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--Yes, you should upgrade the radiator even for stock 1JZ turbo power. Any JZ engine with a turbo will generate more heat under hood than a non-turbo JZ. I recommend going with a Koyo aluminum radiator for a Supra. I made a DIY thread for that here with pictures if it may help you:
--Intercooler and piping. You can approach this usually with a front mount intercooler and aftermarket piping. Plenty of good options for this out there for the MKIV and SC/Soarer chassis.
Alternatively you can do what I did if you don't have immediate major power goals in mind by buying a used JZZ30 Soarer factory side mount intercooler off ebay (sometimes they come up for sale), the JZZ30 Soarer VVT-i 96-00 intercooler shroud and factory Soarer JZZ30 intercooler piping. The older 1991-1995 all-metal Soarer JZZ30 intercooler is rated for 214cfm of flow. I took one of those and had it custom fitted with a modern intercooler core which flows much more efficiently to just under 400cfm... which was plenty good for me since that's still far more flow than the 305cfm of the factory Supra MKIV TT side mount intercooler. I only had to modify the 96-00 VVT-i intercooler shroud just a little bit to get it to mount correctly on the older design Soarer OEM intercooler.
I had this work done through Bell Intercoolers in Texas. I believe I paid a bit over $600 for the work with return shipping. Not cheap, no but to me it was totally worth it since I wanted a very stealth setup and wasn't shooting for huge power numbers. I didn't want to trust a nearly 30 year old factory intercooler core with really old flow technology so I wanted to have it re-cored with the newest available.
It is much more common for most to just go with an aftermarket front mount intercooler.
--Wiring. Will you be doing it yourself? Visit the Wilbo666 website and see if the pinouts for the late model SC300 and the 1JZ-GTE VVT-i engine set that you will be using is there. That's your first step.
Second you will need some SC body plugs and spare wiring... because I assume you will want to work on the wiring harness separately while still being able to drive your SC300 with its stock engine still running in it. The very best thing would be to get the cheapest 98-00 SC 2JZ-GE VVT-i factory engine harness that you can find which is still in unmolested and undamaged condition. This is what I did when I adapted a 2JZ-GTE engine harness for my SC. Having that spare SC harness to steal body plugs from and to steal NUMEROUS extra wires from helped a lot. And Toyota factory wires are very high quality and great to re-purpose for a custom engine harness. This also helps when you need to closely match the same gauge and color wire when extending or adding a wire or whole circuit to your new harness.
Second, if you don't already get yourself a good temperature controlled ESD-safe soldering station. I highly recommend the Hakko FX-888D. Also get a cheap heat gun for heat shrink tubing. And get yourself a 3M dual filtration mask from Lowes. NEVER breathe soldering fumes. Do it safe for your health And get a solder fume evacuation fan for good measure so that the soldering smoke is pulled away from you while you work. Lastly wear some 7mil Nitrile Hardy rubber gloves while working on soldering.
For any wiring connections that go to 8GA or at least anything larger than 8GA you should be using automotive/marine butt connectors. I often strip them of any hard plastic casing and use larger gauge heat shrink on them, sometimes one layered over the other.
Wiring heat shrink tubing kits will be your new friend
Also, buy yourself a small tape label maker that uses black text on a white background. You will be using this a LOT to keep all your wires organized. Label them by function *and* by original connector and pin designation as identified in the appropriate pinout guide. When you have a handful of raw wires with labels all telling you exactly to which connector pin they originally came from you can always find your way through to each next step.
The process itself always starts with the pinout cross-reference tables, then correctly identifying the pins on all the connectors you will be working with.
I also highly recommend unwrapping the whole harness and inspecting each wire on each connector to make sure that you don't have any surprises waiting for you in terms of previous circuit damage or bad connectors.
Remember that every Toyota connector has the last five digits of its part number embossed somewhere on its surface. So if a connector is "12345" you can order a new one from a Toyota dealer by giving the part number 90980-12345. All connector part numbers start with "90980".
For what wire repair terminals should be ordered for each connector there is actually a factory TSRM for just that purpose. We have it linked somewhere on the forum. If you can't find it I'll get it to you.
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Let's see what else....
--You will need to come up with a solution for adding a return fuel line from the engine bay to your gas tank. 1992-1997's all have a factory return fuel line but 1998-2000 SC's do not. However I believe all late model Soarer 1JZ-GTE VVT-i models *did* have a factory return fuel line. Toyota/Lexus removing it was only done on late model non-turbo SC/Soarers. So this has to be added back to your car. Others here can suggest a good way to do that better than I can.
--You will also need to upgrade your stock fuel pump. Denso may no longer be selling their OEM-spec (same as OEM) USDM Supra TT fuel pump. I am not seeing it listed on Rockauto any longer. This would leave any of the common aftermarket alternatives (Walbro, etc.).
You will need to do the "+12V Mod" and with it incorporate a 30/40A automative relay. This will effectively create a totally new fused 30A circuit just to power your aftermarket fuel pump. This will retain your stock SC300 Fuel ECU but take the strain off it and make it function just as an ECU controlled safety device and trigger to activate the 30/40A automative relay that will turn you fuel pump on (and off).
To install that circuit, see here and disregard the section where I explain how to wire the Supra TT Fuel ECU... since that won't apply in your case.
Thanks Kahn as always for the quick and detailed responses!
The plan is to do as much as I can myself; I really enjoy the process! Most of the swap seems pretty straightforward; wiring might be a bit of a challenge. I've got to figure out how to wire at some point lol. Thanks for all the pointers!
My goal has been to install parts on my parts that won't ever need to be replaced to accommodate more power or goal I have in the future. Do you think it is worth it to save up and swap the 1jz in with an aftermarket ecu, custom harness, big single turbo, head work, injectors etc all at once, or do it piece-meal? I've really been going back and forth, because I'd love to experience hitting boost and hearing some turbo sounds now, but if putting it in now is going to cost me too much extra money, I could definitely wait.
I've definitely heard about the return lines before, hopefully it won't be too big of a hassle. I was really curious about how to connect an aftermarket fuel pump with the stock ecu. Makes a lot more sense now.
Beautiful car! I think the 1JZ-GTE VVTI is probably the easiest engine to swap in to a 98+ SC300 because of how similar the wiring is. But in my opinion it is only worth it if you are staying stock 1jz. Although modifying the stock harness for the 1JZ will be a fast way to get it back on the road and drive it while collecting parts for the big single swap.
Yeah that's sorta the idea. I've definitely considered the NA-T route countless times but at the end of the day I don't want to compromise and a 1JZ is the dream.
Thanks Kahn as always for the quick and detailed responses!
The plan is to do as much as I can myself; I really enjoy the process! Most of the swap seems pretty straightforward; wiring might be a bit of a challenge. I've got to figure out how to wire at some point lol. Thanks for all the pointers!
My goal has been to install parts on my parts that won't ever need to be replaced to accommodate more power or goal I have in the future. Do you think it is worth it to save up and swap the 1jz in with an aftermarket ecu, custom harness, big single turbo, head work, injectors etc all at once, or do it piece-meal? I've really been going back and forth, because I'd love to experience hitting boost and hearing some turbo sounds now, but if putting it in now is going to cost me too much extra money, I could definitely wait.
I've definitely heard about the return lines before, hopefully it won't be too big of a hassle. I was really curious about how to connect an aftermarket fuel pump with the stock ecu. Makes a lot more sense now.
Here's a few more pictures:
First off, those are some beautiful pictures of the car out on the road! Also, those are some nice roads where you are
Welcome and that is good that you enjoy going through as much of this process as you can yourself. The best way to get a project car right is to be very involved in its many mini projects so that you know it like the back of your hand.
Now wiring you can certainly do if you feel you want to tackle it. Truly it's not really hard. You just need to have good soldering technique and a lot of patience.
90% of the hard part of it is understanding the cross-reference wiring pinouts, understanding basic electrical circuits for when you need to incorporate something new into your custom harness... and most of all the patience to be very, very organized and methodical about your work.
And you should test each wiring connection with a multimeter set on continuity to verify each circuit you have made is working correctly.
It is often a time consuming process but can be a very rewarding experience if you like getting technical.
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Also... something that definitely helped me was having a tool shop at home with a bench vise, stone wheel grinder stationary motor to take off sharp metal edges and for smoothing, a metal cutoff wheel tool, a drill press and various other things that allowed me to make some of my own custom mounting brackets for aftermarket small electrical boxes out of plate stainless steel (which I later scuffed up, primed and painted).
Being able to make your own custom metal brackets can be a huge help with a project car. And it's not really that hard to do. You just make up cardboard templates to test with and then measure and mark the sheet stainless steel carefully to cut it precisely. Bending the correct shapes and bends into the finished flat bracket can be done with your bench vise and various types of hammers.
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Alternatives to doing your own wiring would be to send your SC's own chassis harness (or one that you know is 100% identical from another same model year and spec 2000 SC300) to any of the usual well regarded engine harness companies: Tweak'd Performance, Panic Wire, Wiring Specialities, etc.
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I think it is worth it to get your engine swap of choice right. Then you can focus on the higher power adding parts after you know it is running on a good factory ECU.
With that in mind, you will probably find a good 1JZ-GTE VVT-i engine set that is at least from an automatic Soarer or maybe that came in another JDM Toyota model... so make it a priority to also locate a genuine late model JZZ30 Soarer 1JZ-GTE VVT-i Manual ECU. I don't know the prices on them but if they're even only $500-$600 then that's not a bad choice to give your car a good baseline.
The engine internals on the 1JZ will only need to be upgraded when a major power jump well beyond BPU is planned.
Among the companies offering good turbo kits for that engine, Tomei's "Arms" turbo upgrade kit specifically for the 1JZ-GTE VVT-i is a very good one and is good for about 500whp. You can also send off your engine's factory CT15B single turbo out to several turbo service companies to have it upgraded to handle well beyond stock power reliably. After that there are some much more serious upgrade turbochargers that can handle more power.
The stock fuel injectors would also need to be upgraded once you get beyond "BPU".
Originally Posted by xdTau
Yeah that's sorta the idea. I've definitely considered the NA-T route countless times but at the end of the day I don't want to compromise and a 1JZ is the dream.
If a 1JZ-GTE VVT-i engine is your dream swap then stick to it and focus just on that. Actually I wanted to put that exact engine into my 1993 SC300 originally. I don't regret building my 2JZ-GTE but I also love the 1JZ as well. You'll definitely love that engine in your car.
Focus on getting a good example prepped (do all major maintenance to it before swapping it in to set a new baseline), wired up correctly and set up with the compatible oil pan setup and swap that in. Get it running well and reliably in stock form. Then from that point start building further on your higher power goals. Things like the intercooler, fuel pump and things of that nature can be set up for more power potential from the start so as to not have to do them over again later.
Also, in my own experience I found that the easiest way to make 100% sure you are using the right engine mount brackets is to re-use the ones from your SC300's stock 2JZ-GE engine. Transfer them over to your new-to-you 1JZ-GTE VVT-i engine when you are doing the engine swap process. And then use the correct type OEM rubber mounts that are compatible with them either for an SC or preferably from an MKIV Supra or JZZ30 Soarer.
Craig has you covered on info and advice (as always). Your car is looking so good! Enjoy it for what it is as long as you can. Swapping cars is always a riot, but you'll never have the turn key simplicity back so just make sure you keep that in the back of your head!
Craig has you covered on info and advice (as always). Your car is looking so good! Enjoy it for what it is as long as you can. Swapping cars is always a riot, but you'll never have the turn key simplicity back so just make sure you keep that in the back of your head!
Just trying to help him be prepared if this is the route he wants to take!
His SC looks great, doesn't it? I 100% agree with you Rudy that things change once you undertake a GTE engine swap or NA-T conversion. Driving the car with the stock engine for now to enjoy it as is will be good advice.
The 1JZ-GTE VVT-i swap that he wants to do, especially when left as close to stock tune as possible, might actually be *close to* turnkey reliable so long as the engine is fully up to date on maintenance and has no hidden issues that weren't caught before installation. Then again it all depends on so many factors and how well each part of the conversion/swap has been done.
xdTau, this isn't meant to scare you from undertaking the swap process. However the best plan will be to work on the 1JZ engine and its wiring and other prep in your garage (if you have one) at your own pace. In the meantime you can enjoy and use your SC with the stock engine with all of those recent changes!
Thanks Kahn and Rudy! The car is getting close cosmetically to exactly where I want it.
I wouldn't be able to do all these projects without my dad's decades long collection of tools and other parts. I'm super thankful I can do this. Based on other builds I've seen, I'm definitely gonna have to make a few brackets here and there like you mentioned. I'd love to get a harness built at some point, but I'm worried I'd have to modify later down the line when I go standalone. Definitely tempted though; their work is amazing.
From looking around at different depots online, I've only been able to find 1jzgte vvti's from JZX100 or JZX110's. Should I hold out, or are the differences negligible? Also, would the manual vvti Soarer Ecu work with my cluster or should I get an auto one and bypass the neutral safety again?
If you approach it methodically and keep everything VERY organized and labeled meticulously you will be able to do a wiring harness conversion and extension yourself. I think just getting the harness made or doing it yourself for a stock engine installation that works perfectly should be your first goal. Later on you can upgrade based off of that.
If doing it yourself you will need both the 1JZ-GTE VVT-i engine harness and the 2000 SC300 engine harness (or an identical one from another 2000 SC300) to work from and combine some bits from the SC harness into the overall 1JZ wiring bundle as needed. I highly recommend getting another very late model SC300 body harness for this if you do not want your SC to sit dormant while you spend time working on the custom swap harness.
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I believe you would want to stick with a JZX100 1JZ-GTE VVT-i engine set if you can. That one should be easier to convert, especially due to the type of throttle body that it uses. You will need to swap over the upper and lower oil pans, oil dip stick, oil pickup and oil level sensor from your SC300's 2JZ-GE engine or from another SC, Soarer or MKIV Supra engine. And use your SC300's own engine brackets when it comes time for the final swap phase (you know they are guaranteed to be the right ones for the front crossmember).
The 1JZ-GTE VVT-i Auto or Manual ECUs will work fine with your SC300 cluster. Your instrument cluster gets a variety of signals from sources differently from the donor 1JZ engine's original car (at least as to where the SC engine harness body plugs vs another car's engine harness body plugs make their respective pins go). This is a part of what rewiring the 1JZ harness for SC body plugs will be for.
I think you'd just leave the Neutral Safety Switch bypassed for this, yes. You'd definitely leave the NSS bypassed if you run any R-series transmission (R154 or R155). In my SC I have an R154 and have left it bypassed so as to prevent any rear crank thrust bearing wear at startup... but I also think the OS Giken clutch that I am running which changes the stock cutch movement also mitigates most or all of that risk.
I looks like the Wilbo666 website does not yet have the JZX100 1JZ-GTE VVT-i pinouts yet. However a fellow on Supraforums published some info on this. Keep in mind that his Supra MKIV body plugs wire up differently than SC body plugs do.
First, I decided to buy a rep Vertex lip from Ikon Motorsports to clean up that really hacked-up bottom portion of my bumper. Got it paint matched for 180 bucks and I think it looks great:
I also tried rolling my own fenders after gaining a little experience helping my cousin roll his fenders on his 2002 WRX. I thought it would be sorta easy, but man, was I wrong haha. The quarter panels on this thing are 10 times harder to roll than the Subaru. Barely finished the first one so I'm waiting for it to get warmer outside and am going to try again at some point.
I realized I never showed a picture of the exhaust, so here it is:
I'm in love with the look. I don't even mind the missing exhaust hole for now, but it'll get filled in when I get a chance to do some bodywork.
The differential is officially the next thing I'm doing, no more being lazy lol. I thought about finding a shop but I'd like to do it myself if I can. Is it easy enough? I've watched a video of an install, but I'm not totally sure what they're doing half the time lol.
Also, I keep going back and forth. Should I go LS400 front brakes with Supra turbo rears, or Supra turbo all around?
Good morning,
Nice looking lip. It sets the car apart from a lot of others.
About the brakes, this is up to you about how much you want to spend. The economy way would be the "95 to '00 LS400 front brakes and the Supra rear brakes. If you want to spend more Go with the Mk4TT brakes all around and you will have better brakes. O'Reilly Auto Parts here had rebuilt TT front calipers but the rear TT calipers are hard to find. I know I looked for six months for the rear ones and finally settled for a used one and new one.
Good Luck,
Bill
I think I'm gonna go all out and just get full Supra Turbo. I've heard many people say different things about LS400 vs Supra Turbo front brakes, but the more people I talk to, it seems like the better choice is Supra Turbo, like you said.
You do have a much wider and more diverse selection of F+R matched brake pad sets available to you if you go with Supra TT front and rear calipers. I've never felt that I went overkill for street use by installing the full matched TT calipers and rotors in my SC. They're perfect. Highly recommend. Find a used OEM set from someone on forums (I have heard the versions available through major auto parts stores are possibly not authentic) and get them rebuilt as necessary.
The OEM Toyota MKIV Supra TT brake pads have been discontinued now (which may have to do with the copper content in their formulation not being able to pass new regulations but I'm not certain about that).
I lived on those for years. The next best replacement will be Hawk HPS pads for the Supra TT. I've used them in previous cars and they're an excellent compound for street use. Since I'm on my very last set of OEM Toyota pads now this will be what I'll switch my SC's TT brakes over to.
11-12-23, 12:29 AM
And get a solder fume evacuation fan for good measure so that the soldering smoke is pulled away from you while you work. Lastly wear some 7mil Nitrile Hardy rubber gloves while working on soldering.
