Greetings all. I know it’s been quite some time since I’ve updated the progress on my 1969 Toyota Crown Station Wagon project and that’s because, well, there hasn’t been a whole lot of progress. Aside from pulling out the disassembled stock motor and stripping out the interior I haven’t really had the time to do much to this car.
Of course I knew when I bought the Crown that progress wouldn’t come fast or easily as the aftermarket for this sucker is pretty much non-existent. On the same hand, it’s also that obscurity that drew me to the car in the first place.
I have though spent a lot of time thinking and scheming about what I’d like to do with the car. Before I can do anything else, the main challenge is to find an engine to replace the half-complete 4M inline six set-up that came with the car when I bought it.
There’s a world of possibilities here of course – and everything from LSX crate motor to ITB-equipped 3SGE or a smooth 1JZ have crossed my mind. With enough money or fabrication talent anything is possible – unfortunately I’m not a guy that has a ton of either, so part of the challenge is finding something that is doable with my modest budget and wrenching skills.
Over the last few months I’ve spent a lot of my spare time researching possible engine options and browsing classified ads and online auctions for possible candidates. I’ve also been keeping an eye out in the listings for complete donor vehicles that could provide running gear for the Crown. This is where the story gets interesting.
Early last week I was browsing the local Craigslist listings as I do way too often and I saw an ad for an interesting car. It’s a 1982 Toyota Celica Supra, supposedly in good running order and priced significantly lower than any of the engines I’d been looking at. I gave the guy a call and went to take a look.
What I found was a car that’s pretty much exactly as it was advertised. A strong running vehicle that’s in need of some cosmetic help. Of course the cosmetic issues weren’t a big issue to me as I was mainly looking at the running gear.
The second generation Supra is powered by Toyota’s 5M-GE DOHC straight six, and while the aging 5M generally isn’t considered a go-to choice for engine swaps, it does come from the same family as the Crown’s original engine, meaning that installation should be relatively straightforward.
So while the 5M is no powerhouse, it would still be a substantial upgrade over the old 4M. The biggest challenge with this swap would be the transmission as the Supra is a five-speed manual while the Crown is an automatic.
With these plans in my head, I took the old Supra for a test drive and found that despite its age and cosmetic shape, it’s a very strong-running car. In fact, the guy had been using it as his daily driver.
We started talking prices, and amazingly the seller offered the car for quite a bit less than the already reasonable asking price. Once I found out that it’s currently registered and has just passed California’s smog test, I couldn’t resist. At this point I became the new owner of a Toyota 5M-GE engine that happens to come with a 1982 Celica Supra.
Too cool to junk?
But before I even got the car home, my mind started to run riot. I took the smooth six cylinder through the gears and remembered all the things that make 1980s Toyotas so great – even if the car’s front struts were blown and the interior was falling apart around me.
What I also like about the car is that it’s the less commonly-seen Supra L-Type which left off the fender flares of the P-Type Supra for a look that was essentially an American version of the Japanese market Celica XX. Also, it gets extra points for not having a rusty, leaky sunroof.
Next up I did something I probably shouldn’t have done. I went through my magazine collection and photo archive looking for images of cool looking Celica XXs from Japan. I also made the mistake of looking to see how easy it was to swap a 1JZ or 2JZ into one of these things. Uh oh. Did I just buy a much-needed drivetrain for Project Crown, or did I acquire another project that I certainly don’t need right now.
If I were to keep the car, there are some things that would definitely need to be addressed. There’s the aforementioned bouncy front suspension, the 30+ year old paint job that’s just about fallen off and an interior that’s, for lack of a better term. pretty damn nasty.
That poor dashboard. While we might not have to deal with big rust issues here in California, sights like the one above are all too common out here.
There are also some very good things about the car. As I said a moment ago, it runs surprisingly well and aside from the paint, the body is very straight and rust free. If I wanted to, I could probably put a bit of money into it and have a fun old car to bum around town in.
The practical side of me (cough – wife – cough) says I should stick with my original plan. Pull out the motor, put in the Crown and then sell or junk the Supra chassis for whatever I can get. I do know the Crown is long overdue for some progress.
But at the same, I’ve really grown to like this old Supra and I don’t really want to see an easily saveable vintage Toyota taken off the street. And don’t get me started about how cool this thing could be with some work.
At the moment I’m pretty up in the air about what I’m going to do here. So I ask you, the loyal Speedhunters reader, what would you do if you were in my shoes?
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Junk the piece of shit family car and keep the supra and have a light fun sportscar to drive for years and years.
Mike, do not trash that Supra! As you so rightly named the chapter title - too cool to junk.
It's probably hard when the Home Minister doesn't approve, but I would junk that Crown instead. This Supra find seems to be a gem and would be a whole lot more fun.
defiantly keep the supra!
That supra has survived this long, shame you are going to be the one to destroy it. Doesnt need much either.
No matter what happens, get those celica wheels widened a couple of inches and use them on something. Those rims + wide = sexytimes.
I saw a Crown wagon at the Snowy 1000 the other week - modern 6, big turbo, hung low on the suspension. Looked fabulous, where the old Supra/Celica are a fine a dozen over here and (I understand) in NZ. I'd strip it out, and on sell the shell.
keep the supra!....
Move the 5M to the Crown, and keep the engine-less Supra in your garage (or back-yard)!
http://minkara.carview.co.jp/image.aspx?src=http%3a%2f%2fcdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp%2fcarlife%2fimages%2fUser%2f684067%2fp1.jpg%3fct%3dcb79d87eb24f
http://minkara.carview.co.jp/image.aspx?src=http%3a%2f%2fcdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp%2fminkara%2fusercar%2f000%2f001%2f078%2f915%2f1078915%2fp1.jpg%3fct%3d66299b29ee99
http://minkara.carview.co.jp/image.aspx?src=http%3a%2f%2fcdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp%2fminkara%2fuserstorage%2f000%2f012%2f117%2f867%2fd6f563115b.jpg
http://minkara.carview.co.jp/image.aspx?src=http%3a%2f%2fcdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp%2fminkara%2fusercar%2f000%2f000%2f838%2f874%2f838874%2fp1.jpg%3fct%3d85550e8ba2b6
http://minkara.carview.co.jp/image.aspx?src=http%3a%2f%2fcdn.mkimg.carview.co.jp%2fminkara%2fusercar%2f000%2f001%2f423%2f739%2f1423739%2fp1.jpg%3fct%3d7c90347e3ea2
supra engine > crown. 2jz > supra. easy
2JZ Swap for thr Supra?
sell or junk the crown and keep the supra. Or you have the option too of helping some guy that needs a shell to restore his supra
hott dogg! keep the supra
all from http://high-top-fade.blogspot.com: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8190/8117351457_e7c0ea3b15_b.jpg / http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8486/8197365251_d4b3d56fb6_b.jpg / http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/8691567566_74e794e59b_c.jpg / http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/7999399287_7254977e1a_b.jpg
I think you might be better just keep the supra as well, it s unlikely a donor car, you sorta bought the right car for you, but for me, it just a wrong car for the crown.
powertrain swap into the crown for daily and 1uz swap into the supra for show
Sell both junks. Sell the GTI and get a Golf R.
Do the swap and keep the Supra for later.
Swap the 5M to the Crown, keep the Supra for a future project.
Supra drivetrain into Crown.
1 or 2JZ into Supra.
Leave the crown for now... and rebuild the Celica Supra. Such a sexy car! Simple setup, new paint, get an other dash and interior, exhaust to make the inline 6 loud, coilover and wheels. This need no more than this to be really nice.
Get the 5M into the crown, and please, keep the Supra. U can make the supra as another project car....
I'd say continue with the Crown. It's not everyday you can find a 1969 Crown in a nice and running condition. Perhaps some of the Supra's chasis parts can be swapped to the older car as well, if possible.
I wouldn't put that engine in your crown. For all the labour you may as well spend a few more $$$ and put something a little more powerful. You're already going thru the hassle of swapping engine anyway.
I'd say keep the supra
Good old 80's japanese FR layout will make you smile way more than the crown while driving
Dont part out a lovely running supra!
Its running and can be enjoyed as is, as time passes resto it modestly!
build a shakotan style supra
Put the engine in the Crown, keep the Supra body, it can be a future project
revive the CROWN,stick to the plan & keep the Supra body for your next GENERATION(your kids perhaps)!
Supra for christ sake!!!
You already washed it which means your mind is already made up.......You may need to sacrifice the crown to satisfy wifey.
That supra celica is pretty far gone, I imagine you can pick up a much more 'complete' car with just as much character if you look around later. I prefer your original plan. Gut the supra, build the only crown ive ever seen in to an obscure show stopper! But who am i to talk? My little 'daily driver' truck is getting a 2jz swap.. It a burden we share..
Swap the motor into the crown get it running and down the road swap w.e motor you want into the supra that way you have two toyotas to play with ;D
Carry as much as you can from the celica to the crown, it certainly has better geometry and everything else, take drivetrain, axles.... everything. Simple turbo and mild tuning and you have a good drift car AND (without backseat and a few minor mods and anchor points) you can also haul all the needed things on the back of the crown that you may use on the next projects
crown is better project car. that celica is a junker. if you want japanese old school, get real old school. not some forgetable 80s crap. everyone make junky car in the early 80s.
As the owner of two RA6X Celicas, I say do whatever you really want to! if you're not following your real desire in this aspect of your life then why are you (or the rest of us) even doing it? Have fun, and accept that not every old awesome car can be brought back to life...
I say you should definitely swap the 5M into the Crown and if you can, store the Celica chassis somewhere until you decide to sell it/start a project down the road. 2 projects at the same time would probably be too much and you could get discouraged
Just put them side by side and stare at them for a while (like 5 minutes, maybe). Which one who give you more desire and passionate feeling? Keep her. And dump the other one. Trust me, you don't want to keep 2 potential project cars at the same time LOL. Good luck Mike.
(But whatever your choice will be, please put some 1jz or 2jz in there)
Do a mild clean-up and straighten out the interior on the Supra. Since you already received such a great deal on it you can clean it up and then flip it for a nice profit. Use the profit from the sale to finally get your crown going with an engine swap worth doing while simultaneously not destroying a soon-to-be classic Japanese car. I think your wife's right, you have too many projects not getting worked on in the first place.
Sometimes our mind runs while our feet are still stationary and the possibilities of what can be done distract us from what we already have.
Best of luck Mike.
Get rid of wife, swap 5M into crown, get a 1/2JZ for the celica supra. LOL JK
I say remove the running gear off the Supra and sell the body to an enthusiast who will put a 2jz in it. The Crown is a cooler project. Its hard to keep projects under control and moving forward, some discipline is required
Tough Choice Mike...Looks like the Celica is less work, but the Crown is too cool. Wouldn't want tot be in your shoes..haha..Ohh what a Feeling!
As much as I love an obscure wagon, I would actually ditch the Crown in favor of a Supra. Drop a 1JZ or a 2JZ in there and you have yourself a pretty fun car.
being an old supra restorer i had an 84 p type and an 85 p type. i say supra all the way. the crown is awesome but nothing beats a clean old supra. trust me.
I'm sorry but that Supra is god awful looking...!!! The crown is simply retro and more eye catching/appealing (to me at least). You have to get your priorities in line and do not deviate from the original plan. +1 for the wagon lover here!
One possible option is swap the 5m into the wagon and leave the body as is and make it a patina looking cruiser and then make the Supra more of a project.
Go the Celica Supra!
I think you should keep the original plan. The Celica is cool, but just imagine how awesome the Crown would be with this engine!
Think of the CROWN, let the Crown live on! Don't sidestep your big plans with a moneypit of a Supra project. Its not like all of the parts you'd want to build that Supra with will come cheap or anytime soon. Stick with the plan man and complete the Crown.
1. Take the 5m out of the Supra
2. Put the 5m into the crown
3. Acquire 1jz or 2jz
4. Put 1jz or 2jz in supra
5. ??????
6. Profit
Hey look I think you should do both of the cars why not the Celica Supra Mk2 is one that has a very cool look esp those arches and the slant back with the louvers sweet coilovers some 245-40-17s painted a cool ice white, or milano red metallic, or pearl black with a borla exhaust it's one of the cars on my list to do work on in the future the crown I would say restore it to its orginal glory so that way you have one customized and a tuner the other an orginal the supra is a classic as well don't listen to the haters that way you can take one to the tuner meets and the other to the shows for originality
it's the wrong supra. get your nostalgic toyota kicks with the crown.. don't abandon her! it's a sin!! sell the supra shell to fund the crown project, or flip the whole car to buy a 2jz and swap components for the crown!
OR
keep both crown and supra.
strip down supra, put it in the crown
finish up the crown
and do the supra with 2jz with manual tranny as your next project. perfect sleeper
@Difinity Not sure I'd say they're a dime a dozen here in NZ, but there're certainly much more common than the crown.
Mike, you've got yourself into a ton of trouble on the home front. I think you already know you want to keep both. As a Celica XX owner, of course I am pretty biased. It seems a shame to scrap an L-Type, it's survived ths long and is still legal.
I'd say chuck the 5M into the wagon, and put a 3S-GTE into the Supra.......
Otherwise, just keep the Supra and work on it as you can, and find another option for the Crown.
Another one could be to put the Crown into limbo, and work on the Supra. Looks like it wouldn't take too much to tidy up, and because it's legal you can keep driving it while you do so.
I would fix up the supra and sell it. Use the money from the supra to put a better motor in the crown.
I;d say keep the supra put the 5m in the wagon and a 2jz in the supra...
sell them both and buy a datsun!
Sell the Celica, but keep the wheels!
Brad_S Hmm. Didn't know they were that rare!
nickmmele Haha!
kamranexir With enough money and time I'd love to do that!
KevinKupiec That sounds reasonable I think.
Styles Yeah the Supra would def take less work, but I'm still committed to the Crown even if it will take a ton more work to have it where I want.
@DO IT ALL If I had the money and time I would certainly do that. Decisions decisions...
AaronRiggs The Crown will certainly remain a priority!
epicmotorwerks That would certainly be interesting!
CarlLawhon Boom!
LS1RX7_owen Yeah while I dig the Supra, the Crown's gotta be where my heart is.
IgorWilbert Agreed!
IgorWilbert Agreed!
@Paul Yeah. Well regardless of what happens with an engine, the Crown will probably stay looking like that for a while haha.
@racerboy063 Can't turn my back on a wagon!
@driftartist Hmmm..
japanophile25 I'd love the Supra with an NA 2JZ at not much else!
ra64freddy! Hahah. What a feeling indeed!
XX it up! In California these cars aren't worth much because there's still so many out there. Use the engine for the Crown, put car on back burner, slowly restore/mod it over time. Easy.
GeoffreyCaruana That sounds realistic. If I did pull the motor I'd certainly try to sell off the Supra chassis to someone who can use it.
YengYang Let me work on that. lol
porsche924jj Wow! I'd like to see some photos. At the moment at least my plan for the Crown doesn't include a full resto, but yeah I agree completely on parts availability.
FunctionFirst Thanks buddy! That actually sounds pretty reasonable.
koknyol Thanks! Not a bad tactic.
@Jake Agreed!
Dalton Bedore Yeah all about investment versus result, right?
Dalton Bedore Yeah all about investment versus result, right?
mbretschneider That sounds like fun!
mbretschneider That sounds like fun!
Hun'er MANtz Yeah. The Supra is getting rare but still available. The Crown I pretty much bought cause I'd literally never seen one for sale before.
Hun'er MANtz Yeah. The Supra is getting rare but still available. The Crown I pretty much bought cause I'd literally never seen one for sale before.
montreal e36 Hmmm...
montreal e36 Hmmm...
@NERD11 Let's see if my wife goes along with that!
@NERD11 Let's see if my wife goes along with that!
Speet That would be fantastic!
everydayisrallyday That doesn't sound bad.
azmedaj I think whatever happens, the Supra won't be junked. The Crown isn't going anywhere, but I think I'm just strange haha.
PaulDYuen We will see what happens!
walshatron I've never seen those wheels widened before. Sounds interesting.
@Difinity That sounds pretty awesome.
tomok Thanks for the temptation lol.
pug205 Def going to keep the Crown.
JDMized I don't think so
trueno86power Yeah it certainly doesn't need much.
@turbo BEAMS ae86 That's certainly something I've thought about.
Mike Garrett trueno86power
Do it to it man, super rad!
Happy Wife, Happy Life
Mike you didn't buy a Supra, you bought a great donor car with the ability to drive it and know everything works. You're miles ahead of assembling all the parts one by one doing it this way. Stay the course!
Mike Garrett mbretschneider man, just tell me when "turbo and stripped interior" isn't the answer for an automotive question?
LOL, just kidding, but hey, do it the way i told you so and i gotta get a ticket to the US to try it!
Please dear god keep it
As a loyal supra owner, I recommend you stick with your original plan. Good running supras are not hard to find, but cosmetically good ones are.
Your Mk2 really needs another donor car with a good interior and trim....but guess what? those to features usually come bolted onto a nice running, rust free car! So what's the point when you could have just bought that car in the first place? That thing offers nothing of value, other than the engine. yank the powertrain out of the mk2, finish the crown and pick yourself up a decent supra when money allows.
Rust free control arms and whine-free diffs are worth a couple dollars on http://www.celicasupra.com let somebody put them to good use.
I'm not sure why others want you to keep the L-type wheels. Rare? sure. popular? valuable? no and no.
Mike Garrett Styles Well if you're 100% committed then I'd say avoid potential "scope creep", just rip the bits out that you need, and sell the shell.
*ahem*
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7432/8719629490_a3262ec15a_c.jpg
That said, I'd finish the crown. Do the Supra later if at all possible. I feel like if you abandoned the Crown you'd regret it and have a much harder time of getting your hands on another.
just stick to yr plan..do the crown...it´s the "cooler" and more uncommon Project
Mike Garrett Brad_S Do the Crown, send the wheels Brad Lord. If he wants to make his Project 86 Stock, this might come in handy. Look similar to stock AE86 rims aren't they?
I agree with most of the other posts: the utter obscurity of the Crown wagon is too much to pass up. Use the Celica's strong heart to bring the Crown back to life, and as that project comes to a close, find the appropriate JZ drivetrain that the Celica longs for and keep both of those amazing Toyotas on the road. As you said it's too hard to see a completely salvageable 80's Toyota go for "scrap." (Side note- I have no idea how you would make that work with the "reasonable" side of you; i am currently not married and perhaps that is all easier said than done.)
I have to agree with most people on this one. coming from experience its better to finish one project than have 2 half finished projects, and then you end up wishing you had just stuck to one. Im sure if you pull all the parts you need from the supra and put it up for sale as a clean shell for very cheap someone will come take it off your hands.
If i were you... say hi to your other side of you from me... and keep the three if them she, her, and you wife man! JUAZ!
Finish the Crown as money allows you and on the mean while strip the supra for a really lightweight performance drift car...(i mean not to add more things to the supra but to take them away hhhm?) go for the 2jz when you can. What i mean is; put the work on to both projects and/or sell the celica to sbdy who's lookin' for some car project... with some partial work done. It's really difficult to choose when u already have both of them... ABR form ARGENTINA!
I hate to see cars going to waste. You need to revive it or find someone who will.
Stick with the Crown, it'll be a cool not so common project! Good Luck!
5m in the Crown, 1JZ into the Supra. Two projects somewhat easily realized, and you would have an awesome cruiser wagon and weekend warrior track/autocross/drift car.
If I were in your shoes, new wife....
...kidding! I'd say go as planned and swap the engine into the crown, but keep the chassis in a warehouse for a project later on
Bad ass Crown!
I've got a similar project going at the moment with a 2jzge going into an MS65 Super Deluxe. Keep the updates coming!
KEEP THE CROWN PRIORITY! Put the 5M in there. Have you noticed the marketplace you have here for this car? It will not be scrapped. The #joyofmachine inside us wont allow it. If the right hints are dropped then i know you can direct A few die hard celica-supra fans to purchase this off you..
if it was me..
i would
put the 5M in the crown,
and put 1jz in the celica
the celica condition is too good to be junk
( its hard to find a rust free old car nowadays )
L-Types in solid condition are rare, man. Not to mention they're one of the coolest Japanese cars ever. So whatever you do, just make sure that Supra (be it the shell or the whole car) ends up in the hands of an enthusiast!
It's a waste to just take the engine. How many of those Supra's are left? Truly, what would happen to this car after you took out engine? Right to the junk yard? It kills me to see a donor car becuase i know that a donor car is just destined for a shallow death. Do some work on the Supra and sell it.
Keep her on the road please! These cars are becoming so rare. It's upsetting.
I knew this article would end that way.
If I were in your shoes, I'd definitely keep the Supra.
I had a Supra just like this in the late 80's. The only mod I did was adding a TRD exhaust. I took it on as many road trips as possible. Then one day I woke up and it was stolen from the front of my house.
Once in a while I'll go on craigslist and see a couple for sale. But I have no garage, yard or driveway to do the work.
Please fix this car up and keep her on the road.
Supra! Pull the 5M and leave it in the Crown, then find a JZ swap for the Supra. That is, if its financially viable and practical, but that's the route i would take.
first off, i love the article. and second you just made me miss my 83 RA61 celica. i'd say do the drivetrain swap as you intended, a project isnt a project unless theres progress. if you do intend to keep the supra, i'd go with something subtle and do a celica drivetrain swap with a 22RE on mikuni sidedrafts. you can pick up those 22RE's for cheap, and theyre (like all toyota motors) bulletproof. if you dont like the 22RE, just drop a 1UZ and call it a day. maybe im just telling you what i wanted to do with mine. either way, good luck with both projects and im looking forward to more!
HLB damn it that celica xx is my desktop pic.
Stick with the original plan, see it through to the end. Post the supra chassis on sale on speedhunters for an auction and see to it that it will be handled to the right hands to due the supra justice and swap a 2jz haha. just a thought.
hmm, you are working on project car overload which is an easy way to spell project car stall and ruination. I'd say look yourself in the eye and choose between the miata(or is the miata already gone, i can't remember???) and the supra. Keep the crown though, that things too cool. Then if you keep the supra and sell the miata, that would probably fund the new supra engine you want. If it were me, with an already rotting interior, i'd go the stripped down performance route. i could actually see that thing being an awesome drag car, and thats not even my thing.
@Chooky no car is worth a marriage.
Stick with the original plan... Then when you've finished, find that 1JZ for the Supra!
MrMoons You can bet on that!
@sam Yeah, I've certainly been convinced not to scrap it
nepias That sounds good my friend!
jtc3d Very nice. Do you have any info or photos? I've considered the same but have been looking into what sort of fabrication would be involved.
@kaltsui Haha!
JacobMcCool Yeah that would be awesome!
Ekim Staying with the Crown for sure!
Ekim Staying with the Crown for sure!
PabloRossi Haha! Thanks.
@StevetheDoerrman That all sounds very well "reasonable". I like it
scottcpynn I think you may be right!
I don't think the shell would be worth a whole lot. Keep it and swap something into it later.
Scrap the wagon (as cool as it is), drop a 1jz in the Celica Supra, and make one hell of a cool street thrasher.
I say do the swap for the wagon, and turn the Supra into a cheapish drift missile/autocross car with a cheap junkyard motor.
Advice from a Toyota devotee... You can have your cake and eat it too. Put the 5M in the goon as planned. Although unloved, the 5M is quite an amazine engine. It's got true opposed valve hemispherical combustion chambers, an ideal rod to stroke ratio, beefy internals, 7M headers/turbo manifolds bolt on, buckets of torque, reliability and so on. And you will also grow to love that Supra even more than you already have. With Lotus designed suspension and 80's bitchin' good looks you really can't go wrong, unless you scrap it, that's wrong. That Supra needs serialnine coilovers, addco sway bars and some wheels. Strip the interior and drop in a cheap 7M-GTE with bolt ons and you have a budget drifter/porsche killer.
Dont sell nothing!!! EVER
Absolutely don't sell the Supra! Is one of the most collectable jdm old coupes and in my mind the best Supra ever. You want the engine? You can have it and put a 2JZ into Supra, but don't scrap that car.
To the practical side of you :))) you can argue with the profit you will make with that car if you ever want to sell it again.
And don't destroy a Supra just before you needed a cheaper engine swap. Its not a speedhunters way, I hope.
Do you have kids? Can you imagine a pristine Supra Mk1 from dad as a gift for 21st birthday? You can even drove beside him/her in your old Crown SW with a cool engine swap. BTW, what about a 1UR-FE from the last Lexus LS ? :)))
Daily the Crown with the 5M, and then have a potent FR that could kill tires on the weekend, or rather take it to work if you didn't want to take the crown.
Keep both! Pull the Celica Supra's engine, stuff it into the Crown, put the Celica Supra chassis in storage and once the Crown is done, start on the Celica Supra! Trust me, you'll love it once it has a more modern 1JZ or 2JZ engine in it
One project car, lol.
my 2c, swap the 5m and manual box into the wagon like planned, i had one in my old 86 4runner and it was more than enough poke to get that old beast up and going, definately enough to put a smile on my face in the old traffic light derby's. then i think you need to do the walk away test on the supra only once you have finished doing the wagon. it might be cool at the moment or is that just the new car happiness creeping in
5M for the Crown, and 13B-RE for the XX! How about it? : )
Don't sell the supra !!! Keep both
Put the 5M in that Crown and keep the Supra as your next project.
Everyone thats telling you to keep both has obviously never undertaken projects like this before. Me being a Toyotaku makes this a bit more difficult but I am firm on my view. The Crown is an exceptionally rare car. Whereas the Supra is, well, a L-type. Do what's best for the car that really needs it. The Supra can be found and found a thousand times. But a Crown? That's where I would be putting my time.
It's not a Mk1 Supra guy, did you even do bare minimum Wikipedia research?
liferoundhere_ The perfect option
id swap the engine into the crown, but keep the supra aswell, till such a time comes as you find a new engine for that, say a 1JZ, 2JZ, whatever your taste is
LOL That is a Hard choice...;-) Even a Rustoleum Paintjob would make the Supra cool and a few hundred at the junkyard and the interior etc is almost Golden... But older wagon like that with newer otor... Too cool..;-) Good luck man.. Cheers Nathan AKA 1 Owner Car Guy http://www.1ownercarguy.com
I hope by 'junk' you mean sell it off to someone. PLEASE DO NOT JUNK IT. Donate the engine to the wagon. Then sell off the Supra body to someone which will drop a JZ in it.
you'll need space. if it were a mark III turbo then i'd say keep it. time to go frankenstein on your wagon.
Give the Supra a quick & cheap restoration - mainly get the interior fixed up and give it a respray - and keep it in storage. As they become more rare the value will increase a bit and since you got it for cheap you can turn a healthy profit in a few years time.
An alternative possibility: swap the 5M into the Crown, then get a cheap but decent engine (go for an oddball like a VTEC) into the Supra. Fit some sought-after body-kit and some rare wheels, give it a feature and sell it off at a car show where you know an enthusiast will get it?
Another idea: Keep the 5M for yourself, then see if any local tuning firms want the shell for a demo car or to restore/mod and sell on?
get rid off the wagon
Drop the powertrain in the wagon and get that damn thing underway, and sell off the supra to a kid looking for a rolling chassis for a project
Both
save both
Fix up the Crown. When you're done dealing with that see how you're feeling about the Supra. Just hold on to it in the mean time.
Keep the Supra as a daily, look for a Cressida donor for the Crown, and be happy with the choice you decide to make. Make your bed and sleep in it.
Ditch the M's in both cars. UZ swap for the wagon, along with some wide slot mags and radial T/A's. The Supra needs to have a 2jz under the hood - N/A if you're budgeting or vvti if you can swing 2 impressive builds at the same time - slammed to the framerails on SSR MKII or MKIIIs with a new paint job and a stripped/caged interior. almost nobody has executed a proper Shakotan-inspired build (despite the lame half-ass attempts), and we KNOW that's where your taste lies, Mike. Lloyd's x73 is an excellent example to emulate from a stylistic and functional perspective; simple and clean yet fully capable. despite looking like it rolled out of Daikoku Futo, it sees track abuse and seems to take anything that its owner can throw at it.
Supra is cool
Do the crown as planned - pull the engine from the celica. It'll be awesome! If I had the room I'd keep the rolling celica chassis and if time and cash permit in the future I'd do a 1J swap on that one. Who am I to talk though, my "practicle side" won't let me have a project car at the moment at all! lol (no room for 3 cars at our place). Best of luck - I can't wait to see how it (they) looks. Cheers
@oldguy Yeah it would be nice if I had a spot to just keep the Celica parked for a while. I may have to look into that
reginald_reginald Lots of truth in this statement. I'd love a UZ in the Crown, but from what I've read it's a massive undertaking. Any fabricators want to donate some time??
@Need Maybe I'll just make my wife drive the Supra?
@kevinf93til That doesn't sound too bad.
TylerJacobsen I'd love to!
LepiCHichi No way! haha
QD Hmm. Interesting.
d_rav Strangely I actually like the second generation better than third when it comes to Supras.
Gvk If there's one thing I've figured out for sure, it's that the Supra won't wind up in the junkyard now. I've been convinced of that
1 Owner Car Guy Yeah there are always those cheap little things you can do, and often they make a big difference.
RichWilson Doesn't sound bad.
MilesKasch Yeah my loyalty will stay with the Crown first, just trying to decide what to do with the Supra.
liferoundhere_ Doesn't sound bad!
liferoundhere_ Doesn't sound bad!
HiroakiKageyama Oh wow!
Larry Chen Having one project car is for chumps, don't ya know?
NICKCEFFY Another reasonable sounding suggestion.
botchilah I'm dreaming of 2JZGE NA!
thomas456786 That would be awesome.
greenroadster The Supra won't be destroyed for sure, whatever happens with it.
greenroadster The Supra won't be destroyed for sure, whatever happens with it.
Inline6ness That sounds like a wicked fun plan.
Mike Garrett reginald_reginald xcessive manufacturing does a lot of adapters for UZ in x-chassis stuff. keep it auto, even easier to work with. just find a junkyard x7 or x8, grab the engine crossmember (and steering rack, front suspension if you're feeling ballsy) and chop the mounting points off of it, have them welded to the crown member and use the mounts from XM. maybe take the engine overall height into account when you're mounting for hood clearance, but if it fits in an x3, x7 without issue, it should fit under the hood of the crown.
dem00n I will see to it that it winds up in good hands if I do indeed get rid of it.
@Smd No argument there!
meal stub lol
v3g3b0t That sucks. I've been fortunate enough to never have had a car stolen, but I can only imagine how crappy that must feel.
JjCruz Thanks! I never thought of the good old 22RE!
JjCruz Thanks! I never thought of the good old 22RE!
JjCruz Thanks! I never thought of the good old 22RE!
Mike Garrett They aren't rare, but they are uncommon. I suggest putting them on the Crown. Also if you do sell the celica xx I have a friend who has had 9 of them and he'd like another
If i was in your shoes right now, i would be thinking about which one might hold more value in a decade or so. But i would then keep them both, which probably doesnt help. I would put the 5M in the Crown and look for a 7MGTE for the supra, should be a pretty simple install in theory. You could dream a little (dreams are free haha) and stick a 1JZ or 2JZ in the supra of course, but a 7M might bolt straight in.
Patch up the supra as a short term project and sell it for a profit which can be used to fund a jz swap for the crown? That way the crown gets some lovin and the rare supra gets a happy new owner
Patch up the supra as a short term project and sell it for a profit which can be used to fund a jz swap for the crown? That way the crown gets some lovin and the rare supra gets a happy new owner
Make a Supra Wagon by cutting them both in half.
Damn, I wish mine was an L-type sometimes. Sooooo much easier to get an aggressive low stance. On P-types with their huge flares, you gotta go at least 10" wide to get a little poke in the rear.
I am definitely in the "keep the supra" boat. Or if not keep it PLEASE don't scrap it. If it comes down to selling the shell, you can post it on celicasupra.com and I guarantee you someone will want it. But it would definitely be an excellent little project.
You could even build a 6MGE with a 7M block and 5M head and pistons to get a little more power. Drop it on some T3 coilivers, slap some SSR MKII'S on there, and just love it.
scrap the crown
Mike Garrett d_rav i see. well you'll need to put something into the engine bay. if u could source a 5.8L tacoma engine or maybe the straight 4 from a JDM altezza???
If I were you I would keep it
Sell the Supre. It's to good to be parted.
keep the supra. pull out its running gear and swap it to the crown as planned. when project crown is done, there's always time for the beautiful supra since there no rust.. save both car, wife can drive the supra when it's done. she might love it!
bey89 This is my thought! But throw a 1J into the Supra, you can never have to many projects!
Rust free Ma61, You lucky Bastard! In the uk where i live there are under 60 left on the roads!
All they need is some decent Coilovers, and some whiteline adjustable anti roll bars really. BC racing MX73 cressida Coilovers swap straight over (Need welding on front )
If this was an AE86 you'd be throwing countless thousands of $$$ at it without any consideration because they are in vogue, but these are just as fun and more car for the money. Keep it while the values are so low, and rebuild over time. Personally i'd stick the 5M in the Crown and put a 2JZGE in the supra. They don't need 1000hp to be a fun car, and you wont have to uprate everything to cope with the power. The stock lsd Diffs are a bit shit though as they don't have clutch disc's fitted, but Weir performance do a Max grip kit that will take care of that.
Keep the supra, or sell it on, but Don't scrap it! They are much better cars than you think. Hell, a stock 240 sx is bloody terrible to drive until you throw all your money at it.
The crown it's too sexy for not return to life. Save the two :). Motor of the supra in the Crown and finish the crown, and after, go find some good stuff to put in the Supra
SELL THE GOLF!
I reckon keep the celica and do a gradual, gentle resto-mod around the original engine (+ boost). That way you have a fun daily driver for while you strip out the golf's running gear and transfer into the Crown.
Nah just kidding
Mike Garrett jtc3d It's really early in the build. I've bought the car and the engine/trans. The week starting Dec the 1st I'll start the process of fitting the engine into the car. Up until now it's been info gathering and purchasing. I'll record as much as possible and start a thread somewhere. The general consensus is that the Toyota range of straight sixes are very similar block wise for mounting. But the bigger tranny will mean everything gets moved forward slightly (minor fab) to line up the shifter. At least with my model crown jz turbos and the steering rack won't get along, which is why I went the 2jzge route. Also 200hp is plenty for my old cruiser. That's as far as I've gotten so far. But if you're interested I can keep you in the loop. I'm taking a week off of work and flying to the cars location. It's a first attempt at a 'build and document' project. But you guys (and others) are just so damn inspiring! Any car or documenting info would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work!
Junk or sell the crown and do up the supra, the supra is way cooler and will be so much more fun do drive when finished. My 2c anyway.
Sell the crown build the supra
Take the 5M out, stash the Supra and do the 2jz swap when it turns into a financially realistic option. I'm telling you, these old Celica Supras will become extremely rare in the foreseeable future and when they do, you will have a shell waiting for you AND the 2jz-gte.
keep the supra, keep the crown.
put the supra running gear in the crown, put a 1jz in the supra
problem fixed
Mike Garrett Keep the Supra!! Like you said, it would be a damned shame to remove an 80's Toyota off the streets. I know you can make the Supra into a daily or fun around-town car much more easily than you could to the Crown.
Keep them both. If that's too much for your "practical side" then you'll probably end up sleeping in the back of the Crown wagon for an extended period. Which will give you plenty of alone time to work out the right way to approach the Supra build.
Speet i mean shakotan supra the first,and when u have enough time and money work on the crown
This is why you should keep the Supra... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stgKDkiNQ5U they look good when you make them do this!
Keep THIS SUPRA dud! These cars become more and more rare...
Mike Garrett
Definitely keep the Supra! But, in my opinion, you shouldn't put a 2JZ in it. Here's why: 2JZs are EVERYWHERE. They're the the Chevy 350 of Japan. I've seen them swapped into anything you can think of. I recommend a 4A-GZE, or, if you're feeling really adventurous, a 13B. "Why a 13B?" you might ask. Because it would be a great challenge! XD
Just keep this supra,and i had a good example for your supra http://cdn.hawknpoke.com/wp-content/uploads/genesispart3-06.jpg
Unusual car requires an unusual engine. I am still thinking Toyota, but something a bit more interesting then a 1j or 2j or a 1UZ.
have a look at the 1G series of straight sixes, NA, turbo, twin turbo or supercharged from factory. Some of these were fitted to JDM first gen Altezza's with a six speed manual. Or how about a 1FZ-FE
straight-six? This is a 4.5-litre DOHC, 24-valve job as used in the Landcruiser.
Then there are a huge range of Toyota V6 engines as fitted to Camry, Previa, many 4x4's, some with superchargers.
Or if you REALLY want to go crazy, find a 1GZ-FE, this V12 engine displaces 5.0-litres (the largest
capacity engine produced by
Toyota) and uses DOHC,
4-valve-per-cylinder, VVT-I variable inlet cam timing. This beast generates the Japanese regulation 206kW (yeah right) together with a massive 481Nm. Stick one of these in your wagon and you are guaranteed a grin from ear to ear every time you put your foot down.
I like the idea of a better old engine in the very old crown, It gives it a bit of a vintage tuner theme. Sometimes those old motors just sound better as well. The crown is a better build for a less speed oreinted theme. Supra for ridicolous track drifting and drag racing.
Hey Mike, shuffle the motors around as you wish but whatever you do, don't scrap the Celica. i too have similar first world problems, i have a 66 crown MS41, that i bought and i was going to fit my 1JZ-GTE VVTi but i might fit a V8 instead because of the front sump of the 1J and the cross member that looks the same as yours (rear sump). The 1J is out of my JZX100 that im fitting a twin turbo 1GZ V12 into. just be thankful these are our only problems.....
Mike Don't get rid of the Supra.. these cars are Classics and they are dying off... I have had mine for 13 years and its finally coming together.... JDM 2jz, single turbo and massive amounts of goodies are being thrown in it now. Hopefully you'll get to see it this summer when its done.. Ill be at Toyota Fest and JCCS. among other Northern Cali Meets...
here is my baby in the early stages sitting on Wats fresh off the boat from Japan...
http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m282/TokenBlkGuy1/Supra%20Suspension%20Install/IMG_2497_zps24486ee1.jpg
Evan