About
Adam Hintgen
Northville, MI
1987
drjonezz@yahoo.com

Background
Originally, I wasn't a big car guy. I knew little about them and how they worked. I drove a '74 GMC truck that was easy enough to work on. Midway through college, I was on co-op and making some good money. on my way home one day I drove by a sporty looking car that had a sign on front of it "FREE". Of course, I stopped and checked it out. Turns out there was fine print under the "FREE" that said "dinner for two for whomever buys this car", nice gimmick. Anyway, I was quite taken with the car, took it for a test drive and ended up buying it for $1850. I knew NOTHING about what I had- '87 NA sport package, 5 sp, ASC power glass sunroof. for all I knew at the time, it had a V6. ;) shortly after buying the car, I jumped on the web (was a computer geek at the time...) and started searching for info on my new Supra. I found SOGI and started asking all sorts of lame nOOb questions on the email list (want to have some fun? go search Mohler's SOGI email list archives for my name...funny stuff!). I learned a lot from SOGI and various pages online. I ended up putting a K&N on the car, 2.5" straight exhaust, free mods and bumping up the timing. it was fun, but not that exciting. Getting schooled by a turbo sunbird took down my ego a bit....

After driving for over a year, it became apparent I had the dreaded BHG- the car would overheat after about 2h of freeway driving. to its credit, I drove like that for 6 months. ;) I asked around for info on putting the 7M-GTE in a NA, no one really had any. I spent some time researching and figured out what I needed. I ordered a used JDM engine from www.soko.com and slapped it in over a weekend (my first engine swap, EVER). After sorting the usual issues out, I began modding. Two weeks of 12 psi and the stock W58 clutch gave up. I then put in a Scott Mech clutch that never held worth a dang (took me a year to get any refund out of him...). The next clutch I tried was an RPS stage 3, that never held right either (note that RPS never offered any assistance and/or refund either...). Finally, I got a hold of a clutch masters stage IV from Dave H. and that worked beautifully.

About the time the RPS clutch was failing, I laid down 310 rwhp and 330 rwt on the stock turbo @ 13 psi (more info/mods at the time here). The best I could do at the strip was 13.3 @ 101, that was with a foolish shift to 5th on my part. The car was consistently trapping 105-106 (time slips here). A few days later, it was raining and I decided to do some drifting @ 17 psi (still stock CT!)...that ended w/plumes of white smoke out the tail pipe. Oh goody, another BHG.

Since I planned on putting in a MHG, I figured I'd pull the engine and do a freshening inside. the JDM engine was looking good inside, but I replaced rod bearings and rings to be safe (main bearings looked NEW) and added an HK$ MHG with ARP head studs. I also decided it was time for some more power and picked up Jeff M's old turbo kit (T04B 60-1 Hi-fi, p-trim, waste gate, adaptor plate to stock manifold). The rebuild went on without a hitch and after break-in the car put down 460rwhp and 430rwt at 18psi (couldn't run any more thanks to the retarded Deltagate, more info/mods at the time here). The best the car could muster at the strip was 13.03 @ 116 MPH (time slip?). The 60-1 setup was VERY peaky, as you can see from the dyno sheets. While the huge rush of power was cool, I had begun autocrossing/road racing and wanted something more tractable....

During the winter of '02 - '03, I finished rebuilding a blue '87T I picked up for $500 (w/rod through the block). This allowed me to make the brown '87NA-GTE my "race" car and take some liberties I hadn't been able to take when it was my only car. I stripped everything off the block and sold off what I could. It had been my feeling that one of the things that holds the 7M back is the ridiculously long IC piping tract. Since no one makes a front inlet intake manifold for the MKIII, I had to go custom. After a few deals fell thru, I got one from Jake Groseclos (Glens's son). I also switched over to the full GReddy E-mange setup, added some Tein HR coilovers, added a new exhaust manifold and turbo setup among other things. After many months of waiting, things finally came together and the car rolled out.

The only dyno time I have had with the new setup didn't go so well. I started out ramping up in boost- 9 psi yielded 325rwhp, 15 psi 409rwhp, 20 psi 480rwhp. When I went to do my 25 psi run, I hit fuel cut off....confusing as I have the AFM output clamped via the E-manage. I ended up spending the rest of my dyno time attempting to sort out the FCO issue (which I never did). After some more investigation, I found that at the time I had a code 51 (TPS). The best I can figure- the ECU wasn't reading the TPS correctly, TPS determines load, the incorrect TPS reading placed me on a different look-up table where FCO was at a different point. I have yet to verify this... The important thing about the new setup's dyno result is the power band- it is HUGE. no more peaky crap, nothing but loads of useable torque. this is a driver's car, not a dyno queen.

Turbo
After being disappointed with the peakiness (is that word?) of the 60-1 hi-fi with the huge turbine housing (.88), I opted for a SP57 (compr- .7, turbine- .58). The unfortunate thing about this was the lack of information provided by SP, so it was a bit of a gamble...that paid off well.

Bottom End
The bottom end of the brown car is completely stock except for an HK$ metal head gasket and ARP head studs torqued to 90 ft-lbs, running the single counter-balanced 6M crank. Tuning is the key to reliable power, even on cast pistons.

Head
The head is completely stock except for new valve seals (there's a fun job...) and some gasket match porting on the exhaust side. I removed the anti-reversion dam, not sure that was the best idea, but it seems to work. I THINK my head is a casting #14, not sure...Also running a pair of old skool JUN/HK$ cam gears (the modded stockers).

Intake
The car still has the original K&N FIPK I bought for it when it was NA, now milled out to fit the Lexus AFM (screw removed). Custom 4" piping connects the AFM to the turbo, custom 2.5" piping feeds air to/from the Isuzu NPR IC. A Tial BOV and HK$ SSQV relieve pressure on shifts. Special thanks to Glenn/Jake for the front inlet intake manifold. I will be installing a pair of thermocouples before/after the IC to aid in tuning. Also coming is a CO2 IC spray kit. The key to the broad power band is the short intake piping, that and throttle response is amazing.

Exhaust
I picked up a custom shorty header off ebay 3 years ago. It was designed for on-center turbine housings, so I had fab up a spacer plate so the compressor housing wouldn't hit the #1 runner. Its really nothing special, but it should flow better than the stock manifold. Its pretty cool in that the turbo sits up really high, sort of imposing. That and the waste gate mounts on top, so its in plain view. I exclusively use Tial waste gates, there is nothing better. I currently run a 38mm waste gate divorced from the exhaust stream (sounds great @ WOT). The rest of the exhaust is all custom 3" mandrel bent feeding into a Thermal Research stainless steel muffler.

Fuel
A single Walbro 255 LPH high pressure fuel pump feeds Delphi 680cc/min injectors modified by Dave H. for use in the MKIII. I ran Aeroquip -6AN lines to/from the stock hard fuel feed/drain at the base of the firewall. Currently a Cartech Billet adjustable rising rate AFPR controls fuel pressure (not very well!), but I will be swapping in an Aeromotive soon. I still use the stock Toyota fuel filter.

Drivetrain
The driveline is pretty much stock except for a Fidanza flywheel and a SPEC stage III clutch. I replaced the crappy stock rubber clutch line with a stainless steel version. I'll be installing a one piece Al drive shaft soon with a safety loop along with a Torsen differential unit, hopefully with a 4.10 ring/pinion.

Suspension
Since the car is built for the road course, I am running a set of Tein HR coilovers with some hefty springs swapped in and some Suspension Techniques sway bars. All the usual ancillary bars are there- old skool Cusco front strut tower bar modified to fit my crazy turbo setup, Cusco rear strut tower bar and the JIC front lower a-arm bar. The ride is VERY harsh....but well worth it on the track.

Electronics
With the most recent setup change, I am running the full GReddy E-manage system- base unit, timing harness, injector harness and pressure sensor. Its a pretty neat setup and allows you to tweak the stock ECU quite well. The built in AFM clamp is useful for killing FCO. Boost control duties are handled by a GReddy Profec A with the remote high-boost button. An old skool Blitz FATT keeps the SP57 happy. Techedge DIY WB with display for tuning.

Interior
The interior is all business- Autometer Boost and EGT gauges on a Lo-tek A-pillar pod, water temperature and fuel pressure where ashtray used to be, oil pressure and oil temperature in the glove box. Defi HUD displays speed/RPM on the windshield. EFI systems injector duty and A/F display above climate control, shortened C's short shifter, complete rear seats removed, Simpson 5 point harness for racing. Racing seats and Autopower cage coming soon...

Exterior
Nothing too special on the exterior, I'm not really into body kits, etc. An OEM turbo A duct in the front bumper helps with cooling as does a custom early Z car hood vent. True JDM rice style is provided by an OEM turbo A badge, hatch visor and TRD bading/stickers. All exterior lights have been tinted. Konig Villain 17x9 wheels w/275s all around prove the point. Yeah, the paint doesn't match, but that's the point- its a race car, not a show car (not to mention it helps w/the sleeper look).

Brakes
I decided to add this category since its not already here and my brake setup is worthy of note. The front brake setup consists of a Jim King big brake adaptor kit, 13.1" vented/slotted Coleman rotors, Wilwood Superlite III calipers (4 1.75" pistons!), Wilwood Polymatrix D pads and custom stainless steel lines. The rear setup consists of a complete MKIV twin turbo two piston rear brake setup retro fitted to the MKIII spindles (practically bolts up!) and stainless steel brake lines.

Writeup
Though I covered most of the car in "Background" above, its really been a learning experience. Over the past few years I have gone from mechanically inclined to hardcore car guy. This car is responsible for that change and it continues to offer challenges and oppurtunity for innovation. I get tired of the same old cars, the same old mods. I enjoy innovation and invention- the brown car is my showcase.

The car performs very well, its power delivery is very near stock thanks to all the above listed factors. I still have many minor issues to sort out (who doesn't?), but that's really all part of the fun. Though I really don't think any car is truly done, this one is very close.

The people of the online communities (SOGI, SM, SF, etc) are really responsible for helping to gain the knowledge I have now. Special thanks to all those who helped me out in my early days, hopefully I can repay some of that now...

Future plans
The car is very close to being where I want it, there isn't much left to change. I may tinker with an AEM standalone in the future, possibly a larger throttle body too. I will continue to spruce up the engine bay, probably complete the SS lines/fittings and ceramic coat everthing this winter. Also hoping to get a hold of a set of Tein RAs to replace the HRs.