Soarer Silliness: A JZZ30 Build by nmichuda

Can confirm, TR6060 works REAL nice. ABS delete and some alignment/aesthetic changes incoming, otherwise very content with the car as is at this point.

After a few months of considering transmission options and not being stoked on my current gearing with the 4.1 in back, I came up with the following:

Option A.) Buy another R154, regear from 4.1 final to 3.9 or 3.7 (out of a MK4 Supra) if I can find one, maybe add a clutch delay valve to avoid blowing another gearbox up

Option B.) Go CD009/JK4, regear to a 3.2 final (out of a GS430), hope that it feels as decent as what I have in the IS300

Option C.) Bite the bullet and go T56, though I didn't know too much about it other than learning to drive stick on an F body growing up

Turns out the T56 gearing with the current 4.1 final is almost identical to Supra factory gearing with a V160, is insanely strong and fits perfectly in the tunnel with the Grannas adapter kit. Plus, if there's ever any issues, parts to rebuild are plentiful stateside.

Luckily I came across a FS ad where a local dude in the Bay area was selling a full SC300 adapter kit and T56 Magnum brand new in box (hadn't even opened the transmission box yet), including clutch, driveshaft, and everything else needed to do the swap for $3k cheaper than retail because he was leaving for school. Couldn't pass the opportunity up and jumped on it, just need to exchange the LHD master cylinder for a RHD one and I should be in good shape. Huge thanks to Joey for picking this up.

Now to find time to fly out west so I can con the boys into helping me install this thing 😏

Update:

Flew back out to CA to knock out some minor items/hang with the boys.

• Replaced the fan/clutch with a new GP Sport fan (basically the same as GK Tech) and OEM clutch after seeing some minor cooling issues at the previous event

• Attempted to test fit the new Origin type 2 hood that finally arrived. Got it wrapped to match the car, unfortunately was going to require a full day of fitting/messing with the latch to sit correctly without me worrying that it would fly up on the highway.

  
  

• Lowered the rear and realigned the car, night and day difference. Wouldn't mind lowering the rear a bit more at some point.

• Polished the fog lights, changed out hood/trunk struts, other odds and ends.

Drove Good Luck League Lucky Select @ T Hill the following day, drove like shit and popped 3rd gear on the brand new R154 right after lunch.

Car now takes up space in a very generous teammate's garage till I eventually bite the bullet on a CD swap. Until then, it will sit on ice for the foreseeable future. Still love this car.

Car rips, couldn't be happier. Some fine tuning/height adjustment needed but yeah, ready to drive it again ASAP.

damn so good can't wait till it's back at the shop 😎

Vertex ZZW30 is a dream so I’m going to live vicariously through you

Update!

After a few issues lining up paint, ended up instead bringing the car over to Jason @ Rival Auto to get the car finally running right/satisfy my need to change everything.

Special edition 2JZ dong piston version being assembled with Apexi HG

Head was inspected, for whatever reason there was light/moderate scoring on all of the cam journals. Small scuff later, should be fine

Mid assembly with BC 264 cams, mocking up the new manifold and turbo hotside. Determined the oil pump may have caused some of the issues above, so went with a Driftmotion upgraded unit for peace of mind.

Mostly assembled and back in the bay. Game plan is to clean up all of the ABS lines/accumulator pump in the back corner, eliminate any other wiring clutter up front if possible, and replace the AC condenser to get air con working.

New trans was thrown in at the same time with an ORC 559d twin plate. Unfortunately didn't realize that Soarers were non-tripod R154, but making it work regardless.

Harness showed up from Panic yesterday, can't thank them enough for turning things around quickly. Between the crusty ass stock harness and wiring issues I was having, should be nice having a fresh starting point.

Subframe also came back from powdercoat, new bushings will be getting thrown in at some point

At this point, basically just piping/accessories going back together - should hopefully be running on base map over the weekend. Tune is tentatively scheduled for next Monday, fingers crossed that all goes well. See y'all in 3 weeks for SSNW @ Medford!

Just swooped a full rear subframe assembly for $100 today with diff, axles, brakes and arms. Plan is to get it powdercoated/poly bushings and pull out the AutoZone axles I've been on for some OEM goodness.

vertex hood spoiler is sickkkkkk

Vertex add-ons mocked up, car should be going into paint in the next week or two hopefully!

Stuff is happening. Car is currently at Pro Shop Noble in LA getting everything fitted/prepped for paint. Sneaky peeks below:

cant wait to see it with new kit and paint!

bros got the unmilited money glitch fr

Can't wait to embarass myself in front of the neighbors by stalling this car 19 times while pulling it in and out of the shop when it returns 😂 Really hope Jason is able to get it nice and dialed in for you.

Took me down memory lane man. It was good times helping you work on this sled. Can't wait to drive agin soon buddy.

Part 5

While driving the car roughly once a year, I was also eventually planning to get the car kitted and painted but never quite found a good opportunity. Been sitting on a full Vertex "street" kit for the past year and a half or so. Goal is to have all the bodywork and paint done by March or April of next year but we'll see.

Also basically decided to bite the bullet as of 2 months ago and leave no stone unturned at this point because, once again, I can't just leave anything alone. Car is back with Jason at Rival Autoworks. Scooped a brand new 2JZGTE shortblock through Toyota in LA 2 months ago - did the math and it was cheaper to buy the shortblock than parts/labor/machine shop costs to rebuild my 1J bottom end. Sourced a new R154 through Streeter along with an ORC 559d to replace the old R154 and Comp clutch currently in the car - mathed it out and figured I'm better off selling a working older R154/clutch combo while the market is good vs what I paid through Streeter for known new reliability. Factory harness is going to Panic in February for a full fresh harness. Getting rid of the Driftmotion manifold (which I discovered had a T3/T4 flange welded to it to fit the Holset) and replacing it with an Artec manifold, as well as BC 264* cams to take advantage of the BC components in the head while everything is apart anyway. Also got a DC Power alternator, ASE R35 coilpack bracket kit, and a few other small bits because why not.

The intent is to have a car that I can reliably road trip or hit an event with no issues when I fly out there and execute on the Vertex vision since this will be a forever car - I absolutely love this car and get beyond geeked every time I get to drive it, so I have to do it justice. Will update this thread with pics as things progress over the coming months. Thanks for reading novel #2 !

Part 4

So when the car first arrived, it was running a little rough which I had attributed to needing a charge or battery. If you see the oil line routing in the first engine bay picture, you'll see foreshadowing of oil leak issues. 2 months into ownership, this manifested as the turbo blanket catching fire while the car idled in my driveway. Thankfully put it out with gloves before it grew or spread and didn't have to douse the bay with an extinguisher. Huge disclaimer that none of this had anything to do with the previous owner, he had also purchased the car with most of the work already done from the owner before him (<3 u Jack).

Consistent with my MO of not being able to leave things alone, rather than trying to fix what I had, I rationalized it as an opportunity to change everything out. Got rid of the Holset setup and went with a Garrett G30-660 1.06AR twin scroll to take advantage of the Driftmotion split manifold (more on this later) without having to change manifolds. Brought it to Race Factory in Campbell to fabricate the new piping, run new lines and replace the downpipe

At some point after picking it up, also threw in a Kunnyz trans mount collar and Marlin Crawler urethane shifter bushings since those were falling apart - shifts felt money after changing those out. With all the new piping and turbo in, the car went down to Jason @ Rival Auto to do a once over, add some small items and retune the car with the new setup. The valve covers got polished to match the new Weld coilpack cover and TRD oil cap with a Radium PCV fitting added routed to a new catch can, and a MKIV Supra Koyo rad went in with a Supra fan and shroud. He also threw in a Treadstone intercooler to replace what came on the car (had a hole in it) and Koyo power steering/oil coolers. Scooped a Carbing cooling plate as well to cover the gap behind the bumper.

The car dyno'd at about 390 wheel on pump 91 gas. Was pretty happy and figured that was the end of my list. Brought the car back up north, got it lowered, aligned and cleaned it, then drove it up to Sacramento where it would stay living as a shop ornament constantly in the way of the Goldstar dudes.

Also got the exhaust redone and Kaaz 2 way/diff bushings thrown in right before I moved to Chicago in April 2022.

Proceeded to drive FB SSNW with the Run Up homies in Medford as a shakedown, car felt great till I bent a control arm near the end of Day 1. These cars are limos compared to S chassis.

Car was acting up at the end of the event and blowing smoke/misfiring. Replaced coilpacks/plugs, checked all the usual culprits and couldn't figure it out. Brought it back and put it away to forget about it for a bit until I was ready to deal with it later.

A few months later (end of 2022), I decided to get it brought to Race Factory to figure things out. Turns out the head gasket blew between cyl #5 and 6, so the head came off for an OEM+ rebuild consisting of decking the head, ARP head studs, BC springs and retainers, Supertech valve stem seals, Driftmotion double lockdown JZ cam sensor seals, Greddy timing belt, BC adjustable cam gears and a Tomei head gasket.

While everything was apart, unfortunately found bad news on the bottom end (see scoring on cylinder walls) but decided at the time it wasn't immediately urgent since I wasn't really burning oil or seeing any blowby at that point.

Everything got put back together and I flew out to drive the car again at SSNW earlier this year (April 2023) - Medford is a stupid fun track for those that haven't been yet.

Unfortunately at the end of the event, more problems popped up. Car was overboosting randomly on track, then making no boost, misfiring out of nowhere, etc. We checked all the usual culprits in the pits and couldn't figure it out at the time. Loaded the car up on the trailer and yet again became a problem I'd deal with later. At some point I started looking at the harness and guessed that between all the butt connectors/black silicon all over the patch harness to the ECU, it was most likely an electrical issue somewhere in the 30+ year old harness.

More to come in Part 5

Part 3

So now that I had spent 3 or 4 months on the interior without actually driving the car, finally shifted my attention to getting the car roadworthy. Everything below took place over the span of another 4 or 5 months whenever I could find time after work and everything else going on. Massive thank you as always to the Run Up homies, namely Victor/Joey/JR/John for lending a hand in helping me get this thing done before I moved to Chicago. I appreciate all of you immensely.

The power steering rack was blown and leaking, so since RHD racks aren't easy to find I ended up bringing it to a local shop to get rebuilt. Degreased the whole bottom of the car, sprayed the wheelwells with black undercoating while the suspension was apart.

The factory ball joints/bushings were on their way or showing their age, and the coilovers the car came on were blown. I'm literally incapable of leaving anything alone, so over the following few months I ended up replacing pretty much everything on the car and took the opportunity to upgrade things while I was at it. Stance coilovers, Battle Version FLCA's, FUCA's, RUCA's, outer tie rods, sway end links, PBM knuckle, Whiteline sway bars and fresh studs/wheel bearings got thrown in.

Also repainted the MKIV Supra calipers that came with the car gold with fresh Stoptech braided lines, blank rotors and Hawk HPS pads.

Test fitted the SSR Premiums and Sovereigns I had originally bought for the IS300 and ended up fitting pretty damn close, so they became the new wheels for the Soarer haha. Added some spacers up front and rolled the rear quarters a bit more to fit everything, figured adding a little camber in rear would resolve the issue if necessary. 18's for the track, 19's (in the background) for the streets.

With everything but the engine/driveline addressed, things should be basically good to go, right? Jokes. To be continued in Part 4.

Part 2

So being that the borders were closed early 2021 as a result of Covid, I was worried that getting the car stateside would be complicated. Thankfully @turbo_jayhall made the process incredibly easy. He picked the car up from Alberta, pre-arranged all the paperwork with his broker to get the car through the border and had his associate bring it from Washington down to San Jose. Can't thank him enough for simplifying the experience.

As soon as the car arrived, I started making a list of to-do items and began deep cleaning the car that night. Thus began the multiple month process of cleaning/dyeing the existing grey interior and scouting Pick n Pull for black interior. Before and after on the carpet:

Threw Kilmat throughout the interior and did the headliner

Found a black driver's door card to replace the broken one in the car/cut the switch opening to work with a USDM driver's door switch in black, dyed my existing passenger door card to match.

Found OEM rear leather seats at Pick n Pull, got those and the center console reupholstered at a local shop with fresh leather

Slowly began to assemble everything back in the car.

Meanwhile, I purchased a pair of Recaro SR4 Raptor Arista reclineable seats and Vertex steering wheel/shift boot/ebrake boot to update the interior with the black/white theme. Also picked up a Pioneer double din to replace the radio situation and got the climate control rebuilt with LED backlighting via Tanin Auto Electronix.

Decided to get creative with the gauge placement in the car after exchanging a few ideas back and forth with the previous owner Jack. Photos for reference of what he sent me:

Using above as a reference, I trusted my good pal Victor to use his much steadier hands to cut an opening in the wood trim above the glove box and had a local acrylics shop shape a tinted piece of acrylic to use as a screen with Tanabe Revel water temp, oil temp and oil press gauges mounted behind it. Picked up a white Greddy Profec for boost readout and mounted a Revel wideband in a 3D printed vent replacement to the right of the steering wheel. Also got rid of all the cracked vents and went with a 3D printed solution offered on eBay. Extremely happy how it all came out. (Dash mat was properly installed later, just didn't take a photo)

And that wraps up everything on the interior side. More continued in Part 3.

That oil feed line routing is outstanding.