktime bell vs the CRS aluminum bell.
Also shipping these CRS bellhousings the whole way from Australia pretty much kills the price savings over the Quicktime bells. So, I decided to try a quicktime bellhousing in my car... and I gotta say I am overall very impressed.
On the lift:
The quality is great, and the weight is not that much greater than the aluminum bell. And its SFI-approved for racing. The bell is tapped steel, versus tapped aluminum, so you don't have to worry about stripping threads. The steel is much stronger than the cast aluminum as well. So really, the pros of using a Quicktime bell now outweigh the cons, and I will be transitioning all of my kits over to use the Quicktime bellhousing.
Here is my GR1000 kit installed on my 1994 Toyota Supra:
So there are only a few downsides to the Quicktime bellhousing, but I put together a remedy for that. First, they do not include proper hardware for the block. The bolts I got were not the large fine thread metric bolts the 2JZ block requires. So, an easy fix. I will provide the proper bolts if you purchase the bell from me. Second, the quicktime bell does not provide a pilot bearing for the T56 magnum input shaft. I have sourced these and will also include that with a purchase. Lastly quicktime bell hits the tunnel at the 10 o'clock position, but it is a 5 minute fix with an angle grinder.
Here are the bolts included from quicktime that were not correct, and the only bolts I had were too long for this test fit. I had to order short 1.5" 12x1.25 thread bolts since they are an odd size.
Rather than hammering the tunnel, I also chose to grind down the bellhousing where the clearance was a little tight. If you are looking at the rear of the bellhousing this is around the 10-o'clock position.
Here is the bellhousing after the cutting/grinding.
Here it is after the cutting and re-install (before raising the motor up to level)
Here you can see the proper size sealed pilot bearing I include with my kits. This is not provided by Quicktime or CRS with their bells.
Other than those few issues this bellhousing installs quite easily. If you are looking to swap your Supra, IS300 or other 2JZ car and looking for a kit or an install email me.
Here are my kits:
GR700 Recommended for applications making 500-800RWHP
GR900 Recommended for applications making OVER 800 RWHP
GR1000 Recommended for applications making over 1000 RWHP
GR1000F Recommended for race applications making over 1000 RWHP
Let's face it... Drag racing competitively on a synchronized transmission is not only painfully expensive, but also extremely frustrating. Some might even say it's a waste of time! I have been locked out of gears at high rpm, had gear failures, mis-shifts, and multiple ruined synchronizer rings over the past 2 years while running the V160 under extreme horsepower.
Not only is broken parts a problem, but the speed at which you can shift is limited by the synchronizers. Trying to go fast with a giant turbo, and still using a synchro box is a battle I have been losing. I have always ran nitrous to combat the car coming out of power between shifts... but nitrous has also caused me failures. I have cracked the intake manifold more than once due to backfires.
While I have not had any issues with my synchro GR1000 transmission since I made the change, I have been watching videos of the Honda guys running faceplated/dogbox transmissions. These guys use a strain gauge to interrupt power, which make the shifts lightning fast. This allows full throttle shifting. Not only that, but I saw Len Bacon's orange RX7 pick up massive ET (a half second!!!) by switching from a factory transmission to a g-force. So basically it's time to quit playing around... I know I am loosing tons of ET continuing with these synchro boxes.
You could faceplate a V160... but now that parts are impossible to find that would be a waste of time. One broken trans and you would be screwed... This is one of the reasons I swapped to the Tremec T56 Magnum. There is so much more aftermarket support available for the magnum. Sequential shifters, faceplating, gear ratios, etc etc! And when you need to do a rebuild... parts are readily available! I have seen so many people gouging others selling discontinued V160 parts.
From Left: synchronized gear, Pro-shifted gear, Faceplated gear
So, about 3 months ago I placed an order for a faceplated transmission. It has billet shift forks, is fully cryogenically treated, and has everything the GR1000 has but then add on faceplated 1st-4th gears. It is the ULTIMATE 6-speed transmission.
The transmission has been sitting in my garage for about a month, waiting for me to install. An opportunity came up to run a 1/2 mile event locally and I figured what better time than now to throw this box in and give it a test.
I do not want to run nitrous at the 1/2 mile, so shifting speed is of utmost importance. To me, it was a no brainer to try this transmission and see how much faster it could be shifted... and how much better it can keep me in power on shifts.
Here is an example of a faceplated gear. Notice the synchros only have about 5-6 teeth
I did some street testing on the transmission, and the video below is the first time I ever drove the car on the GR1000F. First impressions are that this thing is amazing! I need to adjust the clutch a bit, as its engaging way too far up off the floor, so gear changes are still a bit slower than they could be. I am anxious to really push this box to the limit.
So am I completely done with synchronized boxes? Hell no, I am still going to chase that record! I will be back, but this is gonna be used at the 1/2 mile and I might do some 1/4 mile testing with it as well.
