Project Stella

Olav · Jul 14, 2020

UPDATE

See page 2 for RHD to LHD conversion!

I got a lot of messages from people wanting to see more of the conversion job. Page 2 now contains all the pictures i have of the job.

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I went into supra rehab in 2016 when i sold my TRD widebody and have been supra sober for four years, four loooong years of supra withdrawal. Now it is finally time to get back in the supra game again.

This build is really a friend of mine's, until i bought the car last week. Stella started her life as a japspec RHD hardtop TT auto, originally silver, then white with a hideous body kit.

This is what the car looked like when my friend bought it.

Since then it has undergone some pretty big changes. The car was stripped down to the bare metal, LHD converted, manual V160 converted, and repainted quicksilver. It received a bunch of factory new parts from Toyota in the process. I'm not going to post all the pictures from the rebuild here as there are a gazillion of them.

Olav · Jul 14, 2020

Factory new dash

Some more factory fresh parts

New engine harness from tweaked

Fully forged engine with hybrid TT's

Olav · Jul 14, 2020

The car is currently getting a factory new carpet installed and i will pick it up hopefully this weekend. Future plans for the car is a set of new wheels (i can't stand the look of the ones currently on) and to hopefully realize my lifelong dream of building a 1500hp street supra, this engine does not have billet mains etc so we'll see. I might single it and run 1000ish for a while until i have the motivation to pull the engine for a rebuild, right now i just want to drive the damn thing. I'll whip up some more pictures of the car when i get it home. It is pretty hard to believe it's the same car when looking at the first picture and the finished project. Cheers from Norway

KenHenderson · Jul 14, 2020

Welcome back to Supraholics Anonymous

. This is my kind of build thread, fast and not wasting any time.

Ken.

Olav · Jul 14, 2020

KenHenderson said:
Welcome back to Supraholics Anonymous . This is my kind of build thread, fast and not wasting any time.

Ken.

Haha thanks man! I though i was done with supra's when i sold my TRD widebody, but something deep inside of me never let go of the timeless design of these cars. Having friends with supra's don't help either haha.

I could have posted a billion pictures, but most folks on here have probably seen most of it before. The short story is almost everything that wasn't 100% when the car got taken apart is either factory new or refurbished.

KenHenderson · Jul 14, 2020

Olav,

I can't remember which TRD you owned. Was it black or quicksilver? I remember spending considerable effort trying to track down a '98 (IIRC) quicksilver TRD car many years ago.

Don't be stingy with the pics. We never tire of seeing them in this subforum, and it's not often we get a chance to view first hand a RHD to LHD conversion. Buying a wrecked car and shipping it to Norway is all we need to know about how serious this build was/is.

Ken.

Olav · Jul 14, 2020

KenHenderson said:
Olav,

I can't remember which TRD you owned. Was it black or quicksilver? I remember spending considerable effort trying to track down a '98 (IIRC) quicksilver TRD car many years ago.

Don't be stingy with the pics. We never tire of seeing them in this subforum, and it's not often we get a chance to view first hand a RHD to LHD conversion. Buying a wrecked car and shipping it to Norway is all we need to know about how serious this build was/is.

Ken.

Mine was black.
A original 98 quicksilver TRD? Damn, i would like to see today's price on a unicorn like that.

A lot more parts/work is needed for the LHD conversion than most people think (me included). My friend is a body shop mechanic (or whatever you guys call it haha) and worked for Toyota when he started the project, he says he would not have done it otherwise. He needed a bunch of paperwork from Toyota stating the RHD and LHD version of the car is the same etc, then it has to be done by a certified body shop and so on. The automotive GOV over here is very strict, don't ask 😅

Olav · Jul 15, 2020

Probably should have started with this, but I'm a "do first think later" kind of person some times. I bought this car because i wanted a hardtop and LHD, there are two original LHD hardtop supras in Norway that i know of, and only a few in all of europe, i also wanted a clean "no nonsense" looking car with a known history so i didn't end up with a bunch of "oh this was never maintained, and that should have been swapped out years ago". I sold my black TRD widebody because i got bit by the track driving bug and started investing all my time in my track car (drifting), and had no time or money left for the supra. I owned and built various race cars over the years, the last race car i had was the very famous D1GP Kei Office S15 driven by Yasujuki Kazama in the early 2000's which i upgraded/refurbished extensively. I actually sold that car to a collector in the US, so if anyone is interested in golden era D1GP cars there is a guy that has bought almost all the most famous golden era D1GP cars in the US i can refer you to.
After some time i got really tired of all the stress and work involved in running your own "racing team", making deadlines for track events, all the preparation etc. So i wanted to go "back to basic", and immediately started daydreaming about the days back when i had my supra. So when my friend was considering selling his car, everything seemed perfect, the car, the build, the timing, everything.

It has been a long time, but tonight i poured myself a big mug of coffee, sat down in front of my computer, and read supraforums threads. Probably sounds strange, but it's almost like an emotional moment, like a time from the past you finally get to relive.

I also want to say thanks to all you guys, keeping supraforums alive. Here in Norway all of the car forums have died out and moved to facebook groups, but there is no substitute to a good old fashioned internet forum. One day I'll fly out to the US for SIV and maybe catch a coffee with some of you and have supra chat, cheers.

Sierracossie · Jul 15, 2020

Good to see you are coming back to life with another supra project Olav.

Too bad you sold the TRD supra. That was truly a unicorn.

Looking forward to the future updates on this one.
Liked theway you dressed up that engine.
Is it the "STU GT28" kit you have put on to it?

Kim

Olav · Jul 15, 2020

Sierracossie said:
Good to see you are coming back to life with another supra project Olav.
Too bad you sold the TRD supra. That was truly a unicorn.
Looking forward to the future updates on this one.
Liked theway you dressed up that engine.
Is it the "STU GT28" kit you have put on to it?

Kim

Everything that has been done to the car up to this date is done by a friend of mine, i bought the car from him last week. They are GT28 hybrid's, not sure what "make" they are. I'm currently ordering some new wheels, and looking at a standalone ECU. I'm also looking at new seats for the car, it has Recaro "confetti" seats now, but they aren't in the best of condition. I have always wanted a set of Bride Gias kevlar seats, but the price and shipping from Japan for a set is just a tad too much i think. I'm going to drive the car on track, so i need seats that can hold me in place. The Bride Gias has the best support of any seat i have seen on the market except for full bucket seats of course. I have never been a fan of full bucket seats in a road car, so that is not an option.

KenHenderson · Jul 15, 2020

Olav,

After a 4-year separation, I can understand how reconnecting with SF can be an emotional experience, especially when you consider what FB has done to chat rooms, including SF.

All that said, the Builds & Projects subforum has kept it real despite FB, IG, Twitter and the other brain damaging social media stuff. Your thread is certain to be an excellent one; the more detail the better, IMO.

Not to get too philosophical about it all, but the best build threads are very educational, full of important life lessons and can be great examples of ingenuity, what it takes to overcome adversity and gaining an inside out view of a particular owner's vision of the perfect car.

Carry on, bud.

Olav · Jul 15, 2020

Thanks Ken. I feel like I'm back home where i belong, the supra community has always been special in my eyes. I think i spent 4 hours last night reading through all your build threads. After seeing all the incredible build threads on this forums last night i think i have to redo this one to give this subforum justice haha.

I'll probably make another post in the future with a more detailed view of the rebuild process, then I'll have a nice and short first post for those not interested in spending hours reading trough the whole thing, and a more detailed version further out in the thread.

The car is getting a factory new carpet installed as we speak, among other things. I'll throw in a couple of pictures of the old, and brand new hand brake leaver for now as a teaser.

Olav · Jul 15, 2020

New floor carpet went in today

Factory new, delicious

While piecing the interior back together, we ran into a small issue. We would need to cut the carpet to fit the amp where it has previously been.

Either of us had the heart to cut a factory new carpet, so we decided to relocate the amp another time.

Interior coming back together.

Not yet decided what to do regarding seats. The car will see track time, and the biggest issue i had with my previous supra on the track was the seats. "Standard sport seats" don't have enough lateral support to keep you in place and I'm not a fan of full bucket seats on a street car. In my previous supra i would have blemishes all over my knees because i had to put them against the dash/door to keep myself from rolling out of the seat. I have wanted a set of Bride Gias II kevlar seats for as long as i can remember, but I'm not sure i can sleep well at night spending 5.200,- USD for a set shipped to Norway from Japan. The great thing about the Bride Gias though is their lateral support, they have the tallest thigh support i have seen on any reclineable seat. I've been looking at the Veilside VS D-1R kevlar seat, which are considerably cheaper, but i don't know if i dig the "6-pack" look on the back and bottom cushioning. There is also the option of refurbishing the stock Recaro confetti's, they also have good lateral support compared to most "sport seats" by the looks of it (i haven't sat in them yet).

Input regarding seat choice is highly appreciated.

Craig Bush · Jul 16, 2020

Very nice build Olav. 👍

As you said in post 7, I think most people don’t realize how involved a rhd to lhd conversion is - it’s a big job! All new firewall if I understand correctly.

Olav · Jul 16, 2020

Craig Bush said:
Very nice build Olav. 👍

As you said in post 7, I think most people don’t realize how involved a rhd to lhd conversion is - it’s a big job! All new firewall if I understand correctly.

Thank you. All creds should go to my friend who previously owned the car though.

Yeah, it is a pretty extensive job. New firewall, the sheet metal the windshield wipers etc attach to, pedal set, brake/clutch cylinder etc, pedal set, a bunch of interior parts obviously, new handbrake assembly +++

Olav · Jul 31, 2020

Picked up the car about 1,5 weeks ago. Man does it feel good to be back in a Supra.

First thing i did was to install a oil cooler kit which i pieced together from Improved Racing. I am very impressed with these products! I had never heard of Improved Racing until i saw some cool stuff online when looking at cooler options.

The kit consists of Improved Racing billet take off plate, billet filter relocation plate with 13/16 thread to run big filters , Setrab Proline 19 row 9,25" wide oil cooler, Raceflux AN10 lines with viton TFE core, Rafeflux and misc AN fittings/adapters. This is not sold as a bolt on kit, so you need to buy the individual parts.

Billet take off plate. The machine work on this thing is just pure pornography.

Knurling on the sides makes it easy to grip when screwing/unscrewing without the need of tools.

Billet filter relocation plate

Installed in the car. I'm in a temporary garage with bad lighting, so you will have to excuse the dark pictures.

Rubber insulators to shield the cooler from vibration

Next on the agenda is making a custom spare tire well fuel cell for the car. I made a post about it HERE.

Olav · Jul 31, 2020

Also ordered 6 new johnnies that will arrive hopefully in a month or so. I went with Work Meister S1 3-peice 18" in bright buff finish (polished with clear coat), the best looking wheel for the Supra IMO. I was initially going to order them in regular silver, but after some thought i think that silver wheels on the quicksilver paint is going to be a tad boring, so i put in some extra $ for the BBF finish.

4 main wheels, S1 3-piece 18x9,5 front, 18x10,5 rear, ET 37 on both.
2 extra rear wheels for track use, S1R 2-peice 17x8 ET 7

Pretty exited to get a new set of wheels on this car.

lucassanabria · Jul 31, 2020

Love the build. I need time to make a topic of my restoration. Keep the good work!

Olav · Jul 31, 2020

lucassanabria said:
Love the build. I need time to make a topic of my restoration. Keep the good work!

Thanks

Olav · Aug 4, 2020

Some minor setbacks. Broke the drain bolt on the radiator, and my transmission is leaking at the mating surfaces of the housing.

The gearbox is still out of the car, going to have it glass blasted and looking pretty before it goes back in

Everything looks and feel great inside. I'm always amazed by the MASSIVE internals and bearings when i pull these apart, no wonder they hold crazy power.

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